Do you appreciate a fun guy?

I hope so. This recipe for stuffed fungi (hardy har har), aka. Stuffed Mushrooms, is fabulous. Even those people who don’t like the slimy, mushy texture of cooked mushrooms might enjoy this appetizer recipe — the mushroom caps are only sauteed and still hold their crunch. You just fill them up with a mixture of cheeses and pop them in the oven. I served them up at my dinner club last night and they were quite the hit … as fun guys usually are at parties. (Stop rolling your eyes. Can can see you.)

To make these, you only need six ingredients. Which is a good thing because recipes with ingredient lists over 10 items scare me. I used Gorgonzola cheese here and I halved the recipe easily. You can assemble the dish in advance and store it in the fridge until you are ready to broil them.

The ingredients: (clockwise) Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms, green onions, Gorgonzola, cream cheese and butter.

Decapitate the bad boys.

Mix up the stuffing goodies.

Stuff 'em good.

Stuffed Mushrooms

2 lbs medium mushrooms
6 tablespoons butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 dash Worcestershire sauce

1. Remove stems from mushrooms; chop enough stems to equal 1/2 cup.
2. Cook 1 pound of the mushroom caps in 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat for 5 minutes; drain off fat.
3. Repeat with remaining 1 pound of mushroom caps and 3 tablespoons butter.
4. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and blue cheese, mixing until well blended.
5. Stir in chopped stems and green onions; fill mushroom caps.
6. Place on cookie sheet and broil until warm and tops are golden brown.

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Thanks, veterans, for all that you do! We’d love you buy you lunch, but we really can’t afford to. But instead, these restaurants will.

To celebrate Veterans Day, the following restaurants are offering specials to the nation’s military vets and active-duty personnel:

Applebee’s – Free entree on Wednesday from 11 a.m. until midnight.

McCormick & Schmick’s – Free entree on Sunday. Bring your military ID and reservations are recommended.

Golden Corral – Free buffet meals on Monday, Nov. 16, from 5 to 9 p.m.

Outback Steakhouse – Free Bloomin’ Onion appetizer and a drink on Wednesday.

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Jade Asian Fusion and Sushi Bar is celebrating their third anniversary by giving you anniverary souvenirs. For the entire month of November, any purchase over $50 gets your table a gift of wine, gift cards, gift sets or some other goody.

Jade
14815 Ballantyne Village Way. Suite 250 (2nd floor)
Charlotte, NC 28277

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Yes, I know, ice cream is for the summer! But this is a special fall edition flavor of ice cream – Maple Pecan.

And they’re not just any regular plain pecans in this ice cream, they are buttery toasted, candied pecans.

This custard-based ice cream is sweetened with maple syrup (the real stuff – none of that Aunt Jemima gunk). Oh yes, and it has a splash of bourbon. The recipe says it is optional, but I demand that it is mandatory.

Maple Pecan Ice Cream
Recipe courtesy of Closet Cooking

3/4 cup pecans (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
4 egg yolks
1 splash bourbon (optional)

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the pecans, toss to coat, sprinkle on the sugar and heat until the pecans are nice and toasted, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Remove the pecans from the heat and let cool completely.
4. Heat the maple syrup, cream and milk in a sauce pan until it almost boils, about 5 minutes.
5. Reduce the heat to low.
6. Temper the eggs and stir them into the cream.
7. Cook at low heat until it thickens and can coat the back of a spoon.
8. Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon.
9. Strain the mixture at this point to remove any bits that may have formed while warming.
10. Chill the mixture in the fridge.
11. Freeze the maple custard and toasted pecans according to the instructions for your ice cream machine.

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Not like you’d ever need an excuse to eat sushi, but this Thursday, Nov. 12, Fiji Sushi Bar & Lounge is hosting “Serving Sushi for a Reason,” an event that benefits the American Cancer Society. Eat away!

Fiji will be offering 1/2 price sushi all night, along with $2 beers, 1/2 price sake bottles, 1/2 price wine bottles, free samplings, live music and more.

The staff will be donating tips and a percentage of store sales to the American Cancer Society.

Call 704-376-1212 to make advance table reservations.

Fiji Sushi Bar & Lounge
116 W 5th St, Charlotte

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For some reason I am feeling generous today and I am going to share the recipe for one of my favorite cookies with you, my faithful reader. It must be the upcoming holiday season…

These Ginger Molasses Cookies have an amazing soft and chewy texture. The trick is to refrigerate the dough 24 hours before baking. I’m thinking this has something to do with achieving the chewiness of the cookies.

Because the balls of dough are rolled in a mixture of granulated and demerara sugar before baking, they have a sugary crunch when you bite into them. What’s demerara sugar? Demerara is a type of unrefined sugar with a large grain. When sugar cane syrup is dehydrated, it forms the large golden brown crystals. Using demerara gives the cookies a bigger crunch than just using granulated sugar alone.

The cookies will puff up while they bake. To ensure a chewy texture, be careful not to overbake.

Sparkley! This picture doesn't show how pretty and glittery these cookies really are.

If you want to go overboard (like I always do), serve them with homemade Maple Pecan Ice Cream.

Ginger Molasses Cookies

1 stick butter, softened
1/3 cup cup dark molasses
1/8 cup water
1/4 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
3 1/4 cups unsifted flour
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 heaping teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup mixed sugars (demerara and granulated sugar)

Cream butter, molasses, water, salt and brown sugar together. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift dry ingredients together and add gradually to the creamed mixture. Mix well (dough will be stiff). Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into 1.5-inch balls and roll each ball in the sugar mix to cover. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes.

The recipe for the Maple Pecan Ice Cream to come…

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Meet my desk-mates. They’ve been living on my desk for a least 5 months now, so I figured they should have names.

Check out their name tag. It’s just a matter of time I guess. One day, little fish … one day you will be sushi.

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Creative Loafing hosted our first Eat My Charlotte Foodie Tours on Saturday, Nov. 7. The tour featured authentic tacos from restaurants down South Boulevard, along with Mexican beers and churros. Did you happen to see a red double-decker bus driving around town? That was us!

If you missed out on this tour, we’ll have another Foodie Tour hitting the streets in January. Stay tuned for info about which food we will feature next…

12►

Photos by Alison Henry and Priscilla Tsai.

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To celebrate its second anniversary, Polka Dot Bake Shop, 1730 E. Woodlawn Road, will offer a free cupcake to customers on Sunday, Nov. 22 from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. Donations will be accepted and will be used to purchase items on the “Wish List” for YMCA’s Families Together Program. Polka Dot is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

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