Sweet potato, kale, and black bean enchiladas

As a kid, enchiladas were my favorite thing to order when my family went out for Mexican food. For some reason though, I hadn't ever cooked enchiladas myself until recently. I guess I usually make tacos or burritos when I have a Mexican craving, and I never really thought about making enchiladas instead. But I was doing a freezer cleanout recently, and found a package of corn tortillas that needed to be used. I had also been wanting to experiment with making chile sauces, and enchiladas seemed like the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone. It took a couple tries for me to come up with a good chile sauce recipe, and I am thrilled with the final result that I am sharing with you here. It has a nice deep chile pepper flavor that is tempered by tomatoes, and it isn't too spicy. It worked really well with the sweet potato, kale, and mashed black bean filling that I used (spring is almost upon us, but until spring vegetables arrive, I'm perfectly happy eating kale and sweet potatoes!). I'm really glad I made a batch of 16 enchiladas for dinner - Andrew and I have been really enjoying the leftovers and I don't think they're going to last very long...

In other news, I finally created a Facebook page for my blog so that I can stop spamming my whole friend list with blog updates. You can "like" the page here if you are interested in following via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/4SeasonsOfFood.

p.s. I know it's St. Patrick's Day, and enchiladas are really not Irish. Sorry. They do pair well with beer though!

Is there a dish that you love eating at restaurants but have never tried making at home?

Quinoa veggie bowl with tofu and peanut-miso sauce

I have a confession – until recently, I didn’t like quinoa very much. Gasp! I hope this doesn’t ruin my credibility as a healthy(ish) food blogger. I guess I tend to prefer heartier grains and felt that quinoa was kind of….bland. However, a recipe for a quinoa/rice/veggie bowl in last month’s issue of Food & Wine caught my eye and put quinoa in my head. I tossed some ideas around for a while, and eventually decided to combine quinoa with toasted coconut, add some zucchini, broccoli, and tofu, and drizzle with a peanut-miso sauce. A little avocado on top made the dish complete, at least in my avocado-obsessed mind. I loved this healthy meal, and something about quinoa in this context just worked well for me. I’m definitely opening up to the idea of cooking with quinoa more often now!

What is your favorite quinoa recipe?

Sweet potato sandwiches with goat cheese, arugula, and avocado

When I'm looking for a vegetarian option at a cafe, I'm always happy to try a sweet potato sandwich. I've had some great ones, like the one at 3 Little Figs, but I've also had some disappointing ones, with textures and flavors that don't quite work. Last week I had one that was just so-so and decided that I should try my hand at making my own version. Here's what makes a good sweet potato sandwich, in my opinion: 1) fully cooked sweet potatoes (seems like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised what some places serve), 2) goat cheese, 3) a dressing or sauce that is both sweet and acidic, 4) good hearty bread. For my sandwich, I made a dressing with maple syrup and balsamic vinegar to toss with arugula, and also added some avocado because well, everything is better with avocado on top, right? It came out wonderful - we don't eat sandwiches at home too often, but this one might have to make another appearance soon!

What is your favorite sandwich?

Spiced pecans with rum glaze

It's no secret that I love cookbooks by the late Gourmet magazine, given how often I cook from The Gourmet Cookbook and Gourmet Today. In addition to those books, I also own copies of the 1979 edition of The Gourmet Cookbook, Volumes I and II (these were given to me at my bridal shower - such a thoughtful gift!), as well as The Gourmet Cookie Book, The Gourmet Menu Cookbook (1984), and The Best of Gourmet (2005 and 2006). I love looking through the books from different times and seeing how recipe writing, cooking styles, and photography have developed over the years.

The Gourmet Menu Cookbook in particular has some text that is really funny to read now because of how dated it is. For example, in the section about cocktail parties:

"At a small party in a servantless house, guests can usually be counted on to offer assistance by helping themselves...Food that can be served from trays and eaten with the fingers is best for a small party. To attempt to manage a plate, a glass, and a cigarette all at once can prove most uncomfortable."

Making sure the guests can manage their cigarettes is not usually the biggest concern for a host/hostess these days, but one thing that hasn't changed is the fact that roasted/spiced nuts are always a good party snack. I'm sure the recipes by Gourmet are quite good, but my go-to recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen. The pecans are perfectly spiced, and the rum glaze will keep you going back for more - I certainly hope this recipe never goes out of style!

Salmon cakes

I still have a couple more party recipes to tell you about, but I'm going to save those for another time. For today, I'm going to tell you about a healthier recipe that is more appropriate for an everyday dinner. I ended up making these salmon cakes after buying canned salmon for the first time last week. Although I know that fish is very healthy, and I love the taste of seafood, I don't really cook fish that often. I would like to, but my local grocery store doesn't have great options for fresh fish, especially if you're concerned about sustainability. But recently I have been hearing a lot about canned salmon as a good alternative - it's easy to find wild rather than farmed, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than fresh. Of course, canned salmon can't replace fresh for all applications, but it's perfect if you are making something like these delicious salmon cakes. I was thrilled with how these came out, and I am definitely going to start buying canned salmon more often from now on!

This recipe was adapted from one that I found on Epicurious. I cut down the amount of mayo and adapted the ingredients a bit based on what I had on hand. The cakes are full of flavor, soft and tender on the inside, with some veggies adding texture. The leftovers were fantastic for lunch the next day, and from the reviews online, it sounds like leftover cakes freeze well too. I love finding dishes like this that are simple, cheap, tasty, and healthy all in one!

Have you ever cooked with canned salmon?

Gingerbread whoopie pies with maple buttercream

Okay, I admit I've been a bit of a tease. I showed you a picture of these whoopie pies almost two weeks ago, but I've been holding off giving you the recipe. I figured I'd make you read about some veggie recipes first =). But I think you've waited long enough - these whoopie pies are super delicious, and it's time to share the recipe.

This recipe came from a whoopie pie cookbook that a friend of mine got me for my bachelorette party...you know, to make sure that I'd be "making whoopie" plenty in my married life ;). Hehe...okay, sorry about that. Anyway, it's a great little cookbook, with a whole bunch of recipes for cakes and fillings that you can mix and match. I've made a few different versions, but I think this gingerbread/maple version might be the best.

Now, these whoopie pies are total sugar bombs. There is absolutely nothing nutritionally redeeming about them, but the indulgence is definitely worth it. Share these with some friends or coworkers, and you'll make everyone's day!

Have you ever made whoopie pies? What is your favorite flavor combination?

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.