This has become a go-to recipe when Tiana is home/visiting, and as shown in the picture, was specially requested to be made as an appetizer for Ariana’s wedding. If you have the ingredients (miso might require a trip to the health food store if you’re not a hippie like me, though if you make any of the recipes I blog about you probably already stock tamari) it’s actually rather straightforward to make considering the fairly decadent results.

Another nice thing about these is that they’re good at essentially any temperature – hot out of the oven, warm a half hour later, room temperature out of a Tupperware at work, cold out of the fridge. I suppose I’ve never tried frozen . . .

– 2 dozen medium-to-large white mushrooms, cleaned

– 1/2 pound package cream cheese (normal, NOT whipped; neufchatel is fine)

– 2 tsp miso

– 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

– 1 1/2 tsp tamari (or other good soy sauce)

– 1 large scallion (or 1/4 cup chives or sweet onion) finely chopped

– 1 large clove of garlic, crushed or finely minced

– pepper

1 ) Preheat oven to 375

2 ) Using a small spoon, carefully remove mushroom stems. I do this by sort of sawing around the perimeter of the stem and then gently scooping the stem out (sawing some more if necessary). If you crack one it’s not the end of the world, but it means the filling will ooze out, so it’s worth being careful here. You can dispose of the stems or save them for something else (soup, omelet, whatever).

3 ) In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, miso, lemon juice, tamari, scallion (or other oniony item) and garlic together until pretty thoroughly combined (you don’t have to go nuts here, just stir enough so that one spoonful will likely contain the same ratio of ingredients as the next).

4 ) Put the mushrooms, cavity end up in a baking dish (with sides, because the mushrooms will “bleed” a bit of moisture) – oiling the dish is not necessary. Fill each mushroom with the cream cheese mixture – just eyeball the amounts, you can always “borrow” from an overstuffed one or add more to a skimpily filled one as you go along.

5 ) Optional but recommended steps at this point: Sprinkle/grind some pepper on top of each one. Stand back to admire. Lick the bowl.

6 ) Bake for about 20 minutes, until the mushrooms look moist and feel tender but still firm and the top layer of filling is starting to look a little brown.