After a few weeks away from writing, it's time to get back to it. If you've been watching my Instagram, Facebook or Twitter feeds, you know I haven't been away from the kitchen, just taking a little break from He Can Cook to re-evaluate the plan for the future. Nothing new just yet, but changes are on the horizon, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, on to today's post. Sadly, it's not about Will Smith's Wild Wild West, although I must admit that dude is pretty cool. This is a food blog after all, and inspiration for what to cook can come from so many places. Social media posts, TV shows, the farmer's market, and certainly, the local grocery store.
A few weeks back, I was quietly roaming the aisles at Lidl. If you've never been, it's sort of a cross between Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Food Lion and IKEA. A little of this, a little of that, some organics, some highly processed and packaged food items, and some luggage mixed in. Bizarre at times, but they have a bunch of products you won't find in most grocery stores. And they have super cheap fruits and vegis. On this specific day, a little package on the top shelf by the fruits caught my eye.
I love love love mushrooms. For whatever bizarre reason, my wife and kids do not, which meant the entire package would be mine! I didn't know what I would do with them but I knew I had to have them and that I would figure it out later. So I tossed it into the cart and went on my way. That's how inspiration begins. If you see something you are interested in, just get it. You'll figure out something to do with it.
And figure it out I most certainly did. So here's my recipe for a dish I'm calling Let's Get Wild, an amazing side dish of sautéed wild mushrooms and bacon with red wine and butter.
Ingredients
8 ounces wild mushrooms, cleaned and tough ends removed
4 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup red wine
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
2 cloves chopped garlic
Salt and black pepper
Directions
Place bacon in a cold skillet or dutch oven and place on the stove top on medium heat.
Saute, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is slightly crispy.
Remove the bacon from the pan, leaving about 2 tbsp of bacon fat in the pan. Add the mushrooms to the pan along with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook in the bacon fat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms soften.
Add the garlic and saute one more minute. Add the red wine and cook until the wine is absorbed into the mushrooms. Add the butter to the pan and cook until melted, stirring frequently.
Finally, add the bacon back to the pan along with the thyme and stir.
This amazing dish can be served so many ways. Try serving with steak, chicken or meatloaf, on top of polenta or mashed potatoes, or as I did, over some cheesy tater tots alongside a hot dog. It's delicious know matter how high class or low class you serve it!
