Braised Wild Boar Belly

Today, I am pleased to welcome Justin Marx, the owner of Marx Foods, an online store that offers fantastic high quality gourmet products. Marx Foods also has a great blog that features fabulous giveaways and opportunities for product reviews as well as great recipes and useful culinary techniques. Today, Justin shares an amazing recipe for the Braised Wild Boar Belly. Enjoy!

Wild boar belly is much leaner than pork belly, yet has a richer, more complex flavor, especially when braised. Pairing it with an acidic frisee salad balances that richness for a not-too-filling and and oh-so-satisfying dish. Any type of pork can be substituted for the wild boar in this recipe.

Drink Pairings: Alsatian Riesling or Australian Semillon

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

8 oz Braised Wild Boar Belly with reserved braising liquid
1 large Shallot, sliced thin
3 oz Pancetta, sliced into sticks/batons
1 tbsp Champagne Vinegar
2 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ Baguette
1 clove of Garlic, cut in half
2 heads of Frisee
Sea salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a pan over medium low heat, render the pancetta (saute until the pancetta is crispy and the fat has been released).



2. Reserve the pancetta, and add the sliced shallot to the fat in the pan. Sauté until the shallot is slightly browned.

3. Add the honey and let it cook for about three minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.



4. Return the pancetta to the pan, and stir in the vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Taste and add more oil/vinegar/salt/pepper if necessary. This is your vinaigrette.



5. Thickly slice the baguette, and rub each slice with the clove of garlic and some olive oil.



6. Grill the baguette slices.



7. Cut the ends of the frisee, separate it into bunches. Put in a bowl with salt and a little olive oil. Toss to coat.



8. Cut the boar belly into 2oz pieces. Put it in a pan with a small amount of the braising liquid. Simmer to reheat it and reduce the liquid to a glaze.



9. Plate the belly with the frisee and baguette. Sauce both the belly and the frisee with the vinaigrette. Serve.

Please visit Marx Foods for more amazing products and recipes and don't forget to check out the opportunity to win the Win The Ultimate Foodie Mother’s Day Present!

Plum Jam Biscuits

Before I started this blog I rarely made any desserts at all but inspired by so many delicious treats I see around the blogosphere, I have been more sweets, including a few baked goodies. Typically, I try to make our desserts in small portions and keep them relatively healthy and low in fat. Today's treat, however, is quite rich, involving real butter and cream. These pastries, inspired by traditional Croatian plum jam biscuits, are incredible and totally worth an occasional splurge. To make these, I used the "00" flour and the SiGi Jam of Wild Little Plums from the Sausage Debauchery and vanilla sugar from MarxFoods.

Ingredients: (makes about 12 biscuits, recipe adapted from SBS Food website)

1/2 stick butter, room temperature
3/4 cup cream
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups "00" flour
SiGi jam of Wild Little Plums

Directions:

Mix butter, cream, vanilla sugar and baking powder. Slowly add flour to make a soft, stretchy dough. Knead for 5 minutes. Roll dough out thinly and cut into long triangles with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.

Place one teaspoon of jam at the wide end of the triangles and roll each one forward into a U shape.

Bake at 400°F about 15 minutes or until golden.

Basque-Style Grilled Cheese with Etorki, Piquillo Peppers, and Chorizo

Etorki is a cheese from French Basque region of the Pyrénées. "Etorki" means "origin" and has been produced in the Basque country for over 4000 years. We received a sample of this excellent Basque cheese from Ile De France who distributes this cheese in the US.

This hard cheese is made of sheep's milk and has a pretty orange rind. Inside, it is bright ivory with a rich buttery texture and a slightly sweet taste with a nutty finish.

Etorki is delicious with fresh crusty bread and cold cuts for a nice weekend lunch. It is also terrific when melted. Since April is a National Grilled Cheese Month, I decided to make a special Basque-style grilled cheese sandwich using Etorki cheese, roasted Piquillo pepper, and Basque-style chorizo.


A combination of these ingredients was fantastic, and we really enjoyed this delicious grilled cheese sandwich.

