1/2 lb. mushrooms (white or cremini)
2 T. sweet butter
3 T. finely chopped shallots
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 C. dry vermouth or dry white wine

Finely chop the mushrooms in a food processor. Scrape mushrooms out into a clean, cotton towel. (A kitchen towel, not a paper towel.) Twist towel around mushrooms and wring out as much liquid as you can over the sink. THIS is what you’re saving your expensive olive oil for. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 T. butter and swirl to melt and avoid burning. Add mushrooms, shallots, a pinch of salt, a pinch of black pepper, and thyme. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms appear dry and release their rich, mushroomy scent; about 5 minutes. This is where you should pay attention that the mixture is not too watery. You may need to turn up the heat a bit to evaporate the liquid. Add the remaining butter then the vermouth or wine and cook until evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool. My husband likes to put the mixture into a strainer over a bowl to get even more of the excess moisture out before stuffing. You will need about 1/2 C. to 1 C. good quality olive oil depending on how many blossoms you are going to make. I make as many as I’ve collected, which is usually between 5 and 10. 10 big blossoms will take closer to a cup. This recipe really uses the oil as one of its flavors so the better the oil, the better the end result.

Clean the blossoms. Don’t wash with water. Instead use a paper towel and gently wipe them clean. I always listen and look for buzzing inside – there will be bugs, even bees stuck in the flowers. This is a good thing…it means your flowers are sexy! Wipe them away, or preferably, shake them outside so that they can flirt with some more of your flowers! Stuff the blossoms. Take about a T. the duxelle mixture (if you haven’t already eaten all of it right from the pan) and carefully scoop into the blossom. Twist the end of the blossom a bit to keep the mixture inside. This is where you will appreciate having big, perfect flowers – small ones are difficult to fill with much. Heat the olive oil on medium high heat in a pan until the oil is hot enough to spatter about when you toss a little crumb of your thyme in it. You should have a nice thick layer of oil – not so much that the blossoms will be floating in it, but enough that there is some ‘frying’ happening when the blossoms go in. Gently glide the stuffed blossoms into the pan one by one. Very carefully push them around with a wood spoon or spatula until the turn from looking like something raw to something slightly browned and cooked. There won’t looked fried per se, but more like the juicy yum-boms that they are. Once they’re done, lift the blossoms out of the pan. Drain them a bit on a paper towel if you must. Line up the cooked blossoms on a pretty plate. Serve immediately.