Years before Los Alamos became the apple of every gastronome’s gut, Stephan Bedford celebrated all things mycological with an annual Mushroom Festival at his eponymous winery on Bell Street. Now, for its 13th year, the Mushroom Festival has thrown many spores, you might say, and will take over Los Alamos for the January 25-27 weekend.
The central event is still Mushrooms Gone Wild! at the Bedford Tasting Room on Saturday, January 26. Bedford and his team dish up all sorts of shroomy treats, from some simply grilled to a “rye-sotto” made with whole rye berries and mushrooms. “We try not to repeat our menus from year to year,” Bedford explained. “But fortunately there are hundreds of mushroom recipes.”
A devoted bibliophile, Bedford admits he likes to geek out researching cookbooks and guidebooks, and this year was happy to discover Oaxaca al Gusto by Diana Kennedy. From it, his team will make wild mushrooms in a yellow mole, about which he says, “Okay, now we’re talking!”