Black Trumpet Souffle

Serves 4
1/4 cup butter
3-5 oz black trumpet mushrooms
3-5 oz crimini mushrooms
1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 to 3/4 cup Swiss cheese
3 eggs
salt and pepper

Saute mushrooms in butter for just a few minutes. Add flour and stir for 2 minutes, slowly stir in milk away from heat. Return to heat and add cheese, salt and pepper. Beat in egg yolks only. Whisk egg whites until stiff in a separate bowl until they begin to become stiff, then fold into mushrooms. Pour into souffle dish and bake until firmed up between 30 and 40 minutes.

Squash Soup with Black Trumpets

Serves 4, 2 hours

1 large buttercup squash
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
4 Tbsp. butter
1 clove garlic
2 leeks - white part only cleaned well and chopped
1 small jalapeno (seeded and diced (optional)
1 tsp. cumin
coarse sea salt
4 cups stock
1/2 cup light cream or half-and-half
ground white pepper
4 ounces black trumpet mushrooms, washed and halved

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half, and scrape out seeds (a grapefruit spoon works best). Place cut-side down on a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake until collapsed and caramelized, about an hour. Toast pumpkin seeds in a small dry saute pan over medium-high heat until they start to pop up and brown lightly but not burn. Set aside.
In a heavy soup pot, melt 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add garlic, leeks and jalapeno and cook, stirring until softened but not browned 10-15 minutes. Add cumin and salt to taste. Scrape flesh from baked squash and add to pot. Add stock, and bring to simmer. Cook 15 minutes, until everything is very soft. Carefully transfer to blender, and puree until smooth. Return pot over very low heat. Stir in cream. Season with pepper and more salt if needed.
In a large saute pan, melt remaining butter over medium heat. Add black trumpets and salt. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 10 minutes.

Black Trumpet Linguine

Serves 4, 15 minutes

Salt
1/2 pound fresh black trumpets
6 Tbsp. butter
12 ounces linguine
freshly grated nutmeg
freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Plunge mushrooms into cold water several times to remove grit. Drain well and squeeze dry. Chop and set aside.
Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Cook, stirring until well wilted and tender, about 10 minutes.
When mushrooms are dearly done, cook pasta until al dente. Remove about 1/4 cup cooking water and set aside. Drain pasta and transfer to a warm serving bowl. Add remaining butter, mushrooms, grated nutmeg and white pepper. Toss to mix, adding reserved water as needed. Add cheese, and toss until pasta is coated and ingredients are integrated. Sprinkle with chives and serve with additional cheese if desired.

Monkfish with Spinach and Black Trumpet Sauce

Serves 4, 45 minutes

1 1/2 pounds monkfish, approximately
1/4 pound fresh black trumpet mushrooms
1 1/2 pounds fresh spinach, tough stems removed
3 Tbsp. butter
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup Scotch
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Trim purplish membrane off fish. Cut crosswise into fillets about 1/2 inch thick. Set aside. Plunge mushrooms into cold water to remove any grit. Drain well, then squeeze dry in paper towels. Cut large mushrooms in half lengthwise. Wash spinach in several changes of cold water to remove all grit. Transfer to a colander but do not dry.
Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add shallot, and saute 1 to 2 minutes, then add mushrooms. Cook stirring often, until wilted and tender, about 10 minutes. Add Scotch and cook until reduced to a glaze; add cream and cook until it coats mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat but keep warm.
Place spinach in a large pot over medium high heat, cover and steam until wilted. Remove from heat, squeeze dry and keep warm.
In a second large saute pan, heat oil over high heat until almost smoking. Season fish on both sides with salt and pepper, and lay into hot oil. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side, until very tender. Season spinach, and divide among 4 serving plates; lay monkfish fillets over each. Spoon mushrooms and liquid over each serving (there will be just enough sauce to lightly cover fish.) Serve.

Black and White Grits

Serves 4-6, 1 hour

1 1/2 cups milk
salt
3/4 cup grits, not instant
4 ounces fresh black trumpet mushrooms
4 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces taleggio, rind removed and cut into chunks
Dash hot red pepper sauce
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place milk in a large heavy saucepan, and add salt and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. While whisking constantly, slowly add grits. Lower heat and simmer, stirring until grits are thickened and taste cooked.
While grits cook, wash mushrooms, drain and squeeze dry. Coarsely chop. Melt butter in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes, then add mushrooms. Saute about 10 minutes.
When grits are cooked, mix in cheese. Season with hot sauce, pepper an more salt if desired. Stir in mushrooms.

Winter Solstice Mushroom Pasta

Serves 4

• 1 pound squid ink pasta
• 1 head black garlic
• Double handful of dried black trumpet mushrooms, or ½ pound fresh
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon black cumin seeds (optional)
• Kosher salt
• Juice of a lemon

1. Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with 1-2 cups of water hot from the tap. Cover and let soak for 1-4 hours.
2. Toast the black sesame and cumin seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until you can smell them and the first few seeds begin to pop. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Get a large pot of salty water hot.
4. When the mushrooms are ready, strain them off and reserve the liquid. Pour the liquid through cheesecloth to remove any grit and then pour it into the pan you toasted the sesame and cumin in (without the seeds!) and set it to a boil. You want to reduce it by half.
5. Pick over the mushrooms and rinse if needed. Black trumpet mushrooms are notoriously gritty, and you want them as clean as possible. Pat dry and set on paper towels.
6. When the mushroom water has boiled down by half, take it off the heat.
7. Start boiling your pasta.
8. In a food processor, put the peeled cloves from the head of black garlic, a pinch of salt, about 1 teaspoon of shallot, half the cumin and sesame seeds, and a splash of the mushroom water. Buzz to combine. Add about a teaspoon of lemon juice. Add more mushroom water as needed to make a sauce with the consistency of cream, only black. Taste for salt and lemon juice and add if needed.
9. Get a large sauté pan hot over medium-high heat. Pat the mushrooms dry again and add them to the pan. Shake it and toss constantly as the mushrooms lose their water. They should squeak a little. When they begin to lose their water, add the olive oil and the shallots and sauté until the shallots just begin to brown.
10. Add the garlic sauce, bring it to a simmer and turn off the heat.
11. When the pasta is cooked, add it to the sauce and turn on the heat to medium. Toss to combine. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed.
12. Serve at once, with the remaining cumin and sesame seeds on top.