Bacon, Morels and Eggs

One my favorite parts of late Spring and early Summer in the Midwest, aside from reprieve from the character defining Winters, is searching for my favorite mushroom, morels.  My pops and I went out on a gorgeous day and scrounged around the forest floor for these gems.  Morels are probably one of the more sought after mushroom, obviously deferring to truffles, because they haven't really been successfully cultivated commercially and because of their unique flavor: smoky and woody with a meaty element as well. 

Morels are such a treat that I usually prepare them in a very simple way.  I used up most of my share of the morels on a cream and shallot sauce that topped some roasted cornish hens (mouthwatering mini chickens, mmmm).  Morels seem to react so well with cream and butter, the mushrooms gain a supple creamy body and then they in turn impart their wonderful characteristics into the sauce, making a velvety sauce that taste like the forest floor.  In any case, eggs also marry very well with morels and I needed to use up the remaining one before they dried out.  I figured our fennel and pepper cured bacon would add a little heft to the meal and the smoky element would naturally meld with the morels so I chopped up about four thick slices and then diced that.  Throw it on medium to low heat and render out as much fat as possible.  Add a couple tablespoons of butter and then your diced morels and sautee until soft and the mushrooms have absorbed most of the fat and butter.  Add your eggs with salt and pepper to taste, and briskly scramble to taste. I like mine just a little runny.  Toast up some nice bread and slather on butter and you have yourself a decadent breakfast perfect for lazy/ hungover mornings. 

As a note, if you ever want this meal when morels aren't in season or you don't have access to fresh morels dried morels make a decent substitute.  Be careful not to put too much water as they'll become overly soft because they're basically like little sponges.  Err on the side of less water when reconstituting.