In the last few months my boyfriend (yes, I said boyfriend. I’ll tell you about him some other time. Maybe.) and I have become quite close with another couple. We have several things in common: entrepreneurial drive, a passion for music, unabashed love of campy sci fi, and a strict commitment to integrity. We also LOVE food. Not just like, love. It’s becoming a tradition that when we get together each couple creates something that has that Oh My God factor. You know, when you take a bite and your eyes brighten and your jaw drops a bit and you say “Oh my God!” Last night Sandro made fresh pasta topped with a morel cream sauce (OMG) and a salad with greens and chives from their backyard and dried cranberries.
I decided to stick with the fungi theme and made stuffed mushrooms. I hadn’t made them in probably 15 years, but I had my favorite recipe marked in my Italian cookbook. When I looked at it, though, I thought “huh. That seems pretty dull.” It was just butter and seasonings and breadcrumbs and parmesan. Good enough to eat, but it certainly didn’t have that OMG factor.
Here’s what I came up with instead (serves 4):
- 1lb whole button mushrooms
- 2tbsp margarine or butter
- 4oz light cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
- 1 green onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- dash of salt
Remove the stems from the mushrooms. This is done by grabbing the stem where it meets the cap and wiggling a bit. Place the mushroom caps in a 9×13 baking dish.
Chop the stems, melt the margarine or butter, then put the stems in the pan and sauté them over medium heat. While they’re cooking dice the green onion and garlic, then toss them in with the mushroom stems. Continue cooking until much of the liquid in the pan is evaporated.
Blend the cream cheese and feta cheese, then add the bacon crumbles, the mushroom stem mixture, and a dash of salt. Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps, rounding it just a bit, then cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another five minutes, until the stuffing browns on the edges just a teeny bit.
Transfer to serving dish. Pop in mouth. Say Oh My God.
p.s. I’d show you a picture, but we ate them too fast. Maybe next time…
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