September 10: Wild Cream of Mushroom Egg Noodle Bake, Hold the Canned Soup

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SAUCE
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 button mushrooms, brushed off with a damp towel and chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 cup whole milk or cream
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
   Salt and freshly ground black pepper

CASSEROLE
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 shallot
2 portobello mushroom caps, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 pound fresh mixed wild mushrooms, such as shiitakes, oysters, and wood-ears, stems trimmed and caps thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
   Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup dry white wine, or more stock
1 pound extra-wide egg noodles
1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 pound Gruyere or Emmentaler cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the egg noodles.

To make the mushroom sauce, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add the EVOO and the butter. When the butter melts, add the chopped button mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, until just tender. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken stock and bring to a bubble, then stir in the whole milk. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer. Season the sauce with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

To make the casserole, heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of EVOO, then the shallots and mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms for 8 minutes, or until tender. Season with the thyme, salt, and pepper, and deglaze the pan with the wine or a little stock. Reduce the heat to medium low and let the liquid cook off.

Preheat the broiler to high.

While the mushrooms cook, drop the egg noodles into the boiling water, salt the water, and cook the noodles al dente (with a bite to them). Drain the noodles and return them to the hot pot. Add the creamy sauce to the pot and toss the noodles to coat in the sauce.

Lightly coat a casserole dish with the softened butter, then transfer the cream of mushroom noodles to the dish and top with the mushroom ragout and the shredded cheese. Place the casserole under the broiler and melt and bubble the cheese until brown at the edges. Garnish with chives and serve.

6 SERVINGS

This recipe looks a little confusing at first, but it's really not that hard. It was very good, except that I used dried wild mushrooms (rehydrated) and I didn't like the taste of them. It would have probably been better with fresh. The only thing I changed was to change the fresh thyme to dried, and to change the amount of servings from 4 to 6. It really makes a lot. I used half-and-half instead of milk, I used Swiss cheese instead of Gruyere, and I forgot to deglaze the pan with the wine. It was still good, but I'm sure it would have been better with wine.