Get a Morel Pizza at Louie’s Pizza in Fort Wayne, IN

.33 pound fresh morels
3 tablespoons unsalted garlic butter
3 tablespoons Morel Oil
.33 pound of sliced grilled Chicken
sliced rings of Onion and/or asparagus tips
.5 pound of shredded Fontina Cheese
2 oz of grated Asiago or Parmesan Cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound Pizza Dough

Roll out the dough and brush with garlic butter.  Place the prepped mushrooms, chicken and onions/asparagus tips, sprinkle the morel oil over the top and season.  Add the shredded fontina and top with the asiago.  Bake for 6 – 8 minutes at 400 degrees until dough is light brown on sides and bottom, and cheese is light brown.  Remove from the oven and rest for a minute, then slice and dig in!

Easy Morel Appetizer

1 pound fresh morels
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons Morel Oil
2 tablespoons finely minced shallots
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf  Italian or French bread

Heat the butter and morel oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes.  Remove the morels.  Slice thin slices of bread and toast them in the same pan, about 2 minutes. Place the toast on a serving plate and top with portions of mushrooms.

Favorite Morel Appetizer
(Also good from freezer, to have at the first snow fall with some fresh off the ice hooked blue gill or pike)

2 pound fresh morels
6 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons Morel Oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups cracker crumbs or breadcrumbs
1 egg beaten or two eggs if you use only the whites
2 oz. grated parmesan

Dip the morels in the egg wash seasoned with salt and pepper, then in the breadcrumb or cracker crumb and parmesan mixture. (From here lay the mushrooms out flat in a lock freezer bag and seal and put in freezer, )  or to enjoy right away: Heat the butter and morel oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Place the morels in the pan and cook on medium heat, about 5 minutes per side if the morels are fresh; and about 7 min per side if froze. ( I save the leftover oil and butter in the refrigerator to use to make a great scrambled eggs breakfast.)

Morel Mushroom Sauce

2 pounds fresh morels, stems trimmed
6 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 tablespoons fresh finely minced shallots
2 tablespoon fresh finely minced garlic
2 cup dry red wine
2 oz brandy
5 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh finely minced parsley leaves
1 tablespoon fresh finely minced chives
1 teaspoon fresh finely minced thyme leaves

Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are almost tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes more. Add the brandy and flame away the alcohol and reduce for 1 minute.  Add the wine, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the mushrooms are fully soft, about 5 minutes more. Remove the lid and add the chicken stock. Increase the heat if necessary and simmer, uncovered, until the flavors are blended, 20 minutes or so. Strain the sauce, reserving the mushrooms. Return the sauce to the pot and simmer until it has reduced by 90 percent and has become very concentrated, about 15 minutes. Add the heavy cream and simmer until the sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm over a very low heat. Just before serving, add the reserved mushrooms and fresh herbs.

Crab Stuffed Morel Mushroom Caps 1 cup lump crabmeat
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
1 1/2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
Salt and white pepper
12 to 16 large morels, cleaned
8 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Wild rice or cous cousPreheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl combine crabmeat, mayonnaise, heavy cream, chopped chives, egg yolk, Parmesan, and bread crumbs and stir to mix well. Season with salt and pepper and stuff each morel with the crabmeat filling.

Heat an oven-proof skillet or sauté  pan and melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Transfer the stuffed morels to the skillet and quickly sauté, turning on all sides to ensure even browning. Add remaining butter and garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute. Transfer pan to the oven and bake for 8 minutes, or until heated through and morels are golden brown. Remove from the oven, make a bed of wild rice or cous cous and nest the stuffed morels on top, add some garlic butter drizzled over the top, sprinkle with the chopped parsley ,and serve immmmmmediately

Beef Stuffed Morel Mushroom Caps

1 pound 90% Ground Beef
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 egg yolk
Few leaves finely chopped fresh spinach (remove stem)
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
1 1/2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
Salt and white pepper
12 to 16 large morels, cleaned
8 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Wild ricePreheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl combine beef , chopped chives, egg yolk, Parmesan, chopped spinach, and bread crumbs and stir to mix well. Season with salt and pepper and stuff each morel with the filling.

