I started making stuffed mushrooms after my cousin brought them to a family get-together.
But she doesn't remember making them.
That happens sometimes, doesn't it?
Memories...
Light the corner of my mind....
(Can't help it...I'm sentimental!)
Reminds me of my childhood and my cousins at Bachan's house.
I have such wonderful memories of Bachan's house. We used to gather there at least twice a month. Sometimes it was every weekend. I still feel close to my cousins even though we don't see one another as often as I'd like.
And my cousins still make the best food!
My cousin doesn't remember making stuffed mushrooms.
But her sister remembers her making them.
And so does her husband.
She made them with bacon inside the filling, I'm making them these days with the bacon on the outside.
Ingredients:
1 large package of mushrooms
Spinach
Waterchestnuts
Cream cheese
Onion
Garlic
Bacon
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Clean the mushrooms by wiping off any visible dirt with a clean kitchen towel.
Snap the stems off the mushrooms and set them aside.
Place the caps on a baking sheet.
There's a monster one there on the left!
Dice the onions and garlic.
If there are some people that aren't crazy about onions, saute the onions in a little olive oil until they're soft.
Otherwise, add them raw to the mixture, they'll cook in the oven.
Dice the waterchestnuts.
And the mushroom stems.
Cook the spinach until it is barely done.
I press a bowl into the colander to squeeze out as much water as I can.
Squeeze any remaining water out of the spinach and then chop.
Chop the spinach into small pieces--first horizontally and then vertically.
This is about four slices of bacon, diced.
I like the maple bacon.
I used to use a pound of bacon for a tray of mushrooms, adding it into the stuffing mixture, but since I became a vegetarian, I'll make a few mushrooms with bacon for my omnivores.
Cook the bacon to how you like it.
Fatty or crispy.
Drain on paper towels.
When I first became a vegetarian, it took a couple of weeks before I stopped wanting meat.
And then a few months later, I had a dream that I ate bacon.
I had that dream twice!
Crush some breadcrumbs.
Here, it's Mrs. Cubbison's Seasoned Dressing. It's what my mother always used, it's comfort food.
Add 1 cup to the mixture.
Soften a block of cream cheese in the microwave and add it to the mixture. That's going to bind everything together.
Add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.
I saved a little to sprinkle on the top of each mushroom.
Add a generous sprinkling of freshly ground pepper, salt & maybe some chili flakes.
Mix well.
Now you're ready to stuff the mushroom caps.
Spoon a scoopful of mixture into the caps.
Smooth and press the mixture, piling it a little high onto the mushroom cap.
About like that.
Tuck that wayward piece of spinach to tidy it up.
For your omnivores, roll the top in the bacon bits.
Press them into the cream cheese a little, so they'll stick.
I only made a few with bacon.
Sprinkle a little bit of parmesan cheese on top.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 45 minutes.
When the mushroom caps become a little wilted, they're done.
There will be a little liquid on the bottom of the baking sheet, so use one with a rim so it won't dirty your oven.
That's it, you're done!
You can fill them with anything you like, anything that strikes your fancy.
The bacon looks good.
But I didn't eat any!
I wonder if I'll dream about it tonight...
Last week, I got a call one evening from Sue.
"I'm at Nijiya. Walk me through finding what I need for Egg Rolls!"
I wonder if I'll get any calls for these.
***
My cousin Channie was the Camp Director of all us cousins.
That's me with my head turned.
I was paying attention.
My brothers were not.
Sometimes Channie would have crafts for us to do. Our craft room was Uncle Mas's bedroom, way in the back of the house, away from the adults.
Chan would bring all the materials and give patient instruction.
Here's Tim with his totem pole.
This is my favorite picture of all us in front of Bachan's house.
(That's me in the pink on the left.)
Uncle Art must be taking the picture, and I don't know where my cousin Brian is, but he and Uncle Mas are also missing.
Whenever I go by the house on California Avenue, I think of my grandmother working in the yard and my grandfather sitting by the window in the kitchen, with the little hole in the screen so he could pay the Helms man for bread.
I think of Sunday dinners with my cousins.
I think of my cousins Tim and Brian waving "bye" to Lassie on my grandmother's new color TV set, then we'd all go outside running around playing "Last Tag" until we would be exhausted and our cars would be pulling out the driveway.
I was going to start singing the rest of The Way We Were (because it got me reminiscing about Bachan's house), but I almost forgot!
Today we're having our first GIVEAWAY!
Those that know me also know that I am a crafter.
In the spirit of The Pioneer Woman, and in the spirit of my grandmother--who could have made these pot-holders, I'm giving away six sets of pot-holders that I made myself.
All you have to do is answer this question in the Comments section below with a sentence or two, or simply give us a shout out...
What is your fondest childhood memory that has to do with food?
Winners will be chosen at random by my son on Wednesday.
'Just a little 'thank you' for all the encouragement since I'm new to blogging.
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