Speaking of mushrooms

[supernova]

I don't know if you've experienced this, but the raw thing got me to thinking: There are some foods that don't seem to give me the flavor that I'm looking for. Maybe I'm not preparing them right? Mushrooms fit into that category for me. I somehow expect them to be "earthier" than they are. Or maybe I'm using the wrong varieities. Are there stronger tasting mushrooms out there?

Coffee is sorta the same way. It rarely tastes the same way it smells to me.

What about you? Are there some foods that you find don't taste as advertised?

[Warpy]

1. Coffee is the main one for me

I love the smell of freshly ground coffee, it's one of the best smells out there. Just don't expect me to drink a cup of the stuff brewed.

As for stronger flavored mushrooms, any dried mushrooms, even the bland button mushrooms, will be far stronger flavored than the fresh ones. Just reconstitute them in hot water and then prepare as usual. Shiitake mushrooms are also quite strongly flavored, both fresh and dried.

"Meaty" veggie stir fry

Reconstitute about 8 average sized dried shiitake mushrooms in water heated to boiling for about 20 minutes. Remove, stem, and slice the caps into 1/4 inch strips. String half a pound of snow peas and set aside. Grate about half a walnut sized piece of ginger. Mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 2 TBS cold water and set aside. Have soy sauce ready.

Heat a wok and put in some light oil. Lightly saute the ginger until fragrant. Add and stir fry the mushroom strips for about a minute. Add and toss the snow peas until they turn bright green, about half a minute. Pour in the shiitake soaking water, being careful to leave the grit in the bottom of the bowl, cover, and allow to steam for 2 minutes. Uncover, add 2 TBS light soy sauce and thicken with the cornstarch mixture.

People will swear they're eating meat when you serve this one, it's so hearty.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Dried mushrooms, as stated above, is the best way to get big flavor from them.

I often add some dried, reconstituted mushrooms to fresh ones when sauteeing or otherwise cooking a mushroom dish.

If you can find them (Costco and BJ's often have them) get a jar of dried cepes/porcini mushrooms. These are *very* special. Reconstitute by soaking in boiling water and letting them stand for 20 to 30 minutes. At that point, the liquid is the real prize. Add it to whatever you're cooking. Once you taste it, you'll know why. Umami out the wazoo!

[Tesha]

3. Onions and Mushrooms

to top a steak?

Use a big enough pan to brown the ingredients and not steam them, fry in a mix of butter and oil...

And to get a rich meaty flavor... our trick is

finish with a little better than bouillon beef or well aged balsamic vinegar.

Yum mm

[beac]

4. Seconding the magic of mushrooms & onions!

In a mixture of olive oil and butter, the onions go in in first, once they begin to get translucent, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and, after a few minutes, freshly dried oregano (from my own plants-- I find the dried and crumbled leaves give more flavor than adding it fresh off the plant.) Cook until onions caramalize well and mushrooms have nice brown edges.

A variation is fresh tarragon instead of oregano and deglazing the pan with sherry near the end.