Heat an oven-proof skillet or sauté pan and melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Transfer the stuffed morels to the skillet and quickly sauté, turning on all sides to ensure even browning. Add remaining butter and garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute. Transfer pan to the oven and bake for 8 minutes, or until heated through and morels are golden brown. Remove from the oven, make a bed of wild rice and nest the stuffed morels on top,  add some morel mushroom sauce over the top, sprinkle with the chopped parsley, and serve immmmmmmediately

Morels in Fettuccine with
Asparagus & Ricotta Cheese

1/2 cup minced shallot
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons Morel Oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 pound fresh morels
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 ounces Ricotta cheese
3/4 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, and cooked in boiling salted water for 2 to 3 minutes, or until tender
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
3/4 pound fettuccine In a heavy skillet cook the shallot in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is softened, add the wine, and simmer the mixture until the wine is reduced by half. Add the broth and the morels, sliced crosswise, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the morels are tender. Add the cream and the ricotta cheese and cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted. Stir in the asparagus, the chives, and salt and pepper to taste and keep the sauce warm. In a kettle of boiling salted water cook the fettuccine until it is al dente, drain it well, and in a bowl toss the pasta with the sauce.

12 ounces Dungeness crab meat, cooked
1 cup Shiitake mushrooms, cut into strips
½ cup Lobster mushrooms, cut into strips
½ cup Morel mushrooms, cut into strips
2 ounces sherry
1 ounce Cognac
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup scallions, cut thin
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
8-inch rice paper, softened and kept between wet paper towels

Sauté scallions, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil and butter until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add sherry and Cognac plus cup cream. Reduce until sauce starts to thicken, about 7 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add ginger and Dungeness crab meat and saute for about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to let filling cool to room temperature.

Place 1 tablespoon Dungeness crab filling in the center of each piece of rice paper. Bring edges of the rice paper together to form a sealed purse. Place dumplings in a bamboo steamer. Steam dumplings until heated through.

Serve with sauce of your choice.

Yield: 4-6 servings
1 Pound morels
1/4 Pound bacon
1/2 Cup chopped onions
1/2 Cup chopped green peppers
1-1/2 Cups shredded (baby) Swiss cheese
1-1/2 Cups milk
1 Cup Bisquick
3 Eggs
1 Teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/4 Teaspoon pepper

Prepare BASIC BACON & MOREL mixture.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 10-inch, lightly coated (butter/spray) pie pan mix bacon, mushrooms, onion, green pepper and cheese. In medium-sized bowl, mix milk, eggs, bisquick, salt and pepper. Beat until smooth. Pour into pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Morels
.25# Pancetta
.5oz Garlic
.5oz Shallots
3 springs Flat Leaf Parsley
2 springs Thyme
.25# Fresh Morels
Salt and Pepper
EVOO

Sort and wash morels, reserving largest for presentation. Mince garlic and shallots. Rough chop parsley, thyme, smaller morels, and pancetta. Render pancetta with garlic and shallots over low heat until most of the oil is released. Drain off oil and reserve. Turn heat up to high and briefly sauté mushrooms and chopped herbs in pancetta mixture until the mushrooms are soft and the meat has started to crisp. Transfer to food processor and pulse until blended but not pureed. In a separate pot, bring salt water to a boil and briefly blanch larger morels for plating. Working quickly, spoon stuffing inside of morel caps.

Truffle Foam
2TB White truffle butter (I recommend Fabrique Delices brand)
.5ts Lemon-Pressed Olive Oil (I recommend Agrumato. brand)
.5C Skim milk
.25ts Powdered Soy Lecithin
Salt

Warm milk over low heat and whisk in lemon oil and truffle butter until mixture is emulsified. Add salt and Lecithin. Buzz with emersion blender and spoon foam for plating.

