ENCHANTERELLED

A pan of shallots and golden chanterelles cooks merrily away in clarified butter.

A few days ago, as I was prowling through the Cold Room at the local Costco in search of miscellaneous produce, something grabbed my attention hard enough to make me do a double-take.

It was a package of fresh chanterelle mushrooms - yellow-orange, trumpet-shaped beauties, a far remove from the usual button mushrooms or the meaty sliced portobellos. She Who Must Be Obeyed is a big fan of the sautéed mushroom, and I thought of how much she would enjoy a plate of these bad boys, properly prepared. Into my Shopping-Buggy they went.

This afternoon I schlepped out my trusty skillet, placing therein a small glob of clarified butter. After heating the pan over a medium flame, I added a goodly handful of minced shallots and sweated them down until translucent. Then, in went the ’shrooms, a sprinkle of kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.

Once the mushrooms had given up their (considerable) moisture, I let ’em dry out and brown a bit in the pan. Then, the finishing touch: a generous pour of fino sherry. (I could have used Madeira in lieu of the sherry if I had wanted a slightly sweeter dish.) As soon as the fortified wine reduced down to a glaze, it was time to serve the dish forth. Which I did, to the immense satisfaction of both me and the Missus.


Sautéed chanterelles, ready to serve. Mighty tasty!

We were enchanted. Nay: we were enchanterelled!