Ditri Family Stuffed Mushrooms

Superbowl Sunday was always a great day in the Ditri household. My dad would have me and my brothers invite a bunch of our friends over to watch the game. Everyone would buy squares in my dad's football pool, drink beer, play cards during the pregame show and halftime, and of course watch the game itself. That last part was always the least important to me. I never really cared much about football beyond what money I might win gambling or as a convenient excuse to have a get together. What I did look forward to every year, though, was the food.

My dad didn't cook often, but when he did, it was usually worth waiting for. He had a few go-to recipes such as Italian style chicken, or Ditri Pasta Palglia E Liorni (a seafood linguine pasta dish.) For the Superbowl, he'd often make his triple layer dip, chili, or mini pizzas. Every year without fail, (and probably because I always requested them) he would make the Ditri Family Stuffed Mushrooms.

Now, as the story goes, he actually got this recipe from my uncle Dan. Uncle Dan is an excellent cook and has some wicked talent in the kitchen, and since my old man go the recipe from him, really they should be called Martyn Family Stuffed Mushrooms. However, I'm sure my dad adjusted the recipe as he went along, just as I have since he taught me. I never knew he didn't invent it until I had been eating them for years. So, the name stands. I'll have to ask my Uncle where he got the recipe one of these days.

This year, now that I live here in sunny San Diego, Treff and I decided to continue the Ditri family tradition, and we had a Superbowl party of our own. A bunch of people came over, we got drunk, watched the game, and ate good food. I made the stuffed shrooms. While I was working on them, Treff made musubis! 

They were salty, delicious, and went great with my mushroom infused soy glaze! (See my previous post)

Anyway! Here's what you'll need to make the stuffed mushrooms:

Mushrooms
Anchovies (in oil)
Crab Meat
Olive Oil
Italian Bread Crumbs
Black Pepper
Fresh Basil
Fresh Parsley
Dried Parsley
Dried Oregano
Swiss Cheese

First rinse off your shrooms and take out the stems. Chop up the stems.

Now grab your fresh basil. I'm lucky because my brother grows a nice basil plant. We always have an abundance of the stuff.

Chop it up.

Also chop up your fresh parsley.

I didn't have any fresh oregano so I used dried. Use fresh if you have it. Arrange your de-stemmed mushrooms, on a baking tray.

So the idea for cooking this stuff is to start off with a nice base of oil and anchovies. The anchovies have a good deal of flavorful oil in the tin with them already, so I just added a touch to the pan to heat up and get it started.

No need to add any salt here; the anchovies have enough salt for the entire dish. Just crack open the tin and add them into the pan. Use medium-low heat here.

The anchovies are soft and will basically dissolve into a nice base. However, you should use your wooden spoon to speed up the process by mashing it up.

Once you get a nice oily paste going, add in the chopped up stems from the mushrooms.

Mix it up and saute until the mushrooms soften up and start to get some color. Keep the heat the same; there's no need to rush this. The longer you cook everything together in the pan, the better the flavors will mingle. Indeed, turn the heat down to low before you add in the crab meat. In this case I used claw meat, as that is what they had at the store. Normally, I just use regular canned crab meat, but I was well pleased with the results. Of course, the ideal method would be to use fresh crab meat, but that is time, money, and effort I don't have to spend. Don't knock it too much; food from a can is not always horrible. Just usually.

Once again mix it all together. Add in your Italian herbs and continue to stir.

Now, importantly, add a knob of butter into the mix. Melt it in and stir it up. Don't skip this step. Think it doesn't make a difference? It does.

The stuffing is now complete, and ready for the hollowed out mushrooms. Grab a spoon and stuff it in there. Be liberal with it, I like 'em overflowing with crabby goodness.

Now grab the swiss cheese, stack it up, and cut it into fours. This will make a bunch of little slices you can top the shrooms with. The stuffing will kind of help stick the cheese in place.

I like to top them with just a touch of dried parsley before putting them into a hot oven for about 5 minutes. Just long enough to melt the cheese and soften up the mushrooms. Too long, and they will get too soft and fall apart. I had to use two trays to give them some breathing room. If you crowd them too much the cheese will all melt together and they will get stuck to each other.

These things are addicting, but rich. Eating just four or five of them will probably be enough, and only that many if you're really hungry. That's why they are a great food to serve to many people. Besides making them on the Superbowl, I've brought them to work, or made them for potlucks.

I served these mushrooms, the team I liked lost, and I didn't win shit in the Superbowl pool. So pretty much, for me, this was exactly like every Superbowl party we ever had at home.