Parmesan Oil
Aged parmigiano reggiano (around 2 years; look for Vecchio on the label, that means it’s aged between 1.5 and 2 years)
Olive Oil (not extra virgin)

Rough chop cheese and submerge in oil. Bring oil up to 120 degrees and maintain temperature for 20 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature and then strain, reserving cheese curds for further use.

Leek Puree
2 Leeks
1ts Sugar
.5ts Salt
.5ts White Pepper
1/2ts Tapioca Starch

Clean, wash, and rough dice Leeks. Drop in boiling water to blanch. After about three minutes (or until tender but not discolored), transfer to ice water. Strain and puree with sugar, salt, pepper, and tapioca. Strain through fine mesh and let stand for ten minutes. Repuree and adjust seasonings and consistency as needed.

Bacon Powder
2TB Tapioca maltodextrin
4TB Rendered Pancetta Fat

In a food process, add maltodextrin and begin pureeing as you slowly incorporate fat. Scrap down sides. Adjust consistency with maltodextrin.

Assembly
Sauce presentation plate with leek puree and parmesan oil. Position stuffed morels across saucing and spoon additional oil over them. Spoon foam over open end of the caps. Garnish with bacon powder and shaved truffle.

Presented with
Herb Goat Cheese and Spring Arugula
Blackberry Gastrique

Makes 6 salads

1 lb fresh morels (1-2 inch Caps)
3 cups crushed saltines(place in bowl)
3 eggs (place in bowl)
1 cup all purpose flour(place in pan)
1 cup canola oil
8 ounces goat cheese (cut into 6 even slices)
2 spring chives
2 spring fresh thyme
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 bunch fresh baby arugula
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup blackberry jam (fresh berries)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1.Soak Morels in 2 cups of cold water with 1/2 tsp of salt for 10 minutes
2. Remove morels from the water and pat dry with a paper towel
3. Crack egg and mix until frothy,
4. Place morels in a small rectangle pan and lightly dust with flour.(coat both sides)
5.Shake excess flour off and place morels into egg mixture
6.Lightly drain egg and place morels into the saltine crumbs,lightly coat and set aside
7. Pre-canola oil over medium heat in a skillet.
8. Place morels into oil when hot. Turn mushrooms when brown and remove from pan. Repeat process until all mushrooms are cooked. Set aside for later.
9. Finely Chop herbs, place on a plate with cracked pepper. Roll goat cheese into herbs, making a crust
10. Slice into 6 even slices
11. Wash arugula and set aside
12. Take the sugar add in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until becomes a liquid and golden brown.
13. Add cider vinegar, stir until dissolved.
Bring to a boil, add blackberry jelly or fresh berries
14. Place arugula in a bowl,lightly toss gastrique as desired.
15. Place goat cheese on a plate
16. place the arugula on top
17. Place the morels on top of the greens
18. Season with salt and pepper

What you need to make my CROUTE AUX MORILLES recipe:
For four persons
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes.
Ingredients:
750 g of Morels (approximately 1 1/2 lbs)
3 shallots chopped
1 dl of Port (not quite 1/2 cup)
4 dl heavy Cream (not quite 2 cups)

1. Cut the ends of the mushrooms. Do not cut too much. I also cut them in half to be able to clean them well. Morels tend to be sandy. I rinsed them 3-4 times in water, do it carefully as to not destroy the mushrooms. Then drain them and towel dry them. If you have really big mushrooms you can cut them further, so that all the mushrooms are about the same size

2. Put butter in a pan, I used a WOK. Melt the butter and wait until it is nice and hot. Add the mushrooms. Cook at medium hot. The mushrooms will let out alot of water, cook it down until it is almost all gone. I did end up taking the mushrooms out and cook the water down. The reason I took the mushrooms out was so that it wouldn’t cook them to oblivion.

