Pie Dough Samosas

Samosas are an appetizer from India.  Triangular dough pockets are filled with mild mixture of cooked potatoes and peas and are served with yogurt based sauces like cucumber raita or mint chutney for dipping.  When you order samosas at Indian restaurants they are fried.  At home, you can make these with pie dough and bake them, avoiding the fryer. The difference is subtle and your stomach will thank you because it’s hard not to eat a bunch of these. 

One complete recipe for pie dough (top and bottom) will yield 10-12 samosas.  You can use a prepared pie dough from the store if you are not a regular on the baking scene.  The triangles are formed from 5" rounds cut out from rolled out dough.  I use a small bowl—about 5 inches across as my template.  The potato and pea filling can be very mild or a spiced up curry version.  Cooked cauliflower can be mixed in or replace the potatoes.  Cooked sweet potatoes, butternut squash or pumpkin can also be used and are really fun around Halloween and Thanksgiving.  Here’s how:


Pie Dough Samosas
Makes 10-12 pieces. Serving size: 3 samosas
Pie dough-enough for 2 12-14 inch discs rolled out

Filling
1 tablespoon canola
1/2 white onion
4 medium boiling potatoes, peeled , boiled and diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1-3 teaspoons curry powder*
1/2 cup water
egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water.

Method

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  While oil heats, peel and chop onion.  
2. Saute onion in oil until it is tender and just beginning to color.  
3. Add cooked potatoes,  frozen peas, curry powder and water.  Stir to combine.  Lower heat and cover partially.  Cook down,  about 3 minutes until peas are heated through and potatoes have soaked up curry mixture.  
4. Remove cover and continue to cook on low until the sauce is thickened and coats vegetables.   Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before proceeding. (Filling may be prepared ahead and chilled overnight.)
5. Preheat oven to 425˚F.  
6. To make samosas, roll out pie dough to 1/8 inch thickness.  Use a small bowl or 5”diameter round cookie cutter to cut out 4 rounds from each disc.  Knead leftover dough together and place in refrigerator to keep chilled.  
7. Place a scoop (2-3 tablespoons) of the cooled filling in the center of each round.  Paint the edges with egg wash and bring up the sides of each dough circle from 3 sides so they meet at a point at the top.  Press together the dough along the three seams.  It is fine to leave a small opening at the top to allow steam to escape when baking.  
8. Place samosas on a baking sheet as they are made.  Roll out the remaining dough to get 2-3 more round discs.  When samosas are assembled, you may leave them plain or paint them with leftover egg wash to help the dough brown.  
9. Bake at 425˚F for 18 minutes, until dough is cooked. 
10.  Serve immediately or cool and refrigerate overnight.  Reheat in a 400˚F oven for 15-20 minutes. 

Serve samosas with Indian condiments including mint or mango chutney, hot sauce and cooling yogurt raita.

To make Raita:
1 cup plain yogurt  (whole, low-fat, nonfat or Greek are all OK)
1/4 cup grated cucumber (peel cucumber if not waxed)
1/2 teaspoon cumin (start with a 1/4 if you are not used to Indian foods)
1/8 teaspoon salt, coriander and mint
Stir it all together and let sit about 30 minutes for herbs and spices to blend.

Raita is one of those things you can really customize to suit your tastes.  With samosas you are going for a cooling effect but if your tastes veer toward spicy, you can add grated onion, a bit or fresh garlic, cayenne, etc.

*Curry Powder
In my Massaman Curry  (Three Curries, March 1, 2010) I discuss curry blends and how to make your own.  For samosas you can use a blend sitting on your shelf or make it fresh. To make your own for this recipe combine: 1 teaspoon tumeric, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, 1/8 teaspoon each cayenne, oregano, paprika, cinnamon.  To make this spicy, add a good pinch of cayenne.

Egg Cups To Go

Somewhere between a crustless quiche and a Spanish tortilla, Breakfast Egg Cups are a simple make-ahead meal for the morning.  They even freeze well so you can make a double batch for the week.

A lot of us who need to use our brains for anything during the day agree that breakfast must include a lean protein and some tasty low-carb ingredients.  Because you can make them ahead, reheat them in a microwave or pack them for a commute, Breakfast Egg Cups are a pure solution and really nice if portion size or calorie conscious eating is on the menu. 

There are as many filling variations as there are omelette ideas.  If you are really determined about calories this fall, you can substitute all or part of the whole eggs in this recipe with egg whites and stick with vegetables like spinach, zucchini, mushrooms and asparagus and meats like Canadian bacon rather then the higher carb/fat options.  You can use low fat cheeses or cottage/ricotta cheese as well. 

