A perfect appetizer for a fall dinner party! Mushrooms easily made into skulls, sautéed in olive oil, with garlic and butter. Deglazed with wine and garnished with thyme and parsley, served with crostini. This recipe for Sautéed Garlic Mushroom Skulls Deglazed with Wine, will impress your guests will flavor and creativity.

mushrooms made to look like skulls served in all clad stainless stell oval baker severed with crostini and garnished with herbs

Garlic Mushroooms Appatizer, Not Only for a Steakhouse!

Wonderful garlicky mushrooms served in a butter and wine sauce are not only a side to an amazing steak at an expensive restaurant. I love sautéed mushrooms, and I make them in many different ways. Sometimes, I make an easy recipe for a weeknight dinner, and other times I make a more elaborate recipe when I’m entertaining. I never have a party without serving some form of mushrooms. Often, for big parties, I have two mushroom dishes because my friends and family love them so much.

An Amazing Appetizer with Fall Flare!

With only one extra step added to a sautéed mushroom appetizer, this recipe makes your Fall Party a memorable hit with everyone. This is a fun added prep step. My daughter and I did this together and we were fighting over who got to do the last couple of mushrooms because we enjoyed the process so much! Get all the kids involved and make quick work of making these mushroom skulls. These skull mushrooms are made with a straw. First, slice them in half. Next, lie the mushrooms down on the flat side and use the straw to make round holes in the cap of the mushrooms creating the look of a skull. If an adult cuts the mushrooms in half first, the second part is an easy and safe food prep project that you can do with kids of any age.

What kind of mushrooms are the best to use for “Sauted Garlic Mushroom Skulls Deglazed with Wine”?

You can use white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms (also known as baby Bellas). I regularly use either mushrooms or a combination of both. For this recipe specifically, the white button mushroom is a good choice for two reasons: 1. the lighter color mushrooms make it easier to see the mushroom transformed into the decorative fall skull. 2. The white button mushroom is a very mild-tasting mushroom. The white button mushroom accepts the flavor of the garlic and wine very easily and very well. With that being said, you can use either. I always choose which mushrooms are the freshest and look the best at the grocery store that particular day.

Ingredients for Sautéed Garlic Mushroom Skulls Deglazed with Wine Garlic:

Mushrooms: white button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms (also known as baby Bellas), or a combination of both. White button mushrooms display the skull decoration the best.

Olive oil: Costco sales good quality olive oil. Always check that the olive oil is true olive oil and not a blend.

Butter: you can use salted or unsalted whichever is your preference. This recipe has a good amount of butter added, but remember, the butter is making a sauce. It is a necessary and very important ingredient for this recipe.

Garlic: This aromatic is one main flavor profiles in this recipe. The garlic can be minced or put in a garlic press. I recommend using fresh unpeeled garlic. Peel the garlic and mince the garlic fresh. Prepeeled and preminced garlic can be bitter and lose a lot of flavor for little convince.

Salt and pepper: To taste, however, don’t skimp on either.

1/3 Cup Wine: You can use any wine you like, I have two favorites. First, my favorite is marsala wine. My second favorite wine for sautéing mushrooms is: whatever is open! Occasionally if it is a strong wine I add a 1/4 tsp of sugar to mimic the sweetness of the marsala because it is my favorite for this recipe.

Herbs: Always an option but highly recommend. If you do add herbs I recommend thyme and parsley.

Optional Ingredients:

Onion: If you have extra time or want to bulk up this dish, sauté or caramelize an onion in a separate saute pan. Then add the onions at the end of the dish, and gently mix the sautéed onions through the rest of the ingredients before serving.

Sugar: A pinch of sugar in a dry wine helps to cut the bitterness or the acidity of the wine and rounds out the flavor of this dish.

Items I used: Sauté Pan, Wüsthof chef knife, Cutting Board, All-clad Oval Bakers, Reusable Straw with a Cleaning Brush

How to make Sautéed Garlic Mushroom Skulls Deglazed with Wine:

ingredients:

8 oz Mushrooms
3 tbsp Olive oil
1/3 cup Marsala wine
4 tbsp Butter
4 cloves Garlic- minced
1 tsp. Parsley
1 Sprig of thyme
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper

Option ingredients:

1 Onion diced
1/4 tsp Sugar

step by step instructions:

First, gather all the ingredients.