Ingredients: (1 large sandwich)

Butter or olive oil
2 large slices of Pain de campagne (French Country bread)
2 large slices of Etorki (the approximate size of the bread slices)
3 slices of Basque or Spanish-style chorizo
2 roasted Piquillo peppers, drained, seeds removed, patted dry

Directions:

Pre-heat the grill. Lightly butter the bread slices or brush them with oil. Grill on one side until lightly browned, then flip over. Place one slice of cheese on each slice of the bread. Grill for about a minute, then top one slice with peppers and chorizo. Cover with the other slice of bread. Grill until lightly browned on the bottom, flip over, and cook for a little bit longer until the cheese is melted.

***

Update: My comment system is now fixed and the comments can be submitted using any browser!

Vanilla Bean Muffins with Four Sugar Toppings and Morel Giveaway on MarxFoods

When I received my package with dried Morel mushrooms from MarxFoods to cook for the Annual Morel Challenge, I was delighted to discover four samples of different sugars: vanilla sugar, demerara sugar, granulated honey, and coconut sugar. I've decided to do a sugar tasting for my family and what better way to serve those unique sweeteners than on top of freshly baked vanilla bean muffins! As these gorgeous vanilla beans from Madagascar were also included in my package from MarxFoods, this was a perfect plan.



We tasted a little bit of each sugar first and then sprinkled a generous amount of each sugar on top of the muffins ready to bake. The result was fabulous and each of the sugar toppings was unique and delicious in its own way.



Vanilla sugar is a sugar mixed with vanilla bean powder and is essentially a vanilla scented powdered sugar. This sugar made a pretty white topping and infused the muffins with the extra vanilla which was excellent.



We sprinkled extra vanilla sugar on top and we thought these muffins tasted like beignets!



Demerara sugar is an unrefined brown sugar that features large crystals and a sweet flavor with hints of molasses. This sugar was terrific as a topping for muffins creating a lovely crunchy texture and a very pretty golden color.



Granulated honey is dried honey that has been broken into tiny granules. The crunchy texture of the topping and the flavor of honey in combination with vanilla flavor was amazing.



Coconut sugar is a natural sugar made from the sweet sap of the flower buds on the coconut palm tree. It does not actually have a taste of coconut at all, and instead has a sweet nutty taste. It come in large lumps and has a soft texture. This was perhaps the most interesting sugar to observe in baking. It melted on top of the muffins, creating dark brown specks and a special taste reminiscent of the burnt caramel of the top of Crème brûlée. This was perhaps our favorite of the four sugar toppings!



Ingredients:

1 1/2 flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2/3 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 Vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, seeds reserved
2 teaspoons vanilla yogurt

vanilla sugar
demerara sugar
granulated honey
coconut sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla seeds. Fold the flour mixture in to mix well, and then mix in yogurt.

Place equal portions of batter into a greased 12-cup muffin tin. Sprinkle each muffin top generously with your choice of sugar (vanilla sugar, demerara sugar, granulated honey, and coconut sugar, and/or other type you may have). Bake on 400°F for about 15 minutes or until the muffin tops are golden.

***

You all have a chance to win 2lbs of fresh Wild Morel Mushrooms! All you have to do is enter a comment on MarxFoods blog about what you would like to make with morels. The deadline to enter is midnight on April 28th! There will be a winner selected for every 200 entries so please spread the word about the contest as it increases your own chances of winning!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

National Garlic Day Giveaway Winners

Thank you all for participating in the National Garlic Day Giveaway!

The winners of the New York Style garlic-flavored snacks (Garlic Bagel Crisps, Parmesan & Roasted Garlic Risotto Chips, Roasted Garlic & Herb Focaccia Sticks, Garlic Pita Chips) were selected using random.org and they are Ann @ Happy and Healthy Cooking, Biz @ Biggest Diabetic Loser, and Kerstin @ Cake, Batter, and Bowl . Please email me your contact information at natasha@5starfoodie.com to receive your prize.

