Portabella Mushrooms - I don't like them,

[cbayer]

but my husband loves them. So, since they were on sale, I bought them and now I don't know what to do with them.

I have leftover chicken for me, so no accommodation need be made.

What's your favorite thing to do with them?

[maddezmom]

1. stuff them and eat them

a simple one is grated parm cheese(or anything you have on hand), parsley, some bread crumbs and garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Depending on how many you have you can also dice on up and use for the stuffing. I usually marinate the mushrooms first for a bit in olive and basalmic or you can just brush on all over before cooking.

But you can also stuff with crabmeat, other diced veg, etc.

[cbayer]

2. Do I cook them first, then stuff them?

Or do I stuff them, then bake them?

[maddezmom]

3. depends on what you're stuffing with I suppose

I normally just bake them with the the cheese/breadcumb stuffing. If use other veg including shrooms, I saute before stuffing them. I don't follow a true recipe anymore, just kind of wing it.

But here are a few I have used and you can use them as a guide:


http://sweetbasilkitchen.com/2010/09/16/stuffed-portabella-mushrooms/

and this one:
ingredients for 2:

5 small portobello mushrooms
1 slice wholewheat toast, crumbled
3 scallions, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped finely
olive oil
s&p
freshly grated parmesan

Take the stems (or whatever it's called in a mushroom) out of 4 of the portobello's, chop finely. Chop 1 entire portobello as well.

Preheat the oven to 220 C
Heat some oil in a frying pan and add the garlic, scallions and chopped mushroom pieces. Fry on medium fire for about 5/7 minutes, then add the breadcrumbs and parsley. Fry a few more minutes.

Place the remaining portobello's upside down in a lightly oiled overproof dish. Scoop some of the breadcrumb mixture in all of them, then sprinkle with the parmesan.
Place in the oven and cook for about 15/20 minutes.

[cbayer]

4. I've got a box of stovetop stuffing.

What if I just used that? (He'd never know the difference)

[maddezmom]

5. probably would work just fine

maybe add some grated cheese and little olive oil on top and it would be tasty. Just hide the box.

[cbayer]

6. I am tellling you, I could leave the box on the counter for a week and he still wouldn't notice.

How long do I bake it for?

[maddezmom]

7. probably only 15 minutes or so until the mushrooms are nice and hot

I'd also add less liquid when making the stove top if you are going to add any mushrooms, cheese or a drizzle of oil. I hate my stuff really mushy but he might like it that way because Brits eat bread stuffing on it's own and that is like baby food.

edited to add: normally, I wouldn't say this but I wouldn't wait until the oven is at the perfect temp. But considering your oven I'd throw them in there for maybe 25 and then just broil at the end. Might save some propane.

[Major Nikon]

8. I don't really like the big ones

I prefer getting the smaller ones and just using them the same way I would button mushrooms, which is to say I'll chop them up and use them in recipes, saute them and use them as a side dish, or eat them raw in a salad or just by themselves.

[cbayer]

9. Well, I got two rather large ones.

I figure he can use one chopped up for his eggs, salads, etc, but that I might try to cook the other as a kind of meat substitute.

I also thought about soup. It's texture, not the taste I object to, and it sounds like you might have the same issue.

[Major Nikon]

11. I prefer to use dried mushrooms for soup

With dried mushrooms the water you reconstitute them in makes for a nice stock.

Some people grill the large caps and use them as you would a beef patty. I've tried this and don't care for it much.

[tammywammy]

10. The big ones I like to grill

You can eat it like a sandwich with some tomato and cheese. Or sometimes I'll grill it and then serve with some saute onions, peppers, etc. maybe with some rice.

The smaller ones I chop and saute mostly.

[Warpy]

12. The simplest stuffed mushrooms out there

are made with the stems, onion and celery chopped and sauteed in butter, add bread crumbs and toss until the crumbs are coated with butter and veggie juice, and then fill the caps and bake them until the tops are brown and crunchy. Add meat or fish or cheese to this to boost the protein.

