Spinach, Mushrooms, Cheese & Puff Pastry. Can YOU think of something tastier?

So, I know I have been very absent lately. It was for a good cause, I promise! You see, I was playing around with a new recipe and I wanted to get it right before I told you all about it. Turns out, I came up with a super versatile little savory tart.

I started with frozen spinach, mushrooms, and some cheese. Then I started playing around. The thought that adding the mushrooms, onions and garlic raw to the tart didn't seem right to me; I mean, would that cook all the way before the puff pastry burned?

So I started with sautéing the onions, and the garlic. I added in the chopped up mushrooms then though, ok Craig, this needs more flavor. I mean, how common were those flavors? Very, in my opinion. So, as I sat there sipping my white wine and staring at my sautéing mushrooms, I just suddenly poured in about half a cup of it to the pan. I didn't even think, I just did it.

Then, I let everything sauté until there was no more liquid in the pan. That's right, little mushrooms, soak up all that flavory goodness!

Then, into a big bowl went the mushrooms and onions, and a box of thawed frozen spinach. Also, did you know how much water frozen spinach has in it? Yeah, squeeze that mess out. You don't want a liquidy mixture.

I mixed it all up, and added ricotta, mascarpone, and parmesan cheese.

I poured it over some puff pastry and baked it until golden brown. And then I stared at the mountains of leftover spinach mixture I had left over.

So I started playing around with the ingredients. I made it where it was an open tart. Then I covered it with an additional sheet of pastry. Then, I made individual puffs. Then I added artichoke hearts. Then I tried cooking the mushrooms with a hefeweizen instead of the wine. Everything I did to this worked. I love it. It's easy, versatile, and JP said he could eat it for days. And days. And then more days

Enjoy!

xoxo Craig


Keep reading for the recipe

Comfort. It's a warm, gooey, cheesy blanket.

There is something wonderful about making comfort food. It's just so, well... comforting. Even better, is making a comfort food from your childhood. Even better than that, is making a comfort food from your childhood that includes cheese. Lots of cheese. Have I mentioned that I love cheese? Cause I do. So this comfort food that I am talking about. This is the stuff of legends. Baked Mac and Cheese. I am sure all of my sisters and my brother know exactly what I am talking about. This is the stuff that would cause epic arguments around the dinner table. I'm not even sure why my mother made it so often, cause the meltdowns it would cause among her 5 children were truly astonishing. You know what the cause of all this was? The top crust of the mac and cheese. It is that good. See? It's all crumbly and brown and cheese and delicious and... oh my god I'm drooling....

So, let me tell you about this mac and cheese. This isn't the type of recipe that comes out of a book somewhere. It's the type of recipe that looks like this:

And that is just one of the signs that it is a totally amazing meal. Another sign, and this is a HUGE sign really, that this recipe is amazing is this:

Cheese! Butter! More cheese! Just look at all that cheese!!  You just know something that requires 2 pounds of cheddar cheese is going to be amazing. There is just no way around that, unless you happen to be lactose intolerant. In that case, I am truly and utterly sorry. More for me!  Wheeee!!!

Continue reading for my Baked Mac and Cheese recipe