Stuffed Mushrooms

One of my favorite appetizers is stuffed mushrooms.  I am including two different recipes - one for sausage stuffed mushrooms, and one for crab stuffed mushrooms.  Here are the ingredients for the sausage stuffed mushrooms:

1 pound sausage
1 cup shredded or roped Provel/Provolone cheese
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 package of large button mushrooms, washed and stems removed
Drizzle of olive oil

Mix all ingredients together and roll a small amount into a ball.  Place each ball inside a mushroom cap.  Drizzle olive oil over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until sausage is thoroughly cooked.

Here are the ingredients for crab stuffed mushrooms:

2 cans of crab meat, drained
1 cups of breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/2 stick of melted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 large package of mushrooms, washed and stems removed
Drizzle of olive oil

Mix all ingredients together and place a small ball of the mixture in each mushroom cap.  Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until mushrooms cooked through.

Enjoy!

Linguini Con Pesce - Seafood Pasta

The family gathered at Cunetto's after my father passed away.  One last tribute to a great man!

 

Laura, Tonette, Me and Karrie giving a toast to Daddio

 Italians love their pasta.  One of my all time favorites is con pesce or seafood pasta.  When I was growing up, my family would go to Cunetto's House of Pasta (St. Louis, Mo) on special occasions.  I love their linguine con pesce.


My Nonna's maiden name was Cunetto.  She came over from Sicily, in the early 1900's.  Her nephews, Vince and Jake, started this iconic restaurant on "The Hill."  The Hill is the place where Italians live in St. Louis, it's own Little Italy, full of history and Italian culture.  It is still one of my favorite places to visit.

I wanted to make a great seafood pasta in a cream sauce.  Here are the ingredients:

1 pound linguine
3 cups heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Parmesan cheese
1 small can of chopped clams
1 pound of crab meat (not canned)
8-10 shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt
Pepper

Fill a large pot with water and put 2-3 teaspoons salt.  Boil and cook pasta, al dente.  This means that the pasta is not yet soft-still has a little bite to it.  It will finish cooking in the sauce.

In a large saute pan, heat the butter and olive oil.  Saute the onions until translucent.  Add the mushrooms and garlic.  Let that saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Add the heavy cream.  Let that heat up until just near the boiling point.  Add the clams, crab and shrimp.  Stir, and add the Parmesan cheese and parsley.  The sauce will thicken as it cooks-about 5 minutes.

Add the al dente pasta - stir for 3-5 minutes.  Serve.

Mangia!