Tips
Make the pickled onions ahead of time. Thinly sliced carrots, pineapple or mango could also be added.
Feel free to add some other herbs to the onions.
Other garnish ideas:
Cilantro avocado mayo or sour cream
Avocado
Cotija cheese
Fresh squeezed lime

​

What a crazy idea! Believe me, it's delicious and a simple appetizer!
Here's the recipe:
1. Sautee about 1/2 pound of mushrooms over high heat for 5 minutes or so. I used a mix of Chestnut, Pioppino and Shiitake. I like them chopped into 1/2" pieces so they don't slide around like noodles on your chin when you bite in!
2. Add 1 clove chopped or crushed garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Lower heat and add about 2 Tablespoons jam. If you're still thinking this idea is crazy, try a savory or spicy jam like a pineapple habanero, balsamic fig, red wine, or bacon jam. I used "Sugar Plum Fairy Jam" from my friend Holly at Holly Jolly Jams. Check her out on Facebook or Instagram! This is a plum jam with rosemary, lemon juice and ginger.
My pan was still quite hot, so everything got a nice bit of caramelization!
4. Serve over toast or crackers with cheese. I used Manchego. I think any nice cheese would work here, sweet, creamy, or stinky blue.

We'll admit, this was our first attempt at roasting oysters. "Can you roast these?" is a question we hear a lot, and well, we don't do much roasting in the summer, but now that it's winter and the added heat in the house is welcomed, we're roasting up a storm!

Ingredients
1/2 pound oyster mushrooms shredded into 1" thick slivers
Olive Oil
Bada Bing Bada Shroom Mushroom Sprinkle
Pine Nuts
Arugula
Oil and Vinegar dressing *optional

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
Tear oyster mushrooms into slivers about 1" thick.
Place on a rimmed baking sheet. 
Drizzle or spray with olive oil.
Sprinkle some Bada Bing Bada Shroom on top.
Roast in oven for about 15 minutes. Check for water and drain off. Our mushrooms weren't wet, so we just returned them to the oven and roasted another 5 minutes.

3. While things are hopefully not burning... Prepare dressing.
We had some nice rosemary vinegar a friend made which we mixed with olive oil, a pinch of salt and a pinch of dried nettle leaf. You could use a store bought vinaigrette or make up your favorite.
4. Place greens in a bowl. We had a nice mix of arugula and spinach from our weekly CSA share. Kale, or other flavorful greens could also work, but the bite from arugula is real nice!
5. Drizzle with dressing and toss greens around.
6. Top with roasted mushrooms and pine nuts.
​7. Enjoy!

Paul thought this was as good as having slices of steak on a salad! 
​We ate this as a side with our pizza. It's hearty enough to be a meal on it's own.

When I told my sister, the English major about this recipe, she got quite upset about it. At first I wasn't sure if it was the Mai Tai talking, or the"Manhattan" part of it. We're from New England, so maybe she was offended and worried that I'd strayed after being in New Jersey so long. After a bit more animated words, she explained that the issue was actually with the word "chowder". (Sounds like another never-ending debate similar to "sauce" vs "gravy", or "pork roll" vs "Taylor Ham".) She's on the side that a chowder must contain milk or cream. I can't argue. I agreed I'd call it a stew. Since it is based off of a traditional "Manhattan Clam Chowder" recipe, I didn't want to confuse people or make it sound like something else. So call it what you want. 
To further confuse the issue, I used mushrooms in place of the clams to make it a vegan recipe. 

Ingredients
2 cups Shimeji, or Beech Mushrooms, chopped into 1" pieces
3 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into cubes
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 qt Spicy Mushroom Soup
1 Tbsp Olive Oil/Butter of choice
28oz can tomato puree or blended whole tomatoes
bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste if needed
3 Fresh Thyme sprigs
​Parsley for garnish