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Rustic Wild Mushroom Tart, made with Chanterelle Mushrooms
Breads & Baked Goods Mushrooms Sauces & Condiments Wild Foods

Rustic Wild Mushroom Tart with Chanterelle Mushrooms

The deep intense flavor of wild mushrooms is something that cultivated mushrooms just don’t have. I’m talking about real wild mushrooms, not the kind typically found in grocery stores and on too many restaurant menus. Wild mushrooms grow in the wild. They grow in forests, on mountainsides, in meadows and in deep brush. They grow whenever and wherever their nature tells them to grow, and their marvelous earthy flavors are a sure sign that they are NOT the safe little …

Cherry Bread Pudding
Breads & Baked Goods Desserts

Fresh Cherry Bread Pudding

The best things in life are often the simplest. Bread pudding is one of those things. Bread pudding is something of a blank canvas for the creative cook. Made from a handful of ingredients that are found in almost every kitchen – milk, eggs, butter, sugar and leftover bread – bread pudding is one of the most basic comfort foods that there is. With the addition of a few spices and flavorings, the variations are infinite. Easier to make than …

Roasted Delicata Squash with Dried Cherry-Pepita Stuffing closeup
Vegetables

Roasted Delicata Squash with Pepita-Dried Cherry Stuffing

Fall is a season of transitions. The weather is growing cooler, the days shorter, and while we haven’t yet put away the grill, cooking and entertaining are shifting away from the patio and into the cozy warmth of the kitchen. So say goodbye to summer (it’ll be back next year) and celebrate the change of seasons with these roasted rounds of delicata squash, filled with a sweet & savory stuffing. While you could use any small squash or pumpkin, we …

Ramp Biscuits with Ramp and Jowl Bacon Gravy from Above
Breads & Baked Goods Meat Sauces & Condiments Wild Foods

Country Comfort: Ramp & Jowl Bacon Gravy

It’s not surprising that most classic recipes are built on the solid foundation of good old-fashioned country cooking. Ramp and Jowl Bacon Gravy is insanely good over hot, homemade biscuits (check our recipe for Ramp Buttermilk Biscuits), but would be equally at home gracing a roasted veal chop in a fancy white-tablecloth restaurant. No wonder that down-home ingredients like ramps have found their way onto the menus of so many upscale dining establishments! A spoonful or two of this rich, …

Ramp, Goat Cheese & Pine Nut Phyllo Rolls
Appetizers Breads & Baked Goods Cheese Wild Foods

Ramp, Goat Cheese & Pine Nut Phyllo Rolls

Ramp, Goat Cheese & Pine Nut Phyllo Rolls are inspired by the Greek classic, spanakopita, a layered “pie” which is typically made with spinach and feta cheese wrapped or layered in thin, crisp phyllo pastry. It’s not uncommon for regional variations to contain other wild greens or herbs in addition to or in place of the usual spinach. It’s the sort of hearty, rustic dish that lends itself to experimentation with whatever fresh, local ingredients are readily at hand. Our version uses fresh …

Lemony Strawberry Shortcake
Breads & Baked Goods Desserts Sauces & Condiments

Lemony Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry. Just the word itself conjures up visions of warm spring afternoons and the sweet fragrance of gleaming, sun-ripened berries. Strawberries are the most familiar and best loved of berries. Pop one into your mouth whole and taste the succulent juice as you bite in. Fresh strawberries, sliced and stacked in layers between buttery-rich shortcakes, are nothing short of miraculous in their simplicity and homespun goodness. There are a couple of simple tricks to making the best shortcake. Real butter, …

Morel, Fiddlehead & Pancetta Tart, Just Out of the Oven
Appetizers Breads & Baked Goods Meat Mushrooms Wild Foods

Morel, Fiddlehead & Pancetta Tart

Fiddleheads taste like the woodlands in spring time – fresh, green and exuberantly wild. The flavor of fiddleheads is often compared to asparagus, artichokes or green beans, but such comparisons fall short. The truth is, fresh fiddleheads taste like nothing else. Only a few of the many species of ferns are considered to be edible and of those, only two or three are widely consumed. If the best known, and most eaten, is the Eastern fiddlehead, the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia …

Breads & Baked Goods Desserts Mushrooms Wild Foods

Honey Truffle Sponge Pudding Cake with Wild Berries

Mention the word “truffle” in the context of dessert and most people would probably think you were talking about the round, chocolate confections that are so popular on Valentine’s Day.  In this instance, we’re talking about real truffles, the kind that grow underground in association with the roots of certain trees.  While the use of fungus-type truffles is certainly not unheard of in desserts, it’s honestly sometimes a bit of a stretch and frequently not entirely to everyone’s taste.  But there is one little-known …

Huckleberry Crisps
Breads & Baked Goods Desserts Wild Foods

Huckleberry Crisp with Walnut Topping

The wild huckleberry  (Vaccinum membranaceum or Vaccinum deliciosum) is a tasty relative of the blueberry, but it’s much more elusive. In appearance, huckleberries are very nearly identical to blueberries, but they’re smaller and their flavor has an “edge” which is missing in domestic berries. The flavor of wild huckleberries, as is true of many wild things, is more complicated and less obvious than the flavor of their tame cousins.  While a fresh huckleberry may look like a blueberry, it tastes a …

A Slice of Cherry Clafouti
Beverages Breads & Baked Goods Desserts

Cherry Clafouti

The classic baked dessert known as “clafouti” originates in the countryside of the Limousin region of central France. The name comes from a word, clafir, which in the local dialect means, “to fill”.  Indeed, the clafouti, something of a cross between a cake, a custard and a crepe, is literally filled with sweet cherries, traditionally fresh and unpitted. While the idea of a dessert containing cherry pits may not appeal to everyone, they’re included for a reason; the pits contribute an intensely almond-like flavor to the dish …