Yum...our neighbor just brought us some morels. We'll be hunting this weekend.

We soak them in salt water for a bit to kill any 'hoppy worms'.

Tomorrow night we'll have our favorite... chicken fried morels, garlic smashed potatoes and mushroom cream gravy. 'Shrooms dipped in egg, then seasoned flour (s&p, garlic/onion powder) and fried. Stems and bits go into the gravy.

If it's a good year, we like them sauteed in butter in omelets or pasta... or this quiche. In a really good year we'll have enough to dehydrate.

Mushroom Crusted Quiche

3/4 pound mushrooms -- finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
crushed saltine crackers -- 1/2-2/3 cup
3/4 cup sauteed onion -- or green onion
2 c monterey jack cheese -- shredded
3 eggs
1 pint cottage cheese
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Saute mushrooms in butter. Add enough crushed saltines to absorb juice. Press into pie pan.
Sprinkle crust with onion. Heap jack cheese over onion; don't pack down.
Whirl eggs, cottage cheese and cayenne in blender. Pour into crust. Bake at 350ðF 45 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.

For fresh morels my favorite is to saute in butter. You can soak them in salt water. If salt is a concern (mushrooms are like a sponge) you can skip that step. I slice them length wise in half. I take a damp paper towel and clean the insides. I also have a soft artists paint brush I clean the outside with - dampen brush. A really soft tooth brush works also. Clean the morels right before cooking. Moisture will cause the morel to start to deteriorate.

Then I just saute in butter. I eat them as is or on top of pasta.

Katie's quiche and chicken fried morels sound delicious also.

Teresa

Grandma used to cook them like KatieC does, a half hour soak in salt water, then cut in half, dipped in an egg wash, rolled in flour and fried in butter. She occasionally made cream of mushroom soup with them too.

Dad loved them in scrambled eggs, I'd never even had quiche until I was an adult, but it would be the same thing, kind of.

If you have a lot of them, they do dehydrate well, I remember sending some dehydrated ones to Lars, fresh are too fragile to ship well.

When Elery and I met, he'd never tasted morels, so I managed to hunt some up and cook them for them in the egg wash/flour/butter method. He said they were.....ok. LOL I thought I was the only person alive that wasn't crazy for them, I also think they are "OK". I like hunting them far more than I like eating them.

Annie

I found some morels on my property last year and made this. Now I am hoping to find some more so I can make it again...yes, it is THAT GOOD!

Braised Chicken Thighs with Morels and Ramps in a White Wine Cream Sauce
By Ramona Padovano Source: Marxfoods.com
Serves 4-6

8 chicken thighs with bone and skin
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
8-10 morel mushrooms
1 bunch ramps, about a dozen, trimmed at each end and rough chopped (could sub scallions)
1 1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup half and half or light cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Flour for dredging

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Heat a large dutch oven over high heat. Generously salt and pepper chicken thighs on both sides. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
Add olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter to heated dutch oven. When the oil begins to shimmer, add chicken to the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan. Allow chicken to brown for 4-5 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a platter.
Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon butter to the dutch oven. Add morels and ramps. Sautee for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and continue to sautee for an additional minute. Transfer vegetables to the chicken platter.
Increase heat to high and deglaze with white wine. Reduce to a strong simmer and allow wine to reduce by a third. Add chicke stock, thyme and marjoram. Return chicken and vegetables to braising vessel.
Place dutch oven in lower third of the oven. Braise for 90 minutes.
Remove chicken from the dutch oven, skim fat as needed with a large spoon, and add cream. Serve chicken with sauce over top.

Linda