Night of the Living Mushroom

For years, I was terrified by mushrooms. Yes, mushrooms.

Brian likes to tease me because I equate every uneasy, unpalatable situation as "my worst nightmare." Some of which include awkward conversations, tsunamis, mosquitoes, getting kidnapped (adult napped?)...you get the point.

But as a child, smelling any mushroom being cooked in any way was my worst nightmare. Forget eating them. The putrid, earthy, weird odor was enough to relegate myself to my room, door closed, until the fog cleared.

I've always kind of been open minded about trying new things. As kids, we all had pretty hearty appetites; we didn't couldn't fuss over what we wanted or didn't want to taste. But those shrooms. The  smell alone caused a gag reflex--a hideous, socially unappealing reflex--that made me a very unpleasant dinner mate when those ugly brown vegetables were on the table.

Do they even classify as vegetables? I used to think that if they smell that badly, have no sign of vibrancy, and can kill you if you choose the wrong one, they were probably mislabeled somewhere along the line by someone important that nobody questioned...like George Washington Carver. That definitely happened.

Still, after a certain point--I'm going to go with 14 years old, when you're taste buds apparently take a turn for the more mature--I stopped dry heaving in the presence of portobellos.

Then I ate a few.
Then I tasted truffles.
Then I became a shroom addict.
Then I had to eat less because no one should have that much fungus coursing through their body.

No, the moral of the story is not to form a mushroom addiction via truffles. But maybe once in a while we should all remember to do something outside of our comfort zone or "worst nightmare." Imagine if each of us tried something everyday that we deemed unlikely or even impossible?

We might be deliciously surprised with the results.

Creamy Polenta with Wild Mushroom Ragout
Serves 6, Courtesy of Food & Wine

For the Ragout:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 pound chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and halved
1/2 pound oyster mushrooms, trimmed and halved
1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thickly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup rich chicken stock (see Note)
2 large thyme sprigs

1.  In a large, deep skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add half of the shallots and garlic and all of the chanterelles and oyster mushrooms and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 6 minutes. Scrape the mushrooms onto a plate.
2. In the same skillet, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the remaining shallots and garlic along with the shiitake mushrooms and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally until softened and golden, about 6 minutes. Return all of the mushrooms to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the rich chicken stock and thyme sprigs to the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs.

For the Polenta:

2 cups whole milk
2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup instant polenta (about 7 ounces)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped marjoram
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a large saucepan, combine the milk, stock and butter and bring to a boil. Whisk in the polenta and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thick, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream, mascarpone, herbs and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Spoon the polenta onto plates, top with the mushroom ragout and serve right away, passing more grated Parmesan at the table.

Surprise Me

There's not much of a story here. Actually, the story is that sometimes taking a chance on the unknown can result in the most pleasant of surprises. And sometimes not.

Exhibit A: Husband and I (read: husband) kept revisiting the idea of bringing an animal into our apartment. Our options have been whittled down to two, maybe three, as there are no dogs allowed in our building: fish, hamster, cat. The hamster idea never stood a chance, and I wanted something more fluffy to cuddle up to than a fishbowl. So, cat, it was.

One visit to the local shelter later, and I arrive home with not one, but two kittens in tow. Did I mention that I'm not a cat person? However, these two lovelies were sitting in the window, half-scared and half-lethargic. The owner let me know that they had been rescued together, were scared of everything, and were each other's only comfort. Going once, going twice, SOLD to the softy who doesn't like cats.

Wilma's distrustful stare.

I keep convincing myself that this will work out by using phrases like "they're coming around" and "making strides". The truth is, it's been two weeks, and I still can't touch them without a frenzy breaking out.

A friend recently summed the situation up perfectly: "So let me get this straight: you paid for them, bought them toys and blankets, feed them, clean up their crap and you're getting nothing out of the relationship?"
Hmm, yes, that sounds about right. Time will tell whether this story turns into a pleasant surprise.

Exhibit B: What is pleasantly surprising is this dish I threw together earlier this week. It made sense when I was thinking about what I have at home versus what would actually be a satisfying dinner. I had tons of shittake mushrooms, avocados and some lemons. I was in the mood for scallops and what resulted was the perfect meal to pull me out of my kitty stupor. The contrast in textures from the crisp, sauteed mushrooms and the creamy avocado was enticing and the sauce was amazing. I'm not just saying that. It was I'm-embarrassed-to-be-using-a-scallop-to-consume-every-last-drop amazing. Here you go:

Scallops with Shittake Mushrooms, Avocado Puree, Lemon Cream Sauce

Serves 2

For the Avocado Puree:

1 avocado, diced

1/4 tsp. fresh serrano chile, minced

1 garlic clove, sliced

2 T. sour cream

1 lime, juiced

salt to taste

Combine all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Cover and set aside.

For the Shittake Mushrooms:

1.5 cups Shittake Mushrooms, stems removed, sliced

2 T. vegetable oil

1 shallot, minced

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet over a medium flame, heat oil and and add the shallot, cooking until translucent, about 3 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Saute until well-browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to cook evenly. Right before they are finished, squeeze the lemon juice over the top and cook for about 15 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the Scallops:

1 T. vegetable oil

6 Large Sea Scallops

1 lemon, juiced

1/4 cup creme fraiche

2 T. cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper

Season the scallops and pat dry. In the same pan used for the mushrooms, heat oil until hot, nearly smoking.

Add the scallops and sear on high heat until a crust forms, about 2 minutes. Turn to cook other side briefly, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Lower to medium flame and add lemon juice, stirring the juice with a wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the creme fraiche and continue to stir until the sauce is homogenized and reduced to a thicker consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble: Create a bed of mushrooms on the bottom of each plate and place three scallops on each.

Top each one with a dollop of avocado puree and finish with sauce and cilantro.