Un-buttoned

Stuffed mushrooms-a-la-Faux Gourmet,
a little more chic city girl, a little less 50s housewife.

Taste & See: I had a Christmas party last night. I was so busy in December (the dearth of posts!) I didn't have time to cram my loved ones into my tiny apartment and force them to consume massive amounts of my cooking, so I thought perhaps I'd have a go at doing so in January. I tried to use holiday-esque flavors to recall the holiday season but somewhere amidst the cinnamon and sugar, the candy cane peppermint, the cranberry & turkey, I got a hankering for stuffed mushrooms.

Mushrooms are not a beautiful food. Button mushrooms are particularly unassuming, the pudgy vanilla kid-brother of the mushroom family. Sure, they're handy in a pinch. They go with a wide range of cuisines & best of all, tend to come pre-chopped. A lazy Faux Gourmet like myself can unwrap and toss them in practically anything to add a little bulk. But they're not really a beacon of flavor; they're more like background noise.

Which makes them the perfect vehicle for flavorful stuffings. Button mushrooms, especially when cooked, do have a nice neutral earthiness, into which inspired Faux Gourmets like you can pour all your artistry. They're so perfectly round and empty, just waiting for you to fill them.

The recipe below is my on-the-fly for last night's party, a hit if their rapid disappearance was any indication. But don't let my ideas limit you! Open wide the fridge and in true Faux Gourmet style, assemble a mishmash filling of whatever lovely flavors you have available. Even in these economic times, a container of mushrooms is still only a dollar or two, making this a cheap experiment to fail and try again.

Do it Yourself:

Pesto Chevre Stuffed Mushrooms

Amounts listed made about 80 mushrooms, a good amount for a party with 30 guests. For a smaller gathering, definitely do half or even a quarter the amount; making so many mushrooms is pretty tedious. Think of the amounts as flexible suggestions, to be altered based as needed.

Ingredients
4 containers Button Mushrooms
6 cloves Garlic
20 Sage leaves
10 oz. Chevre (soft goat cheese)
1/2 cup Pesto, then sample and add more until you're satisfied with the flavor
Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Clean the mushrooms. I like to rinse and then pour the wet mushrooms onto a clean kitchen towel after rinsing to pat dry.

2. Twist off the caps and set whole mushrooms aside. (My friends A & C recommend soaking in wine . . . a delicious idea to try next time). Chop caps into smallish pieces.

3. Fry garlic in oil (I used Apres Vin Poivre Chardonnay, to impart a mild peppery flavor). Add chopped sage leaves and 1 tbsp butter. When leaves have fried, add mushroom caps and a few tablespoons water, wine or broth. Cover and allow caps to soften, about 5 minutes. Continue to let simmer with lid partially on until liquid is gone.

4. Allow mixture to cool, then add chevre and pesto. Set aside.

5. Dowse the mushrooms in melted butter. No need for a full dunking; a light touch is fine. A marinade brush works best if you have one. Set mushrooms in a baking pan.

6. Stuff each mushroom with a healthy teaspoon of filling, or enough to evenly distribute filling between the mushrooms.


7. Bake on 350 about ten minutes; check to make sure mushrooms are soft. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and continue baking a few minutes more, while cheese turns golden.

Voila, you are a hostess extraordinaire! Well done!