Schroomin'

My family can tell you that I hate mushrooms. I do. No matter how many different ways I’ve tried them, the texture gets me every time. It reminds me of biting my own tongue. Everyone loves a good Portobello, and my dad makes them like mini pizzas. I mean, who doesn’t love a grilled Portobello pizza? Me, of course.

Anyway, for years I would avoid mushrooms. And one day I was out with The Husband and we came across morel mushrooms. He could not say enough about how delicious they were and how he used to eat them all of the time when he lived in California. So for his birthday I decided to make him a strip steak with a morel mushroom cabernet sauce. I figured if I was going to eat the mushrooms, they should be doused with wine and over amazing meat. And sitting at dinner, eating the sauce, the light bulb went off. I love wild mushrooms (ie the really expensive kind). For those who know me, you will laugh because you know it’s true. For those who don’t, well, it’s true, I have a tendency to unknowingly gravitate towards expensive things, much to my husbands chagrin.

Since my morel mushroom light bulb, I have taken a head first dive into the world of non-button/Portobello mushrooms; Chanterelles, Hen of the Woods, the illustrious Truffle, if it has a non-button shape and some how manages to cost more than $5 for one, I’m all over it.

With the approach of spring, comes the dawn of wild mushroom season. Someday I would love to drive down to Missouri and go pick morel mushrooms for super cheap, instead of paying $20 for a handful of them. But since I can’t do that, I wander the produce section of Whole Foods and our local co-op to see what delicious shroomy treats are popping up.

Along with my bison and sausage find at Whole Foods this weekend, I came across some fresh Hen of the Woods mushrooms, and decided to sauté them up with the burgers and some Italian potato salad last night. These leaf like mushrooms are so earthy and so delicious you really don’t need to add much to them. And honestly, it’s a super simple recipe.

Ingredients (1-2 people)

1 Hen of the Woods mushroom (if this is your only side, 1 per person, if it’s a second, then you can split one per two people)

2 Sprigs Thyme

1 Spring of Rosemary

1 Clove Garlic, crushed

1TBS Olive Oil

Clean the mushroom, cut into quarters and let dry. In a sauté pan, heat olive oil, garlic, rosemary and thyme for about a minute. Add the mushrooms and turn the heat to medium low. Cook the mushrooms on all sides until they are golden brown, this should take about 5 minutes total. About one minute before they are done, add salt to taste.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

It looks like a weird acorn!