Classic Stuffed Mushrooms
I was first introduced to stuffed mushrooms by my
brother-in-law George who was a Michelin Star Chef when he asked me to help one
weekend at his restaurant. I had never tasted these delectable treats before,
and boy was I hooked once I tasted them. He made his with sourdough breadcrumb
and brie or Swiss cheese. Absolutely delicious.
No matter how many we made there never seemed to be enough,
and they were always gone once introduced on the nightly special menu.
For the nightly menu, we’d make about 200 stuffed mushrooms,
and I’d steal at least 20 as soon as they came out of the oven. Since that time, I’ve made them for holidays
and special occasion dinner parties, and everyone loved them. Try them and see
if your guest enjoys them too.
These classic stuffed mushrooms are a total crowd-pleaser!
Serve them up as a quick and easy party appetizer or as a vegetarian side dish
for the holidays.
Ingredients
24 oz whole button mushrooms (stems reserved)
¾ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I use sourdough
breadcrumbs)
5 Tbsp butter plus extra as needed/desired
¼ cup finely minced yellow onion
2-3 cloves garlic (smashed and minced)
½ tsp garlic powder to taste
1 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Cheese topping (optional) Brie or Swiss
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. That’s if you are cooking
them immediately.
You can make these stuffed mushrooms ahead of time and keep
in fridge for up to 24 hours before cooking. Be sure to spray fridge mushrooms
with a bit of water or melted butter before cooking. Be sure to also bring them
up to room temp by taking them out of fridge about an hour before you start
cooking them.
Brush mushrooms clean with a slightly damp paper towel. Do
not rinse as that will result in soggy mushrooms.
Remove the stems from your mushrooms. Finely mince and set
aside.
Next, add butter to a non-stick frying pan and adjust to
medium heat.
Add garlic, mushroom stems, and onion. Sauté until fragrant.
Next, add your breadcrumbs. Mix well to coat with butter and
season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
I like to mush the ingredients down, flip, and repeat.
Mushing the stuffing will coat every inch evenly with butter. Overly dry
stuffing will burn, so add a little extra butter as needed. Sometimes I'm good
with 5 tablespoons of butter and other times I'll add a few extra to moisten
the mixture.
Now start tasting! This is where you get to do your own
personal magic and season away til your tastebuds are happy. You can add any
extra salt, pepper, garlic powder as you'd like. Depending on how seasoned your
breadcrumb mixture is, you can even any other Italian seasonings you have on
hand. Taste again, repeat, and all that jazz. I use a LOT of garlic powder
because I love mine garlicky!
Ready to stuff 'em? Let your stuffing cool down a bit, like
a thin cookie sheet with foil, and grease the foil lightly with olive oil (a
tiny dab will go a long way!). Line up your mushrooms 1-inch apart and stuff!
If you prefer your stuffing to be crunchy, you can pack it in a towering mound to
top the mushroom. Most of my friends/family prefer softer stuffing, which means
when you stuff the mushroom, push it as far down into the mushroom as you can,
and keep it level with the top of the shroom.
Bake at 350 degrees F until the mushrooms turn golden brown,
for about 20 minutes. Remove and
sprinkle with cheese then bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese
melts. Enjoy!
Elizabeth Kilbride is a writer and editor with forty years of experience, including twelve years in online content. She is the author of five books and holds an Associate of Arts degree in Business Management, a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and cyber Analysis, and a Master’s degree in Criminology with a focus on cybercrime and identity theft. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Criminology, Elizabeth’s portfolio covers politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. She is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and artist skilled in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, gouache, and pastels. As a political operative, she has been involved in over 300 campaigns and has transformed many life events into books and scripts. Additionally, Elizabeth manages seven blogs on topics ranging from art and life coaching to food, writing, gardening, opinion and history pieces.
Entertaining, Holiday Cuisine, Kilbride, Potpourri of
Frugality, Homemade, Do it yourself
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