This was our first trip foraging for mushrooms.  With no experience, you need to simply avoid mushrooms that have gills underneath the caps.  It's also important to wait to consume anything until you get home; this allows you to consult a reference to confirm what you found and that it's harmless. 

I carried our child with a soft baby carrier, which are comfortable, safe, and let you include kids on your outings (and they often fall asleep).

Grifola frondosa grow in clusters at the base of trees, and apparently prefer oaks.  In Asian grocery stores they're called 'maitake', but most English-speaking folks refer to them as hen-of-the-woods since they do have some resemblance. 

This is where we found ours, and I couldn't believe the weight of the thing.  Definitely made a great first trip out foraging for 'shrooms, and hopefully we'll get another chance.  When you get home simply clean them and let dry; later they can be sauteed in a pan with butter, oil, or whatever you prefer.

Wow - that looks awesome Eric! What did it taste like?

It was excellent.  The cleaning was a bit more tedious than I expected, but I was just eager to try it!

I believe I sautéed it with butter or olive oil.  Probably on a standard pan, though these days it'd be cast iron no doubt!