I do not like mushrooms at all, and usually refer to it as "fungus" in a disgusted voice. (Very mature, I know.)
However, Johnny's sister, Di loves mushrooms and I love Di, so I made them for Thanksgiving.
The recipe called for 12 mushrooms, but I called foul when I saw the amount of stuffing the recipe would make. Instead, I bought two packages of Baby Bella mushrooms, ranging in size from about an inch across, to maybe two inches across, and managed to stuff 26 with adequate filling.
~2 dozen mushrooms (I used Baby Bellas)1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used my coupon!)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I substituted paprika, we don't like spicy)
Preheat oven to 350°. Clean mushrooms with a damp towel and carefully break off stems, but don't discard them!
Spray baking pan with cooking spray and line up mushroom caps.
Chop saved stems extremely fine, discarding tough ends. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn the garlic. (This took me about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.) Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl mix together cooled mushroom stem mixture, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder, and cayenne (or paprika). Stir until incorporated, it will be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with the mixture. (At this point I covered them with plastic wrap and refrigerated to bake the next day, so it is possible to make them ahead.)
Bake for 20 minutes until the mushrooms have a little bit of liquid forming under the caps.
I did try one because the rule in my family growing up was that you always had to try at least one bite of something, even if you "didn't like it," because tastes change! Suffice to say the other half of my mushroom ended up on Johnny's plate! :)
