Have I even mentioned how much I hate the name of the food “Dutch Baby”? It’s absolutely stupid. And frankly, doesn’t sound very appetizing. And it wasn’t even “invented” in the Netherlands. Yes, of course, there are foods similar to a a Dutch Baby, but the expression itself was coined at a cafe in Seattle, and was even then, a misnomer as the person was most likely accidentally riffing on Deutsch (German) not Dutch. It’s a giant pop-over or Yorkshire Pudding (which may or may not come from Yorkshire).
And while I have the name, the food itself is quite delicious. This is a mostly savory version, with goat cheese, dill and baby greens (I used pea tendrils), but with a little drizzle of honey. Makes a great brunch dish!
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.
Here a bit using the of bounty from my weekend in Maine: Chanterelle and Caramelized Onion Breakfast Tarts with the chanterelles that I foraged in the woods myself. Let me start with this disclaimer: If you do not know your wild mushrooms, please don’t go foraging; just buy them in the shops. Even if you know your mushrooms, please be exceptionally careful. I have been “mushroom hunting” since I was a toddler with my family … it’s a German thing.
For those of you who have ever gone to breakfast with me, then you will know that I loooooove Eggs Benedict, so this is a little bit of a riff on those: Open-faced Tomato + Fried Egg Sandwich with Hollandaise. No english muffins, instead a piece of Anadama Bread; yellow tomatoes instead of Canadian bacon: a fried egg instead of a poached one. Either way, hit the spot this morning half-way through the week.