At other times, you might like combinations like potato-chorizo-manchego cheese, asparagus-blue cheese-bacon or smoked gouda-mushroom-sausage. It almost sounds like party fare.  In fact, if you bake a batch in mini-muffin tins rather than the regular muffin pans here, you have a very nice hot hors d’oeuvre for last minutes guests.

Breakfast Egg Cups
Makes 6 cups, one serving equals 2 egg cups
Ingredients
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup cooked chopped vegetables (zucchini, spinach, asparagus, potatoes)
optional: up to 2 tablespoons extra cheese (blue, cheddar, swiss, havarti, smoked gouda, goat cheese) and/or 2 tablespoons cooked diced bacon, chorizo sausage, Canadian bacon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Lightly spray muffin tins with oil. (You may use lightly sprayed paper liners.) 
2. Break eggs into a small mixing bowl and mix well.  
3. Add remaining ingredients and spoon into 6 muffin tins.  Fill any empty cups 1/4 full with water to prevent burning.)
4. Bake 15 minutes, until eggs are set.  As with quiche, you can remove them to cook when the centers are still a little loose.

These are easy to take along as is or packed in a warm roll.  

Spinach Artichoke Dip Pasta

This is just about everyone’s favorite cheesey-vegetable dip and combining it with pasta seemed like a natural.  When I could not find a version online, I created my own with fettucini, mushrooms and chicken. Omit the chicken to make this a vegetarian entrée or serve chicken on the side for a mixed crowd. The dip heritage makes this appealing comfort food for early fall when there’s homework to be done and a cool night ahead.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip Pasta with Chicken
Ingredients
1 bag fresh spinach (not baby spinach) or 1 package frozen
1 can quartered artichoke hearts
1/3 cup mayonnaise*
1/3 cup sour cream*
2 ounces cream cheese*
1/2 cup shredded cheese: havarti or cheddar*
1/4 cup freshly grated  parmesan cheese
1/3 cup slivered almonds
8 ounces dried fettucini, cooked
1 cup sautéed mushrooms
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.  
2. Remove tough stems from mature spinach leaves and steam until just wilted.  Drain and roughly chop.  If using frozen spinach, defrost and drain thoroughly before chopping.  Placed spinach in a large mixing bowl.  
3. Drain artichokes and chop any very large pieces.  Add to bowl with spinach.  
4. Stir in mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese and shredded cheddar or havarti.  Add sautéed mushrooms, hot pasta and chicken.  
5. Mix with a gentle hand and transfer mixture to a large casserole dish lightly sprayed with oil to prevent pasta from sticking.  Sprinkle grated parmesan, then almonds over the top.  
6. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350˚F until casserole is piping hot and almonds are lightly toasted.  (If topping is browning too fast, loosely cover dish with aluminum foil until center of casserole is heated through. 

This casserole freezes well.  Bake as directed before cooling and freezing.  To reheat, bake loosely covered at 325˚F for 45 minutes until internal temperature of 160˚F.  Remove cover and bake another 10-15 minutes to crisp top.

*You may use light or reduced calorie versions of these ingredients.

Chipotle Potato Salad

Say good-bye to summer with a potato salad that carries a hint of fall.  To the white potatoes that are abundant at farmers markets now, add sweet potatoes (and purple Peruvian ones if you see them).  In fact, you can make this with all sweet potatoes, which were the inspriration for this recipe.  A simple mayonnaise-based dressing gets fall color from sweet, smoky and spicy chipotle chili peppers.

Chipotle Potato Salad
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds potatoes—white, sweet and/or purple
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
8-10 chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash coriander

Method

1. Boil the potatoes whole until cooked through.  Cool. When cool, peel and cube.  Place in a large mixing bowl.  
2. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and taste.  Add more chipotle peppers if you’d like the potato salad extra spicy.  Cool things off with an additional squeeze of lime.  
3. Add dressing to potatoes and gently toss to enrobe all the potatoes.  
4. Refrigerate at least an hour to allow flavors to permeate.

No Fuss Granola; Pure & Simple

Even though granola sounds healthy some store bought versions include some iffy ingredients or need some processing to be shelf stable. Homemade granola can be so simple and this no fuss version uses just a few pantry items. Fewer ingredients not only gives you a pure flavor, its saves time so you will make your own granola more often.  Here’s our honed down version with our favorite flavors.  It used to have twice the number of ingredients and we think it tastes better pared back.

