I've only foraged for wild mushrooms once in my life and let me tell you, it was not a great success. Walking around in the woods for hours was nice and the mission to find mushrooms made it seem like quite an adventure. But as enjoyable as the hunt was, I ended up with a measly three or four sad-looking mushrooms.
The worst part was my paranoia. Even though they looked completely safe according to my mushroom forager's guide, a fear still lingered in the back of my mind. What if they were poisonous? Eventually I threw them out (sad but true). I'd love to try hunting the elusive wild mushroom again but for now, I've been sticking to the store-bought ones.
The most wonderful part about wild mushrooms is they taste, well, wild. The distinctly woodsy flavor is a constant reminder of their shady damp roots. This recipe for Black Trumpets and Sweet Corn in Tarragon Cream Sauce from Tracey Medeiros's Dishing Up Vermont is a fantastic end-of-summer recipe. Earthy mushrooms mingle perfectly with sweet corn, finished off with some licorice-y tarragon and a healthy dose of heavy cream. Whether you decide to hunt for your own black trumpet mushrooms or grab them at the store, this sophisticated take on creamed corn is the prefect partner for simply seared fish.
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Dushing Up Vermont to give away this week.
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