Mouth-Watering Stuffed Mushrooms

By blum099

Use these edits: can be made up two days before needed. Wash mushrooms and twist out stems. Drain in colander. Put mushroom caps on paper towels to drain well. Slice off woody part of stem and put in food processor. Pulse stems until minced. Add 1 Tlbs olive oil to pan and stir-fry minced stems and garlic (minced type from jar)until dry. Add spices. Slightly cool, but while still warm add cheeses (and a can of drained crab if want). Put a plastic zip lock bag into a bowl and roll back sides- add cream cheese mixture. Snip off one corner and use as a pastry bag to fill mushrooms. If making ahead 1)use only freshest mushrooms you can find, 2)blot off excess water from mushrooms, 3)put them into a non-metalic dish. I sprinkle the tops with shreded (not grated )parmesan cheese. Cover well with plastic wrap and refrig. until ready to bake. (I've made up to two days in advance- without crabmeat though).A trick I use is to use smaller mushrooms so there is a good balance between mushroom and the amount of filling. I tried larger ones one time and it almost seemed like each bite was just a bit too full of creamy mixture. I also lightly butter the mushrooms before baking which keeps them from drying out. Last trick is I bake them in mini muffin tin pans. They hold the smaller mushrooms perfectly and the pans keep the mushrooms from tipping over and rolling around.

Ingredients

• 48 whole fresh mushrooms
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup minced garlic
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.