Fried Stuffed Mushrooms

I like mushrooms.  I really do.  But I don’t trust them.  Any time I am about to eat them, I have this fear that they are going to be gross or slimy or something.  I always cringe a little before taking that first bite. I have no idea what any of that is about.  And I can’t think of any other food item that makes me feel that way.  It’s weird, I know.  For those of you who haven’t met me, weird is one of my endearing personality traits.   Enough about me and my weird mushroom thing.  Let’s get down to business and talk about the most delicious fried, stuffed food item that you’ll ever eat!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own non-slimy, non-gross, totally delicious ‘shrooms:

A whole bunch of white button mushrooms
1 packet of cream cheese, softened
3 or 4 slices of well done bacon (the really good, thick-cut stuff that doesn’t shrink)
Garlic powder
Onion powder
A splash of Worcestershire sauce
2 large eggs
Flour
Bread crumbs
Oil

Here’s what you’ll need to make the horseradish dip:

Mayonnaise
Sour cream
Horseradish
Splash of hot sauce

Before you get started on the ‘shrooms, go ahead and make your dip. Use about a cup of mayo, 2 or 3 tablespoons of horseradish, a small spoonful of sour cream and the splash of hot sauce. These measurements are extremely approximate. Extremely approximate means that, as I dumped each into the bowl, I made a mental note of how much it seemed to be. With that said, I would recommend starting with a small amount of horseradish and adding more to taste. It’s got a little zing to it. The hot sauce I used is actually a dip that Michael and I brought back from The Hula Grill in Waikiki. I’ll be reverse engineering it soon (because Michael ate it all) and will post that recipe once I’ve got it figured out.

Now that you’ve got your dip ready, it’s time for some serious shroomage.

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan or deep fryer. The oil needs to be very hot.

Beat the two eggs in a bowl and set them aside. Combine enough flour and bread crumbs to cover the number of mushrooms that you have.

Combine the cream cheese, bacon (well crumbled, of course), garlic powder, onion powder and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Blend well with a fork. You can even do this step a day ahead and keep the mixture in a covered bowl overnight in the fridge.

Rinse the mushrooms in cool water and place them on a paper towel to dry. Remove the stems by carefully snapping them off. If you do it correctly, you’ll have a perfect little hole under the mushroom cap where the stuffing goes. If the stems don’t snap off perfectly, use a small knife to carve out the rest. Just be careful not to dig all the way through the mushroom.

Fill the hole in the mushroom with the cream cheese mixture. Dip the filled mushroom caps into the egg and roll them around until they are completely covered. Next, roll them in the mixture of flour and bread crumbs until they are completely covered. Drop the breaded mushrooms into the hot grease and allow them to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. You may need to turn them upside down for another minute before removing them from the grease so that they brown on all side.

Remove the mushrooms to a plate lined with a paper towel. Serve immediately with horseradish dip.

Those of you in the Nashville area can get locally grown mushrooms from Stones River Market.