recreating my moms stuffed mushrooms

 i know i have mentioned a few of my favorite childhood recipes on here before but i'm pretty sure i've never mentioned my moms stuffed mushrooms.  she only pulled out these big guns for parties or big dinners, and it was one of my very very favorites.  since both of my kids are not mushroom fans, i couldn't tell you the last time i even thought about these.  but then i was at the store and they had stuffed mushrooms and boom!  these came to mind.  i was like, we are having the family suffed mushrooms  TONIGHT.  and we did.

 i know my mom had an actual recipe for these, but i've never found it.  so this is me winging it.

the best thing about these mushrooms is that they are very simple and require few ingredients.   

button mushrooms, cleaned and stems carefully removed so you have the stem hole to fill with your stuffing

the mushroom stems, chopped fairly finely

onion or shallot, chopped finely

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

butter

bread crumbs

cheese, like parmesan or asiago - or even shakey cheese

salt and pepper

preheat the oven to 375.

Place the cleaned mushrooms on a baking sheet lined with parchment

Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat and add the shallots, and cook for a few minutes to soften.  then add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until everything is soft and starting to color.  season with salt and pepper and add just a bit  - like maybe a couple of TB - of breadcrumbs.  cook for another minute or so. remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.  stuff the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is lightly brown on top, 25-30 minutes.  

let cool for a few minutes before devouring

The Girl would have no part of them, but when i told The Boy (a lifelong mushroom hater) that his Nana used to make these, he said he would try one.  

Friends, he ate 4!!!!!  That is the power of these mushrooms.

 

soy and butter glazed king oyster mushrooms

 When we went to the Swelaps market I picked up these king oyster mushrooms because they looked super cool.

That night I sliced them and cooked them and then simmered them in a buttery, soy saucy, garlicky sauce based on this delicious recipe.

 Once they were done, we tried them and were ready to go buy some more mushrooms to make this again - even The Boy tried on and sort of liked it!  And he is a mushroom hater.

I still haven't gotten my hands on enoki mushrooms yet, but I'm keeping my eyes open.

Delicious pork from a favorite website

One of my long, long, long time favorite food sites is The Cookbook Junkie.  I always loved her style and especially her recipes. 
It's been just over a year since the site was updated.  I will never lose hope that one day Paula will return to blogging, and until that day (hopefully) happens, I will keep lurking and finding fantastic recipes in the archives.

Follow this link for the recipe - Pork Medallions with Sherry Mushroom Sauce.

This was a HUGE hit at the dinner table.  It was simple, fast, tasty.  Everyone loved it, even the finicky kid.

I also made a baked rice dish that night, and I could see pretty much the moment I started assembling the ingredients that it wasn't going to go well.  The recipe just made no sense!  And how had I not noticed before? 
I spent some extra time tweaking it, adding, removing, adjusting.  I still wasn't super happy with it until it came out of the oven.  It smelled amazing and looked pretty nice.  AND!  It tasted much better than I expected. 
I snuck the leftovers to work so no one else could have them and I ate them for breakfast for the next 3 days.  Yum!  I am going to keep working on the recipe.

Mushroom and Orzo Risotto

I am surprising myself with how well I am doing with trying new recipes (#13 on my Mighty Life List) weekly. (I've decided this was an odd one to put on my list. When do I cross it off? In a year? Never?)
I got some money for Christmas with the instructions to spend it on myself - not bills, groceries, the baby etc. I waffled for a few minutes, then fired up Amazon and ordered myself some books, including Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from The New York Times. I've made 4 dishes so far and they've all been fantastic. Love the book so far.
Last week I planned on making the orzo risotto but I wanted to add to it to make it our main dish. Mushrooms seemed the best way to go.

