Aaahhhh Pate`!

    Wild mushrooms, walnuts, lentils, caramelized onions, parmesan, fig...pretty much everything that's good in the world rolled into one. I needed to use up the rest of my batch of oyster mushrooms and always wanted to try my hand at a pate`. Also included are some dried hen of the woods and black trumpet mushrooms which gave it a stronger earthy presence. I wouldn't be surprised to see lentils become the "next big thing". They are versatile, super healthy and add a nice creaminess or nuttiness to a meal depending on how they're prepared. 

Learn More About Lentils

   Thyme is my old standby but you could use rosemary or Herbs de Provence as well. Parmesan crisps and minced dried fig accompany this pate`. It seems like the sweet salty combination accent the flavors in this spread nicely.

 

Wild Mushroom Walnut Lentil Pate' on Parmesan Crisps
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of Lentils
1 1/2 cup of Stock (Chicken or Vegetable)
1 Onion sliced fine
Butter
Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 cup fresh Mushrooms (oyster, chanterelle or button)
1/2 to one ounce dried Mushrooms (Hen of the woods, black trumpet, morel, etc)
3 cloves Garlic minced fine
1 Tablespoon fresh Thyme
3 Tablespoons Sherry
3/4 cup Walnuts
4 ounce Parmesan shredded
4-6 dried Figs minced (I used Smyrna figs)
Salt 
Pepper
Directions:
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

In a small pot, bring stock and lentils up to boil. Stir. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook lentils 30-40 minutes or until tender.

Re-hydrate dried mushrooms in just enough warm water so it just about covers them. 

While lentils are cooking, caramelize the onion. In a saute pan, add a combination of olive oil and butter until hot but before burning. Add in onion. Sprinkle with salt. Reduce heat and stir occasionally. Midway through cooking, add vinegar and sugar. Stir. Continue cooking at medium low heat until onions become very soft and golden in color (about 20 minutes). Deglaze pan with a little sherry.

Remove onions from heat.

Using same pan, add more olive oil and butter. Saute fresh mushrooms until they begin to brown. Sprinkle with salt. Add in re-hydrated mushrooms along with any liquid that hasn't been reabsorbed. Cook until there is no longer any liquid in the pan. Add in garlic and thyme. Cook briefly. Do not let burn. Deglaze pan with sherry. 
           

                                       

In a food processor or blender, combine walnuts, lentils, mushroom mixture, about a tablespoon of butter and caramelized onion. (You can add onion at the end if you'd like the pate` to be a more rustic texture instead of making it completely homogeneous)
Blend until the spread reaches the desired texture.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon into bowl.
Set aside.

On a baking tray lined with parchment paper, make little mounds of parmesan cheese. Make sure the mounds are not too high or too low. Too high and they will rock hard to bite into. Too thin and they will break. Bake in preheated oven for 6-7 mintues or until they become a golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

With a knife, smear a generous amount of pate' on each crisp, top with minced dried fig and finish with salt and pepper.

Contests!

Sooo...I'm jazzed :)
   Entering these cooking contests has been a blast! Keeping a contest in mind while cooking challenges creativity and helps to expand boundaries of technique that might not have been breached otherwise.  The best thing is, even if you don't win anything, you still get a tasty morsel of food out of it. 
   I've been lucky lately and recent wins have fueled me to keep going and enter more contests. They're just plain fun :)
    Last December, I placed third for Bakepedia's Pumpkin Recipe Contest.
Bakepedia Pumpkin Contest

    It was a surprise because the recipe was a total experiment :) I'm a big fan of sweet and savory flavors, so this definitely falls into that category. One of the prizes was some infused olive oils which I've been using and enjoying thoroughly. They include garlic, lemon, rosemary and even coffee flavored. Nudo Infused Olive Oils
    Also included was a Christmas Cookie book written by Bakepedia mastermind Dede Wilson.  A Baker’s Field Guide to Christmas Cookies This was super fitting because it included a recipe for mushrooms made from meringue!
    
    Here's another contest that turned out well. Cantaloupe Cucumber Appetizer. 
Cal. Cantaloupes Facebook The idea of using cantaloupes ribbons came from my friend Jenny who showed me home to make zucchini ribbons to mimic pasta. 

   If you are interested in entering cooking contests, there are a few tricks I've found.
Contest Cook is a great place to start contestcook.com They list contests from many different places and it is updated regularly. 

• Pick something that interests you naturally. 
• Check the rules carefully. It would be a shame to put so much time and effort into a wonderful dish and realize later that you're supposed to use less than 6 ingredients or it was supposed to be prepared in less than 30 minutes, for example.  
• Make sure you write your recipe with as many specifics as possible. Include precise measurements, whether something is sliced, diced, etc. Make sure the directions are straightforward and clearly explained. 
• Check how the winner is chosen. Many times the contest will give a breakdown of what the judging criteria is. This can be helpful in determining what to make. If creativity and appearance is 75% of the determining factors, your recipe might be different than if it was 75% based on taste. Some contests are determined by popular vote based on the public. If you have a large amount of friends that you can get to vote for you, you might have an edge.
• A beautiful photograph can be a large determining factor. Look at good pictures of food photography and notice what you like about the image. How is the dish plated? What is the background? How much of the food takes up the frame? A nice camera set up is great, but if you don't have that, taking pictures using natural light from a window can produce surprisingly good results. If you have a friend that is a good photographer, maybe offer to split the winnings in order for them to help out. 
• Look at previous winners. Sometimes, you can get an idea of what the contest judges are looking for. Are they conservative or interested in things a little more outside of the box?
• Have fun! 

