Oh yes....Sweet Potato French Toast!

My sister and I used some amazing sweet potatoes picked up at last Saturday's (first day of Spring!!) Farmer's market.  Needless to say, if you are a sweet potato fan, the simple preparation using duck fat as the oil, and organic brown sugar and agave nectar to sweeten, with a little quatre epices left over from duck confit some months ago, made the large dice roast potatoes delicious.  We paired these with a black-eyed pea, kale, and rice dish with Southern American flavorings.

Just two of these monstrous potatoes were enough to feed four, plus leave to much extra for the following day.  This morning, finding them still in the fridge, despite the hungry roommates, a thought popped into mind:  Use them in the food processor with some half-n-half and eggs to make a most delicious french toast batter.  I used an organic French Baquette fromm New season, sliced on a long bias, and soaked the bread for about 20 minutes in the mixture while heating the oven to 450° F.  I heated a half-sheet pan with about 2 oz of butter in the oven, and when the oven was hot (and the butter had achieved a wonderful nut-brown aroma) I pulled the pan out of the oven and packed tightly in a single layer of soaked bread onto the sizzling buttered surface.  These I baked until the top had achieved a beautiful browned crust, and lo, when flipped, the butter browned bottoms had a color demanding of immediate edibility.

Served with Vermont maple syrup (acquired, of all places, from a buffet at a time-share on Maui...ha!), it was a delicous start to the day!

Coffee Braised Lamb

I had to try it.

The orginal recipe was an obscure find online for something called Red-Eye Gravy.  Traditionally, this is made with ham and coffee, pepper onions, carrots.  I wanted lamb.  So I had to try it.  To say it was well received would be an understatement.  Let me start by saying that I would make it again, but probably not very often.

I made my own brown stock, using oxtail (the meat from which went into the most amazing French Onion soup to which I have been party).  Using homemade maple cured bacon, pre-cooked flageolet beans, a bouquet garni of rosemary, parsley and thyme, lamb arms that had been well seared, sherry to deglaze, large dice of onion, red peppr and carrot, and a sauce mix of 50/50 fresh brewed nicauraguan coffee and my beef stock to top.  In this order, I layered a cast iron braising in pot, roughly 10 inches oval, and these ingredients filled the pan to the tip top.  I finished the dish by reducing the braising liquid to a sauce with added truffle butter, and a garnish of parsley.  A very peasant appearing meal, hearty and full of flavor.  The bitter element of the coffee is well balanced with the meaty flavor developed by braising for 3 hours, and the collected fond. The vegetables, being on top of the whole dish, get a chance to roast against the lid of the pan, before succombing to the rising tide of released juices from the intermingling layers of savory ingredients.  The lamb was, of course, fork tender; the vegetables were excellent with the sauce, and the beans were subtle, as flageolet are wont to be.

Critically, I have issue with the cross-smell of coffee and bell pepper, as the two together remind me of years of composting, and the trip from the kitchen to the outdoor drop-site.  Not that this is unpleasant in its ideals, but somehow the mixture of coffee grinds and spent vegetable ends sets my olefactory cringing.  A lesser balanced cook may have difficulty with this recipe, as it does, with said ingredients, require quite a balncing act of flavors to achieve its end.  I might try to a different vegetable combination, though I have no doubt the recipe would work very well for the intended ham, sans the bacon.

The Beauty of German Pancakes (Dutch Babies)

Who doesn't love breakfast.  Okay, there are some people, but lets be serious, a good start to the day is a good thing everyday.  So breakfast oftens plays that role.  But the morning is a pinched time and requires a lot of daytime prep that can curtail the ease of producing amn enjoyable meal.

Enter the Dutch Baby:  There isn't really a better breakfast food, in my opinion, than a good German Pancake.  From the ease of preparation, to the versatility of the item, to the speed and WOW factor, the German Pancake is my favorite item to create for my sweet on cold mornings.  Pancakes can be messy and time consuming, without a proper grill, the first is cold by the time the last is cooked; waffles are a pain, and require a tender touch for the most succulent feast.  Muffins, scones and other baked goods require a time commitment, and do not always provide the feeling of a complete breakfast.  Eggs are delicious, but unless prepared in a way that wows, with good sides or homebaked bread, nothing special.

