Amazing Mushroom Recipes For The Holidays

The mushroom is one of the most versatile foods you can possibly cook with. I've found a love for the simple white button mushroom, the larger meatier portobello and it's smaller counterpart the crimini. The portobello is just the longer growing version of the crimini mushroom. I just adore the earthiness and meatiness of the portobello and find that it does well with a variety of ingredients.

While the white button mushroom was pretty much king to home cooks and restaurants back in the 1960s, the next craze to come into play was the crimini and portobello. The portobello was at one time considered more of a gourmet mushroom before blossoming into popularity and hence available in any supermarket in the country.

Although the mushroom is neither a plant nor an animal but rather is in it's own class as "fungi", the mushroom is just thought of by many as a "vegetable" and has many uses in cooking.



I use mushrooms quite often in my dishes but on its' own the flavor is incredible when paired with a mixture of ingredients like bread crumbs, seafood, herbs, vegetables. Cooking techniques include sauteing, grilling, braising and baking. Here are some of my favorite mushroom recipes that you can be proud to serve guests over the holiday season or any time of the year.

Starting at the top right: Steak House Mushrooms Marsala. This is an outstanding preparation and if you are thinking of doing a rib roast for dinner, serve these as a side dish as they will really complement the roast. I've take the common white button mushroom and elevated the taste in this recipe.

Next is a recipe for Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms. Using canned artichoke hearts you build an incredible filling for white button mushrooms, or you can use the crimini mushroom also known as "baby portobellos".

The Italian Portobello Mushroom Caps was one of my first creations using the portobello as a vessel for all those Italian ingredients we love including ricotta cheese and red sauce. They are delicious and could also be used as a first course to any meal or a meal all by itself.

Then the bottom row starting on the left we have Portobello Stuffies. Filled with some vegetables and cream cheese and topped with buttery Ritz® crackers these were stunning in presentation and that was matched with an incredibly flavorful filling.

Portobello Pizzas happen to be one of my husbands favorites in this grouping of mushroom recipes. Fresh tomato slices and fresh herbs topped with mozzarella cheese makes this recipe a real winner. Also a much healthier pizza type snack for kids.

Then the Stuffed Button Mushrooms, a recipe that was so popular in my small food to go restaurant is still a big hit when I serve it to guests or bring to a gathering. If you need to bring an appetizer, try this one out. I was able to make 33 of these when the mushrooms went on super sale for about $6.77.

My last mushroom recipe in this series is the Bake Portobello Mushroom. Combining caramelized onions and fresh tomatoes this recipe is so unbelievably scrumptious. This also could be a first course to a meal or a meal in itself. Considering cutting them into quarters for an appetizer.

Other recipes I've used mushrooms in and are simple recipes with great flavor are:

Chicken and Mushrooms with Sage.

Chicken Wellingtons

Quick and Easy: Hamburger Stroganoff

If you want to discover other types of mushrooms you can implement in your recipes visit Real Simple and check out their post on Common Types of Mushrooms that are available in any grocery store.