Portabella Mushroom Cap Burgers

Good morning, readers and Happy New Year! It's a new year and I'm very excited to see what good fortune 2018 brings me! My long weekend was spent hiking around William B. Umstead State Park, purging the junk we've somehow accumulated over the past two and a half years, drinking a tad too much champagne and ringing in the new year with friends.

William B. Umstead State Park (did I mention I'm also an extremely amateur photog?)

Friday night Nate and I made Eggplant Parmesan, which was utterly filling and fantastic! Saturday night was spent eating goodies from Tobacco Road Café and watching UFC 219 (Holly Holm did Albuquerque proud, by the way). And per tradition, New Year's Eve we ate Fondue.


Yesterday was definitely a lazy day. After allowing my throbbing headache to subside, I cleaned up the house and took down the Christmas decorations. Yes, unfortunately I had to realize the truth: Christmas is over. No more trees, carols, lights or treats. Which also unfortunately means that the gym will be overrun with "Resolutioners" who will flood all the machines and weight rooms until mid-February when they decide they're actually ok with being fat and forget all about their "New Year, New Me" promise to themselves. I don't mind that these people want to make themselves fitter, I think that's a wonderful thing! What bothers me about the Resolutioners is that they don't keep up with it and thus people like myself who are consistently fitness oriented are pushed off our favorite machines and our workout schedules are totally thrown off until the wave subsides.


After a weekend of over-indulgence, I wanted to make a hearty and somewhat healthy dinner to kick 2018 off right and immediately my mind went to Portabella Mushroom Cap Burgers. Mushrooms are the perfect meat substitute because they're hearty, they're "meaty" and have that oh-so-excellent umami flavor. Also I had to make baked fries because what's a burger without them?


Portabella Mushroom Cap Burgers





4 extra-large portabella mushroom caps, washed
3 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp steak seasoning
4 slices swiss cheese
4 hamburger buns, for serving
4 Tbsp green chile sauce, for serving


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


Spray a wire rack with non-stick spray and place on a cookie sheet.


In a small bowl, combine olive oil with salt, pepper and steak seasonings, set aside.


After washing and patting dry your mushroom caps, use a basting brush to brush both sides of the mushroom caps with the oil and seasoning mixture and place caps on the wire rack bottom-side down. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.


After the 15 minutes are up, flip the caps over and fill the bottom side with green chile sauce (because as a New Mexican what is the point of eating a burger without chile?) and top with a slice of swiss. Roast for another 5 minutes to melt the cheese.


Place the caps on a toasted hamburger bun and enjoy!


Baked Fries


3 russet potatoes, cut into wedges
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp lemon pepper


Preheat oven to 400.


Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and set aside.


Toss wedges in olive oil and seasonings and bake for 20 minutes. Flip the fries and bake an additional 10 minutes or until crisp.


The mushroom caps had the perfect combination of juiciness and meaty bite. They were absolute heaven! And you can't go wrong with baked fries, ever.


Happy New Year, readers and I hope that 2018 treats you well! Stay tuned for some more excellent recipes!