she cooks…he cleans

If you’re following along, earlier this week I ventured out to the Dekalb Farmer’s Market and brought home a few bags of inspiration for the blog.  Our second meal resulting from that haul was grilled veal rib chops with this savory mushroom and goat cheese gratin.  Although the veal chops were delicious, the mushroom gratin really was the star on the plate (and how could they help but be, baked in these adorable mini-gratin dishes from the Le Creuset Outlet!)

This gratin has a nice medley of tastes, from the earthy mushrooms, smoky bacon, and the sweet tanginess of goat cheese and sour cream.  If you like mushrooms stuffed with bacon and cheese, just think, this is like having a bowl of those appetizers all to yourself.  Yum!

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 12-16 ounces mushrooms (I used a mixture of cremini, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms)
• 4 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons butter
• ~2 tablespoons shallots, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup white wine
• ~5 ounces soft goat cheese, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• ~1/4 cup sour cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 400F.  Butter 4 individual gratin dishes or 1 1-quart gratin dish (or baking dish).

Cook the bacon pieces in a skillet until crisp.  Remove the bacon and set aside on paper towels.

Melt the butter over medium-high heat, in the skillet with the bacon grease.  Add the shallots and garlic, stirring continuously, until fragrant (about 1 minute).  Add the mushrooms to the pan, and saute until mushrooms are softened.  Pour in the wine, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan while stirring to incorporate any browned bits.  Simmer until the liquid in the pan is reduced to a glaze (just coating the pan and the mushrooms).  Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, mix the goat cheese, egg, and sour cream until smooth.  Stir the goat cheese mixture and the reserved bacon bits into the mushroom mixture.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spoon the mushrooms into the baking dish(es).  Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for ~15 minutes, or until bubbly and browned on top. (May also be placed under a broiler for browning, once heated throughout.)  Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

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Somebody say shrooms? HA! Then it must be time for The Flaming Lips! First up, one I haven’t heard – yet- but looks to be a mind expanding exercise…The Flaming Lips And Stardeath And White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins And Peaches Doing Dark Side Of The Moon. I mean really. Oklahoma’s biggest freaks, doing Pink Floyd’s DSOM…with Henry Rollins? And Peaches? Oh yeah!

And you can’t go wrong with the Lips 1999 masterpiece, The Soft Bulletin. Majestic, surreal, and really good freak out pop. Love it!