Food is Cynful: Stuffed Mushroom Caps

About the Cyn

As I have added more and more recipe's to this blog I've realized that these are such sweet tender memories for me. Just as a photograph or childhood story will bring back memories, food floods me with tons of remembrances of happy times in the past! From family dinners and times with friends to Grandma making toast in the frying pan, food has brought about a way to record my family history. Food has always been and remains a huge part of our gatherings and I feel so very blessed to be able to share my memories and such terrific recipe's with my family and anyone out there who has a few minutes to spare. It is my hope that someday my children and grandchildren will prepare these recipe's and know they were special to someone!

Cynful Explanations

Al dente – An Italian expression applied in all western kitchens to pasta cooked just until enough resistance is left in it to be felt “by the tooth.” Fresh pasta can never by cooked al dente as it is too soft. The expression is also applied to vegetables that have been cooked crisp by steaming, boiling, or stir-frying.
Baste – To moisten food during cooking with pan drippings, sauce, or other liquid. Basting prevents foods from drying out.
Bias-cut - To slice food at a steep angle increasing the surface area, makes a thinner cut easier and looks better.
Butterfly- To split a food (such as shrimp) down the center, cutting almost but not completely through. The two halves are then opened flat to resemble a butterfly shape.
Caramelize – The flavor of many foods, including vegetables, meats, and seafood, is often enhanced by a gentle browning that caramelizes natural sugars and other compounds and intensifies their flavor. Meats for stews, for example, are usually browned to caramelize juices that if not caramelized are much less flavorful. Chopped vegetables, especially aromatic ones such as carrots and onions, are often caramelized—sometimes with cubes of meat—in a small amount of fat before liquid is added to enhance the flavor of soups, stews, and sauces.
Dice – To cut into cubes (unlike chopping, which cuts foods into irregular pieces).
Dredge – To coat a food with flour, any finely crumbled ingredient, or, in pastry, with fine sugar.
Egg wash – A mixture of egg or egg white, oil, and water brushed over floured items, which are then deep-fried or pan-fried in clarified butter or oil.
Fold – To incorporate an egg-white foam into an egg yolk foam or a flour batter without deflating it so that it retains its full leavening power.
Julienne – To cut into long thin matchstick size strips.
Marinade – A mixture of ingredients used to flavor and moisten foods. May be liquid of dry. Liquid marinades are usually acidic based and dry marinades are usually salt based.
Mince – To chop very fine.
Piping - To force a food (typically frosting or whipped cream) through a pastry tip to use as a decoration or garnish, or to shape dough, such as that for éclairs.
Poach – To cook completely submerged in barely simmering liquid.
Puree – To work or strain foods until they are completely smooth.
Ramekin – A small, ovenproof dish, usually ceramic.
Render - To melt animal fat over low heat so that it separates from any connective pieces of tissue, which, during rendering, turn brown and crisp.
Resting – Roasted meats should not be served straight out of the over, but should be allowed to rest in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil. (The foil keeps the meat warm; loose wrapping ensures that the outside of the meat doesn’t steam and lose its crispness.) Resting allows the meat to relax so the juices become redistributed in the meat and aren’t squeezed out onto the platter during carving.
Sauté – To cook over high heat in a small amount of fat in a sauté pan or skillet.
Scald – To heat milk just below the boiling point. Or, to immerse a vegetable or fruit in boiling water in order to remove its skin easily.
Sear – To brown the surface of pieces of meats and or fish by submitting them to intense initial heat.
Simmer – To maintain the temperature of a liquid just below boiling.
Steam – To cook in steam by suspending foods over (not in) boiling water, in a covered pot or steamer.
Stew – A cooking method nearly identical to braising but generally involving smaller pieces of meat, and hence a shorter cooking time. Also, the dish prepared by using this method of preparation.
Stir-fry – Chinese technique of cooking think slivers of meat, shellfish, and vegetables in hot oil.
Sweat – To cook foods over gentle heat, usually covered or partly covered, until they release their moisture. Vegetables, meats, and seafood are often sweated when making soups, stews, and sauces so that the foods release their juices into the pan and surrounding liquid. Sweating is the opposite of sautéing.
Tempura – A Japanese method of cooking vegetables and shellfish. They are coated with a light cornstarch batter and deep-fried.
Wok – A round-bottomed pan, usually made of rolled steel, used for virtually all Chinese cooking methods.
Zest – The thin, brightly colored outer part of the rind of citrus fruits. The oils make it ideal for use as a flavoring. Remove the zest with a grater, citrus zester, or vegetable peeler. Be careful to remove only the colored layer, not the bitter-white pith beneath it.

This recipe is clearly controversial! Mushrooms

are some of the worst food in the world! Or that's what my little brother Trevor might say anyway! I think mushrooms are clearly delightful and stuffed and baked this way they are even better! Oh let me count the ways with how delicious these caps of wonderfulness are! I first had mushroom caps years ago and since have only had the pleasure of having them rarely more off than on. I'm not sure why they aren't featured more on menu's but I can only guess it's because there are so many people out there who hate them. Sad I'm telling you, it's just sad! This specific recipe, however, I tasted for the first time at our ward Christmas party. We had a tasters contest and these weren't even submitted! I couldn't believe it. I asked around and everyone I asked said that they were the favorite and would have been voted for if they had been submitted. The next day in Relief Society I put out the word that I wanted the recipe and funny as it sounds, Heidi, the one who made them was sitting right next to me! When I found out my parents were joining us for Christmas I decided that I wanted appetizers and positively wanted to serve these. My parents LOVED them! So my dear sweet readers, here's the recipe that you chose in the poll, here's Heidi's stuffed mushroom caps...

20-30 Mushrooms
8 oz Cream Cheese
8 oz Bacon Bits (the good soft kind)
Chopped Green Onions to taste

Note: Make sure to soften the cream cheese for easy mixing of ingredients and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Also note that mushrooms soak up water when rinsed so it's better to clean them by rubbing any dirt off with a damp cloth. This will especially help when you go to cook them because they won't be soaked with unnecessary moisture, thus giving you a shorter cooking time! Also feel free to omit the green onions. We loved the taste of them but Heidi says she never puts them in. If you do I would start by just chopping 1 stalk up fairly fine.

First start by cleaning and de-stemming your mushrooms by twisting off the stems. Set those aside. Mix all your ingredients together in a mixer and fill the caps to the top but not overly full. Place in your oven safe dish and bake @350 for about 13-15mins. The tops should be golden brown. You really want that golden brown color too. If they are not cooked all the way it doesn't make for a tasty treat. We got the huge mushrooms from Costco and after decided that they were too big and next time would go with small caps. The cooking time for the bigger ones was much longer and they are better as a one bite pop in your mouth kinda thing because they do have a little bit of squirty juice that develops inside and you want all that in your mouth and not squirting in someones eye! My family certainly didn't think these "mushrooms" were gross when served. In fact I couldn't get them out of the oven fast enough! I hope you love these as much as we do! Enjoy!

3 comments:

Trev said...: Last steps are to remove the filling from the mushroom. Throw the Mushroom caps in the garbage and place the filling in halved jalapenos. Enjoy!; February 23, 2011 at 8:14 AM
SpencernAmy said...: MmmmmMmmmm . . . . Heidi brought these to a HP group social and they were a big hit! Especially with my husband. Thanks for getting the recipe!; February 23, 2011 at 12:47 PM
Marilene said...: appetizer is spelled wrong... i think. and where is your parents' baked beans?? Trevor claims it is so simple. Love ya!!; July 21, 2011 at 7:16 PM

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