WEEK 36 WILDCARD WINNER

Creamy Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Photography by Sarah Shatz

    BY ADRIENE | SERVES 15 TO 20

A&M: Adriene’s stuffed mushrooms are the kind of coveted hors d’oeuvre that vanish at a party—so it’s a good thing this recipe makes enough for a crowd. The splash of balsamic that cloaks the mushrooms prior to their first go-round in the oven infuses them with a touch of sweetness and acidity that acts as a wonderful counterpoint to the burly sausage-and-cream-cheese stuffing. We chose an aged Asiago and, though it didn’t melt as well as a young one would, we loved the earthy, piquant pulse it gave to these delicious little ’shrooms.

    5 pints button mushrooms

    7 tablespoons olive oil

    3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

    Salt and freshly ground black pepper

    4 Italian sausages

    2 medium yellow onions, minced

    5 garlic cloves, minced

    8 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)

    5 ounces Asiago, shredded

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth. Pull out the stems and discard. Toss the cleaned, destemmed mushrooms with 5 tablespoons of the olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes. Set aside and cool.
2. Slit the sausages and remove them from their casings. Crumble the sausage into a skillet set over medium-high heat and sauté until golden brown. Break the sausage up into small pieces as it cooks. Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside to cool.
3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium heat and add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until dark and caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the sausage, onions and garlic, cream cheese, salt and pepper, and 3 ounces of the shredded Asiago to a bowl and mix well with your hands. Break apart any large pieces of sausage.
5. Heat the oven to 375°F. Line up the mushrooms in a large greased baking dish with the hollows facing up. Stuff each mushroom with a generous portion of the creamy sausage mixture. Top the mushrooms with the remaining Asiago.
6. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the cheese on top is golden brown.

    TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

    Instead of just discarding the unused mushroom stems, use them to fortify a vegetable stock, or create a mushroom stock as a base for Creamy Mushroom Soup.

        Adriene: “This dish can be made up to 3 days ahead of time, covered and refrigerated until you are ready to put it in the oven.”

    ABOUT THE COOK

    Adriene Goldstein manages sales for a large bakery in Chicago, Illinois.

        Her favorite entertaining tip: “While planning a menu for entertaining, have three-quarters of the items be food that can be prepared one or two days prior and just finished off before your guests come so you have some time to enjoy your party as well.”

    WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAID

    dymnyno: “I made these last night for pupus and everyone loved them! I chopped up the leftovers and made a frittata this morning.”