Beforehand, we had decided on the theme, "Mushrooms", and we picked a couple of different appetizers to make. We ended up making 4 different dishes, Mushroom Caps, Brie and Mushroom Phyllo Puffs, Mushroom Ricotta Bruschetta and a Mushroom Risotto. I have to say that I was really impressed with how it all turned out. Here is a little intro video!
Mushroom Caps
I make these all the time so I pretty much just did this one from memory
Ingredients:
1 - Package of button or mini bella mushrooms
2 - Shallots
1 - Clove garlic
1/4 - Cup bread crumbs
1 - Tsp butter
2 - Tsp olive oil
1/4 - Cup white wine
white old cheddar cheese (shredded)
Feta cheese
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Wipe off the mushrooms and pull out the steams making sure to pull all of the steam out.
Brush the cap with olive oil and put open side down on a baking sheet then bake for 5-7 minutes.
Put the butter in a sauce pan and turn it on to medium-heat. Chop up 80% of the steams, both shallots and put them in the frying pan. As they start to sizzle add in the red wine and cook until tender, 5 - 7 minutes. Remove from heat, add breadcrumbs and combined.
Remove the caps from the oven, flipover and spoon in the mixture. Top half of the mushrooms with shredded white cheddar cheese and half with feta cheese. The feta ones will have a nice salty taste.
Put the baking sheet with the mushrooms on it back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is starting to melt, remove from oven, plate and serve!
Brie and Mushroom Phyllo Puffs
I found a couple of different recipes for the Phyllo Puffs that I combined to make something that is more my style. The phyllo was a little tricky to work with, mostly because I didn't keep it damp, but once I got going, it wasn't too bad.
Ingredients:
8 - Button or mini Bella mushrooms
6 - Shiitake mushroom (if they are dehydrated you can hydrate them saving the liquid for the Risotto)
2 - Shallots
3 - Cloves garlic
1 - Wedge of Camembert cheese (8 ounces)
1 - Package of frozen Phyllo pastry
1 - Cup of butter
Sesame Seeds
Parsley as a garnish
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and pull the frozen phyllo out to thaw a little bit.
Slice all the mushrooms, chop the shallots and garlic.
Fry over medium-low heat with a Tsp of butter in a sauce pan until the mushrooms are tender. If you liked the flavor of the mushroom caps, you can add in some red wine for extra flavor!
Melt 2-Tsp of butter in the microwave. Unroll the phyllo and cut it into three strips. Cover the other sheets with a damp paper towel or they will dry out and tear. Place two sheets of phyllo on a cutting board and butter with the melted butter.
Place a Tbsp amount of cheese on one end topped with a Tbsp of the mushroom mixture. Fold the phyllo over the filling making a triangle. Keep folding until you get to the end. (Do one like this first and then adjust the filling to fill them as much as possible without breaking them). Place each completed triangle on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Once all triangles are on the baking sheet, put them in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes, turning once and cook until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and sprinkle some parsley on as a garnish.
Mushroom Ricotta Bruschetta
I make a tomato bruschetta that tastes really good so when we saw the Ricotta Bruschetta, I just knew that we had to try it too!
Ingredients:
1 - Baguette
1 - Tbsp olive oil
1 - Cup of ricotta cheese
1 - Egg
1 - Lemon, zested
1 - Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper
1 - Package of button mushrooms, sliced
3 - Green onions, chopped
1/4 - Cup red wine
1/2 - Chicken stock
2 - Tsp lemon juice
2 - Tsp parsley
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Cut the baguette length wise and brush with olive oil. Toast in the pre-heated oven for about 2-3 minutes.
Mix the ricotta, egg, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, and a little bit of salt and black pepper together in a bowl.
Pull the toasted baguette out of the oven, sprinkle with a little olive oil and cover with the ricotta mixture. Put back in the oven and bake until cheese is browned, about 12 minutes.
Heat butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir mushrooms until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add green onions; cook and stir until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir wine into mixture and cook until reduced by half, about 1 minute.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add chicken stock and lemon juice to skillet; cook until liquid has evaporated. Reduce heat to low. Stir in parsley and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Spoon mushroom mixture equally on top of the baguette slices and cut them into smaller more shareable pieces.
Mushroom Risotto
All the credit on the risotto goes to Steph. I've made risotto before and I thought it was pretty good but in all the recipes we looked up, the key part of the recipe was to continually stir the risotto and add in small amounts of stock. I've cooked it more like rice, which isn't correct. After making it this way with Steph, it's the only way that I will be making it from now on!
Ingredients:
6 - Cups chicken stock
Olive oil
1 - Package Portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 - Package White mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 - Shallots, chopped
1 1/2 - Cups of risotto rice (Arborio)
1/2 - Cup dry white wine
Salt and Pepper
Butter
1/3 - Cup of Parmesan cheese
Parsley as a garnish
Directions:
In a saucepan, warm the stock over low heat.
Warm olive oil over medium-low heat and add in the mushrooms. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until soft. Remove the mushrooms and set them to the side.
Increase the heat to just above medium. Add olive oil, shallots and cook for a couple minutes. Add in the risotto, stirring to coat with the pan oils, about 2 more minutes. Pour in the wine stirring constantly until it is fully absorbed (this is the part that Steph was doing, constantly stirring the entire time while I added stuff). Add 1/2 cup of stock to the risotto, stirring until absorbed and then continue until the entire 6 cups and absorbed. I kid you not, all 6 cups will actually absorb!
Remove the risotto from heat and stir in the mushrooms with some butter and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with parsley.
It was an amazing night and I'm looking forward to our next cooking collaboration!