Risotto Full of Fungi

      Here's another use for oyster mushrooms, although maitake, chanterelles, morels or  any other high quality mushroom could be used. This is based on a recipe from epicurious.com with a few changes made. It's a pretty straight-forward dish with minimal ingredients. I cut the amount of butter with some olive oil and used some of the maitake stock I had from the fall that was saved in frozen cubes. Using just chicken stock would be fine as well. It's topped with truffle salt, which is really just a wonderful thing. I'm sure fresh Oregon or European truffles would make this risotto a legendary experience.
     Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh wild mushrooms(such as oyster, cèpe [porcini], hen of the woods, chanterelle, or stemmed shiitake); large mushrooms sliced, small mushrooms halved or quartered
• 6 cups (about) low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cup mushroom stock
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium shallots diced
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/4 cups arborio rice (8 to 9 ounces)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup dry white vermouth
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving (optional)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

    Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 of mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Sauté mushrooms until tender and beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to medium bowl. Working in 3 more batches, repeat with 6 tablespoons butter/oil, remaining mushrooms, and salt and pepper.
    Bring chicken broth and mushroom broth to simmer together in medium saucepan; keep warm. 
Melt remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallot, sprinkle with salt, and sauté until tender, 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn. 
   Add rice, garlic and thyme and increase heat to medium. Stir until edges of rice begin to look translucent, 3 minutes. 
   Add white wine and vermouth and stir until liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. 
   Add 3/4 cup warm chicken broth; stir until almost all broth is absorbed, about 1 minute. Continue adding broth by 3/4 cupfuls, stirring until almost all broth is absorbed before adding more, until rice is halfway cooked, about 10 minutes. 
   Stir in sautéed mushrooms. Continue adding broth by 3/4 cupfuls, stirring until almost all broth is absorbed before adding more, until rice is tender but still firm to bite and risotto is creamy, about 10 minutes. 
   Stir in 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, if using. Transfer risotto to serving bowl. Sprinkle truffle salt over top. Pass additional Parmesan cheese alongside, if desired. Flavor infused olive oils (such as rosemary, garlic or lemon) work well drizzled on top as well.

Patrician Pasta

     Oyster mushrooms are the best. If you're looking for a mushroom that's versatile but more elegant than your standard button mushroom, consider oysters (pleurotus ostreatus, although there are other species that fall under the common name "oyster mushroom" ) 

      The interesting thing about using oyster mushrooms in cooking is their availability. Even if you're lucky enough to have a store nearby that sells them, it's still really hard to get them in good condition. They're a fairly delicate mushroom so shipping can cause inevitable damage. There are a few other options, however. You can find them in the wild, just be careful of poisonous look-alikes. You can grow them from kits which are becoming more readily available. Growing your own is a fun option, especially if you have kids. You can also visit your local farmer's market and see if there is a vendor offering locally grown mushrooms. This way long distance shipping is eliminated or greatly reduced, so you are more likely to get a fresh, undamaged product.
     As far as preparation, oyster mushrooms have a mild enough flavor to lend themselves to pretty much any dish that calls for mushrooms although they work especially well with chicken and seafood. They can be pulled apart into shreds from the cap down to the stipe (stem), or cooked whole if you remove the stipe entirely (which can be a bit on the tough side).  Like any mushroom, make sure you give them a good sear and let the moisture they give off reabsorb back in. 
    Oyster mushrooms have some medicinal properties such as cholesterol modulation, and antibiotic as well as anti-cancer abilities. www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-stamets/oyster-mushroom

     This particular recipe is flexible depending on your taste. Use capers instead of olives, broccoli instead of green pepper, etc. I try to avoid wheat as much as possible and this brown rice spaghetti substitute worked out well.
Enjoy!

Oyster Mushrooms in a Lemon Butter Clam Sauce

Ingredients:

1 package of Spaghetti 

1 can of clams with juice
1-2 cups Oyster Mushrooms shredded

1 stick of butter
juice of one lemon

1/4 cup green olives chopped

one green pepper diced
1 tomato diced
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot minced

Parmesan cheese shaved

Salt and pepper

Directions:

   Heat up a large pot of salted water for pasta.
   While waiting for that to come to a boil, saute mushrooms in a little oil or butter on medium high heat. Sprinkle with salt. After mushrooms are cooked and liquid has been reabsorbed, remove from heat and set aside.        

   Saute green peppers and shallot briefly then set aside as well. 

   Melt butter evenly on medium heat making sure it doesn't burn. 

   Wisk in lemon juice and garlic. 

   Add clams, tomatoes, olives, mushrooms and green pepper/shallot to lemon/butter sauce. Let simmer while stirring until sauce covers the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
   While sauce is being prepared, cook pasta until aldente. Drain.

   Serve pasta, spoon sauce on top. Garnish with shaved parmesan and lemon zest.