Sunday, April 6, 2008

Mushrooms !


The Mushroom. A quick definition that I spotted in a book was fleshy body of any of numerous edible fungi. To look at a mushroom and then here the definition, why would anyone want to eat it? Also, who was the first human that came upon a mushroom and actually decided to eat it? When that human was foraging the forest floor how did he know which mushroom was safe and which one was not? Did he take a buddy with him and said, “Here, you try this one” and did the buddy reply “no, it is your turn”…

Whoever decided that mushrooms were safe to eat, I surely am thankful. Mushrooms may not be the “prettiest” veggie, or should I say fungi, out there, but they are surely packed with flavor! They add that touch of mother earth to so many dishes, cooked or raw. On that note, I want to share with you THE easiest and totally packed with flavor appetizer I muster up.


Grilled Mushroom Caps With a Pesto & Pepper Filling.



That is it! Remove the stems from some medium sized cremini mushrooms (they have more flavor than the white button ones) rub a bit of olive oil on the shroom and place on your grill for about 2 minutes flat side down. Meanwhile, take a jar of your favorite prepared pesto, add some to a small bowl and, to that, stir in some freshly chopped chili. I happen to grow cayenne’s year round so I finely chop one of those little red beauties and add it to the bowl of pesto. Bring your warm mushrooms in from the grill and put a little spoon full of your pesto mixture onto the shroom and sit them round side down back on the grill for another couple of minutes. Remove to a plate and serve.



The juicy goodness of the mushroom combined with the pesto is a succulent party in your mouth. If you wanted to get real fancy with them, you could sprinkle a touch of parmesan cheese atop the pesto or you could also add a couple of toasted pine nuts for a little crunch!


Speaking of mushrooms, I will use this as my entry to Holler and Lisa’s April event over at No Croutons Required. The theme this month, of course, is mushrooms! If you would like to participate in this exciting event, hop on over to either one of their sites for the rules.



Foraging for mushrooms on a forest floor is on my list of “Gee, I would like to do that!” If any of you have had the experience of this, I would love to hear about it!
Cheers!

25 comments:

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Oh Deb, those mushrooms look really succulent! Yum! My favourite!

Dr. Debs said...

I love mushrooms, Deb. My partner hates them, however, so I don't eat as many as I would like to. That said, I think the first person who decided to eat a mushroom probably didn't live much past that. The second one, though, now that was a person on a steep learning curve!

We have a lot of wild mushroom collectors in Sonoma County. They love to sprout up in the redwoods. The thing you need is rain, followed by sun. This is apparently the magic ingredients that make the mushrooms sprout. I've never taken the plunge and started collecting--too scary for me. I'd rather pay $$ and let someone else figure out if it's poisonous or not!

Silvia - Magnolia Wedding Planner said...

Hi Deb! I'm new to your blog and I'm so glad that you love italian wine as I'm from florence in tuscany and I adore red wine!
Really fantastic blog. If you don't mind I'll follow your new posts with much interest!
Have a good Sunday!
Silvia

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

This is so quick and easy and yet packed with flavour Deb. I'd love to go on a foraging hunt with the mushroom hunters on the west coast near Seattle.

Gloria Baker said...

Debs, really love mushrooms.Dear Debs I have something to you in my Blog, an Award, com from it.xxxGloria

Lisa Turner said...

Thanks for this Deb!! Delicious! I'm so glad I picked mushrooms for this month's challenge. One can never have enough mushroom recipes.

Peter M said...

Deb, what a wonderful and easy app. I'm going to try these when I have some fresh basil in the garden.

Anonymous said...

haha..Deb, I always say this about different foods. Who the hell saw a snail and decided to pop one in his mouth?! Good post. And your mushrooms look delicious :)

winedeb said...

Hey Holler, I knew you would like these!

Hi Dr. Debs! I would love to forage for mushrooms but am not sure I would eat any of them!

Hi Silvia! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy. I will drop by soon to pay you a visit!

I would love to join you Valli!!!

Hi Gloria! thank you so much for the award! You are too sweet!

I feel the same way Lisa! Good theme!

Hey Peter, hopefully your basil will come around soon!

Hi Maryann, too funny isn't it! I always think about the first one to eat this or that!

Shayne said...

ok I LOVE to pick mushrooms. My husband and a co worker have such fun at my expense over it too. "your wife is what? shrooming, riiiiggghhhttt. and she got stuck off roading in a Quest Mini van" yes thats me. in the woods knee deep in mud the van muffler deep in mud with a basket of morels. Morel season starts for me in 19 days, the day after I take my final. I will load the kids up and take off for a few ways for fun in the woods and a few hollers of "shroooooomies where are you, shroomy, shroomy, shroomy. Ok I am a flack when it comes to my woods adventures. I do it from april through October.

Shayne said...

PS I love pesto and I love this idea and I will be trying it.

Johanna GGG said...

your mushrooms look lovely - a great way to eat them

I can't help but think the first people to try mushrooms were very hungry (and of those hungry souls who tried the toadstalls)

Anonymous said...

Those look great. I can't say I have ever foraged for shrooms but it sounds intriguing! The apps look great as well.

Proud Italian Cook said...

Brilliant idea Deb, This is one my whole family would enjoy. We fired up our grill this weekend and we too enjoyed some grilled veggies.

Anonymous said...

Luuuuurve 'shrooms! And pesto is such a wonderful invention, isn't it? It's got the kind of scent that lifts your spirits with all that basil. These look very moreish and tasty :-)

Wendy said...

A timely reminder, Deb. Got to get my mushroom hat on...
Hoping I'll have some leftovers to make your pesto idea too. :)

Lucy said...

It's high on my list too, Deb. We get gorgeous pine mushrooms in these parts at this time of the year, but I'm yet to spy one in the wild.

Stuffed with pesto? Bloody marvellous!

Laurie Constantino said...

These look very easy and very tasty, especially for a mushroom lover like me. One of my favorite activities is foraging for mushrooms, and I was going to recommend it to you, but then I started wondering what kind of forest floors and what kind of mushrooms there are in Key West...

sher said...

Oh--I want a big plate of those srumptious looking mushrooms!

Thistlemoon said...

Ohhhh yeah! Those look awesome Deb! :)
Mushrooms really are such a wonderful veggie and I am also really thankful to whoever discovered that they are edible!

Oh and I wanted to officially welcome you to The Foodie Blogroll! :)

winedeb said...

Hey Shane, if I ever get into your "neck of the woods" I am going with you!

Hi Johanna, I feel for the toadstool guy also!

Hi Cathy! So easy, but not sure the boys will like them.

Hey Maria, glad spring is finally finding its way north!

Hi Jen, very tasty and the aroma is awesome!

Hey Wendy, I bet where you live you do have lots of those little gems.

Hey Lucy, be careful if you spy one in the woods! Pesto is awesome inside these!

Hi Laurie, you are lucky to live in a place where you can get "fresh" ones!

Come on down Sher and I will fix you a plate!

Thanks Jenn!!!

Mike of Mike's Table said...

Those look simple, delicious, and like great finger food! I'll have to try that--I could very easily see serving it as an appetizer when entertaining.

And I'm always envious of what seems to be your unlimited supply of freshly grown peppers :P And since I'm assuming you're a fan of spicy food, have you been to Peppers of Key West? I love that store...

eatme_delicious said...

Mmm yum great snack! And I like the mushroom photos.

Katie Zeller said...

I don't ever think about mushrooms in the spring! They're everywhere in late summer....
Morels, that's spring, isn't it. Now I have a mission tomorrow!

Suganya said...

This is such a pretty creation. Will try this very soon. I so envy you for living in Key West :)