Prep the mushroom skulls:

Next, wipe clean the mushrooms with a wet towel or paper towel.

Woman cleaning mushroom with paper towel

Then, slice the mushrooms in half lengthwise.

woman in an apron is cutting a mushroom in half on a cutting board

Now, make the mushroom skulls by making eye holes with a straw.

woman using a straw to make skull eyes in a white button mushroom

how to saute the mushrooms:

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat.

Woman adding olive oil to an all clad sauté pan with a black stallion wine in the background on a KitchenAid cooktop

Add mushrooms flat side down to the saute pan.

Immediately add ½ tsp of salt and a pinch (1/4 tsp) of pepper to the mushrooms in an even sprinkle to the tops of the mushrooms.

Cook for 2- 3 minutes without moving the mushrooms. (Don’t move the mushrooms at all.) This is to develop a deep brown caramelization on the flat side of the mushroom. (If you want to bulk up the recipe, and you have the time, you can saute/caramelize an onion in a separate saute pan and add it in at the end. However, they are not needed for this recipe.)

Then, add the wine (I used marsala). Deglaze the pan with the wine. *If using a dry wine, consider adding a 1/4 tsp of sugar to mellow out the acidity of the wine.*

Next, add the 4 cloves of finely minced garlic.

Cook the wine down for about 2 minutes. (The wine will help cook the garlic without the garlic burning.)

Now, add 4 tbsp of butter, and a sprig of thyme.

adding thyme to mushrooms N a all clad sauté pan with marsala wine, black stallion wine and olive oil in the background

Cook butter down until it melts and a sauce forms. (Make sure to keep the garlic moving to prevent burning the garlic.)

Then, turn off the heat, and add the parsley. Toss to coat all of the mushrooms. (If you choose to saute onions separately, gently mix the sautéed onions through the rest of the ingredients now.)

Finally, add to a serving dish. Serve sautéed skull mushrooms with crostini or baguette.

Sautéed Garlic Mushroom Skulls Deglazed with Wine

Print Recipe

Prep Time:19

Cook Time:6

Total Time:25

Ingredients

8 oz Mushrooms
3 tbsp Olive oil
4 tbsp Butter
4 cloves Garlic- minced
1/3 cup Marsala wine
1 tsp. Parsly
1 Sprig of thyme
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
Option ingredients:
1 Onion diced
1/4 tsp Sugar

Instructions

First, gather all the ingredients.
Next, wipe clean the mushrooms with a wet towel or paper towel.
Then, slice the mushrooms in half lengthwise.
Now, make the mushroom skulls by making eye holes with a straw.
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat.
Add mushrooms flat side down to the saute pan.
Immediately add ½ tsp of salt and a pinch (1/4 tsp) of pepper to the mushrooms in an even sprinkle to the tops of the mushrooms.
Cook for 2- 3 minutes without moving the mushrooms. (Don't move the mushrooms at all.) This is to develop a deep brown caramelization on the flat side of the mushroom. (If you want to bulk up the recipe, and you have the time, you can saute/caramelize an onion in a separate saute pan and add it in at the end. However, they are not needed for this recipe.)
Then, add the wine (I used marsala). Deglaze the pan with the wine. *If using a dry wine, consider adding a 1/4 tsp of sugar to mellow out the acidity of the wine.*
Next, add the 4 cloves of finely minced garlic.
Cook the wine down for about 2 minutes. (The wine will help cook the garlic without the garlic burning.)
Now, add 4 tbsp of butter, and a sprig of thyme.
Cook butter down until it melts and a sauce forms. (Make sure to keep the garlic moving to prevent burning the garlic.)
Then, turn off the heat, and add 1 more tbsp of butter and the parsley. Toss to coat all of the mushrooms. (If you choose to saute onions separately, gently mix the sautéed onions through the rest of the ingredients now.)
Finally, add to a serving dish. Serve sautéed skull mushrooms with crostini or baguette.