I had a few people over to ring in the new year and wanted to whip up an elegant but easy appetizer. Instead of serving the basic shrimp cocktail, cheese platter, cheeese dips, or bread with toppings, I decided to stuff some mushrooms.  I had most of the ingredients on hand in my fridge but had to go to the store to get mascarpone cheese. I still wanted the mushroom flavor to shine, but didn’t want it to be too bland, so I marinated it lightly with olive oil and marsala wine.  You can stuff little mushrooms to serve as an appetizer, or just stuff a full portabello mushroom and eat it as a meal.  If you’re looking for a quick and easy elegant appetizer, this will sure be a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of button or cremini mushrooms (about 8 -10 whole mushrooms)
• 1 1/2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 tbsp of marsala cooking wine
• 1 sweet italian sausage link removed from the casings
• 3 strips of bacon finely chopped
• Pinch of red chili flakes for heat (not shown on video)
• 2 scallions/green onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/3 cup of panko bread crumbs
• heaping 1/4 cup of mascarpone cheese
• 2 tbsp + 2 tsp of parmesan cheese
• 1 1/4 tbsp of minsed italian parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Clean mushrooms – caps and stems
2. Remove stems from mushrooms and cut out end tip and discard
3. Finely mince your mushroom stems
4. Remove gills from mushrooms.
5. Mix marsala wine and olive oil in a bowl and gently toss the mushroom caps in the bowl. Let mushrooms marinate.
6. Heat oil and saute sausage and bacon. Add chili flakes.
7. Once browned, add garlic and green onions. Saute until fragrant.
8. Add panko bread crumbs and combine with ingredients.
9. Add mascarpone cheese and mix until melted.
10. Add parmesan cheese and parsely. Mix and set aside.
11. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
12. Generously stuff each mushroom with mixture and place in baking dish.
13. Bake until topping is golden brown (about 45 min).