Farm Kitchen Stuffed Mushrooms

Now, some recipes the Farmer’s Wife has are new. She’s seen an especially ripe vegetable or a certain stinky cheese and her mind fills with all they can become. She’ll scratch her head, try a thing or five and Waa–la! She’s got a new Thing to serve to her family and friends.

But not all her recipes came about that way. Some have a bit of history attached to them. This recipe is of that sort.

You see, the Farmer’s Father had one cookbook in his entire house. One. And seeing as that the Farmer’s Wife (before she became his wife) was often there and often wanting to cook a thing or two, that cookbook was referred to often, but often in vain.

It was not her sort of cookbook at all, in fact most of the recipes included mixes and the like. But there was one recipe that she found and made and then made again. And it was for Stuffed Mushrooms.

And here is that recipe:

A dozen mushrooms–the big white button-type–are to be stemmed and set aside. Chop the stems fine and place in a medium-sized frying pan with one quarter cup chopped sweet onions and one half cup chopped peppers–any color will do, the Farmer’s Wife tends to like the orange-yellow-red sweet variety. These should be kept as fine as the mushroom stems. Chop a cayenne pepper as well and add one teaspoon into the pan–this gives the mushrooms a bit of zing. If you don’t have a fresh cayenne, you can add a healthy pinch of dried red pepper. One half stick of butter is added and the heat turned on and all is cooked until it’s done, and by done I mean it looks like everything and everyone has come together, but they haven’t overdone it.

To this party add a half cup dry(ish) white wine. The Farmer’s Wife tends to go with a good German Riesling, because that’s what’s on hand, but use whatever suits you. Let the wine cook a bit, until it’s mostly absorbed. Turn off the heat and set aside. While the flavors are merging, crush one cup croutons until fine. Stir into the waiting pan and set all aside for thirty minutes, or longer. After the thirty minutes, taste the concoction and season with salt and pepper, if needed.

In the meantime, take the waiting mushrooms dip them, rounded side down, into the other half-stick of butter, which has been melted. Set the prepared mushrooms into a pan; the Farmer’s Wife prefers the cast-iron variety.

Place into the mushrooms a generous scoop of the filling and once all have their part, drizzle any remaining butter over their tops. Set the pan into a preheated four hundred degree oven, and bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the tops are crunchy-looking and the pan is sizzling. Serve immediately.

If you ever make it to the Farm, and appetizers or other various snacks are being served, chances are highly likely these will be among the group. They are a Farm Fa-vor-ite.

Now, the Farmer’s Wife swears that she has followed and does follow the original recipe exactly. That was until she had a chance to look at that cookbook again and and found that nothing was the same. Well, almost nothing. The original recipe does call for mushrooms.

Ah well, I think the Farmer’s Father would have forgive her. He knew, as well as you that she just can’t help herself.