Chanterelle season is here!

I walked into Whole Foods this past Saturday and immediately saw something that brightened my day – those wrinkled, funnel-shaped golden mini-packages of deliciousness that are chanterelles. I nearly knocked over whatever women and children were in the way just to get to them. I would have bought the entire crate of them, but in an uncharacteristic display of restraint I limited myself to a couple of handfuls. Chanterelles were expensive, and these are tough times we live in.

My little brother does not eat mushrooms, which for the life of me I cannot understand. Mushrooms are the culinary world’s best team players – they are wonderfully versatile as the supporting cast in a dish, but can also be the showpiece if and when given the chance. Chanterelles, then, would be the star players in the mushroom world. They have a delicate flavor, and tend to retain more of their firmness after cooking than other mushrooms. Best of all, they are so very pretty.

As Morgan argues, less IS more especially when it comes to cooking chanterelles, and I usually like to do no more with them than sauté them in a generous pat of butter, salt and pepper, maybe some parsley. A friend once asked me what my philosophy in cooking was and without thinking I responded, “Always cook in season, and keep things simple.” Upon reflection I was amazed at how eloquent and true those words rang, and I resolved to keep that in mind more often when cooking.

(When it comes to butter, however, more definitely is more. One can never have enough butter.)