Mushrooms Gratin

[Dawgluver]

No good grocery stores around here, unless you count Walmart!

I may end up trying the 1lb from Amazon, it's like $35 with free shipping, same AB grade. Hold the worms please. And they would definitely be stored in the freezer!

 

[Kayelle]

You'll be very glad to have them Dawg. I use them often in many many dishes, and I wouldn't even bother with spaghetti sauce without a healthy dose of porchini. What I've seen of the itty bitty packages in the grocery stores here is highly overpriced and poor quality.

 

[Aunt Bea]

No good grocery stores around here, unless you count Walmart!

I may end up trying the 1lb from Amazon, it's like $35 with free shipping, same AB grade. Hold the worms please. And they would definitely be stored in the freezer!

I get mine from a Polish specialty market. A 1.6 ounce bottle of dried wild Porcini lasts me about a year and costs $7.50. I just keep them on the shelf and crush them under a measuring cup or chop them with a chefs knife.

Try this soup from CarolPA.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f17/slovak-sour-dried-mushroom-soup-88161.html

 

[Annageckos]

No good grocery stores around here, unless you count Walmart!

I may end up trying the 1lb from Amazon, it's like $35 with free shipping, same AB grade. Hold the worms please. And they would definitely be stored in the freezer!

I've seen them at Giant and Shoprite around here. I bought mine from Redners, a local place. Though you would probably pay less and get a better quality online.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Where do you all get your dried porcinis? I looked into FungusAmungus, shipping was almost as much as the mushrooms. Amazon had complaints about worms in theirs.

Oregon Mushrooms LLC My tried and true go to for fungus acquisition.

 

[medtran49]

Oregon Mushrooms LLC My tried and true go to for fungus acquisition.

That's where we buy from when we get fresh porcini (domestic but still pretty decent compared to Italian and a lot cheaper), morels, truffles, etc. We've always been real happy with them and their customer service is great. Had a glitch once in delivery (due to a FedEx issue) and they were really diligent in following up.

Fresh porcini are really bad about having worms. Most reputable purveyors will cut them in half (or more if really big) to make sure they aren't worm riddled. I don't know if the worms somehow survive the drying process or what.

Fresh porcini can be frozen as well and, as long as you use them chopped up in a recipe don't have much loss of quality. Large slices though not so much, they get spongy and lose their texture, which is much, much denser and firmer than the mushrooms widely available like button, crimini/portabello, etc.

 

[Dawgluver]

Thanks guys, looks like a neat site!

 

[Cheryl J]

Dawg....I had to giggle at FungusAmungus

Princess, I've been browsing through that Oregon site you linked...and dreaming of all the possibilities....thanks for sharing it. With all this talk about dried porcinis, I'm going to have to get some!

 

[Addie]

We have had hits and misses with our dried Porchini mushrooms. The first batch we brought back from Italy and ended up having to throw them out because of worms. The second batch we ordered from Amazon and they developed mold. Amazon gave us our money back however, and then we bought these, and I'm very pleased with them.

Amazon.com : Porcini Mushrooms - Grade Extra AB 8 oz. : Porchini Mushrooms : Grocery & Gourmet Food

Whatever you buy, keep them in the freezer.

How the heck did you get the mushrooms past customs?

 

[Annageckos]

Forgot to post that I made this last night. I used parm and some mix shredded cheese I had leftover. It was... awesome. So good, I need to get some more mushrooms. Today I mixed it with some chopped up chicken, fresh sauteed brussel sprouts with bacon and couscous. It was all leftovers from the last few nights. That was really good too. I love mixing up my leftovers.

 

[Addie]

This is one of my experiments gone right. My love of mushroom swiss burgers was the original influence for this....except I prefer it without the burger!

I usually make this individually in onion soup bowls, large ramekins or single serving casserole dishes. It could also be done in a larger casserole or baking dish.

