The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

This is the season when wild mushrooms bloom: the rich, ribbed, bulbous, billowy fungus you'll find in your supermarket produce department and Farmers Markets in an array of colors and textures. Being harvested right now in parts of northern California and Oregon, wild mushrooms flourish where a cool, rainy climate is ideal for growth.

As a Chef, I prize the Hedgehog mushroom for its versatil- ity, firm texture and spicy hints of black pepper, coffee and chocolate. The Matsutake mushroom is revered for its spicy flavor and, if forging for yourself, the yellow chanterelle, reminiscent of apricot, is a good first mushroom to hunt. The Porcini mushroom, the most popular mushroom here is the earthiest when dried and also versatile when sliced and grilled with a squiggle of extra virgin olive oil, earning the reputation as the "poor man's mushroom." The black trumpet mushroom and its demure shape packs a wallop in fruitiness. And last but not least, the yellowfoot mushroom is both sweet and salty, finishing to a beautiful wine and mushroom reduction.

I do recommend taking a horticultural class or joining a local mycological society before hunting mushrooms. And learn your trees, because mushrooms have a symbiotic rela- tionship. For example: the prized chanterelle is commonly found in the sandy loom of the Douglas fir forest.

If serving wine with this year's Thanksgiving dinner, your choice might be a classic bubbly rosé, the exceptional depth of a spicy zinfandel or a regional wine suggestion: the 2011 Forgeron Grenache Syrah Mourvedre, with its giant aromat- ics.

Winemaker Marie-Eve Gilla has fashioned this limited blended wine after the south of France Rhone wines of the Gigondas AOC, considered the little brother of the presti- gious Chateauneauf-du-Pape. The Forgeron 2011 Grenache Syrah Mourvedre swirls in cracked mélange of peppercorns, planked cedar, rich boysenberries and chopped black cher- ries, finishing on the tongue in a puddle of dark chocolate. A $30.00 bottle of regional wine in Forgeron's tasting rooms: 33 West Birch Street, Downtown Walla Walla, 509-522-9463 and Woodinville, Washington, 14344 Woodinville-Redmond Road, 425-242-8872.

Readers, until next week, "Eat Art, Drink Imagination!"

Mushrooms Coated in Cranberry Chili

2-lbs. pre-sautéed sliced porcini mushrooms: hold warm

3-tbsp. Canola oil

1/2-tsp. mustard seeds

¼-tsp. turmeric

1-tsp.curry powder

2-cups fresh cranberries

1 ½ -cups chopped cilantro

5-serrano chilies chopped

1-tsp. white sugar

1 ½-tsp. coarse salt

¼-water

In a fry pan over medium heat, add canola oil and, when shimmering, add mustard seeds to pop: about two minutes. Lower heat, add remaining ingredients; sauté, stirring five minutes. Add entire sauté ingredients to food processor; add ¼-cup water; pulse to chunky. Place warm sautéed mush- rooms on a platter, drizzle Cranberry Chili over all, and serve paired with a bottle of 2011 Grenache Syrah Mourvedre for a "scrummy" fall pairing.

For more recipes, color photos and Moveable Feasts Ca- tering ideas: www.chefjudithhenderson.com.