Two Days and One Pound of Morel Mushrooms

The Morel in Nature

There is something to be said about being at the right place, at the right time.  My "right place" was driving by the neighbor's house and stopping for a chat as they were unloading from their trip to the valley picking morel mushrooms.

Ahh...to have wonderful neighbors who offer you a pound of hand-picked morel mushrooms just to be neighborly.

For those of you who know very little about morel mushrooms (as did I, but I faked it because they sounded so delicious I just had to try them!), the morel mushroom only grows in a few parts of the nation. It's looks are a bit deceiving.  Lovers of this mushroom suggest it looks like a "honeycomb".  I think it looks like a mushroom with it's brains falling out.

Either way, this mushroom, popular in French cuisine, is hearty, rich, and at about $5-$15/pound, very desirable.  It has a meaty texture, not slimey or slick like some more common species. And if you can get over the "brainy" look of it, you can begin to explore versatility this mushroom has to offer.

Traditional Fried Morel Mushrooms

The first night, I decided to do them up traditional style.

I soaked them in milk, then battered them in flour, salt, pepper, garlic salt, and a little paprika, then fried them in peanut oil. OMG, for the love of mushrooms, they were amazing.  My husband made a little spicy aioli to dip with them, but they didn't need it! They were perfectly savory without!


The second night, I decided to try them with a little pasta.

Morel Mushrooms w/ Spinach, Olive Oil, and Ravioli

I picked up some spinach cheese raviolis at Trader Joe's, boiled them, and then tossed them in a sauce with 1TBSP Olive Oil, 1 Clove of Garlic, 2TBSP of Low Fat Butter Spread, Fresh Spinach, Salt, Pepper, and the Morel Mushrooms. IT WAS FABULOUS! And to boot? The dish was filling, yet vegetarian and only 7 points for 1/3 a package of the raviolis. Bravo, morel mushrooms!

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Supercalifragedelicious! Mediterranean Chicken

It may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised.  Surprised at what, you ask?  Surprised at how many people throw dinner parties with bad food.

On the other hand, when you go to a dinner party where the food is good--real good--then be ready to jot down recipe a few dozen times.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were invited to a dinner party for a person I work for.  It was lovely.  In fact, I would have been completely happy with just the delicious wine and cheese spread.  Little did I know that the hostess had such wonderful cooking skills.  She made a Mediterranean Chicken dish with Cous Cous and claimed it was "very simple."

After a week or so of begging, I got the recipe.  I sure hope this wasn't a coveted family recipe, because I'm posting it online. Bravo, Jill and thanks for the recipe.

Why I like this recipe:

• It's easy
• Prep time is about five minutes
• You can make it a day ahead of time (in fact, it's better that way!)
• It's original 
• The flavors burst in your mouth
• 1 chicken breast, 1/2 cup of sauce, and 1 cup of cous cous is less than 10 CORE Weight Watcher points
• It looks harder to make than it is
• It's colorful
• You can make it for a ton of people

Convinced yet? Ok, here's the recipe:

Mediterranean Chicken with Cous Cous

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Refrigerate the following ingredients in a pan (about a 9x13 or larger) overnight or several hours.  Massage the chicken and turn it over a few times in a 24 hour period.

4 pounds  of boneless, skinless chicken

1/4 c. oregano

1 head garlic chopped (or 4-6 oz. of garlic already minced in jar)

Pepper (to taste)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

3/4 cup or more pitted prunes (cut in half)

1/2 to 1 cup Spanish (green) olives

1/2 cup (or more) capers

6 bay leaves

Combine and pour over when you bake:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white wine

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

After half the bake time on the chicken, make the cous cous.  I found large-grain, whole wheat cous cous in the bulk section of Fred Meyer.  It was by far the best tasting, and cheapest cous cous I have ever bought.  I combined one cup of cous cous with two cups of water into my rice cooker for a 1/2 hour.   

When the cous cous was done, I mixed in three diced green onions, a tablespoon of olive oil, garlic salt, salt and pepper and stirred.  

When everything is ready, serve chicken with 1/2 cup of sauce from the pan over 1 cup of cous cous.  Enjoy!

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