Guest Post: Katharine Trauger

My brother took us out for al fresco dinner, once, on a bluff on a breezy summer day, in Jeff City, and for an appetizer, we chose the most taste-surprising stuffed mushrooms I could ever imagine.

They were not the little golf-ball sized ones you can find, so hopefully named “stuffers”. No, they were enormous, each holding at least 1/8 cup of amazing wonderfulness.

The stuffing was not squid, either. (An idea that ruffles my goose bumps.)

I liked them so much, I thought often about what must have been the ingredients in that stuffing, until one day I felt ready to try out my imagined recipe.

And it worked; I’d nailed it.

And I found myself hoping there would be leftovers for me to re-warm the next day. I could not taste these darling orbs often enough.

Then I made a big mistake.

I prepared them for a church dinner and came home with an empty dish. And requests for the recipe. And each time we had a dinner, I got scowls if I had not brought stuffed mushrooms for everyone.

A fun problem.

Around the house I’ve served them often, as a side with Italian dishes, and we seldom branched beyond that.

Until one day, that is.

One day, I tried placing one of those beauties ON my spaghetti, instead of beside it. The combination was absolutely superb, in my opinion. Hot, seasoned, cream cheese, melting into traditional marinara-type spaghetti sauce, is a sublime combination.

I am glad to share with you the following recipe that is intended to serve six. If you want to make fewer, though, I do not suggest reducing the recipe, no. The reason? The stuffing keeps well and makes an excellent spread on crackers, too. So if there are only two of you, just hide the leftover stuffing.

Once baked, the mushrooms also keep well, refrigerated, and are simple to reheat.

I hope you will agree these little darlings are ideal for serving with spaghetti. Or on spaghetti.

Or by themselves, as an appetizer.

Enjoy!

Holt Stuffed Mushrooms

12           2” stuffing mushrooms
1              8-ounce block cream cheese, room temperature
3 Tbsp.  butter, room temperature
¼ cup    Parmesan cheese, divided
2 Tbsp.  White zinfandel or chardonnay (opt.)
1              large garlic clove, pressed
1              green onion bulb, pressed
1 Tbsp. dry Italian herbs (opt.)
¼ tsp.    salt
¼ tsp.  powdered cayenne
1/8 tsp.cumin

Remove stems from mushrooms and clean well.

Combine remaining ingredients, with fork or mixer (not blender or food processor), saving out 1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese for garnish. Pack stuffing into mushrooms with a fork. Or use an extruder such as frosting bag, or zipper bag with corner removed, to squeeze and force stuffing into mushrooms. Place stuffed mushrooms into baking dish greased with olive oil or butter. Dust with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 – 25 minutes, until stuffing begins to brown lightly and juices begin to run from mushrooms. Serve Immediately.

Arkansas Women Blogger member Katharine Trauger is a retired educator and a women’s counselor. She and her husband spent 25 years conducting a home and school for children who would otherwise be homeless. She has worked 15 years as a contributor and/or columnist for several small professional magazines, with over 60 published articles. She blogs from a sunroom on a wooded hilltop in the Deep South, about the rising popularity of being at home, at Home’s Cool and The Conquering Mom and tweets at KathTrau. She is currently working on a self-help book entitled, Yes. It Hurts, But…