December Zweber Farms Open House and Pork Stuffed Mushrooms recipe

Every year for Christmas the Zweber Family comes back to the farm to celebrate the holiday. Jon has seven brothers and sisters. All of them have spouses, some have kids, some have grandkids and one has great grandkids. Its a big, loud, fun group when we all get together. We of course supply the ham for the meal, but everyone else brings dishes and appetizers. A staple of these holiday gatherings is Aunt Ruth’s (Jon’s sister) stuff mushrooms.

Makes about 24–30 stuffed mushrooms (serves 8–10 as an appetizer)

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 25–30 minutes

Ingredients

• 24–30 large cremini (brown) mushrooms (about 1½–2 lbs total)

• 1 lb bulk Zweber Farms Italian sausage

• 1 lb Zweber Farms ground beef

• 1 medium onion, very finely minced

• ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

• 1 cup plain breadcrumbs (or Italian-seasoned) breadcrumbs

• ¾ cup grated Organic Valley Parmesan cheese

• 6 Tbsp unsalted Organic Valley butter, melted

• 1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)

• ½ tsp black pepper

• Optional: pinch of red pepper flakes or a few extra tablespoons of Parmesan for the tops

Instructions

1 Prep the mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or foil (for easy cleanup).

Gently wipe mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel. Pop out the stems (save for stock or chop super-fine and add to the filling if you want). Scoop out a little extra gill area with a spoon if the caps are small — you want room for filling!

2 Make the filling

In a large bowl, combine Italian sausage, ground beef, minced onion, parsley, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, melted butter, salt, and pepper. The mixture should be moist but hold together; if it feels dry, add another tablespoon of melted butter.

3 Stuff ’em

Grab a generous spoonful of filling (about 2–3 tablespoons depending on mushroom size) and press it firmly into each cap, mounding it slightly on top. Pack it in — these shrink a bit while baking. Place stuffed mushrooms on the baking sheet. Sprinkle a little extra Parmesan on top if you’re feeling decadent.

4 Bake

Bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes, until the filling is browned and reaches an internal temperature of 160–165°F (carryover will take it the rest of the way). If you like them extra golden, broil for the last 1–2 minutes — watch closely!

5 Serve

Let cool 5 minutes (they’ll be lava-hot), then transfer to a platter. Serve warm.

Make-Ahead Tips

• Assemble up to a day ahead, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

• Freeze unbaked stuffed mushrooms on a tray, then transfer to a zip-top bag for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen, adding 10–15 extra minutes.

Monthly farm highlights…

Concrete season is over. If you read my last post you learned that we were busy getting things done before the snow. Well it snowed. I have mixed feelings about the snow. I love pretty, fluffy flakes. I like skiing and playing the snow. But snow creates more work. Shoveling out snow covered feed in feed bunks. Walking through drifts to get to my baby calves. Tim spends a lot of time plowing the driveway to make sure the milk truck driver can get here.

Last night, we had a significant snow fall that also had ice mixed in. Our milk truck was 90 minutes late for pick up. That meant we had to start milking cows 90 minutes later too. But he made it and he made it safely. He is more reliable than the post office.

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Here are our store hours for the rest of the month. Remember, if you cannot make it during one of our store hours, just call or email. We will find a time that works to meet you at the store.