A Recipe for the Thankful Season

Wow! November came and went. Between four work holidays, a long weekend in San Francisco and two sick days (A first for me. Ugh!), the month just flew by. Thanksgiving is always such a great holiday and proved to be the perfect way to close out November in style. Between laying low to recover from being stick to socializing to skiing it was a memorable long holiday weekend.


Below is the recipe Mike and I made to bring as an appetizer to Thanksgiving dinner. At first we thought it was quite bold to bring a dish with two items people commonly dislike - mushrooms and goat cheese. However, we knew that we'd be able to make these to people's liking as we took the best parts of two different stuffed mushroom recipes and turned it into this culinary delight. Needless to say, they were a crowd-pleaser.

Festive Stuffed Mushrooms

I'll challenge Martha to a cook off any day!

• 24-30 crimini mushrooms, it helps if they're on the large side
• 1/4 a cup of diced mushroom stems
• 1/8 a cup of bread crumbs
• 6 ounces of goat cheese*
• 1/4 a cup of shredded Parmesan
• Olive oil for lightly dusting on the mushrooms

*If you can only find goat cheese in a 8 ounce stick, just use the whole thing in the mixture. It doesn't take much imagination to see that the leftovers can be used in so many different ways. In a omelets, as a cheesy dip, as hearty spread on a vegi panini, etc.

1. Mix the cheeses
2. Add the diced mushroom stems. These are mostly for texture so add slowly to suit your tastes. Do the same with the bread crumbs. You might want a little more or less of both.
3. Using a food brush, lightly brush the mushrooms with olive oil.
4. Stuff the mushrooms.
5. Bake for 15 minutes @ 350 degrees. 
6. Serve to the delight of your guests!

Variation - Prepare the same way but use portabella mushrooms instead. These can be served as a main course and pair nicely with a spinach salad.
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For more culinary ideas for the holiday season, check out The Splendid Table on your local NPR station. http://www.splendidtable.org/ The host, Lynn Rossetto Kasper, does a great job during this one hour radio show. What I find especially impressive is how she discusses food, something that lends itself to the visual nature of television, and makes it come alive in an audio format. From food preparation tips, guest appearances from celebrity chefs to questions from listeners, this show is a delight.

If cooking's not your thing and you happen to be in the Washington D.C. area, let Nycci Nellis (http://www.thelistareyouonit.com/) bring you up-to-date on all of the to die for local culinary happenings. Click here to listen to her recommendations on the best burger joints in our nation's capital. Just fabulous!