for the love of mushrooms

I like all kinds of mushrooms. The plain white, button mushrooms to the exotic types. I like all of them. When playing trivia with friends at a local sports bar, I tried their grilled portobello mushroom sandwich and I was hooked. Now, I purchase them all of the time. I will always put some kind of mushroom and fresh parsley in my cart when I go to the market. It's a standby. This is a recipe for something easy to make for dinner that is filling and delicious. Last night I made a simple rice dish with mushrooms. I wanted the old fashioned white rice (no whole grain tonight).

In a skillet I slowly sauteed the following:

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1 tsp. salt

pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

I saute4ed the mushrooms over low to medium heat until the butter was absorbed into the mushrooms and they were golden brown. Take your time on this step as it makes a difference. Plus, you don't want to burn your mushrooms. While there was still some butter in the skillet, I added a clove of garlic to give just a hint of garlic flavoring to the mushrooms. Be careful not to let the garlic brown. After the mushrooms were golden I added the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, and 3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley. In the meantime, I made some white rice. Put rice in bowl, top with mushrooms and add freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste. Quick and easy meal.

Portobello mushrooms are delicious grilled or broiled. I wipe each mushroom with a damp paper towel to gently clean them. Put them in a large dish and put 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons olive oil, a little lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano to taste. Let them sit for about 15 or 20 minutes then I turn them over to get marinade on the bottom of the mushrooms.

They are best put over coals until they are evenly browned and softened. You can also broil them in the oven adding olive oil as needed. Top with freshly chopped cilantro, red onion, guacamole, swiss cheese and tomato. Delicious. I didn't have any hamburger buns, so I used toasted English muffins for the sandwich bread for my portobello. Give it a try. It's good.