Made these for the first time last night and served with pasta and salad. Yum!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¼ pounds mushrooms – 12-16 large

• 4 tablespoons butter

• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped shallots (or onions)

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (a bit less if you don’t like a lot of garlic)

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery, optional

• ¼ cayenne pepper (optional, for a bit of a kick)

• 1 small bay leaf

• ¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

• 1 package Boursin (or substitute plain or flavored cream cheese, about 6 ounces)

• 1/2 cup fine fresh bread crumbs

• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped sweet pepper (prefer red for color)

Cooking spray

PREPARATION

1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2 Remove and reserve the mushroom stems, discarding any hard ends. Chop the stems coarsely.

3 Widen the mushroom opening to make room for the stuffing and cover while you prepare the stuffing.

4 Add one to two tablespoons of butter to the saucepan and add the shallots or onions, chopped red pepper and celery and saute. When they’ve begun to soften, add the garlic and chopped mushroom stems and some of the juice from the lemon, reserving some for later. Add the bay leaf and the cayenne pepper, if using. Cook, stirring often, about five minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

5 Add the parsley and stir to combine. Remove from heat to cool.

6 After mix has cooled, add the bread crumbs and chives, reserving some for garnish. Stir in cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

7 Spray a glass baking dish and place the caps in the dish. Use the remainder of the melted butter to coat the mushrooms all over; salt and pepper to taste inside the mushroom caps. Squeeze a little lemon juice over. Stuff the caps with an equal amount of the filling. Arrange the caps as they are stuffed close together in a baking dish. Sprinkle with any remaining melted butter.

8 Place the mushrooms caps in the oven and bake 20 minutes until brown and bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining chives for garnish.