High on 'shrooms.

Not that kind, you stoner.

My dear friend Mary brought back mushrooms from her Wyoming sabbatical. She and a local resident/ friend gathered them from the forests of Dubois. While these were not the kind you hear about (or have experienced) tripping on, she did acquire a temporary addiction to harvesting them (as is indicated in the photo). Lucky for me, they couldn't contain themselves. For weeks they would head up Bonneville pass to find new hunting ground.

They were dried and jarred and brought back to Los Angeles to share. I went to work in creating an approving recipe. I wanted a profile that would complement the earthy elements of the fungus and not mute them. I didn’t want its quality to get lost in a stew, soup or casserole.

My first creation was an epic fail. It was medley of roasted pepper, cauliflower w/ white pepper and mushroom. The flavors came through in exactly that order. Mushroom – lost.

So I decided to nix the extras and float the mushrooms in a basil sauce. I first reconstituted and sautéed them in a light olive oil – infused with garlic. I added a hint of white pepper to balance the simplicity of the mushroom. Coupled with rustic bread Crostini, it turned out to be a great starter for a rustic dinner menu.