Ingredients:

For the Sauce:

• 3/4 quart heavy whipping cream
• 1 tbsp. butter
• fresh or dry* blonde morels
• 1/3 cup sherry
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt to taste

For the Chicken:

• 2 lbs. organic chicken tenderloin or organic chicken breast butterflied
• quite a bit of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. butter

Directions:

The sauce:

Slice blonde morels into 1/2″ rings by slicing the mushrooms horizontally. In a medium skillet on medium-high heat, melt the butter until it is almost browning and bubbly. Add mushrooms to the pan and saute until they become lightly golden on each side, about 6 min. De-glaze pan with sherry, and allow to simmer until mushrooms have absorbed almost all of the liquid. Add the stock, and allow to simmer into the mushrooms as well. If using dry mushrooms, add reserved soaking liquid now. Add the rest of the heavy whipping cream. Allow to come to a quick simmer only for a short while (or the cream will curd), and then reduce heat to medium-low. This scalds the cream slightly and adds a sweet and nutty flavor to the sauce. Allow the cream to reduce at a low simmer for approximately 25 min, or until half of the liquid remains and sauce is thick enough to coat the spoon well. Season with salt and pepper. This recipe is also absolutely sublime with many other mushrooms instead of morels…chanterelles & boletes in particular.

*If the mushrooms are dry, soak them in a bowl of half milk and heavy cream for one hour to re-hydrate them. Then lightly squeeze the excess cream from the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid. Slice mushrooms into 1/2″ rings.

The chicken:

Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, assuring that each side of the chicken is very well peppered. This is sort of up to your taste preference, but the classic french dish has quite a bit of pepper! Pat the seasonings into the meat well using a metal spoon. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp. of butter to the pan and allow to bubble and slightly brown. It is essential that your pan is quite hot before adding the butter to achieve this. Next add the chicken to the pan and allow to cook for 7 min or until the edges of the chicken have become white 1/2″ to the center of the piece. Flip and continue to cook for another 5-6 min or until both sides of the chicken are crispy dark golden brown on both sides and the center has just become not pink. Remove from pan and allow chicken to rest. You will probably have to cook the chicken in batches, unless you have a very large skillet. After every new batch of chicken, add a new tbsp. of butter to the pan and continue cooking. Serve chicken topped with pieces of morel and a generous drizzle of morel cream. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 c. dried porcini + 1/4 c. for garnish
8 c. water
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. butter
1 onion
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. rubbed sage
1/8 tsp. thyme
Heavy cream (for garnish)
freshly grated nutmeg (to taste)
dash of cayenne pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Simmer 2 1/4c. dry Porcini in 8 cups of water, soy sauce, sea salt, garlic powder, cumin, sage, and thyme. Reduce by 2″. Meanwhile sauté onion (diced) in one half of the butter until translucent. Set onion aside. When broth is reduced, strain mushrooms from broth, reserving all of the liquid and mushrooms separately. Strain broth with sieve lined with moist paper towel to remove any grit or sand. Remove approximately 1/3 c. of reconstituted Porcini and set aside. Add the rest of the mushrooms, the sautéd onion, and one third of the broth to a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Return remaining broth and pureé to the pot, add the nutmeg and cayenne pepper if desired, and bring to simmer. Meanwhile, sauté the remaining mushrooms in remaining butter until golden on both sides. If you would like, first toast some fresh sage leaves in the butter before sautéing the mushrooms. Season the soup with more salt, pepper, and spices if desired at this point. Serve with floating pieces of sautéd mushroom and toasted sage leaves. Garnish with a pour of heavy whipping cream at service. Enjoy!!