Sausage Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Prepared by Jen

Ingredients:

• 16 extra-large white mushrooms (Baby Portabellas)
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine or medium sherry (instead of coating mushrooms w/wine & oil I added 3 or 4 Tbls of the wine to sausage mixture.)
• 3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
• 4 scallions, white and green parts, minced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2/3 cup panko crumbs
• 5 ounces mascarpone cheese, preferably from Italy
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop . Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside. (I added a couple chopped mushrooms to the chopped stems and I don't toss them in wine and olive oil).

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it's completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Add 3 - 4 Tbls Dry Marsala wine. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley. Cool slightly.

Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing is browned and crusty about 50 minutes.

Note: Recipe is by Ina Garten