Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc. Part 30

=In the Chafing Dish.=--Wash, dry the mushrooms, and cut them into slices. To each pound allow two ounces of b.u.t.ter. Put the b.u.t.ter in the chafing dish, when hot put in the mushrooms, sprinkle over a teaspoonful of salt, cover the dish, and cook slowly for five minutes, stirring the mushrooms frequently; then add one gill of milk. Cover the dish again, cook for three minutes longer, add the beaten yolks of two eggs, a dash of pepper, and serve at once. These must not be boiled after the eggs are added; but the yolk of egg is by far the most convenient form of thickening when mushrooms are cooked in the chafing dish.

=Under the Gla.s.s Cover or "Bell" with Cream.=--With a small biscuit cutter, cut rounds from slices of bread; they should be about two and a half inches in diameter, and about a half inch in thickness. Cut the stems close to the gills from fresh mushrooms; wash and wipe the mushrooms. Put a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan; when hot, throw in the mushrooms, skin side down; cook just a moment, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Arrange the rounds of bread, which have been slightly toasted, in the bottom of your "bell" dish; heap the mushrooms on these; put a little piece of b.u.t.ter in the center; cover over the bell, which is either of gla.s.s, china, or silver; stand them in a baking pan, and then in the oven for twenty minutes. While these are cooking, mix a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and one of flour in a saucepan, add a half pint of milk, or you may add a gill of milk and a gill of chicken stock; stir until boiling, add a half teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper.

When the mushrooms have been in the oven the allotted time, bring them out; lift the cover, pour over quickly a little of this sauce, cover again, and send them at once to the table.

=Another Method.=--Wash and dry the mushrooms; arrange them at once on the "bell plate." The usual plates will hold six good sized ones. Dust with pepper and salt; put in the center of the pile a teaspoonful of b.u.t.ter; pour over six tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; cover with the bell; stand the dish in a baking pan, and then in a hot oven for twenty minutes.

These are arranged for individual bells. Where one large bell is used, the mushrooms must be dished on toast before they are served. The object in covering with the bell is to retain every particle of the flavor. The bell is then lifted at the table, that the eater may get full aroma and flavor from the mushroom.

=Puree.=--Wash carefully a half pound of mushrooms; chop them fine, put them into a saucepan with a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, and if you have it, a cup of chicken stock; if not, a cup of water. Cover the vessel and cook slowly for thirty minutes. In a double boiler, put one pint of milk. Rub together one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and two tablespoonfuls of flour; add it to the milk; stir and cook until thick; add the mushrooms, and press the whole through a sieve; season to taste with salt and pepper only.

=Cream of Mushroom Soup.=--This will be made precisely the same as in the preceding recipe, save that one quart of milk will be used instead of a pint with the same amount of thickening, and the mushrooms will not be pressed through a sieve.

COPRINUS COMATUS and COPRINUS ATRAMENTARIUS.

As these varieties usually grow together and are sort of companion mushrooms, recipes given for one will answer for the cooking of the other. Being soft and juicy, they must be handled with care, and are much better cooked with dry heat. Remove the stems, and wash them carefully; throw them into a colander until dry; arrange them in a baking pan; dot here and there with bits of b.u.t.ter, allowing a tablespoonful to each half pound of mushrooms; dust with salt and pepper, run them into a very hot oven, and bake for thirty minutes; dish in a heated vegetable dish, pouring over the sauce from the pan.

The _C. micaceus_ may also be cooked after the same fas.h.i.+on--after dis.h.i.+ng the mushrooms boil down the liquor.

=Stewed.=--Wash and dry them; put them into a large, flat pan, allowing a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter to each half pound of mushrooms; sprinkle at once with salt and pepper; cover the pan, and stew for fifteen minutes.

Moisten a tablespoonful of flour in a little cold milk; when smooth, add a half cup of cream, if you have it; if not, a half cup of milk. Push the mushrooms to one side; turn in this mixture, and stir until boiling.

Do not stir the mushrooms or they will fall apart and become unsightly.

Dish them; pour over the sauce, and serve at once. Or they may be served on toast, the dish garnished with triangular pieces of toast.

COPRINUS MICACEUS.

