Stuffed Mushrooms: a tutorial of awesomeness!

I love stuffed mushrooms.  I especially love the ones you can get as a small plate at the cheesecake factory. . . it is a guilty pleasure my mom and I enjoy every year because the men in our lives just don't agree with our love of mushrooms.  In fact, my husband, will probably disagree on my title of awesomeness.  But, these ARE awesome!  I promise you.  

I made these for some family gathering back in November and my sister-in-law, Kristal, keeps asking for the recipe.  Since, I made up the recipe and it was all in my head, I decided it was time to get it down electronically so that it can be enjoyed by all.  (So, Kristal, in case you are reading this. . . this post is for you!).  

The first step in every recipe is gather and prep your ingredients.  You will need some bread crumbs, white wine (I like the sweetness that a moscato has to offer), parsley (dried or fresh work), Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, garlic, \ a shallot, and mushrooms, of course.

First, take your mushrooms and wash them very carefully.  Pull out the stems (it's okay if one mushrooms break apart).  Heat your pan to medium with about a tablespoon of olive oil.  Allow to heat, while you chop your veggies. Set your stems aside and chop them up.   Then chop up your shallot. 

Add to the heated oil, your chopped shallot and mushroom stems.  Also add a few cloves of garlic, chopped (I love my Pampered Chef garlic press for this job!).

As your shallots start looking soft, pour 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of your favorite white wine into your pan with the mushroom mixture.  Allow it to simmer/cook for about 10 or so minutes.  A lot of the liquid will evaporate during this time, which is what you want. 

While you are cooking down your wine, in a small bowl, combine your cream cheese (you can use 1/2 to 1/3 of a block.  It's up to you how cheesy you want it to be.  You can zap it for a few seconds to make it soft if you need it to be.  Add your parsley and a few handfuls of Parmesan cheese.  I honestly don't measure too much here, just however much you feel is necessary. Using a spatula, mix that up as well as you can.

After 10 or so minutes of simmering, your mushroom stem mixture should be soft and the liquid should be reduced to about 1/2 of what it was when you first put the wine in.  Pour into your cream cheese mixture.  The heat, will melt everything and make it easier to stir.

Spoon the mixture into the mushrooms.  Mine are usually overflowing with goodness.  Then sprinkle your favorite bread crumbs over the top and stick in the oven at 350 for about 10-20 minutes. . . keep an eye on it until they have a nice golden top.  

Oh, don't they look wonderful?  It makes me want to go make some right.now.  Seriously, they are that good!  And they are way cheaper to make then ordering them at Cheesecake Factory.  That makes me happy.  Very happy!

Okay, one last picture. . . i'll bet you are checking your refrigerator for ingredients. . . don't lie. . . you know you are.

Now, that I am done blogging for the day, I am going to go sew on some buttons. . .