Caprese Portobellos with Balsamic Glaze

The Best Caprese Portobellos

If you love Mushrooms and you love Caprese, you are absolutely going to love this Caprese Portobellos recipe because it combines the best of both worlds.  Using Large Portobello mushroom caps gives a ton of surface area to cram in plenty of Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Fresh Basil.  And, if you prepare your dish the way I show you how to do it, you’re whole world will change.  So open your mind to other possibilities and I’ll show you how to make the best Mushroom Caprese.

What is Caprese Portobellos

To understand Caprese you must understand, first, that it is a traditional Italian recipe that usually breaks down to 3 basic ingredients: Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Fresh Basil.  Many folks consider Caprese Antipasto ingredients and many Caprese Salad recipes exist because of the over all freshness the combination provides.  My sources tell me that the real Caprese is just Buffalo Mozzarella, which is made from Buffalo milk and it’s a typical dish served in the Isle of Capri.

Normally, Caprese Portobellos is prepared and served with fresh Tomatoes but I am recommending my Marinated and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, instead, for several reasons.  First, because roasted cherry tomatoes are awesome, so that’s just a no brainer, and second because you want to add olive oil to the mushrooms and the olive oil, marinating the cherry tomatoes, has garlic and fresh herbs roasted into it.  So it really enhances the flavor, a ton.  If you want to use fresh tomatoes, instead, that’s fine too but I highly recommend mixing a 1/4 cup of olive oil with some fresh chopped garlic and a pinch of salt, at the very least, and add that to the mushrooms.

Also, when it comes to the Balsamic Glaze, most recipes recommend a 1 to 4 ratio of Brown Sugar and Balsamic Vinegar.  I don’t agree with this at all and I was trained to balance the bitter with more sweet.  I would recommend a 1 to 1 ratio, instead but that’s entirely up to you.  Bring it to boil and reduce the heat to medium.  Cook it for 5 minutes until the sauce reduces and practically caramelizes and you will have a perfect glaze.

Caprese Portobellos Ingredients:

4 to 6 Large Portobello Mushroom Caps
4 oz Cherry Tomatoes, marinated & roasted
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
6 Fresh Basil leaves, chopped
2 tbsp Butter, melted
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
Salt and Pepper, taste

Balsamic Glaze
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp Brown Sugar

Be sure to watch the short video tutorial for this Caprese Portobellos recipe and follow the recommendations in this post for a perfect dish.

Roast Beef Stroganoff

Roast Beef StroganoffBack Burner Beef Stroganoff!

For me, Beef Stroganoff is one of those recipes I rarely think I want until I’m actually enjoying a plate of it.  I always forget just how good it is until I’m stuffing my face and going back for seconds.  The way I did this recipe isn’t exactly normal practice.  And I mean that in two different ways.  Usually the beef is combined and cooked into the Stroganoff but I don’t do it that way in this recipe.  Also, most home cooks have not adopted Restaurant Chef Techniques and those are the secrets I try to pass on to you here in the Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen.

Roast Beef for StroganoffOne Particular technique I’m referring to is cooking things separately.  Have you ever wondered why your favorite restaurant dishes are so resilient and full of flavor?  Well, that’s why.  A lot of things that compliment each other are cooked separately.  A great example is Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo.  The Noodles are seasoned and Cooked separately, and so is the Chicken and the sauce.  That’s why it works wonders on your Pallet when they’re combined and they compliment each other, or the dish would never work.  And that’s the idea and Technique I implement in this recipe.  I insure that it works when I cook the Roast Beef separately because I use the stock from the roast as the flavor when I cook the Beef Stroganoff Noodles.  This one concept, this one little lesson has turned “okay” cooks into great cooks over night.  So use this technique in your cooking, if you don’t already, and you’ll improve your cooking 100%

Beef Stroganoff Ingredients:

2 cups Egg Noodles
1 Sliced Onion (long slices)
10 oz sliced Portobello Mushrooms
2 chopped Green Onions
1 tbsp fresh chopped Parsley
1 chopped Garlic Clove
2 tbsp Butter
1 1/2 cups Beef Stock
1 cup Heavy Cream
3/4 cup Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil for Cooking
1 Roast Beef (Click Here for Recipe)

Start with a few tbsp of oil, add the Garlic and Sliced Onion but save the Green Onion and Parsley for last.  Add and saute the Mushrooms until they turn color and soften.  Then add the Noodles and butter and stir until it melts.  Add the Beef Stock, Heavy cream and the Sour Cream.  Bring to a boil, then drop the heat to a simmer and reduce the liquid to a creamy sauce(about 10 minutes).  Then serve the Roast Beef Stroganoff with 8 to 10 oz of Roast Beef on top and enjoy.