Stuffed Mushrooms
By Donna Currie
These mushrooms are ideal as passed one-bite appetizers at a party, speared on a frilly toothpick. For a sit-down dinner, they would be lovely as an amuse bouche. Because of the added cracker crumbs, the sausage meatballs are tender and fluffy, unlike a sausage cooked as-is.
- Course: Appetizer
INGREDIENTS
- bulk Italian sausage
- buttery round crackers or saltines
- button or crimini mushrooms
- eggs
- provolone cheese
- sundried tomatoes
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium bowl, combine the sausage, tomatoes, crackers, and eggs. Mix well. The mixture should be moist, but firm enough to form small meatballs that will hold its shape. If the mixture is too loose, add more crushed crackers.
- Form the prepared meat into small meatballs that will fit into the mushroom caps.
- Heat your sauté pan on medium heat. Add the sausage meatballs, leaving a little space between them so you can turn them easily. You might need to cook in 2 batches. Brown them on all sides, and continue cooking until they’re cooked all the way through.
- Meanwhile, use a small spoon or small melon baller to hollow out the mushroom caps a little more, to make more room for the meatballs to nestle into the caps.
- When all the sausage meatballs are cooked, remove them from the pan and pour out the excess sausage grease, leaving whatever clings to the pan.
- Add the mushroom caps to the pan, open-side down, and cook for two or three minutes, until the rims of the caps are nicely browned.
- Remove the caps from the pan. NOTE: You can make these ahead up to this point and finish cooking right before serving.
- Place a meatball onto each upturned cap and place as many of them as will fit back into the same pan. Cut the cheese into squares that will fit on top of each mushroom.
- Heat the pan on medium, cover the pan, and cook just long enough to melt the cheese.
- Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
