Mushroom & Leek Gratin

How can anything with the title "Gratin" be a bad thing?  I have been devouring Portobello mushrooms lately and decided I needed a switch from roasting or barbecuing them with garlic and balsamic vinegar, so I came across this delicious-looking recipe for "Mushroom and Leek Gratin" in my December 2011 edition of Food Everyday magazine.

Ingredients:
6-8 Portobello mushrooms (stemmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick)
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks (white and light green parts sliced in 1/4 inch thick half-moons)
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream *
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 finely grated Parmesan cheese
* I can't stomach heavy cream too well, but instead substituted 1/2 cup of soy milk and 1/4 cup of light cream cheese.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet and toss in mushrooms.  Cook until they're softened (about 10 mins) and transfer them to a paper towel lined dish.  In the same skillet, add another 2 tbps oil and toss the leeks about with salt and pepper for about 8 mins.  To the leeks, add the wine until it is almost evaporated.  Next, add the cream (or my substituted mixture), the lemon juice and thyme leaves.  Mix together and transfer this mixture into a baking dish.  Top the mixture with the cooked mushroom slices, overlapping them a little.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and bake the dish for about 20 minutes (or until it begins bubbling).

I made this as a main dish served with baguette, as we were only two eating it, but it could easily be a side dish for more guests.  It yields about 8 small servings (or 3-4 dinner sized servings).  I re-heated some the next day and served some to my brother and it was just as delicious as the previous night.

Looking forward to making this one again!