Crab & Garlic Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Crab & Garlic Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

18 button or cremini mushrooms, scrubbed clean, stems removed

1 tablespoon butter, melted

For the Garlic Cream Cheese Filling:

½ package (or 4 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp dried parsley

½ tsp dried oregano

For the Crab Topping:

¼ lb lump crabmeat, picked clean

6 Ritz Crackers, crushed

1 green onion, chopped

2½ tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Dash of Old Bay Seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Horseradish Dip:

¾ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons horseradish

Green onions


Directions:

Mix together all of the Horseradish Dip ingredients except for the green onions. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together all Garlic Cream Cheese Filling ingredients.

In another bowl, add crabmeat, Ritz Cracker crumbs, green onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bat Seasoning, and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Using a spoon, fill the mushroom caps about ¾ of the way with the cream cheese mixture. Then, top each mushroom cap with about a tablespoon of the crab cake mixture.

Place all of the stuffed mushrooms in a greased baking pan and pour the melted butter evenly over all of them. Sprinkle the tops with Old Bay.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until crab cake topping has become golden-brown.

Italian Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Fried Olives

Italian Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Fried Olives

Ingredients:

1 Italian sausage, casing removed

3 tablespoons goat cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped

½ teaspoon lemon peel, grated

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

Pinch of salt and pepper

30 large green olives, pitted

½ cup all purpose flour

1 large egg

1 teaspoon water

Vegetable oil


Directions:

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients and mix until well-combined

Roll a pinch of the mixture between your thumb and your forefinger and then stuff the ball into the pitted olive. Push the stuffing in to tightly pack and add more if necessary. Continue with all of the olives.

Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the breadcrumbs onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place the leftover breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl, place the flour in another shallow bowl, and place the egg and teaspoon of water in a third shallow bowl and whisk to combine.

Roll each olive in the flour, then dip in the beaten egg to coat, and then roll in the breadcrumbs until fully covered.

Place the breaded olives on the baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate until ready to fry.

In a heavy, large saucepan or deep-fryer, add the vegetable oil until a depth of 3 inches is reached. When the oil has heated and begins to bubble slightly, carefully add the olives.

Cook them for about 5-7 minutes, or until the exterior reaches a deep golden brown and the sausage inside is cooked. Carefully remove the olives from the oil using a slotted spoon and set them on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Repeat with the next batch of olives until all olives have been fried.