Well, my first thought is I hope the grandmother of your friend's neighbor knows her mushrooms!

An hour of soaking in water will be good. Pour bouiling water over what youw ant to use and let them sit fora t least an hour...2 would be better, then drain, saving that mushroomey liquid! and chop and put into whatev er.
Iw ould think soup or stew...beef or chicken...or just mushrooms!
Also remember the flavor is concentrated, so a little goes a long way...
And someone on this board mentioned that powdering the dry mushrooms in the blender is a great way to get mushroom flavor into things without soaking.
Linda C

I had the same first thought.

Porcini mushrooms in hot tap water rehydrate in about 20 minutes. I'd start with that and just bite into one to see if it's ready. And I would most definitely be making a wild mushroom risotto.

They look great, enjoy!

I agree with the rehydration idea, just water for an hour or so will be sufficient if they are anything like my dried morels, and definitely use the liquid for soup or gravy, it will have a lot of the flavor.

I borrowed an idea from Eric Villegas, he dries mushrooms, grinds them to powder in a blender, coffee grinder or by hand and mixes the powder with sea salt to get a morel flavored salt. It's very nice:

Morel Mushroom Salt (Show #203N)
From Show #203N - Pan Seared Buffalo Steaks With A Michigan Morel, Fiddlehead & Ramp Salsa

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons dried morel mushrooms
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest, finely chopped

Directions:

Place the dried the morels in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely ground. Add the sea salt, pepper, thyme, and lemon zest. Pulse until fine.

Transfer to a small airtight container.

Keeps up to 1 month

I have some portobellos that need to be used, so I'm going to make some mushroom and barley soup, the recipe is from Eating Well. I never have sherry or marsala, so I just use an extra bit of chicken broth.
Mushroom Barley Soup
Makes 2 servings, 2 cups each

Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup Marsala or cream sherry (see Note)
1 14-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1/4 cup quick-cooking barley
Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, carrot, celery, onion, mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables release some of their juices, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes.

Add Marsala (or sherry) and cook, stirring, until reduced, 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth, water and barley; bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables and barley are tender, about 15 minutes.

Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Note: Marsala and cream sherry, fortified wines, are flavorful and economical additions to many sauces. Store opened bottles in a cool, dry place for months.
Per serving: 208 calories; 8 g fat (2 g sat, 4 g mono); 5 mg cholesterol; 32 g carbohydrate; 6 g protein; 5 g fiber; 577 mg sodium; 730 mg potassium.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (120% daily value), Potassium (21% dv), Vitamin C (15% dv).

Exchanges: 1 starch, 2 vegetables, 1 1/2 fat

2 Carbohydrate Servings

I also make the Mushroom Tart with phyllo and mixed mushrooms from Eating Well:

Rustic Mushroom Tart
Makes 12 servings
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup soft goat cheese (2 ounces)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
4 cups mixed wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 large leek, white part only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced and thoroughly washed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white wine
10 sheets (14x18-inch) or 20 sheets (9x14-inch) thawed phyllo dough (see Timing Tip)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

1. Combine ricotta, goat cheese, rosemary and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
   2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, leek and salt and cook, stirring, until the leek starts to soften and the mushrooms release their juices, about 3 minutes. Pour in wine and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
   3. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet (approximately 12 by 17 inches) with parchment paper. Lay one large sheet of phyllo on the prepared pan. (If using the smaller size, slightly overlap two sheets to form a rectangle.) Keep the remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap or wax paper and a damp kitchen towel.
   4. Lightly coat the phyllo with oil using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs. Repeat this step, layering the remaining phyllo on top. Carefully roll about 3/4 inch of each side toward the center to form the outer rim of the tart.
   5. Spread the reserved cheese mixture evenly over the phyllo. Top with the reserved mushroom mixture.
   6. Bake the tart until the crust is brown and crispy, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. To serve, lift the parchment paper and slide the tart onto a cutting board or large platter. Serve warm.

Timing Tip: Thaw frozen phyllo (in its package) at room temperature for 2 hours or in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight before preparing the recipe.
Per serving: 234 calories; 9 g fat (3 g sat, 4 g mono); 10 mg cholesterol; 29 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 1 g fiber; 364 mg sodium; 117 mg potassium.

2 Carbohydrate Servings

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 1/2 fat

Yum, I just love mushrooms, nearly any kind. Well, except the poisonous ones that LindaC mentioned, LOL.

Annie

This is a recipe I make every year on Christmas Eve. It is Polish, I believe. Maybe someone here could confirm that. I like to serve it with Pierogi Ruski (pierogi stuffed with mashed potato, onion, and cottage cheese).

ZUPA GRZYBOWA (Dried Mushroom Soup)
Source: Gourmet Magazine December 1992

1 1/2 pounds beef short ribs
2 quarts plus 3 cups cold water (I just eyeball)
1 oz. dried mushrooms (I often use twice the amount)
1 large onion, sliced thin
3 TBL unsalted butter
1 rib celery, sliced
2 carrots sliced
1 leak, white part only, sliced
3 sprigs parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 TBL all purpose flour
Heavy cream (if desired) I've never added
32 meat filled tortellini (if desired)

In a large kettle combine ribs with 2 quarts of water and salt to taste, bring water to a boil, skimming the froth, and simmer, covered for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is just tender. While the meat is simmering, in a bowl let the mushrooms soak in two cups of the remaining water for 1 1/2 hours. In a saucepan cook the onion in 1 tbl of the butter over moderate heat until it is softened. Stir in the mushrooms including the soaking water, and simmer for 20 min.

To the kettle add the celery, carrots, leek, parsley, bay leaf and pepper to taste and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Remove the ribs with a slotted spoon. Remove the meat from the bones and chop into bite sized pieces. Return meat to the kettle, discard the bay leaf, and add the mushroom mixture, including the liquid.

To thicken the soup, in a saucepan cook the remaining 2 tbls butter and flour for 3 minutes, whisk in remaining 1 cup water. Add this paste to the soup. Alternatively, the soup may be thickened by adding the cream. Or you can leave the flour and cream out all together. Stir in the tortellini. Makes about 10 cups, serving 6 - 8.

Tammy's notes:

I prefer to brown a little flour in the beginning, then add the ribs and water. I also like to cook the ribs, then strain the broth and return to kettle before adding the veg and so on. I usually add a couple of fresh portabella caps as well, but that is not necessary.

I find this makes a very rich soup, but if you want it even richer you can use chicken broth in place of some of the water.

It is my preference to not eat the dried mushrooms in the soup. The texture is unpleasant to me but they give a great flavor. Dh eats the shrooms, no problem.

I forgot to say that when I strain the broth I also use my de-fatting cup to pour it back into the pot.

Thank you very much everyone. I'm saving these all!

And yes, I also hope that the lady knows her mushrooms but I understand she's been doing this for many years, and this bunch is just a small portion of what she sent to our friends who I believe have already been cooking them. I will come back when I've cooked them and will show what I made.

Of course if I don't come back you'll know there was a bad mushroom in there! :-)

SharonCb