I never liked mushrooms, but I think I had sausage-stuffed mushroom caps at a party and they won me over! Sometimes I am in a mushroom mood, and sometimes they still make me shudder. I really like them in a ham and cheese omelet or over a steak.

I have HATED mushrooms my whole life…the texture, the flavor, the smell! At first, the only way I could tolerate them was sauteed and well seasoned. Then, I had an excellent cream of mushroom soup at a local restaurant. It was made with portobello mushrooms and another variety, a rich homemade beef stock and cream all blended smooth. That removed the texture issue and the flavor was amazing! The restaurant owner and maker of the soup said the trick was to season the mushrooms well and saute them slowly until they are well cooked.I now LOVE well seasoned sauteed mushrooms, but mostly portobello because when cooked and seasoned well, they really do taste like steak. I use them in my grandma’s beef stroganoff recipe. I saute them with almost caramelized onions in butter and olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. I wait to taste them until their size is reduced by half and they are really limp! Delish! Then I add the steak pieces that have been seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. I cook it all until the meat is medium, then add Worcestershire sauce, A-1, ketchup, and dry mustard. Stir that together and then add beef broth and let it all simmer for a bit. At the end I add a dollop of sour cream. Yum! It’s the best beef stroganoff I’ve ever had.Good luck. I think when you get past the texture issue through really thoroughly cooking the mushrooms, they are must more palatable and then you can add to and intensify the flavor.

Do you put this on a bun, or do you serve it as is? What sides do you recommend?