Saluting Deadliest Catch star Capt. Phil Harris with his crab-stuffed mushrooms

Capt. Phil Harris of the Deadliest Catch TV program passed away late yesterday. We'll remember him with one of his favorite recipes.

Yeah, we know that Deadliest Catch skipper Captain Phil Harris wasn't a politician. So why mention him on a political blog? Because we were fans.

The likable and sometimes explosive captain of the Cornelia Marie passed away yesterday. You can read more about it here.

As a salute to the crab fisherman, we thought we'd post one of his favorite recipes.

On the program, "After the Catch" where Harris and his fishing buddies would recount the previous year's adventures, the tattoo-laden fisherman demonstrated how to make one of his specialties.

"We're going to make some crab stuffed mushrooms," Harris announced while putting on an apron. "And you can use crab or snowcrab or whatever floats your boat."

"Are these nicotine crab stuffed mushrooms," ribbed one of his friends alluding to what seemed to be Harris's ever -present cigarette.

"You gotta have a touch of nicotine in there," he joked.

You can watch an excerpt from the show over at the Discovery website. Or give his recipe (sans nicotine) a shot yourself. Here's everything you need to know:

INGREDIENTS:
36-40 medium white mushrooms
8 ounces cream cheese/spreadable cheese, flavored, softened
2 cups chopped cooked crabmeat, snow or king crab
1/2 cup grated cheese (can be smoked cheese)

DIRECTIONS:
De-stem and scrape out the caps of domestic mushrooms. Spray with oil. Bake mushroom caps at 350 degrees F for 5 to 7 minutes to soften.
Prepare the crabmeat stuffing: Break up and coarsely chop the crabmeat. Place in a bowl and blend with cream cheese. Once thoroughly combined, spoon crab mixture into mushroom caps and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Broil 6 inches from broiler until melted and lightly browned.

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