Last Chanterelles of the season picked last weekend. Actually, the photo is from last weekend too, because there is another downside of foraging your own mushrooms (in addition to that you shouldn’t do it unless you know what you are doing!) and that is that foraging involves walking in areas that you share with other “things” — you know, other mammals not enthusiastic about your presence, creepy-crawly-slimy things like snakes and then run in that I had with a tick carrying the borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, that bit me and now I am battling lyme disease. It’s not been a fun week and I have spent most of it sleeping. I’ve described the illness as is triple mono with a side of cellulitis and a helping of meningitis. Wednesday, I slept for 22 hours. Moral of the story: wear long pants and gaiters, literally applied with permethrin. If it’s not one thing, it another with me this year, right? Thanks for sticking around and listening.
But on to more fun stuff: The chanterelles did make a lovely Savory French Toast with Chanterelles. I know that most people think of French Toast being a sweet thing, but add a bit of mustard, salt, pepper and herbs and you have a majestic savory version. Even if you don’t add the mushrooms, you could have a great version with ratatouille.
Ingredients
for the French toast
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced chives
1 teaspoon minced thyme
1 teaspoon minced oregano
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
4 slices thickly sliced sourdough bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
for the chanterelles
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound fresh chanterelle mushrooms
For the whole
1 tablespoon butter
2-4 eggs, cooked to your liking (optional, if you want a few extra fried eggs)
additional fresh herbs, for garnish (optional)
Directions
Place eggs, milk, mustard, herbs, garlic, spices, salt, and pepper into a shallow baking dish and whisk together.
Place a large skillet over medium heat, add 4 tablespoons butter and melt. Press 2 slices of bread into the egg mixture to soak. Flip each slice and soak for about 1 minute. Carefully transfer soaked bread slices to the hot skillet and sear for 3 to 4 minutes or until nicely browned. Flip each slice and continue to cook until browned and French toast has cooked through, an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, in another medium sized frying pan set on medium high heat, melt the butter. Add mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms have released the excess water (about 5 minutes). Add salt and pepper at the end of cooking.
Remove the French toast slices from the pan and repeat step 2 with the remaining bread slices. Plate and divide the chanterelles over the toast. (optional) In the same pans, melt butter and crack eggs. Top each serving of French toast with a fried egg, sprinkle of salt and pepper and fresh herbs, if using. Serve immediately.
