Tonight it's just you for dinner.
Table for one!
Which means anything is possible. You don't have to cater to anyone else's tastes but your own.
You can try something totally new, and if it stinks, it won't matter.
And it's your opportunity to eat your favorite thing, that your dining partner can't stand.
But as you look through your possibilities, you realize this is also an easy night for cooking.
You could really have the "night off" so to speak.
You still want to make something nice for yourself, but not be in the kitchen all night.
Maybe you can catch up on that book you've been wanting to read ... or that movie nobody else wants to watch.
Since I'm always testing new recipes, last night I decided to go the simple route, but still wanted to make something nice for myself, and figured I'd make something my husband wouldn't want to eat.
After weighing all the possibilities as well as my cravings, I came up with a recipe for Goat Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
And oh my goodness was it delicious. As you'll see it's super simple, so it would make for a great appetizer in the future. Plus, it's easy to make as little as one, or as many as you need since there is no real measuring in this recipe.
The best part was my husband's response when I told him what I had made that night...
"Thank you."
He hates goat cheese!
So when it's just you for dinner, and you still want to make something nice, but easy, go ahead and pour yourself a glass of that wine you've been saving, and really treat yourself. You have the perfect recipe for a lovely dinner for one.
Until our next meal,
Rebecca
Goat Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Ingredients (for each mushroom):
Goat Cheese Stuffed Portobello
- Large Portobello Mushroom
- Soft Herbed Goat Cheese Log (Small log serves two)
- One Roasted Red Pepper
- Baby Spinach Leaves
- 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and lightly spray the bottom of a baking dish with cooking spray.
- Clean and remove the stem from each mushroom.
- Cut the log into small rounds, so that you have at least 4 slices for each mushroom. (Example: If you're using a small log for two, cut the log in half, and then cut each half into 4 slices.)
- Place four rounds of the goat cheese on each mushroom in a diamond formation.
- Slice one roasted red pepper into long 1/4-inch thick slices, and lay them on top of the goat cheese and mushroom, almost completely covering the goat cheese with red peppers.
- Place in the oven and cook for 15-17 minutes, or until the goat cheese is soft and warm and everything is heated throughly.
- In the meantime, pour 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar per mushroom into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and immediately reduce to medium low so that it's only lightly simmer. Reduce the balsamic down to about 1/2 of what you started with, or until it has a light syrupy texture.
- Place a mound of spinach leaves on a large plate, and put the mushroom in the middle. Drizzle the balsamic reduction all over the entire thing.
