Dane County Farmer’s Market is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year!
The Dane County Farmer’s Market, (DCFM), is a big part of our life. And I realized, for many of our regular customers, it’s also a big part of their life.
Because just as regular vendors make a market, so do regular customers. It’s a community.
So we are going to celebrate this community with an ongoing series.
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I’m happy I started this series as I’m learning so much more about DCFM customers.
Terese is editing the 50th anniversary DCFM cookbook. I didn’t know she was formerly a professional chef.
She upped the game on these questions by including a recipe. Thank you, Terese!
Name: Terese
How long have you been attending DCFM?
1974…that was when I first lived in Madison, but it was only for a summer. When I moved here again, in 1977, I started going to the market more regularly. I feel like a fixture now!
DCFM memory:
When I was chef at the Ovens of Brittany East, back in the mid-1980s, I’d go to the market before the restaurant opened on Saturdays, to get whatever looked good to me for the weekend menu specials. Very few vendors sold many fresh herbs at that time, but I could get big bagfuls of thyme springs, rosemary branches, sage leaves and such from one of them. We used them in our soups and entrees and garnished each of the finished plates with them. People loved that they got something other than the regular old parsley sprig, and many tucked theirs into a lapel or a purse to bring home and use in their own kitchens.
Curiousfarmer Favorite:
It’s too hard to pick one! Can I pick three? Chorizo links, uncured bacon and ground pork are the ones I use the most.
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This is what I’m going to make if I get lucky and find morels this season:
Spaghetti with Morels, Curious Farmer Bacon, Green Onions and Cream
8-10 ounces spaghetti
6-8 ounces bacon
1/2 pound fresh morels (or other mushrooms, like crimini), cleaned, halved and dried between paper towels
1 bunch green onions, sliced in half lengthwise and cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, garlic chives or green garlic, divided
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, cook bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Discard all but about 2-3 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Use a fairly high flame to saute the morels in the hot fat in batches (don’t crowd the pan!) until tender. Add the green onions, rosemary and about half of the chives. Stir and cook about 1 minute. Remove to a bowl.
Boil pasta until tender. Meanwhile, add heavy cream to the hot skillet and boil to reduce it by about 3/4. Stir in the bacon and morel mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
Drain pasta when it is tender, saving some of the pasta water to use if needed. Toss pasta with the sauce; if it’s too thick, thin it with some of the pasta water. Sprinkle pasta with remaining chives and serve immediately.
Curiousfarmer 
That Morel pasta dish sounds awesome