This week’s contributor is Kristen Swensson, one of the main writers behind Cheap Healthy Good. CHG maintains recipes can be all three and has the numbers to prove it, hence why it’s a clear favorite for the Mushroom Channel and the feelings seem to be mutual.

As young-ish Brooklynites who don’t host a lot of formal gatherings, my boyfriend and I rarely make appetizers. When we do, they generally consist of Triscuits and a plastic tub of hummus, served on a platter if we’re feeling extra fancy. Alas, we were forced to bring hors d’oeuvres to a friend’s house for the ultimate in football game days (We have a 27-inch Sharp. He has a 52-inch HDTV. We have no choice.) Since 95.7% of potential attendees are trying to eat healthier in the New Year, I wanted to make our offering a little leaner. It was time to test a new recipe.

My first inclination was to create something vegetable-based, as it would naturally keep calories down. The dish had to have a quick cooking time, too, and couldn’t be raw, since our host would already have a crudité platter. Having just received Cook’s Illustrated Best Light Recipes for Christmas, I started leafing through for ideas. See, Christopher Kimball & Company always know what’s best. They’re the Julie Andrews of cooking.

They had it right this time around, too. Right there, on page 23, was a recipe for Light Stuffed Mushrooms. The nice thing about mushrooms (which granted, you might know if you’re already locked into this website) is that they’re ridiculously low in fat and calories. Plus, their shape makes them perfect vessels for all kinds of tasty things: cheese, breadcrumbs, even small children if they’ll fall for it. Subsequently, they seemed like a logical choice for a game day offering.

To get started, all I needed was the mushrooms themselves. So, I set out to Key Food to procure two pounds of button-variety fungi. Happily, they were on sale for $3/pound. Even better, there was no line at the self-checkout. If you’ve ever been waited on by a 17-year-old New Yorker who’d rather text her ex-ex-ex-boyfriend than ring up your produce, you know this is a good thing.

At home, prep proved to be relatively easy, since the mushroom caps could roast while I sautéed the stuffing. Jamming the cheese mixture into the caps was another story, but somehow, everything ended up assembled. (I don’t know how. I might have blacked out.) Ten final minutes in the oven brought everything together, and my boyfriend and I tested ‘em the millisecond they emerged.

And? Victory. Savory and light, they had a subtle saltiness tempered by splashes of sherry and white wine vinegar. We polished off 15 that night without even coming up for air. (To be fair, it was our dinner.) For the party, I prepped everything except the final dusting of cheese, and then finished cooking in our friend’s oven.

Next time you’re made to make a finger food, try mushrooms. They’re good starting points for … well, a lot of things. Mostly, they’re just good.

P.S. For convenience, I recorded my price calculations below this recipe. Cook’s Illustrated kindly provided the nutritional information, so that’s noted as well.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Makes 30 mushrooms, or 10 servings of 3 mushrooms each

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Best Light Recipe

MUSHROOMS

• 30 (1 1/2- to 2-inch wide) mushroom caps, wiped clean (about 2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch ground black pepper

FILLING

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 large shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
• 12 ounces white mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped fine (about 2 cups – half of this will come from the mushroom stems)
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme leaves
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• Ground black pepper

1) Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450ºF. Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Toss mushroom caps, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, together in a bowl, and then put the caps gill-side down on the cookie sheet. Roast until juices come out, about 18-20 minutes. Flip and keep roasting until juices are completely gone, and mushrooms are browned, another 10 minutes or so. Remove the pan from oven, and tilt to drain the extra juices.

2) While mushrooms are roasting, heat the oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes, stirring so they don’t become browned. Stir the garlic in and sauté another 30 seconds or so. Add chopped mushrooms, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until everything is pretty dry, about 6 minutes. Stir in the sherry and cook another 1 minute. Off heat, add vinegar, bread crumbs, 6 tablespoons Parmesan, and stir. Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

3) Using a spoon or fork, place about 1 teaspoon of the mushroom mixture into each cap. Top each cap with a little of the remaining Parmesan. Bake at 450ºF until the cheese is browned and melted and everything is warm, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve straight from the oven.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving

Ten servings: 60 calories, 3 g fat, $0.88

Each: 10 calories, 1 g fat, $0.29

Calculations

• 30 mushroom caps, plus 12 ounces chopped white mushrooms (about 2 pounds): $5.98
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil: $0.14
• 4 cloves minced garlic: $0.16
• 2 large shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup): $0.50
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme leaves: $0.33
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry: $0.11
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar: $0.08
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs: $0.08
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup): $1.36
• 1/4 teaspoon salt: $0.01
• Ground black pepper: $0.02

TOTAL: $8.77
PER SERVING (TOTAL/10): $0.88

For our Monday guest contributors:

For our spotlighted Recipes of the Week:

For all you fine folks who just loooove mushrooms:

If you’d like any of these lovely items on YOUR blog, email us! mushroomchannel (at) gmail (dot) com.

