cooking school: dish it Up!

Third pairing:
The Tropical Getaway and Caribbean Stuffed Mushrooms

The Tropical Getaway
Ice cubes
1/2  ounce grenadine syrup
2     ounces pineapple juice (1/4 cup)
1     ounce orange juice (2 tablespoons)
1/2  ounce freshly squeezed lime juice (1 tablespoon)
Chilled ginger ale
Thin pineapple wedge

Fill tall cocktail glass halfway with ice cubes. Add grenadine to glass. Combine pineapple, orange, and lime juice; slowly add to glass. Fill glass almost to the top with ginger ale. Garnish with pineapple wedge. Makes 1 cocktail.

Caribbean Stuffed Mushrooms   
24     1-1/2 to 2-inch fresh button mushrooms
1        tablespoon butter
3        tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1/2     cup fresh bread crumbs
1/3     cup crumbled goat cheese
3        tablespoons chopped fresh pineapple sage or sage
2        tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons Jamaican jerk seasoning
1/8    teaspoon cayenne pepper
1        tablespoon pineapple juice
Small red onion slivers

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2-quart rectangular baking dish; set aside. Carefully remove stems from mushrooms. Finely chop enough of the stems to get 1/2 cup; discard remaining stems. Arrange mushrooms caps on prepared baking dish, stemmed side up. In small skillet heat butter over medium heat. Add mushroom stems and finely chopped red onion. Cook and stir until softened.

In small bowl combine cooked mushroom mixture, bread crumbs, cheese, sage, half of the olive oil, jerk seasoning, and cayenne. Stir to combine. Spoon equal amounts of mushroom mixture into mushroom caps. Drizzle remaining olive oil and pineapple juice over mushrooms in pan. Cover; bake 20 minutes or until heated through and golden. Garnish with red onion slivers. Makes 24 mushrooms

Photograph: Peter Krumhardt