Found Chanterelles!!!!!

[shroomgirl]

Yesterday I went out for chanterelles, first time this year...the season can run through Aug. anyway I found about 1/2 plastic grocery bag full. 2 dz about 3" in diameter most an inch-inch and 1/2....
What do you do with Chanterelles?

[Anneke]

..used them last weekend with goat cheese to stuff phyllo triangles for hors d'oeuvres. Yummm...

[shroomgirl]

I've got farmers bringing in squash with blossoms and thought a mousse using sauteed chanterelles and goat cheese with tarragon with whipped egg whites folded in would be glorious piped into the blossom and then cooked in alittle oil and butter...ummmmmm
or tempura....gotta watch the cheese sepage though.

[Anneke]

Wow! how lucky you are! I can't find those squash blooms anywhere! (except in people's gardens in Little Italy)

[Kimmie]

Chanterelles for Shroom. How about

Crispy Polenta Cakes with Wild Mushroom Ragoût

1 cup coarse polenta
½ cup Parmigiano Regiano Cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. Chanterelles, or mixed fresh wild mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
3 cups chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
2 cups all-purpose flour for dusting polenta
1 cup olive oil for frying
Freshly ground pepper
Salt


Polenta
Bring 6 cups (48 fl oz) of water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and slowly add the polenta in a shower, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Change to a wooden spoon and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the spoon stands in the polenta, 15 to 25 minutes. Add the Parmigiano and 2 tablespoons of the butter and mix well.

Season with salt and pepper. Immediately spread the polenta in a buttered 9- x 9-inch pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and refrigerate. Combine the parsley and garlic and chop together until very fine. Reserve.

Mushroom Ragoût
In a large skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter with the extra-virgin olive oil over high heat. Add the wild mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and the mushroom liquid has evaporated, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and set aside. Add the chicken stock, cream, garlic, and parsley to the pan and simmer to reduce by half, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Score the polenta into six 3 x 4 ½-inch squares. Halve each square diagonally to make 2 triangles. Remove from the pan and toss the polenta triangles carefully in flour to dust them lightly.

Heat ½ inch of olive oil in a large, deep frying pan until the oil sizzles and a tiny piece of polenta turns golden on contact, 375ºF. Add a few of the polenta triangles and cook, turning occasionally, until golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

To serve, place 2 hot polenta triangles on each plate. Warm the mushroom ragoût and spoon over the polenta.

Serve immediately.

Wine Suggestion
Chardonnay or Pinot Noir (from California)

[shroomgirl]

Reads wonderfully, I like to add mascarpone to finish off my polenta.

[bouland]

I like them cooked with snails. This recipe -- fricassée d’escargots et champignons sauvages -- is great with chanterelles instead of the shiitake and oyster mushrooms I use when I feel cheap.

[shroomgirl]

savage shrooms!!! I love it.
What most folks don't know is that chanterelles are not cultivated, they all come from the woods!!!
Yummmmmmmmy, but oh so great when you find them yourself.

[rjhunt]

I love to make chanterelle pizza. Thinly slice chanterelles and saute them in a little butter and olive oil with pancetta and shallots. Use a thin crust pizza, brushed with olive oil, then topped with moz. cheese, gruyere, and p. regianno. Sprinkle with a little of Pensey's pizza seasoning. Add your sauted chanterelles, shallots, and pancetta. Bake in a hot oven on a pizza stone. It is fantastic!

[shroomgirl]

guyere goes great with chanterelles...I love the nutty with the apricoty flavor....

Anneke mentioned having a hard time finding squash blossoms. Go to your local farmer's market and get to know the people who are bringing squash. Wait until the season is well underway (so picking the blossoms won't hurt the squash production). Ask them if they could bring some squash blossoms the next week. If they act uninitiated, asked them to put the stems in water as they would other flowers to keep them fresh.

While in Mexico I had squash blossom soup. Does anyone know how to make it?