This week’s contributor is Kristen Swensson, one of the main writers behind Cheap Healthy Good. CHG maintains recipes can be all three and has the numbers to prove it, hence why it’s a clear favorite for the Mushroom Channel and the feelings seem to be mutual.

As young-ish Brooklynites who don’t host a lot of formal gatherings, my boyfriend and I rarely make appetizers. When we do, they generally consist of Triscuits and a plastic tub of hummus, served on a platter if we’re feeling extra fancy. Alas, we were forced to bring hors d’oeuvres to a friend’s house for the ultimate in football game days (We have a 27-inch Sharp. He has a 52-inch HDTV. We have no choice.) Since 95.7% of potential attendees are trying to eat healthier in the New Year, I wanted to make our offering a little leaner. It was time to test a new recipe.

My first inclination was to create something vegetable-based, as it would naturally keep calories down. The dish had to have a quick cooking time, too, and couldn’t be raw, since our host would already have a crudité platter. Having just received Cook’s Illustrated Best Light Recipes for Christmas, I started leafing through for ideas. See, Christopher Kimball & Company always know what’s best. They’re the Julie Andrews of cooking.

They had it right this time around, too. Right there, on page 23, was a recipe for Light Stuffed Mushrooms. The nice thing about mushrooms (which granted, you might know if you’re already locked into this website) is that they’re ridiculously low in fat and calories. Plus, their shape makes them perfect vessels for all kinds of tasty things: cheese, breadcrumbs, even small children if they’ll fall for it. Subsequently, they seemed like a logical choice for a game day offering.

To get started, all I needed was the mushrooms themselves. So, I set out to Key Food to procure two pounds of button-variety fungi. Happily, they were on sale for $3/pound. Even better, there was no line at the self-checkout. If you’ve ever been waited on by a 17-year-old New Yorker who’d rather text her ex-ex-ex-boyfriend than ring up your produce, you know this is a good thing.

At home, prep proved to be relatively easy, since the mushroom caps could roast while I sautéed the stuffing. Jamming the cheese mixture into the caps was another story, but somehow, everything ended up assembled. (I don’t know how. I might have blacked out.) Ten final minutes in the oven brought everything together, and my boyfriend and I tested ‘em the millisecond they emerged.

And? Victory. Savory and light, they had a subtle saltiness tempered by splashes of sherry and white wine vinegar. We polished off 15 that night without even coming up for air. (To be fair, it was our dinner.) For the party, I prepped everything except the final dusting of cheese, and then finished cooking in our friend’s oven.

Next time you’re made to make a finger food, try mushrooms. They’re good starting points for … well, a lot of things. Mostly, they’re just good.

P.S. For convenience, I recorded my price calculations below this recipe. Cook’s Illustrated kindly provided the nutritional information, so that’s noted as well.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Makes 30 mushrooms, or 10 servings of 3 mushrooms each

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Best Light Recipe

MUSHROOMS

• 30 (1 1/2- to 2-inch wide) mushroom caps, wiped clean (about 2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch ground black pepper

FILLING

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 large shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
• 12 ounces white mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped fine (about 2 cups – half of this will come from the mushroom stems)
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme leaves
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• Ground black pepper

1) Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450ºF. Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Toss mushroom caps, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, together in a bowl, and then put the caps gill-side down on the cookie sheet. Roast until juices come out, about 18-20 minutes. Flip and keep roasting until juices are completely gone, and mushrooms are browned, another 10 minutes or so. Remove the pan from oven, and tilt to drain the extra juices.