So why a German Pancake?  This food is even fun to watch in the oven, as it expands and rolls up the side of the pan.  The recipe is as simple as it gets:

1/2 cup Milk or water
1/2 cup AP Flour
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp Butter

Put butter in a baking dish (9 x 13 in glass is my favorite although a round dish or a cast iron pan are exellent tools as well).
Preheat the oven to 385°F, with the baking dish inside, this will brown the butter and heat the entire contraption to the necessary temperature for proper cooking.

Mix all other ingredients.  The batter should be nearly as running as crepe batter.

When the oven is heated, pull out the baking dish, and swirl the butter to coat the inside of the pan well.  Pour the batter into the pan and return to the oven.

The mixture should, within a few minutes, begin rising up the side of the pan and curling in on itself.

Pancake is done when completely cooked and slightly browned. (10 minutes)

Garnish immediately with lemon juice and powdered sugar, serve with Compote (apple) or jam, syrup or any other favorite condiment.

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That is the simple version.

Having explored a wide range of possibilities, I would like to share with you a few of them:

Subbing Heavy Cream for Milk, the Pancake did not rise up the edges, but instead puffed up wonderfully in the bottom and became crispier, slightly more heavy, but still delicious.

Subbing the bacon fat for Butter yields a familiar flavor that aids in the breakfasting memory, and uses old bacon fat.

Subbing 1/2 n 1/2 for the milk makes a richer pancake

Subbing Stock for the Milk makes a more savory pancake for much wider applications than breakfast (there is no sugar in the batter).

This morning I added orange zest to the batter for a very pleasant surprise; feel free to add fruit, nuts, oatmeal, or anything as you see fit to expand and play with this miraculously easy investment of time.

This is a crowd pleaser, easy to prepare the batter well in advance, and extremely versatile.  Make one tomorrow morning and see what I mean.

A Christmas Recapitulation

What a Holiday Season it has been!  It seems that the frenzy of mushroom season extended into the madness of full holiday tilt and little time has readied itself to settle to the seat behind the warm glow of the computer screen.  The last months culinary adventures have left lasting memories, of fond remembrances both of present and past connections.  Starting in October, I, accompanied fearlessly by my fellow housemates, followed my world-traveling sister around one meal at a time, cooking Indian, French and Austrian feasts to honor of her worldly explorations.  I have witnessed multiple Thanksgiving traditions and feast, contributing to a more than one;  I hosted a Holiday dinner for friends, hopelessly coinciding with the worst snow storm Portland has seen in decades...but people came to eat and be merry, despite the weather.  The soups from the leftovers were righteous indeed, and finally to cap off the year, I signed, with the Chef's Collaboration a letter to President Elect Obama.  The letter contained the following statements, expressing the very necessary direction chefs and our food systems must go.


•    Food is fundamental to life, nourishing us in body and soul. The preparation of food strengthens our connection to nature. The sharing of food immeasurably enriches our sense of community.

•    Good food begins with unpolluted air, land, and water, environmentally sustainable farming and fishing, and humane animal husbandry.

•    Food choices that emphasize delicious, locally grown, seasonally fresh, and whole or minimally processed ingredients are good for us, for local farming communities, and for the planet.

•    Cultural and biological diversity are essential for the health of the earth and its inhabitants. Preserving and revitalizing sustainable food, fishing, and agricultural traditions strengthen that diversity.

•    By continually educating themselves about sustainable choices, chefs can serve as models to the culinary community and the general public through their purchases of seasonal, sustainable ingredients and their transformation of these ingredients into delicious food.

•    The greater culinary community can be a catalyst for positive change by creating a market for good food and helping preserve local farming and fishing communities.


Clearly,the commentary on such a piece of wisdom could fill volumes.  We have an incredible few years ahead of us, with Oprah comparing standard farming practices to more healthy, to organic becoming a household word.  There is so much to do.  Let us never tire in the work ahead.

...All the Rain Promises and More!!