No Fuss Granola
Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1/3 cup each wheat germ, coconut, sliced almonds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup each vegetable oil, maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
post-bake add ins: 1 cup dried fruits including raisins, cherries, chopped apricots or figs, etc

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300˚F.
2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (oats through salt) and stir to combine thoroughly.  
3. Add liquid ingredients: oil, maple syrup and vanilla.  Stir to coat all dry ingredients.  (You may use your very clean hands).  
4. Pour granola mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet and spread out evenly.  Bake a total of 25-30 minutes until oats are crisp and lightly browned.  Check and stir mixture halfway through cooking to gauge progress.  
5. Cool cooked granola and, once cool, add dried fruit.  Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. (It won’t last that long.) 

Your No Fuss Granola
Toasted coconut and almonds spiked with vanilla and cinnamon flavor our favorite granola.  Make substitutions for these ingredients slowly to find your favorite yet still pure flavor profile.  Oat flakes aren’t the only grain – try wheat or rye flakes or a five-grain flakes mixture as your base.  If you don’t like coconut, skip it and add sunflower or sesame seeds.  Try replacing the almonds with other nuts like walnuts, chopped hazelnuts, peanuts or even pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds).  Almond extract is an alternative to vanilla and nutmeg, ginger or cardamon can stand in for cinnamon.  After baking add tropical dried fruits from mangoes and pineapple to banana chips and papaya.  Some households I know will try a chocolate chip version.  :)  And others will experiment with cayenne or chai spices.  Let me know how that goes.

Pan Bagnat

Salade Nicoise is pretty terrific on its own but let me clue you in right now.  You will want leftovers.  The second recipe is Pan Bagnat, the sandwich version of Salade Nicoise that I first tasted from a food cart near Nice's stony beach.  When I make Pan Bagnat, I am going for that late-summer memory of olive oil and vinegar-soaked bread packed with tuna, egg, anchovy, sweet red onions and the famous olives de Nice. 

Some of you are already thinking you will omit the anchovy.   I beseech you to try it or at least drizzle some of the unctuous oil onto your tuna.  It is a salty match for the other ingredients.  In fact, there is no added salt in this recipe since both the anchovy and olives provide the right amount.

I like to arrange it so that if I am serving Salade Nicoise for dinner then bringing Pan Bagnat on a hike or to the beach I get slightly different flavor profiles.  Both are from the area of Nice along the southern cost of France where the famous olives de Nice abound.  The salad will feature all the basic ingredients while the sandwich gets a little more individual with possible additions of marinated artichoke hearts, sliced red onion, even fava beans if they are in season near you. 

If you can get your hands on olives from Nice and some French olive oil, by all means use them in this recipe.  If you are putting this together from your local supermarket, Kalamata olives and a good extra virgin olive oil will do nicely. The recipe is fine with either canned or grilled tuna but if using canned, get the kind packed in olive oil.  Also, insist on a really good crusty loaf of bread to make the sandwich.  I use a crusty roll I make in my bread machine that we also use for hamburgers.  A baguette or a small boule will suit.  If there is a lot of bread between the crusts, its advisable to tear out a bit so there is room for all the fillings.

Salade Nicoise makes a knock-out grilled dinner salad for a large or small party.  Most of it can be prepared ahead and guests get to create their own salads from the ingredients offered so it’s a great recipe for a crowd with varied tastes.  It is best served at room temperature with the grilled tuna coming right to the table.  Individual plates are nice for a small number.  For a large group set up big platters so that guests can serve themselves the items they enjoy best.

Salade Nicoise
Per person quantities
1 cup torn lettuces (romaine, bibb, spinach leaves, etc.)
2 new potatoes, boiled
1/2 cup haricots verts (or green beans), steamed
1/2 ripe tomato
1 hard boiled egg
1/3 pound tuna steak, about 1 inch thick*
Ground black pepper
6 pitted olives (nicoise, kalamata,etc.)
3-4 anchovies packed in oil
Vinaigrette (recipe below)

*if using canned tuna, plan on 1/2 can per person and skip grilling step.  When ready to serve salad arrange tuna, olives and anchovy alongside vegetables. 

