Well, this weather is driving me crazy. We had a few good days of fabulous weather and now we’re back to the cold.

I sure hope everyone is staying warm and cozy. I bet the doctor’s offices are flooded with patients.

It’s been a pretty eventful month here at the shop. I had a wedding reception a while back and it turned out a smashing success.

The talk of the party was the stuffed mushrooms. It’s amazing to me how something so simple to make can trigger rave reviews!

The method to cooking this dish is very simple. It makes for a good side dish to any party.

What you will need is:

One container of fresh mushrooms. Remove the stems to make mushroom buttons.

White wine (I prefer chablis)

Butter

Garlic

Salt and pepper

8 oz. cream cheese

Sausage. I use the maple sausage from your local grocers and add a small amount of maple syrup to it while cooking.

Parsley

What you do is pull the stems from the mushrooms. Now you will need to get a boiler and pour some wine, butter, garlic, salt and pepper into it. Let this come to a simmer and add your mushrooms. I use a wooden spoon and gently toss the mushrooms in the wine mixture.

You will want to do this slowly so that the mushrooms don’t tear. I now take a spatula and dip the mushrooms out of the boiler and into a pyrex dish.

Now you are at the step where you brown your sausage.

For a small container of mushrooms I would use a regular size package from the grocery store.

After the sausage has browned I will then add just a few drops of some maple syrup to add a hint more of the maple flavor. While this is cooking slowly I’ll take the cream cheese and beat it slowly in the mixer. While the cream cheese is beating, after it has become soft, I’ll add the salt and pepper to taste and the fresh cut parsley.

The good thing about this dish is that the garlic has flavored the mushrooms and the cream cheese mixture you are making is just the topping.

The flavor is all in the mushrooms!

Take your sausage and while the mixer is on low slowly add the sausage, after the grease has been drained.

This will come a bit runny after a minute or so. Don’t fret, this is normal. If you need to add more cream cheese, feel free.

You have your mushrooms in your pyrex dish. Take the sausage mixture and put a small scoop in each mushroom.

After all of them are filled, take some of your remaining wine mixture that you used to cook the mushrooms in and pour into the dish.

Now you are ready to pop them into the oven. Bake on 350 for about 15-20 minutes. There you go! A nice addition to any party or meal. Who doesn’t need a good appetizer?

Until next time, have a good day today and a better day tomorrow!

Jennifer Whaley is chef and owner of Lemongrass on highway 80 in Demopolis.