Stephanie's Mushroom Tortellini



Winning a sales award in Las Vegas at the National
Convention in February 1994.



During the 1980's and 1990's, I worked as a real estate agent on Long Island, NY. It was before the time of electronic contracts, digital signatures and true communication via the Internet. As a result, I found myself driving from Shirly, NY where we lived and worked to many locations on Long Island to deliver contracts and go to closings. On one such occasion, I was in Westbury, NY and after the closing I went to Fortunoff, a store that was big and beautiful on Long Island from 1964 until it's closing in 2009. After shopping and just a block away was an "nuevo" Italian Restaurant I decided to visit Baci. On their menu there was a tortellini dish that I decided to try and I fell in love with it ever since. I even sat near the kitchen on a couple of occasions to watch them make the dish. And before I left Long Island and Real Estate there, I actually got the nerve to speak to the chef and ask him his ingredients. So here is what after much tweaking, I came up with a delicious and exact, as I remember, recipe.

Stephanie' s Mushroom Tortellini:

1 package cheese tortellini

1 package sliced mushrooms

1 stick of butter

1 tbsp flour

2 cups of heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Diced fresh basil

Grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot add water and salt and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and boil for about 8 minutes until "al dente" firm not mushy. In a deep saute pan add the butter and melt on medium low heat once melted add the sliced mushrooms and saute until tender. Using a large spoon, push the mushrooms to the sides and add the flour and cook into a paste with the butter. Now add the cream and mix at first with the "roux" and then once fully integrated gently push the mushrooms into the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the tortellini, place into a bowl and then pour the mushroom sauce over the top and incorporate with the tortellini. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Best served with a Caesar Salad and garlic bread. Mangia Bene!!!!