Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

These sausage stuffed mushrooms are always a hit for company or a family gathering. Portobello mushrooms are marinated in some olive oil and Marsala wine. They are stuffed with turkey sausage, green onion, mascarpone (or cream cheese) and panko crumbs. Topped with cheese and baked until tender, they are delicious.

It’s no secret that I’m an Ina Garten fan.   This recipe is adapted from Ina’s repertoire, and it’s a good one. I made a couple of tweaks to the recipe. For starters, I made a switch from Button Mushrooms to Portobello Mushrooms.  I think they have a “nuttier” taste–

Food Network’s “Alton Brown” did an experiment, on one of his episodes, that disproved the theory that mushrooms should be wiped only with a damp cloth.  Alton weighed his mushrooms before washing them, and afterward. The increase of water was so minute, that it didn’t make a difference! Since then, I wash my mushrooms, thoroughly– which is a lot easier, I think. (I have seen what mushrooms grow in, and I want to be sure they are very clean!)

Wipe them dry with a paper towel, pull out the stems (to be chopped). A melon baller makes this task easier to clean out those unsightly “gills”.  The mushrooms are then placed into a baking dish, and marinated with a little olive oil and some sherry (or Marsala wine is good, too).  Next…

I used turkey sausage, since it’s less fatty than regular sausage.   Removing the casings, cook the sausage, thoroughly in a skillet.  Because turkey sausage is very lean, I actually needed to add a little bit of olive oil.  There! Are we ready to build flavor?
NOTE: This recipe could easily be adapted for a vegetarian by not using sausage and using more chopped mushrooms and bread crumbs.

To the sausage, add the green onion, finely minced garlic and panko crumbs until combined. Next…

Cheese, please!   Marscarpone Cheese is a good choice, but you could also use softened cream cheese. Once added, and it is blended once the heat makes it creamy.  Next, some Parmesan cheese.  I added some fresh cracked pepper, but not additional salt. I think the Parmesan and the sausage had enough in it– your choice.  In retrospect, I wish I had added some fresh thyme and red pepper flakes. 

My garden has ample fresh Italian parsley.  Mince it, and then add that to the sausage filling. Grab a small scoop, and now…

I diverted from the recipe, because I had a bag of shredded three-cheeses.  Why not?
NOTE: If you notice a toothpick…um, I kinda got aggressive cleaning out the mushrooms…and I “bwoke” one. I patched it back with a toothpick, which worked just fine.

The original recipe says to bake these for 50 minutes at 325F.  Mine were ready in 25 minutes! (I think it depends on the size of the mushrooms.)

My son said that these reminded him of sausage pizza– without the crust. I thought about it, and he’s right! These were very tasty.  Because the mushrooms were so large, combined with a salad, this would make a nice lunch or supper.

I had leftover sausage filling.  I think these would be delicious mixed in with scrambled eggs.  Or, this could also be used as a pizza topping.  However, I think I’ll just make these all over again for Christmas Eve. They are very easy to make.  I also think this recipe is very versatile.

TASTE NOTES:  Regular Italian sausage is an ideal ingredient. Just be sure to drain the excess fat.  Fresh thyme would be an excellent addition.  I’m not sure if panko crumbs are vital.  The moisture of the filling defeated the crunchiness of panko crumbs. I think regular bread crumbs would be fine.  Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking ingredients, so the cheeses hardened very quickly. I recommended shredding the cheese, by hand. You can easily make the sausage a day ahead– which is exactly what I’ve done.