Having an 9-month old daughter is wonderful, no doubt, but there's a down side to everything. A limited social life is one of them. In my mind, some day, when they release me from nap prison and early bed time purgatory, I will throw a great dinner party. I will serve Spanish tapas and these mushrooms will be on the menu. So will this dish. We will listen to Ojos de Brujo and drunkenly try a go at flamenco dancing. Until then, I'll enjoy these buttons of garlicky goodness for lunch (like escargot without the snails!)
Speaking of lunch at Canal House. How about those Canal House ladies? Wow, what an amazing life. Hang out in a small town on the Delaware River Valley, with your good friend, cook, listen to Chris Isaac, eat lunch, blog about it. Write cookbooks. Every. Day. If someone asked me which food career do you want?, I would skip Giada, Padma, even Gail or Ina, and say, "I want to be a Canal House lady."
Do you any of the Canal House books? Which one should I buy next? (Who am I kidding? Ha, I'm going to buy all of them).
Spanish Mushrooms
From Canal House Cooking Volume 1
2 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
24 button mushrooms, stems removed
12 small slices country style bread
Lemon wedges
Directions
Mice 1 garlic clove and mix it with the parsley and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange the mushrooms gill side down in the skillet. Brown the mushrooms without moving them until the bottoms of the caps are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the mushrooms over. Spoon some of the parsley oil into each mushroom cap. Continue to the cook the mushrooms, without moving them, until they are cooked through and their cavities are brimming with juices, 8 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with a little more olive oil if you like and season with salt and pepper.
While the mushrooms cook, toast the bread slices then lightly rub the craggy surface of each slide with the remaining garlic clove.
Serve the mushrooms, without spilling any of their precious juices (God forbid!) along with the garlic toasts and lemon wedges.
