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Charles Day is the Ruth Rea Howell Horticultural Interpreter at Wave Hill.
Our popular woodland cooking series continued this spring when we were joined by Gary Lincoff of the New York Mycological Society. Gary introduced us to the world of wild mushrooms and fungi with a very informative and entertaining slide show. He was encouraging about collecting wild mushrooms but very clear about the possible dangers – one should not mess with mushrooms you don’t know as the results can be fatal! Chef Marc Spooner of Great Performances (Wave Hill’s exclusive caterer) then demonstrated two vegetable dishes that strongly featured wild mushrooms, such as hen-of-the-woods and king bolete. The “wild mushroom pasta with truffled cream sauce” was rich and delicious and the “peas and carrots” dish was a fresh-tasting and colorful assembly of tiny carrots, peas and baked wild mushrooms with a carrot and onion puree. Marc was delighted to share these recipes.
Wild Mushroom Pasta with Truffled Cream Sauce
1 lb. assorted wild mushrooms, washed, dried and stemmed
4 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
1 lb. spaghetti
1 large carrot, peeled, cut into brunoise pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
4 oz. unsalted butter
24 oz. heavy whipping cream
½ bunch Italian parsley for garnish
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add the dried porcini mushrooms. Remove from heat and reserve. Prepare pasta according to the directions on the package and reserve. Blanch the diced carrot in boiling salted water until just done, strain and reserve. Strain the porcini mushrooms and reserve both the water and the mushrooms.
Place a pan over medium high heat and coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Sauté the minced garlic cloves and shallot until aromatic. Add the assorted wild mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste and cook until tender. Add the porcini mushrooms and 1 cup of the reserved porcini stock. Reduce liquid by half. Add the heavy cream and reduce by half. Add salt and pepper to taste to the sauce then add 2oz of the butter, the carrot and pasta. Toss to coat. If needed, add more of the reserved stock and butter until desired consistency is achieved. Drizzle with truffle oil, toss and plate. Garnish with few large sprigs of parsley.
Serves 4
Peas and Carrots
1 lb. large carrots cut into 2” pieces
1 medium yellow onion, peeled, and cut into 1” slices
2 qt vegetable stock or water
1 lb assorted mushrooms, washed, dried and stemmed
1 lb English peas, in shell
16 Thumbelina carrots (or assorted baby carrots)
8 oz pea tendrils
Olive oil, as needed
Salt and pepper
Pre-heat oven to 350˚F. Place carrots, onions and vegetable stock (or water) in a large pot over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until fork tender. Do not boil, adjust heat as necessary. Strain the contents and reserve the liquid. Puree the carrots and onions adding some of the reserved stock as needed. Puree until the mixture is smooth and the consistency of mustard. Set aside and allow to cool.
Place mushrooms on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 350° F until tender. Set aside and allow to cool. Remove peas from shell and blanch in salted boiling water until tender. Strain and shock peas in a bowl of ice water, drain and reserve. Peel Thumbelina carrots and blanch in salted boiling water, until just done, strain and shock in a bowl of ice water, drain and reserve.
Assembly:
Place some of the carrot puree on the plate. In a bowl, toss the remaining ingredients with olive oil, salt and pepper (add herbs if desired). Arrange on plate.
Serves 4
Recipes courtesy of Mark Spooner of Great Performances.
Stephanie Ehrlich, Wave Hill’s Special Projects & Events Producer, lets us in on some of the behind-the-scenes conversations with food purveyors at Sunset Wednesdays this summer.
I learned about Bob through my friend Tom Mylan, the butcher at Marlow & Daughters, blogger and all-around Brooklyn food god.
Bob and I made a plan for him to come to Wave Hill, where he’d never been, and discuss Sunset Wednesdays. We met in the parking lot. Bob looked just like I thought he would—a youngish hipster from Brooklyn, complete with mud-colored hoody and baseball cap. What I didn’t expect was that he’d be such a sweetheart and bring me treats in the form of PICKLES! Now this was the start of an excellent meeting. 
