Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

I’m not really a fan of blog recipes with long stories that have nothing to do with the recipe itself, but this is too good not to talk about and it does have a little to do with the recipe..

When I set out to find a nice goat cheese with herbs in it I came across Cypress Grove’s Purple Haze goat cheese. I asked the man working at the deli if he knew what was in it or why it was called Purple Haze. He says he has no idea, but Purple Haze was the name of some LSD he took back in the day. We laughed and he then proceeded to tell us a story about taking a few hits of acid, wandering the streets of Portland (that looked like a sparkling river of shooting stars he adds), and winding up on a train to Seattle that was filled with Girl Scouts..? Haha although not very helpful with cheese selection, this guy was amazing to talk to and I eventually found out on my own what was in the cheese!

We had goat cheese stuffed mushrooms at a friend’s house one night and I was hooked right away. I put my own spin on them by adding fresh basil leaves and Purple Haze goat cheese, made with wild fennel pollen and lavender (not LSD!), they made the perfect appetizer. Not only healthy, but extremely quick to assemble! And although they won’t make you hallucinate, I promise you’ll still have a food-high from how delicious they are! ; )

…..

Ingredients:

Olive oil for baking sheet

8oz package of baby bella crimini mushrooms

4oz goat cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Fresh basil leaves

1 package of grape or cherry tomatoes and/or sunburst tomatoes, halved

Toothpicks

*Side note: One 8oz package of mushrooms gave me 10 mushrooms. I still had about half a package of goat cheese left, so if you’re cooking for a few more people I would pick up another package of mushrooms. You should have plenty of cheese to make another 8-10!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet.

Rinse mushrooms off, pat dry, and remove stems by slowly twisting them back and forth.

Using a butter knife, spread the goat cheese into the caps of the mushrooms until level with the edge. Season with salt and pepper. Place a basil leaf on top of the goat cheese followed by a tomato half, inside facing up. Spike it with a toothpick and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mushrooms.