BREAD CUP MUSHROOM CROUSTADES

Bread Cup Mushroom Croustades image

Provided by Paula Graham

Time 50m

Yield 24 appetizers

Number Of Ingredients 12

24 slices pepperidge farm white bread
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1/4 cup butter
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
minced parsley (optional)
grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Steps:

Bread Cup: Preheat oven to 400°F Cut a 2-3 inch round from each bread slice. Gently fit bread rounds into each mold of a mini-mufin pan to form a cup. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and set aside.
Filling: In a heavy skillet, saute shallots in butter for 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and simmer, uncovered until all liquid has evaporated; about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir flour into mushrooms. Pour cream over and return to heat.
Stirring constantly, bring to boil and cook another minute or so while mixture becomes very thick. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.
Let cool, then cover and refrigerate until cool.
Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F Fill cups with mixture and sprinkle with minced parsley and parmesan cheese of desired. Bake 10 minutes on ungreased baking sheet.
---------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Appetizers can be made in advance and then frozen for future use. Follow the Bread cup and Filling directions above. Freeze the filled cups in the mini-muffin pan. Once frozen, you can place them in plastic bags for easier storage. When you remove them from the freezer, allow to thaw completely before baking them.