Artichoke Cannelloni

photo courtesy of YC Media

It is artichoke season and what better way to use those fresh artichokes than in a delicious pasta dish! In the The Silver Spoon: Pasta cookbook there are more than 13 easy-to-make and delicious artichoke dishes. One of them is these wonderful Artichoke Cannelloni.

Recipe From The Silver Spoon: Pasta, Phaidon Press 2009

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 55 minutes
Serves 4

Basic Cannelloni Recipe

Preparation time: 35 minutes, plus 1 hour resting
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Makes 12 cannelloni

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, preferably Italian type 00
(Note: I used the 00 flour from The Sausage Debauchery)
4 eggs
Salt

Sift the flour into a mound on a counter and make a well in the center. Break the eggs into the well and add a pinch of salt. Knead thoroughly, then roll out on a lightly floured counter into a thin sheet. Cut into 4-inch squares. Cook the pasta squares, a few at a time in plenty of salted boiling water for a few minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, refresh under cold running water, and spread out on a clean dish towel to dry. They are then ready for your chosen filling.

1 quantity Cannelloni (see recipe above)

For the filling:
4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing
Juice of ½ of lemon, strained
6 globe artichokes
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Scat 1 cup beef stock
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 quantity béchamel sauce (see recipe below)
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400⁰F and grease an ovenproof dish with butter. Half-fill a large bowl with water and stir in the lemon juice. Break off the artichoke stalks and remove and discard the coarse outer leaves. Thinly slice, discarding the chokes, then add the acidulated water to avoid discoloration.

Melt the butter in a pan. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Drain the artichokes, add to the pan, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle in the flour and nutmeg and stir well to mix. Gradually pour in the stock, stirring until smooth and thoroughly combined, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat, let cool slightly, then transfer the mixture to a food processor, and process until smooth. Alternatively, push the mixture through a meat grinder. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, if necessary. Stir in the egg, and a little Parmesan, and béchamel sauce.

Spread a little artichoke mixture on each cannelloni square and roll up. Put them into the prepared dish in a single layer, pour the remaining béchamel sauce over and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes, then serve.

Béchamel Sauce

3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 ¼ cups lukewarm milk

Melt the butter in a pan. Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Gradually stir in the milk, a little at a time. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, lower the heat, and simmer gently, stirring constantly, for 20 minutes until thickened and smooth.

***

For a chance to win THE SILVER SPOON: PASTA cookbook, enter this month's 5 Star Makeover - see details in the announcement post!

National Garlic Day Giveaway

Today is National Garlic Day, and if you love garlic, you will enjoy the crunchy snacks from New York Style®. These delicious garlic-flavored snacks include the following:

• NEW: Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Risotto Chips™ are the first snack to be made with Arborio rice, the star ingredient of risotto, and are gluten-free and all-natural.
  
  
  
  
• Roasted Garlic Bagel Crisps® are the original New York Style snack -- most famous for their hearty crunch!
  
  
  
  
• Roasted Garlic and Herb Focaccia Sticks™ offer up popular Italian focaccia bread in finger-friendly twice-baked sticks.
  
  
  
  
• Garlic Pita Chips are made from authentic Mediterranean pocket bread and are the perfect any-time snack.
  
  
  

New York Style® sent me all of these snacks to sample and I thought all of them were excellent. If you would like a chance to try these snacks, please leave me a comment about your favorite dish with garlic! I will randomly choose THREE winners, each to receive 4 bags of New York Style Snacks (Garlic Bagel Crisps, Parmesan & Roasted Garlic Risotto Chips, Roasted Garlic & Herb Focaccia Sticks, Garlic Pita Chips). The samples can only be shipped within US but everyone can participate to win a gift sample for a relative or a foodie friend with a US residence. The deadline to enter the giveaway is Wednesday, April 21, and I will announce the winners the following day.

