Wild Mushroom Cakes with Avocado Pesto and Red Pepper Coulis

I first found this recipe in Bon Appétit in the January 2010 issue. Charlene, a reader, had written in requesting this recipe from her new favorite restaurant, Cuvée World Bistro. The Bistro sells this on their lunch menu for $9.

Before today I did not know how to pronounce Coulis, or even what it was. I am including a link if you are curious.

WILD MUSHROOM CAKES WITH AVOCADO PESTO AND RED PEPPER COULIS
4 servings


RED PEPPER COULIS

2 red bell peppers
2 small garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tbsp whole milk
1 1/2 tsp honey

Char peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened all over. Seal in plastic or paper bag; let stand 15 minutes. Peel and seed peppers. Place in blender. Place garlic cloves in small dry skillet. Cover; cook over medium heat until browned and tender, shaking skillet occasionally, about 7 minutes. Cool. Peel garlic; add to blender with peppers. Add milk and honey to blender. Puree until smooth. Transfer to bowl. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.


AVOCADO PESTO

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup coarsely mashed avocado (about 2 large avocados)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil

Place pine nuts in processor; using on/off turns, process until coarsely ground. Add avocado, Parmesan, cilantro, parsley, and lime juice. Process to blend. With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube. Transfer to bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill.


MUSHROOM CAKES

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 8-oz packages sliced button mushrooms
2 large portobello mushrooms (about 6 oz total), gills scraped out, sliced
8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup panko, plus additional for coating
2 tbsp olive oil*
1 tbsp butter*

Melt butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add all mushrooms and saute until browned and edges begin to crisp, stirring often, about 14 minutes. Add garlic, stir 1 minute. Transfer mixture to processor. Add eggs, Parmesan, herbs, salt, and pepper to processor.  Using on/off turns, process until mushrooms are coarsely chopped. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in 1/2 cup panko.

Divide mushroom mixture into 8 equal portions. Form each into 3/4-inch-thick cake. Spread additional panko out on plate. Coat cakes with panko. Place on rimmed baking sheet. DO AHEAD Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

*Preheat oven to 300°F Melt butter with 2 tbsp olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Working in 2 batches, add mushroom cakes; cook until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to baking sheet; place in oven.

Spoon about 1/4 cup avocado pesto into the center of each plate; using the back of a spoon, spread out to a 5-inch round. Place 2 cakes on each plate. Drizzle with red pepper coulis.

The adventures of Freddie

There is a creature project at school currently. Two sock monkeys. One named Freddie and one named Minnie. Freddie takes turns going home with the boys in the class. Minnie takes turns going home with the girls in the class. Each child has the monkey for 3 days. Taken home on a Monday and returned to class on a Thursday. During that time they are encouraged to write down in a journal the things they are doing with the monkey while they have it. Here are the excerpts from the book of Freddie while Levi had him in our house.  Some of the letters are hard to read since these are kindergarteners :) I did my best to translate here.

The Adventures of Freddie

Noah.

I had a race

Catch Him

Eat

Tell jokes

At Blue Palm

Elijah

br ovae in the can. way cncecdht ons play chekel.  sat esna ok. read stories. He slept with me.

Dominique

Banana

Play Karate

dancing

We sleep

Brayden

I looking at my dad 

Watch me

Played 

Swinging back and forth

Freddie holds his tail

Slept with me the bed

Justin Jones

I go

Freddie to bed with 

Freddie I karate

Freddie is at the concert

Aiden

Freddie danced on my knee

Freddie slept in my bed

Freddie waited in the car when I get my hair cut

William

(looks like maybe an older sibling or parent helped with this one)

All about Freddie the monkey

Freddie slept with me, one morning it was beautiful outside. Freddie met my friends and we had lots of fun. We had loads of fun playing fun games. The end.

Levi

3/18 Me and freddie have been making ironed animals. We went riding on the track with our bikes. Freddie's tail got dirty.

3/19 We made ironed animals again

3/20 We ate spaghetti then we raced our on our bikes

Recent projects

Here are some of the recent projects that Levi has brought home from school this week.

I have to admit that this one quickly became a favorite. The little arms open up to reveal a secret message:

I love you this much

Levi proudly told me that he colored it to look like himself.

He also did this drawing of a cat. I guess the kids were told to draw the animal that they thought one of the students was recently given as a gift. Often when Levi draws things he will tell me "Look, I drew a fictional ____"  He likes to use the word fictional because it means that it is not real.

Here is some of his classroom work. Coloring the V words, practicing writing his letters and identifying what letter words start with. For the car that was colored brown I told him "oh yes, V for vehicle." To which Levi replied, "No, V for van." Well, either way it's still a V word.

Valentines Day is only two short days away. We were given a list of all the children in the classroom in case we wanted to give out cards for the Valentines Party. Well, I had ordered some adorable (Star Wars) cards from Scholastic and the order has shipped but no way to know if it will arrive by tomorrow so that we will have time to label them all! Hope so!

Kindergarten Midterm Report

I haven't been able to post anything lately on the blog, and to my loyal followers, I apologize. I hope to add some more things in the near future. There just hasn't been much time since I joined the ranks of the employed again.

Levi brought home another Kindergarten Midterm Report dated 1/25/13.

Since I have to sign it and return it, I will copy it down here first for longevity.

1.  S  Shows respect for other's property
2.  + Cooperates with others
3.  + Participates in group activities
4.  S Assumes responsibility
5.  + Works independently
6.  S Pays attention and follows directions
7.  S Adequate attention span
8.  S Completes work within a reasonable time
9.  S Works neatly
10. + Works at grade level
11. + Performs well on skills tests

Teacher comments: Levi is a fabulous student. He is very bright and excels in academic areas. He is quite good at problem solving and loves to figure out how things work. Levi is very respectful and polite with his classmates and staff. He is such a delight. I look forward to his stories.


Key: + = Excellent, S = Satisfactory, .... etc

We are very proud and promised to take him out soon for a treat. His request: McDonalds, for the ice cream.