mmm, nothing like a thick juicy burger!

But it's not really a "burger"...

The delicous sandwiches above are made with huge portabella mushroom caps - what I like to call "veggie steak." These large, meaty mushroom caps were marinated for a couple of hours in a simple oil and vinegar marinade, then grilled to perfection over direct heat.

For the marinade, whisk together:

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black papper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary (or 1 fresh rosemary spring)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil (or 3 teaspoons fresh minced basil)

This will marinate 4 large portabella caps (the ones that are about as large as your hand). To prepare the mushroom caps, cut off the stems (I actually like to cut a hole in the center of the mushrooms and remove the entire stem; it tends to get a little chewy). Wipe with a damp paper towel. Marinate in a resealable plastic bag for a couple of hours at room temperature, then grill over direct heat.

We have some terrific real hardwood charcoal that cooks very evenly and is perfect for these mushrooms. Grill "gill" side down for 3 minutes, then turn over and grill for about another 6 or 7 minutes on the caps tops. Serve on a great artisan roll and top with cheese of your choice; I like "white" cheeses like Swiss, Provolone, or Monterey Jack. Garnish with lettuce, spinach, tomato, onion, sprouts, or avocado, or all of the above!

Serves 4; marinade can easily be cut in half or doubled.

happy national garlic day!

Vampires Beware:

Soft, Buttery Slow-Baked Garlic is Here

April 19th is National Garlic Day and the perfect day to whip up a batch of this slow-baked garlic. Once you've tried it, you'll wonder how you lived without it. The uses for this garlic are endless: mix it into pasta, rice or couscous; rub cloves onto a roast or on chicken before roasting or grilling; add flavor to soups and sauces; add to pizza, sandwiches and of course, this makes some of the best garlic bread ever!

The long, slow baking process makes the garlic so mellow and delicious, not burned-tasting like some roasted garlics, or as pungent as raw garlic.

Begin with a baking dish that is just big enough to hold the garlic.

For one head, a small ramekin or custard cup is the perfect size:

Peel the papery skin from the garlic, leaving the cloves intact. Simply add about a tablespoon of broth and a little less than a tablespoon of butter. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius) for an hour, basting with the liquid about 3 or 4 times during the baking. When done, remove from oven and let cool a bit. The soft, luscious garlic cloves will easily squeeze out of their skins.

Store in the refrigerator.

aye, chihuahua!

White Cheese and Chocolate Enchiladas

Two all-time favorites combined in one incredible dish!

An unusual pairing of chocolate and cheese is the heavenly basis for these rich, delicious enchiladas. Mexico's Chihuahua cheese is preferred; if you can't find it in your supermarket, try a Hispanic marketa if there is one in your area. This cheese (named for a region in Mexico, not the tiny dog, he he) is the perfect melting cheese for these enchiladas but in a pinch you can substitute Monterey Jack.

The sauce is similar in concept to a mole sauce. An ordinary chili powder blend works fine in the sauce, but trying adding a little ancho chile powder for an even deeper flavor.

Also, I've experimented with different chocolates, such as bittersweet (60% cacao). I didn't like the results; as you would expect, it gave the sauce a, well... bitter and odd flavor.

enchilada ingredients:

• 10 white corn tortillas
• vegetable oil for softening tortillas
• approximately 3/4 pound Chihuahua cheese (Monterey Jack may be substituted)
• 3 green onions, sliced

sauce ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 3 small cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 7 teaspoons unbleached flour
• 3-1/2 tablespoons chili powder blend
• 3-1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate
• tiny pinch of salt

Cut cheese into sticks (a little smaller than string cheese, about the size that you could roll into a tortilla). Set aside.

Start the sauce: In a saucepan saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in oregano, cumin and cinnamon, then add flour and chili powder blend, coating the onion mixture. Slowly whisk in chicken broth; reduce until sauce thickens a little, about 30 minutes, whisking occasionally. Stir in semisweet chocolate until melted and smooth. Set aside sauce.

Soften the tortillas one by one in a skillet with a bit of hot oil; this only takes a few seconds per tortilla and you will have to keep adding oil. Stack softened tortillas on a plate with paper towel between each one to absorb excess oil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

When all tortillas are softened, assemble the enchiladas by rolling a cheese stick into a tortilla; place them in a rectangular baking dish seam sides down. Pour sauce over enchiladas (you may have some leftover sauce) and sprinkle with green onion slices. Loosely cover enchiladas with foil (too tightly and they steam; but the sauce can dry out when completely uncovered) and heat in the oven for about 15 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Sliced avocados make a perfect garnish!

Makes 4 or 5 servings.

april 12th is grilled cheese sandwich day!

Actually, April is

National Grilled Cheese Sandwich MONTH...

so treat yourself to some hot, buttery, gooey goodness every single day!

A toasty, melty grilled cheese sandwich hot off the stove is one of life's pleasures. Purists say that the sandwich must be American cheese on white bread, but I really think there's room for discussion on this topic. For example, a new guilty pleasure of mine is a combination of the sharpest Cheddar cheese between two pieces of Target's apple fritter bread. Imagine an old-fashioned fried McDonald's apple pie with Cheddar; yes, it's like that.

While not technically all-cheese, another favorite of mine is a good old-fashioned pimiento cheese sandwich. A recipe board friend had a hankering for these insidious creations one day and it was downhill from there. Her obsession became my obsession and for a while we were consuming them at an alarming rate. Pimiento cheese seems to be a southern U.S. thing and is really quite simple to make: cream cheese plus shredded cheddar cheese (a taste of other cheeses never hurts either) plus a bit of mayo to combine it, and of course.... pimientos. Maybe a little onion, season to taste.

Grilled cheese sandwiches, while innocent-looking, spark intense debate in my house. The spousal unit insists that grilled cheese sandwiches must be eaten with chicken noodle soup. And I say that the classic combination is grilled cheese paired with tomato soup. Seriously, the cheese-tomato connection is perfection, much like a cheese quesadilla with salsa. It's simply the right thing to do. Because I said so.

Differences aside, be sure to enjoy at least one grilled cheese sandwich soon, if not on the celebrated creation's Day of Honor, then whenever you want a little delicious comfort on a plate. With tomato soup.

Read more from Lonesome Road Studio, now on The Six Degrees of Etsy Bacon blog!