I’m still
working my way through my Philadelphia mushrooms. Since they have a short shelf
life, I’ve got to hurry!
The chanterelles |
A long time
ago, in a universe far, far away, my husband and I lived in the Berkeley area
for a decade. He was getting a degree, and after a couple of years, I decided
to get one too. Our daughter was born there. We bought our first house (and
left before the earthquake!).
Berkeley was
home to the Gourmet Ghetto—a collection of amazing restaurants, that of course we,
as starving students, couldn’t afford. Among them was Chez Panisse. I used to
park near the place, when I was working one of my three jobs, and would stop
and read the menu. Would you believe that the prix fixe dinner was something
like $14 then? Even so, we could rarely afford the indulgence. But we did take
our daughter there to celebrate her first birthday. Since she’s something of a
foodie herself now, maybe it made an impression.
A few years
ago the mystery conference Bouchercon was held in San Francisco. I had not been
back to California since we moved to the east coast in 1987, so of course I had
to go. I arrived a day early, so I could indulge in a nostalgic trip to
Berkeley—and lunch at Chez Panisse.
If Berkeley
was a gourmet mecca thirty years ago, it’s more so now: I swear every other
storefront housed some sort of restaurant or food vendor. But Chez Panisse
hadn’t changed. Every dish was prepared with meticulous attention, and everything
was delicious. I had a simple dish of pasta topped with chopped mushrooms and
fresh herbs that was delightful.
That’s what
I’ve tried to recreate here. This time my chanterelles were at the head of the
queue, which is what I had at the restaurant. Combined with fresh green herbs,
the orange mushrooms provide a pretty contrast to the pasta.
Fresh Chanterelles and
Pasta
3 shallots
Sprigs of
fresh thyme and parsley
2-3 Tblsp
unsalted butter
Salt and
pepper
1/2 cup
chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy
cream
Lemon juice
Spaghetti (or whatever you prefer)
Slice the
chanterelles. Peel and dice the shallots. Pluck the leaves off the thyme
sprigs. Finely chop the parsley.
Melt the
butter in a pan over medium heat and sauté the mushrooms and shallots for a few
minutes. Add the thyme, salt and pepper.
Sauté briefly, then add the chicken
stock and the cream. Simmer gently until the stock is reduced by about a third
(but do not let it become too thick!). Taste for seasoning, and add a squeeze
of lemon juice.
Cook the
pasta according to instructions, then mix it into the sauce. When you serve it,
sprinkle it with the chopped parsley.
Whilst it may be indelicate to speak of such matters after a fine meal, Privy to the Dead comes out on June 2nd!
Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society President Nell Pratt finds more than she expects in a deep hole in the basement of the century-old Society building--and a man dies because of it.
Available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
I haven't eaten any chanterelle mushrooms, but now I really want to! The chanterelle mushrooms and pasta looks yummy.
ReplyDeletesounds wonderful Sheila! I may have told you this story, but here it is again. Our daughter went to Berkeley and played lacrosse. On one visit out there, I insisted we make reservations at Chez Panisse. My hub and I waited and waited for our daughter and her two friends to show up and finally the restaurant told us we'd have to forfeit our table (maybe 20 " late?) So we left just as the girls arrived--the lacrosse coach had held them over and refused to let them leave. And that's the closest I've come to Chez Panisse!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame! Clearly you'll have to visit the Bay Area again.
DeleteThat looks really good! I pinned the recipe for later. (We are on the road again so I won't be cooking for a while...)
ReplyDeleteAnother mushroom delight to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteHow can you miss with those ingredients?!
Sheila, I imagine you know that Alice Waters was born in Chatham, NJ? This sounds like a heavenly dish--I'll have to try it.
ReplyDeleteWow, missed that entirely (I lived in Summit and Madison, which lay on either side of Chatham). Wonder if our school teams competed? I'm still trying to figure out if I crossed paths with Meryl Streep, who lived in either Convent Station or Bernardsville.
DeleteMeryl lived in Bernardsville. I know because we were classmates way back when.
DeleteSheila, I remember going into a market "across the bay" in San Francisco, right outside of the Bouchercon event, and there were the most amazing mushrooms I had ever seen! Lovely recipe.
ReplyDeleteDaryl / Avery