thanksgiving mushrooms stuffed with turkey and cranberry

Turkey

Thanksgiving Mushrooms Stuffed with Turkey and Cranberry

Although my family Thanksgivings usually has at least 15 people in attendance, this year various circumstances resulted in a small group of just four of us. Knowing that our traditional feast would result in too much food (despite our love of leftovers), so I decided to come up with some creative dishes using familiar Thanksgiving flavors but were more suitable for our smaller crowd. Using Ina Garten’s sausage stuffed mushrooms as inspiration, I came up with these mushrooms as a way to get our fill of turkey. Best enjoyed with a cranberry-flavored cocktail in one hand.

Ingredients

1 pound baby portabella mushrooms
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons sherry
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
2 cloves garlic, minced
.5 cups cranberry sauce
.5 cups grated romano cheese
.75 cups panko bread crumbs
.25 cups chopped fresh parsley
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop finely. Set aside.
In a bowl, toss the mushroom caps with the sherry and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the turkey, garlic, cranberry sauce, Romano, and parsley.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey mixture and cook until cooked through, stirring frequently.
Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Add the panko crumbs and stir to combine with the other ingredients.
Stir in the mascarpone and cook until it has melted and the mixture is creamy.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Generously fill each mushroom with the turkey mixture. Arrange filled mushrooms in a snug single layer in a baking dish.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until the stuffing is browned and crusty.