As you’ve been reading BrokeAss Gourmet, some of you have probably been thinking of wines that will work with the dishes you’re going to whip up on a budget. Well, as discussed before, there are plenty of cheap (it’s not a bad word!) wines that can work but don’t be afraid to be adventurous in your picks.

What does that mean? Try wines from countries that you haven’t explored or perhaps that you would like to visit sometime, try a varietal that is new to you or replace a well known type of wine with something similar but for less money.

Start slowly in your wine adventures and find a Malbec from Argentina (they have rightly become much more popular and available recently) rather than settling for that grocery store Cabernet that you might have picked otherwise. Malbec makes an enjoyable wine, distinguished by plummy dark-fruit flavors, subtle tastes of the earth and good acidity, all of which makes it a good food wine.

An example of a great Malbec on a budget is Valle Perdido from Patagonia, although most will come from the Mendoza region. It was a huge hit at The Wine Mine during a Malbec tasting a few weeks ago. It costs only $10 ($12 most places), has wide appeal and can be served on it’s own or with a variety of foods. It has deep but accessible fruit, due to only moderate tannins, along with some light barrel overtones of vanilla and cedar. Other good choices are Zolo Malbec for $8.99 or a Crios (by Susanna Balbo) for $11.99. Although it can sometimes be hard to find the specific wines mentioned in articles, just find a good wine shop that is happy to help and ask for something like it in price and characteristic.

Go ahead and bring out your newly found Malbec with some lighter appetizers – it will work fine. If you want to spend a fortune in time and $s you can then pair it up with some fancy Thomas Keller dish or, much better, serve Gabi’s Seared Steak with Red Wine Sauce or evenReal Mac and Cheese or Black Bean Burgers with Sriracha Aioli . You’ll be glad you did!

Sometimes we’re in the mood for creamy, decadent comfort food at the end of the day. Other times (particularly if we’ve just gone running) we like to end the day with a big salad topped with protein. We eat this spicy salad with chicken and/or tofu, but when we’re feeling fancy and have a few extra bucks, we top it with grilled shrimp, pork, or salmon.

[Continued from Delicacies From Below: Part I of II]
If you eat mushrooms you find, you are doing so at your own risk. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this site is correct, the author and editors of BrokeAss Gourmet caution against the use of the information in any particular application and accept no responsibility or liability for errors, omissions or representations, expressed or implied, contained herein.

Several mushrooms are almost bewilderingly delicious, and in markets they start at about $15 per pound. Some are not even commercially available. Collect your own, and the only price you’ll pay is a walk in the woods. Actually, I prefer biking. In fact, it’s been my experience that riding a bike is the key to productive mushroom hunting. I have discovered at least a dozen consistent mushroom spots – of porcinis, parasols, princes, blewits – while on my moving bicycle. From a car, I never would have spotted them. And I can almost guarantee that a novice wouldn’t see them from a car. Walking is not much good, either; some of my Bay Area patches are 20 miles apart. On a bike, I can foray 40 miles – or as little as five – and be home with several pounds in just an afternoon.

The primary factor affecting mushroom growth is moisture. Mushrooms like it wet. Generally speaking, they rise when the rain falls – usually starting in November – though summer fog drip or irrigation can create hotspots from June through September. Effective mushroom hunters also must know their quarry and know their quarry’s habitat. Many wild mushrooms occur in close association with particular trees; porcini mushrooms, for example, are found almost exclusively within the root-spans of conifers. Ditto for parasols (L. rachodes). Chanterelles (genus Cantharellus) often occur among oaks.

Other favorite mushrooms are the porcini. I prefer it sautéed on low heat until browned. I also dry many and grind them into a seasoning powder with a mortar and pestle. The parasol (L. rachodes) is a white, mild mushroom. It has a shroomy taste like a standard button mushroom yet is far more complex. The prince (A. augustus) may be the best. Of the same genus as the Portobello, the prince is vastly superior. Twice as big, it smells and tastes of amaretto. I enjoy this one dipped in egg and seared like French toast.

For identification tips, visit www.mykoweb.com, one of the most reliable and informative mushroom websites – but never trust photos for a sure identification of a questionable specimen.

NOTE: Legality of mushroom harvesting is an issue to consider. In many public places, it is downright illegal. If you are caught, you could be fined hundreds of dollars. If you sell mushrooms without a license, you risk seeing the walls of a prison cell. Yet no one blinks if you pick blackberries. Go figure.

LAST NOTE: Treat your mushroom patch as you would your garden. Harvest its fruits as they rise, and consider yourself a steward of the land. Last summer, a productive prince patch of mine was destroyed when some idiot blue collars with the local park service chopped down a cluster of pine trees. I couldn’t do anything about it but cast them dirty looks as I passed on my bike. Nor could I stop the city gardeners in as a team of them doused my favorite L. rachodes patch with Round-Up this February to kill “weeds.”

And somehow, I’m the lawbreaker by harvesting the forest’s mushrooms.

You may remember wonton wrappers being used as fresh pasta in our vegetable lasagna recipe. Once again they work overtime by saving you money and giving the appearance of many hours slaved away over a pasta maker, turning out fresh noodles for your dinner companion. For a delicious BrokeAss appetizer, try boiling the raviolis, lightly pan-frying them in olive oil, and serving the marinara on the side as a dipping sauce.

Last night, under the guise of needing some photos (but also really just needing to get out of my apartment for the night), I headed to Haight Street in San Francisco to Hobson’s Choice, where my friend and BG contributer Laith Hassan bartends every weekend. The scene is always interesting—sort of a hybrid of Mission hipsters and Marina yuppies, all of whom flock to the Haight and Clayton Street location to sip the house punch, peruse the large selection of beers or, like me, order the delicious Dark and Stormies turned out by the skilled bar staff.

Hobson’s specializes in rums, so it’s no surprise that they make a particularly excellent Dark and Stormy (a blend of dark rum, ginger beer and lime). Ginger beer, with its dark, rich foam can be kind of pricey when purchased in bottles, but the good news is that it’s actually pretty easy to make.

It occurred to me, as I sipped my third (fourth?) Dark and Stormy, that a pitcher of this tasty elixir would make a fantastic addition to my next party. They’re sweet but not overwhelmingly so and would complement the bright, flavorful foods I tend to favor. Plus, as per Laith’s rules for party drinks, there are only a few ingredients in a Dark and Stormy—which means I don’t have to skimp on quality to serve a tasty drink. It is, however, important to buy quality dark rum for a Dark and Stormy, since its flavor is spotlit—but with all the money I’ll have saved by making my own ginger beer and making a tasty BrokeAss Appetizer, it will surely be doable.