Stuffed Scotch Mushrooms and Shopping Local
I've never done these before but I sure have purchased them plenty of times at restaurants (sans whisky). If I had known they were so easy to make myself...Adding scotch to the stuffing made them so decadent (I ate all the leftover stuffing standing at the stove.)I decided on making these right before I left work so needed to stop and get the mushrooms.Now, I've been making a conscious effort to "shop locally" at the new little market that was just built near my house. C.E. Lovejoy's. It takes a real change in mindset to create new habits. Lovejoy's is actually closer to my house and my brain still says "Albertsons".It is a really nice market with decent prices and a lot of great local food artisans as well as staples and whoever buys their wine, is truly a guru. Last week I went to the Fish Company and bought mussels only to find them $1 a pound cheaper at Lovejoy's when I went to buy the bread to go with them. Humph. (A Scottish term for, well just about anything but in this case "Oh DAMN".)
I would like to encourage you to think/shop local if you don't already. Support your neighbors and local farms. Food miles (That’s the distance it takes for your food to travel) are a huge thing when it comes to fossil fuel usage and dependence. Really, look at an apple next time you go to buy one. A lot of them come from New Zealand. I have nothing against New Zealand, but why are we getting New Zealand apples in Oregon? We are just one state away from Washington. Plus we grow a zillion kinds of apples here in Oregon. Some right in my yard (for the deer apparently).
(Part of Lovejoy's Saturday Market bounty. Look at that DILL!)Eggs, we have a massive egg recall going on. People are worried I'm not because we get our eggs from under our hens in the back yard. Local eggs are more expensive, but being sick from Salmonella and missing work is even more expensive...and you use ALL that toilet paper.Okay, so, retracing that rabbit trail I just went down and getting back to the main path to Lovejoy's. I had planned on buying baby Portobellos to stuff but when I got there they were out, so we (Cindy the produce lady and I), fished through the regular mushrooms and easily found 12 that were big enough to stuff. I had not written anything down so mentally adjusted the recipe for local shopping and all was well. Stuffed Scotch Mushrooms· 1 stick butter· 1/2 onion, minced· 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese· 3 tbsp scotch· 1 cup plain or Italian seasoned bread crumbs· 1 lb. mushrooms· 1/2 teaspoon salt· 1/4 teaspoon pepper· 1 teaspoon minced garlic I'm going to start by BOLDY stating a cooking no-no. WASH YOUR MUSHROOMS. This brushing them off carefully with a towel is BS...Literally have you seen where they grow? If you have livestock you know...YEP in the BS! Now I'm not talking as a chef person here, I'm talking as a mother and person who likes my life not to be interrupted by massive sickness. WASH YOUR MUSHROOMS....and from straighdope.com "There are people out there who soak wild mushrooms in salt water to get the worms out that sometimes infest them" ...now that should be enough to freak you out!Alton Brown (You know, the GURU and KNOW ALL of cooking so you should believe him if you don't believe me because he is a chef person...http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season2/Mushroom/MushroomTranscript.htm) and a few others have done some tests and the mushrooms did not absorb enough water when flat out SOAKED for an hour to make a difference, so with all this Salmonella flying around and the like just lightly wash the dang things and pat them dry.Thanks, I feel better.Carefully remove the stems from the mushrooms leaving a nice spot in the middle of the cap for filling. Chop up the stems we’re going to use them.Melt butter in skillet toss in the minced onions and cook until translucent.Now add in the chopped mushroom stems. (I like this because you use the stems!)Mix in bread crumbs, seasonings, and cheese and let it all get cooking together for a few minutes. (The recipe I started with said "brown" but since it’s all brown already...how do you know?)Add Scotch. Toss lightly to combine well.Stuff mushroom caps with mixture.Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes
