Savory Mushroom Cups

This is a fabulous recipe for parties and get-togethers! You can make it a few days ahead of time and store the mushroom filling in the fridge and the toast cups in an air tight container at room temp for a few days or in the freezer for up to a month. I have actually lost this recipe recently, so everything here is from memory. I'm a bit of a slap-dash cook anyways, so feel free to alter the amounts to your own taste.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 15-30
• Yields: 30-45 cups

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 2 -3  large shallots
• 1 1⁄2-2 1⁄2 lbs mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2  tablespoons flour
• 1 -2  cup heavy whipping cream
• 1⁄4-1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 -2  tablespoon parsley
• 1  teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1  teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 -3  loaves  white bread
• 1  cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

1. Wash and chop up all the mushrooms.
2. Peel and finely chop the shallots.
3. Melt the butter in a large stock pot.
4. Add shallots, cook until slightly browning (about 2 minutes).
5. Add mushrooms. Cook until liquid is mostly absorbed (about 15 minutes).
6. Throw in the flour and stir.
7. Add whipping cream and stir.
8. Remove from heat and toss in all of the spices, stir until uniform.
9. Set aside to cool. If storing for later, allow to cool before putting into the refrigerator.
10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
11. Spoon mushroom filling into toast cups (see instructions for toast cups below).
12. Top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes (cheese should be pretty melted).
13. Serve hot.
14. Toast Cups: Preheat over to 400 degrees. Spray a muffin tin (or mini muffin tin) with cooking spray. Using a plain or fluted biscuit cutter (2.5-3 inch size for the muffin tin and 1.5-2 inch size for minis), cut a round from each slice of bread and gently press into the muffin cups. Bake until edges are golden brown (about 10 minutes) and let they cool on a wire rack. If storing for future use, cool and then put into an air tight container.