Method

• Slice vegetables and egg.  Leave beans whole.  
• Arrange vegetables on plates or platters starting with a layer of lettuce.  Arrange remaining vegetable ingredients and sliced egg (except olives and anchovies) in clusters to create a colorful tableau.  Leave room for the tuna.  This step may be done ahead of time and salads can be covered and refrigerated 1-2 hours.  
• When ready to serve, heat grill or grill pan over medium-high heat and coat tuna steaks with coarsely ground pepper.  Lightly oil grill and cook tuna about 2-3 minutes per side for medium-rare.  
• When fish is ready, remove fish to a separate platter and let sit 3-4 minutes.  
• Slice tuna steaks in thick slabs and place alongside the vegetables. Garnish with olives and anchovies.   Serve with vinaigrette (recipe below).

Pan Bagnat
for 1 sandwich:
baguette or hard roll
1/2 portion of Salade Nicoise
Roasted red pepper
Marinated artichoke hearts
Red onion
Basil
Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Method

1. Split the bread in half and brush an ounce of vinaigrette onto the open halves.  
2. Next layer the Salade Nicoise leftovers with the remaining ingredients drizzling a bit more vinaigrette in between the layers. 
3. Tightly wrap sandwich in plastic or wax paper and place in a second protective bag or resealable plastic bag.  Get thee to the beach or park to enjoy.   

La Vinaigrette
4 ounces extra virgin olive oil
1 ounce apple cider or red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Additions: Dijon mustard, capers a spoonful of pesto sauce

Vigorously mix all ingredients together. 


A recipe for Pan Bagnat direct from Nice (en francais) that is not too different than mine….

Peach Cava

 

While peaches are still in season, we made peach ice cream and used some of the extra peach puree in an aperitif.  A tablespoon in a flute looks pretty topped with Cava, Spain's sparkling wine.  To make this without the ice cream step, peel, pit and puree or mash a ripe peach. Add a squeeze of lemon and a teaspoon each of peach schnapps (or vodka) and superfine sugar. 

How to Peel a Peach
Peeling a peach is easy and fast.  Once you learn this technique, you can use it for tomatoes too.

1. Wash peach.
2. Determine amount of water the peach will displace by placing it in a small, high-sided pot and covering the peach with cold water.  Remove the peach and boil the water over high heat.
3. While water boils, score the bottom of the peach in a cross pattern.  Be sure to cut through the skin.
4. When the water boils, turn the heat to medium and submerge the peach using a slotted spoon.
5. Cook 30 seconds and removed peach with slotted spoon.
6. Submerge peach in a bowl of ice water for 30 seconds.
7. Remove the peach from the ice water and peel the loosened skin from the peach starting with the edges of the cross you cut at the bottom.  Skin will peel off easily.  

Grilled Salmon with Peach-Bourbon Salsa

Peaches are in season in most areas of the country now. Combined with another American classic, bourbon, they move from the dessert course to the main course.  Bourbon is the “secret” ingredient in this recipe.  It takes the place of oil in the salsa and balances out the any tartness in your peaches and the salsa's lime juice.  Served over salmon steaks, this is another twenty minute summer supper.

Grilled Salmon with Peach-Bourbon Salsa
Serves 2
2 1-inch salmon steaks
2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon bourbon
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
salt & pepper
1 large peach, pitted and diced

Method

1. Place salmon steaks in a shallow dish.  In a small bowl, mix together honey, lime juice and Bourbon.  
2. Pour half of the mixture over salmon steaks and turn steaks to coat.  Let salmon soak up marinade while grill heats (or broiler preheats).  
3. If grilling, brush a small amount of oil onto grill to prevent sticking.  Grill salmon steaks over medium-high heat fairly close to the heat source (no more than 4 inches) about 3-5 minutes on each side.  Salmon should be tender in center.  (If broiling, place rack at highest level and broil10 minutes total, turning once.) 
4. While salmon cooks, prepare salsa.  Combine reserved marinade with parsley, salt and pepper and diced peach.  Serve over salmon steaks. 

Peach Tips
Thawed frozen peaches can be used in this recipe.  If fresh peaches are in season, use them peeled or unpeeled.  If you’d like to peel them, cut a small cross at the bottom of the peach and plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove the peach with a slotted spoon and run under cold water.  When peach is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin starting with the scored skin at the bottom.

“Oven Fried” Eggplant

Crispy on the outside and a bit puffed up and creamy on the inside.  Eggplant does not need to be fried in order to get the taste and texture just right.  In fact, eggplant is such an oil absorber roasting at a high heat can actually give you better results than frying. This recipe is easy enough to make and enjoy on a weeknight.

High heat is the key to light and pure breaded eggplant slices. Turn up your oven to 450˚K and give it time to preheat.  This is true roasting temperature.

