Culinary Corner

Dinna Davis

I’ve been following Alan Bergo for some time and I never tire of his creativeness and curiosity when using foraged mushrooms. Alan is a James Beard Award-winning chef, author, show host and forager. He has been writing on the subject of cooking wild food for over a decade.

For this particular recipe, Alan was inspired by a Black Trumpet Jam of Chad Hyatt’s. Chad is an expert forager, classically trained chef, and author of now two cookbooks: The Mushroom Hunter’s Kitchen - Reimagining Comfort Food with a Chef Forager and The Mushroom Hunter’s Kitchen - A Culinary Homage to Wild and Cultivated Mushrooms!.

Since there's no dairy, it's also a good vegetarian or vegan mushroom recipe. Since the recipe was not published in Chad’s cookbook, Alan came pretty close by taking the basic ingredients and doing his own riff.

If you don’t have black trumpets, you can use Golden Chanterelles or Candy Caps. I hope you try it and see how delicious it is!

A nice haul or trompette de la morte Perfect on a cracker with some cheese, or use (trumpet of the dead in French) wherever you would use a stonefruit jam

Maple Black Trumpet Mushroom Jam

Servings: 20 Servings Author: Alan Bergo, https://foragerchef.com/

Ingredients:

2 oz dried black trumpet mushrooms
Water as needed to cover the mushrooms
¼ cup dry sherry or marsala optional but recommended
¾ cup maple syrup
¼ cup white wine champagne, or apple cider vinegar
1 pinch kosher salt
Fresh grated lemon zest to taste
1 tablespoon nut oil such as walnut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Cover the mushrooms with warm water and allow to hydrate for 10 minutes. Swish the mushrooms around to remove any grit, then remove to a cutting board and chop fine or until evenly textured (you can also pulse them in a food processor for a finer texture - your choice).
Put the mushrooms into a wide pot with their soaking liquid, maple syrup, vanilla, sherry, salt and vinegar, and bring to a simmer and cook until the pot is nearly dry and is sticky and shiny, about 30-45 minutes.
Cool the mushroom jam, then add the lemon zest to taste, along with the nut oil. From here the jam can be refrigerated for 3 weeks or frozen. Use it where you would use fruit compote in dessert.
It can be added to stuffings, or warmed up and used on it’s own. It’s especially good with cheese based desserts, like cheesecake, blintzes, etc.

Keep foraging, keep creating, keep inspiring, keep cooking!

March’s St. Patrick’s Mushroom Culinary Dinner made the Irish green with envy!

Main Dish: Mushroom Guinness Stew
Vegetarian main: Mushroom Guinness Stew (vegetarian version)
Side dish: Mashed Potatoes
Side dish: Cole Slaw
Dessert: Apple Pie
Black Bread

Upcoming April Culinary Group Potluck: "Sagra dei Funghi di Primavera"
Dinner Captains: Paul Bergamaschi & Andy Still
Monday, March 3, 2025, 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Bring a dish that is mushroom themed in presentation or ingredients (main dishes, side dishes, soups, salads, desserts). Arrive at 6:00 p.m., eating begins at 7:00 p.m. Registration is required, and the fee will be collected at the event. Please do not come if you are not feeling well, have any symptoms of Covid-19, or if you are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Location:
Hall of Flowers, Golden Gate Park
9th and Lincoln
San Francisco, California

MSSF Culinary Group

The MSSF Culinary Group is open to all members interested in the gastronomical aspects of mushrooming. We meet on the first Monday of each month, with a few exceptions when a holiday falls on the first Monday, to enjoy each other’s company and have a delicious meal. The dinners are open to current members of MSSF and the Culinary Group, and their guests. We are united in our love of cooking as well as our love of mushrooms.

To be part of the fun and food, here are the practicalities:

Your regular MSSF membership dues must be paid up. (Regular membership dues cannot be paid at Culinary dinners, you must use the online membership billing feature of the MSSF web site.
- The Culinary Group has an annual $10 per family membership fee. This is a Special-interest-group membership fee that is separate from, and in addition to, regular MSSF dues. The Culinary dues can be paid at the dinners to the Culinary Group bookkeepers.
- To cover the cost of the facility rental and the dinner’s ingredients, most dinners cost $20 for MSSF-Culinary Group Members. MSSF-members attending the Culinary group for the first time pay $25. And non-MSSF members who attend as guests of members pay $25. (Occasionally, a dinner may have a different cost due to ingredient expenses, if so, it would be stated on the dinner reservation page.)
- The Culinary Group is participatory - each member is expected to participate as part of a dinner team once per season.
- At dinners where you are not part of the team, you should bring an appetizer to share with the group.
- The facility can hold 60 members seated for dinner, thus that is the limit for reservations.
- Reservations are required and must be made no later than the Wednesday before the dinner.
- Members bring their own dinner beverage, tableware and table covering. Dishes, utensils, glassware, linens, etc. are not provided.
- The MSSF Mushroom season is Sept - May.
- Regular dinners occur Oct-Nov, and Jan-May.
- December features a special Holiday Dinner open to all MSSF members and their guests. Over the years, the Holiday Dinner has been done in a variety of formats: potluck, partial potluck (some catered items, some member contributions), fully catered, and hosted by a restaurant.

MSSF Online Calendar then click on the event, or go to the Member Only Area and after logging in, click on event registration.

For assistance or additional information, email Culinary Group questions to Paul Lufkin or Maria Pham.