About New York Style: New York Style® premium deli snacks are famous for their authenticity, twice-baked crunch and great taste. From Bagel Crisps® and Pita Chips to Panetini® Italian toast, Crispini® flatbread, Biscotti, Focaccia Sticks™ and now new Risotto Chips -- New York Style’s products capture the warmth of traditional New York bakeries. New York Style snacks are all-natural and baked, making them perfect for special entertaining occasions or as ‘healthier-for-you' snacks right out of the bag. For more information, great recipes and usage ideas, visit us at www.newyorkstyle.com, become a fan of New York Style on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

International Incident Party: Wild Little Plum Pizza Pie

This month's theme for the new International Incident Party hosted by Penny @ Jeroxie.com is Pizza Pie. The concept is open to interpretation: it could be a term referring to any kind of classic pizza, or it could be a Chicago-style deep dish pizza. I decided to go with Penny's original intention which was a dish that a cross between a pizza and a pie. In fact, my Wild Little Plum Pizza Pie with Pecorino Sardo, Almonds, Prosciutto, and Rosemary is actually a cross between a sweet pie and a savory pizza. It may sound strange but I have to say this creation was absolutely fantastic. The combination of sweet and savory flavors really worked well and the secret to success was definitely my special ingredients.

I got a lovely package from The Sausage Debauchery, an excellent store featuring high quality Artisanal Italian food products with two key ingredients that were the basis of my pizza pie. First, I got the "00" flour. This special very refined flour is produced in Naples which is the birth place of pizza. It is used for authentic pizza and pasta recipes.



I used the "00" flour to make my dough but instead of the pizza dough I actually made a pie crust dough with it. The resulting pie crust was excellent!

The second ingredient from The Sausage Debauchery was a rare seasonal SiGi jam of Wild Little Plums, produced in the in the Marche region of Italy. This special jam has a deep intense aroma and taste of plums, both sour and sweet, it pairs well with savory flavors. I used the Wild Little Plum Jam as my base instead of tomato sauce.



The label on the jam advised to serve it with Sardinian pecorino which is exactly the cheese I've decided to use for my pizza pie. Specifically, we found an authentic Percorino Sardo in Wegmans from Sardinia, called Pinna Santa Teresa Cheese. This cheese is young, only aged for about 30 days. It is mild, smooth, and creamy. Santa Teresa cheese has wonderful delicate sweet flavors with hints of lemon and herbs. This cheese was fantastic paired with the plum jam.



On top of the cheese, I also added almonds, prosciutto, and a sprinkling of rosemary to enhance the complexity of flavors and textures of the pizza pie.



This combination of ingredients was magical and the result was incredible!



A perfect wine to go with this pizza pie is the Agriolas Costera, a very fine wine from Agriolas region of Italy. This wine features the Cannonau grape, more commonly known as Grenache.

Ingredients:

2 cups "00" flour
2/3 stick butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup ice water

4 tablespoons SiGi Jam of Wild Little Plums
2 1/2 - 3 cups of grated Pinna Santa Teresa
1/2 cup prosciutto
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 sprig of rosemary

Directions:

Add flour, butter, and vegetable oil in a food processor and pulse until the texture resembles a resembles coarse meal. Add the ice water by spoonfulls, continuing to pulse, until the dough holds together. Take the dough out of the processor and knead by hand to form a disc. Cover in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured into a 10-inch round. Place over a 9-inch pie dish (lightly greased with nonstick cooking spray) and trim the extra dough.

Spread the jam all over the bottom, then fill with cheese. Top with almonds, prosciutto, and sprinkle with rosemary.

Bake the pizza pie for about 30 minutes on 375°F or until the cheese and the crust are golden.

***

Please wish Happy Birthday to our host Penny and check out what the other participants are making for the International Incident Pizza Pie Party:

