Yams and Candy Caps

This dish takes advantage of the intense maple-syrup aroma of Lactarius fragilis. The candy cap is a mushroom whose smell alone makes any dish seem sweet. Your friends will think you have been burning brown sugar incense. The remaining ingredients simply carry the smell. By the way, you can also add candy caps to a more traditional sweet potato casserole for a holiday treat.

• 2 lbs. yams (small)
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 5 oz. Lactarius fragilis (2-3 cups)
• 1 sweet pepper, chopped and seeded, or 2-3 sweet Annaheim peppers
• 1/4 cup marsala wine
• 4 Tbsp. butter

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Peel the yams, place in a covered casserole dish and microwave for 10 minutes (or without a microwave, boil for 10 minutes, let cool then peel.) Allow the yams to cool until they are safe to handle. Cut them into disks and return them to the casseriole. Cook the shallots for a few minutes in 1 Tbsp. butter, until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Spread mushrooms and shallots over the top of the yams in the casserole, sprinkle in the pepper pieces, then place squares of butter around on top. Splash with the marsala wine. Cover and bake at 350ºF for 35 minutes.