Chanterelles with Napa & Nuts

Per Tricia~

This week I finally got a chance to help Nana (for a change) 

after we ran into trouble locating the Chanterelles. Nana is an

 amazing "sourcer" of ingredients for our French Friday adventures 

so when she ran into difficulties I will admit I was a bit scared.  

As usual, however, I got lucky. 

A quick internet search under "Philly" and "Chanterelle" and I 

ended up on the Facebook page for "The Woodlands at Phillips".  

Located in Kennett Square, PA, (dubbed the mushroom capital of

 the world.......) "The Woodlands" turned out to be mushroom mecca.

Serendipitously, they had just posted about a fresh order

 of Chanterelles coming in this week. They were actually 

sourced from Washington State. 

Cookbooks, cooking tools, gifts, and yes,

 even mushrooms- they have it all.  

A few quick emails back and forth with the gracious folks there

 and I had two pounds reserved for Nana and I. 

Unfortunately Nana could not join me in the road trip the day they 

arrived but she is getting a raincheck because we will be back.

 Yes, we will definitely be back.

Now on to the recipe from "Around My French Table".
In full disclosure, I do not care for mushrooms. 
My curiosity was piqued and the road trip was fabulous,
 but that would not sway my tastebuds if they are not happy. 
Luckily, they were happy. 

I actually even ate a Chanterelle before cooking it and was pleasantly surprised.  

In fairness, the soy sauce added a flavor that was right up my alley. 
To top it off, the whole completed dish looked suspiciously like 
my favorite spicy cashew chicken from the Cheesecake Factory. 

It didn't taste like it but I did enjoy a serving and my mind was racing 
with ideas of what to serve this with, on, or in. My guys were all fans 
of  mushrooms before this week so it was no surprise that these were a hit, 

but they did get a kick out of the new variety. Another Friday adventure.

Per Nana~

I looked all over for Chanterelle mushrooms these past two 

weeks and finally gave up and purchased a package of dried.   

I thought that I would reconstitute them and take my chances 

with this week's recipe, but for some reason I kept putting it off. 

This was one time when procrastinating paid off.

Along came Tricia with goodies galore from her trip to the mushroom farm. 

I am so lucky, and she even supplied the Napa cabbage too. 

The recipe was very interesting and never having tasted these mushrooms

 before, I did not know what to expect.  Everything blended together so 

well, with the nuts giving it the perfect crunch. I have some leftovers and 

am seriously thinking of cooking rice and topping it with these 

wonderful mushrooms. Now that I have used the fresh mushrooms 

I can not imagine the dried working with this recipe. 

Happy French Friday ~