Caramelized Garlic Butter Toast with Pan Fried Mushrooms.

There is toast…and then there is this Caramelized Garlic Butter Toast with Pan Fried Mushrooms.

Sometimes I have plenty of ideas, some of them I love, some of them never see the light of day. But this toast? It’s been on my mind for a couple of weeks now and I am so excited to finally be sharing it with you guys…even if I despise the photos…pretending I love them as much as I do this recipe!

This toast is not your average toast. It’s an appetizer, but done up a just a bit. It’s garlic bread, but better.

Four key ingredients.

Brown Butter. Caramelized Garlic. Cheese. Roasted Mushrooms.

It’s definitely not a “light” toast by any means, but hey, at least we’re getting our veggies in on this fine Tuesday, right?

RIGHT.

The inspiration for the toast came from two places.

Bon Appetit shared a garlic confit toast in a previous issue that literally just looked too good for words. However, the second I saw it I knew I needed to add mushrooms. This might be because I’m in a loving mushrooms moment, but either way, adding mushrooms seemed like the right thing to do.

Gjelina a restaurant in Venice, CA has a mushroom toast that is to die for….trust me. Although I have yet to actually try their mushroom toast, I’ve heard from many reliable sources that it is incredible, and it’s all thanks to the mushrooms. I’m told the mushrooms are cooked in a cream based sauced and spooned over toast.

Yummmm.

So, I took the two concepts, did a little tweaking, and now we can all say hello to my version of mushroom toast.

This toast is extra buttery, but with hints of caramelized garlic throughout. It’s a little cheesy, but not overly so, and then the mushrooms…ah, the perfect balance of savory, creamy, and tangy!

Possibly the best mushroom toast ever…and that’s saying a lot from someone who really loves her toast.

A few notes.

If you’re not a huge fan of garlic, that’s totally fine. Just use one to two cloves or omit it completely and make more of a cheesy mushroom toast.

If the mushrooms are feeling like an extra step or you simply do not like them, they can be completely left off and you’ll still have delicious garlic bread. It’s not quite the same, but if you don’t like mushrooms, you don’t like mushrooms!

For the mushroom sauce, I use a mix of white wine, buttermilk, and cream. I know that the buttermilk seems a little odd, but it adds a really nice tang that is unexpected and delicious.

And that’s all I got for today.

This yummy toast is the perfect lunch, or better yet upcoming holiday appetizer (Thanksgiving or even Christmas anyone?!). Anyone else planning? I cannot wait!

Also, how is Halloween just a week from today? This is both exciting and scary. I need some fun Halloween plans for sure. Ideas? …I can bring my garlic butter mushroom toast.

Delicious…and sure to scare off the vampires. So cheesy, but I mean, it works!