Like everybody else I’m giving thanks this holiday. Thanks for my family, health and good fortune. I’m also giving thanks for the bounty of food that I will drown in over the coming few days 
Now one of the traditions of my family is stuffed mushrooms. My mom made them when I was little and passed the recipe along to my wife. Through the years, my wife has gotten better and better at her stuffed mushrooms and now her family calls her for the recipe. So in that good spirit, I’m going to share a recipe with you. No, not my family recipe for stuffed mushrooms. No way man.
But I will share Giada’s recipe for stuffed mushrooms. Love me some Giada.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.
Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.
I’ll also share a recipe I found on the Old Farmers Almanac. That recipe is for Turkey Hash. Another tradition that many families follow, though I don’t recall those memories quite as warmly. You can also visit the Almanac for some history on Thanksgiving.
On the days after Thanksgiving, try this delicious Turkey Hash—serve it with fresh citrus slices garnished with mint leaves. This recipe comes from The Old Farmer’s Almanac Everyday Cookbook.
Turkey Hash
- 2 cups diced cooked turkey
- 2 cups diced cooked potatoes
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pepper, to taste
- 1 cup turkey gravy
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Turn into a large greased casserole, cover, and bake for 45 minutes. In the last 15 minutes, remove the cover to brown the top.
What’s your family tradition for food today? Leave a comment?
The older I get the more bitter I get about my age. While I think this is true for most people, mine comes mainly from my love of technology. I am from the video game age, I loved my Atari 2600, but we really didn’t have a lot of great technology back then. I mean I had to get up and change the channel for my dad.
Here’s another great example. Remember those times when you knew you had to call someone back but you really didn’t want to speak with them. Still you had to make the call and were just praying for the answering machine, as we called them back then. And you would never, I repeat never, get the damn answering machine.
Well then my friend, I give you Slydial. Slydial is a free voice messaging service that connects you directly to someone’s mobile voicemail. That’s right, direct to voicemail. No, you don’t have to talk to them. Think of the potentional. I haven’t used it myself yet, cause I’m an old married guy, but I do know people that have and they said it works flawlessly.
I’m sure i’ll have the chance soon. Hit the comments if you’ve used it before. And definitely check out the videos at the site. Those are great. My favorite is the personal trainer.
I got this invitation that came through my email last week. The invitation was from the Salisbury Alumni network telling us about a wine tasting at the Running Hare Vineyard in Prince Frederick. Here’s an article in the post for some more background on the vineyard.
I have to say we had an excellent time. We got to chat with Mike Scarborough, SU class of ‘76, and his lovely wife, as well as some other fellow alums. Even better the wine was great. We got to sample some wine from Mike’s personal cellar.
The wines from his vineyard aren’t bad either. Five of the six Running Hare wines they submitted last month in the Governor’s Cup Competition, sponsored by the Maryland Wineries Association, won some sort of award. We ended up bringing home bottles of the Pinot Grigio, Jack Rabbit Red, and Jack Rabbit White.
Now we’ve gone to Linganore before for their wine festivals and those are great. Still, it was pretty exciting to visit a winery in our back yard. I mean, Southern Maryland now has five winery’s. Besides Running Hare, you’ve got Perigeaux Vineyards and Winery, Cove Point Winery, Fridays Creek Winery, and Solomons Island Winery. Who’d a thunk my beloved Calvert County would be a wine mecca.
We’ve sampled some of the wines from the others at a recent festival but might have to take some time and stop by their vineyards for a visit. I certainly recommend stopping by Running Hare.
So yeah, I’m just going to pile on like everyone else and say, make sure you get out and vote. Now, I did my duty as a citizen and, while the Presidential vote is important, I am much more concerned with my local officials. There are a few seats open on the board of education so it’s important to get out and be heard.
