Here’s the thing about baby clothes: If you save the special clothes for special occasions, your baby is guaranteed to outgrow said items long before any fancy event peeks over the horizon.
Luckily, I was apprised of this phenomenon by veteran moms, and it is for this reason that Eleanora has been known to wear a fancy tutu to play group, a flouncy dress to a pizza joint, and my baby bonnet for a 30-second walk from our car to Toddle Tunes.
I’m not saying this particular outfit is fancy (it’s not – it’s just a bubble from Carter’s that probably cost $6), but when my assistant and I decided to make a fish feast and visited Santa Monica Seafood a couple of weeks ago, we dusted off the exoskeleton in our closet and put on this spiffy crab outfit.
I thought no one had noticed this except for me, but then my friend Sydney (Hey, Syd! Hope you’re enjoying the Seychelles!) left a comment on the blog the other day remarking on the crab outfit and the seafood theme. Hooray! Someone noticed!
Anyway, here’s a snappy little recipe for crab-stuffed mushrooms. I found teenager-size portabello mushrooms and made them as our dinner, but I would recommend buying regular white mushrooms (the store was out of them that day) and serving them as a pop-in-your-mouth appetizer.
Eleanora recommends that you don’t wait for a special occasion.
CRAB-STUFFED MUSHROOMS (pdf)
- 1 package white mushrooms, cleaned off and with the stems removed
- 1-2 T melted butter
- 3 scallions, minced
- 3-4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 lb crabmeat
- 1/4 C Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 3 T grated parmesan, divided
- Salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400.
Toss mushroom caps with melted butter. In a bowl, thoroughly combine scallions, cream cheese, crabmeat, breadcrumbs, 2 T parmesan, and salt & pepper. Place mushroom caps into a lightly greased baking dish, and stuff with the crab mixture. Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese on top (or more – I’m not the cheese police). Bake until the tops turn golden brown and the filling begins to bubble, about 15-20 minutes. (It will depend on the size of your mushrooms.) Serve warm.
