I came across this book from a book sale. Published in 1948, the copy I got is now in its 85th printing! It is a wealth of information on Italian cooking, from oil, herbs, Italian customs and festival menus. A section on olive oil dealt with the tradition involved in harvesting olives. Oil is extracted from the green variety while the black ripe olive is used only for eating. An olive crusher, which resembles the hand-operated corn press turned by Samson in Samson and Delilah is operated by a donkey that walks round and round the platform. One of the recipes I learned from the book is stuffed mushroom or funghi imbottiti.

Stuffed Mushrooms

One of my favorite memories of a brief stay in Colorado a few years back is being able to cook stuffed mushrooms. I like mushrooms a lot and have been drooling of stuffed mushrooms ever since I read about it.

12 pieces of Portabello mushrooms
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup blue cheese
1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Chop mushroom stems. Mix together the rest of the ingredients including the mushroom stems. Fill the mushroom cap with the cheese mixture. Arrange mushrooms, upside down, in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle liberally with olive oil and bake at 300 F for around 15 minutes. When mushrooms caps are tender, remove from the oven.

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