Is it a keeper: YES! They are great for parties!
Last night was a very fun cooking adventure. My friend Danielle has been begging me to teach her how to make mushroom cups for the past four years, and we finally made it happen! Danielle came over along with our friends Natalie, Rachel, and Brandon. We not only decided to take on the mission of making mushroom cups (we even made 2 recipes!), but also a Sephardic recipe called Rojaldes, which my family calls spinach triangles. I will post the spinach triangle recipe tomorrow.
We all split up, Danielle in charge of mushroom cups, and Natalie in charge of spinach triangles. I stood in the middle making sure everything was going accordingly.
When making the mushroom cups, you use a cookie cutter to make the individual cups of white bread. There is leftover bread from each slice, so I decided to use the leftovers to make croutons. I tossed the cut up pieces of bread, about 2 Tablespoons olive oil, garlic powder, Kosher salt, and Nature’s Seasons together. Bake these on a cookie sheet on 350* for about 12 minutes (toss halfway through), or until hard. Throw on top of your favorite salad and enjoy! Each of my friends was able to take home a bag of croutons because we made so many!
The first recipe of mushroom cups did not have much flavor, so we added extra salt, fresh ground pepper, and cayenne to the second recipe. This gave it a kick and tasted wonderful!
Mushroom Cups
4 loaves thin white bread
1 stick butter, melted
1 stick butter
6 Tablespoons shallots
1 pound mushrooms, chopped
4 Tablespoons flour
2 cups cream
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Cayenne
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
3 Tablespoons chives, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
miniature muffin pans
3-4” cookie cutter
Rolling pin
Using a 3 inch or 4 inch cookie cutter, cut pieces of bread. Melt 1 stick butter. Brush miniature muffin pans with butter. Place 1 piece of round bread in each muffin hole, then press the bread against the side of the tin. Bake at 400* until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
Sauté 1 stick butter and shallots until soft. Add the chopped mushrooms. Remove from heat and add the flour and the cream. Bring to a boil. When the mixture has become thicker, turn heat down to simmer.
Add salt, pepper, and cayenne. Add parsley, chives, and lemon juice. Spoon mushroom mixture into bread cups.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake at 400* until browned, about 10-12 minutes.
These can be frozen before cooked.
Yield: about 3 dozen
