35/365: National Stuffed Mushroom Day*

There are two food holidays celebrated on February 4, but since I’m a fun guy, we’re going with National Stuffed Mushroom Day! (The other is Homemade Soup Day. I actually did an Italian Wedding Soup a little over a week ago, but haven’t had stuffed mushrooms in ages. This decision was pretty much a no-brainer).

Besides, Tara and I both love mushrooms. We joke about this, because whenever we write up our weekly grocery list, we always put Mushrooms on there. And, in parentheses, add the word “lots.” I don’t think a week goes by where we don’t buy mushrooms…yet, we had never stuffed them before. Go figure.

Mousseron. Wait, no…that’s Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation.

Mushrooms are a type of fungus that grows either on top of soil, or another food source. Mushrooms bear spores and contain a stem, cap, and gills. The word is derived from the French mousseron, which means “moustached man named Ron.” Err…wrong. It means “moss.” I need to work on my French translation skills. Mushrooms are known as “the meat of the vegetable world,” which explains their popularity with vegetarians, and are cooked in a wide variety of dishes across many cultures. They became popular in the 19th century, when the French began growing them for use as a food source. I’ve often thought it was a brave man who first decided to pluck a fungus from the ground and eat it because, let’s face it, the average mushroom does not look very appetizing, let alone edible. Plus, with so many poisonous varieties out there, it had to be like a foodie version of Russian Roulette.

Stuffed mushrooms are considered an Italian delicacy, typically made with breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and olive oil or butter. However, they can be stuffed with just about anything!

Tara found a recipe online. There are about a million different versions of stuffed mushrooms, and this one is basic but good. Bacon, green onions, cheese, bread crumbs – can’t go wrong with that combination!