Eddie: “Naw, I’m doing just fine, Clark.”

Name that holiday movie. I’ll give you a hint: it’s one of my favorites.

Since we’re all in the throes of full blown seasonal entertaining, I thought I’d share a delicious appetizer recipe with you, just a little inspiration so that you don’t come up empty handed in the hors d’oeuvres department this coming weekend.

I wish you could taste these right now — honestly, you simply must make them! You’ll be amazed by how quickly they fly off the platter, and they’re a total ‘man’ pleaser. ‘Course, ladies like ‘em, too.

Now, if only holiday houseguests would disappear as quickly…

(KIDDING! I’m looking forward to having you and Dad here, Mom. Really I am! And you can stay as long as you like!)

Oh and by the way, it’s Christmas Vacation. Ho, ho, ho!!

ROASTED MUSHROOMS STUFFED WITH FETA, SPINACH, & BACON

Yields: about 2 dozen

Source: epicurious.com

• 8 ounces bacon slices (Sendik’s Nitrate Free is on sale)

• 1 c. chopped onion (sale)
• 1 – 10 oz. package chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 4 oz. feta, crumbled (about ¾ cup)
• 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (on sale)
• ¼ t. dried crushed red pepper
• 2 ¾ lb. button mushrooms (about 48), stemmed (I always use the really big white mushrooms, but the smaller ones are on sale this week)

Preheat oven to 375. Cook the bacon in a heavy large skillet until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Coarsely crumble the bacon. Discard all but ¼ c. plus 2 teaspoons bacon fat (adding olive oil as necessary to equal that amount). Set the oil mixture aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and cool. Mix in bacon, spinach, feta, cream cheese, and crushed red pepper. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.

Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with foil. Toss mushrooms and reserved bacon fat / olive oil mixture in a very large bowl to coat. Sprinkle mushrooms with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms, rounded side down, in a single layer on prepared baking sheets. Bake mushrooms until centers fill with liquid, about 25 minutes. Turn mushrooms over. Bake mushrooms until brown and liquid evaporates, about 20 minutes longer. Turn mushrooms over again. Spoon 1 heaping teaspoon filling into each mushroom cavity (use more obviously, if you choose to use the larger mushrooms). Filled mushrooms can be prepared one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 375. Bake mushrooms until heated through, about 10 minutes (slightly longer if they’ve been refrigerated). Transfer mushrooms to a platter and serve warm.

Wait! Don’t run away. You have no idea what deliciousness you’ll be missing if you give up on this post based on the title. Please, hear me out – these are fantastic! I can nearly guarantee that by the end of this post, you’ll have these tacos on your brain for the rest of the afternoon.

Unless you don’t like mushrooms. Or peppers. Or tacos.

The DamFam ended a caloric-laden Halloween weekend with these veggie tacos last night. I should say rather, my husband and I ate them; I’ll not “candy coat” it (post Halloween pun, LOL) and tell you that my punks were exactly tickled pink over mushroom tacos. They had the regular out’ the box kind; that’s how they roll. I did bust the Pickle for snagging julienned red bell peppers out of the prepped veggie pile while my back was turned. I cut her some slack. She couldn’t resist, that kid never met a pepper she didn’t like.

Anyway, I found this recipe it in the current issue of Bon Appetit yesterday morning, while I was lazing around nursing a Snickers-Almond Joy-Peanut Butter Cup hangover. VEGGIES. They’re good for what ails ya’.

These unique little tacos come to together in a skinny minute, but their preparation is a bit unusual. After all of the veggies are sautéed, the tacos are built and finished in the same skillet, resulting in melty, gooey cheese, and crispy corn tortilla shells. Topped with cilantro, crumbled feta, and a little hot sauce, these tacos could possibly be my new favorite veggie main course! I’m even toying with using the same filling for vegetable enchiladas sometime.

Now, aren’t you glad you stayed?

BUENO! Happy Monday, everyone!

