Don’s Stuffed Mushroom Cap Apps

For a dinner party on Friday night, we decided to bring an appetizer I hadn’t made in years, and to do a little new spin on it. Stuffed Mushroom Caps, but instead of leaning to a spicy Italian sausage filling, I wanted to try something savory (with a ‘little’ kick).

So I give you Ham and Cheese Stuffed Mushroom Caps. Thank you Saara Przybylek for your sous chefing and mushroom-stuffing skills.

Three (quart?) boxes of white button mushrooms were used. Since these were to be baked, I wanted to keep them from steaming. So they were cleaned with a moist cloth. The stems broken off and they were minced to be a major part of the stuffing.

The minced stems went into a pan of melted butter with a diced onion and this mixture was cooked down. To this some garlic powder, paprika and fresh ground black pepper was added, along with a bit of cayenne. The cayenne was ‘the kick’ so add as much, or as little as you like. We went light.

After this mixture released most of its moisture, about a cup of diced ham was added. Again, this was cooked down to reduce the moisture.

In a mixing bowl, half a block of room-temperature cream cheese, some chopped parsley and the mushroom stem/onion/ham mix was added and mixed well. To this about a cup of fine shredded colby/jack cheese was added. This was all mixed well.

The mushroom caps were turned upright and coated with avocado oil. Then they were rotated with the ‘cup’ side up. The filling was then introduced, about a spoonful for each.

This tray went into a pre-heated 375° oven for 20 minutes. You want the tops browned off. A sprinkling of the shredded cheese went on top and then they were ready to serve.

At the party, they did not last long at all. All told, it took about 45 minutes to make them, including the cook time. A fast, fun, and well enjoyed app!