Mushroom mushroom!

OK, I know I've been slacking, but I'll make up for it. A couple of weeks ago we had a barbecue here with friends. Mr Wonderful grilled up some incredible NY steaks while I made stuffed mushrooms and panzanella...and you get BOTH the recipes here! The mushrooms are a delicious twist on my usual recipe, and the panzanella is a quick & healthy side dish that's ideal for summer tomatoes. Both recipes will qualify for Sweetnicks' ARF/5-a-day roundup - be sure and check out her site for other yummy recipes!

Stuffed Mushrooms
20 cremini or button mushrooms, cleaned
2 Tbsp EVOO
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 green onion, sliced thinly (green parts only)
4 Saltines or Ritz crackers, crushed to crumbs
1/2 pkg Boursin garlic-herb cheese
salt & pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop finely. Over medium heat, melt the butter and add the olive oil to a skillet. Add the mushroom stems and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic, parsley, green onion and some salt & pepper to taste. Add the cracker crumbs until you get a slightly moist, crumbly mixture (you may need to add a little more or less).

On a cookie sheet, lay out all the mushroom caps. Fill each mushroom cap with Boursin, smooshing it down with the back of a teaspoon. Top the cap with a little of the mushroom-garlic mixture and set it back on the cookie sheet. Fill all the caps, then top each cap with a little freshly grated Parmesan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the mushrooms soften, start to give up their juices, and get a little brown on the bottoms. Serve immediately.


Panzanella
1 c chopped tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes, cut in half)
2 c rustic bread (pugliese, sourdough, whatever), cut into 1" dice
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
1/4 EVOO, plus 2 Tbsp
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Scatter the bread on a cookie sheet, and toss with the 2 Tbsp olive oil and some salt & pepper. Pop it in the oven and let the croutons toast for ten minutes.

In the meantime, combine the tomatoes, shallot, parsley, 1/4 c olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt & pepper. As soon as the croutons are done toasting, toss them in with the tomato mixture and let the bread soak up the olive oil/balsamic vinegar/tomato juices. Serve immediately.