The title of this blog, as a mushroom hunter of any ilk will recognize, is taken directly from one of the most prominent identification guides for mushrooms, and especially edible mushrooms. David Aurora's book is often the only book that many mushroom hunters use and reference, though I recommend using any and all of them at hand, as the information varies from author to author. Some that have the best illustrations (DK series, Smithsonian Handbooks by Thomas Laessøe & Gary Lincoff) have the most hideously incomplete guide to edibility--giving it a dinner plate, a dinner plate with a cross through it, or a skull and crossbones) Whereas others, such as "Common Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest" give some of the most colorful descriptions of edibility, ["The toxic MMH (monomethylhydroxine) found in this and other Gyromitra species, is the same chemical that is used in rocket fule for space travel. Not only is the Hooded Morel poisonous if eaten, but it also releases toxic fumes into the air if cooked. DO NOT EAT. It is better left for space travel"] many of the mushrooms that I have found casually wandering are not in this book, and despite the apparently common appearence to me, were unidentifiable by this standard. One MUST forgoe the desire to make a mushroom found fit the description of one in a book, as this arrogant hope is no assurance of avoiding sever side effects.

There are also many books on edible mushrooms, and again, these books reflect a difference of opinion as striking as opposing religions! Michael Kuo's incredibly informed book "100 edible Mushrooms" is prefaced by the author with a disclaimer saying that he does not eat wild mushrooms anymore, and indeed, each entry is seemingly trying to convince the reader that while the recipe that follows is delicious, is is best left to the experts to determine what is edible and exciting to cook. Wise words certainly, but the hint of caution and fear does give one an impression of an imperceivable danger.

As a chef in Portland, one of the most predigious mushroom producing areas of the world, I must advise that everyone go out in the woods and explore, collect and examine the mushrooms species growing locally. Paul Stamets, [www.fungiperfecti.com] has said no mushrooms will hurt you upon picking it. He openly encourages his children to pick and bring him any mushroom they find. Many mushrooms are even better identified by their taste (tiny, miniscule fragments, put in the mouth, macerated, and spit out) and by their smell. The mushrooms that cause death do so by poisoning the liver and doing irrevocable damage, requiring a transplant in many cases within a few days. In other words, they must be eaten. As a fellow mushroomer told me, if you eat a mushroom and experience no problems until after 8 or more hours, you probably have a problem. However, if they immediately cause you grastronomic upset, your poisoning is likely not sever, just extremely uncomfortable (think really bad flu). Thus, as an amatuer mushroom collector myself, I would employ the same logic as Kuo in pushing the forager to know for certain what it is you have in your basket before eating, and even after doing so, if there is any doubt remaining as to the strain of the mushroom (one book I found suggested, as mentioned in the previous post, a possibility of a poisonous strain of chicken mushrooms in the northwest) eat only a small amount and wait 24 hours. This was what I did with the chicken mushroom I found, and after feeling quite fine, my roommates and I ate the rest and enjoyed them thoroughly! The conclusion is that three cases of poisoning from mushrooms known to be edible is more than likely an allergic reaction, not a poisonous strain.

There is no danger in collecting any and all mushrooms you find and bringing them home to examnine and if you can identify. I had the recent honor of attending the Oregon Mycological Society's Fall Mushroom Show, and what a wonder it was to see all the fungus I have seen in passing in the woods gathered and displayed with their respective families. In fact, I was asked more than once while in the field whether I was gathering mushrooms for the show, and until I arrived, I had little sense of why this question was being asked, but having been, I will be gathering them, for the next show, to be sure! I also joined the group with mush enthrusiasm, and purchased for myself an innoculated bag of straw that will soon be bloom to Pink Oyster Mushrooms...stay tuned for more info as this growth develops.

UPDATE: Since the rain has come and gone, and come again, I have been back to the places I know where the chanterells grow like so much sorel on the forest floor. In no more than one and half hours, foraging in an area that a weeks preious had been barren, my friends and I collected over 3.5 pounds of the Official Mushroom of Oregon, the golden chanterelle, still fetching $11.00/pound at the farmers markets and the grocery stores. Some of the specimens were so beautful I wish there were ways besides photgraphs to preserve their beauty. But alas, they had to be eaten:

Wild Mushrooms Pizza:

Dough:
3 cups All-purpose flour (or bread flour)
2+ Tablspoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Instant Yeast (try the local Cash&Carry for the best prices per volume)
1.5 teaspoons salt
1 to 1 1/4 cup water

Let the dough rise for 30-45 minutes in warm place, and stretch to fit the oiled pan for use.

