Mushrooms Stuffed with Crab, Cream Cheese and Water Chestnuts
|
Step One: Start with about 30 to 40 baby bella mushrooms. The goal is to fill up a standard sized cookie sheet. Use damp paper towels to wipe the excess dirt off the mushrooms. Never submerge mushrooms in water to clean them! Mushrooms are very porous. They'll absorb moisture during the rinsing process and release a shocking amount of water while cooking.
Step Two: Break the stems off your mushrooms. If you gently twist and pull the stem while breaking, the core of the mushroom will often pop out with the stem. Use a teaspoon to scrape the remaining debris inside each mushroom cap. Set your hollow mushrooms on a cookie sheet sprayed with a light coat of cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
Step Three: Par bake your hollow mushrooms in an oven preheated at 350 degrees for about ten minutes. When you see that the mushrooms are swimming in a pool of the water they released, use a clean dish towel to sop up the water and wipe down the pan. This is a very important step, as the excess steam and moisture can make the mushrooms excessively soggy and prevent the filling from browning.
Step Four: Combine all filler ingredients in a mixing bowl. It helps to start with cream cheese that has been warmed to room temperature, but if your cream cheese is still stiff, you can add the Italian dressing and manipulate it with a rubber spatula to soften it before adding the other filler ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly blended. Note that this recipe calls for two types of crab. The shred style crab adds body to the mixture. The chunk style crab ensures that you can see and taste tiny chunks of crab. If you don't prefer to see and taste pieces of crab, use two shred style packages. If you don't have freshly grated Parmesan cheese on hand, the shelf stable stuff in the green jar will work just fine. If you don't have water chestnuts, this recipe will fly without them.
Step Five: Spoon the cream cheese mixture into each par baked mushroom bowl, over filling to create a slight mound. Top each mushroom with parsley flakes and a little bit of garlic salt to taste.
Step Six: Bake the stuffed mushrooms at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the filling is heated through. The length of time you bake will ultimately depend upon the temperature of the cream cheese used in the mixing phase. If you began with cold cream cheese, you may have to bake the mushrooms a bit longer.
Step Two: Break the stems off your mushrooms. If you gently twist and pull the stem while breaking, the core of the mushroom will often pop out with the stem. Use a teaspoon to scrape the remaining debris inside each mushroom cap. Set your hollow mushrooms on a cookie sheet sprayed with a light coat of cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
Step Three: Par bake your hollow mushrooms in an oven preheated at 350 degrees for about ten minutes. When you see that the mushrooms are swimming in a pool of the water they released, use a clean dish towel to sop up the water and wipe down the pan. This is a very important step, as the excess steam and moisture can make the mushrooms excessively soggy and prevent the filling from browning.
Step Four: Combine all filler ingredients in a mixing bowl. It helps to start with cream cheese that has been warmed to room temperature, but if your cream cheese is still stiff, you can add the Italian dressing and manipulate it with a rubber spatula to soften it before adding the other filler ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly blended. Note that this recipe calls for two types of crab. The shred style crab adds body to the mixture. The chunk style crab ensures that you can see and taste tiny chunks of crab. If you don't prefer to see and taste pieces of crab, use two shred style packages. If you don't have freshly grated Parmesan cheese on hand, the shelf stable stuff in the green jar will work just fine. If you don't have water chestnuts, this recipe will fly without them.
Step Five: Spoon the cream cheese mixture into each par baked mushroom bowl, over filling to create a slight mound. Top each mushroom with parsley flakes and a little bit of garlic salt to taste.
Step Six: Bake the stuffed mushrooms at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the filling is heated through. The length of time you bake will ultimately depend upon the temperature of the cream cheese used in the mixing phase. If you began with cold cream cheese, you may have to bake the mushrooms a bit longer.