April 2025
Culinary Corner Dinna Davis I’ve been following Alan Bergo for some time and I never tire of his creativeness and curiosity when using foraged mushrooms. Alan is a James Beard Award-winning chef, author, show host and forager. He has been writing on the subject of cooking wild food for over a decade. For this particular recipe, Alan was inspired by a Black Trumpet Jam of Chad Hyatt’s. Chad is an expert forager, classically trained chef, and author of now two cookbooks: The Mushroom Hunter’s Kitchen - Reimagining Comfort Food with a Chef Forager and The Mushroom Hunter’s Kitchen - A Culinary Homage to Wild and Cultivated Mushrooms!. Since there's no dairy, it's also a good vegetarian or vegan mushroom recipe. Since the recipe was not published in Chad’s cookbook, Alan came pretty close by taking the basic ingredients and doing his own riff. If you don’t have black trumpets, you can use Golden Chanterelles or Candy Caps. I hope you try it and see how delicious it is! A nice haul or trompette de la morte Perfect on a cracker with some cheese, or use (trumpet of the dead in French) wherever you would use a stonefruit jam Maple Black Trumpet Mushroom Jam Servings: 20 Servings Author: Alan Bergo, https://foragerchef.com/ Ingredients: 2 oz dried black trumpet mushrooms Water as needed to cover the mushrooms ¼ cup dry sherry or marsala optional but recommended ¾ cup maple syrup ¼ cup white wine champagne, or apple cider vinegar 1 pinch kosher salt Fresh grated lemon zest to taste 1 tablespoon nut oil such as walnut 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions: Cover the mushrooms with warm water and allow to hydrate for 10 minutes. Swish the mushrooms around to remove any grit, then remove to a cutting board and chop fine or until evenly textured (you can also pulse them in a food processor for a finer texture - your choice). Put the mushrooms into a wide pot with their soaking liquid, maple syrup, vanilla, sherry, salt and vinegar, and bring to a simmer and cook until the pot is nearly dry and is sticky and shiny, about 30-45 minutes. Cool the mushroom jam, then add the lemon zest to taste, along with the nut oil. From here the jam can be refrigerated for 3 weeks or frozen. Use it where you would use fruit compote in dessert. It can be added to stuffings, or warmed up and used on it’s own. It’s especially good with cheese based desserts, like cheesecake, blintzes, etc. Keep foraging, keep creating, keep inspiring, keep cooking! March’s St. Patrick’s Mushroom Culinary Dinner made the Irish green with envy! Main Dish: *Mushroom Guinness Stew* Vegetarian main: *Mushroom Guinness Stew (vegetarian version)* Side dish: *Mashed Potatoes* Side dish: *Cole Slaw* Dessert: *Apple Pie* *Black Bread* Upcoming April Culinary Group Potluck: "Sagra dei Funghi di Primavera" Dinner Captains: Paul Bergamaschi & Andy Still Monday, March 3, 2025, 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm Bring a dish that is mushroom themed in presentation or ingredients (main dishes, side dishes, soups, salads, desserts). Arrive at 6:00 p.m., eating begins at 7:00 p.m. Registration is required, and the fee will be collected at the event. Please do not come if you are not feeling well, have any symptoms of Covid-19, or if you are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Location: Hall of Flowers, Golden Gate Park 9th and Lincoln San Francisco, California MSSF Culinary Group The MSSF Culinary Group is open to all members interested in the gastronomical aspects of mushrooming. We meet on the first Monday of each month, with a few exceptions when a holiday falls on the first Monday, to enjoy each other’s company and have a delicious meal. The dinners are open to current members of MSSF and the Culinary Group, and their guests. We are united in our love of cooking as well as our love of mushrooms. To be part of the fun and food, here are the practicalities: Your regular MSSF membership dues must be paid up. (Regular membership dues cannot be paid at Culinary dinners, you must use the online membership billing feature of the MSSF web site. The Culinary Group has an annual $10 per family membership fee. This is a Special-interest-group membership fee that is separate from, and in addition to, regular MSSF dues. The Culinary dues can be paid at the dinners to the Culinary Group bookkeepers. To cover the cost of the facility rental and the dinner’s ingredients, most dinners cost $20 for MSSF-Culinary Group Members. MSSF-members attending the Culinary group for the first time pay $25. And non-MSSF members who attend as guests of members pay $25. (Occasionally, a dinner may have a different cost due to ingredient expenses, if so, it would be stated on the dinner reservation page.) The Culinary Group is participatory - each member is expected to participate as part of a dinner team once per season. At dinners where you are not part of the team, you should bring an appetizer to share with the group. The facility can hold 60 members seated for dinner, thus that is the limit for reservations. Reservations are required and must be made no later than the Wednesday before the dinner. Members bring their own dinner beverage, tableware and table covering. Dishes, utensils, glassware, linens, etc. are not provided. The MSSF Mushroom season is Sept - May. Regular dinners occur Oct-Nov, and Jan-May. December features a special Holiday Dinner open to all MSSF members and their guests. Over the years, the Holiday Dinner has been done in a variety of formats: potluck, partial potluck (some catered items, some member contributions), fully catered, and hosted by a restaurant. MSSF Online Calendar then click on the event, or go to the Member Only Area and after logging in, click on event registration. For assistance or additional information, email Culinary Group questions to Paul Lufkin or Maria Pham.
Mycena Newsletter - April 2025