Quail Shrooms

 In the midst of a lingering desire to use quail eggs and self imposed idea of doing something other than hard boiling them, inspiration called on me, and against all odds, advised me to use my quail eggs to pop mushroom caps at happy hour.  This idea intrigued me.  Mushrooms, mini eggs, happy hour...can life get any better?
Ingredients:
large fresh mushrooms caps, hollowed out
fresh quail eggs
some minced garlic
cream cheese
freshly chopped parsley
fresh ground pepper
Directions:
1.  Inside each mushroom cap,  place a pinch of minced garlic with a fingerful of cream cheese, some parsley, and some pepper.
2.  Place them all inside a baking dish with a small amount of water.
3.  Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F.
4.  Remove and crack a quail egg inside each mushroom cap.  Bake for 10 more minutes.
Serve warm.
The mix of textures is fabulous.

Since I hate to waste divine food, I made another version with the chopped stems and it ended up pleasing me more than the original idea.
I added a drizzle of Habanero Olive Oil and Piment d'Espelette flavored vinegar.  I followed the same method as above using a silicone cupcake baking dish for individual servings that I then served in verrines.

Both versions were appreciated.  The textures were different.  The caps are easier to pop into your mouth, but the verrines had a nice spicy tangy kick that I can't get enough of.

Next guest appearance will be the Jeruselem Artichoke.
I heard those turn your blood into perrier...it will inevitably undress my heart...