Easy Appetizers – Part 1

November 3rd, 2009


I recently hosted a meet the candidates function at my house and sent out a request for appetizer recipes on this blog. I received some really good recipes and wanted to share some of them with you. This recipe for Mushroom Croustades has now become one of my favorites. The recipe came from my friend Lyla in Michigan. I wrote about her here. What I love about the mushroom croustades is that you can do everything ahead of time and just assemble and bake at the last minute. The shells are made from bread which is cut into rounds and fitted into 2″ muffin cups and baked until browned. They are then frozen until you are ready to use them. The mushroom filling can also be done ahead of time. What’s not to like about that? (I think I am channeling Ina. ) And they taste great and do not fall apart when you bite into them. There is nothing worse then standing around at a cocktail party balancing a drink and trying to eat crumbly food. Food needs to be easy to handle and be eaten in one or two bites. This is a definite winner. Thank you Lyla.

MUSHROOM CROUSTADES

Croustades:
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
24 slices white bread (I used Pepperidge Farm Sandwich Bread)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the inside of 24 (2 inch) muffin cups generously with the butter. Using a 2 1/2 inch plain round cutter, cut out a circle from each bread slice. Using fingertips, press a circle of bread gently but firmly into each muffin cup so that it fits snugy. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until bread is golden brown. Remove from oven and place each bread basket on a cooling rack. When cool place in zip lock bag and freeze. Without defrosting them, fill them with the mushroom mixture and bake following the directions to follow.

Mushroom Filling:
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/3 cup finely snipped fresh chives
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablepoon butter, cut into tiny pieces (I skipped this)
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves

In a large frying pan, melt the 4 tablespoons butter. Add shallots and cook three minutes stirring frequently. Add mushrooms, increase heat to moderately high and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently until some water cooks out of mushrooms and is evaporated.

Remove skillet from heat. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms and stir in. Put skillet over moderate heat, gradually stir in cream and then cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and simmers for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in salt, cayenne, parsley, chives, and lemon juice. Allow to cool before filling croustades.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place frozen croustades on baking sheets. Fill each with a heaping tablespoon of the mushroom filling. Mound the filling slightly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and dot with butter. Bake approximately 10 minutes or until heated and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with minced parsley leaves. Makes 24 Mushroom Croustades.

15 responses to “Easy Appetizers – Part 1”

  1. Those sound delicious! I see my back splash tiles are very similar to yours! WE have great taste, don’t WE?
    Hugs,
    Penny

  2. Mmm, they look scrumptious!

  3. Penny… These look like they are delicious and easy; and that is most important for appetizer/ hor ‘dourves! Thanks

  4. Penny, these look fabulous. I agree about crumbly food at cocktail parties. Glad your meet and greet went well but of course we knew it would.
    Sam

  5. Mary says:

    These really do look good! It’s nice to have a recipe like this with the holidays just ahead of us.

  6. They look great. These are worth a try

  7. Lyla says:

    Penny,
    My birthday was yesterday. What a present you gave me by highlighting my mushroom croustade recipe. Thanks so much. I think the original recipe was in the wonderful cookbook Motherhood and Apple Pie. Since then, I’ve seen variations in the Ann Arbor, Michigan Junior Leage cookbook, on the Internet, and a variety of other places. Still, your articulate, well-crafted text and lovely pictures did the best job I’ve seen of presenting them.I was with some friends from here yesterday who thanks me for turning them toward your fabulous blog. That’s so much, dear friend.

  8. Kathleen says:

    Just printed out this recipe. I’m having company this weekend and these look perfect!! I adore the composition of your first photo. Thanks gals for sharing!

  9. Toni says:

    I adore the idea of using bread to make the cups – how simple is that??? I’m all over this one, Penny!

  10. I really like that you can prepare these adhead of time and assemble at the last minute. The best part is that they are real show stoppers!

  11. ARLENE says:

    What a great recipe! Easy, but they sound full of flavor.

  12. Katy ~ says:

    These do look good. Little mushroom bites always seem to be so welcomed at parties.

  13. Karine says:

    You appetizers sound delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  14. Bella says:

    Those really sound (and look) delicious. I might have to try those for our holiday party this year.

  15. Robin Sue says:

    Hi Penny- These are beautiful appetizers. You are right, things must be simple to eat. I love mushrooms and is the only one in my family who does, so these would be nice for a party so that I can enjoy them too along with my guests!

© Penny Klett, Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen. All rights reserved.