Wash and dry the mushrooms; put them into a deep saucepan with a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter to each quart; stand over a quick fire, sort of tossing the saucepan. Do not stir, or you will break the mushrooms. As soon as they have reached the boiling point, push them to the back part of the stove for five minutes; serve on toast. These will be exceedingly dark, are very palatable, and perhaps are the most easily digested of all the varieties.

LEPIOTA.

These mushrooms, having very thin flesh and deep gills, must be quickly cooked to be good. Remove the stem, take the mushrooms in your hand, gill side down, and with a soft rag wash carefully the top, removing all the little brown scales. Put them into a baking pan, or on a broiler.

Melt a little b.u.t.ter, allow it to settle, take the clear, oily part from the top and baste lightly the mushrooms, gill sides up; dust with salt and pepper. Place the serving dish to heat. Put the mushrooms over a quick fire, skin side down, for just a moment; then turn and boil an instant on the gill side, and serve at once on the heated plate.

In this way _Lepiota procera_ is most delicious of all mushrooms; but if cooked in moist heat, it becomes soft, but tough and unpalatable; if baked too long, it becomes dry and leathery. It must be cooked quickly and eaten at once. All the edible forms may be cooked after this recipe.

These are perhaps the best of all mushrooms for drying. In this condition they are easily kept, and add so much to an ordinary meat sauce.

OYSTER MUSHROOMS (Pleurotus).

Wash and dry the mushrooms; cut them into strips crosswise of the gills, tr.i.m.m.i.n.g off all the woody portion near the stem side. Throw the mushrooms into a saucepan, allowing a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter to each pint; sprinkle over a half teaspoonful of salt; cover, and cook slowly for twenty minutes. Moisten a tablespoonful of flour in a half cup of milk; when perfectly smooth, add another half cup; turn this into the mushroom mixture; bring to boiling point, add just a grating of nutmeg, a few drops of onion juice, and a dash of pepper. Serve as you would stewed oysters.

To make this into a la poulette, add the yolks of two eggs just as you take the mixture from the fire, and serve on toast.

=Mock Oysters.=--Trim the soft gill portion of the _Pleurotus ostreatus_ into the shape of an oyster; dust with salt and pepper; dip in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs, and fry in smoking hot fat as you would an oyster, and serve at once. This is, perhaps, the best method of cooking this variety.

RUSSULA.

While in this group we have a number of varieties, they may all be cooked after one recipe. The stems will be removed, the mushrooms carefully washed, always holding the gill side down in the water, drained in a colander; and while they apparently do not contain less water than other mushrooms, the flesh is rather dense, and they do not so quickly melt upon being exposed to heat. They are nice broiled or baked, or may be chopped fine and served with mayonnaise dressing, stuffed into peeled tomatoes, or with mayonnaise dressing on lettuce leaves, or mixed with cress and served with French dressing, as salads.

The "green" or _Russula virescens_ may be peeled, cut into thin slices, mixed with the leaves of water-cress which have been picked carefully from the stems, covered with French dressing, and served on slices of tomato. It is well to peel all mushrooms if they are to be served raw.

To bake, follow recipes given for baking _campestris_. In this way they are exceedingly nice over the ordinary broiled steak.

One of the nicest ways, however, of preparing them for steak is to wash, dry and put them, gills up, in a baking pan, having a goodly quant.i.ty; pour over just a little melted b.u.t.ter; dust with salt and pepper, and put them into the oven for fifteen minutes. While you are broiling the steak, put the plate upon which it is to be served over hot water to heat; put on it a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, a little salt, pepper, and some finely chopped parsley. Take the mushrooms from the oven, put some in the bottom of the plate, dish the steak on top, covering the remaining quant.i.ty over the steak. Add two tablespoonfuls of stock or water to the pan in which they were baked; allow this to boil, sc.r.a.ping all the material from the pan; baste this over the steak, and serve at once.

_Agaricus campestris_ and many other varieties may also be used in this same way.

LACTARII.

Remove the stems, and wash the mushrooms. Put them into a saucepan, allowing a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and a half teaspoonful of salt to each pint. Add four tablespoonfuls of stock to the given quant.i.ty; cover the saucepan, and _cook slowly_ three-quarters of an hour. At the end of this time you will have a rich, brown sauce to which you may add a teaspoonful of Worcesters.h.i.+re sauce, and, if you like, a tablespoonful of sherry. Serve in a vegetable dish.

