Got Mushrooms?

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Fresh fungi are one of my favorite foods.  When stuffed with sausage from the local meat market, topped with fluffy mounds of good cheese just before service...really special.  Indeed, special enough for an appetizer at a party or a "just because" moment.  This weekend was a work and chill and chill and work couple of days; I had lots to do but needed to relax some too.  A late breakfast and an early supper are perfect for this kind of day.  So late Saturday afternoon I checked out the fridge and pantry to see what might be possible for an appetizer.  I found two kinds of mushrooms, some good cheese, pork sausage, voila...Stuffed Mushrooms.  Add a sliced tomato and a chilled glass of dry white...delectable.  Just the ticket for a savory bite before a lite supper.  The Horn Player was thrilled at my foodie efforts and loved the results.

Note: The amounts of the ingredients are subject to the size of the mushrooms; this is an approximate list of what I used.

Stuffed Mushrooms 

1 pound fresh mushrooms
Olive oil
1 cup fresh pork sausage 
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup onion (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
Fresh Basil
Black pepper
Pecorino Romano cheese (finely grated)


Clean the mushrooms well with a damp towel.  Snap off the stem and using a spoon remove the gill inside the cavity.  Set aside.  Into a skillet add a small splash of olive oil and the pork sausage.  Crumble with a fork while cooking the sausage.  When the sausage is completely cooked, move it to one side of the pan and while tilting the pan add the wine to de-glaze the pan.  Swirl around the pan and stir well; reduce wine by half.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender or until the remaining wine is almost gone.  Remove from heat and add the bread crumbs, torn basil leaves, black pepper and about 1/2 cup (or more) of the grated cheese.  Stir to mix well and cool.  Stuff the mushrooms, place on a lightly oiled sheet pan and bake at 350 until the mushrooms are done...about 15 minutes.  Remove and fluff over each one more cheese, place back into the oven for a couple of minutes to slightly melt the cheese.  Remove and serve immediately.