Mom, Wife, Chef, Gardener, Dog Wrangler, Mom, Writer, Friend, Daughter, Sister, Mom, Creative Problem Solver, DIY Chick...figuring out life one day at a time.



Thursday, October 28, 2010

Mom/Forager: mushroom mania

We are lucky enough to live in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest where mushrooms love to grow. Last year we had a good time hiking and foraging for mushrooms. Unfortunately this year, between the new baby and my husband's hours at work we haven't had any time for mushroom hunting. Plus, with it being October already and the frosts we've had, I was pretty sure we'd missed mushroom season this year.
Imagine our surprise when we were out walking our dogs the other day and my husband wandered off the trail and right into a patch of chanterelles! We picked all that we could find and brought them home. They were muddy but otherwise perfect.
chanterelles ready for drying.
I cleaned them up and most of them went on sheet trays and into the oven to be dried. After ten hours at 170 degrees (the lowest my oven goes) they are dried out and ready to be stored. A few of the mushrooms got set aside before drying and later on combined with some crimini I had in the fridge and made into my favorite mushroom application: stroganoff.
Stroganoff, to me, has always been about the mushrooms. That and the buttery egg noodles. Yum. I didn't have egg noodles this time, I used regular fettuccine, and I used some leftover pork instead of beef, but it still came out amazing. Here's how I make it.
Mushroom Stroganoff
Heat a teaspoon or two of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Thinly slice half an onion and toss it into the pan. Let the onions start to caramelize, then throw in a lot of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced, any type will do. Throw a big pinch of salt in on top of the mushrooms and let them start to cook down. After a few minutes add a clove of minced garlic. Once the mushrooms have cooked down and released their moisture, add a tablespoon of tomato paste, a heaping teaspoon of paprika and some fresh or dried dill and cook for a minute. Deglaze the pan with sherry or white wine, whatever you have lying around. Add a cup of water or stock and let come to a simmer. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste then stir in 1/4 cup of sour cream. Stir to incorporate, let sit over medium heat for a few minutes until the sour cream warms up and then serve over pasta or egg noodles. Yum! Cooked and thinly sliced beef or pork can be thrown in with the mushrooms.
Sorry I don't have pictures, the baby was fussy and I didn't take the time. But trust me, it's good stuff.

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