Hi -- I live in Santa Rosa, grew up in Italy, and recently launched a new Italian Cooking website at http://flavorsandmemories.com

Here's one of my favorite recipes:

FUNGHI RIPIENI
(STUFFED MUSHROOMS)

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

12 mushrooms
2 cups fresh bread crumbs (use electric chopper and 4 to 6 slices of bread-preferably wheat)
½ cup grated romano cheese
½ cup parsley
1can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil

Soak the mushrooms in a medium bowl of water with 1 tablespoon of salt for about 10 minutes. Pre-heat the oven at 375 degrees, use 2 tablespoons of the olive oil (reserve the rest for the mixture) to cover the bottom of a medium baking dish. Wash the parsley and peel the garlic. Gently wipe the top of the mushrooms with a wet paper towel, break off the stems, set them aside, and set the tops upside down on a paper towel to drain. In a medium bowl combine the chopped ingredients with the bread crumbs, the rest of the olive oil, the cheese and the tomato sauce and mix well. Stuff the mushroom tops with the mixture and arrange them in the baking dish. Bake them for 45 minutes or until they look golden brown. Serve hot.

I also have some dessert recipes at http://flavorsandmemories.com/dolci/ and I'm really interested in local feedback on my new website. Please feel free to email me at fionda1p@yahoo.com with comments and recipe requests!

Grazie!
Claudia