Mushrooms Reign Supreme!

Bruce and Connie decided to go for the ultimate challenge...we will be this week's judges!  So...not only do we have to cook opposing recipes, but we have to decide together which recipe is best.  Connie was quite skeptical about this approach given that part of this couple can be quite aggressive in "his" opinions.  However, Bruce suggested that if we don't have an obvious winner, Connie's decision would rule!  Does this man know how to keep the marital peace or what?

First up, Bruce's mushrooms.  They were quite pretty and you could see the cheesy goodness at first glance.

                                       The Challenger's Cheesy Stuffed Mushroom

We bit into it with great expectations, however....the cream cheese was actually over-powering and made the whole thing taste a bit bland and gooey.  But, it's never a slam dunk until both dishes are tested so Connie was a little concerned as she eyed her (er, Betty's) mushroom one more time.

                                    Hmmm....will Betty's mushroom reign supreme?

Betty's mushroom had that golden crust that is more typical for a stuffed mushroom.

                                                    Betty's Mushrooms Royale

As Connie tasted it, an inner beam started shining and it was difficult to keep the smile off her face.  This mushroom tasted just like Thanksgiving!!!  The stuffing and seasonings were super-yummy and all she could think of was "more, more, more!"  But, she remained calm as Bruce did his taste test.

He paused for a long moment as if deep in contemplative musings/thought....

                                                   Bruce in Deep Thought



before finally declaring Betty's mushrooms the clear winner.  He agreed that the delicate stuffing taste was spot-on.  As we happily munched our way through a big plate of Betty's mushrooms we discussed how to make the dish even better.  One idea:  a small amount of cream cheese might make it even more decadent.  And, as one of our active blog followers suggested...maybe some sausage would send it over the top. So, two final thoughts:  #1  Bruce kept a happy (and triumphant) wife

No, she's really not THAT competitive!

and #2 Betty scores again!!!

This Week's Scorecard:

Betty:                         4

The Challenger:        3



Hail to the Mighty Mushroom

Bruce and Connie have developed a true appreciation for mushrooms over the years.  Perhaps much of the reason for our interest in this little puff of fungus comes from our love of all things French...and the French certainly have a way with food, especially truffles.  Here in the States, Connie happily substitutes the giant portabella mushroom in place of a hamburger and Bruce has created a devilishly good mushroom and wine concoction that he serves over french bread and goat cheese (thanks to our good friend Jim S. for the inspiration on this one!)

Now, for this week's history lesson:

The first evidence that mushrooms were used as human food in prehistoric Europe is the recent find of a bowl of field mushrooms in a Bronze Age house near Nola in Italy.  Mushrooms were gathered from the wild.  Classical Greek authors tend to treat them as famine food, on the level with acorns. By Romans, however, they were so highly regarded that the Stroic writer Seneca gave up mushrooms as unnecessary luxuries -- an approach to the vegetarianism and asceticism that he toyed with. Recipes are suggested by Diphilus of Siphnos, in the third century BC, and in Apicius in the fourth century AD.

Mushrooms were also very popul in the civilizations of China, Egypt and Greece.  Egyptian pharoahs and Roman emperors actually went so far as to forbid commoners from eating mushrooms; strictly reserving them for nobility only.
 

Clearly, eating mushrooms is probably the closest we'll ever get to feeling

like nobility, so this week we decided to focus on the ever-popular stuffed

mushroom!

Connie will be cooking Betty Crocker's version:

Betty Crocker's Mushrooms Royale

Each mushroom cap holds a spicy golden stuffing.

1          pound medium mushrooms (about 3 dozen)
3          tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4       cup finely chopped green pepper
1/4       cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2    cups soft bread crumbs
1/2       teaspoon salt
1/2       teaspoon thyme
1/4       teaspoon garlic powder
1/4       teaspoon pepper
1          tablespoon butter or margarine

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash, trim and dry mushrooms thoroughly.  Remove stems; finely chop enough stems to measure 1/3 cup.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in skillet.  Cook and stir chopped mushroom stems, green pepper and onion in butter abuot 5 minutes or until tender.  Remove from heat; stir in remaining ingredients except mushroom caps and 1 tablespoon butter.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in shallow baking dish.  Fill mushroom caps with stuffing mixture; place mushrooms filled side up in baking dish.  Bake 15 minutes.

Set oven control at broil and/or 550 degrees.  Broil mushrooms 3 to 4 inches from heat 2 minutes.

About 3 dozen appetizers.

Bruce is this week's challenger and will be cooking:

Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms

12 whole fresh mushrooms

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.

When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Connie immediately started stressing about the fact that Bruce's recipe features cream cheese, while Betty's focuses on bread crumbs...who do you think will win this week's Mushroom Mania cookoff?

Good 'ole comfort food!

This week's judges are April (Bruce's daughter) and her husband Nick...by the way, they are the proud parents of our last judges...sweet Elise and Emma.

April and Nick are no strangers to food competitions.  For many years now they have hosted a much-attended chilli cookoff during the New Year's holiday.  And, of course, they are competitors in our annual family food  competition...this year we'll be hosting it during the Thanksgiving holidays.

Our family is full of fierce competitors and we can be quite critical as judges.  So, when family members are involved in the Betty Crocker cookoff,  Bruce and I hold our collective breaths and steel ourselves for whatever may happen!

                                                  April and Nick Before the Cookoff

We spent the day at the Historic 4th Ward Park in Atlanta to amuse the kids...

                                                   

and....Bruce.

Finally, back at home we got the potatoes in the oven and Bruce cooked steaks in the sous vide.  At this point we really haven't gotten the hang of perfect sous vide cooking; we haven't figured out how to serve the food really hot given that it is coming out of a warm water bath.  We have tried flash cooking the meat after it comes out of the bath, but we're still not satisfied.  However, last night we made a knock-it-out-of-the-park Mediterranean Shrimp in the sous vide.  It was over the top deeeeelicious! 

Anyway, back to the potatoes.  Betty's potatoes were drier and more like cheesy hash browns.

                                   Betty's Au Gratin Potatoes

and Connie's Challenger potatoes were creamier (you can never go wrong with bechemel sauce in any casserole)!

                              The Challenger's Au Gratin Potatoes

They tasted so different that we feared there might be a tie, however one bite of each and April and Nick quickly declared the Challenger the winner!  Connie did her happy dance around the kitchen while Bruce quizzed them on why they liked this dish better.  Their answer was surprising:  it was because of the sliced American cheese in the challenger's potatoes. Ah, Betty, I'm surprised you didn't add this old stand-by to your dish!  After a yummy meat and potatoes dinner everyone was satisfied and ready for a nap, especially Nick!

Another happy cookoff and it's getting interesting:

This Week's Scorecard
Betty:                            3
The Challenger:           3