Mushrooms Gratin
(per person)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (white, crimini or a combination of both)
1 - 2 cloves minced garlic to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 cup Grated Swiss Cheese
2 tbsp buttered bread crumbs
1 tbsp Parmesan Cheese

Place half the mushrooms on the bottom of a greased casserole. Sprinkle with some garlic, salt and pepper, then cover with half the grated swiss cheese. Repeat the layers and top with some buttered bread crumbs and Parmesan. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the mushrooms are hot and tender and the cheese is melted. The juice from the mushrooms keeps the dish from drying out.

I thought I would bump this up to 2015. Well worth repeating the post. Even though it is easy enough to find it on page one, this saves the hunting time.

My store every day has a special place for deli ends. And that includes cheeses of all sorts. They are half the price per pound of getting it cut at the deli counter. Even broken chunks of Parm and Pecarino Romano. There is always plenty of Swiss. Even imported. I always have plenty of cheese on hand. Sometimes too much.

 

[Addie]

Oregon Mushrooms LLC My tried and true go to for fungus acquisition.

My sister had an old stone wall at the back of her property. It was built in the late 1600's. When it started to crumble, she was told by the Historic Society of Boston that she had to repair it, and still use the same stones. She could replace any of the stones with new ones, but they all had to go on top rows. Once the wall was rebuilt, she went out and found Hens and Chicks growing all over the old stones and they stopped right at the line of the new ones. She had one heck of a harvest. She was able to harvest them for three years before she died. I have often wondered in the young couple that bought the home ever realized what a gem they had in that back wall.

 

[Kayelle]

How the heck did you get the mushrooms past customs?

Beats me Addie. The dried Porchini's were packed in our checked luggage and there were no questions about them at customs. Fresh fruit and veggies yes, but not dried mushrooms.

 

[Addie]

Beats me Addie. The dried Porchini's were packed in our checked luggage and there were no questions about them at customs. Fresh fruit and veggies yes, but not dried mushrooms.

My daughter went to Italy to visit some of her family. On her trip back there were a couple of women that had big rolls of cheeses, cold cuts and other goodies. You know they got stopped at customs. She said the whole plane smelled like she had never left Italy.

I thought all food products were banned. I guessed wrong.

 

[Cheryl J]

That just reminded me of the "I Love Lucy" episode where she went overseas and tried to fly home with her big hunk of cheese disguised as a baby.

 

[Dawgluver]

Beats me Addie. The dried Porchini's were packed in our checked luggage and there were no questions about them at customs. Fresh fruit and veggies yes, but not dried mushrooms.

The porcini-sniffing beagle must have had a day off!

 

[Kayelle]

The porcini-sniffing beagle must have had a day off!

For porcini sniffing they use Italian Greyhounds.

 

[medtran49]

You can bring back cheese, wine, oil, some dried meat products. I've done it many times in the past. There are limits on amounts, at least that you can bring in without paying customs fees. Never tried to bring back dried porcini though. As a treat once, we even ordered some French raw milk cheeses and some bread from the affiliated bakery and they were overnighted and delivered to our door.

Last trip to Italy, I had had an apple in my tote bag the day before we left and had eaten it as a snack during the day. When we were clearing customs, the little beagle alerted on my bag. There was no food or contraband in it of course and we couldn't figure out what alerted the beagle. Then I remembered about the apple and the customs officer said the smell was still lingering to the beagle.

 

[Addie]

I bought the fresh mushrooms yesterday, but didn't get around (see "what are you doing, Post 23873") to getting the Panko breadcrumbs. I will have to settle for regular seasoned Italian breadcrumbs. I have plenty of cheese in the freezer. It is definitely on the menu for today.

 

[Addie]

Beats me Addie. The dried Porchini's were packed in our checked luggage and there were no questions about them at customs. Fresh fruit and veggies yes, but not dried mushrooms.

My kids tell me they went by because they were dried and not fresh. Sounds logical to me. I'll buy it.