Sausage Stuffed Cremini Mushroom

I am currently testing out appetizers for a get-together I am doing in May.  D is my very fortunate guinea pig and judge. There are two back-to-back stuffed mushroom recipes here. This one has turkey sausage, the other has my lemon ricotta. Both are easy. Both look beautiful.  D choose this recipe as the better of the two. I choose the other one. You be the judge. 

• 12 Cremini mushrooms
• 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp. parmesan cheese
• 2 Italian turkey sausage, removed from casing
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• freshly grated black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Remove stems from mushroom and finely chop the stems.
3. For the topping, mix 2 tbsp. bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a small bowl.
4. Cook sausage meat in a non-stick skillet until brown. Add onion, red pepper and mushroom stems. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining bread crumbs and pepper. Remove from heat.
5. Stuff the mushrooms. Sprinkle with topping.
6. Bake for approx. 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.

Ricotta Stuffed Cremini Mushrooms

One of my favourites. If you have been to my house for a dinner party, you have eaten these. Easy, light, beautiful and flavourful.

• 12 Cremini mushrooms
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• Rind of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp. oregano
• Freshly grated pepper
• Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Remove stems from mushrooms.
3. Mix together ricotta, lemon rind, oregano and pepper.
4. Stuff the mushrooms. Sprinkle with parmesan.
5. Bake for approx. 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.

Goat Cheese Toasts

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love Goat Cheese. Yum Yum, yummy. This is my idea of Heaven. No doubt.

• 1 baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 4 tbsp. pesto
• 2 tbsp. sun-dried tomato paste
• 4 plum tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 140g Goat Cheese, sliced thinly
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• Thyme (dried or fresh)

1. Preheat boiler. Place baguette slices on a baking tray and broil until lightly toasted on both sides.
2. Spread pesto and tomato paste evenly onto toasts.
3. Lay tomato slice onto toast, add slice of goat cheese, add a few pine nuts and sprinkle with thyme. Drizzle olive oil onto all. 
4. Place toasts under broiler until pine nuts turn golden and cheese is warm and slightly melty.

Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

This recipe is from “Barefoot Contessa at Home” by Ina Garten. My best friend gave me this book as a Christmas gift and it is a beautiful book. The pictures are gorgeous and the recipes are quintessentially Ina Garten. They are filled with butter and cheese and east coast style. My only complaint is that the recipes scream “summer”. I read the cookbook from cover to cover and then cooked nothing from it. The snow has now melted, the tulips are coming up and I’m now excited to try some recipes from this cookbook. This is the first recipe I’ve tried and it is beautiful. This is a French twist on lasagna. It is elegant and bursting with rich flavour. So lovely.

• Kosher Salt
• Good olive oil
• 3/4 pound dried lasagna noodles
• 4 cups whole milk
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tbsp salt and splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
2. For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set aside. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring first with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Set aside off the heat.
3. Separate the mushroom stems from the caps and discard the stems. Slice the caps 1/4inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and they release some of their juices. If they become too dry, add a little more oil. Toss occasionally to make sure the mushroom cook evenly. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set all the mushrooms aside.
4. To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of a 8x12x2-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then one-third of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. Repeat two more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms, and cheese. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. 
5. Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

Tomato Omelette Envelopes

Delicious omelettes, filled to capacity with warm tomato, onion and melting Camembert cheese. Simple and lovely. This recipe can make either 2 HUGE omelettes or 4 normal sized omelettes.

This recipe is courtesy of “15 Minute Vegetarian” by Matthew Drennan.

• 1 small onion, cut in thin wedges
• 4 tomatoes, cut in thin wedges
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp snipped chives (or 1 tsp dried basil)
• 4 oz Camembert cheese, rinded and diced
• salt and pepper

1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in frying pan. Cook onion for 2 minutes over moderate heat. Raise the heat and add the tomatoes. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
2. Beat the eggs with the herbs in a bowl. Add S&P to taste. Heat the remaining oil in an omelette pan. Add half the egg mixture and tilt the pan to spread thinly. Cook for 1 minute, flip the omelette and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from pan and make 2nd omelette. 
3. Return the tomato mixture to high heat. Add the cheese and toss the mixture over the heat for 1 minute until the cheese starts to melt. 
4. Divide mixture between the omelettes and fold them over. Serve at once.