Bon Appétit: Crabby Stuffed Mushrooms Appetizers

It’s movie night! Once a month we get together with some of our friends and sometimes watch a move, sometimes we just hang out and chat. We have also been known to have a particularly hilarious game of dirty Santa during the Christmas season. One thing we always have: great food and plenty of it. The way we usually divide up responsibilities is whomever is hosting makes the main dish, and everyone else supports with either appetizers, drinks, dessert, etc. I thought I would use this as an opportunity to take a swing at an appetizer specific book I was given.

The Book:

Cooking With Bon Appétit: Appetizers

1982

I for one am very excited about this book. I love appetizers. Come to my house during football season and we don’t even cook a main dish, just appetizers. If you think about it, virtually everyone of the major cuisines from around the world has some sort of distinct appetizer buffet…

Russian – zakuski

French – hors d’oeuvres

Italian – antipasta

Greek – mezes

Spanish – tapas.

Swedish – smorgasbord

Appetizers are so versatile. Though, the beginning of this book does say

“ The first course should complement or pleasingly contrast with the courses the follow and should not repeat any of the dominant ingredients or flavors.”

We will see how I do with that one.

Side track really quick – I am just beginning this project and I am already astounded by how much food patterns have changed in what in the grand scheme of things would be considered a very little amount of time. Going through this book, I noticed many pates, terrines (had to look it up) and mousse recipes that applied to poultry, meat and seafood. Those recipes I am sure are fantastic, but not things you typically see in today’s world. I for one am of the strong opinion that my chocolate can be a mousse, but my meat cannot.

Anyway, with the help of the friends who will be enjoying these dishes shortly, I decided on two recipes for this evening:

Crabby Stuffed Mushrooms & Pot Stickers (I will post the Pot Stickers recipe tomorrow morning once I am sure I have done it correctly).

So, here is my take on the Crabby Stuffed Mushrooms from Cooking With Bon Appétit: Appetizers

Crabby Stuffed Mushrooms

1- 8 ounce can crab claw meat, rinsed and drained

Juice from one lemon

1/3- cup finely chopped black olives

1/4- cup mayonnaise

2- tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1/4- tablespoons garlic powder

1/4- tablespoons onion powder

24 medium mushrooms, stems removed

Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss crab claw meat with lemon juice in medium bowl. Add next 5 ingredients and mix well. Fill mushroom caps with mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan. Arrange on a baking sheet. Cover with foil and bake 12-15 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 5 minutes until tops are golden. Serve immediately.

I am pretty excited about these mushrooms. They are a perfect appetizer to take somewhere. We will see what our friends think when we get there...

#CookingwithBonAppétitAppetizers