Mushrooms, garlic, lime

Button and crimini mushrooms are popular toppings and typical sides at burger joints and American steakhouses. All the other varieties—shitake, brown beech, oyster, maitake, enoke, morel, chanterelle, king trumpet—are staples in Asian and European cooking. These exotics are a little pricier and have earned a gourmet rep and respect among foodies. When mushrooms are cooked, they explode with a distinctively shroomy, flavorful, smoky, woody, pungent umami flavor. And I am in love with the texture, uniquely abalone—chewy, dense, juicy and meaty. (They are not very interesting raw.)

Go to any Asian market to find the best varieties and deals on "exotic" mushrooms. I like Tay-do and Hong Phat markets on Redwood Rd in West Valley (Salt Lake). This recipe is another version of one of my typical mushroom dishes (click here for that yummy mushroom dish I brought to Ayla's).

Oyster Mushrooms in Garlic and Lime

• oyster mushrooms
• 10 smashed whole garlic cloves
• olive oil to coat the pan
• 1 lime wedge
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds 
• 1 chopped scallion
• salt and pepper to taste
• a dash of ponzu (optional)

Do it..

1. Heat a pan on high, add oil.
2. Add mushrooms and garlic to the hot pan.
3. Allow everything to sear and brown, stirring once.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Transfer to a dish and garnish with toasted sesame seeds, scallion and lime. 
6. Serve immediately. Add ponzu if needed.

This should take less than 15 minutes. Throw leftovers into next-day omeletes and ramen ;)

I prefer smashed whole garlic cloves over minced any day. Here are 10 peeled and smashed whole garlic cloves.

Heat a large skillet on high and coat the pan with oil. Add the mushrooms and smashed garlic cloves.

Keep the heat on High and allow the mushrooms and garlic to sear by not moving them to much. The mushrooms will shrink a bit. If oil is popping, whip out that splatter screen!

Add sea salt and fresh pepper to taste. Add a dash of ponzu (citrus and soy) if you are in the mood.

Transfer to a dish and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds, chopped scallion and a lime wedge.

Crisp seared garlic cloves are incredible—sweet and pungent.

I had strawberries left over from crepes earlier, so I threw some in. Colorful, sweet and crazy. Strawberries go fantastic with garlic.

mushrooms

I made a pot of insanely good mushrooms with cipolline onion for Angie's Thanksgiving. 

Get your exotic mushroom variety at the Asian markets for the best picks and deals. King trumpet, oyster and brown beech mushrooms were looking good at Tay-do in Salt Lake City. Found beautiful Cipolline onions (the tiny flat pearl onions) from Whole Foods. 

MUSHROOMS

• mushroom variety
• cipolline onions, peeled, trimmed, halved
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, barely a glop (optional!)
• olive oil
• pepper
• lime

Add enough olive oil to coat a saute pan on high heat. Add cleaned mushrooms, garlic cloves, pearl onion, just enough to not "over-crowd" the pan. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Keep the heat on high and do not overcrowd the pan! Allow each piece to sear and brown, without getting mushy. When the mushroom edges are brown and crisp, transfer to a serving dish. Finish cooking all the mushrooms in batches. On the last batch, add an additional 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce (only if you feel like it, for more awesome flavor!) and stir well. Last, squeeze some lime. Add soy sauce if needed.

Gorgeous chewy dense mushrooms. The cipolline onions are crisp and delicious when pan seared on high heat.

Spaghetti and shitake mushrooms

Spaghetti with Shitake Mushrooms is a super tasty pasta dish I served with the Italian Chicken Breast dinner the other night. This is a simple dish that tastes even better reheated the next day.

**Spaghetti with Shitake Mushrooms**

• fresh shitake mushrooms, cleaned and cut in half
• spaghettie noodles, cooked al dente in water with some salt and olive oil
• 6 or more pieces of garlic, peeled and smashed
• half a large onion or one whole small onion, preferably a sweet onion, cut into slivers
• olive oil, enough to coat the pan twice, about 3 tablespoons
• salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes
• optional: 1/2 tablespoon salted butter

Do it:

(1) In a hot pan (heat on high), add olive oil enough to coat the pan. Add the mushrooms, garlic and onion, all at once, into the pan. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. Allow the ingredients to sit about one layer.

(2) Let the mushrooms, garlic and onion cook, untouched (not moving the pan), for 1-2 minutes, or until the bottom side looks lightly browned.

(3) Add the crushed pepper flakes, some salt and pepper to taste. Flip the pan (or mix with tongs or a spatula) to cook the other side.

(4) Add about 2-3 cups of pasta to the pan and flip, toss. At this point, if you want a richer dish, add about 1/2 tablespoon of salted butter. Toss and serve!!

The following are chronological pix:

We had it with the Omaha Steaks Italian Chicken. Superb!

Song of the moment is Placebo, "Pure Morning."

Dignified, delicious nibbles. Mushrooms with a glass of Red.

Sometimes you want a dignified delicious snack between lunch and dinner - fast and not expensive, but elegant and tasty. The most popular quick-with-little-effort, BIG results dish is flash seared mushrooms. Serve this with a glass of Redwood Creek Pinot Noir.

*Mushrooms*

Total time is less than 5 minutes!

(1) Mushrooms

(2) olive oil

(3) salt & pepper

Get some fresh mushrooms, of any variety. I prefer trumpet, shitake, oyster or some pretty no-name shrooms (photo below). Heat pan on High. Generously coat the pan with olive oil. Still on High Heat, add the mushrooms.When they start to brown, use a spatula (or wooden chopsticks) to turn some mushrooms over so they evenly sear. Add sea salt and fresh pepper to taste. Serve immediately with a glass of your favorite red. Sprinkle salt and fresh pepper, and these mushrooms BURST with outrageous flavor. Simple is best.

It's all about the mushrooms, but you can turn it into something completely different....by topping it off with some aged cheese chunks, sprinkle sesame seeds, or garnish with scallion. Versatile.

This Redwood Creek Pinot Noir has tremendous value, going down smooth and flavorful, at under $10 dollars a bottle. (Cheap is nothing to be embarrassed about!) Enjoy.