Multiple good uses for fresh Mushroom Brushetta topping

It was one of the last recipes remaining to be cooked from my “Celebrating a Healthy Harvest” book, which features two recipe ideas for almost every veggie and fruit around. I’ve checked off almost every item and blogged about them in this column. Very few untested ones remain. Yet I’d been unable to find an occasion for Mushroom Bruschetta, an appetizer.

But when I studied the recipe, I realized this mushroom dish, sautéed with onion and seasonings, could be just as good a topping for burgers or for chicken and rice as it would be spread on French or Italian bread, as the recipe specified. I decided to get some fresh mushrooms, cook them up, and just see where this topping landed.

Wow, was this a sensational dish! (courtesy Chickasaw Nutrition Services, which published the cookbook). Actually the topping landed on all of the above mentioned items except for burgers, but I promised myself that it would be a do-again next time I have some turkey burgers on the grill. The blending of the mushrooms and onions (I actually used red onions) along with the curry set the stage for a tremendous mixing of flavors. This grew better with each day it had “leftover” status. The picture above shows the topping on French bread slices that had been toasted in the oven before I added the mushroom spread. I certainly could see this as a party dish.

I was sorry I had held off trying Mushroom Bruschetta, but it had been worth the wait.

Mushroom Bruschetta

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 pound button mushrooms, diced

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 cup fresh parsley (or 2 tablespoons dried parsley)

1 loaf Italian or French bread

Heat oil, pepper, and curry powder in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and oregano. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until desired doneness. Remove the pan from the heat; mix in the vinegar and parsley. Cut bread into 16 half-inch slices; toast. Place 2 rounded tablespoons of mushroom mixture on each toast slice; serve. Makes 12 appetizer servings.

Fresh, novel mushroom tartlets destined to be star appetizers at a buffet table

I must have been a tartlet-a-phobe. Something kept me apprehensive about trying a new recipe for Mushroom Tartlets. Intriguing, but I didn’t see how they possibly could work. The recipe, which I kept shoving further and further back into my file, called for wonton wrappers as the base of the tartlet. Other than my Asian Spring Salad that I blogged about some days ago, I’d hardly ever cooked Asian. Where would I go in a grocery store to find the wrappers? How would a mixture such as this not stick to the muffin tins and make a huge mess?

The egg was on my face when I finally mustered my courage and decided to tackle this dish, with the recipe provided by the Chickasaw Nutrition Services. They’ve never suggested a dud yet, I assured myself as I negotiated grocery aisles to look for the wontons. Not in the Oriental foods section; not in the frozen foods either. Then as I dug further, I spotted them: in the produce department near the bagged carrots and the slaw mixtures. Well, of course. They’d be near the ingredients to make spring rolls. I was thankful I had undertaken this errand myself and hadn’t sent Hubby on this expedition, or he’d be searching around the store even yet.

Making the tartlets involved preparing a simple mixture of mushrooms, onions, garlic, spices, and cream cheese. Into each sprayed muffin tin cup goes a wonton wrapper, which houses the mushroom mixture spooned into it. You simply bake the tartlets for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are brown. Once done the baked wonton is crisp but firm and slides right out of the nonstick muffin cup. The tartlets can cool on the tray on which you plan to serve them.

These make a wonderfully tasty appetizer that is so imaginative, you can feature it being the talk of a buffet table at a party. Everyone would wonder what it was and how it was made; one bite of the mixture encased within and these tartlets would be gone in a flash. Personally I’m thinkin’ upcoming Easter luncheon myself; these would be a great side served along a chicken dish or Easter ham.

What took me so long? Why’d I wait? These fresh little bites were astounding.

Mushroom Tartlets

Cooking spray

2 cups chopped mushrooms

1/3 cup chopped onion

3 tablespoons green onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon fat-free cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel)

12 wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl mix mushrooms, onions, garlic, and spices. Add cream cheese; mix well Spray each muffin cup with cooking spray. In each muffin cup place one wonton wrapper. Spoon 2 tablespoons of mushroom mixture into wonton cups. If you have any mixture left over, evenly divide it among the 12 tartlets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until edges are brown. Makes 12 servings.