Button Mushrooms à La Crème Food

BUTTON MUSHROOMS à LA CRèME

Steps:

• Trim mushroom stems. If gritty, rinse briefly in a colander with warm tap water and blot dry. (Or wipe them with a damp paper towel.) Halve or quarter mushrooms larger than button size.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. When it sizzles, add mushrooms and stir to coat. Season well with salt and pepper. Turn up heat and cook, continually shaking pan and stirring with a wooden spoon. The high heat should evaporate any liquid from the mushrooms. Cook until just done, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and tarragon, then the crème fraîche, stirring continuously over high heat until the sauce is reduced and somewhat thickened, 2 minutes or less. Turn off the heat, stir in the parsley and transfer mushrooms to a warm serving bowl. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately.

MICHAEL'S BEST BUTTON MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms. Do not move the mushrooms until they have caramelized on the bottom. If you toss them too soon, they will release their liquid and begin to steam. When the bottoms are caramelized, toss them and continue to cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the butter. Cook and toss for 5 minutes, until beautifully browned.
• Season with salt and add the garlic. Saute another 2 minutes, and add the thyme, lemon juice, and white wine. Cook to evaporate the liquid.
• Toss in the parsley and serve immediately.

MUSHROOMS IN CREAM

Steps:

• Slice mushrooms.
• In a skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter. When butter is foaming, add sliced mushrooms; stir them well for 1 minute to coat thoroughly with butter.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Add cream and simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• To make garnish, cut each slice of bread into 4 triangles.
• Melt butter in a skillet and saute triangles on each side, until slightly browned.
• Serve mushrooms in shallow, single-serving casserole dish and stand toast triangles around the edges, with points up.

CREAMY MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Soak dried ceps in hot water for 5 mins. Strain ceps, keeping the liquid for the sauce. Squeeze ceps dry, then finely slice. Heat a large pan with unsalted butter until it just begins to foam, brown and bubble, add the button mushrooms, and the ceps. Sprinkle with salt if you want, then fry for 2-3 mins until lightly browned. Pour in the cep liquid and reduce until it becomes thick and syrupy. Stir in the double cream and boil for a min or so until sauce starts to thicken.

ELIA ABOUMRAD'S PORTOBELLO & BUTTON MUSHROOM CREME W. PECANS

Steps:

• 1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add button mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• 2. Add cream and chicken broth to mushrooms and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Cover mixture and continue to simmer for 20 minutes longer. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 20 minutes. Strain mixture, discarding mushrooms and reserving cream mixture.
• 3. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add Portobello mushrooms and cook until beginning to soften. Remove from heat.
• 4. To serve: Warm cream mixture if necessary. Divide between bowls and top with Portobello mushrooms, pecans and chives. Serve immediately.

CREAMY GARLIC MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Pour the oil into a flat, shallow frying pan and place over a gentle heat. Finely slice the garlic and shallots and add to the pan. Fry gently for a few minutes, stirring occasionally and ensuring the garlic and shallots do not start to brown or burn.
• Prepare your mushrooms by gently wiping any dirt from their surfaces with a piece of kitchen towel - never wash mushrooms as they will absorb the water and become slimy. Slice the mushrooms into chunky pieces and add to the pan, stirring so that they become coated with the oil.
• Once the mushrooms have all started to colour, pour the glass of wine into the pan and turn the heat up so that the alcohol burns off and the liquid starts to reduce.
• After a few minutes, the mushrooms should be cooked, so turn the heat back down quite low and add the cream to the pan along with black pepper according to taste. Stir everything around and heat gently for a couple of minutes.
• Preheat the grill to high.
• Transfer the mushrooms and cream mixture to two shallow, heat-proof dishes. Spinkle the grated cheese over the top of each and place the dishes under the grill. Keep an eye on these so that they don't start to burn - it should only take a couple of minutes for the cheese to be browned and bubbling.
• Stand each dish on a large plate (don't forget to warn guests how hot the dishes will be!) and serve with granary toast for mopping up the sauce.
• Variations:
• Reduced fat cream such as Elmlea works perfectly in this dish if you are counting calories. You could also omit the cheese and skip instruction point 6.
• For a slightly sharper taste, try using creme fraiche in place of the cream.
• To make the dish more substantial, try using finely sliced baby leeks in place of the shallots.
• If you are fond of blue cheese, you could grate a strong cheese such as stilton over the mushrooms before grilling - this produces a much richer dish.