Blue Cheese Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms

Mid-November and the semester is heading toward its end, which means IEP reviews, transition planning, and the particular satisfaction of writing down where my students have arrived after a full year of work. I have been doing this for four years and it never gets less meaningful: the document that says here is where this child was in August, here is where this child is now, here is what made it possible, here is what comes next. That document is the closest thing to a report card that actually matters.

I made a big pot of boeuf bourguignon this week — the real version, the Julia Child version adjusted for modern budgets and a Dutch oven rather than a braising pan. Chuck roast cut into pieces, lardons (I used thick-cut bacon cut into cubes), pearl onions, mushrooms, red wine, stock, thyme. It takes most of a day and produces something extraordinary. Ryan said it was the best beef he had ever eaten and I said that might be the wine doing the work and he said the wine is part of the cooking and I said yes that is the point. I gave him the recipe breakdown and he looked at the ingredient list and said it does not look like it should taste this good. I said that is the principle.

Patty called Tuesday with a Thanksgiving update: Babcia Rose is coming Wednesday this year instead of Thursday, which means she will be there for the full pre-Thanksgiving cooking day, which means the kitchen on Wednesday is going to be Babcia Rose kitchen whether I am in it or not. I have made peace with this. I will be in it with her and I will hand her things and watch how she does them and I will learn what I can while I still can.

Two weeks to Thanksgiving. Seven weeks to January. I have been taking my vitamins and running in the mornings and Ryan has been refilling my water glass and we have not said anything directly about what we are building but we are both building it and we both know and that is the whole thing.

The bourguignon used a full pound of cremini mushrooms and I had extras — which is how I ended up making these on Wednesday night as a kind of leftover-adjacent situation that turned into its own thing entirely. There is something about mushroom season, mid-November, the Dutch oven still sitting on the stove, that makes you want to keep working with the same ingredients in different directions. These stuffed mushrooms are faster and smaller and entirely their own recipe, but they carry the same principle Ryan identified without meaning to: it does not look like it should taste this good.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6 (about 18 mushrooms)

Ingredients

18 large cremini or white button mushrooms, stems removed and reserved
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup cooked chicken, finely shredded or chopped
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons finely chopped reserved mushroom stems
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Wipe mushroom caps clean with a damp paper towel and arrange them cavity-side up on the prepared sheet.
Cook the stems. Finely chop the reserved mushroom stems. Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat and sauté the chopped stems with the minced garlic for 3–4 minutes until softened and any moisture has cooked off. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Make the filling. In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and blue cheese and stir until mostly smooth. Fold in the shredded chicken, cooked mushroom stems, green onion, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika until evenly combined.
Fill the mushrooms. Using a small spoon or a piping bag, fill each mushroom cap generously with the chicken and blue cheese mixture, mounding it slightly above the rim of the cap.
Bake. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 18–20 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is golden at the edges and heated through.
Garnish and serve. Remove from the oven and let rest for 3–4 minutes. Scatter chopped fresh parsley over the top and serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Blue Cheese Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms — When the Big Pot Inspires Everything Else