Mushroom Lovers' French Bread Pizza

By mamapig

Ingredients

• 8 lg portobello mushroom caps
• 1 lb button mushrooms
• 1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms
• 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan
• 2 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 lg cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, eyeball it
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves, 4 sprigs stripped and chopped
• 1 loaf crusty French bread, 24 inches
• 3 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Preparation

Step 1

Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp towel. Slice the mushrooms. Heat a deep skillet with extra-virgin olive oil and butter over medium heat. When butter melts into oil, add bay, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are dark and tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper and add wine. Deglaze the pan with wine, eyeball the amount. Shake the pan and add the Worcestershire and thyme. Turn off heat

Preheat broiler and split the loaf lengthwise and across. Hollow out a bit of the soft insides. Toast the bread lightly under broiler. Fill bread with mushrooms evenly then top with cheese liberally. Melt cheese until it browns and bubbles then remove the pizzas from the oven and turn off the broiler.