"Oven Fried" Eggplant
Preheat oven to 450˚F.
Slice one eggplant in 1/2 inch slices.  (You can peel eggplant or leave the attractive purple skin on or partially peeled).  Expect 9-12 slices.
Set up 3 shallow dishes for breading and use spray oil to prepare a heavy baking sheet.

Breading
Dish #1
1/2 cup flour + 1//4 teaspoon salt

Dish #2
1 beaten egg + 2 oz milk +1 oz water

Dish #3
1 cup fresh bread crumbs + 1/4 teaspoon each dried oregano, dried basil, black pepper, salt and parsley
(1 cup dried breadcrumbs can be substituted.)

Method

1. Dip each slice in flour mixture and shake of excess.  The purpose of flouring the eggplant is to provide a dry surface for the egg wash and a thick layer of flour is not necessary.  
2. Next dip the eggplant slice in the egg mixture and finally coat each side with the crumb mixture.  Place slice on oiled baking sheet.  
3. Repeat with remaining slices and roast eggplant in a 450˚F oven for 15 minutes.  
4. Turn slices over and roast an additional 5 minutes.  
5. Serve as is or spoon a small amount of marinara sauce on each slice and top with mozzarella cheese.  Return to oven for 3-4 minutes until cheese melts.  Eggplant slices can be used in any eggplant Parmesan recipe.

Eggplant Tips
When buying eggplant, follow the general rule for all vegetables and fruits, that is, pick ones that are heavy for their size.  This indicates freshness via the presence of moisture inside.

Many people salt sliced eggplant and let it sit in a colander about an hour to draw out any bitterness.  This step also helps the eggplant resist too much oil absorption and is more important with older specimens.  I skip this step when the eggplant is at its peak freshness and because I won’t be frying it, I don’t have the oil absorption problem.


Post Script: Thankful to my Dad tonight for his enthusiastic approach to new foods throughout his travels. They taught him about the people of the world through sharing a meal together.

Summer Chicken Cacciatore

Most chicken cacciatore recipes take 45 minutes to an hour or more and go better in cooler weather.  This lighter version is for summer nights and takes less than half an hour, 20 minutes if you aren’t chatting with a loved one too much.  Well, if the loved one is helping to chop the vegetables, maybe 20 minutes is right. 

Chopping and sautéing the vegetables take the first 10 minutes while the water for the pasta heats.  The second 10 minutes is devoted to creating a sauce with the skillet vegetables and steaming chicken breasts topped with cheese in that sauce while the pasta cooks.  The lighter sauce is made from fresh tomatoes and vegetable juice.  The result is flavor that remains "summer garden" pure.  If you can get most of the ingredients out of your garden or at the farmers market, you will really appreciate the difference this lighter touch brings to a classic, especially if you have fresh herbs and freshly picked tomatoes.

Summer Chicken Cacciatore
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 sweet onion (Vidalia), sliced
4 small sweet peppers (or one large red pepper), seeded and sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 large tomatoes, diced including liquid
2 cups tomato-based vegetable juice (Knudson’s Very Veggie organic or V-8 juice)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (1tablespoon fresh)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (3-4 springs  fresh)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (3-4 chopped leaves fresh)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste (may need 1/2 teaspoon salt if using a low-sodium vegetable juice)
8 oz uncooked, dried pasta (whole wheat rotini or penne are nice and cook in about 8-9 minutes)
4 5-oz chicken cutlets (Try Perdue Perfect Portions for this quick dish or pound larger breasts flat so that they will cook in 10 minutes.)
4-6 thin slices mozzarella cheese
1 cup steamed fresh spinach
optional: 1/3 cup chicken broth, white wine

Method

1. In a large pot, begin to heat salted water to boiling for the pasta.  
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet that has a cover (to be used later in recipe). 
3. Add onion, peppers, carrots and celery and sauté until they are crisp-tender.  
4. Add tomatoes and their juice plus vegetable and herbs.  Stir to coat and add broth or wine (or water) if desired.  There should be enough liquid to cover vegetables completely. Lower heat and cover for 2-3 minutes to combine flavors.  
5. Remove cover and allow to cook down a bit while you add pasta to the (now) boiling water. 
6. Add chicken breasts to skillet, laying them out over the vegetables.  Cover skillet to allow chicken to steam over sauce for about 5 minutes.  
7. Uncover and turn chicken over.  Place a slice or two of cheese on each breast and cover with lid.  Allow chicken to cook additional 4-5 minutes until cooked through ant at least 165˚F.  
8. When pasta is ready, drain and reserve about 1/2 cup pasta liquid.  
9. Remove chicken from skillet to a warm platter (or directly to plates) while you finish the pasta dish. 
10. Mix pasta and steamed spinach into the vegetable sauce.  Add a bit of pasta water if sauce has thickened too much: it should not stick the vegetables to each other.  
11. Serve pasta alongside chicken breasts.

