Shrimp-Stuffed Baby Portobellos

I love stuffed mushrooms, but I never order them in restaurants because, well, five is simply not enough and when you're out in public, you have to play nice and share. The thought of eating only one stuffed mushroom makes me immensely sad. But LOOK, if you make them yourself, you can eat twenty of them, drink a bottle of wine, and then roll straight into bed. It's a win-win...winwinwin situation. Granted, you'll feel like a sack of melty potatoes for the rest of the evening, but it's a pleasurable pain and perfect for a special occasion.
Like a Wednesday.

Shrimp-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Bon Appetit

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
6 ounces cooked bay shrimp [chopped shrimp works just great as well]
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs from French bread
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
24 baby portobello mushrooms, stems & gills removed

(Breadcrumbs can be made easily by cutting the crust off a few slices of slightly stale or aired-out bread and popping them in the food processor. I thought I could be clever and shorten the process by grating the bread on a cheese grater. This, I promise you, is most definitely not easier or quicker.)

Heat the oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat.

Add in the onion, basil, garlic, and rosemary. Sauté until onion softens (approximately 5 minutes), and transfer to medium-sized bowl.

Mix in the shrimp, breadcrumbs, cheese, and mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange the mushrooms, top down, on lighoiled baking sheet. Mound shrimp filling in mushrooms, pressing filling to compact slightly. Bake mushrooms until tender and filling begins to brown, about 35 minutes. Serve hot. (Not a problem because they're so delicious you'll want to eat them all before you even get them onto a plate.)

[These can be made 6 hours ahead of time, just cover and refrigerate until ready to bake. MAGIC.]

三杯雞 (Three Cup Chicken)

This is my mom's take on San-Bei-Ji, which is a traditional Taiwanese dish. The three cups called for are sesame oil, rice wine, and soy sauce. Limited resources means this recipe is a little less traditional, but definitely just as delicious.

Ingredients:
12-14 chicken legs (Chop large ones into smaller pieces as necessary)
10 large shiitake mushrooms, stems off and halved
3 stalks green onions
6 cloves of garlic, minced
4-5 thin slices of ginger, skin off and julienned
1/8 cup vegetable oil, 1/8 cup sesame oil
1/2 a beer
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp sugar


Chop off the base the green onion; julienne the white section of the green onion, and chop the green section into large pieces, about 1 inch long.


Heat both oils over medium high in a large pan. Once the oil is hot, add in the green onion whites, garlic, and ginger.


When the spices have released their flavor, add in the chicken. After letting cook for a minute, add in the soy sauce, beer, and sugar. Stir thoroughly, and reduce heat to medium low.


Stew for fifteen minutes.


Bring the heat back up to high, and wait for the liquid to reduce (approximately ten minutes). Add in the mushrooms and the green onion greens, and let sit for an additional 2 minutes. Serve with steamed white rice. (Serves 6-8.)