Stuffed Mushrooms
Growing up in the 1950s and early 60s was very different than life today. In a word “simpler“. When my children were young and asked me what my childhood was like in 'the olden days', they were actually saddened by my stories. Any of the following realities of my youth would generate an expression ranging from 'pity' to 'horror' on their faces; no cable TV (only 6 or 7 channels to choose from), no video games, no calculators or digital watches - you actually had to learn how to tell time using an analog watch, only 1 bathroom in my house, no McDonald's, not only were my parents not in attendance at most of my athletic events - I had to ride my bicycle to most of them, family vacations were usually day trips and those that weren't were NOT to Europe! You get the idea, it's like them telling their children that the Internet didn't exist and they lived without Smartphones, YouTube and Alexa, "when I was your age"!
I guess we all get very comfortable with modern convenience and availability. Back in the "olden days" of my childhood, fresh produce was mostly limited to the local growing season. Once Fall came around, my father and I got our Saturday morning strawberries out of the freezer. Not a terrible hardship, as we dressed them with copious amounts of sugar and heavy cream - I'm sure I already mentioned in a previous recipe that I bought my school pants in the 'Husky' section at Robert Hall. I can recall that my sister Barbara would buy wonderful fresh Snow White Mushroom Caps directly from a mushroom farm in South Jersey, every year for Thanksgiving. They were the best! However, you couldn't get them again until the following years' growing season. Now I can buy them every day in Costco or Stop & Shop. What a wonderful world we now live in!
Ingredients
24 ounces large, fresh, white mushroom caps
1 dry measure cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 dry measure cup pecorino cheese, grated
1/2 dry measure cup fresh basil, finely chopped
4 tablespoons finely chopped sun dried tomatoes
3/4 cup EVOO
Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation
Carefully remove the stems from the caps without breaking the cap. Set the stems aside for chopping. Lightly coat the bottom of a baking sheet with sides with olive oil. Using a dampened paper towel, wipe the top of the mushroom caps and lay them out, empty cavity up, on the baking sheet. Use a food processor or hand chop the mushroom stems, only a few quick pulses if using a food processor. Place the chopped stems in a large bowl along with the bread crumbs, grated cheese, chopped basil and sun dried tomatoes. Mix well. Add about half of the EVOO and mix some more. Your ideal stuffing mixture will be wet but not dripping. Slowly add more EVOO until you achieve the desired consistency. Do NOT use all of the olive oil if you have the right stuffing consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. Easy on the salt, there is plenty between the cheese and sun dried tomatoes.
Stuff the mushroom caps generously by hand. Your hands are the best tool in your kitchen. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the mushrooms for 35 minutes, uncovered, on a middle rack. If you want to prepare the mushrooms ahead of time, cover the tray and refrigerate up to 24 hours ahead of time. Bring to room temp before baking.
Buona fortuna
