Corkscrews With A Tomato Mushroom Sauce

Corkscrews With A Tomato Mushroom Sauce

Make a lot, you're going to have seconds!

As many of you know, I am very fond of my dogs and they are a big part of my life. Squeeky is my old friend and she is approaching thirteen years old. My younger dog, Camper is, at this writing, approaching four years old. Their personalities are as different as night and day.

Squeeky is easy going and accepts things pretty mush as they are. Camper generally insists that things be as he thinks they should be. Camper is mellowing as he matures, but he is still impulsive. Usually it is amusing, but sometimes it is frightening.

On a couple of occasions he has given me a real scare. The first was when I was camping in Michigan's Upper Peninsula one afternoon. I noticed that Camper was busy with something. I walked over and saw him chomping away on a toadstool-shaped mushroom. I think my heart stopped. I yelled at him, grabbed the mushroom and tossed it into the forest and then had to have my heart re-started.

A month later, I was mowing my back yard. Typically, when I do this, both dogs follow behind me. I looked over and saw that Camper was nibbling on a large plate-shaped mushroom growing out of a dead tree branch. Once again I was horrified.

I guess he is an expert at selecting mushrooms that aren’t poisonous, because he didn’t have any ill effects in either case. For me, I think the shock has shortened my life by several years. I still have palpitations just thinking about it.

Well, in honor of Camper, here is a recipe that uses a combination of wild mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. He assures me that these mushrooms are all safe to eat.

Olive oil

2 Medium onions, chopped.

5 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

Red pepper flakes

1 cup boiling water

1 package of mixed wild mushrooms, dried

1/4 lb. shiitake mushrooms, sliced

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

4 fresh sage leaves, chopped

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped parsley

salt and pepper

2 tbs. butter

1/2 lb. corkscrew pasta, cooked al dente

Preparation

Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water and set them aside for ten minutes. Heat a large skillet and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Add the onion, garlic and some red pepper flakes. Sauté gently for a few minutes until the onions start to clarify. 

Remove the soaked mushrooms from the hot water and strain the water into a bowl through a coffee filter. Add the mushrooms to the skillet, along with the shiitake mushrooms. Cook down for a few minutes. Add the chopped rosemary and sage along with the strained mushroom water. Let it simmer for a minute.

Add the canned tomatoes, and break them up with a knife and fork. Bring it to a simmer and add the parsley. Taste it and adjust for salt and pepper and let it simmer for ten minutes. Turn off the heat and add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted and evenly disbursed.

Serving

Place a pile of the pasta on a plate and smother it in the sauce. Grate some parmesan cheese over it. To that, add some broccoli sautéed in butter and sprinkled with some shaved parmesan. Now add some pork chops broiled in white wine. You’ll also need a salad and some freshly baked bread and butter. Open a bottle of Valpolicella and you can call it dinner.