Revamping Mon Mama's Stuffed Mushrooms

My mama likes to say I get my cooking skill from my Da because she believes herself to be a paltry cook.  Granted, being the crazy busy woman she is, time for cooking has always been thin on the ground for her, but come to one of her holiday dinners and prepare to feast like you've never feasted before.  There are so many of her dishes that are total comfort foods for me, like her chicken & noodles, beef stroganoff, Thanksgiving stuffing, and of course, her stuffed mushrooms.  Now there's one sad, frustrating ingredient binding all of those dishes together...gluten.  So if I am going to enjoy these favorites of my childhood, I have to stop pouting, gird my gluten-hating loins, and make them in a way that's safe for me.  The noodles and stroganoff were easy, the stuffing I haven't had the heart to try, but those stuffed mushrooms have been calling to me.  Namely because the cremini mushrooms from the final week of the Fall round were eyeing me longingly every time I opened the fridge.  So I called up my mama to get the run down of her recipe and set to work in hopes of contriving something that would generally taste like her version.  While the texture was a tad different and being the nice wife I am I used the Mister's dairy-free cheese so I could share them with him, they turned out nearly identical to her's!!!!  Squee!!!!  So with the holidays coming up, these are a perfect appetizer to quickly whip up, and I'll provide the me version and mon mama's version so you can make them either way you wish.  Oh and to truly enjoy these, you really should pour yourself a glass of wine.  Cheers mama!

Mon Mama's Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 doz cremini mushrooms, stems removed and reserved
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (make your own with the Petite Loaves in this week's share, or make them gluten free with Glutino bread crumbs -- also dairy & egg free)
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp soy sauce (Kikkoman has a great gluten-free variety)
3 Tbsp butter, melted (use Earth Balance margarine for dairy free)
1/4 cup jack cheese (I used Daiya mozzarella shreds, which are a dairy free product that's also soy free)
1/4 cup dry red or white wine
Ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Gently wash your mushrooms by rinsing under water and lightly rubbing your fingers over them to remove the dirt.  Don't scrub them as you'll actually lose some of the wonderful earthy, mushroom flavor.  Pop the stems out and allow the caps to dry on a paper towel.  Trim the soil end of the stems and then dice the reserved stems for use in the stuffing.

In a bowl mix together the diced stems, breadcrumbs, garlic, soy sauce, cheese, wine, and half of the melted butter.  Mix well to combine and then season with ground black pepper to taste.

Place mushroom caps on a baking sheet and drizzle the remaining butter over top and around the mushrooms to prevent them from drying out.  Then stuff each cap generously with the stuffing.  I had a good bit of stuffing left over, so I rolled it up into 4 stuffing balls that I placed on the baking sheet too (they turned out tasting a lot like arancini -- fried rice balls).  Bake for 10 minutes at 350.  Then turn broiler onto high and move mushrooms to the top rack of the oven.  Broil for 3-5 minutes or until slightly browned and you can see the stuffing start to bubble and pulsate.  Keep an eye on them in the broiler as they can go from fine to smoking very quickly.

Transfer to a plate to cool slightly and enjoy with some wine...and maybe a call home to your mama.