Foraging for Chanterelle Mushrooms

Nothing suits the pure foods mantra like the foods we gather ourselves.  Last week my brother took me to a few of his secret spots in Vermont for chanterelles.  These are the gold-orange mushrooms that look like open parasols from below with gills reaching down the stem.  Not technically gills, but to us amateurs very similar. 

Speaking of amateurs, it’s smart to go mushroom hunting with an expert, preferably a regular forager for the particular mushroom you are searching out.  Matthew has taken me before but I still needed a refresher on identifying them and he checked my basket as we went along.  The more you see them, the easier they are to identify.   Most wooded areas can sustain chanterelles and in Vermont they can pop up seemingly overnight from late spring into September. We had luck at the base of pine and beech trees and along the length of fallen, decomposing trees. 

The forager’s attire and equipment list is short: long plants and shirt to discourage bugs, closed toe shoes to step through the forest’s uneven floor, an optional brimmed hat to protect eyes and face if you like to crash through underbrush, a basket for your finds and a pen knife to cut the stems cleanly. 

At home, Matthew used a dedicated paintbrush to clean our chanterelles.  Now the hard part—to enjoy that evening sautéed in butter over pasta or the next morning in omelettes?  The flavor of a chanterelle is delicate so it pairs well with noodles and eggs.  Don’t be tempted to add many more ingredients or the flavors will overpower your chaterelles.  Potatoes, poultry and seafood also provide a nice match for chanterelles.

Restaurants pay about $20 per pound, nice if you are hitting a gold rush of chanterelles but not a sustainable living.  (Mushrooms are light.)  Still, its nice to know the going rate so you can pat yourself on the back while enjoying a delicacy sought by chefs and diners at multi-star establishments.

Cleaned chanterelles store well in a paper bag in the refrigerator and can be frozen (uncooked) to use within 3 months.  To freeze, lay whole mushrooms on a small baking sheet and place in the freezer.  When mushrooms are frozen, in about 2 hours, place them in a re-sealable plastic bag marked with a use by date.

We decided on open-face chanterelle omelettes with a side of goat cheese.

Behold, the Simple Egg

A perfectly cooked hard boiled egg with a just set yolk and a white that is easily held in hand or chopped to create the perfect deviled egg or egg salad is easy to achieve but takes getting to know your equipment.  Every chef has the timing down but that doesn't mean it will work on your stove, in your favorite pot and in the temperature of your tap water.  Try my basic 6-6-6 technique and adjust to our kitchen's timing:

1. Place eggs straight from the refrigerator in a pot, covered with cold tap water, top on the pot.  
2. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil.  
3. Once water is boiling, lower heat and place the top askew so that a slow boil is maintained for 6 minutes.  
4. After 6 minutes, remove from burner and let eggs sit in hot water an additional 6 minutes.  
5. Drain and fill pot with cold water.  (If you are cooking more than 3 eggs,  rinse a few times to ensure water surrounding eggs is cool.)  
6. Let eggs sit in cold water 6 minutes.  Peel and store or enjoy immediately.

Hard boiled eggs don't need to be ice cold to enjoy.  If you are using right away on a chef's salad or a snack, try them while they are still warm.  Lovely.

Soft Boiled Egg Variations
Now that you can make a perfect hard boiled egg, here's how to make a soft boiled egg that is the perfect protein portion over a bed of steamed spinach or toast.  Fast for breakfast, satisfying for lunch, perfect for a light dinner.

Use the same technique as above but once the water begins to boil, remove the pot's lid, lower the heat and allow enough heat for a slow boil for 2 minutes.  Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and quickly run under cool water so you can handle the shell.  Over a bed of spinach or toast, use a knife to rap the egg's middle and open it up.  With a spoon scoop out the egg white allowing the yolk to ouze out like a thick sauce. A little salt and pepper completes the picture.

A raw egg (out of its shell) can also be placed in a ramekin or custard cup of hot steamed spinach, lightly covered and microwaved 35-45 seconds to create a poached egg effect. Slide it onto a broiled mushroom for an elegant first course.