• 6 large white button mushroom caps
• 6 stems from large white button mushrooms, diced fine
• 2 slices bacon, diced fine
• 1 jalapeño pepper, diced fine
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Butter to taste
• Seasonings to taste
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Clean mushroom with damp rag. Sauté bacon, mushroom stems, jalapeño, and garlic until bacon is done, adding butter just at the end. Arrange mushroom caps in a small oven-safe containter and sprinkle with seasonings. Stuff caps with the sauté mixture. Drizzle pan drippings over the stuffed caps. Season to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until done.

Variation 1: Fill the caps with Duxelles (a French concoction) where you take the stems and broken caps, and chop by hand or in a food processor. You then sauté chopped shallots and garlic in butter with the mushrooms until everything begins to soften up. Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper. Pour a cup of brandy over the mixture and let simmer until dry. Repeat with a cup or so of Madiera and again cook down to almost dry. Repeat a third time with brandy. Voila! You now have mushroom duxelles in your posession. When this has cooled off, fill your mushroom caps with this mixture and bake in a buttered pan until bubbly. Top with a little grated Parmesan cheese before baking. Dot with butter if you like.

Variation 2: Take a pound of pasteurized crabmeat, (or fresh, if you have access to it) preferably lump or backfin, and pick through it to remove any shell. In a mixing bowl, add the crabmeat, along with three or so tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon (or more) Lea and Perrins, several dashes tabasco, 3 tablespoons Old Bay Seafood Seasoning, and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Fill your blanched caps with this mixture and again top with Parmesan cheese if you like. Place in a buttered pan. Dot with butter and drizzle a bit of good sherry over before baking until bubbly.

Variation 3: Get a pound of ricotta cheese. In a mixing bowl, add to it one beaten egg, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 cup chopped Proscuitto di Parma, about twenty chopped basil leaves, salt, pepper, and some freshly ground nutmeg, and mix to combine. Fill the blanched caps with the mixture, top with more grated Parmesan, and once again, bake in a buttered dish until bubbly. Dot with small dice of mozzarella for extra deliciousness if desired.

Variation 4: Fill the blanched caps with raw Italian Sausage, sprinkle with Parmesan, and bake in the same manner, with a drizzle or three of Sweet Marsala or white wine. Bake at 325°F until sausage is done.

Variation 5: Take canned Escargot (snails) and drain. Sauté the snails in butter and deglaze with Pernod. Make a garlic compound butter. (Several sticks of butter, 5-6 cloves fresh garlic, chopped parsley, salt and pepper, splash of white wine, blended together in the food processor until creamy.) Place a snail in each mushroom cap. Fill the cap with the garlic butter mixture. Bake again in a buttered pan until bubbly after topping with Parmesan cheese. For this version, it would be unforgiveable not to sop up that garlic butter with a crisp baguette.

Variation 6: Chop an onion and a few cloves of garlic and in a large sauté pan, soften these up in a bit of olive oil. Add a bag (or two) of fresh spinach leaves and let the spinach cook down. It will shrink down to almost nothing. Drain this mixture in a colander, squeezing gently to remove some more of the moisture. Chop this mixture coarsley. In a mixing bowl, add the chopped spinach mix, crumbled feta cheese, some grated Parmesan, freshly ground black pepper, and lots of fresh dill. With the feta and Parmesan, you might not need any salt at all. Fill the caps, dot with butter, bake, etc.

Variation 7: Get some ground Mexican style chorizo and cook down in a large skillet. Add chopped onion, garlic, and a fresh jalapeño. Drain and cool slightly. Mix in grated Monterey Jack or Chihuahua, or your favorite cheese, and plenty of chopped fresh cilantro. Stuff, pan up, cook, etc.

Contributor's note: Evil Ronnie adds: In my opinion, blanching the mushroom caps before stuffing is a must in order to remove some of the excess water. First method: drop into boiling acidulated water {with lemon juice} for a minute and then into ice water to shock. Drain them upside down on a kitchen towel or paper towels. Second method: sauté the caps for a minute or two and drain the same way.