339885 Sat Nov 04 16:17:04 -0800 2006 7 31 Home Cooking 0 1996801 I picked up a half pound of beautiful-looking black oyster mushrooms this mornig at the farmers' market. My plan is just to sautee them in butter with shallots and finish with parsley. Are there any other preparations I should consider? I've never cooked this variety before. Sat Nov 04 16:17:04 -0800 2006 16451 mhoffman 1 1997321 Intriguing...I've never heard of these. Can you describe them, or post a link to a picture? Perhaps they are black trumpets? In which case, they are very fine chanterelles and are heavenly in a cream sauce or in a chicken stock reduction, or in eggs or... Sat Nov 04 21:19:20 -0800 2006 1996801 10615 chowcat 2 1997368 They're not black trumpets. Here's a picture of them: http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/3974/photo58cf3.jpg Sat Nov 04 21:45:25 -0800 2006 1997321 16451 mhoffman 1 1998542 Just did the butter and shallot thing and ate over polenta with some saba. Very dense and flavorful. Yum! Sun Nov 05 17:59:22 -0800 2006 1996801 16451 mhoffman 1 2000415 Late to the party: I've seen smaller specimens of those mushrooms called "Clamshell" mushrooms. The stems are quite good, too. I like to wrap a small bundle in bacon and bake until everything is softened. Mon Nov 06 17:02:37 -0800 2006 1996801 39914 lunchbox 2 2000769 That sounds delicious. Do you par cook the bacon? What temperature do you back at? Do you use a rack to dispense with the drippings? Mon Nov 06 19:01:48 -0800 2006 2000415 16451 mhoffman 3 2002519 The answers: Nah, 350, nah. That is to say, depending on the size of the bundle of mushrooms, you may only need half a slice of bacon or less- not really enough raw bacon to worry about par cooking it. Wrap the mushroom stems- it will probably hold itself wrapped, but if you must, feel free to use a toothpick to keep it together. I usually have some parchemnt on the sheet, so a bit of sloshing bacon grease is not too dangerous. Into a 350 oven- just until the bacon browns- about 8 minutes. Tue Nov 07 05:56:18 -0800 2006 2000769 39914 lunchbox 1 2002612 Bacon, mushrooms, butter, garlic, and olive oil. What could be better than that? TT Tue Nov 07 08:00:45 -0800 2006 1996801 19247 TexasToast