Cook chanterelles and lobster mushrooms (and any others) by the dry saute method:
Simply put into a pan on med. hi until they release all of their juices, cook until the juice has reduced and reabsorbed into the mushrooms. At this point, I add salt to season, and a little olive oil to start to carmelize the mushrooms for a deeper flavor. I highloy encourage a taste of the released juice before it is cooked away, for this is some of the most flaorful liquid I have very experienced. And to think it came from the forest floor!

For toppings on the pizza, we used a pumkin seed/arugula pesto, minced garlic, shallots, fresh tomato from my garden, and goats milk monterey jack cheese, grated.

For anyone into pizza, this will spell relief from the boring old toppings and sauce aailible at 99% of the Pizza Joints out there, and the relief one gets from using items collected on one's own is better than simply enjoying the fruits of someone else's labor.

Enjoy the fall!

Tracking the Altitude

Two days tromping around in the mud and rain, the huge drops of water collected on the spruce trees soaring above our heads, knee deep boots and beach grass soaking all layers, weathered or not through to the skin...I can''t wait to do it again! From Highway 101 South of Tillamook, we headed out circumnavigating the two northern capes [of the Three Capes region of the Oregon coast], Cape Meares and Cape Lookout, armed with mushroom guides and fierce determination. I had had the inclination that perhaps on this day I would find something as of yet undiscovered by my own eyes...not even at a grocery stores--both lobster and chanterelle were familiar on this front long before finding them.

We found a place to stop the car well off the road at Cape Meares, but far enough away not to have the bustle of the parking lot too close, and pulled over. I don't think the amount of time it takes me to type Chicken of the Woods is as long as it took me to spot an enourmous specimen about 10 yards deep into the forest, glowing as bright as the sun (well it seemed that way to me!).

It was at this time that I was quite certain we were in a fruitful location, and readied my gear to explore the surrounding forest. A quick bee-line to the tree yielded a tripple lobed Chicken of the Woods or Sulphur Shelf mushroom. A gill-less polypore that is as bright yellow and orange as a Cheetos wrapper. Believe me, I have been unwilling duped by the latter!

Supposedly, it is said that this mushroom tastes like chicken. It certainly smells like chicken. According to one source I found, they declared this mushroom to be one of the four "unmistakable" mushrooms, whose look alike are few, and among which are zero poisonous mushrooms. However, another source indicated that the Pacific Region might have a strain of toxic Sulphur Shelf, as there have been three reported sickenings, possibly allergies in thsi region. Caution is advised, with the proscribed method, for the gastromically willing, is to eat a very small amount, and wait 24 hours. So I did. It was delicious. And I haven't had an issue yet, perhaps I will try a larger portion next time.

As a Pointer: NEVER NO NEVER do this with any mushroom known to have poisonous look alikes unless you are given certitude by an expert! Some mushrooms have irreversible poisons that can cause death and many other permanent and unpleaseant results.

That being said, it did tastes like chicken, and I prepared it by batter and deep fry. In fact, it was a Chicken (of the woods) Nugget.

For the batter, Blend in a Cuisinart:

4 tbls of flour with
chopped oregano, tarragon, and lemon-scented marigold leaf,

once the mixture is fine, add
1 Tbls Olive Oil
and the whites of two eggs
Salt and pepper

Voila, and thick batter to fry and enjoy.

Spices and herbs, obviously, can be sustituted for you own purposes. Those above were on hand and made for a interesting combination, to say the least.

It was on this journey that I realized how the temperature must affect the growing of the fungal fruiting bodies, and how the temperature is related to altitude. More mushrooms were found on higher ground, on the passes of hwy 101, than were found on the floor or the tidal flats, where the most bountiful mushroom patches I have every experienced are sure to spring up in the next few weeks, as the rains of Autumn push finally the dry of summer from the memory.

