February Recipe

Here is my recipe for February for my birthday list goal #10...

Salmon-Stuffed Mushroom Caps

24 extra-large mushroom caps (about two pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked and flaked salmon, bones removed, or canned salmon, drained
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup minced green onion
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard or prepared horseradish

Preheat oven to 425F. Place the mushroom caps in a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to moisten evenly. Arrange them open side down and bake until they release their moisture and just begin to shrink, about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients and season to taste. Pack the mixture evenly into the mushroom caps and return them to the pan, stuffing side up. Bake until the tops are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

Recipe from...West Coast Seafood: The complete cookbook by Jay Harlow

Avery gave me this cookbook for Christmas a couple year ago and I've never used it. I also have several other cookbooks sitting around that I never use, mostly because when I want a recipe, I just look online. That's why I made the goal of cooking one meal from my cookbooks each month...I figure it's about time I put the books to use or get rid of them.

I did make some changes to the recipe above. First of all, I just used regular sized mushrooms because that's all we can get here in Bethel. I used fresh (frozen) salmon from this summers salmon run. I used dried chives instead of green onions because that's what I had available. I definitely used Dijon mustard because I dont like horseradish and I do like mustard. Other than that, I followed the recipe and they turned out delicious.

I had some extra salmon and mushroom leftover though, so I experimented a bit. I tried a different flavor of stuffing. I mixed the salmon with mayonnaise and parmesan cheese, then stuffed the mushrooms. Those turned out super delicious as well. I took the whole pan full of the two different flavors over to my friends birthday party last night and they were a big hit. Everyone liked both flavors. I liked them both as well, but I think I leaned more toward the Dijon stuffing. It had more of a tangy zip to it that really enhanced the mushroom flavor. Another person said that they really liked the parmesan ones because the texture of the stuffing was a bit more crisp. Either way...

YUM! You should try them!