As most of you know, I will make cakes and fritters out of just about anything. Wild enoki and sesame pancakes (cultivated are fine too) are a great variation on that theme, but they’re also a good example of how you can steer lots of dishes in different directions by carefully choosing your ingredients. Here’s…
Recipes for Fresh Wild Mushrooms
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.
Fish Sauce Pickled Enoki
I love a good mushroom pickle. If I feel like it, or if I think the species would take particularly well to it, I may go with a different flavor profile than the pickled mushroom conserve I usually make by the gallon. These enoki preserved in a pickle liquid made with fish sauce are a…
Butternut Squash Steaks with Mushrooms and Salsa Verde
I love a good cut of meat, sausage, or a steak on the grill. Sometimes though, I might need to have an alternative around for non-meat eaters that can work with the same garnishes as a simple chunk of protein, and a grilled or pan roasted butternut squash steak is a crowd favorite I’ve relied…
Yellowfoot Chanterelle Lefse
When I think of the cuisine of my Nordic ancestors, I don’t usually think of mushrooms, and that’s a mistake. Scandinavia is home to many similar varieties of mushrooms that we have in the Midwest: chanterelles, murklor, and even matsutake! Lefse with chanterelles, sauerkraut, and hushallsost cheese is one of the most delicious examples of…
Meatloaf Steaks with Hedgehog Mushroom Sauce
Tender slices of poached meatloaf, napped with handfuls of hedgehog mushrooms in a sauce spiked with paprika and lemon is what happens when you were trained to cook like a French chef, but TV dinners helped raise you. I came up with this to showoff how much fun hedgehog mushrooms can be. Hedgehogs have a…
Hot and Sour Soup with Wood Ears and Yellowfeet
I’ve been saving a bag of wood ear mushrooms my friend from Forest Mushrooms gave me the last time I saw him for a good batch of hot and sour soup for months. Wood ears are special in that, after rehydrating they’re nearly indistinguishable from their fresh state. Finally I got around to using them…
Hedgehog Mushroom Soup with Beans, Watercress and Tomato
I love hedgehog mushrooms (especially the giant ones) but during the off-season here in Minnesota I sometimes cook with the smaller Hydnum umbillicatum that are sold commercially out of the PNW during our winter when I have a craving for fresh mushrooms. Hedgehogs are great in just about anything you’d add them to, but I love…
Buckwheat Kasha with Mushrooms and Onions
Buckwheat kasha with wild mushrooms and onions is a classic piece of Eastern European comfort food you need to try. I was ignorant of it for a long time, and I can’t believe it took me so long to get around to it. For me, it’s a dish that’ll always be tied to a particular…
Daikon Radish Steaks with Wild Mushroom Ragu
Vegetarian or not, you’re going to love these little daikon radish steaks with wild mushroom ragu, but first, I have to give credit to where my inspiration came from. Like most of my colleagues, I’m always hungry for new information and secrets from others in the culinary industry. You can find recipes for just about…
Chanterelle Spaghetti with Roasted Garlic-Wine Sauce
Earlier this year my former chef, friend, and mentor Chef Andy Lilja gave me a ring during chanterelle season to tell me how awesome his dinner was. Some of my favorite recipes are those from my chef friends, either restaurant staples, or things that they make at home, and I keep track of them whenever…
Wild Mushroom Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup)
Oh this is a good one, and a recipe for chicken of the woods (or other wild mushrooms like hen of the woods) I’ve been meaning to get up for a while. Tom kha gai is a classic Thai soup typically using chicken, mushrooms, coconut milk, and a few aromatics. It’s a well known soup,…
Chicken of the Woods Wild Rice Casserole
It’s getting colder outside, and I’m starting to crave that cold weather food. Stews and braises have happened already happened, but one thing that’s been gnawing at me was a good, solid casserole. Coming from the Midwest, I have casserole in my blood, and there’s nothing like the classic chicken wild rice casserole laced with…
Cauliflower Mushroom Steaks
Cauliflower mushroom steaks are an analogy to one of the most popular recipes for hen of the woods I’ve shared: cutting them into big chunks and cooking like a piece of meat. Cauliflower mushrooms are like hen of the woods in that they’re often large–much larger than many other mushrooms, but unlike hens, cauliflower mushrooms…