Stuffed Mushrooms

Take a look through magazines and on-line recipe sites and, if it’s hors d’oeuvre recipes you’re looking for, I think you’ll find a lot of fancy stuff that may have names like “kale toasts with scallop sushi and sea urchin foam.” And recipes for beautiful hors d’oeuvre that you admire but will probably never make and even if you do it won’t look like the photo.

Mine don’t anyway.

Besides, after years and years of observing folks at parties, I’ve realized that a majority of people seem to like the classics. The oldies but goodies. The easy stuff. The comforting kind of hors d’oeuvre. The ones that aren’t so gorgeous you’re afraid to eat them.

That taste terrific.

Like Franks-in-blankets and Spanakopitas.

And Stuffed Mushrooms.

Try these for your next party. They’re easy, they’re good, they won’t intimidate your guests and you can make them a day or so in advance.

Stuffed Mushrooms

14-16 large white mushrooms

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 ounces sweet Italian-style sausage meat, finely chopped

2 scallions, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1/4 cup vegetable stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Rinse and dry the mushrooms. Remove the stems, chop them, and set them aside. Brush the outside of the caps with one tablespoon of the olive oil. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the scallions, garlic and chopped mushroom stems. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the meat is well browned. Add the bread crumbs and thyme and mix the ingredients thoroughly. Pour in the stock and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon equal amounts of the mixture inside the mushroom caps. Mix ingredients well and use the mixture to stuff each mushroom cap. Place the filled caps on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until hot and crispy.

Makes 14-16 

Hot and Spicy Chicken Wings

Who can resist chicken wings?

Not me. Not since I was a very little girl. My mother would pick out the piece of chicken meat between the two bones of the center part of the three-part wing. There isn’t a lot of meat there, but it is the sweetest, most tender part in the entire chicken and my mother wanted me to have it. It was enough for a very little girl. 

Someone else ate the “drumstick”part.

Of course back then the chicken was mild tasting. My mother cooked it to make soup.

These days I spice things up. Like with these Sriracha wings I served yesterday when we were home, hanging out, watching an old movie with my brother and sister-in-law.

I ate that middle portion with the soft, sweet meat.

The others ate the drumstick part.

Hot and Spicy Wings

1 dozen chicken wings

1/3 cup ketchup

3 tablespoons Sriracha

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons sesame seed oil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 large scallion, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the wings and separate the parts (discard the tips or use them for stock or bake them along with the other parts). In a large bowl, combine the ketchup, Sriracha, soy sauce, honey, sesame seed oil, ginger, garlic and scallion. Mix the ingredients to blend them thoroughly. Add the wings and coat them completely. Place the wings in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the wings over and bake for another 15 minutes or until the wings are crispy.

Makes 24 pieces, 6-8 servings for hors d’oeuvre

Herb and Chorizo Gougeres

My mother always said “don’t try out new recipes on guests.” Because what if the recipe doesn’t work or we don’t like it and so on and so on and then there might be nothing to eat.

Well, first, there is never nothing to eat at my house. Because my mother’s other advice (shown by example) was to have a freezer full of food “just in case.”

Second, because I like to try new recipes and who else could I try them on if not for the people who dine at my table?

Usually what I do when I have a dinner party is to make one new dish. All my friends know there will be some experiment or other for them to taste and comment about.

But next Sunday I am having lots of people over to celebrate the birth of our granddaughter Carina (I am a little slow, she is now 7 months old) and several of the dishes I will be serving are experiments.

Only I took my mother’s advice. I tried them out first so I know they work.

One of the hors d’oeuvre I worked on was gougeres, the wonderful, crispy baked French cheese puffs. I’ve made them a zillion times, so no problem there. 

But I needed to make them dairy-free.

How do you make gougeres without butter and cheese?

I substituted Earth Balance buttery sticks for the butter. And instead of mixing in grated cheese I added finely chopped chorizo sausage (I used Jack’s Gourmet), which gave the puffs the characteristic tangy taste needed for a good gougere.

Voila! Followed my mom’s advice and have plenty in the freezer just in case.

Here’s the recipe:

Herb and Chorizo Gougeres 

1 cup water

1/4 pound (1/2 cup) Earth Balance Buttery Spread, cut into chunks

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mixed herbs

1/2 cup finely chopped chorizo (one Jack’s Gourmet chorizo)

pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the water and Earth Balance in a saucepan over medium heat. When the Earth Balance has melted, add the flour and salt all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is well blended and begins to come away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add the herbs, chorizo and cayenne pepper and blend them in thoroughly. Lightly grease and flour a baking sheet. Drop 1-inch mounds of dough from a teaspoon onto the sheet. Leave space between the mounds for the puffs to rise. Bake for 20 minutes or until the puffs are lightly brown and crispy. Lower the heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 5-6 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave the puffs in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes about 60