=Lactarius deliciosus Stewed.=--Wash the mushrooms; cut them into slices; put them into a saucepan, allowing a half pint of stock to each pint of mushrooms; add a half teaspoonful of salt; cover and stew slowly for three-quarters of an hour. Put a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter in another saucepan, mix with it a tablespoonful of flour; add the mushrooms, stir until they have reached the boiling point; add a teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet, a dash of pepper, and serve it at once in a heated vegetable dish.

A nice combination for a steak sauce is made by using a dozen good sized _Lactarius deliciosus_ with four "beefsteak" mushrooms, using then the first recipe.

BEEFSTEAK SMOTHERED WITH MUSHROOMS.

Wash a dozen good sized mushrooms, either _Lactarii_ or _Agarici_, also wash and remove the spores from half a dozen good sized "beefsteak"

mushrooms, cutting them into slices. Put all these into a baking pan, sprinkle over a half teaspoonful of salt, add a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, and bake in a moderate oven three-quarters of an hour. Broil the steak until it is nearly done; then put it into the pan with the mushrooms, allowing some of the mushrooms to remain under the steak, and cover with the remaining portion; return it to the oven for ten minutes; dish and serve at once.

BOLETI.

These are more palatable baked or fried. Wash the caps and remove the pores. Dip the caps in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs, and fry them in smoking hot fat; oil is preferable to b.u.t.ter; even suet would make a drier fry than b.u.t.ter or lard. Serve at once as you would egg plant.

=Baked.=--Wash and remove the pores; put the mushrooms into a baking pan; baste them with melted butler, dust with salt and pepper, and bake in a moderately hot oven three-quarters of an hour; dish in a vegetable dish. Put into the pan in which they were baked, a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter. Mix carefully with a tablespoonful of flour and add a half pint of stock, a half teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet or browning, the same of salt, and a dash of pepper; pour this over the mushrooms, and serve.

=In Fritter Batter.=--Beat the yolk of one egg slightly, and add a half cup of milk; stir into this two-thirds of a cup of flour; stir in the well beaten white of the egg and a teaspoonful of olive oil. Wash and remove the pores from the boleti. Have ready a good sized shallow pan, the bottom covered with smoking hot oil; dip the mushrooms, one at a time, into this batter, drain for a moment, and drop them into the hot fat. When brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Drain on soft paper and serve at once.

=Boleti in Brown Sauce.=--Wash and dry the boleti; remove the pores; cut them into small pieces. To each pound allow a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter.

Put the b.u.t.ter into a saucepan with the mushrooms; add a half teaspoonful of salt; cover the pan, and stew slowly for twenty minutes; then dust over a tablespoonful of flour; add a half cup of good beef stock; cook slowly for ten minutes longer, and serve.

HYDNUM.

As these mushrooms are slightly bitter, they must be washed, dried, and thrown into a little boiling water, to boil for just a moment; drain, and throw away this water, add a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and a half cup of milk or stock; cover the pan, and cook slowly for twenty minutes. As the milk scorches easily, cook over a very slow fire, or in a double boiler. Pour the mixture over slices of toast, and serve at once. A tablespoonful or two of sherry may be added just as they are removed from the fire.

CLAVARIA.

Wash, separating the bunches, and chop or cut them rather fine, measure, and to each quart allow a half pint of Supreme sauce. Throw the clavaria into a saucepan, cover, and allow it to stew gently for fifteen minutes while you make the sauce. Put a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and one of flour in the saucepan; mix, and add a half pint of milk or chicken stock; or you may add half of one and half of the other; stir until boiling; take from the fire, add a half teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper, and the yolks of two eggs. Take the clavaria from the fire, and when cool stir it into the sauce. Turn into a baking dish, sprinkle the top with crumbs, and brown in a quick oven. Do not cook too long, as it will become watery.

=Pickled Clavaria.=--Wash the clavaria thoroughly without breaking it apart; put into a steamer; stand the steamer over a kettle of boiling water, and steam rapidly, that is, keep the water boiling hard for fifteen minutes. Take from the fire, and cool. Put over the fire sufficient vinegar to cover the given quant.i.ty; to each quart, allow two bay leaves, six cloves, a teaspoonful of whole mustard, and a dozen pepper corns, that is, whole peppers. Put the clavaria into gla.s.s jars.