Morel mushroom fever! (and a recipe)

My parents made me a morel-lover-for-life. Growing up in rural Missouri, we spent many springs celebrating the beloved, mysterious, elusive morel. I actually had dreams about them.

The problem is... when I grew up and tried to hunt for them myself, all I ended up with was a bunch of ticks. I'm sure I did something wrong.

One year I got so excited that I spent nearly $50 on morels at the Des Moines farmers market. On my way back from Iowa to southern Missouri, I stopped at my parents' house to fry them up. My husband had never had them...and I kept telling him, "You'll love these!!"

Unfortunately, the morels were old or something. We all ended up with bubble guts. So now, my husband's impressions of morels are "meh".  It's a shame.

So, this year, I'm hoping we can make the trip to Muscoda for the 33rd annual morel mushroom festival. People keep saying the weather has been great for mushrooms but what do I know?

We always fried the morels but there are a lot of great recipes out there. I nabbed this one from the folks spreading the word about this year's festival. 

Morel cheese lava:

• 8 oz. wheel of KASE MEISTER wild morel and leek jack shredded (*found here)
• 4 oz. swiss cheese shredded
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 4 oz. (or more) clean chopped morels
• dash of salt and pepper
• silvered almonds (optional for crunch factor) 
  

Mix the three cheeses and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl until blended, add the morel pieces and stir to incorporate. Spoon the mixture into a shallow baking dish. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir half way through the baking process. It's done when the cheese is melted. Serve warm with crackers!