My Complete Bunco and the Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms

It was my turn to host Bunco so that pretty much ruled my week. All Bunco groups seem to be different. In our group, there are 12 of us and each person has to host just once during the year. When it is your turn, you do EVERYTHING. Drinks, appetizers, dinner, dessert, coffee, and 2 snacks at each table.....a salty and a sweet. On top of that I have to clean my house which is great because it actually forces me to do a better than average cleaning. But it about kills me every time. I seriously need a cleaning lady! Also, my apologies go out to anyone who used my Powder Room that evening. I took the towel and washed it that day so that there would be a fresh towel to dry hands on. Well, I forgot to place it back on the towel ring and so to anyone who had to dry their hands by wiping them on their pants....I am very sorry!!

More Flowers from Ellen at Ellen's Flowers! I picked up this gorgeous bouquet just in time for my Bunco Party.

This was especially a bad week for me to have to host. It was back to school week for both the first year college student daughter and back to high school for our son. The dog is "BLOWING HER COAT"....which is the perfect way to describe it.....the dog hair is constant, endless, and everywhere! Anybody with a Golden Retriever knows what I am talking about. So I fought the dog hair and put together a menu which had some tried and true recipes and a couple of new ones. Some of these recipes I have already posted here on my blog. Here is what I served:

BUNCO MENU

Pomegranate Martinis (Fabulous!) (Recipe to be posted soon I promise!)

Bruschetta ( not as good as usual.....always use fresh bread toasts :))

Marinated Flank Steak (don't grill in advance and then refrigerate unless you are partial to shoe leather.)

Orzo, Corn, and Chive Salad (great as always)

Pine Nut Noodle Salad (loved this....it was a hit.)

Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms (OMG!)

These were to die for and of course I have no photo! Sorry! But believe me when I say...these are awesomely good!

Slice French Bread from Special Kneads Bakery

Dessert:

Berry Cake and Cherry

Crumb Pie from Ganache Bakery

Coffee

Snacks at the tables: Fiddle Faddle, Bugles, popcorn, red licorice, Chipolte Almonds covered in Dark Chocolate, Cheddar Chex Mix, and Sour Cream Onion Chex Mix (which is new and not very good.), sour gummy worms.

WINNERS AND LOSERS:

It was the first time making Pomegranate Martinis and they were very good. I made 2 pitchers in advance and had them in the refrigerator chilled for when everyone arrive. They were almost all gone by the end of the night. I take that as a positive. The Bruchetta was not as good as usual and I think that is because the Asiago bread toast I used were past their prime. They were in my pantry and next time I need to purchase fresh. The Marinated Flank Steak which is normally very dependable was not great. I grilled them earlier in the day and then refrigerated them. BAD DECISION! They toughened up on me! I served them cold and really now realize I should have pulled them off the grill sooner so that they were very rare, then sliced them, and then finished them off under the broiler to heat them back up right before serving. Right off the grill they are perfect.

The Orzo salad was good as always and the Pine Nut Noodle Salad was delicious! That is a keeper recipe. I got lots of requests for that. The big WINNER and STAR for the night has to be the Bousin Stuffed Mushrooms. OMG! They were that good. They smelled good while they were in the oven and there was almost a fight for the last one. I will be making these over and over again.

Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms (OMG! :))

Boursin®-Stuffed Mushrooms Makes about 16 Preparation Time: 10

minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 package (10 oz.) mushrooms

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs

1 package (5.2 oz.) Boursin® Garlic & Fine Herbs

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove and chop mushroom stems. In 12-inch skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat and cook mushroom stems and onion, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until tender. In medium bowl, pour mushroom mixture over bread crumbs. Stir in Boursin, parsley, salt and pepper. Evenly spoon mushroom mixture into mushroom caps; arrange on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and golden. Sprinkle with cheese.