Orzo with shrimp, red peppers, and mushrooms

I feel like I've been seeing orzo recipes everywhere lately. On the blogs, there was this one and this one, and my cousin served an orzo dish when I was at her place last week. So I decided to join the club and cook an orzo recipe for dinner last night. Mediterranean flavors work so well with orzo, so I went in that direction - why mess with something good, right? When I cook pasta, I usually bulk it up with lots of vegetables, and this time I used red peppers and mushrooms. With shrimp, olives, basil, feta cheese, and a generous amount of lemon juice, this recipe is healthy and packed with flavor. I'm so glad we had a lot of leftovers - I can't wait to eat this for lunch tomorrow!

Italian stuffed mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms were one of my family's favorite appetizers to serve at parties when I was younger. In fact, stuffed mushrooms was one of the first recipes I really learned to make on my own. So when I was coming up with recipes for my party last weekend, stuffed mushrooms seemed like a perfect choice, especially since many of the guests were vegetarian. I was also glad to have this vegetable-centered dish in the mix along with the selections that involved bread/dough/crackers. When I started searching for a recipe, this Italian stuffed mushrooms recipe on  Epicurious really stood out - it had great reviews, and with fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and basil, I knew it would be full of flavor. Now, there's a fair amount of chopping and grating involved in this recipe, so it isn't something you want to be doing at the last minute before a party. But luckily, you can make the filling and even stuff the mushrooms ahead of time, so all you have to do is pop them in the oven at party o'clock!

Italian stuffed mushrooms
Adapted from Epicurious
Makes about 24 mushrooms

Olive oil
24 oz. white button mushrooms, stems removed and chopped, caps reserved
1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel bulb
1/4 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup coarsely grated Fontina cheese 
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten

Place a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 deg F. Heat a splash of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushroom stems, fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic. Saute until vegetables are tender and much of the water has evaporated from the mushrooms, about 12 minutes. Transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl and cool for 10 minutes. Stir in grated cheese and basil, and then season filling to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in beaten egg. Mound filling into mushroom caps and place caps in a baking dish (filling side up). Bake until mushrooms are tender, about 25 minutes, and serve immediately.

Note: filling mixture can be made and mushrooms can be stuffed up to one day ahead of baking. Store prepared mushrooms in a covered container in the fridge until ready to bake.

Soba noodles with mushroom-ginger broth, vegetables, and tofu

I ate a lot of pie yesterday. Like, really, a lot. And it was delicious. But as much as I enjoyed it yesterday, I definitely did not feel like eating pie today. Good thing we don't have any leftovers around! (that would be because, um, I ate the slice we brought home last night). I don't know about you, but on the day after Thanksgiving, I like to eat light and healthy food. Plus to be honest, I like vegetables better than turkey anyway.

I was craving Asian food today, and found this recipe while I was looking through magazine recipes I have tagged in the past. It's got soba noodles, tofu, and seasonal vegetables (cabbage, carrots, sweet potatoes) topped off with a warm and comforting broth that is made with ginger, shiitake mushrooms, cilantro, and kombu (a type of seaweed). It is packed with good-for-you ingredients and there is zero added fat. It tastes good and will make you feel good too. And with a bowl of this for dinner, you definitely deserve to have some pie for dessert!

What do you feel like eating the day after Thanksgiving? Do you go right for the leftover turkey, or take a break with something different?

Delicata squash stuffed with wild rice

This freakishly warm weather is awesome, but confusing. I mean, yesterday I was wearing my winter peacoat, and today I wore a tank top. It feels like summer, but the leaves are turning colors. And I'm posting about winter squash when it feels like we should be eating corn and tomatoes. But I guess even if the temperature says otherwise, it's still fall.

This is the first winter squash dish I've cooked this season. I'd been seeing recipes for stuffed squash pop up on some other blogs, and was inspired to create my own take on it. I love the combination of wild rice and mushrooms in a vegetable stuffing, so I went with that and flavored it with the "Scarborough Fair" herbs: parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. This recipe takes a while to make, as both the squash and rice take some time to get fully tender, but it is worth it. It's flavorful and satisfying, with a nice mix of textures. I think it would make a great vegetarian addition to a Thanksgiving table.

How have you been enjoying these unexpectedly warm days?