Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms was the retro-feeling pick second pick for Barefoot Bloggers last month (yes I'm late). When I saw the choice, I felt like I should whip out a little frilly apron, pop some Dean Martin on the i-pod and serve up some pickled onions on jatz first. In my mind's eye, I can picture a 1960s cookbook display of assorted hors d'oeuvres, with little versions of these babies sitting happily in between the stuffed olives and the devilled eggs. And, as a little nibble they would be great.

My big mistake was planning to have these for dinner, and making them in large mushroom caps (in my defence, large mushroom caps is what the recipe calls for). They are really very filling and very rich, and probably too much for a normal dinner. However as a bite-sized nibble at a cocktail party they would be great, and if I make them again, that is what I would be doing with them. The recipe involves removing sausage meat from its casing (easily done with a pair of scissors), browning it off, then adding some green onions, garlic and breadcrumbs. Then, because this is a Barefoot recipe where flavour is never troubled by calorie count, you swirl in some mascarpone, before adding a final touch of parmesan to the mix. The mix is then stuffed into mushrooms and sent off to the oven to bake until the top is brown and crisp and the mushroom beneath is cooked. Easy peasy and very tasty, just a bit much for dinner.

Thanks to Michelle of Welcome to the Club for her choice.

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

from Ina Garten on The Food Network

16 extra-large white mushrooms (or 32 button mushroom caps)
5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine or medium sherry
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
6 scallions, white and green parts, minced
2 garlic cloves minced
2/3 cup panko crumbs
5 ounces mascarpone cheese, preferably from Italy
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it's completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste, Cool slightly.

Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing for 50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

Baked Sausages and Capsicum

Despite my undying devotion to cooking, I only ever watch TV cooking shows very fleetingly because I find them bizarrely unsatisfying. There are some notable exceptions: I really love "The Best in Australia" (three professional chefs compete each week to create the ultimate dish in a particular category eg the ultimate egg breakfast or the ultimate pasta dish), and "The Great British Menu" is also compelling, but mostly I turn on a show, see a little but then find myself wandering away to do the laundry or unpack the dishwasher (see - really bored). But every now and then, something catches my eye. I spotted this dish while blitzing through the channels last week, and landing on a British show called "Come Dine With Me". Hilariously, the concept seems to be a competitive dinner party show, with people making bitchy comments about someone's bathroom wallpaper and decor choices before sitting down to a dinner that they then critique fairly mercilessly. Just like having Simon Cowell over.

In any event, the dish I saw featured had potential as a quick, simple dinner, although I must confess that I would not consider it for a competitive dinner party with snarky celebrity judges. The colours are gorgeous but make sure you get really good sausages as they are definitely the star. (Leftover note - I mixed the leftover capsicum with some of the meatball sauce from tomorrow's posting, instead of having pasta. Scrumptious).

Roasted Sausages and Capsicum

adapted from Come Dine With Me Italian Sausages from Ben de Lisi

6-8 spicy Italian sausages

2 orange bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
2 green bell peppers
1 large red onion
1 tbl dried oregano
Ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Chop capsicums into 3 cm squares, discarding seeds and membranes. Chop onion into quarters and then split into layers.

Place all capsicums and onions in a large baking dish and mix well with a drizzle of olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Pierce the sausages and place on top. Cook at 200C for 30 mins or until sausages are cooked and capsicum is tender. (Remove the sausages and allow the vegetables to keep cooking if necessary).