We Eat What We Are: At Home with the Mushroom Channel
As you may or may not have noticed (already), the Mushroom Channel team lives by the old “You are what you eat” adage. Only for us, it makes a little more sense when you turn it around. No time has that ever been more evident than an evening very recently when we were invited by a fellow team member, Susan, to her beautiful home (and rather divine kitchen) on the surprisingly bucolic outskirts of Chicago. Our entrance fee? Our personal favorite mushroom dishes, of course.
Five of us made the journey west with all of our precious offerings in tow, and I must say that we had quite the variety. Suzanne made a chilled Mushroom Pasta Salad, Lauren made a light Mushroom and Red Pepper Stir-Fry, Katy made a Puff Pastry “Pizza” with sautéed white button mushrooms, spinach and goat cheese on top. Even our main course, created by our hostess, featured mushrooms: chicken breasts seared and then baked in a broth of lemon, juice, wine, garlic and copious amounts of rather beautiful sautéed mushrooms.
What only occurred to me later was that I’d probably eaten a pound of mushrooms on my own and while I love everything, each dish was so unique that the potential to “overdo it” didn’t register. From my own widening repertoire of mushroom recipes, I know a lot about incorporating them into every kind of dish because they’re reflected prominently in so many kinds of cuisine and yet, and maybe I’m biased here 
, I can’t seem to get enough. It had every ingredient of a great evening- great food, wine and company- but the not so secret ingredient for our dinner party successes? Everyone’s favorite fungi.
Before you think I’m trying to get away without revealing my own contribution, please find my recipe of choice below. You can also find a few more photos from the dinner party on the Mushroom Channel’s Facebook page!
Stuffed Crimini Mushrooms
Ingredients
12 crimini mushroom caps
1 8 ounce container of whole crimini mushrooms (finely diced)
1 stick of hard salami (finely diced to same size as mushrooms)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (a little fruity if you dare, it compliments the salami spice nicely)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
Directions
1. Start by removing the stems from the mushroom caps to give yourself a nice wide bowl for the filling. Set them in a jelly roll pan that’s been lightly coated with a little cooking spray.
2. Saute the diced mushrooms, salami and garlic together in EVOO over medium-low heat until mushrooms are lightly browned and fragrant (about 10 minutes). Add a little more olive oil if necessary.
3. Turn heat down to low and add the cheese till incorporated into the mushroom/salami mixture.
4. Add half of your bread crumbs to the mixture and half of your parsley.
5. Use a teaspoon to fill each mushroom cap, round out the top of each with your spoon, then sprinkle tops with remaining bread crumbs and parsley.
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees and serve!