Not to say that we weren't wet, but even the drenching rain doesn't seem to be enough without the temperature change signalling the mycellium to push upward. A theory I have yet to varify, is that the first frost significantly alters the cellular structure of the biomass on slow breakdown. As the water in each cell expands to freezing, the cell is ruptured, like so many ruined salad greens in a too cold refridgerator, and the mushrooms are suddenly, overnight even, gien access to a bountiful world of organic chemistry to disassemble and the fule to grow. If anyone has definitive answers to this quandary, please contact me at pacificchef@gmail.com!

On the Trail of the Fungus...

Greetings food lovers and amateur cooks. Fall is upon us! I have have had the great time and the great luck of ringing in my favorite culinary season, with the years first Mushroom Hunt and Gather in Columbia Gorge. The weekend began with a fantastic dinner and wining in Troutdale, with pancetta wrapped chicken breast and thigh, served with a selection of grilled fruit and marscapone polenta to usher in flavors of the fall, coffee rubbed venison short ribs, and a fantastic heirloom caprese salad, all courtesy of the Black Rabbit Restaurant at the Edgefield Inn, Toutdale.

Hitting the road early after a fantastic stay at McMenamin's Edgefield Hotel, my partner and I made our way into the beautiful Columbia River gorge wilderness, in search of glimpses of gold peaking up from the forest floor. And found it we did! Chanterelles are out, my friends, and I would encourage any and all to grab the opportunity provided within our unique culinary nest of the NW. We found, in a relatively short time, at least a pound or two of beautiful, small golden chanterelles, among a nunber of othe rmushrooms, as well. Russula, boletus, amanita, polypore, and other less edible mushrooms are springing into degenerative action all over the forest.

After viewing an incredible scenic 360° view from the top of Larch Mountain, and pointing out the (barely) snowcapped peaks to visiting world tourists, we descended to give the hunt another whirl. Lo and behold, what we found was indeed a dashing of hopes, no doubt instigated by the fungally ignorant: Along a path we found a number of smashed and decapitated Lobster mushrooms, no doubt in their culinary prime, now rendered food for the next fungal flush.

It was with this knowledge of the nearby treat, however, that we resumed out search, and were soon rewarded with a 1.5 pound lobster mushroom just peeking out from the earth and glowing red in the setting sun. Seeking a camping spot in Oxbow Regional park, we concluded the days mission, but not without a congratalatory Hi-Five for the bounty collected on the first of what will become many days on the trail of the fungus!

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Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup olive oil blend
2 T butter
1/2 medium Onion, small dice
2 carrots, small dice
1 large Lobster Mushroom, medium dice
1 pound Chanterelle Mushroom, rough chop
1 pound shiitake mushroom, rough chop
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
dash ground cloves
1/4 c. beer (I used Fat Tire)
3/4 gal. vegetable stock
4 oz. Roux--
-2 oz. butter
-2 oz. unbleached white flour
1/4-1/2 cup Half'n'Half
Salt and pepper to finish
Truffle oil optional
Spinach leaves, fresh, chiffonade

1. In a 10 qt pot, sweat onions and carrots in butter and oil until onions are translucent
2. Add mushrooms, turn up heat and saute until juices are out, moisture is reduced, and some mushroom flesh has begun to just stick to the bottom of the pan. Add cinnamon and cloves.
3. Deglaze the pan with beer (add beer, let it come to rapid boil, scrape bottom of pan with metal spoon to dislodge the mushroom fond)
4. Reduce liquid au sec
5. Add Vegetable stock, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer (BTAB/RTAS)
6. Cook to further soften the mushrooms and integrate flavors
7. Meanwhile, cook roux to nutty brown smell wafts
8. Brimg soup back a low boil and quickly whisk in Roux
9. RTAS, allow to simmer for 10-20 min. remove scum from surface
10. ON LOW HEAT, add half and half to desired consistancy
11. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
12. I added truffle oil, roughly 1/2 tsp and chiffonade spinach leaves for color.

This soup is a warm and wonderful introduction to fall! Enjoy!