Stuffed Mushrooms

Posted by Dom on March 8th, 2007 — Posted in Recipes

Defined broadly, mushroom is the ‘visible’ fungus, or the fruiting body of a fungus which is found above ground. While not all mushrooms are safe to eat, the edible ones enjoy a somewhat special status in many cultures. In fact, the Egyptian pharaohs thought mushrooms should only be enjoyed by royalties, and hence took control of the whole available supply!

Sounds like it enjoys the same status as the ‘royal’ chocolates?

I think so. And it’s definitely one of my favorite foods too. Let’s see what comes to mind when the word ‘mushroom’ is mentioned:

Cream of mushroom soup, mushroom masala (curried fried mushroom, really good!), portobello mushroom salads/burgers, stuffed mushrooms, mushroom quiche, and many many more… Everything with mushroom is always so yummy! Even if you only fry it in butter.. hmmm.. that’s good enough for me!
So anyway, I have one interesting recipe to make stuffed mushrooms. Enjoy!

Ingredients

8 to 10 medium mushroom, firm, closed caps
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons minced onion or green onion
1/4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soft bread crumbs (see below)
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons water
salt & pepper to taste

Preperation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Wash mushrooms quickly under running water; drain on paper towels.

Pull stems from mushrooms and chop finely.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat; add chopped mushroom stems and onion. Sauté until tender.

To make the soft bread crumbs, put bread on cutting board and use fork tines to tear off crumbs, or use food processor to make finer crumbs. One slice bread makes about 1/2 cup lightly packed crumbs.

Stir in Worcestershire sauce, soft bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper.

Sprinkle salt over mushroom caps and fill with sautéed mixture, mounding over the top.

At this point, you may cover and refrigerate these mushrooms for up to 24 hours.

Before serving, put 2 tablespoons of water in a shallow dish and arrange stuffed mushrooms in dish. Bake for about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 8 to 10 appetizers.

Let me know if you like it!

Some extra tips/fun facts on mushrooms

Psychedelic Mushrooms
These mushrooms are more commonly known as the “magic mushrooms”. Especially famous in the Netherlands (walk along the streets and you can see several of those “coffee shops” having it!!), they have certain psychoactive properties, which means it can induce hallucinations. The effects vary from person to person though, and can range from positive to negative feelings. The highly toxic mushrooms can even cause nausea and permanent damage when taken in large doses.

Mushrooming
This is the activity of mushroom-picking! It can be an eye-opener and exciting adventure, so the next time you go on a vacation or hiking trip, keep an eye for a local mushrooming activity. Take a look at this website for more info on mushroom picking.

Fun Link

Try the mushroom quiz here: http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz55096651748.html

Sources

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