Mushrooms and Flowers

I helped a friend do some French cooking this week and became inspired to do some cooking of my own. Where else would I look for a nice French recipe than my Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking cook book? I flipped it open and one of the first things my eyes fell upon was "Champignons Farcis" or Stuffed Mushrooms.

They sounded so good, and the bonus was that the recipe seemed relatively simple.

Ingredients:

12 fresh mushroom caps 2-3 inches in diameter, stems removed

2-3 TBS melted butter

3 TBS finely minced onion

2 TBS butter

1 TBS oil

3 TBS minced green onion or shallot

Stems from the mushroom caps, finely minced and squeezed in towel to remove excess juice

optional 1/4 cup madeira sherry

3 TBS fine white bread crumbs

1/4 grated swiss cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

4 TBS minced parsley

1/2 tsp. tarragon

2-3 TBS whipping cream

more grated Swiss and butter for topping

Heat oven to 375. Brush mushroom caps with melted butter and place hollow side up in shallow roasting dish. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Saute onions in butter and oil 3-4 minutes without browning. Add shallots and stems. Saute 5-6 minutes. Add Madeira and boil it down rapidly until almost all evaporated. Off heat. Mix in bread crumbs, cheeses, parsley, tarragon and seasonings. Blend in a spoonful of cream at a time to create a mixture that holds its shape stiffly but is moistened. Spoon into caps and top each with a pinch of swiss cheese and a few drops of butter. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender and browned.

These were so delicious. You can make them ahead of time and bake later, too, which is handy if you need them as an appetizer for a get together.

I also wanted to share this beautiful bouquet Cody surprised me with yesterday. I don't think he gave it to me because those stuffed mushrooms I made were so amazingly good, but it's worth considering.