Marinated Mushrooms, Hasselback Potatoes, and More Goodies!

Do you ever find that you purchase something at the supermarket without a real idea of what you want to do with it? This happens to me a lot. I am something of a shopaholic, and this weakness affects me not only when shopping for shoes and clothes, but for vegetables and grains, too. Recently, I picked up a few things that I had no real plan for: a bag of pretty potatoes and a bunch of lovely Portabella mushrooms. Luckily I bought quite a few of each, because soon after I found myself with some wonderful dinner guests: Gwen, my foodie BFF, her boyfriend Firat, and my future in-laws. 

Gwen, as always, brought a delicious vegan dish to share. She's not vegan, but she spoils me so with wonderful vegan dishes every time she cooks for me! She brought over a warm appetizer made with eggplant, tomatoes, and beautifully sliced cucumbers. It was wonderful!

Gwen's Dish: Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Cucumbers

For the potatoes, I turned to one of my favorite blogs for inspiration: Joy the Baker. Joy writes about all kinds of cooking (not just baking), and often features vegan recipes. On her site, I found a great recipe for Hasselback Potatoes. It's not vegan, but it was easily veganized: I replaced the butter with Earth Balance, and omitted the cheese from the pesto sauce. Mine weren't nearly as perfect as Joy's, but they were absolutely delicious!

Hasselback Potatoes: Not as pretty as Joy's, but yummy!

For the lovely Portabellas, I chose a recipe from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Vegan Table. Her Pan-Grilled Portabella Mushrooms with Herb-Infused Marinade recipe was just perfect. It was a little more labor-intensive that I expected (perhaps if I'd had a larger pan, I could have "pan-grilled" more mushrooms at once... wedding registry, here I come!), but it was worth the work! I loved the tangy and flavorful marinade with all its herbs and spices. 

Pan-Grilled Portabella Mushrooms: marinating

Pan-Grilled Portabella Mushrooms: finished!

To round out the meal, we enjoyed a wonderful homemade taboulleh, prepared by my future mother-in-law, as well as some roasted brussels sprouts. Check out our spread:

The spread: Taboulleh, brussels sprouts,
mushrooms, eggplant, and potatoes!

It came together beautifully, even though it wasn't meticulously planned out. Sometimes the best meals are those that are created on a whim, or are patched together from different people or places. Plus, almost everyone had their hand in something we ate, so everyone was included. Much fun!