I find myself in the unusual position of being relatively stress-free this December. For once I’m not doing any traveling during the holiday season, I don’t have to worry about cooking or eating in kitchens with counters that seem perpetually covered in glutenous bagel and/or bread crumbs, and I really don’t even have to worry about doing any gift shopping (with the exception of the little ones, family and friends have pretty much adopted a no gifts policy and focus on presence instead of presents… although family will have to wait for my presence for another month or so). 
In fact, my friends and I have discussed scrapping a traditional Christmas meal altogether and just getting together for either some gluten-free mac and cheese or pizza. Elaborate meals happen all the time around here, so just lounging around, watching movies and having a cheesy carb fest sounds pretty amazing.
Of course there will still be a couple dinner parties this month (you know, the whole presence thing), and this mushroom dish is sure to be on the menu at least once or twice. Since I tend to go overboard with the number of dishes and courses, I always try to keep a couple of them on the simple side to prevent myself from getting overwhelmed.
And these mushrooms en papillote couldn’t be much easier. Toss some mushrooms with some butter, lemon juice, white wine, parsley, salt and pepper and bake everything in a calzone shaped parchment packet. I used a mixture of button mushrooms and some local Hamakua Alii and Pioppini for a little variety. Although they’re intended to be a side, I can easily imagine eating these mushrooms with some mashed potatoes for one-bowl meal.
Mushrooms en Papillote- Mushrooms Baked in Parchment Paper
Yield: 4 side servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
* 2 Tablespoons butter, divided
* 1 pound mushrooms, such as button, chanterelle, shiitake, or a mixture, brushed clean
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons white wine
* 2 Tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and cut parchment paper into an approximate 18 by 11-inch rectangle. Fold the rectangle in half crosswise. Open the parchment and coat with a small pat of butter. Place the rectangle, buttered side up, on a baking sheet. Cut the remaining butter into small pieces.
Cut or slice any large mushrooms into bite-size pieces and place in a bowl. Add the salt, pepper, remaining butter, lemon juice, wine and parsley and toss well. Spread the mushrooms over one half of the prepared parchment paper and fold the other half of the parchment rectangle over the mushrooms. Take the vertical edges (opposite the folded edge) and fold over twice. Continue folding towards each exposed end, until you reach each side, creating a calzone or dumpling shaped packet. Twist each side to seal the packet shut.
Place the packet on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until puffed and the mushrooms are cooked through, about 15-18 minutes. Carefully transfer the parchment packet to a platter, carefully open the packet and serve immediately.