'MAY YOUR LIFE BE LIKE A WILDFLOWER ... ' ~ CHEVRE and MOREL CHEESECAKE

"May your life be like a wildflower growing freely in the beauty and joy of each day"

~ Native American proverb

Yellow Lady's Slipper

(Cypripedium Calceolus L.)

Orchid Family

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CHEVRE and MOREL CHEESECAKE

(Goat Cheesecake with Mushrooms)

~ Savory Cheesecake from France ... Routas Culinary Director Frances Wilson

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Base:

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup breadcrumbs

5 Tbsp. melted butter

course salt & freshly ground pepper

Topping:

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 washed and finely chopped leek

4 oz. washed fresh morel mushrooms

(or favorite wild mushrooms)

12 oz. fresh chevre

(or favorite goat cheese)

12 oz. softened cream cheese

1 cup creme fraiche

1 lightly beaten large egg

1 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs like tarragon, parsley or thyme

3 Tbsp. flour

2 tsp. salt

2 egg whites

• Preheat oven to 350º.
• Combine Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and butter in a bowl. Season with salt & freshly ground pepper. Press into base of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Heat butter in a pan and add leeks. Cook over low heat to soften the leeks. Add morels. Cook for a couple of minutes. Allow to cool.
• Place chevre, softened cream cheese and creme fraiche. Mix in the egg, chopped herbs, flour and salt. Add leeks and morels and combine.
• Beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold into the mixture. Pour mixture over the base.
• Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour our until almost set. Cool in oven for a further hour. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve as appetizer or lunch dish with green salad.

NOTE: Found in swamps, bogs, wet woods. Flower is yellow, inflated pouch, single or sometimes 2 per stem. Petals are long, narrow, twisted, and mottled with brown or purple. Stem is leafy with 3-6 broad, parallel veined leaves that somewhat sheath the stem.

(Michigan Wildflowers in Color)

Protected Michigan Wildflower ~ DO NOT DISTURB

SPRING SUPPER ~ WILD MUSHROOM FETTUCCINE

~ Columbine

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WILD MUSHROOM SPINACH FETTUCCINE

~ Delicious pasta dish if you are lucky enough to still have morel mushrooms. If not, use an assortment of shiitake, oyster or cremini mushrooms.

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1 lb. spinach fettuccine

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 cup chopped wild leeks or shallots

1 lb. sliced morel or assorted mushrooms

4 plump cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 pint heavy cream (or lighten up using organic chicken broth)

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

pinch of coarse salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 oz. shaved Parmesan cheese

additional chopped thyme & parsley for garnish

• While pasta water is cooking, melt butter in large skillet. Add leeks or shallots, mushrooms, and garlic. Saute until moisture evaporates.
• Add sherry to pan and cook until liquid almost evaporates. Pour in cream and heat gently until hot.
• Add parsley, thyme, and salt & pepper.
• Drain pasta and add to mushrooms, tossing to coat.
• Serve in large pasta bowls. Sprinkle with additional herbs and top with shaved Parmesan cheese.

SPRING BRUNCH ~ MOREL QUICHE & RHUBARB BREAD

~ Wildflower garden

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MOREL QUICHE

~ A spring brunch recipe from Between the Lakes (A Collection of Michigan Recipes)

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4 oz. diced lean bacon

1 Tbsp. butter

1/4 cup sliced wild onions or scallions

1 Tbsp. butter

4 cups cleaned & dried morel mushrooms

1 egg white

1/2 cup diced Gruyere cheese

2 cups scalded and cooled half & half

3 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp. white pepper

freshly grated nutmeg

butter for sauteing

Pate Brisee

• Cook bacon in saute pan until almost crisp. Drain and set aside.
• Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in pan and add wild onions. Saute until translucent and set aside.
• Melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Add a batch of mushrooms and saute just until tender. Set aside.
• Repeat with remaining mushrooms, adding 1 Tbsp. butter for each batch.
• Roll Pate Brisee into a circle. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming and fluting the edge. Pierce with fork tines and brush with egg white.
• Layer bacon, onions & mushrooms in pastry. Sprinkle with cheese. Whisk half & half into eggs in a mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour over the cheese. Bake at 375-degrees for 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serve warm. (6-8 servings)

Pate Brisee

1/2 cup softened butter

2 cups sifted flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 - 3/4 cups water

Lightly rub butter into flour & salt in a bowl with fingers, then by hand. Make a well and add gradually add water, stirring with index finger moving to outer edge to incorporate flour. Form into ball and let rest for up to 2 hours.

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RHUBARB BREAD

~ Favorite old 1984 R.S.V.P. Bon Appetit adapted recipe from The Catnip Mouse, a tearoom in Riverton, Connecticut.

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1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

2/3 cup oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups diced uncooked fresh rhubarb

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. grated orange peel

1 Tbsp. room temperature butter

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Line bottom and sides with waxed paper.
• Combine brown sugar and oil in large bowl and beat well. Mix butter, milk, egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Add to brown sugar mixture and blend thoroughly. Gently fold in flour, rhubarb and nuts. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
• Combine sugar, orange peel and butter in small bowl and blend well with fork. Sprinkle over batter.
• Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pans, then turn onto racks. Remove waxed paper before serving.

SOUP OF THE WEEK ~ CREAMY MOREL SOUP

~ Trillium and maidenhair fern

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CREAMY MOREL SOUP

~ A delicious soup if you are fortunate enough to fine spring's elusive, most sought-after mushroom.

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1 lb. finely chopped morels

juice of 1 lemon

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 chopped clove garlic

2 cup wild leeks

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

pinch of coarse salt & freshly cracked pepper

2 Tbsp. flour

3 cups organic chicken stock

2 cups heavy cream

• Clean morels (do not wash but gently wipe dirt away). Sprinkle with lemon juice.
• Melt butter in large pan over high heat. Add morels, leeks, garlic and parsley. Reduce heat and saute until juices evaporate.
• Stir in flour, remove from heat and blend in broth. Bring to boil, and simmer gently 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
• Blend in batches, returning to pot. Gently whisk in cream and taste for seasoning. Reheat and serve.

~ Trillium and maidenhair fern

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