Mushroom Showdown

A while back I had a request to do a blog on the mushrooms pictured on my homepage. Problem was I couldn’t remember what recipe, if any I used. One of the most common stuffed mushroom is an Italian stuffed mushroom. From the picture that looks like what I had made, so that is what I tried to recreate. Then I decided to take it a step further. Lets make a more elegant mushroom filled with creamy goat cheese and shelled with crispy bacon. Which will be better?

Mushrooms are definitely a food you either love or hate. I personally love mushrooms - all kinds! Roasted mushrooms, grilled mushrooms, mushroom fries, portobello sandwiches and of course stuffed mushrooms. Not to mention the amount of dishes you can add mushrooms to - pasta, stuffed ravioli, salads, thai dishes, egg dishes, etc. There are over 10, 000 different types of mushrooms - a lot of them not edible, but all kinds of variety at the store these days - button, cremini, shiitake, portobello (full size and baby), oyster, and various dried varieties are probably the most popular. Here is what was at my grocery store this week.

Mushrooms have a lot of great health benefits. They are low in calories, fat free, cholesterol free and high in various vitamins and minerals. Additionally, mushrooms have been said to provide immunity and have been known to be effective in preventing breast and prostate cancer. Somehow despite me telling you the health benefits, if you don’t like mushrooms or had them once and hated them I bet you won’t even finish this blog - that is okay, no offense taken :) If you want to give them a try again, keep reading.

Check out my previous entry on tips for cleaning and removing the gills.

Better Bonus Tip:  The stems are completely edible. Consider adding the chopped up stems to the stuffing mixture, adding to eggs later in the week or keeping them whole and adding to some broth while cooking your favorite grain. 

Now onto the cooking...

First up, probably the most popular stuffed mushroom - Italian Stuffed Mushroom

Italian Stuffed Mushroom

Ingredients
Baby portabella mushrooms, 8 oz package
Onion, ¼ of a small onion
Garlic, 1 clove
Parmesan cheese, grated ⅛  c
Italian bread crumbs, ¼  c
Fresh parsley, 1 T
Dried thyme, ¼ tsp

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Chop onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until tender. 

While onion and garlic are cooking, gently clean mushrooms and remove stems. Lay out caps with stem side up.

Mix onion, garlic, cheese, bread crumbs and herbs in a bowl.

Spoon mixture into mushroom caps. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.  To get the tops brown, broil on low for an additional 1-2 minutes. 

Better Bonus Tips:The amount of stuffing mixture will vary based on what size mushrooms you have. If you end up with some left over, this would be a great coating for some chicken or fish.

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Next, onto my fancied up version - Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushroom. You could really use any cheese to stuff the mushroom. Also, feel free to use deli ham, prosciutto, pancetta, any variety of meat to wrap your mushrooms with. I just used what I had at my house this week.

Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushroom

Ingredients
White button mushrooms, 8 oz package
Goat cheese crumbles, ¼ - ½ c depending on size of mushrooms
Bacon slices, 1 slice per two mushrooms

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Gently clean mushrooms and remove stems. Lay out caps with stem side up.

Stuff the mushrooms caps with goat cheese, gently smashing and evening with top of caps.
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Wrap each mushroom with half of a slice of bacon. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Broil on low for 3 - 5 more minutes.

Which do you like better?  What is your favorite type of mushroom to make?

Better Bonus Tips: Other suggested stuffing ingredients: crab, shrimp, sausage, feta cheese, blue cheese, gorgonzola cheese, cream cheese, roasted red peppers. Also, a friend just shared his favorite way to make stuffed mushrooms - with hummus, sounds delicious!


~Ashley