The
thing about leisurely cooking in the afternoon, is that I get to take pictures.
And that is a privilege that I seem to have lost with my current work schedule.
Add to that, the imagined pressure of blogging about something fabulous and you
have yourself a pretty non-existent blog over a couple of months. (Sorry Shwe!)
So I’m breaking the jinx and blogging about something. Even if it’s something
really simple. Something I make myself pretty often and something that I really
like.
My
normal grocery shopping always includes a packet of button mushrooms. I like to
toss these babies into omelets, pulaos, stews and casseroles. But what I like
to do most is just sauté them in butter and garlic and pile them mile high on
some good bread. The key to making this more than ‘mushrooms on toast’, is to know
how to sauté the mushrooms. What we are looking for is a nice seared brown
outside and a juicy plump center. Overcrowding mushrooms in the pan and/or
adding them in before the butter/oil is hot, will just cause them to water out
and steam, instead of sauté. And we don’t want watery, shriveled up mushrooms -
not when they are the star ingredient!
This
version takes it a step further and adds some passata and cheese. I use a Baguette
as the base, but Ciabatta would work great as well. The Mushrooms Melts make a
delectable appetizer or light lunch with a fresh salad. What they also do, is
serve to break my jinx and for that I adore them even more.