You can also broil large portobellos and serve them like you would a cheeseburger, on a bun with cheese, lettuce, tomato and whatever for condiments. If it's warm, you can grill them outdoors, a simple alternative for veg head friends.

Small portobellos can be sliced and sauteed in butter, seasoned with nutmeg, and served on toast. So can the thickly sliced big ones, but they're not quite as good this way. The big ones can be roasted or sauteed with olive oil and served over greens as a warm salad.

Portobellos are the same as the brown button mushrooms you occasionally see next to the white button mushrooms in the market. The flavor is very similar. The wide variety in size is what makes the Portobellos more versatile.

[Melissa G]

13. Marinate them and make veggie fajitas

Yeah,
I like them broiled and stuffed. I also like to put them on my little George Foreman grill with some olive oil and Montreal steak seasoning. Anything you can do with little mushrooms you can do with these.
I am generally fonder of the baby bellas, but as a grilled burger substitute with grilled onions and mozzarella cheese, maybe some sliced avocado... okay, I'm drooling now.

[WhollyHeretic]

14. Grill them whole and use them in a sandwich or slice them and use them in veggie fajitas

Those are two of my favorite meals. For a sandwich I like to use it with some fresh mozzarella and pesto.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Grill them and treat them like a hamburger

Brush them in olive oil, sprinkle with salt, then grill them. Start with the gill side down so the water that comes out will just drip into the fire. Turn them when they appear to have started to "sag" or "droop" or "wilt". Grill mark the other side and you're done. Since you can eat them raw, the grilling is just to caramelize so they get some added flavor, and to heat them.

You can add flavor by coating them in oil and sprinkling a meat rub on them.

[ljm2002]

16. Slice and sautee them...

...in butter with some salt and fresh coarsely ground black pepper. Or use 1/2 butter and 1/2 olive oil. I like to use at least some butter because there is nothing like the flavor of mushrooms sauteed in butter!

Anyway, once sauteed this way, they make a great meat substitute and can be used in dishes like Stroganoff (with or without meat), or as a sumptuous side dish, or served over greens. If I were using them as a steak substitute, I'd make the slices thick and they would take a little longer to cook.

Stuffed is of course a great choice too. I like to use the whole mushroom, so after removing the stem, I'd cut off the dry end and then chop it up into tiny pieces and incorporate it into the stuffing mix. If that's too much work, then save the stems in the freezer and use them in your next stock.

If you are using big Portabellas, it seems a shame to chop them up into little pieces.

Just my $.02

[Lucinda]

17. How does he like them?

They make a great veggie burger.

[cbayer]

18. Thanks to everyone who helped guide me through these uncertain times, lol

I ended up marinating with oil and balsamic, stuffing with bread stuffing and baking. He loved it!

I am going to use the other one chopped up in salads and omelets, etc.

Now over my fear of the great portabella, I look forward to trying some of the other things y'all have suggested.

[HopeHoops]

19. My favorite stuffing mushroom... And what do you mean you don't like them????

Simplest stuffing:

Oven to 350
Veggies (of your choice) sauteed in butter. Also coat the caps in butter, well, after cutting out the gills and stem. Use your hands for this.

Chunk feta cheese (about 2 or 3 oz per cap) and mix it in with the fried veggies and then add a just enough bread crumbs to glue it all together. Fill and round-off the caps, put them in a well-buttered casserole dish, and bake them for about 30 minutes. More time, maybe less time - it depends on the size of the caps. CAUTION: Filling may be hot.

[surrealAmerican]

20. I like to ...

...
1. rub them with olive oil
2. grill them
3. stuff them with goat cheese
4. serve them on a sandwich with some sort of green leafy vegetable

mmmmmm

[Inchworm]

21. Well, I tried using them as hamburger buns

Definitly needed a fork to eat and the flavor was superb, but overall not one of my best experiments