Crab Stuffed Mushroom

There's nothing more enjoyable than cracking and eating crabs off a table covered with newspaper. Cold beer and those few hours becomes an experience.Within that experience are the memories.

It takes me back to the times we spent in Florida with my sister, Tess, and her family. Steam pots hissed on the stove and the aroma of Old Bay scented the southern air.

My son and I continue this tradition with one day each summer dubbed Our Crab Fest. We always steam too many crabs, so I devote the following day to extracting the sweet meat from the left over crustaceans. 

There is a treasure trove of recipes that require fresh crab....my favorite is stuffed Portobello Mushrooms topped with cheese. 3-4 large crabs will yield enough meat for this recipe. Use smaller mushrooms for appetizers. A larger mushroom is a full meal. A cup of cream soup like Hungarian Mushroom soup or She Crab soup and a small salad completes the meal. My daughter-in-law, Kelly, says, "These mushrooms are awesome, Ma." Hope you think so, too.    Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
4 Large Portobello mushrooms, washed, dried
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons onion, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup fresh crab meat
1/2 cup flavored bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup white wine (not sweet)
1 Tablespoon parsley
Olive oil
garlic & onion powders
salt

Rub the cleaned caps lightly with olive oil. Season mushroom caps with salt, garlic & onion powder. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Use a baking dish large enough to hold four large mushroom caps (or two dishes) with melted butter in it.

Remove the stems from clean mushrooms and chop them. Set aside.

Melt 2 T butter in a medium skillet. Cook stems and onion until soft about 4 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, crab meat, bread crumbs, egg, parsley and 1/4 cup of cheese. Mix well.

Place mushrooms in buttered pan(s) and coat with butter.  Generously fill caps with crab meat mixture. Top each with remaining cheese. Pour wine into the pan around the mushrooms.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes until cheese is golden brown and mushroom is tender. Serve warm.
Remember To Make Memories At The Table