After Anthony Bourdain passed away I spent the following week tearing through his first book and then his cookbook, a sort of half mourning, half refresher course on one my favorite chefs I’ve always looked up to. The days after his passsing were announced for me were sullen, as they were for a lot of…
Fresh Mushroom Recipes
Fresh mushrooms work in two basic ways: as the main ingredient in a recipe, or as a supporting character working in the background. Here you'll find a little bit of everything.
Asparagus and Fiddleheads with Shaved Dryad Saddle
This week I’ve been working on a side that evokes spring and also happens to be a great way to use those dryad saddles/pheasant back mushrooms that come up with abandon in the Spring. I was in the kitchen wondering what to do with some fiddleheads Hidden Stream Farm brought me, and I wound up…
Dryad Saddle Relish
It’s springtime again, and with it comes the onslaught of Dryad Saddle, a.k.a Pheasant Back mushrooms here in Minnesota. With so many fresh ingredients available at once, I often preserve things to make sure everything gets used and to save time and shelf life of stuff I’ve worked so hard to pick. This preserve I…
Cauliflower Mushroom-Cabbage Gratin
Cauliflower mushrooms have an interesting shape, kind of like a big floppy hen of the woods as opposed to a literal head of cauliflower (Ramaria, on the other hand, do resemble cauliflower in shape). The first few times I cooked them, I kept it pretty simple and just fried them up in butter, but eventually,…
How to Cook Chanterelle Mushrooms
You went to the market, or better yet the woods, and now you’re staring at some beautiful chanterelles in your kitchen. If you’re new to cooking chanterelles, or even if you’re an old-school hunting pro, before you chop them up like any old mushroom, take a few minutes and consider some things with me. First:…
Ischnoderma Resinosum Broth
Ischnoderma resinosum, the underused polypore mushroom with a certain beefy quality to them and lots of trim that could go into a great stock. A while back one of my friends from the local mycological society mentioned making broth from them, which sounded like a great way to use all their trim. I made sure…
Honey Mushroom and Beef Runzas / Bierocks
Back at the Salt Cellar there was an older couple that would come in every weekend, the staff and I called them our favorite couple. Salad, split entree, then they’d each have a different scoop of ice cream to share. I loved talking to them in between pushes on Friday or Saturday nights. The man…
Blackened Shrimp of The Woods
When I’m hunting Hen of the Woods, aborted entolomas can get passed up as I scan the trees for a white oak with a giant mushroom at it’s base. It’s a shame to pass them up since aborted entolomas are so easy to hunt and cook, but if every mushroom tasted as good as every…