First, Bob’s sheer delight at seeing our spectacular vista, and his genuine interest in looking at the gardens and greenhouse, made it clear that he’s a great guy. Then we went to the Wave Hill Café where I ordered my favorite sandwich they offer—a curried chicken salad on walnut raisin bread. Savory and sweet. Yum! Bob ordered the same, and that’s the second reason why I think he’s fab. (Hey, it’s nice when people go with your recommendation.) After sandwiches were eaten, and details about the program discussed, Bob broke out the pickles. They were perfect. Garlicky, crunchy and just plain delicious. The pickles he’ll bring to Wave Hill in July will be made of this summer’s cucumber harvest from a local farm in New Jersey. Super local.
He also shared his top-notch relish and mustard. The mustard is strong and brined with Brooklyn Lager. Bob’s dream is to create a line of 50 mustards, each made with local, handcrafted beers from around the country—a ‘United States of Mustard,’ if you will. The mustard, he said, goes really well with dark chocolate. He went on to recount a tale of working his booth at the Brooklyn Flea, next to his chocolatier pal Daniel Sklar of Fine and Raw Chocolates (who also gets to showcase his fabulous stuff at a Sunset Wednesday this summer). Just like the old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials, Daniel got some chocolate in Bob’s mustard. Bob got some mustard in Daniel’s chocolate. So they did a little purposeful sampling and discovered that these two great tastes really do taste great together! They are currently working on a finished product that combines the two. (If we’re lucky, it will be ready for both their Sunset Wednesdays appearances). Meanwhile, never one to hear about a food possibility and not try it—I ran back to the Café for some nice fair-trade chocolate. We dipped it into the mustard, and sure enough, it worked! Bob assured me that Daniel’s Fine & Raw Chocolate is an even better complement to the mustard. I can’t wait to try it!
Meantime, check them both out online at www.mcclurespickles.com and www.fineandraw.com.
Great Performances chef Marc Spooner was here in late March to kick off our springtime Woodland Cooking series with a marvelous demonstration of how to cook with maple syrup. (Great Performances is Wave Hill’s exclusive caterer.) I always appreciate the way Marc combines delicious, easy-to-follow recipes and useful cooking techniques with interesting food information: Did you know that the sap of sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) is about 98% water, and that 40 gallons of sap must be boiled down to produce one gallon of syrup? Thus its high price. Marc has a great personality, and is so good at making cooking accessible and helping people get excited about using local ingredients. Here is one of the delicious recipes from the demo, one Marc has been making for many years. It’s yummy!
Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese, Local Apples, Maple-sugared Cashews and Tarragon Dijon Vinaigrette
4 cups baby spinach, washed and dried
2 apples, cored and sliced
¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup tarragon Dijon vinaigrette (recipe follows)
½ cup maple-sugared cashews (recipe follows)
Salt and pepper to taste
Place baby spinach, apples and feta cheese in a large bowl. Drizzle vinaigrette over ingredients and toss. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Garnish with maple-sugared cashews.
Maple-sugared Cashews
3 Tbsp maple sugar
½ cup cashews
Melt maple sugar in a sauce pan. Add cashews and coat them evenly with melted maple sugar. Keep stirring nuts until caramelized. Spread nuts on parchment paper and allow to cool. Once nuts have cooled, break them apart.
Tarragon Dijon Vinaigrette
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp shallot, minced
¼ cup champagne vinegar
¾ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Whisk together tarragon, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, shallots and champagne vinegar plus salt and pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Recipe courtesy of Marc Spooner.
Laurel Rimmer is Assistant Director of Public Programs at Wave Hill.
I truly believe Wave Hill has magic on top of being such a beautiful place. What I try to create for weddings at Wave Hill is a sense of comfort and ease to match the surroundings and venue. Top that with the delicious food from Great Performances, and it is a winning formula for enchantment and a day to remember forever! I really try to anticipate everything needed within each couples vision. But the only way to appreciate what Wave Hill has to offer is to visit. That’s why I’ve planned a private Wave Hill Bridal Fair for Saturday afternoon, April 4, from 12:30 to 2:30PM. I’ll be on hand to answer questions, and share my love for this special place. If you’d like to join us, please RSVP to porfi@greatperformances.com.
Porfirio Figueroa is Private Event Planner for Great Performances, Wave Hill’s exclusive caterer. The gardens have been the captivating setting for many weddings. Part of what makes these celebrations so special is the personal attention couples receive from Porfi, who works tirelessly to ensure that every wish is fulfilled.
A Wave Hill bride and groom are reunited with Porfi
