Autumn Mushrooms

My favourite dish at this time of year is a nice simple Wild Mushroom Risotto.
I normally use Slippery Jacks, Shiitake, & Pine mushrooms. Its a bit tedious cleaning & peeling the Slippery Jacks, but worth the effort!

Vodka cured Salmon on Potato & Thyme Pikelets

This post was supposed to be my entry into the PaperChef Challenge #53, but due to workload & lack of time it didn't get written up in time :(
The ingredient were selected by Cathy from ShowFood Chef
They were:
Dried Mushrooms
Thyme
Vodka
& her selection of Salmon.
As soon as I read that I knew what I wanted to do: Vodka cured Salmon, thyme potato pikelets & a mushroom paste.
The vokda cure is very simple & easy, but needs at least 24hrs curing time.
Simply mix 2tbls sugar, 2tbls sea salt, 2tbls (unflavoured) vodka, 1 tsp English mustard, 1 tbls fresh black peppercorns crushed (they were in season so why not). This amount of cure covers a 500g piece of salmon. rub the paste into the salmon & then place the fish skin side up on a bed of dill. Pour all the remaining paste over the fish & cover it with cling film, place a weight on the fish & leave it in the fridge to cure.
Paul created a mushroom "caviar" using the dried truffles that have been hiding in the back of the cupboard. The potato & thyme pikelets were a quick & simple recipe on which to serve these little canopes.

Mushrooms

I love shopping at Victoria Markets in Melbourne. You never know what you'll come across. Today, for instance there were these wonderful fresh mushrooms, Chanterelle, Morel & Oyster.

They are about to go into a Coq au Riesling.... Tasty!