Muffuletta Mushrooms

I riffed this recipe from a mushroom dish Giada does. Of course, I had to put a N'awlins flare on it. I took them to a cocktail party . . . and returned with a clean dish.

First, my friend, the Original Ragin' Cajun turned me onto this stuff: Olive Salad . . . and the best is this Boscoli stuff. I order it from the Boscoli web site. It is yummy on sandwiches, and in this recipe.

What sets this stuff apart is that it has pickled veggies like cauliflower and carrots and peppers and celery in it as well as green and black olives.

Anyway, to make the Muffuletta Mushrooms, I took a pound of smallish button mushrooms (if you are making them for cocktail nibblies . . . but this would be good in larger mushrooms if being served for dinner along side a salad) and clean them and pop the stems off. I used a small spoon to clean a bit more flesh from the cavity.

I grated 4-6 oz smoked gouda cheese, finely diced 2 oz of thin sliced genoa salami and mixed it with about a cup of the olive salad. (I know . . . I don't measure which makes relating recipes difficult . . . but, you can put more cheese or meat in if you like . . . or less . . .) I mixed it all together, stuffed it into the mushrooms and took them to the party in a baking dish. When I arrived at the party, I popped them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. There will be a lot of liquid that comes out of the mushrooms, so bring a serving tray. They were a good mix of flavors and was a nice counter point to the several dips on the table.

Since I am incapable of cooking for small groups, I naturally have lots of filling left (and if you follow the directions above, you will too). My plan is to either get larger "stuffing" mushrooms and serve them with a salad one night soon . . . or get several thin zukes and stuff them and possibly top with a bit of bread crumbs.