These mushroom stuffed pears with gorgonzola make an excellent appetizer.

This recipe kind of gave me an idea of what it’d be like to be a contestant on Chopped.

As part of the Kitchen PLAY progressive party with The Mushroom Council I was given an ingredient and a course and basically left to my own devices to figure something out.

Thankfully, neither Ted Allen nor Alex Guarnaschelli are sitting at my kitchen table waiting to rip me apart.

Although, some people out in internet land can be equally as scary I guess.

Luckily, I fared way better than most Chopped contestants with the “secret ingredient” being mushrooms in this case and not some obscure edible like a sea cucumber.

My love for mushrooms runs deep.

Not that I ever have plans on becoming a vegetarian, but I’m pretty sure that if I did, the many varieties of fungi would be my one saving grace.

They can be meaty and delicious on a bun, sautéed to a perfectly caramelized crisp or stuffed with just about anything as the perfect bite-sized hors d’oeuvres. You can even make pickled mushroom crostini for heaven’s sake!

And for a main course, they make an excellent wild mushroom soup.

But since stuffing the mushroom itself is probably the most predictable route to go when tasked with creating an amuse bouche, I decided to flip it & reverse it and use the mushrooms themselves to stuff something else, channeling my inner Chopped contestant creativity.

Now technically, an amuse bouche is supposed to be something that can be eaten in one bite.

Well, I’m counting on you all having big mouths with this one.

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you clearly already know I do.

I used the smallest pears I could find but half of any fruit that isn’t a grape or a cherry is a bit challenging to finish off in one bite for most.

Apparently, my metaphorical big mouth doesn’t really equate to being able to polish off half a pear in one fell swoop.

So, we’re just going to alter the definition of an amuse bouche for this one time. No harm, no foul.

Unless you’re able to swing it in one-bite, in which case, I’ll say good for you and leave it at that.

Caramelizing mushrooms in butter is my absolute favorite way to eat them. It turns these crimini mushrooms (which by the way, are the same thing as baby bellas, just picked at different times…did you know that?!) into little sweet, flavor packed bites.

Ok, the splash of red wine I added might’ve helped too.

Add the salty gorgonzola for a pungent kick, some fresh basil and a drizzle of honey and you’ve seriously got the best one-bite two or three bite amuse bouche I can think of.

Not sure what Ted or Alex would say, but I’m declaring victory over here.

MORE MUSHROOM RECIPES TO TRY:

Mushroom Beet and Blue Cheese Galette
Air Fryer Mushrooms
Black Garlic Cheese and Turkey Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Olive and Roasted Garlic Tapenade Stuffed Mushrooms

*Disclosure: this post is sponsored by Kitchen PLAY and The Mushroom Council. Content, photography & opinions are all my own.