Chan's Personal Blog

Last Saturday evening, everyone was out of the house, so I had another opportunity to cook. I looked in the fridge, and we had a few big mushrooms, some cheese, celery, and carrots. So, I decided to make stuffed mushrooms with a side of stir fried vegetables. I'll warn you ahead of time that the recipe isn't set in stone because I eyeballed most of the ingredients. Portions, cooking times, etc will vary.

Ingredients:
Mushrooms
Cheese
Breadcrumbs
Worcestershire Sauce
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparation Time:
About 10 minutes

Cooking Time:
About 20 minutes in the oven

So, I took a couple of the white mushrooms, and washed them, and removed the stems. The stems and cheese would be used as filling for the mushroom caps. I finely cubed the stems and cheese, and combined them together. I lightly seasoned the mixture with salt and pepper. Lastly, I added a few drops of worcestershire sauce to the mixture for some zing.

I proceeded to lightly salt the insides of the mushroom caps. Then, I took a small spoon and started packing the mixture tightly inside the mushroom caps. Once the mushrooms were stuffed, I sprinkled bread crumbs on top. I then added a little bit of olive oil on top so that the bread crumbs would brown nicely and not burn while cooking.

Meanwhile, I had my toaster oven preheated to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Note, this was a toaster oven which is far less powerful than an oven. I have a crappy little tabletop toaster oven, so you'll have to adjust your temperatures and cooking time if you attempt this recipe in an oven.

I took a metal tray, and covered it with aluminum foil, and placed the mushrooms on it. I put the tray into the toaster oven, and waited about 10-15 minutes. After ten minutes, the mushrooms should look slightly cooked and a little brown. Now it's time to broil it so that the bread crumbs on top get nice and crunchy. So, I set my toaster oven to broil at 450 degrees farenheit. This took about 5 minutes, and the bread crumbs were nice and brown. When you broil, you have to keep watch or else stuff might burn.

After broiling, the mushrooms should look fully cooked and a bit smaller. Let it cool a bit as the cheese is probably molten hot. Serve as is!

The stuffed mushroomes were delicious because of the contrasting textures. You get a nice crunchy outside accompanied with a creamy and soft inside.

Next time, I'm going to try to do a bigger batch using the oven. It'll probably take less time, and it will reduce the chance that some of the bread crumbs come out wet and soggy.

This recipe would be great as an appetizer. It's also super easy to make. It took me less than 10 minutes to prepare, and about 20 minutes in my toaster oven. There's also not a lot of mess to clean up since you're only cutting and stuffing, and that's it.

Sunday has become the de facto day to dine with Adam, Sarah, and Bethany (since they love being mentioned on the blog so much). We were hankering for a new restaurant to try out, and I had remembered co-workers ranting and raving about the Blue Fox Cafe downtown on Fort Street, so we went there for lunch.

When we arrived, there was a short wait for our table since the restaurant is relatively small. If I was a spin doctor, I'd call the space "cozy" or "warm". The decor is a bit on the hippie side, but I could live with it. In the end, decor plays a very small role in how I rate a restaurant, it is fundamentally about the food.

The establishment is known for its breakfast items which are served all day. It was obligatory for me to choose something from breakfast menu. I went with the sausage eggs benedict with pan fries. My other friends went with a salad tossed with chicken, a bacon cheeseburger, and a chicken club house.

I had been forewarned by co-workers that the portions at this restaurant were very large. I thought they were exaggerating, but boy was I wrong. The portions were quite large, and I don't think anyone finished off everything from their plates. This is quite unusual for me because I usually clean my plate no matter what.

Anyways, I was quite pleased with my eggs benedict. Blue Fox's eggs benedict trumps White Spot's eggs benedict. The portion is quite a bit larger, cheaper in price, and more tasty. My friend's burger was also very big, so big that she had to use a knife and a fork to conquer the beast.

The menu items range from $6-$10 which is quite a bargain considering how much food you get. I felt quite full for the rest of the afternoon. The one thing that I thought was wierd was that they didn't have pancakes on their menu. That seems like a staple food for any breakfast orientated restaurant. Oh well, they make up for it with waffles I guess.

We went there at around 1:00pm which is somewhat late for lunch. I imagine that this place is a lot more busy (especially on weekends) during peak hours, so there might be a wait; however, it is definitely worth the wait. You can get reservations on weekends, but you can get reservations on weekdays, but it requires a party of six. I believe this restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch.

Anyways, the Blue Fox Cafe is an excellent restaurant. It was worth all the hype that my friends imparted on me. Two thumbs up. Next time I think I'll try the bacon and grilled tomato eggs benedict.