2) While mushrooms are roasting, heat the oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes, stirring so they don’t become browned. Stir the garlic in and sauté another 30 seconds or so. Add chopped mushrooms, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until everything is pretty dry, about 6 minutes. Stir in the sherry and cook another 1 minute. Off heat, add vinegar, bread crumbs, 6 tablespoons Parmesan, and stir. Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

3) Using a spoon or fork, place about 1 teaspoon of the mushroom mixture into each cap. Top each cap with a little of the remaining Parmesan. Bake at 450ºF until the cheese is browned and melted and everything is warm, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve straight from the oven.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving

Ten servings: 60 calories, 3 g fat, $0.88

Each: 10 calories, 1 g fat, $0.29

Calculations

• 30 mushroom caps, plus 12 ounces chopped white mushrooms (about 2 pounds): $5.98
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil: $0.14
• 4 cloves minced garlic: $0.16
• 2 large shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup): $0.50
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme leaves: $0.33
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry: $0.11
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar: $0.08
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs: $0.08
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup): $1.36
• 1/4 teaspoon salt: $0.01
• Ground black pepper: $0.02

TOTAL: $8.77
PER SERVING (TOTAL/10): $0.88

Please note that many links within these posts are to external sites not owned or maintained by the Mushroom Council. The Mushroom Council is not responsible for the safety, completeness, accuracy or nature of the content on those sites.

In a hilarious episode of her show yesterday, Ellen DeGeneres nearly stumped Drew Barrymore with her “Mystery Word” game. The audience was on the edge of their seats because they were promised a prize if one of the guests said the word. While Ellen’s celeb guests were in a silent room playing poker, she filled the audience in on the mystery word, “mushroom.” Ellen explained that she’s trying to eat healthier and found a superfood rich in vitamin D, delicious, nutritious and inexpensive, which was none other than our fabulous, fresh mushroom.

The laughter ensued when special guest Drew Barrymore was prompted to guess the word by naming common veggie pizza toppings. Sausage? No. Brussels sprouts, celery, squash? Are these even pizza toppings? Maraschino cherries, moss? FINALLY nearly two minutes into the game, Ellen let Drew in on an important clue, “What kind of a fungus is actually good for you?” “Mushroom!” Drew shouted.

The full video is available here and we were happy to see that two of our favorite ladies worked together to get the word out. Mushrooms needn’t be a mystery to anyone!

Please note that many links within these posts are to external sites not owned or maintained by the Mushroom Council. The Mushroom Council is not responsible for the safety, completeness, accuracy or nature of the content on those sites.

Do you have enough vitamin D? What’s enough? How do you know if you are getting enough vitamin D? What’s the big deal if you don’t have enough?

As vitamin D continues to gain momentum and attention with the media, medical associations and Americans alike, these are common questions we’re hearing. And, if you’re asking yourself any of these, you’re not alone. An emerging body of science, including laboratory, animal and epidemiological studies, suggests that higher intakes of vitamin D may be protective against some cancers, including pancreatic, breast, colon and colorectal cancers.*** In fact, the Institute of Medicine has convened a committee to evaluate the current daily recommendation of 400 IU of vitamin D, to see if it should be increased based on further review . If you don’t know your vitamin D blood level, contact your doctor.

The mushroom industry is continuing to learn more about the vitamin D found naturally in all varieties of mushrooms. A recent review of several mushroom varieties across America found that all mushrooms could have anywhere from 4 to 400 percent of the Daily Value of vitamin D. The unique vegetable contains ergosterol-a plant sterol-that is converted to vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. According to experts, this process is similar to how humans convert sunlight to vitamin D in the body. An easy way to remember the Daily Value of vitamin D found in white button mushrooms is that 1 mushroom equals about 1 percent of the Daily Value for adults. In other words, 10 mushrooms would be 10 percent of the Daily Value.

So, we want to know: do you know your vitamin D levels? What are you doing to make sure you and your family are getting enough?

****

1. Skinner HG, Michaud DS, Giovannucci E, Willett WC, et al. Vitamin D intake and the risk for pancreatic cancer in two cohort studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006;15(9):1688-1695.
2. Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Rimm EB, Hollis BW, et al. Prospective study of predictors of vitamin D status and cancer incidence and mortality in men. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006;98:451-9.
3. Spina CS, et al. Vitamin D and cancer. Anticancer Res. 2006;26(4A):2515-24.
4. Palmieri C, MacGregor T, Girgis S, Vigushin D. Serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels in early and advanced breast cancer. J Clin Pathol.2006; online edition: http://jcp.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/59/12/1334

Disclaimer: Please note that many links within these posts are to external sites not owned or maintained by the Mushroom Council. The Mushroom Council is not responsible for the safety, completeness, accuracy or nature of the content on those sites.

