Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Spend a few hours with my dad and you will understand that he is a meat eater, he has discovered cooking, uses fresh herbs, grows beautiful flowers, decided to get a gym membership, and is a changed man. Is presence is strong but increadibly gentle and he can put a smile on your face if you are keen to his sence of humor.

We love my dad. I will tell you more about him someday, he is living proof that people can and do change for the better. He is a good man with a powerful story. I am glad to know that he is 1,000,000% more likely to be around to play with his grand kids someday.

 
Dad makes me seafood every time I visit, he has kind of picked up on the fact that even though I am of his blood (and married to a Texan), I don't like meat - except for seafood in which case I will probably be the first one to the table to eat, the last one to leave and consume more than everyone. It is kind of freaky.

Give me shellfish, salmon, halibut, squid..... and watch me get excited. Now that we live 300 miles from my parents house on the sea, I hold out for seafood until I am home and my dad has something fresh waiting for me. Our last dinner together we had salmon, fresh clams and clam chowder.

On my last trip to my home town my dad and I made a couple dozen crab stuffed mushrooms. Honestly, he made them, I took pictures. Things work out like that. Earlier in the week he used this same recipe to make crab cakes, with just a few tweaks, the crab mixture made good friends with the mushrooms.

 Crab Cakes

The crab mixture is better if it rests in the fridge for a couple hours. You could make the crab mixture up to a day in advance.


12 large mushrooms, stems removed 
olive oil to coat

1 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons butter


2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt  
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 tablespoons grated Romano cheese 
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
2 cups crab meat



Toast 1 cup of bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy pan. Let cool. This step can be done in advance as well.

Turn the oven's broiler on. 
Clean 12 large mushrooms and remove the stems. Coat the the clean mushrooms lightly in olive oil, about 2 tablespoons. Place the mushrooms stem side up under the broiler for a couple of minutes until they are juicy with liquid pooled up, about 7 minutes.

Drain the mushrooms on a paper towel or cooling rack. Turn the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl mix all ingredients together (besides the olive oil coated mushrooms - you are making stuffed mushrooms!) see head note. Place the drained mushrooms back on the baking sheet. Divide the crab mixture between the 12 mushroom caps. Pile high! Sprinkle toasted bread crumbs over each stuffed mushroom.

Bake for about 25 minutes, the bread crumbs should brown ever so slightly.





Get 'em before they are gone!