Over the past week, my good friend Joni has passed along 2 bags full of chanterelle mushrooms. She and her partner Ed have found a new picking location loaded with these wonderful orange jewels of the forest. The have been gathering for the past two weeks, filling fridge and freezer with freshly sautéed shrooms for a later date. We lucked out by receiving the gift via brown paper bag. Will the picking continue? Probably not. The weather has not been cooperative this past week. Our temps have dipped as low as 9 degrees, almost unheard of in our rainy climate. The frigid temps have most likely destroyed the remaining crops left under the Douglas Fir trees. Fall closed quickly and winter has arrived.
My first chanterelle recipe was for a soup. Not bad but I probably added too much broth. No photos of the concoction.
Meal #2 was the Chanterelle and Leek Quiche. Kind of a mix between the tart recipe Joni passed along but mixed with my standard quiche recipe. Altered slightly to fit the pie dish.
Wild mushrooms require cleaning. Their gills hold bits of forest dirt and fir needles (and possibly some creepy crawlers too!). I like to add fresh cracked black pepper to the mix during the saute to hide any remaining flecks of dirt.
The cleaned mushrooms were too beautiful!
The leeks were prepared next. Cleaned and cut.
The ingredients were then sautéed separately in a skillet with butter. A basic swiss cheese was grated for the mixture. I probably would use a little stronger swiss, like Emmental, for the next time.
Mushrooms, leeks and cheese are ready. The small cup above the bowls was created by artist friend Sandy Segna. We purchased cups and a large wall hanging from her and partner/potter Ted Ernst during their studio sale. Sandy’s cups are now used for wine and Ted’s are used for beer. The bowls were created by me.
The pie crust was rolled out using a 22oz beer bottle. All rolling pins started life in the kitchen but have migrated to ceramics area. If Dave ever made pie dough, we might still have one residing in the food area.
It was a very tasty quiche for dinner and several breakfasts. Thanks Joni & Ed!
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