Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed Mushrooms are one of my favorite Thanksgiving Appetizers. This recipes stems from my Grandfather's Italian restaurant, known in the 1960's & 1970's as the Half Moon Restaurant. It was located on Arthur Avenue, Bronx, NY. When I was a kid my father made them for Christmas parties. My mother is the one who decided to add them to our Thanksgiving dinners. She slightly altered the recipe, just using different amounts of garlic & breadcrumbs, and she served them with the main course instead of as a separate appetizer. On Thanksgiving I have so many people over my house that I have to make several separate courses just so that no one starves to death while I'm cooking.

Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 pound cremini or baby bella mushrooms
1 1/2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Remove stems from mushroom caps. Wash mushroom caps under cold water, gently rub dry with clean paper towel.

In a small saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. Add breadcrumbs, garlic, salt & pepper. Mix constantly with a rubber spatula until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

Spoon mixture into each cap, fill each mushroom cap to top, but don't over stuff. Gently pat each cap with the bottom of a metal spoon to pack stuffing inside mushroom cap.

Bake at 400F for 10-13 minutes. Don't overbake, they burn easily.



Notes:
1. You can substitute with white mushrooms, however for a more full bodied mushroom flavor, the cremini and baby bellas are really the best
2. Do not substitute margarine for butter
3. I'm really not in the habit of measuring so all my measurements are estimations, you might need to add a little more butter or a little more breadcrumbs to achieve a proper balance.