Today, a brief and culinary pause in the Erica/Dave wedding story–but be back tomorrow for all the pictures of the bride getting dressed. All very decent, I assure you.

I recently experienced a cooking failure making stuffed portobellos. I oversalted them, and there was wa-ay too much garlic–can you believe it? I never thought I’d use the phrase “too much garlic”, but considering I woke myself up at 2am due to my own overpowering garlic breath, it seems appropriate. These are the culprits:

They look so innocent . . . even delicious. But you’ll have to take my word for it: they were not.

“If you don’t succeed, try, try again” I whispered to myself as I walked to the El to catch the train to work. “If you don’t succeed, try, try again,” I murmured as I transferred to the Belmont bus. “If you don’t succeed . . .”–but you get the idea.

After all this self-motivation business, I dug in and determined to give it another try. I sat before my computer screen and fantasized about taking a bite of the fabulous, meaty mushroom that we’ve all come to love: what flavors did I want in my mouth? Garlic, definitely . . . a little wine . . . some mozzarella . . . something meaty, something red . . . and thus this recipe was born. I typed it up and tested it on my parents when they popped down to Chicago for a visit. I bring you the results. You will love them.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

5 Portobello mushrooms, wiped clean

1 TBS olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 pre-cooked bratwursts, chopped

3-4 slices fresh mozzarella, torn

1 roasted red pepper, torn

5 TBS white wine

10 tsp heavy cream

5 dashes salt

5 dashes black pepper

First I should explain–I used 5 mushrooms, but put “serves 4” because there’s always someone who wants a little more. Technically though, you could do 1 mushroom per person. That is, if you’re a mushroom miser.

Let’s begin: heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the stems from the Portobellos, chop the stems, and set them aside. Chop your brats as well. I found these brats next to the hot dogs–they’re precooked, which saves some time. And they’re reeeaal good.

Lay the Portobello caps on a baking sheet, rounded side down. Mix the olive oil and minced garlic, spread it over the portobellos with a pastry brush, and sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper.

Pour 1 TBS wine and 2 tsp cream in each mushroom cap.

Heat a pan over medium-high and add the chopped bratwursts and chopped mushroom stems. Cook 7-8 minutes or until browned. They will start out looking pale and sickly:

. . . but with my dad’s tender care . . .

. . . they browned quite nicely. Good job, Dad.

Now let’s grab the fun stuff:

Tear the mozzarella slices and roasted red pepper, and lay the pieces in each mushroom.

Top with the bratwurst/mushroom stem mixture.

Put the whole shebang in your 400 degree oven for 12 minutes, then serve ’em up. Mmmm . . .

Serve with Tangy Lemon Spinach (recipe coming soon) and white rice.

Lessons learned from initial failure and subsequent success:

1. Do not oversalt. Do not oversalt. You can always add salt, but once it’s in there it’s too late. Record yourself saying this on a looped track and play it as you sleep for maximum absorption.
2. Experimentation will not always result in astounding success.
3. Experimentation will inevitably result in astounding success when white wine and cream are involved.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Garlicky Stuffed Portobellos