POBLANO & MUSHROOM TACOS

Serves: 4

Source: Bon Appetit Magazine, November 2009, p. 67. Also available on epicurious.com

• 2 T. vegetable oil, divided
• 2 fresh poblano chiles, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced into long strips

• ½ red onion, julienned
• ½ red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (I added this; it’s not in the original recipe)
• 1 container sliced cimini mushrooms (on sale this week)
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 4 corn tortillas (I had enough filling for 6)
• 4 thin slices of Monterey Jack cheese (I used shredded Mexican Blend because I had it on hand)
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Crumbled feta or Cotija cheese

• Assorted toppings: shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes (both on sale this week), hot sauce, salsa

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add poblano chile, red onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms; sauté mixture until mushrooms are browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Mix in ground cumin. Season to taste with salt. Transfer vegetables to medium mixing bowl.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in same skillet over medium high heat. Add tortillas in single layer, draping up sides of skillet to fit. Divide mushroom mixture among tortilla, mounding only on one side. Place slice of Monterey Jack cheese atop filling in each tortilla. Fold plain tortilla halves over filling and press firmly. Cook until tortillas are brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer tacos to plates. Open tacos; sprinkle with chopped cilantro, crumbed feta or Cotija cheese, and toppings.

It’s like the Wonder Bread of the produce department, isn’t it?  The red-headed stepchild?  Seriously, I don’t know of a single self-respecting foodie who would ever serve it at her dinner table.  Something about it just screams “1978”, when all our mothers served us salads of iceberg lettuce and Wishbone dressing, ala Carol Brady.

Happily, we’ve all grown up to expand our salad horizons.  Thanks in part to well stocked grocery stores (like Sendik’s, naturally), it’s easier to try a wide variety of more exotic greens like spicy arugula, bitter endive and raddichio, and gourmet mixed baby lettuces.

Lest poor, lowly iceberg go the way of the eight-track, there are still some instances where a substitution just won’t do…a hunk of crisp iceberg on a BLT for instance, or finely shredded iceberg on taco night.

Here is my absolute FAVORITE use for iceberg:  as a holder for these delicious Chinese Lettuce Wraps.  The leaves add the perfect crunch, and are sturdy enough to stand up to the savory ground chicken filling.

A quick tip about iceberg:  if you bought a head earlier in the week, and despite its charming cellophane wrapper, it’s gone a little floppy on you (hate that!), just fill a mixing bowl with ice water, cut off the root of the lettuce, and immerse the head in the water for an hour or so.  Drain it off and give it a good spin.  The cells of the lettuce will have plumped themselves up with the chilly water, and voila – your iceberg will be revived!

No need to thank me, I live for this stuff.

CHINESE LETTUCE WRAPS

Serves: 6

Adapted from SAVEUR.com

• 1 ½ lbs. ground chicken (regular or breast meat, or a combination of the two)
• 3-4 large shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and finely diced (very finely, and your kids will never even know they’re in there!)
• 3 scallions, finely chopped, plus additional sliced scallion for garnish if desired
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. oyster sauce
• 1 T. sherry
• 1 t. cornstarch
• ½ t. sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 T. vegetable oil or peanut oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can diced water chestnuts, drained
• 16-20 iceberg lettuce leaves
• 1 can crunchy rice noodles for serving (optional, but kids adore them!)

Place the ground chicken meat into a large bowl along with the mushrooms, and scallions.  Combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sherry, cornstarch, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl, pour over chicken.  Mix well.  Let stand 15 minutes (mine went for about an hour and it was fine).

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add garlic and water chestnuts, cook and stir for  a few minutes.  Add the chicken mixture; cook, stirring and breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, about 5-8 minutes.  Transfer to a serving platter, surround with lettuce leaves.  To serve, spoon the filling in to the lettuce leaves.  Garnish with rice noodles and chopped scallion if desired.

By the by, we loved these wraps tonight with steamed jasmine rice and boiled edamame on the side.  ENJOY!