Mushroom ragout on toast

My husband wanted foie gras for Xmas Eve dinner – but I just couldn’t justify the expense on this economy. I thought first about making scallops, but as I’m not a great fan, I settled on mushrooms instead. I looked and looked and looked for a great mushroom ragout recipe, to no avail. So I decided to use this one for wild mushroom crostini as it got good reviews and could be made the day ahead. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but I thought it was quite tasty. Still, I served it on store-bought garlic parmesan panettini (only because a friend got me a package for Xmas, and I figured that using it would mean having one less thing to do), and the flavor of the toasts sort of overwhelmed the mushrooms. If you make them, use regular toast (see original recipe for instructions).
I also had to alter the types of mushrooms I used because one package of oyster mushrooms I bought was bad (damn Safeway) and I couldn’t find crimini mushrooms at the supermarket.
The recipe below is what I made.
Mushroom ragout on toast

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 3.5 oz oyster mushrooms, chopped
• 7 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
• 1 lb white mushrooms, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
• salt & pepper
• 1 cup grated Fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 36 small toast slices

Preheat broiler.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they start to brown – about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Add cream, rosemary and lemon peel and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool down. Add the two cheeses and mix well.
Place toasts on a baking sheet. Spoon mushroom mixture onto the toasts. Bake until the mixture starts to brown, about 3 minutes. Serve warm.

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