Today’s exceptionally summertime-friendly post comes from Denise of the beautiful food blog, Chez Us.  Mushrooms in all their goodness with the smoky addition of a campfire? I need to find my tent…

It is that time of year, when we unpack our sleeping bags, air out the tent, and dust off the out-door kitchen gear.  That is right it is camping season.  Time to hit the high-country, take in some fresh air, and commune with nature.  Let’s clear the air right away;  we are not the type of campers who feel the need to bring freeze dried bags of food nor cans of soup.  Why would people scrimp on eating good food just because they are camping.  Food tastes so much better next to a campfire.

Planning the perfect (and easy) menu is as critical as finding the right camping spot.  Camping for us is a joyously, gourmet event.  One food item that is always on the menu is some sort of beef dish, as there really is nothing better than sizzling meat on the grill.  We picked up a beautiful tri-tip to take on our most recent camping excursion.  This cut of meat is flavorful enough without having to do a lot of seasoning.  We kept it simple;  lightly seasoned with maldon salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and finished with campfire mushrooms.

Campfire mushrooms can be found on most of our camping adventures.  Mushrooms are very camp friendly as they are easy to transport as well as easy to prepare.  They don’t require a lot of cleaning prep, just a mushroom brush or a paper towel;  they require very little cutting, if they are small enough just toss into the pan;  and, they go with just about everything from grilled meat to eggs for breakfast.  Campfire mushrooms is a sauteed mushroom dish that is made with a medley of mushrooms such as cremini and portobellos.  If I can find fresh shiitakes, I like to add them to the recipe.

I could not find shittakes for this outing, but I did find fresh morels, so I splurged and added them to the mix.  I love the morels sponge like texture and woodsy taste.  The seasonings are simple, a little olive oil and fresh garlic, shallots and rosemary, all of which are easy to transport.  I use a little fresh lemon juice as well as some red wine or beef stock, which makes a rich broth for the mushrooms to bathe in, and for the grilled meat to soak up.  This recipe goes really well with a nice steak and even a juicy burger.  Guaranteed to impress even your fussiest camping guests.

Campfire Mushrooms

• 1 pound brown cremini mushrooms, cleaned and cut into thirds
• ¼ pound portabella mushroom, cleaned and cut into thick slices
• ¼ pound morels, cut the very end off;  leave whole
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 spring fresh rosemary
• ½ lemon juiced
• drizzle of red wine or beef stock (about ¼ cup)

Start your campfire using wood;  the smoky flavor will add depth to your mushroom dish.  Once the coals are ready put a cooking grate over the top of the fire, set a large frying pan on top;  add the olive oil and butter.  Heat until melted.  Add the shallots, stir, and cook for a minute.  Add the garlic and rosemary, stir.  Add the brown cremini mushrooms, stir, and cook for about 3 – 5 minutes, until slightly soft.  Cooking time will depend on how hot the fire is.  Add the portobello mushroom, stir, and cook for another 3 – 5 minutes.  Add the lemon juice, stir and cook for a minute.  Add the wine and cook down for about 5 minutes.  Stir in the morels, and lightly heat for 3 minutes.  Serve over grilled steaks.