Product Description

No one has done more to popularize mushrooms in America than Amy Farges, food writer and co-owner of the national mushroom distributor Aux Delices Des Bois. And now that Ms. Farges made sure mushrooms are available, she shows what to do with them. The Mushroom Cookbook and Primer is an inspiration-a mushroom extravaganza with 175 exquisite yet easy-to-make recipes, plus a Mushroom 101 guide to selecting, storing, cleaning, and cooking, plus a primer with full profiles and photographs of 40 exotic mushrooms. Full of sweet succulence, toothsome crunch, and haunting flavors from earthy to fruity to seafood-like, mushrooms offer the home cook a dazzling range of possibilities. Here are finger foods: Morels with Calvados, Ovoli and Fig Crostini, Wild Mushroom Bruschetta. Lighter offerings: Porcini Carpaccio, Cream of Asparagus Soup with Roasted Cremini, Blewitt and Crab Rolls. Glorious pairings: Risotto with Corn and Chanterelles, Sirloin Steak with Wine Caps, Mustard-coated Lamb Chops with Wild Oysters, Truffled Lobster with Cilantro Butter, Duck and Shiitake Tortillas. And the unexpected: Black Trumpet Biscuits, Portobello and Basil Salsa, Hen of the Wood Ravioli. A dozen fitting mushroomless desserts offer the irresistible finish.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #542777 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

From the Back Cover
A Must for Any Mushroom Enthusiast. (Jean Georges Vongerichten) "Amy's book more than illustrates her passion for the 'mighty mushroom,' and will provide any cook with both practical information and culinary inspiration." (Daniel Boulud) Cooking her way through over fifty seasons of porcinis and portobellos, chanterelles, blewits, and hedgehogs, Amy Farges knows the secret of each wild and cultivated mushroom's affinities, its preferred cooking method, its subtleties of texture, flavor, and even size. And as the co-founder, with her husband, of Aux Delices des Bois and Marche aux Delices, the New York - based mushroom purveyors, she's spent over a dozen years talking mushrooms, handling mushrooms, tasting mushrooms, and swapping mushroom ideas. Distilled here are the best of her recipes and knowledge. It's mushroom heaven.

About the Author
Amy Farges, along with her husband Thierry, founded and operated the wild mushroom company Aux Delices des Bois for 11 years. Currently they distribute mushrooms through their catalog, Marche aux Delices. A classmate of Steven Raichlen and Susan Herrmann Loomis at La Varenne cooking school in Paris, Ms. Farges has written articles for Fine Cooking, Food & Wine, and Brides magazine. She lives in New York.

Christopher Styler has enormous culinary range. He is a chef, cookbook writer, editor, restaurant consultant, and culinary producer of some of PBS-TVs most successful cooking series. He lives in New Jersey.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Happy Turkey Scaloppine The day Chris prepared this spring-like dish of turkey cutlets, I was not in a good mood. One bite changed my outlook. The garnish of spring peas and plain old goodness of the morels did the trick and now Happy Turkey is my family's pick-me-up dinner. 1 ounce (about 1 1/2 cups) small dried morels or 1/4 pound fresh morels 1 1/2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth 1 pound turkey cutlets, cut into 8 pieces Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper All-purpose flour 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cup very thin matchsticks of carrot 1 cup frozen baby peas, defrosted and drained, or 1 cup lightly cooked fresh peas 2 tablespoons dry sherry, or dry white wine 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon 1. If using dried morels, bring the stock to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the stock over the mushrooms in a heatproof bowl. Let stand until the mushrooms are softened, about 20 minutes. Drain the mushrooms, straining the soaking liquid through a coffee filter or a sieve lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth. Press on the mushrooms to remove as much liquid as possible. Rinse the mushrooms to remove as much grit as possible, then drain thoroughly. Set the mushrooms and liquid aside separately. 2. Place the turkey cutlets between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Pound lightly with a meat mallet or the bottom of a small, heavy saucepan to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Sprinkle both sides lightly with salt and pepper. Coat both sides lightly with flour. 3. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until the butter just begins to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add as many of the cutlets as will fit without touching. Cook just until lightly golden brown on the underside, about 11Z2 minutes. Turn and cook the second side just until golden brown, no more than 1 minute. Quickly remove the cutlets from the skillet to prevent overcooking and repeat with the remaining pieces if necessary. 4. Add the morels, carrot, and peas to the pan. Increase the heat to high and cook until any liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Pour in the mushroom soaking liquid or stock and sherry and add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, the parsley, chives, and tarragon. Bring to a boil. Tuck the cutlets into the liquid. Boil until the liquid is reduced to make just enough sauce to lightly coat the turkey and vegetables, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary. Transfer the cutlets to 4 serving plates and top each portion with some of the vegetable mix and sauce. Serve immediately. Portobello and Basil Salsa If you're in the habit of grilling, the portobellos can be grilled one day, and turned into this delicious salsa the next (or the next). Roasted cremini make an equally tasty salsa. 4 Roasted Portobello Caps 1/2 cup finely diced ripe