I borrowed this photo from circle-b-kitchen.squarespace.com Her recipe’s good too, but it involves milking goats, which is not one of Wendy Sam’s many talents.

In addition to my resale industry work, I’m also the published mystery author of The Picker Who Perished. My heroine, Wendy Sam Miller, owns Too Good to be Threw, an imaginary (I have to stress imaginary, because otherwise I get calls like “Do you buy old clothes?”) consignment shop in Sarasota, and is way too busy to actually cook. So her recipes are simple enough for even the most distracted shopkeeper [slash] employer [slash] amateur detective.  Here’s another recipe to go with the other one.

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Stuffed mushrooms

You can stuff mushrooms with just about anything in the fridge, but here’s the recipe Wendy Sam uses.

A bunch of nice stuffable-sized mushrooms, at least a pound’s worth
1 shallot, chopped*
some fresh breadcrumbs (although we won’t tell if you use packaged)
3 T snipped fresh chives or basil or tarragon
2T dry sherry or vermouth
12 oz or so of sausage: bulk, or remove from casings
some garlic
fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 c chopped roasted red peppers or pimientos (from a jar)
grated Parmesan

Chop the stems and sauté in olive oil. Add the shallot and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat. Add a sprinkle of breadcrumbs, whichever fresh herb turns you on, and the liquor. (Or not, if you have guests who get silly. Just kidding. The alcohol burns off. I think.)

Meanwhile, with your spare hand, sauté sausage in the garlic, add a sprinkle of breadcrumbs here too, and the parsley and pimientos.

Combine all and stuff the caps. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake at 375º until the tops are bubbly, about 15 minutes.

* Hey, who are we kidding? Wendy Sam does not have shallots on hand. She uses chopped green onions, some frozen chopped onion, a little red onion, something with a little attitude. You can’t get too hung up on recipes, Wendy Sam believes. Kate agrees. Try these variations:

Vegetarian Shrooms: Chop the stems of the mushrooms, add grated mozzarella and mayo, some fresh chopped parsley, a healthy dash of Worcestershire sauce, a teeny bit of garlic and about the same amount of oregano, and salt and pepper. No sautéing. Stuff the mushroom caps. Bake 20 minutes at 350º.

Or get uptown with Champignons Farcies aux Crabs. Take those chopped-up mushroom stems, add 4 T grated Parmesan, 8 oz. cream cheese, 4 oz. crabmeat, 2 ½ T olive oil, 2 T fresh chopped parsley, a teeny bit of breadcrumbs, ½ a lemon’s juice, a little minced shallot if you have some, 1½ t. Cognac, 1 t. Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Beat/puree, using whatever kitchen appliance you have (no cooking at this point). Mound into mushroom caps, bake at 425º for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with more grated Parmesan before you present them to your delighted albeit inebriated guests.

Or do Blue M’ooms: Stuff whatever amount of mushroom caps (in this recipe, pre-steam the mushroom caps for 6 minutes or so, no baking required) with equal amount of cream cheese and crumbled blue cheese, a healthy dose of chopped walnuts, a good dash of fresh chopped chives (the only herb Wendy Sam seems to be able to grow) or thinly sliced green onions. No further cooking, just serve ’em!

Try this recipe, too, from Circle B Kitchen. I’m gonna. Can’t get enough of those stuffed mushrooms!