Mushroom and Fennel Pie

I love cooking with fennel it adds a whole new dimension of flavor to whatever dish it is in, and I have a ton of it in the garden right now. Speaking of Fall vegetables here is an awesome link to Bon Appetit's page "cooking with Fall vegetables." I adapted this recipe from ezrapoundcake blog. I made this recipe after going on a wonderful Fall evening hike with my mother so I was ready for a hardy dish such as this.

Serves 5

The Ingredients

1 pound of russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons milk (fat free)

1 tablespoon butter

1 large fennel bulb, roughly cut

1 large carrot, sliced

2 yellow onions, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon parsley
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
4 oz feta
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, granulated
1 crown broccoli, chopped
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil


The Process
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.) Cook potatoes in salted boiling water for 15 minutes, until tender. Then drain and mash. While potatoes are still hot mix in the milk and butter.

3.) Cook fennel and carrot in salted boiling water for 7 minutes, drain and set aside.

4.) Heat some olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat, when hot add onions and cook for 10 minutes or until they start to brown.

5.) Then add garlic, broccoli, mushrooms, parsley, and season with salt and pepper.

6.) In a greased casserole baking dish sprinkle half of the bread crumbs in the bottom. Add half of the mushroom and onion mixture (spread each layer evenly). Next layer half of the carrot and fennel mixture. Next layer add half of each of the cheeses and then layer half of the potatoes. Repeat one more time and sprinkle the top layer of potatoes with Parmesan cheese.

7.) Bake for 25 minutes and then broil for about 5 minutes to brown the top.

Sweet & Spicy Roasted Yams

I love cooking in the Fall because of all the amazing veggies, winter squashes and potatoes. Recently my boyfriend and I made an amazing dinner with two of our very good friends who are about to move far far away. Jim brought over a very tasty Italian style Kobe beef brisket, so I decided to make kale and roasted yams to accompany it. I make roasted yams often and I make them a different way almost every time, but this time I decided I need to stick with the recipe I created because of how delicious they turned out. This recipe is healthy and easy to make.

Serves 5

The Ingredients
3 large yams, peeled and cut into bit size chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/8 cup brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons olive oil (add more if needed to fully coat yam chunks)
Salt and pepper to taste


The Process
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large sheet pan (cookie sheet).

2.) In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients until yams chunks are thoroughly coated.

3.) Spread yams out in a single layer on the sheet pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until yams are brown and almost burnt (roasted).