Morels! In my front yard!

I have seen dried morels -- another option?

Sautee that one lucky shroom in a kitchen ladle over the stove, with a pat of butter

Wow! What a treasure! A friend has the opposite problem--she came running in to my work to show me the morel she found in her parents' yard on Sunday. What do you do with one morel?

GORGEOUS! What a treasure! Why don't you marinate them as is, uncooked, in olive oil with aromatics (thyme, bay) and a little balsamic, then serve them on steaming pasta when your husband is back? et us know how it goes!

Holy S***T!! Those are gorgeous! Your husband will simply be out of luck. Those would never last more than a day in my house!!

Those are beauts! I once worked at a nice place, with kind of a campus-like feel. There were morels every year until they ruined it with a new building smack in the middle of the morel site. Enjoy them--I guess you'd better get at it if you're going to make the EP deadline.

Crossing my fingers that they come back next year!

Waow, those look amazing. I've hunted many mushrooms in my day and morels are one of the easiest (not to find, by any means, but to be certain that is what you have once you happen upon those adorable little fungi). I'm a bit jealous of your bounty.

Def. morels and beauties at that! Congrats on a great find.

Here's just one

Another try

Ah ha! I figured out how to send the photos from my camera (I'm a dummy).

They're definitely morels, yellow ones. If I could find my camera, I'd upload a photo of my booty, but my kids have been making movies lately... I think I will try the EP pick with some, but save the rest. If they start disintegrating, I'll fry them up on Thursday and save them in the fridge. Thanks all!

PS. I'd use half of them to make the EP candidate recipe & save the rest in a paper bag in the fridge. I think they'd likely make it to Friday that way (though no guarantee.)

Wow! There is a group called "false morels," and some of them are toxic. Their heads are wrinkled or smooth rather than having the ridges and pits that are typical of real morels. Also, the edges of their caps are attached to the stalk. But they do look similar to a novice, so get a firm identification.

If you're going to pick and keep them for several days, wrap them loosely in waxed paper and keep them in the vegetable drawer in your refrigerator. prettyPea's plan to cook them now and eat them later is also a good way to go.

And now that you've found them once, you should be on the look out every spring!

If you know what morels look like you are not likely to mistake them for another mushroom, and like PrettyPeas said the false morels are NOT hollow (and really don't look that much like a true morel.) I'm betting ChefJune's reference is to one of the Amanitas - some delcious & edible varieties which have very, very, very similar imposters that are delicious but will destroy your liver. I'm a decent amateur mycologist, and have no qualms about eating what I've collected, BUT I don't go near the Amanitas (or anything that remotel resembles an Amanita!)

Absolutely with ChefJune on this.. Please make sure that they are edible..I'd never be able to get over the guilt if these caused the slightest adverse reaction..

First, I would hope you will make VERY sure they are morels and not some poisonous imposter. A friend of mine's son, who was quite a mushroom expert, sadly died from eating a poisonous imposter (not of a morel, another variety). And I would NOT like to hear that you even had an upset tummy.

Then, when you are sure they're okay, call me up and I'll be right othere to help you "take care" of them. ;)

Thank you SOO much, ur a lifesaver!!, yes i believe the deadline is 5 pm, but maybe if I get down on my knees & write a 'begging' email, they would extend it.. Please Amanda & Merill!!??

Tom, I picked them as soon as I saw them, mostly for fear that someone else would come along and take them! They were close enough to the sidewalk, and ours is very much a walking community.

Panfusine, those sound really delicious, I'll try them. Is the deadline tonight?

Mushrooms require the utmost caution. In Italy if you pick them you might take them down to the local pharmacist for inspection. But of course that's a country of funghi lovers.

Sorry Sarah K. here's the link
http://www.food52.com/recipes/11030_mamas_morels_fried_in_butter

A pound is quite a find!! I was thrilled when I found six or so underneath my parents pines. The great thing about morels (besides the flavor) is that they are one of the easiest to distinguish from any other mushrooms that might be harmful--the site Peter linked is really helpful--the false morel doesn't really look that much like a morel, and it isn't hollow like a true morel.
As to your question, I find them best when simply sauteed in butter. I often pass by morels at the grocery store because they look dried out and have some possible rotting spots on them, but I don't know how many days they've been there. It seems like a safe bet to me to sautee in butter and store refrigerated until you husband gets back (after trying a sample, of course). That would alleviate the drying problem. I haven't stored sauteed morels this way, but I have with large batches of cremini destined for crostini and they turned out fine.

Have you harvested them yet? If not, you might want to leave them along until Thurs or Fri then cut them.

Which recipe is it?

I know this is hardly a foodpickle answer, but would you be willing to try this EP recipe out and post tasting notes on it please. I had volunteered for this only to find out that the fresh morels decided to (possibly) retreat back underground in the state of NJ at this time. Only dried ones hanging from little bags & apparently they will not work! been scouring the markets & calling around, no luck till today!!

Don't have answers to your specific questions but be 100% sure they're morels -- we'd hate to lose a member of the Food52 community to lookalike mushrooms. With that in mind, this website seems to do a good job of helping you identify morels.. and false morels:

http://thegreatmorel.com/falsemorel.html