[brighidsdaughter]

I'm calling on the collective C&Z wisdom here. I've decided to make mushroom risotto for T'giving. Found some dried mushrooms in the freezer, forestiere mixture from Whole Foods, to be precise. I put them to soak in water that was at the boiling point, as usual, covered the bowl, and let them sit. After 90 minutes of soaking, they are quite tough -- like chewing rubber bands! Broth smells wonderful though. I still have plenty of other mushrooms for the risotto, but would like to include the varieties found in this mixture. I've never had this problem before. Any advice, short of making another run to the store? Thanks.

[Rainey]

I'm a little stumped. I thought where you were going was to say they more or less dissolved in the hot water. I use room temp water, myself.

Shitake stems can be quite tough. Were there shitakes in the mixture? Do you think they may have been over-generous with the stems? Were all the mushrooms of more or less equal toughness? Is picking through and being a little selective an option? Do you think chopping them up quite fine would do the trick? After all, they'll cook a little more in the risotto.

I love porcini risotto. Never had a problem with that.

Hope your finished risotto is yummy!