Chili con Fungi

Make 3-4 hearty servings
Bug gives this a full 5 Barks!

1 cup red bell pepper
1 cup onion( I prefer Vidalia)
1/2 of a jalapeno
4 cloves of garlic
3-4 tbsp. of olive oil
3 portobello mushroom caps
2 cups of sweet kernel corn
2 tbsp. of Chili powder
1 tbsp. of cumin
1/4 of a tsp of cayenne pepper
Sprinkle of salt
3/4 of a 15 oz can of black beans
2- 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1 cup of Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of Green onions
4 tbsp.  of Cilantro
1 avocado
Tortilla Chips
Sour cream

Top with green onion, cilantro, avocado, cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream.

Directions:
Finely chop onions, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic (use a garlic press or finely chop for the most flavor). Add all the ingredients to a pot with olive oil and let cook for 5-7 minutes.
Cut up mushroom caps into quarter-sized pieces and add to pot. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes and stir.
Add corn (if fresh remove the kernels from the stalk first) cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt. Stir mixture and then add black beans and tomatoes.
Let simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Watch out for puppies try to steal a taste!

Finely chop cilantro and green onion. Dice avocado. Cutting an avocado can be a bit tricky on your first try, here are some avocado instructions.
Top your chili with your favorite toppings (I like them all) and enjoy!






Tips:

Enjoy with your favorite beer!

You can use Fresh corn, but if you make it out of season I like to use sweet kernel frozen corn. It works just as well.

 When picking avocados, look for ones that are black (the green ones are not ripe) and a bit soft to the touch, but still firm. You don't want squishy avocados.

I prefer to use Vidalia onions for most cooking because they are sweet and almost never over power any of my recipes.

I use 1/2 of a jalapeno because I like a mild chili. There is a little spice, but nothing overwhelming. Feel free to use more or less depending on taste.

You can use fresh tomatoes, but I like the canned tomatoes because the juices add just a little more sauce.

Sour Cream, I use the light sour cream. In this recipe there are so many flavors  and the flavors are very robust- you can cut a little of the fat out by using the light sour cream, but not taste any difference.

Bug enjoys a little southwestern flair just like any human; we give her duck or turkey jerky when we have chili.

Make a layered dip using the chili. Pour the hot chili into a 9x9 baking dish. Top with green onion, cilantro, and avocado. Cover that layer with sour cream and sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top! If you do it while the chili is warm, the cheese will melt and you don't need to bake it in the oven. Put it out with some tortilla chips and you have a great for an appetizer! 

I always let the Bug clean up!

Chianti

 After a honeymoon in Italy, I discovered my go to wine is good Chianti. It is one wine I can always drink and, for the most part, always enjoy (Although I hated one Chianti that had a high Wine Spectator rating. It just goes to show that you should always buy wine you enjoy, not a wine that someone else enjoys!) Chianti has a bad reputation. After traveling to Italy and learning more about the country's wines industry, I can certainly say forget those old impressions and try good Chianti!

A view from the Verrazzano vinyard.

ZoeBug actually chose an Italian Chianti to go with the mushroom pasta. I personally think Chianti is always good, but it certainly goes well with pasta! The Chianti is from a vineyard outside of Florence in the Chianti region of Italy. The Vineyard is Castello di Verrazzano.  This Chianti had great fruit flavors and nice tannins. I like it because it is smooth to drink and complimented the mushroom sauce. Verrazzano has really amazing Chianti and table wines. I don't think the vineyard exports this wine, but I did find a small liquor store in Webster, MA called Hank's Liquors that actually has a few bottles of Verrazzano Chianti! Good luck finding it and let me know where you find it, because the wine is amazing!

Mushroom Sauce Over Spinach Pasta: The Recipe and Directions

This sauce will make 4 medium sized servings or 3 hearty servings!
Bug gave this 4 out of 5 Barks!

Ingredients:
2 Portobello Mushroom Caps
1/2 cup of Shitake or Crimini mushrooms, sliced
4 tbsp of Olive Oil (maybe a bit more)
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
1/2 cup of red wine
28-30 oz. of crushed tomatoes
1-2 tbsp of chopped FRESH rosemary, depending on how much you like it!
Parmesan Cheese
Spinach Pasta

Directions:
Boil water and cook pasta according to directions on box.
Pre-heat grill over medium heat
Brush the mushroom caps with olive oil and grill for about 4-5 minute on each side.
Heat the olive oil and shitake/crimini in a pan over medium heat. Sauté for about 5 minutes and then add the garlic. Heat the mixture for a few more minutes and stir in the red wine.
Cut the portobello mushrooms and add to pan with shitake, garlic, and wine. Cook until most of the red wine has reduced. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and rosemary and cook for 6-8 minutes until the sauce is heated and the flavors have blended.
Put on a plate and top with parmesan cheese. Enjoy some bread with this too!

I used crimini, also called baby bella, because my grocery store was out of shitaki mushrooms.

Enjoy and don't forget to add some fresh grated cheese!