• Divina (Sense & Serendipity) - Breakfast Pizza
• Christine – Christine’s Recipes - BBQ Chicken Pizza
• Mardi – Eat, Live, Travel, Write - Asparagus Pesto & Chicken Pizza
• Trix – Tasty Trix - Lángos
• Conor - Hold the Beef - Poached Pear Pizza Pie
• Shirley – Enriching your kid - Wholemeal Spiced Veg Pizza
• Natasha – 5 Star Foodie - Wild Little Plum Pizza Pie
• Ozoz – Kitchen Butterfly -
• Anges – Off the spork - Pizza Pie, Pie Pizza and Pizza Cupcakes
• Joanne – Second Helping -Mushroom & Taleggio and Signore Lupo Pizzas
• Celeste – Berry Travels - Pizza Pie with Lasagne Filling
• Stephanie - Momofuku for 2 - One dough, four ways
• Shao - Fried Wontons for You -
• Ahn – A food Lover’s Journey - Chicken and Kimchi Pizza
• Cherry – Sweet Cherry Pie -Pizza Pie & Pie Pizza
• Tracey - Tangled Noodle – Irish Pan Pizza
• Evelyne - Cheap Ethnic Eatz - Foie Gras a la Evelyne de Cochon and Pear & Fig Coconut Custard Pizza Pies
• Jessica - Yum-O-Rama - Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese Pizza
• Emma – Cake Mistress – Dessert Pizza: Strawberry Galette with White Chocolate and Basil Cream
• Mark – Cafe Campana – Breakfast Calzone
• Cool Lassi(e) – Pan Gravy Kadai Curry – Fast Fusion Pizza

Cuisinart Immersion Blender Winner

Thank you all for participating in the Cuisinart Immersion Blender Giveaway! Please tune in on Monday for another cool giveaway and of course don't forget to participate in this month's 5 Star Makeover for a chance to win the Silver Spoon: Pasta cookbook. Also, I do apologize for the lack of recipes this week, but I will have a terrific dish for you tomorrow night for the new International Incident Party.

The winner of the Cuisinart immersion blender is Tana @ Cheap Appetite. Please email me your contact information at natasha@5starfoodie.com to receive your prize.

5 Star Makeover Announcement: Pasta

If you are having a busy spring season like me this year, pasta is a delicious and easy way to incorporate all of the wonderful spring ingredients. In fact, pasta is great all year round and it can be made it all kinds of creative ways.

This month's 5 Star Makeover Challenge is to create a PASTA dish with a twist. You can make any kind of pasta (homemade or purchased) and incorporate many different kinds of ingredients in various combinations to create interesting flavors, sweet or savory, inspired by any number of cuisines of the world.

For this makeover, I will select a winner and the winner will receive a special prize provided by YC Media - THE SILVER SPOON: PASTA cookbook!



This cookbook is the continuation of the classic Italian cookbook, The Silver Spoon and presents a collection of 360 definitive pasta recipes for all fans of this tasty Italian staple. The recipes include the most popular pasta dishes from The Silver Spoon, along with hundreds of new recipes from every region of Italy -- collected by the same team, and published in English for the first time. The recipes in THE SILVER SPOON PASTA range from cozy family favorites like Spaghetti Alla Carbonara and Bucatini with Fried Bread Crumbs, to more elaborate creations, yet nearly all can be made in 30 minutes or less. Ideal for any kind of occasion and created for both the novice cook and the gourmet, this cookbook includes step-by-step instructions for dishes simple to prepare in any kitchen.

To participate, please post about your creation mentioning "5 Star Makeover" and linking to this post or you can copy and paste this code to insert the new 5 Star Makeover logo as follows:

<a href="http://www.fivestarfoodie.com/2010/04/5-star-makeover-announcement-pasta.html"><img src="http://5starfoodie.com/images/makeover0410.jpg" width="110"></a>

Then, send me an email at natasha@5starfoodie.com or leave a comment here with a link to your blog post. Please send your entries by Sunday, May 2. The round-up will be posted on Monday, May 3.

The chances are you have probably already made a creative pasta dish. If you already posted about it, just leave a comment with a link to your post right now!

My own entry for this 5 Star Makeover is the Morel Fettuccine with Spinach Ribbons and Crispy Shallots I made last week for the Morel Recipe Challenge on MarxFoods.com.


Don't forget to enter the Cuisinart Immersion Blender Giveaway!

Cuisinart Immersion Blender Giveaway

Today I have a pleasure to host a giveaway sponsored by CSN Stores, online sites that offer an excellent selection of items, such as kids beds, fitness equipment, and of course cookware, including all the essential kitchen tools.

