These stuffed mushrooms will happen

Do you have your Superbowl plans figured out yet? Are your avocados ripened, your wings thawed? Have you practiced your touchdown dance?

Check, check and check.

Superbowl Sunday is one of my favorite days of the year. I said that to a coworker yesterday, and he said Yeah, well you love food. True! But I was referring to the whole event: the game, the beers, the food (of course), the spectacle of all of it.

I'm still finalizing the plans for Sunday. But I know I'll be rooting for Peyton the Broncos, dipping into guacamole and picking at some to-be-determined style of chicken wings. Hopefully we'll have a few good beers to choose from, and there will be a plethora of other snacks. (OK, maybe this is largely about the food?)

These stuffed mushrooms will also happen.

I've had this recipe in my back pocket for years: my favorite little stuffed mushrooms. I make them for parties (and little happy hours for two) all the time, and they always go fast. 

Where most stuffed mushroom recipes call for large mushroom caps stuffed with a blend of meats and cheeses and bread crumbs, these are a much simpler version, but even tastier in my opinion. Instead of large mushroom caps, I look for smaller mushrooms, so these are little one-biters with just the right ratio of stuffing to mushroom. The stuffing starts with the stems from the mushrooms chopped and browned with garlic and thyme, then stirred into a blend of cream cheese and parmesan. It's a little salty from the parmesan, and savory from the mushroom and thyme - and, when stuffed into a mushroom and baked until browned on the top, hard to stop eating.

Hope you eat and drink well this Sunday. And, go Broncos!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Note: This recipe will make enough stuffing for at least two packages of mushrooms. The stuffing actually freezes well, if you'd like to save some for a batch of mushrooms later. We've often got a tupperware of this in our freezer.

8 ounces of white button or cremini mushrooms
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 teaspoons fresh thyme
8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wipe the mushrooms clean of any dirt, and separate the stems from the caps. Set the caps aside. Finely chop the mushroom stems.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the diced mushroom stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 5 minutes. Add the fresh thyme and cook a minute more until fragrant. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, parmesan cheese and mushroom mixture. Season with the 1/4 teaspoon of salt and mix well.

Place the mushroom caps on a baking sheet, and stuff enough cream cheese mixture into each cap to slightly overfill it. Bake for 20 minutes, until the cream cheese begins to brown on the top.