Tips:
After removing the portobello mushrooms from the grill, let rest for a few minutes. The mushrooms are similar to meat and if you cut into them when they are hot, all the juices will run out. If you let the mushroom rest after the grill, when you cut the mushroom the will retain their moisture and add more flavor to the sauce. Mushrooms give off a lot of water when cooked, so be careful how much oil you add to the pan. However, with the portobello mushrooms you want their natural juices to flavor the sauce.

Make sure to allow the red wine to reduce. Before you add the tomatoes you want to make sure that there is not much liquid in the pan. Since the mushrooms give off water, if you do not let that and the red wine reduce, then you will find the sauce to be a little runny or watery.

You don't have to grill the mushrooms, but it does add a nice smoky flavor that gives the sauce additional depth.

This recipe is so easy that you don't need help, but I always let Bug help me prep and cook at the stove!

Be careful, don't let  your pups get any garlic. They will have an upset stomach for a few days.

Garlic, you can slice or crush/mince garlic. I always use my garlic press to get finely chopped garlic. Crushing or mincing the garlic releases more oil, which yields a stronger flavor. By slicing garlic you will get a more subtle flavor. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want any subtle garlic. I love garlic and want a very concentrated flavor. As a result, I ALWAYS crush my garlic.

Cooking Wine, your choice. Depending on how much you use, I find that cooking wine yields a saltier flavor. I prefer cooking with wines I like to drink...and I certainly don't like to drink cooking wine (Okay, Okay I have actually tried it and its terrible!).

Bread, I really like the roasted garlic loaf you can get at most grocery stores. I guess by now you can tell I like garlic! I think this bread is simple, but has great natural flavor since the garlic chunks are baked in the loaf. This bread is great for dipping in the mushroom sauce.

Things I Love About This Recipe:
It is easy and probably takes only 30-40 minutes to prepare. A real no brainer.
It is always good no matter what the season!
It is a hearty meal. The mushrooms really are a meaty vegetable and I would compare this sauce to a thick (non-meat) Bolognese style sauce.
My husband loves it.
ZoeBug wishes she could eat it (but cannot because garlic is bad for dogs)!

Do you like this recipe? Check out the wine blog about the Chianti we paired with the meal!

Lets talk about Wine

 I am no expert, but I enjoy tasting wines and paring them with food. I believe wine is subjective; not everyone will enjoy the same kinds of wine. When I first started buying wine I was the first to read what wine experts had to say and I was the first to purchase any wine that had a high Wine Spectator rating. However, I quickly discovered that I do not like all of the wines that received high ratings. However,  I do find Wine Spectator website to be extremely helpful in learning new things about wine. Maybe my palate is not that refined, but I buy wines that I personally enjoy and I think that is the best way to approach wine.

 There are specific steps to wine tasting that I think are helpful in identifying the flavors and types of wine one may enjoy. This is not a snobby wine blog, but instead helpful hints to start enjoying wine more. Life is too short, so join me in trying new things!

For anyone trying new wine, I suggest trying the wine first without food and then later with food. In Italy we were told that wine was made to be paired with food. Often what you eat can change the taste of the wine. My husband and I do a small tasting before dinner and then reevaluate our thoughts as we enjoy the wine with our food. ZoeBug prefers to just pour wine directly into her food and gobble up the mixture. Those are just a few suggestions that have worked for us over the years. More to come when ZoeBug actually choose a wine to go with our mushroom pasta!

An Introduction

Hello all,

This is a blog dedicated to food, wine, and everything else that is oh so enjoyable in life. I named the blog after my puppy Zoey, whose nickname is ZoeBug. She, probably even more than me, loves food....actually she loves to eat anything. Pebbles in the driveway, worms in the grass, and anything she can vacuum up off of the kitchen floor.

Since I will be photographing my first meal and wine pairing tonight, I guess we can talk a little about Zoey and the food she loves to eat. She is a Nature's Variety lover and right now her favorite canned food is duck. She cannot get enough and is left licking her chops for quite some time after her dinner. For snacks she prefers soft treats. Like I said, she will eat anything, but she loves bacon and cheddar treats, especially with a cold beer! Zoey has a developed palate and she really enjoys pairing her foods with various beverages.

Before anyone gets to upset I can assure you we don't give our puppy alcohol! We just took the picture to mark and remember how small she really was when we first brought her home!

Back to human food...Tonight I will be making a mushroom sauce over spinach pasta. I am still deciding on the wine to accompany the meal. Tomorrow you will have a full update with pictures, the recipe, tips, and the wine selected. I hope you all enjoy cooking as much as I do and that the blog will be fun and helpful. I am always looking for new recipes and ideas so ANY suggestions would be amazing! Also, if you are anything like me you will want to see what you are making before buying ingredients and spending some time in the kitchen. I promise to include pictures in my blog so you can see exactly what you are getting into and see if it even looks good to you! I make a lot of vegetarian/fish meals, but every now and then you will find a meat/chicken meal. I cannot wait to share my first meal posting tomorrow!