One essential tool in my kitchen is an immersion blender. I use it for my molecular gastronomy experiments, making foams and emulsions, and it is also wonderful for all kinds of sauces, blended soups, and smoothies. Another good thing about an immersion blender is that it requires only a quick rinse and no complicated cleanup is necessary.

Here are some of the recipes in which I used my immersion blender:

• Seared Scallops with Meyer Lemon Caviar Emulsion
  
• Citrus Honey Coconut Sorbet
  
• Carrot Wolfberry Super Soup
  
• POM Nectarine Frozen Foam
  
• Butternut Squash "Chocolate Spice" Soup
  
• Rhubarb "Sushi" with Mint Mousse and Foam
  
• White Asparagus Soup with Lemongrass and Almonds
  
• Guilt-Free Chocolate Milkshake
  
• Strawberry Oat Basil Smoothie with a Duo of Foams
  

Which one is your favorite? Leave me a comment with an answer and you will be eligible for a random drawing to win this Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender.



With this blender Whisk and Chopper attachments are also included. The blender can be shipped within United States and Canada but my international readers can still participate to send a gift sample to someone, a relative or a foodie friend, residing in US or Canada. The deadline for this giveaway is Thursday, April 15. I will announce the winner the next day.

***

If you liked my Morel Fettuccine with Spinach Ribbons and Crispy Shallots, I would appreciate your vote in the Morel Recipe Challenge on MarxFoods.com. Please also check out all of the amazing recipes with morels created for this challenge.

Morel Fettuccine with Spinach Ribbons and Crispy Shallots

Fresh wild morel mushrooms are now in season and it would be so nice to be able to cook with them. Marx Foods is hosting their 2nd Annual Morel Recipe Challenge and a winner will get two pounds of fresh morels! For the challenge, I got a sample of dried morel mushrooms from Marx Foods to develop my recipe. These dried morel mushrooms are excellent as they have a wonderful smoky aroma with terrific earthy flavors. For my morel dish, I wanted to highlight these flavors using the morel mushrooms in three different ways.

First, I turned some of my morel mushrooms into a powder and mixed the powder into the homemade pasta dough. The resulting pasta had a pretty chocolate specked color and was incredibly flavorful even by itself. I topped the pasta with reconstituted morels, sauteed in butter, along with crispy shallots and crunchy fresh baby spinach, cut in thin ribbons, to contrast in texture with tender mushrooms and fettuccine. I made my creamy sauce with the water reserved from reconstituting morels which after reducing and addition of bourbon, added the slightly sweet smoky notes to the dish. The scrumptious flavors of morels were in every bite!

Ingredients: (4 servings)

1 oz dried morel mushrooms
1 1/4 cup flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons minced shallots
6 tablespoons butter

1 cup of reserved water from reconstituting morels
1/4 cup Bourbon or brandy
1/2 cup cream
Salt, pepper to taste

2/3 cup Baby spinach, cut up in thin ribbons

Directions:

Reserve 18-20 morel mushrooms and grind the rest to a fine powder to make about 3 tablespoons of morel powder. Combine with flour.

Whisk the eggs, salt, and olive oil together in a bowl. Place morel flour mixture in the electric mixer bowl with a dough hook. Pour the egg mixture slowly into the flour as it mixes until the dough forms a ball. Dust the dough ball with a little bit of additional flour if necessary. Using a pasta maker, roll out the dough and cut into fettuccine shape. Boil in the salted water about 3 or 4 minutes. Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon of butter.

Meanwhile, pour hot boiling water over the remaining dried morel mushrooms. Let the mushrooms sit for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. Strain, reserving the water.

In a skillet, melt butter. Add shallots and saute for a minute, then add morels. Saute, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and the shallots are crispy and golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.

In a saucepan, add 1 cup of reserved water from reconstituting the morels, and bourbon. Reduce by 1/2. Whisk in cream and cook for a few minutes on low heat until the sauce thickens a little. Season with salt and pepper. Strain.

Arrange the morels and spinach ribbons over the fettuccine and pout the cream sauce all over.