So I made the orzo risotto, which is super easy. Bring 2 cups of stock (I used chicken) to a boil, then add 1 cup of orzo. Cover and cook over medium low heat for 15 minutes, or until the orzo is cooked through and the liquid is absorbed.
While the orzo was cooking, I sauteed some chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil, then added a few handfuls of roughly chopped mushrooms. When the mushrooms softened I added a couple of glugs of white wine and seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked until the liquid evaporated.
When the orzo was ready I stirred in a handful of parmesan cheese, then plated the pasta with a big dollop of mushrooms on top, and a little sprinkle of cheese. And look what we had:

This was so good I can't even tell you. And quick! Like less than 20 minutes, if you don't move too slow.

M is for...

M is for Mushroom.

Who: The Mushroom
What: A fungus growing above ground, classified as a vegetable.
When: The early Greeks and Romans were the first cultivators of the mushroom, but Egyptian hieroglyphics of mushrooms have been dated back more than 4000 years.
Where: Mushrooms can be grown pretty much anywhere, as common mushrooms are not grown outdoors. Some types of mushrooms can be ready for harvest in as little as 3 weeks.
Why: Mushrooms are low in calories and fat free. They are a good source of copper, selenium, and potassium.

Did you know? There are thousands and thousands of types of mushrooms; most of them are not edible.
And that? A mycologist is a botanist that studies fungi.

Mushrooms are available for purchase fresh, dried, canned and frozen. Some of the more common types are button, portabella, shitake, enoki, morel, and chanterelle.

Store mushrooms preferably in a paper bag in the refrigerator. If you purchase mushrooms wrapped in plastic, remove the plastic before storing. To clean the mushrooms, wipe them with a damp towel or rinse briefly under the tap.

Grilled Portabella Sandwich
Normally I make this with whole caps, however this day the store only had pre-sliced shrooms.

2 sandwiches

2 buns
2 portabella mushrooms, stems and gills removed
1 clove minced garlic
3 tb mayonnaise
1 tb minced fresh basil
salt and pepper
2 tb oil
red onion and tomato slices

Mix together the garlic, mayonnaise, basil and a bit of salt and pepper. Split the buns and spread the mayonnaise on all cut sides of the 2 buns. Place the tomato and onion slices on the top half of the buns.
Brush the mushrooms with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook the mushrooms on a bbq or in a grill pan until the mushrooms are softened with nice grill marks on both sides. Top the buns with the mushrooms and serve right away.




Sauteed Mushrooms with Italian Dressing
When I was little, for special occasions my mom would serve bbq steak, baked potatos with sour cream and these mushrooms. To me, this was the height of a classy dinner.

Slice up some button mushrooms (at least a good handful per person). Melt some butter over medium high heat and saute the mushrooms for 10 or 15 minutes. When the mushrooms are soft and golden, pour in some Italian dressing. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the dressing has reduced and thickened. Grind in some pepper and serve.


Mushroom Stroganoff
I adapted this slightly from Feast by Nigella Lawson as not all of the mushrooms she used are available to me. This is a totally delicious twist on Beef Stroganoff.

4 servings

1/2 red onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tb oil
250 g button mushrooms
250 g portabella mushrooms
50 g butter
salt
4 tb white wine (or water)
2 tsp paprika
nutmeg
150 ml sour cream
parsley

Finely chop the onion and garlic in a food processor. Heat the oil in a large pan and saute the onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Slice the button mushrooms, and remove the stem and gills from the portabella and slice. Add the butter and when it has melted add the mushrooms. Stir to coat the mushrooms with the buttery onions. Place a lid on the pan and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove the lid and season with salt. Add the wine, paprika and some fresh nutmeg. Stir in the sour cream. Simmer gently for another 5 minutes. Stir in some chopped fresh parsley and stir.
Serve over rice.

Previous Alphabet Posts:
A is for Artichoke
B is for Beet
C is for Carrot
D is for Dogs
E is for Egg
F is for Fondue
G is for Garlic
H is for Hamburger
I is for Indian Food
J is for Jamie Oliver
K is for Kaffir Lime Leaves
L is for Lobster