CREAMY BABY BELLA SAUCE

Makes: about 1 ½ cups

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ pound fresh baby bella or button mushrooms, thinly sliced

¼ cup dry white wine or vermouth

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

4 or 6 fresh (or reconstituted dried) small morel mushrooms, halved, optional

1 tablespoon drained capers

½ teaspoon dried porcini powder, optional ½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or ¼ teaspoon dried

Salt, freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup mascarpone or heavy (whipping) cream, plus more as needed

1 or 2 skinny green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced

1 . Heat a 1 0 -inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and ½ pound sliced mushrooms. Saute until nicely golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add ¼ cup dry white wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.

2. Add 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves and cook 1 minute. Add 4 to 6 halved morel mushrooms if desired, 1 tablespoon drained capers, ½ teaspoon dried porcini powder and ½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (or ¼ teaspoon dried). Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon fresh black pepper.

3 . Swirl in ¼ cup mascarpone or heavy cream until heated through. Add green onions.

4 . Cover and refrigerate up to several days. Reheat to serve, adding a little water (or more cream) to loosen the sauce as desired.

Notes: Baby bella mushrooms, aka cremini mushrooms, are simply small-sized portabella mushrooms. Their darker color and deeper flavor taste great here, but button mushrooms work, too. If you have access to morels, fresh or reconstituted dry, they add a superb flavor and texture as well.