BC wild musrhooms - Chantrelle, Bolete, Pine? Why should you care?

Wild Mushroom Taste Test... go!
Ever smell your mushrooms? I'm not being crass, I'm serious. Those, white mushrooms that everyone buys at the store... smell them. Then, buy a shitake mushroom or a chantrelle, fresh or dried. Now, that's a mushroom. Here are some tasting notes of BC wild mushrooms that I got from Skookum Harvest Wild Foods, hand picked on Vancouver Island. I'm making a wild mushroom pate for the BC Wilds & Wine event coming up.

Porcini (King Bolete) From Price Smart on Kingsway St.
Aroma - musty, burnt sugar, meaty, horse Palate - buttery, mild

Porcini (King Bolete) From Skookum
Aroma - caramel, tar (in a good way) Palate - earthy, meaty, butter... powerful

Chantrelles
Aroma - sweet herbs, caramel, hay, strong and beautiful Palate - savoury, meaty, cloves, lemon flowers

Pine
Aroma - honeycomb toffee Palate - hay, buttery, mild

All Dried from skookum harvest unless listed otherwise...

Duck Maderia Pate with Creme Fraiche

This is a lovely fall snack or appetizer for those strange people like myself who love liver pate. The madeira is perfect to balance the savory with it's fruit. Wine pairing classically is Sautern (Sweet wine from France), I stand behind the pairing 100%. Seriously, try it.

Ingredients:
500 g duck liver
250 g chicken liver
30 ml butter(2 tbs)
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs chopped parsley
50 ml madeira (cognac/brandy or port are fine too)
25 ml whiskey (fruity or smokey!)
250 ml heavy cream
1 Tbs thyme
salt and pepper to taste

500 ml creme fraiche for topping
1 baguette cut into slices and toasted to serve pate on.

Directions:
Remove fat from liver if needed, chop liver into cubes. Melt butter, add onions and garlic, cover and cook on low 3 min. Add liver and spices, Season well with salt and pepper. Cook 10 min over low until meat is cooked through. Bring heat up to high and cook till moisture has evaporated. Add whiskey and flambe(light alcohol with match and cook till flame dies down), be careful!

Puree mixture in food processor or blender. Pour puree into double boiler, add port and cream. Stir and retaste, season with salt and pepper. Cook 10 min on low heat. Remove from stove and serve on toast with a dollop of creme fraiche on top.