Pesto Cream Cheese Stuffed Crimini Mushrooms

Pesto Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms.

These make for a nice appetizer or finger food for a party. This recipe is from Channel 14's Johnson and Wales Culinary Institute.


Pesto Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
(Number of Servings depends on how big your mushrooms are)
INGREDIENTS
One 8 oz. package white button or cremini mushrooms (I used cremini.)
2 oz. olive oil
Salt and pepper to season mushrooms (I omitted the salt.)
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 oz. prepared pesto
2 oz. grated parmesan cheese
2 oz. prepared bread crumbs (I used Panko bread crumbs.)
PROCEDURE
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash mushrooms and pat dry. Remove stems. Drizzle mushroom caps with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms on baking sheet, and bake for 5 minutes to par cook the mushrooms. If any liquid ends up in the caps, pour it off before continuing. Pat dry.

Drizzle mushroom caps with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with fresh ground black pepper.

Mix together cream cheese and pesto.

2. While the mushrooms are par-cooking, mix together the pesto and cream cheese. Fill the caps with a sizeable dollop of the mixture. Top the mushrooms with grated parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs.

Par cooked mushrooms.

Place a dollop of cream cheese mixture in each cap, top with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.

3. If preparing ahead for a party, stop here and refrigerate the mushrooms. When ready to serve, bake mushrooms in 375°F oven until browned and bubbly on top (should be 5-8 minutes - less time if prepared straight through without having to account for the chill from the fridge).

Out of the oven and ready to serve.

These are easy and very tasty.

Sweet Potato Crostini with Goat Cheese and Grape Salsa

Sweet potato crostini.

Once a month the Cameron Village Library sponsors a Cookbook Book Club* and this month those attending took a dish containing potatoes---any kind of potatoes.  I chose this easy and tasty appetizer using frozen waffle-cut sweet potato fries. In this case, instead of toasted bread crostini I am garnishing toasted sweet potato fries. The recipe is from Southern Living October 2012.

Waffle-cut sweet potato fries.

Ingredients: 
20 large frozen waffle-cut sweet potato fries 
2 tablespoons red pepper jelly 
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice  
1 cup quartered seedless red grapes 
1/4 cup finely diced yellow bell pepper  
2 tablespoons finely diced green onions 
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro 
1 (4-oz.) package crumbled goat cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°. Bake potatoes in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet 12 minutes; turn potatoes, and bake 5 to 7 more minutes or until crisp and lightly browned. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack 10 minutes.

Bake sweet potato fries.

Cool on a rack.

 2. Meanwhile, whisk together pepper jelly and lime juice in a small bowl; stir in grapes and next 3 ingredients.

Lime juice and red pepper jelly.

Add grapes, yellow pepper, and onions.

3. Arrange potatoes on a serving platter; sprinkle with goat cheese. Garnish with grape salsa, using a slotted spoon. Serve immediately.

Ready to enjoy.

The combination of flavors is wonderful and these provide healthful appetizers.

* I had to miss the book club meeting, because I had forgotten that one my grandchildren was playing basketball at the same time, and I chose the basketball game.  But my family enjoyed these appetizers, and I think you would like them too.