Pasta w/ Morels and Brown Butter Sage Sauce

I love going to the Farmer's Market. There are always so many yummy fruits and vegetables to buy. And I am always excited when the Mushroom Man is there because I get to buy all different kinds of mushrooms that I can't get at the store. And sometimes I get lucky & he has morels! I like to do dishes that are simple & let the flavor of the morels shine. I think I have come up with a winner!

Inspiration: Fresh morels at the Vancouver Farmer's Market & an overgrown sage plant
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Special equipment: none
Servings: 2-4

Ingredients:
1/4 pound fresh morels
1 small shallot minced
2 cloves garlic minced
6 tablespoons butter
8 sage leaves
Penne pasta


Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and place in steamer pan back over boiling water.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a small saute pan. Cook on low until the butter just starts to turn to amber. Add the sage leaves and cook, turning occasionally until the butter is nicely browned (be careful not to burn it). Remove the sage leaves and chop.

Slice the morels in thin strips. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saute pan and cook the onions and garlic until golden. Add the morels and cook until just done. Pour the browned butter over and mix thoroughly. Add the sage and season to taste with salt & pepper.

Reheat the pasta by quickly dipping it in the boiling water. Drain. Toss with the morel-butter sauce. Serve with freshly grated grated parmesan.

Cherry Rhubarb Pie

As many of you know, I'm at war with a giant weed in my yard. I chop it down and it grows back two fold (and I swear I hear it cackling at me). Much like Batman and the Joker, I can't bring myself to kill this nuisance completely... sure it threatens my dahlias, cucumbers and lettuce, but somehow the world wouldn't be the same without it: my arch-nemesis Rhubarb. Unfortunately, it only gives me a break five months out of the year; the other seven are spent concocting new ways to chop, boil and bake it's flesh, like in this pie!

Anyone who wants to make this recipe but not pay the ever-exploding price for store-bought Rhubarb... I live on Albina and Farragut. It hides in the back. Bring your machete.


Inspiration: An over-grown plant and the sweet taste of revenge.
Time: 20 minutes prep, plus 50 for baking
Difficulty: Fairly Easy
Special Equipment: Pie pan
Servings: 8, 6, or 2... sometimes you just can't stop eating, especially when it's a la mode.

Ingredients:

Pie dough (See below for recipe. New Season's has a good organic pie crust in the freezer section if you want to skip this step.)

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups rhubarb stalks, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 cups pitted sweet cherries (can get canned pie cherries too- Oregon brand isn't bad if you buy the tart, pie variety)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tbs. cornstarch and 1/4 tsp. salt. Add rhubarb stalks and cherries and toss to coat (note: if the rhubarb seems particularly stringy, like celery, take off the outside layer with a knife or vegetable peeler). Add cinnamon and toss again.

Prepare pie crust in a 9 inch pan (see below... or make sure that you've purchased 2 at the store: one for the top and bottom). Pour the rhubarb-cherry mixture into the crust, making sure to spatula out any remaining juices from the bowl. Cut the 2 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and scatter about the top of the mixture. Place second crust on top and pinch the sides. Cut ventilation holes into the top of the crust so that steam can escape (in any decorative pattern you like). If you have time, go ahead and do the lattice, Betty Crocker.

Place in preheated oven and cook for 25 minutes. At this point reduce the heat to 350 degrees and sprinkle the top of the pie with remaining tablespoon of sugar (I like to use raw turbino sugar). Bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.


Crust: (this recipe is for one pie-plate, so you'll need to double to make enough for a top and bottom)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced
1/4 cup ice water

In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut cold butter into small cubes and toss into the flour mixture (prevents cubes from sticking together for this next step...). Using a pastry cutter or large fork, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles small granules. Add ice water slowly and mix to bring the granules to a dough (only use as much water as you need to make the dough consistency). Be careful not to overwork the mixture; those superfine butter granules are what melt in and make the pie crust flaky. If making a double batch, divide the dough into 2. Roll out the dough between waxed paper to create a circular disk- large enough to fill the base and sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Carefully lay into an ungreased pie plate.

Side note: I usually put a cookie sheet on the rack underneath the pie in the oven. It catches the drippings from the pie as it cooks and prevents a nasty clean-up.

BBQ Sauce

When I was a kid, my mom never bought BBQ sauce. She always made Bert's, a recipe that originally came from The Good Housekeeping Cook Book in 1955. She made her tweaks to it (adding curry powder and garlic) and I have mine (adding chipotle powder for a smokey kick) Either way, the pungent smell of simmering vinegar takes me back to walking into the kitchen on sunny summer evenings. These days, I find that Bert's is perfect for any "lack of any better ideas" grillable. It's great on chicken, on pork, on veggies or on grilled bbq beef quesadillas, like I made last night.

Inspiration: Lack of a better thing to do
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Pretty Simple
Special equipment: None
Servings: Depends how much sauce you like on your meat

1/4 C Butter
3 Tbs. Curry Powder
1 Onion Chopped
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1/4 C Cider Vinegar
1/2 C Water
2 Tbs. Sugar
1Tbs. mustard
1 thick lemon slice
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
3/4 C ketchup
2 tsp. Wooster

1. Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Saute onions and garlic until onions are translucent. Add curry powder and stir until fragrant.

2. Stir in half of the vinegar, scraping the bottom to dissolve the curry powder. Then add the remaining vinegar, water, sugar mustard, lemon slice, salt, pepper and chipotle powder. Simmer for 20 minutes

3. Remove the lemon slice, and add ketchup and wooster. Bring back to boil. then remove from heat and let cool.

Note: Bert's stores in a mason jar for up to a month.