Mad about Mushrooms . . .

April 2011's Recipe of the Month: Chicken, Leek and Cremini Mushroom Casserole

We're always looking for a new and interesting way to include mushrooms in our lives, and Martha Stewart's Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Casserole caught our attention the other day.  Why?  It employs hearty multi-grain bread as a vehicle to absorb the flavors of chicken breasts, leek, pan juices, and cremini - interesting and delicious, and just perfect for dinner on a rainy April night. 

Will the wintery rains ever stop?  Will summer ever come?  Sometimes I have my doubts.  However, there is no doubt in my mind that this lovely casserole will drive away any thoughts you may have about the weather.

Oh, you may be asking:  What are cremini mushrooms?  They go under various names - baby bella, Roman, golden Italian, and brown-capped mushrooms.  No matter what they are called, cremini are a small, cultivated mushroom of a darker color and richer flavor than the common white button mushroom.  According to Cuisine at Home Magazine, they are harvested 40 days after cultivation.  If they were allowed to grow 45 days, they would become the now familiar, large-capped portobello mushroom.

 

This astonishing photo by Taylor Lockwood
arrived via e-mail today! 

March 2011's Recipe of the Month: Sesame Steak Salad with Asian Pears

We couldn't resist trying Fine Cooking's August/September 2010 recipe for Sesame Steak Salad with Asian Pears.  It sounded like a real gem, combining our favorite flavors with the crispness of the Asian Pears.  It didn't disappoint, and we've returned to this lovely dish several times substituting Bosc Pears when the Asian Pears are scarce.  And, yes, I am sure that it will come as no surprise that we like to add a handful of shitake mushrooms to the dish!

It looks like there's company in the front yard! 

February, 2011's Recipe of the Month: Soft Apricot-'Shroom Oatmeal Cookies

Last year Marybeth Mank sent this delightful recipe for our recipe contest.  We're pleased to offer it as the recipe of the month.  It's a wonderfully creative use of wild mushrooms.  Thanks for the submission, Marybeth!

We find that the hedgehogs, which are still fruiting in the woodlands, are a good substitute for the chanterelles that the recipe calls for.

We're all shaking our heads:  hedgehogs fruiting at the same time that turkey vultures (our first sign that spring is just around the corner) have returned to Port Orford!  What a mushroom season this has been!

The turkey vulture is a sure sign that Port Orford's weather is moderating. 

January, 2011's Recipe of the Month: Vegetable Strudel with Chanterelles

What a spectacular way to start off the New Year!  Vegetable Strudel from Lucy Gerspcher's cookbook, Hazelnuts & More, is sure to impress and please even the most discerning diner.  It's both beautiful to look at and delicious to consume.

Gerspcher cautions:  don't let the length of the recipe alarm you.  And she's right.  It goes together easily and can be done ahead in several steps.  It can also be frozen and reheated in a 375 degree oven.

These hazelnuts are grown on a small farm near Oregon City. After shelling, store hazelnuts in the freezer to ensure a high quality ingredient.  

December, 2010's Recipe of the Month: Breast of Chicken with Chanterelles

Just imagine having a bountiful supply of chanterelles at the end of December - how wonderful!  And, so is this month's recipe, chosen from the Timberline Lodge Cookbook by Leif Eric Benson.  Serve the entree as a quick family dinner or as a special occasion dinner for guests...it never disappoints.

We enjoy both white and golden chanterelles in this recipe.  

November, 2010's Recipe of the Month: Chanterelle Eclairs

We just couldn't resist driving up to Seattle to the Puget Sound Mycological Society's annual show this year.  The program was very enticing, featuring Debbie Viess (Biologist, Contributing Editor to Fungi Magazine, Amanitaceae Expert and Co-Founder of the Bay Area Mycological Society), Dr. Britt Bunyard (Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Fungi Magazine) and Taylor Lockwood (World Renowned Fungi Photographer and Author).  What a treat it would be to hear their presentations, we thought...and it was!

In honor of the show, which was fabulous, we've chosen a recipe from the PSMS cookbook, Wild Mushroom Recipes, published in 1973, for our November Recipe of the Month.  It's a lovely dish to serve at home or at potlucks.  And, with the abundance of golden chanterelles this year, I think that we are all looking for ways to incorporate more mushrooms into our dishes!

2010 is the year of the Golden Chanterelle.

October, 2010's Recipe of the Month: Creamy Chanterelle Pasta

We can thank our dear friend, Linda Rollin, for this lovely recipe.  She clipped it out of a newspaper which had adapted it from Langdon Cook's "Fat of the Land".  We love the recipe because it's sinfully rich, generously endowed with golden chanterelles, comes together in minutes...gosh, what's not to like!

I'm thinking that our next rendition of this pasta will include a generous portion of seafood - maybe shrimp or scallops or maybe crab, thanks to our local crab fishermen.  After all, it's almost crab season again! 

Our crab fishermen are a hard working crew.

September, 2010's Recipe of the Month: Asian Catfish Wraps with Shiitake Mushrooms

It's Friday night and everyone's tired from the week's activities.  What's for dinner:  Asian Catfish Wraps with Shiitake Mushrooms is the perfect answer.  They are a flavorful blend of fish, napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and other veggies, sesame seed oil and hoisin sauce wrapped up in a flour tortilla.  They are quick to prepare and an interesting change.  So, what's not to like?

I wish I could remember where I found this recipe - was it in the late lamented Gourmet Magazine or perhaps Cooking Light?  No matter where it was printed, koodos to them for this welcome addition to my recipe collection!

What a delicious filling!

 

August, 2010's Recipe of the Month: Cold Japanese Noodles with Toppings

It's been so many years since Shoko first came to visit us when we lived in the Puget Sound area.  She was the first of the several exchange students that we hosted, and we treasure her friendship.  We're pleased to still be a part of her life via letter and e-mail and thru the serving of dishes that she introduced us to during her stay.

One of these dishes was Cold Japanese Noodles with Toppings - a perfect summer food.  When the temperatures climb, there is no more refreshing dinner that a bowl of pasta with a light soy sauce dressing and an array of toppings.  It's easy to prepare and easy to consume.  Cool on the tongue and spicy on the palate, we think that you also will find the smorgasbord of flavors and textures are delightful. 

The only fungi we could find recently were these lovely but inedible polypores.

July, 2010's Recipe of the Month: Mushroom Powder Pasta

It's been a long search.  I've looked here and there and everywhere for a pasta dough recipe that incorporates mushroom powder, and at long last my perseverance is paying off. 

In his noteworthy Joe's Book of Mushroom Cookery, Jack Czarnecki suggests that mushroom flavorings can be incorporated into pasta in several ways:

"Pasta from Mushroom Powder.  A preparation popularized by Jacques Pepin, this method calls for replacing about one quarter of the flour you would normally use to prepare the dough with mushroom powder.  Again, cook the finished rolled dough in water enriched with some dried mushrooms."

"Mushroom powder pasta is delicious" Steven declares!