Relaxed, inspired and energized; that’s how I’m feeling these days. I’m finally getting out of my school induced rut. Exams finished on Friday, and having finished exams at least a week before most of my friends means that the city is deserted. I finally have all the time in the world to watch all of the John Lennon and Paul McCartney videos I can find on YouTube, catch up on reading (I’m reading One Day by David Nicholls) and be a total food nerd and spend hours in the kitchen creating recipes.
Over the last month or so I’ve really been lacking in inspiration. I can’t even tell you the number of times I would go into the kitchen and stare into the cupboards and the fridge only to leave the room empty handed. You could say I was in a food rut. And a blogging rut. And a life rut. I think my brain and my body were a little exhausted.
The holiday season has always been my favourite time of the year. It’s just so inspiring, especially with all of these Christmas flavors like cranberries, tangerines and peppermint, to name a few. These Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms came in a moment of inspiration, something which I have not felt for a while now. There was also a 2 for $5 sale on bags of cranberries at the grocery store, which may have helped. Whatever the reason, these Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms were born. And are they ever special. With flavors of the season, rich and decadent goats cheese and crumbled sausage, they are the perfect holiday appetizer.
Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 12 button mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cranberries, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 mild sausage
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon white wine
- ¼ cup goat cheese
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
- ¾ teaspoon maple syrup
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Melt butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add cranberries and cook until they begin to soften, 3-4 minutes, then add the mushroom stems and cook until softened, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
- In the same pan, add olive oil, garlic, and sausage. Cook, breaking up the sausage as it goes, until fully cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Add white wine to the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
- Return the cranberry mixture to the pan and stir in goat cheese, sage, and maple syrup until combined; season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and bake 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake until melted and golden, another 5-7 minutes.
Notes
- Deglazing with the white wine pulls up all the flavourful browned bits from the sausage, don't skip it.
- If prepping for a party, these can be assembled a day ahead and refrigerated; bake just before serving.
These cranberry stuffed mushrooms hold the perfect balance of tang, sweetness and richness. I think they make a wonderful and sophisticated appetizer for your holiday spread this December.
Shirley Clements
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe, Living Lou! It is sooo delicious!
Diana
This was very good! I had some mushrooms and some frozen cranberries that needed to be used. I used about 1/3 lb of sausage. It might have been too much but everyone loved it anyway. I wasn’t sure how much 1 medium sausage link weighs. I’m in California. I would like to know. I plan on making this during the holidays.
Lou
Hi Diana,
I’m glad you liked them! You’re estimate with the sausage was pretty close; one sausage link is roughly about 100g or 3.5oz-4oz, I will clarify this in the recipe.
Twila Nelson
This sounds like a fantastic and flavorful appetizer and/or snack and you have written this recipe with an amazing clarity. I love cranberries. Thank you!
Louisa's fan club
Congrats on your 2nd place win on the Mushrooms Canada contest!
Mushrooms Canada
These look ah-mazing! Such a wonderful blend of flavours!
– Brittany
Shirley
I will definitely be trying these for my friends…
Heather, Mmm... is for Mommy
These look fantastic and really are festive… great idea!
Mardi@eatlivetravelwrite
These look fabulous – so festive!!!!! Good luck in the Mushrooms.ca contest!