Cooks: Suggestions for LARGE amounts of mushrooms

[Rowdyboy]

My next door neihbor just brought me around 20 lbs of mushrooms (nothing fancy, mostly button 'shrooms like you'd find in an average grocery. I'm open to any recipe for soup, sauces, freezing, drying etc. that uses vast quantities of these little gems.

Your help, as always, is greatly appreciated. Going downstairs now to start wiping them clean-will check back soon.

[DuctapeFatwa]

1. Find out if there's a homeless shelter or AIDS hospice in your area

Or you could call a local church, mosque, temple, etc, and ask them who could use them.

[Beetwasher]

Fry some up

in butter, with garlic and onions, salt, pepper, paprika, chile powder and terriyaki sauce and balsamic vinegar, and put 'em on top of a good steak...

[fishnfla]

2. 20lbs!! Holy Fungus Batman!!

Take half and give them away.

1. stuffed mushrooms are always a good one
2. marinated mushroom are ok, they'll keep
3 Foodtv.com should be of more help....they have a search engine for recipes

[thom1102]

7. Epicurious.com, as well...

I have always found good recipes there. (from the Conde Nast people)

[sangh0]

3. Mushroom dip

Lightly sautee some mushroom with a little butter or oil. Then, mix in some mayo (Hellman's) and some chopped raw garlic. Refrigerate for a few hours to blend the tastes.

Simple and delicious

[curlyred]

4. large amounts of butter

seriously, I would make saute and freeze.

[underpants]

5. Have you got any Alman brothers records?..good put it on....

and if you have a beer go ahead an drink it.

Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter talking down someone a bad acid trip SNL '77ish.

[trof]

6. Mushroom soup!

Mrs. t.'s making some today.
I'll get the recipe.

[supernova]

8. Mushroom tart, mushroom quiche

are two things that come to mind. M. Tart would be a kind of appetizer.

Yes, if you can't use them all quickly, I'd give some to a shelter or food pantry.

[grasswire]

9. mushroom..

...sauteed with onions etc. and made into mushroom strudel, using filo dough. Yum.

You can also make something called a duxelle, which is finely chopped mushrooms made into almost a pate.

1 pound mushrooms minced very fine
1/2 ounce shallots -- minced
1/2 ounce onions -- minced
3 ounces white wine
1 bay leaf
2 ounces heavy cream
1 pinch salt -- to taste
1 pinch white pepper -- to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour

saute everything except the butter and flour until almost dry. rub the butter and flour together in your hands to make small balls, and then stir it into the mixture and cook till thickened.

As far as freezing mushrooms goes, here are instructions from the University of Michigan:
Choose mushrooms free from spots and decay. Sort
according to size. Wash thoroughly in cold water. Trim off
ends of stems. If mushrooms are larger than 1 inch across,
slice them or cut them into quarters.

Mushrooms may be steamed or heated in fat in a fry pan.

Steam
Steamed mushrooms retain better color if given
antidarkening treatment first.

Dip for 5 minutes in a solution containing 1 teaspoon
lemon juice or 1 1/2 teaspoons citric acid to a pint of
water.

Then steam blanch:
Whole mushrooms................... 5 minutes
(not larger than 1 inch across)
Buttons or quarters............... 3 1/2 minutes
Slices............................ 3 minutes

Cool promptly in cold water and drain well.
Heat in fry pan
Heat small quantities of mushrooms in a small amount of
table fat in an open fry pan until almost cooked.

Cool in air or place pan in which mushrooms were cooked in
cold water.

Pack into containers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal,
label and freeze.

[Rowdyboy]

10. Excellent suggestions...

I work with a food kitchen, Community Stewpot , and I can't believe I didn't think of them first (I am going to keep a couple of pounds to stuff and make soup...

As to underpants suggestion, LOL. Unfortunately, they're not "fun" mushrooms-just your old grocery store variety. 30 years ago, we trespassed all over cowfields looking the 'shrooms and, luckily, never got shot or poisoned! The SNL with Carter talking the guy down is priceless!

[grasswire]

11. strudel recipe from a B&B

Ingredients
1 pound Jimmy Dean sausage or bacon (cooked and drained very well)
1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped (we use Criminis)
1 Tablespoon finely chopped shallots, onions, or scallions
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
8 frozen strudel sheets (thawed)
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
3 Tablespoons butter, melted (for brushing tops)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fry sausage or bacon in large pan; drain well, pat dry and crumble. Save 2 Tablespoons of drippings or use 2 Tablespoons of butter. Add mushrooms and shallots to pan and saute until all liquid is evaporated. Return sausage or bacon to pan; stir in cream cheese and cool.

Using 4 strudel sheets for each roll, unfold one sheet, brush with butter, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Repeat with second and third sheets; top with fourth sheet. Spoon half of mixture along long side of sheets. Tuck short ends toward center to keep filling intact and roll like a jelly roll. Place roll on buttered baking sheets and brush with butter. Bake 20 minutes.

Each serving is 3 inches long, so you should get 4 servings per each roll. This freezes well, but must be thawed thoroughly before baking. When we make this for 30, I use 2 pounds sausage and 6 pounds mushrooms -- and it's good!

Yield: 2 strudel logs (eight 3-inch servings)

[IkeWarnedUs]

12. I just realized this thread was moved

And my post wasn't. So here it is.

--------------------------

Kuba

My Bohemian grandmother would make Kuba, a mushroom/barley casserole, every Christmas Eve, but I like to make it as a side dish year round. She always used dried mushrooms, which have a strong, rich flavor. I have used regular mushrooms and they are ok. Keep in mind that since the fresh mushrooms will not absorb the water you don't need 7 cups. I wish I measured the last time I did it that way. I would start with about 4-5 cups (you need lots for the barley, but not too much or it will take forever to cook the water down so it thickens).

1 1/2 c Barley
1 1/2 c Mushrooms -- dried
7 c Water
2 ts Salt
1/4 ts Black pepper
2 c Garlic -- finely minced
3/4 c Onion -- dried finely choppe
1/4 c Butter
1 t Marjoram

Cook the onion in the butter until translucent. Wash the mushrooms until free from grit. Add the barley, mushrooms, salt and water to the onions and cook, uncovered, until the water has evaporated, stirring frequently. (Mixture will be very thick.) Add the remaining ingredients. Place in a greased casserole or baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serves 8.

I usually cut this recipe in half unless we are having a really big crowd. It also freezes well.

[Pert_UK]

13. Breadcrumbed & Deep fried with garlic mayo, Mushroom Soup,

Coq au vin with loads of button mushrooms, mushroom risotto, mushroom herb and redcurrant pate...

the list is almost endless...

P.