The Fungi at the Party

Being a vegetarian, I often miss out on the appetizers when invited to a party.  So many starters at cocktail parties and restaurants contain bacon, sausage and crab as an ingredient. It has become my habit to eat a snack before leaving my house.

Often times, if I took the standard vegetarian appetizer to the party of hummus and vegetables, or crackers and cheese, my dishes were passed over becoming too warm and too yucky to save. The vegetarian appetizers ended up in the trash; lack luster while competing with meatier appetizers.

Recently, my family was getting together for dinner for my Meme’s birthday.  I wanted to make five or six small courses but the starter or “amuse bouche” eluded me.  It had to be comparable with the rest of dinner and since the other dishes were primarily French, it had to have that sense about it as well.  If it could be vegetarian, that would certainly make it nicer for me.

After playing with a few recipes, several of which failed, I finally found a mushroom pate that I could present proudly for the special night and also make extra and horde in my refrigerator for myself (it’s that good).

Mushroom Pate

16 oz of white, button mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped

1/2 cup curly parsley, roughly chopped

2 Tbs. olive oil or butter

2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

4 Tbs Armanac or Cognac

1/4 cup feta cheese

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms in olive oil or butter with garlic.  When they have begun to turn golden, add the chopped parsley at the last minute and turn off the heat.  Set aside to cool.  While cooling, add the cognac.

Once the mushroom mixture is cool, add mushrooms and feta cheese to a blender or food processor.  Pulse until smooth (if liquid is needed, add a drizzle of olive oil or a tsp of cognac).  Scoop the pate out of the processor and place in ramekins or small serving dishes.  Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight to reach a firm consistency.

Serve mushroom pate with freshly sliced baguette, crackers or spread on thickly sliced cucumbers.