Foraging and Cooking Mushrooms, Wild and Obscure Food
My first book is now available to order. The first in a three-part series, Flora is the vegetable portion of my life, covering wild plants, herbs, spices, garden vegetables, nuts and starches. It will be followed in time by Fungi (mushrooms) and Fauna (meat). UPDATE 6/21: THE ENTIRE FIRST PRINTING OF FLORA SOLD OUT BEFORE…
The moment I smelled the aroma of cow parsnip seeds, I knew there was great potential to use the seeds as an herb. Indeed, the seeds of the plant are an ancient seasoning from the Middle East, but there was a lot more to them than I first thought before I’d looked at the plant…
Do you like preserved lemons? I do. If you do too, you’ll want to read on, especially if you’re the type of person who likes an easy fermentation project. I always seem to crave preserved/salted lemons when I don’t have any around, and, it can be hard to find them if you don’t live in…
When I sat down to write the nut chapter on my book, I knew I had to do some fun things with acorns, and I really wanted to make a dessert to illustrate how acorn flour can be used as a substitute for chestnut flour. I don’t know how much precious acorn flour I used…
“Hey do you know what these mushrooms are?” Is one of my favorite messages. My friends, family and acquaintances around North America regularly send me images of mushrooms they’re curious about, and it’s like having multiple pairs of eyes. The best messages though, come from local people at locations I can travel to quickly in…
Black trumpet potato puree (think dried-mushrooms pureed into mashed potatoes) came from a dish I’d heard about when I was moonlighting as the stylist on Lenny Russo’s cookbook. Over the course of the eight month project, photographer Tom Thulen and I would work off a list of dishes from different sections each week, chosen by…
Of all the smells I know that conjure up beautiful landscapes, sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina) is right near the top. Cracking open a jar of the seeds and crushing them transports me to the peak of summer, walking out into open pine barrens, mini-berry rake in hand, scanning the ground for flushes of blueberries, the…
Rib meat has to be one of the most underrated cuts of venison. Typically it will go in the grind pile after getting a thorough trim, or, as I see more often, left on the carcass for the cayotes. Today, I have for you, solid proof that deer ribs make for great eating, and…
Poached apples and pears are a classic cool weather dessert, and a nice break from heavy endings to a meal. Cooking the fruit in wild fruit juice instead of wine is what this is all about. I came up with this out of necessity. A couple years ago I was cooking for a photo shoot…
I’m a charcuterie freak: if it’s cured, salted, smoked, aged, potentially strange and delicious, I’m on board. Nduja, a little known spreadable salami from Calabria that’s been a chef secret for years now checks a lot of those boxes. I had my first taste of it at a dinner by Chef Wyatt Evans at his…
On one side of my family there’s often a collaborative effort for Thanksgiving. This year, I’m bringing my favorite dried wild mushroom stuffing, with a few handfuls of turkey gizzard confit for good measure. When I say my favorite stuffing too, I mean it. I’m including some images of the same recipe that go back…
Wild greens are eaten all over the Mediterranean, and, if you have a copy of my book you’ll know how much I like horta-the famous Greek conglomeration of foraged greens. For all intents and purposes, you can think of Tsigarelli (also known as horta tsigari) as it’s hot cousin, literally and figuratively. I read about…
Carpaccio, the classic Italian appetizer of tenderized, thinly sliced raw beef served with olive oil, arugula and good parmesan, was one of the first recipes I was taught to prep when I worked for Chef Angelo Volpicelli, the first teacher I can credit with showing me a few of the ins and outs of traditional…
I’ve always loved Halloween, and I usually do something “seasonal” when it comes around. As a disclaimer, I have to tell you that if you’re one of my vegetarian or vegan friends, you’ll probably want to skip this one. If you eat meat, and you appreciate the interesting odd tidbit, you may find it interesting,…