Roasted Wild Mushrooms and Goat Cheese

It was a beautiful but warm day for soccer.  We were headed to the game; David and I were in separate cars but next to one another at a red light.  The light turned green and we start forward.  Suddenly some young girl in a red convertible decides to “make the light” and turns in front of us.  Reactively, “what a dumbsh*t” comes out my mouth and then the laughter in the back seat erupts.  Oh cr*p, there are 2 little people in my car.  Nine years and I have been so good about holding my tongue.  They are laughing and repeating and I’m tyring not to laugh and apologizing and begging them not to repeat, especially to their dad. 

Fall temperatures flirted with us a week ago and then summer returned to make a statement on its final day.  Cooler temps evoke a calling for different flavors.  This is a great Bobby Flay dish that is easy, sophisticated and a nice change for a basic side, even if you don’t have all of the chile flavorings in the pantry.

Roasted Wild Mushrooms and Goat Cheese

Ingredients 

1.      8 cups mushrooms (combination of portobello or crimini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms), stems removed and sliced (Mushroom shrivel up when cooking so when in doubt, always use more)

2.      3 tablespoons olive oil

3.      4 cloves garlic, minced

4.      1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots

5.      1/2 cup chile oil, recipe follows

6.      8 ounces goat cheese, cut into 8 slices

7.      Salt and freshly ground pepper

8.      3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mushrooms with the olive oil, and shallots, then season with salt and black pepper.

Arrange the mushrooms evenly in one layer in a heavy roasting pan (aka, a cookie sheet in my kitchen) and roast for 15 minutes or until tender. Remove the mushrooms from the roasting pan and place into a large baking dish. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of chile oil and top with the slices of cheese. Bake until hot, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, garnish with thyme, and drizzle with the remaining chile oil. (I didn’t have all the peppers and such listed below so I mixed Chile Powder with some olive oil and didn’t use the full amount of oil recommended either. I’m certain that Bobby’s is more flavorful but there were no complaints from the people consuming it.) 

Chile oil:

1.      1 cup pure olive oil

2.      2 ounces dried New Mexico peppers

3.      1 ounce dried arbol chile powder

4.      2 tablespoons ancho powder

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree.  Strain mixture through a fine strainer.  Reserve.  This may be done up to one day in advance.