Stuffed Mushrooms with Smoked Gouda

I love stuffed mushrooms, but I'm not a big fan of the filling in sausage-stuffed mushrooms, so I came up with this alternative.

They are so good that people have looked at the empty dish with tears in their eyes.

The star of this show is smoked gouda. I suppose you could use any nice, flavorful cheese, but I'm especially fond of gouda and the smoky flavor stands up well to the mushrooms. I'm also a big fan of the baby portabellas, which have a great, earthy flavor, but white mushrooms would be good, too.

I love to serve these as an appetizer with almost any meal. Chicken, salmon, hamburgers. They go with anything. Really, they do.

These babies have even converted mushroom hater or two, though not all have succumbed to their deliciousness.

Here's the recipe:

Stuffed Mushrooms with Smoked Gouda

1 pkg. baby portabella or white mushrooms

1/2 C. grated smoked Gouda

1/4 C. crushed garlic and herb croutons

butter

salt

Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems. Place the mushroom caps top down in a greased baking dish. Place a small pat of butter in each mushroom cap (1/2 tsp. or so). Pack with grated cheese. Sprinkle crushed croutons over all and sprinkle with a little salt.

Place mushrooms in a 425 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes or until mushrooms have softened and browned a bit. If your mushroom caps are fairly large, it may take more time. If they are small, they'll take less. (It's not rocket science, is it?)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before serving, so you don't burn your mouth on the cheese. As the chef extraordinaire, you will want to taste test these beauties and add an extra sprinkle of salt or even a dash of garlic powder if they need it.

Enjoy!

© Trippin' Mama 2010