Stuffed Mushrooms

By Lydia Manx

Summer's here and we have a tradition of sitting outside and watching the birds fly by on Fridays. We call it Five O'Clock Fridays -- but we can 'call' one any day of the week. Appetizers and something cool are the fun part while the conversation is what really does it. Here's one I sneaked onto the plate this month:

STUFFED MUSHROOM CAPS

Ingredients:

8 to 10 medium mushroom, firm, closed caps
1 tablespoon butter
Dash Italian seasonings
Crushed garlic
2 tablespoons fresh minced onion or green onion
1/4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soft bread crumbs (see below)
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons water
salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wash mushrooms quickly under running water; drain on paper towels. Pull stems from mushrooms and chop finely.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat; add chopped mushroom stems, garlic, Italian seasoning and onion. Sauté until tender.

Reduce heat. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, soft bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper. Sprinkle salt over mushroom caps and fill with sautéed mixture, mounding over the top.

At this point, you may cover and refrigerate these mushrooms for up to 24 hours.

Before serving, put 2 tablespoons of water in a shallow dish and arrange stuffed mushrooms in dish. Bake for about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 8 to 10 appetizers.

Soft bread crumbs: Put bread on cutting board and use fork tines to tear off crumbs, or use food processor to make finer crumbs. One slice of bread makes about 1/2 cup lightly packed crumbs.

Enjoy!