Naturally boost you immunity Ask Men gives some helpful hints on fighting off that cold- including adding your favorite fungi to meals for added nutrients.

Mushrooms: The New Mood Food… Hungry Girl’s found the ultimate mood-enhancer for anyone with the Winter Blues!

Mushrooms cut grapefruit/drug effect WebMD supplies your strange factoid of the day. Grapefruit and Mushrooms: Two good things that work better together!

Martha’s heart-healthy, one-pot dishes TODAY Show is featuring a heart-y recipe for Asian Stuffed Cabbage designed by the original domestic diva, Martha Stewart.

Vitamin D Makes Girls Big & Mean Strong We adjusted the title a bit but we think Dr. Fuhrman may be onto something when he highlights the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation to double children’s daily intake of vitamin D to 400 units. A good reason to supplement Vitamin D levels naturally by adding mushrooms to the menu!

Food for thought: Tasty mushrooms are good for you The Coloradoan did its homework- lots of fun fungi facts and a recipe.

Whisk: Sea Bass with Mushrooms and Cream Beautiful photographs of beautiful food- what’s not to love?

Experts: We’re in vitamin D deficiency crisis People of all ages are seeing the effects of Vitamin D deficiencies.  More on the problem and possible solutions after the jump.

Disclaimer: Please note that many links within these posts are to external sites not owned or maintained by the Mushroom Council. The Mushroom Council is not responsible for the safety, completeness, accuracy or nature of the content on those sites.

Thanks to one of our Twitter favorites, we just came across a delicious cooking demonstration for Vegan Pate, which replaces the liver in standard pate with sautéed mushrooms healthy twist on a rich classic. Please enjoy this short segment from Everyday Dish that would make for an excellent winter snack!

And the Recipe of the Week honor goes to… 28 Cooks for a decadent perfect-for-party pastry!

Made with three kinds of exotic mushrooms- crimini, oyster and shitake- then combined with goat cheese and rolled elegantly into braided puff pastry, this recipe grabbed our attention for straight up good taste.

Beautiful work Christiane! We assume our invitation’s in the mail?

This week’s featured contributor is Luisa Weiss who regularly posts recipes and beautiful photos on her food blog, The Wednesday Chef. All photo credits are hers.

Mushrooms are an unsung star in most kitchens, I think. Affordable, quick to prepare, important in ethnic cooking across the world, and delicious in so many forms. Here’s my own personal list of preferred mushroom preparations: Shriveled and blistered on wood-oven pizza; earthy and smooth in pureed soup; flat and roasted as part of a proper English breakfast; brined and pickled, too, a vinegary kick rounding out their soft, little forms.

But I’d never eaten mushrooms in salad form. That is, until I stumbled across an unassuming recipe hidden in the depths of Jeremiah Tower’s gorgeous and idiosyncratic cookbook, Jeremiah Tower Cooks. “Mushroom salad” sure doesn’t sound like much – I had visions of mayonnaise-cloaked mushrooms lying prone and flaccid against an iceberg wedge – and I was inclined to turn the page. But as I fingered the paper, my eyes scanned the ingredients and I stopped myself.

A pound of mushrooms, sliced thinly, is dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and some fresh, minced rosemary. You sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and let them sit for a bit, the special alchemy of acid and salt rendering the mushrooms juicy and flavorful without a single hit of heat.

Yes, yes, you think. It’s just mushrooms and a lemon dressing, big deal. But then Jeremiah has you pour a few spoonfuls of cream over the mushrooms. You toss them gently, let them sit a bit longer, and before you know it, something special has come together in your kitchen. Snip a mess of chives over the top, grind a bit of pepper (white, if you’d like to be fancy; black, if it’s all you’ve got) and suddenly, an innocent pile of plain button mushrooms has been transformed into a salad at once elegant and simple.

The cream tames the brighter lemon juice and the strong flavors of rosemary and chives, softening their hard edges. The mushrooms become tender and juicy, yet still retain their structural integrity. There’s no mushiness here. The salad tastes incredibly herbal and fresh, which is a welcome thing at the dinner table on your average cold, January night.

This versatile salad could hold its own as easily on a holiday buffet spread as it could served alongside your next family meal of tomato soup and grilled cheese. And I’m quite happy to add paper-thin mushrooms, brightly and creamily dressed, to my list of favorite mushroom preparations. Mushroom salad, welcome to the fold.