Grilled Portabella Hamburger

This is a two parter and uses a grill, or a grill pan, or just a pan. But it's best when grilled over coals and since we are approaching summer weather when grill-outs are standard, I figure you can do this one pretty fast.
You will need:4 large, whole portabella mushrooms
2 bunches of cilantro
1 8oz can of black beans
6 cloves of garlic
2 Tbs Hellman's mayo1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4+ dashes of Tobasco sauce
Olive Oil
Buns

First off, never ever ever wash mushrooms in running water. No no no no! They absorb too much liquid and make your mushroom taste bland and squishy. Take a moist paper towel or kitchen towel and clean off the caps, cut off the stems. If you really must rinse the underside of the cap, I'll let you trickle water in and quickly dump it in the sink.

Take a casserole dish (here we call them, hot dish plates) and put the mushrooms in the casserole belly up. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and half of one bunch of chopped cilantro and one clove of chopped garlic. Flip them, do the same to the other side (yes, down to the half bunch of cilantro and one chopped garlic. Completely the same on both sides). Make sure there's enough olive oil to coat the mushrooms. Get your fingers in there and message those puppies. Hear them groan with joy.

Cover them with plastic wrap and set them aside on your counter for at least an hour. Preferably more. The won't spoil and the room temperature makes them absorb better.
While you're doing that...
In a food processor dump in:
the can of drained beans
salt
tobasco
garlic
the remaining de-stemmed cilantro
and Mayo

Blenderize the hell out of it. I know it doesn't look pretty, but trust me. You will not be disappointed. Go ahead and scoop it into a jar and refrigerate it. This is going to be your spread for the mushrooms. It's PACKED with good fibers, proteins, and very low in carbs. It also keeps for a long time and is AMAZING on sandwiches or thinned out and used as a dressing for salads.

When the coals are ready, grill the mushrooms. Start with them belly down. They will drip and sizzle but you only need them on their bellies for about two minutes. Use the oil from the casserole to brush over the caps.
Flip them, and don't flip them again. Now that they are belly up, equally distribute the oil, garlic, and cilantro from the casserole into the belly of the caps. Liquid will build up in there for some amazing flavors. Cook like this until the mushroom seems to flatten a little and turns very dark. Not charred, folks, just dark... like wilted kinda but not gross.

Then serve it up on a bun with your bean spread and whatever condiments you want... lettuce, tomato, onion, to name a few. There isn't a person I've made this for who isn't immediately in love. Even those who are dubious about mushrooms, quickly change their minds.
Enjoy!

Yum

I made rice pudding this weekend. It's one of those comfort foods we only got on the occasion as children. I don't know what made me think of it, except I had left over rice from the Brazilian fish dinner I made the night before.

I rarely follow directions unless I agree that the recipe maker had the best outcome. So, I tend to change things up. Here, I added cinnamon and vanilla in greater quantities, changed the sugar to brown sugar, lengthened the cook time, and left out the icky raisins. I hate raisins.

Anyway, thought I'd share it with you:

Preheat 325.
In a bowl, mix together:
3 eggs
2 C milk
2 C already cooked rice
1/2 C brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbs vanilla

Once well mixed, pour into a casserole dish that has been sprayed with no-stick spray. Cook for 25 minutes. Sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top (the stuff you already put in will have risen to the top, but I like the additional, especially at the edges where the mixed cinnamon pulled away during cooking). Return to oven for another 25 minutes.

A knife tip stuck in the center will pull back custard. This is what you want. Serve up in bowls with some milk or half-n-half, or whipped cream if you are feeling dessert-y.

I hope you like it. By the way, totally great as breakfast with a hot cup of bitter coffee.