Chef Sandy Dowling
 
Wednesday at the Willows
 
In bountiful Oregon you can forage for nearly every type of mushroom. Although I don't forage, my good friend Louis Jeandin, a native of France, does. His company Mushrooms All Year has some of the best wild mushrooms... However, my favorite to secure these treasures is to purchase them fresh from his stand, at our local Farmer's Markets... Here is one of my favorite ways to savor the delicious earthy flavor of any wild mushrooms.
 
Makes 28-36 Crostini
 
Ingredients:
 
¼ cup unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cups wild fresh Oregon mushrooms, thinly sliced (or chopped if you are using dried mushrooms NOTE: dried will need to be reconstituted and then drained and patted dry before using)
½ cup dry red wine
4 oz goat cheese (Chevré)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese
2 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
1 long, thin French baguette, thinly sliced
 
Method:
 
In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the garlic (taking care not to burn the garlic). Increase heat to medium high and add the mushrooms to the pan and sauté for about 4 minutes, until butter has been fully absorbed. Next pour the wine over the mushrooms and continue to cook, deglazing the pan of any bits that may have stuck to the pan bottom. Remove the pan from the heat and crumble in the goat cheese and stir to blend. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside mushroom mixture. At this point mixture can be stored refrigerated overnight.
 
Preheat oven to 350?. Thinly slice a narrow French baguette and rub one side of each slice with a cut clove of garlic. Place slices on cookie sheet and toast 5 minutes on each side. Remove toasted slices from oven and spread mushroom mixture evenly over each slice. Top mushroom mixture on each slice with ½ teaspoon of freshly grated pecorino cheese. Return Crostini to oven and bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is just melting.
 
Serve immediately with a favorite wine or martini.
 
www.thewillowsbedandbreakfast.com