Mom's Stuffed Mushrooms

My Mom always made Stuffed Mushrooms for Christmas Eve and for other gatherings. She was known for them. Everyone always raved about them. I never touched them because...well...Mushrooms. Eww. Gross.

Then, one year, after having my second child, I decided I needed to throw Mom a surprise party for her birthday. Now, when I throw a party, I NEED to have a theme. Seriously. I LOVE doing a big themed party with the decorations and the food and the party favors and the music all somehow tied together.

And since my Mom was so proud of her Italian heritage, I decided what better theme than an all out Italiano party.

It was great. I decorated with grapes, red, white, and green. I bought cheeses and grapes and wines to start the party off. I bought CD's that were called something along the lines of "Mob Hits Volumes 1 and 2". Little Italian Flags everywhere. When she walked in, I made sure the theme to "The Godfather" was playing in the background.

And, of course, you can't have an Italian Party without good, ole' home cooked Italian Food. Big Food. LOTS of food.

I was new to the whole cooking thing, but I did it. I made Brasciole and Sausage and Peppers. I rolled a couple of hundred meatballs. I did two different pastas. I did Chicken Marsala. And...I decided to try and make Mom's Stuffed Mushrooms.

I not only succeeded in making her Stuffed Mushrooms. But her Very Best Friend actually commented to her "Sorry....but I do believe these are even better than yours. If that's possible." And they laughed. A lot. Because that is what they always did when they were together.

And I beamed. For something that I can't eat, I seemed to have done a good job at making them. And the Stuffed Mushroom torch was handed over to me.

My Mom is gone now. And so is her Very Best Friend. But, the friendship of these two great women continues into the next generation. And whenever we are together where there is going to be good food, good laughs, and good cooking....I usually make the mushrooms with fond memories and I can hear them laughing somewhere in the distance.

Like last weekend. My Girls' Weekend Away was with my Very Best Friend....who is the daughter of my Mom's Very Best Friend. And we laughed. A lot. Just like the two great women before us. And we made Mom's Stuffed Mushrooms.

Here is her recipe. I make it the same way Mom did. And there are no measurements. It's very old school Italian style of cooking. You know: A dash here, a pinch there.

You take your very ordinary white mushrooms and clean them. Then carefully remove the stems from the caps and separate them.

In a pan, melt one stick of butter and a drizzle of Olive Oil.


Add an onion that's been chopped to death and stir it into the hot melted butter and Olive Oil.

Then add minced garlic. I guess about two or three cloves.

Let it heat and cook through. While it's cooking, take those mushroom stems and chop it up until it is almost pureed. Throw that in the pan and mix. It should be liquidity. If not, add some more butter.


Now, here's the funny thing. For someone who doesn't like mushrooms, I love the smell of the mushrooms and onions and garlic and butter. It's one of the smells that brings back so many memories. If I close my eyes, I am twelve years old again on Christmas Eve. I can feel my Mom bustling about. The smell just screams Holidays to me.

Give the mixture a mix. Let it cook. Mix some more. If it looks to "dry" add some more butter.

After about ten minutes, throw in a handful or two of Italian Breadcrumbs and mix it in good. Now it should be the consistency of a thick paste. If it's too dry, add butter. Too wet, add more breadcrumbs.


Top this off with a good handful of Grated Parmesan Cheese. And mix it well. Turn off the heat. No need to add salt, because the butter and the Cheese is salty enough.



Take a baking pan and GENEROUSLY grease it with butter. I'm thinking the butter is the key in this recipe.

Then, with a teaspoon, begin to stuff your mushroom caps with the mixture from the pan. Make it nice and neat and smooth. Don't over do the stuffing because then you will end up with empty caps. You want to make sure you have enough stuffing for every cap.


Bake for about 20-25 minutes.


And you're done.

This is a GREAT make ahead recipe. You can do it the night before, let it cool, cover...then reheat the next day in time for the party. This is also a great vegetarian option for appetizers. And people absolutely rave about them. I can never make enough.

So, make these and share them with some good friends. Good Music. Good Wine. And a whole lot of Good Laughs. Because that is how they are meant to be eaten.