[Anne Elk]

Jeff, IMO that would be a waste of morels. You want to really taste them! I bet Schenk would agree. When they're in the supermarket I buy a small quantity (last year was $50/lb on sale this year for $29) and really savor them. I slice them in halves or quarters, then slowly sautee in butter with a bit of shallot. A little salt if you use unsalted butter, maybe a pinch of dill. That's it! As far as cleaning, you really can't do much, given their shape. I wipe them off with a damp paper towel. I figure whatever's left on kinda contributes to the flavor. When folks unfamiliar ask me what it tastes like, I say, "the forest" ... no other way to describe them. * edit: Ski, that's over-doin' it! I'd maybe do that for bland 'shrooms like buttons, but never, ever for morels. Just my two cents.

[Ski]

^ Actually, I have done that more than once, both with morels and chanterelles, and the end result is generally pretty fabulous. A cheap, sweet, white wine works MUCH better than a Masala or off-the-shelf cooking sherry, btw. And I have experimented with various herbs but never found one that didn't overpower the mushrooms. I generally try to limit seasonings to just a bit of salt and pepper. Of course, we're talking wild mushrooms here, so everybody's going to have a different take on it. Trader Vic's used to have on their menu a "dessert" dish of crepes with creamed morel sauce. Delightful. (They told us they imported the morels from India - go figure.)

[Schenk]

[Ski]

rib steak with morels and mango-cranberry-cherry chutney 071620

[Washakie]

I may have posted before,,,,, One of my favorite sayings, The are no old, bold mushroom hunters.

[Ski]

^ most likely true, but: When it comes to the mango chutney, I'm leaning toward being more bold. That batch from last week (in the photo above) was okay, but I forgot the tumeric! How silly of me. I started with two large mangos, peeled and chopped up 1 fat shallot, minced 1/4 cup fresh ginger, grated 1/3 cup white vinegar 1/4 cup white sugar bit of salt sprinkle of cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon whole red mustard seed dash ground clove 1/3 cup raisins (TJ's) 1/3 cup dry cranberry (TJ's organic) 1/3 cup dry sour unsweetened cherries (Oly Food Co-Op) 1/3 cup water and cooked it for about 30 minutes, then allowed it to cool. I was not as impressed as I was with the previous batch, in which I used dried unsweetened blueberries (Oly Food Co-Op) instead of the dry sour cherries. That may, however, be because I didn't forget the tumeric last time, and I believe I used just a wee bit more cayenne in the mix. So as a garnish, "bold" may indeed be better. I may see if I can find some tamarind somewhere and perhaps toss a bit of that in next time.... I have some "lamb necks" here that are awaiting my next science project.

[Schenk]

Ski, your skills in the culinary arts are evident! I have to stick with the simple stuff...