The odd-looking morel does not have a cap but rather a fruit body about four inches long that is pittted and resembles a honeycomb. Since the darker the mushroom, the stronger the flavor, the morel is prized as one of the strongest mushrooms with its earthy and smoky flavor. It is related to truffles, but far more common. They are spring mushrooms, available fresh from April through June, although specialty markets will have them all year long in the dried form. They are easily rehydrated. Morels are particularly common in the midwest, and a festival is devoted to them in Boyne, Michigan. Since morels have never been successfully cultivated, mushroom lovers depend upon foragers. A word of caution: never eat morels raw, as they contain toxic helvellic acid, which is destroyed by cooking.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar plus additional to taste

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 24 fresh morels (about 1 pound),cleaned and trimmed (or 1 ounce dried morels, soaked, reserving 1/2 cup soaking liquid)

• 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots

• 1 teaspoon cayenne

• 2 cups dry red wine

• 2 cups chicken stock

Instructions

In a small heavy saucepan, boil the water with the sugar, without stirring, until a golden caramel color results. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the vinegar and balsamic vinegar down the side of the pan. Stir the mixture over moderate heat until the caramel is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

In a heavy saucepan cook the morels in butter, stirring, over moderate heat until liquid from morels is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer the morels with a slotted spoon to a bowl and reserve. Add the shallots and the cayenne to the pan and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in the wine and boil until reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes.

Add the stock and reserved morel soaking liquid (if using dried morels) and reduce to about 1 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and stir in caramel mixture. Add the morels to sauce with salt and pepper to taste. You can serve the sauce as is or processed in a blender or food processor.

To the members of the Madd Momma and The Kid barbecue team, sauce should be a finishing touch and only used during the final stages of barbecuing. In this recipe, they use honey to get the sweet heat they like.

This recipe and others can be found in the following article:

Ingredients

• 1 32-ounce bottle ketchup

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup white vinegar

• 3/4 cup honey

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not let the mixture boil. Allow sauce to cool; then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.