The Pioneer Woman's Brie Stuffed Mushrooms

Mushrooms are one of my all time favorite fungus. And Brie is one of my all time favorite cheeses.  So it made total sense that I try Ree Drummond's Brie Stuffed Mushrooms from her new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier.  Unsurprisingly, it's a delicious combination, tied together with a "gremolata" of parsley, garlic, and green onions (and a splash of white wine).  

The brie has to go somewhere, so you remove the stems from the mushroom caps. You could throw them away, or you could chop them up and add them to the parsley/onion mixture....which is what I did. Why let those delicious bits go to waste?

To assemble, you just stuff pieces of brie in the caps, and sprinkle the sautéed parsley mix over it all. Baked in an oven for 15 minutes, the cheese gets melty, the garlic roasts, and the dish makes your kitchen smell like complete decadence. They were earthy and cheesy, and the brightness of the parsley and onions kept them from being too heavy. These would be a great appetizer for a party, as you could stuff them ahead of time, and just sprinkle and bake them as you need them. They were also good as they cooled, and seem to be able to hold their own at room temperature.  There's a lot of ways to play with this dish, whether it's mixing up the cheese (blue, Manchego, Jarlsberg, etc.) or toppings (shallots, ramps, lemon zest).

With the weather turning warmer, gather some friends, make up a batch of Ree's mushrooms, and pass around a bottle of bubbly on a porch or patio!