venn diagram cooking.

...I spent a few minutes in photoshop trying to draw a venn diagram (obviously unsuccessful because you're clicking the link to see one!). but I still think that's the best way to show the current challenge of cooking dinner (or any meal) in my house. because marc is back on atkins. and I am pretty much dedicated to a low fat, calorie counting lifestyle. the cool thing about the venn is that it shows what those two, seemingly quite different, eating styles could have in common. ...and that is low fat protein and vegetables (with low net carbs). salads, a bit of cheese, a bit of pork, chicken or fish... more salad...and vegetables. that's how I like to eat. and now marc is eating that way too (when I cook for him :-)

tonight's dinner was a great example. roasted pork tenderloin and a salad with hot mushrooms and melted cheese.

my plate. imagine marc's with twice as much pork and half as much salad

for the pork, I used rachael ray's recipe, adjusted for just one tenderloin instead of 4 (and btw, that one tenderloin made plenty for two - and marc has lefttovers for tomorrow's lunch)...and dried thyme instead of fresh. it worked perfectly!

but the star of the meal for me was the salad.  a riff off the hot mushroom salad recipe my mom shared with me years ago. this version is a lot easier. and healthier. and I'd like to think that makes it taste better (or at least just as good!) too!!

Hot Mushroom Salad
2-3 servings (or more if you're serving "non-salad" people)

8 oz mixed greens
2 oz jack cheese, grated fine

12 oz mushrooms, sliced

dressing:

3 T olive oil

2 T white wine tarragon vinegar (sorry, I think the tarragon is important!)
1 T water
1 T dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced (yes, it's garlicky...but for two servings, who cares?!)

salt & pepper

saute the mushrooms until they release a lot (most of?) their liquid

this is what the mushrooms look like at the beginning.

...and when I'd be happy to put them on top of the salad (about six minutes later...with just a bit of stirring...)

toss lettuce and cheese in a salad bowl; add dressing and toss to coat. to serve, spoon lettuce mixture onto plate and then add hot mushrooms on top. the heat from the mushrooms will melt the cheese. it's gooey good!!