February 09, 2008

Morelity tale

chicken dish

Emily was off working Saturday, so I decided to use some of the dried morels that I've had in my pantry for way too long. They were foraged and dried by my Grandfather, who lives in Northern Michigan. I had put off using them because of Emily's allergies.

I mostly followed a Gordon Ramsay recipe for pan-roasted chicken with potatoes, asparagus, and a morel velouté.  I left out the thyme, because I forgot to pick it up at the store, used dried morels in lieu of fresh, and left out the pancetta, because I'm saving it for carbonara with Emily. (In retrospect, there is a wee bit of guanciale in the freezer that I could have used.)  Also I used two cubes of homemade chicken demi-glace in lieu of chicken broth.

The result was probably one of the best sauces I've made to date.  I have a handful of morels left and definitely will try it again.  And the pan-roasting technique is a nice way to get a roasted chicken without making a whole bird.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This looks so good! I'm glad you got to use Grandpa's morels. We haven't gone mushroom picking for a few years now because of traveling in the springtime. It was such fun tromping around the woods looking for morels and beefsteaks (the rust-colored clumpy mushrooms that look like a brain). I'll tell Grandpa you cooked the morels. He will be surprised to hear that you still had them. Mom

Steve Dunham said...

Be careful with the beefsteaks (Gyromitra Esculenta) - they are a delicacy in Finland, but they're poisonous and can kill you if not prepared correctly.

I enjoyed them and Grandma and Grandpa's house as a kid, but I wouldn't dare eat them anymore.