Recipe Talk

Make Ahead Bacon and Cheddar Stuffed Mushrooms

6 slices bacon

16 cremini mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons chopped onions

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet.

Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown.

Drain, dice and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove mushroom stems.

Set aside caps.

Chop the stems.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.

Slowly cook and stir the chopped stems and onion until the onion is soft.

Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, stir together the mushroom stem mixture, bacon and 1 cup Cheddar.

Mix well and scoop the mixture into the mushroom caps.

Bake in the preheated oven 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Remove the mushrooms from the oven, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Put into the oven for a couple of seconds to melt if desired.

To freeze: Flash freeze them before baking in the oven.

A freezer bag would work great for storing these.

Let defrost and then add cheese and bake in oven for 15 minutes.

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Make Ahead Appetizers

Mushrooms Stuffed with Hot Sausage

These delicious appetizers can be prepared a day ahead. You can use sweet Italian sausage instead of hot with equally great results. From Bon Appetit.

2 pounds large mushrooms
vegetable oil
1 pound hot Italian sausage
10 scallions, minced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup red wine (up to 1/2 cup, if necessary)
1 egg, beaten
sliced black olives (for garnish)

Clean mushrooms, remove stems and brush caps with vegetable oil. Chop stems.

Remove sausage from casings, crumble and saute in butter with scallions until cooked. Add stems, 1/4 cup wine, bread crumbs, parsley and cheese. Saute 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Blend egg into sausage mixture with your hands. If mixture is too dry add additional wine. Stuff caps and garnish each with an olive slice. Place on cookie sheet. May be prepared up to this point 1 day in advance (cover and refrigerate).

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Yield: about 40 pieces.

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Shrimp Scampi Stuffed Mushroom Caps

A garlic butter sauced shrimp curls inside each mushroom cap. The whole cap is served atop a slice of baguette to catch the wonderful garlic butter and mushroom juices.

50 large mushrooms (half dollar sized)
50 small - medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound sweet butter, softened
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 long baguette (very narrow French bread)

Remove stems from mushrooms and set aside for another use. Set mushroom caps on baking sheet. Curl one shrimp in each cap.

Blend butter, garlic and parsley together. Put into a pastry bag. With a star tip, pipe a rosette of butter on each cap, using about 2/3 teaspoon for each one. These may be cooked immediately, or refrigerated for several hours.

When ready to serve, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until butter is all melted and shrimp are pink. Meanwhile, slice the baguette into thin slices. Serve the mushrooms baguette slices to soak up the garlic butter and mushroom juice.

Yield: 50 appetizers.

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Prosciutto Pesto Pinwheels

These quick, Italian-inspired appetizers are fragrant and flavorful, with only three ingredients. An original Busy Cooks recipe.

8 ounce can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
2 tablespoons prepared pesto sauce
4 paper-thin slices prosciutto

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Open can of rolls and separate into four rectangles. Seal the perforations by pressing with your fingers. Spread each rectangle with 1/2 tablespoon of pesto, leaving a 1/2 inch margin of dough along one long side. Lay a single layer of prosciutto on pesto, cutting to fit. Roll each rectangle into a roll, starting from the long side opposite the side with the exposed dough. Seal the long edge.

Slice each roll into 1/2 inch pieces with a sharp serrated knife and place pinwheels on an ungreased baking sheet. If the kitchen is hot and the dough becomes soft, chilling each roll in the freezer for a few minutes will make slicing easier.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Serve immediately.

An original recipe by Lynn Nelson