Mushrooms
No mushroom forms more of a backbone to my cooking than does the humble yellowfoot chanterelle. I will drive great distances in search of it, just so I have enough to get me through the dry months.
Mushrooms
Matsutake mushrooms are popping all over California's North Coast now. If you've never heard of them, matsutakes are one of the most prized mushrooms in Asia. Firm and clean-tasting, they have a beguiling aroma - like earthy cinnamon.
Mushrooms
The common meadow mushroom has not been so common for me; I'd searched in vain for years to find them. Until last week, when Holly came home with a bushel of the mushrooms we call "pinks." I cooked them up using a classic Escoffier recipe, and lemme tell ya: It was worth the wait.
Pheasant, Grouse, Quail
Hanging upland game birds is a lot like dry-aging beef: It concentrates and refines flavors, tenderizes meat and generally transforms a pheasant from a rather boring chicken into a bird fit for a king. Here's how to do it safely.
Foraging
Many of the olives I cure each year are done in a brine. But year after year I've been curing more with lye. I know it sounds scary, but it's not - if you follow these simple instructions. The result is a buttery, firm olive that I actually prefer over the brine cured ones.
Recipe
If you want to make your own fruit wines - wines worthy of the snootiest wine snob - this is how to do it. I've been making fruit wines for 20 years, and here is my method. It requires some special equipment, a lot of patience, and a little math. But the result is more than worth it.
Salmon and Trout
There are a lot of ways to smoke salmon, but this is the method I've perfected over the years. Making perfect smoked salmon requires a little attention, and a lot of time. Here's how to do it.
Berries and Fruits
Hollyleaf redberry is sweet, pretty and abundant. It is also a mystery. I am confident about eating this berry now, but it took some research -- the kind of research anyone who dares eat something unknown ought to do before popping it into your mouth.
Fish
If there is a fish in California waters more hated than a bat ray, I don't what it is. "Everyone" says the lowly bat ray is inedible, but I know better. After all, a ray is merely a narrow-tailed skate. And skate sells for $20 a pound -- when you can find it.
Preservation Recipes
Garlic is available all year long, so why preserve it? This is why. This method for preserving garlic in oil will change your life. Imagine having roasted garlic at hand whenever you want. Yes, imagine it.
How-To (DIY stuff)
I've been spending long days by myself, combing the piney woods of the High Sierra, looking for Mr. Brown, the spring porcini mushroom. I am happy to say I've found him.
Foraging
Wild ginger has been used as a food plant in North America for eons, but it also happens to contain a substance that can cause kidney failure. I review the science on the matter.
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