Our friend and fellow fun-guy Mr. Food recently traveled to the Mushroom Capital of the World, Kennett Square, PA., to celebrate National Mushroom Month. After a couple days in town soaking up local inspiration, he whipped up two new easy-to-make mushroom recipes: Mushroom Lovers’ Chicken and Overstuffed Portabellas. Try your hand at them this month, and tell us what you think!

Also, check out Mr. Food’s blog detailing his mushroom-centric travels. Have you got any trips on the books for National Mushroom Month?

Red Quinoa and Almond Pilaf with Mixed Mushrooms. That’s one pretty plate and my guess is that leftovers make for happy next-day lunching.  Check out the recipe at The Wright Recipes.

If you follow us on Twitter, you may have noticed this call-out this morning. The combination sounded so good that it’s worth a second look.  Balsamic Roasted Mushroom Risotto.  Just let that sink in a moment with the thought that few things soak up flavor like a mushroom does.  So then you have that rich meaty texture soaked through with the sweet bite of vinegar and finished with fresh, herb-y rosemary.  I can’t wait to take this goodLife {eats} recipe back to my own kitchen!

A big pile of delicious…that’s what this is. Jenna from Food with Kid Appeal is big on including mushrooms in her family meal plan (more about that here).  “Mushrooms are one optimal life food I want my family eating.” We’re glad to hear it!

Just in case you have the rest of dinner sorted out but need a stellar side dish, look no further than Recipe Girl‘s easy peezy Green Beans with Mushrooms and Shallots.  Three items that add a lot of flavor without a lot of fat…you can find the recipe and the nutrition information here.

One of the wonderful things about living in Northern California is the abundance of farm stands with the freshest possible produce.

Since moving here last month, I have made it my mission to hit every farm stand that I see on the side of the road and this recipe came to fruition after spotting a huge sack of potatoes for only one dollar.

I’ve always wanted to make my own gnocchi and what better to top these little potato pillows with than rich, meaty mushrooms? The flageolet beans add some chew and protein to the dish and I recommend buying them dry and soaking/cooking them the old fashioned way. Beans from scratch just taste way better than from a can. Trust me on this. This dish, although seemingly time consuming, is actually quite simple to prepare and is quintessentially autumn.

Gnocchi with Browned Butter, Mushrooms and Flageolet Beans

Serves 4

16 oz prepared gnocchi, either homemade or storebought (homemade is preferable)
8 oz assorted mushrooms, sliced
1 cup flageolet beans, either canned or cooked from scratch
2 tbsp butter
sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a cast iron or regular skillet, melt the butter on medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until the butter has turned a golden brown color. Remove pan from heat immediately when butter has began to brown because over browning the butter will lead to a strong bitter flavor.

2. Add the sliced mushrooms to the browned butter and toss to coat completely. Sprinkle mushrooms with a tiny pinch of sea salt. Place pan back on stove over medium low heat and cook until mushrooms have softened, about five minutes.

3. While the mushrooms cook, cook the gnocchi in simmering water, being careful to not overcook. When done, the gnocchi should float like little pillows. Immediately drain and drizzle with olive oil so the gnocchi don’t stick together.

4. Add the beans to the mushrooms and toss over the heat so the beans heat up. Scoop out a portion of gnocchi on each plate and top with the mushroom bean mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on each serving as well as an extra drizzle of olive oil.

With that in mind, it’s time to dig in because there’s a lot of appetite to get through today!

First up we have Burgundy Buttons from Heather at Home Ec 101. For something that’s relatively easy to put together, this is a versatile one.  Served on steaks, in baked potatoes or even on pasta, this is four ingredients to a relative umami bomb. One of our featured contributors, Rachel,  pointed these out to us and then made them for her own family that same night!

Next up we have a new face in the crowd. I was combing through food blogs tonight (favorite pasttime, don’t you know) when I came across this beautiful site.  I thought I had my post all sealed up but when I saw this photo series, the recipe looked too good not to feature. Go say hello to Sprouted Kitchen and her Stuffed Portabellas with Herb Sauce.  Your eyes will be glad you did. Though you may need to answer to your appetite later.

Do you see the picture above? Of course you do. And you saw the one before it? This is us proving a point. When you’ve seen one stuffed portabella, you’ve not seen them all. Not even close.  Aside from being an all-around gorgeous shot, this is everything I want in my dinner tonight. It’s hard for me to believe but I already have everything in this masterpiece on hand and there’s a good chance you do too. Frozen spinach, can of artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, an onion and a portabella mushroom…the things happy kitchens are made of. This Stuffed Portabella with Balsamic Reduction from Love and Olive Oil is most certainly what a happy kitchen is made of.

Next up we have Stuffed Mushrooms with Sundried Tomatoes from That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles.  Now to be fair, this was originally posted a couple weeks ago but we’re officially past Halloween now and into the high season of party-planning and I don’t think these could be more perfect.  Elegant, appealing and can be assembled ahead of time- the ideal passed poppable. And just to keep things current (and because, when asked to choose between things I like,  I prefer “both” ), I encourage you to check out her Pumpkin Porcini Soup as well.

Last but most certainly not least, we have our favorite rancher to bring this week’s highlights home. We love The Pioneer Woman and not just because she loves us back.  Because she very simply loves food and loves to share it. Photos like this don’t hurt the cause but I can’t imagine many folks hear mushrooms, brie and garlic in a recipe without taking a look. This is another great candidate for party poppables although a completely different flavor profile. Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie from The Pioneer Woman, because it sounds like a good idea and it is.