Sassafras

[saf]

Undone Chocolate desserts are off to a great start. the flourless torte turned into a flourless chocolate sassafras cake; kinda reminiscent of a root beer float but somehow i got banana flavors in there? Maple-Chocolate creme brulee is also bomb.

In addition, this weekend I am doing three dishes for two:

Veal breast, mushroom, and chard roulade, with twice baked mashed lemon-caper potatoes, grapefruit-glazed charred sunchokes, and madeira jus.

Pork Shank "Ossobucco" with stewed fregula, braised rapini, cannellini bean puree, and fennel gremolata.

Riesling-Braised Guinea Hen stuffed with chestnuts, cranberries and celery leaves, served with wild rice, celery root, caraway butter and caraway seed gastrique.

Finally, we will host the makers of Undone Chocolate Sunday night at 10pm. Come out for desserts, tasting flights, pairings, chocolate cocktails, and spiked hot chocolate after V-day dinner. And Willy Wonka (original) murdering children.

Sassafras?

I love sassafras. I used to dig up the roots down by the railroad track and make delicious tea out of them (really). Sadly, I cannot find a good source of sassafras roots here.

But I hate banana.

[PollyG]

You'll find it in the woods in this region.  I have never seen any sassafras sold commercially with the exception of file powder for gumbo. 

[farmer john]

Tests found that giving lab rats copious amounts (many many times what anyone would encounter in any actual application) of safrole (active ingredient) increased their odds of cancer. At that point all the yummy things made from sassafras got pulled off the market. They have since backtracked a bit to allow for leaf but not bark or root- thus the file.

I have lots of sassafras in the woods here on the farm- have been making my own file from leaves for a few years but have not been industrious enough to dig up any roots.

[saf]

have not been industrious enough to dig up any roots.

Since they propagate with runners, we always walked out from the big tree, found a little one, pulled it up, thus pulling the root up, and worked our way back toward the big tree, eventually clipping it. That was the easiest way.

You'll find it in the woods in this region. 

I live in Petworth - I don't really know where to find woods that aren't a national park. I'm not so good at that nature thing.