Mushroom Cream Cheese Phyllo Bundles

I know it was cheesy, but making "bundled" food for my brother's upcoming "bundle of joy" was just too apropos to ignore. Besides, since I bought phyllo instead of puff pastry for the Tomato Asparagus Feta Phyllo Tart, I needed to come up with something to use up the extra.

Since the big ole ham, that I bought on sale, provided plenty of meat, I decided to make the appetizers mostly vegetarian. I love mushrooms so putting them into a pastry bundle sounded good to me. I added in a small dollop of cream cheese to make the filling creamy. And tied it all together with a green onion. Quick and easy. The only tip is to make sure you squeeze as much liquid out of the mushroom filling as you can because they release a lot of moisture and will dampen the phyllo.


Mushroom Cream Cheese Phyllo Bundles

For about 2 dozen appetizers, you'll need:
1 package phyllo dough
8 oz mushrooms, small dice
1/4 tsp salt
1 bunch scallions, green tops separated from the whites
4 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes

Wash and finely chop the mushrooms. In a pan on medium-high heat, drizzle a bit of oil and saute the mushrooms with about 1/4 tsp salt.


While the mushrooms are cooking, separate the green tops from the white bottoms of the scallions. Put a pot of water to boil and blanch the green tops. Drain and set aside.


Dice the bottom whites of the scallions and add those to the mushrooms in the pan.

When the mushroom mixture has cooked, spoon it into a bowl, making sure to strain out as much excess liquid as you can.


Cut the cream cheese into about 1/2-inch cubes.


Take several sheets of phyllo at a time, about three to four, since the mushroom mixture will dampen through.


Spoon out about a tablespoon or so of the mixture into the middle of the phyllo and add a cube of cream cheese on top.


Here, my brother will demonstrate how to gather the phyllo together into a bundle and tie off with a green onion top like so.


Voila! Cute little bundle.


Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the phyllo is golden to your liking. We also experimented with other sizes, as you can see in the back, wrapping envelopes, rolls, and triangles, but I think the bundles looked best.


Plate the mushroom cream cheese phyllo bundles and serve.


Enjoy!

Other dishes served at this baby shower:
Bacon-wrapped Asparagus
Bruschetta al Pomodoro (Italian Tomato Bruschetta)
Hong Kong-Style Tomato Borscht 
Tomato Asparagus Feta Phyllo Tart

*****
1 year ago today, Hakatamon - Beaverton - Oregon.
2 years ago today, Maggi seasoning sauce.
3 years ago today, the Year of the Pig began and I showed off the food I got from my family.