As promised, this time I’ll be sharing the second course of the four-course dinner I made for my son Dan when he visited last week.
His choice for the first course was Tuna Ceviche, which I posted on June 4th. I wanted to follow this bright acidic appetizer with something a bit “meatier” and perused my handy blue binder (with all my favorite recipes) for just the right dish. I came across a recipe for sausage stuffed mushrooms … and well …
As often happens in my kitchen, I didn’t have the exact ingredients so used the “idea” of the recipe to inspire a new one. Also, as often occurs in Plynn’s cooking world, I just happened to have similar ingredients on hand, plus the meatiness of sausage and mushrooms combined fit what I had in mind for my second course. So here’s how I put it together:
2nd Course: Sausage & Mushroom Crostini
8 ½ inch slices of a French baguette
olive oil
garlic powder & onion powder
1 small shallot, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 Aidell’s habanero chicken sausage, quartered lengthwise and cut into small pieces
6-8 mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 T chopped cilantro
1 oz. crumbled Mexican cotija cheese (substitute feta if you can’t find cotija)
Put baguette slices on a baking sheet; brush with olive oil and dust with garlic and onion powders. Put under oven broiler until just toasted (nicely browned).
Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a frying pan and heat to medium. Add shallot and garlic; cook for 2 minutes, add sausage * and mushrooms, cooking until mushrooms are soft.
All of this can be done ahead of time. When ready to serve, heat the sausage mixture through, remove from heat and gently mix in the cilantro and cheese.
Heap onto the toasted baguette slices (crostini) and serve. (4 people)
Note: *Aidell’s sausage is precooked, so it can be cut easily and added to the frying pan with the mushrooms. If you choose to use fresh, uncooked sausage, remove meat from casing and then add it to the shallot and garlic, breaking it into small, bite-sized pieces. Cook for about 5 minutes before adding mushrooms. Continue directions as shown.
In my last post I mentioned that I like to use a “theme” ingredient in every course of my multi-course meals, just for fun and to taste how its flavor changes, and how it changes the flavor of the other ingredients. Can you guess what I chose for this meal?
Crostini is such an easy way to add a fun, tasty course. And toppings beg for creativity. Do you have a favorite? Please share it with me.
Stay tuned for the 3rd Course of Dan’s special dinner! In the meantime …
Eat well. Be happy.
Plynn Gutman 