3. Add the shallots when the water has reduced. Salt and Pepper and cover. Stir. Lower the heat and let cook a few minutes, then add the PORT. Stir. Cook uncovered until the port has reduced. When Port has reduced had the cream. Stir.

4. Let it cook a low to medium heat until the cream has reduced. Keep stirring every so often.

5. When your sauce is a nice thick consistency you are ready to serve it! Now, you can use this sauce over steaks. But I used it over toast. I toasted some nice dense slice bread and just pour the sauce over it.

Make those morels shine with this simple recipe that provides gentle accents to help the flavor of the morels explode:

For each serving, place 1/2 to 1 cup of roughly chopped morels in the center of a square of parchment paper. Dot with bits of HIGH QUALITY butter. Plugra is great. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary.

Now fold the parchment square in half over the mushrooms and begin rolling in the open edges tightly to make a small, crescent-shaped envelope. (Think about those pre-packaged apple pies they sell in convenience stores. Shape it like that.) Pop the packets in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

This simple technique allows for really fancy-seeming presentation, as well. Place a packet on each diner’s plate, and let them slice it open. The steam will escape all at once, and they’ll be smacked in the face with buttery, mushroomy awesomeness. And it gets better from there.

Impressive, simple, and a great way to highlight the flavor of mushrooms.

for the confit
1 1/2 pounds morels or assorted wild mushrooms, such as shiitake, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, and creminis
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 cups light, non-flavored oil such as safflower
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh tarragon
3 cloves garlic

for the flan
2 ounces dried morel mushrooms
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons finely chopped tarragon leaves
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

for the saffron citrus beurre blanc
2 cups white wine
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
generous pinch, saffron threads
2 minced shallots
2 sprigs of fresh tarragon
bay leaf
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces (2 sticks) chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
salt to taste

for the confit

1. In a large colander combine mushrooms and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside for 1 hour, allowing mushrooms to release as much liquid as possible (do not reserve liquid), stirring occasionally.

2. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. In a baking dish combine mushrooms with remaining ingredients, making certain that mushrooms are completely covered with oil. Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours, until mushrooms are very tender. Transfer mushrooms to a strainer or colander, remove bay leaves and tarragon sprigs sprigs, and allow to drain. (Oil may be reserved and used for another purpose.) Reserve at room temperature.
for the flan

3. Lightly butter 6 (4-ounce) ramekins and set aside.

4. Under cold running water, quickly rinse morels to rid of any sand or dirt.

5. In a small saucepan combine morels with 3/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until morels are very soft and liquid has reduced to 1/2 cup. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool. When cooled, remove morels from liquid and set aside. Strain liquid through a fine meshed sieve and reserve.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small sauté pan melt butter and sauté shallots until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and tarragon and cook another minute. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor and add reserved mushroom liquid and morels and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the heavy cream, egg yolks, nutmeg, cheese and salt and pepper, to taste. Divide mixture between ramekins and place the ramekins in a baking pan. Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins and bake flans until set, about 45 to 50 minutes.
for the beurre blanc

5. As the flan bake, prepare the beurre blanc. In a sauce pan, combine the white wine, lemon juice, saffron, shallots, tarragon, bay leaf and peppercorns. Reduce by two thirds, whisking frequently to prevent scorching. Add the heavy cream and reduce this by half, whisking often. Whisk in the chilled butter, cube by cube, whisking the entire time and making sure that the each cube is fully incorporated before adding the next. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, adjust the seasoning and either serve or hold by keeping warm, pan covered in foil. The incorporation of the butter is fairly time consuming but the beauty of this sauce is that it can be held for so long and that once served, it is dazzling to behold and a luscious, wondrous thing to consume.
to assemble

6. Once the flan has been removed from the oven, remove the ramekins from their water bath and let them rest for about ten minutes. After they have rested, go around their outer edge with a butter knife to release them from the side of the ramekins and then gently invert them onto a plate. Top each flan with a portion of confit and then drizzle with a ribbon of beurre blanc.

Yield: 6 individual flans