Meaty wild mushrooms that range in color from orange to yellow-gold, the unusual color is due to the presence of carotenoids, antioxidant pigments that also give color to bell peppers, cantaloupe, carrots, papaya, mangos, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables.

In addition to their color, it’s easy to recognize chanterelles from their wavy caps with ruffled gills that flare upward along the stem—forming a trumpet shape.

They’re prized because they’re different, and not just for their looks. They have an aroma resembling apricots or peaches, and a nutty flavor. They can’t be cultivated but must be gathered by hand. This can make them more expensive, but wild mushrooms are invariably more flavorful than cultivated ones.

Cantharellus cibarius, commonly known as the chanterelle or golden chanterelle, grows wild on the forest floor, in old, deep, “leaf litter.” It grows in quantity along the Pacific Coast of North America, and in temperate forests around the world. (Note: Don’t gather your own in the forest, unless you have had expert training in how to identify them, or can get expert advice prior to consuming them.)

These meaty mushrooms also contain significant amounts of protein, plus chromium, iron, eight essential amino acids, potassium and vitamins A and D2 (the latter helps the body absorb calcium).
 
 
USING CHANTERELLE MUSHROOMS

Chanterelles love to be paired with with pasta, risotto, anything with a butter or cream sauce, and in a ragout with other wild mushrooms.

As with all mushrooms, they shine with garlic and onions, and cow’s milk cheeses like Parmesan (the difference between Parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano).

 
Chanterelles can garnish an elegant protein such as filet mignon or turbot; or it can fill tortillas, as in the Chanterelle Tacos recipe below.
 
 
CHANTERELLE TIPS

 
 
CHANTERELLE TRIVIA

[3] Chanterelle tacos (photo courtesy Ten Speed Press | Crown Publishers).

This recipe, sent to us by Good Eggs, is from Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen, by Heidi Swanson.

 
Ingredients

1. HEAT the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion, chile, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions are translucent, a few minutes.

2. INCREASE the heat to high, add the mushrooms, stir well, and cook until the mushrooms release their liquid. Then brown, about 5 minutes more. Stir just a few times along the way; with excessive stirring, the mushrooms won’t brown deeply.

3. REMOVE from the heat. Rub the oregano between your palms and let it rain down into the mushroom mixture. Taste and add a bit more salt, as desired.

4. WARM the tortillas. Wrap the stack in a barely damp kitchen towel. Place in a heavy pot over very low heat, cover, and let warm for a few minutes, or until you are ready to use them. If you want char on the tortillas, toast them directly over the flame of the stove.

5. SPOON the mixture into the warmed tortillas and sprinkle the Parmesan over all of the tacos. Serve with the sour cream and parsley.

This crunchy chopped salad is a smooth transition from summer to heartier winter salads.

It’s based on what we think is an under-used vegetable, fennel, which is in season from early fall to early spring.

Crisp fennel and crisp apple combine with crunchy pomegranate arils, which add a festive touch.

(Don’t like arils? Try this fennel and arugula salad with apple and orange.

We’re also fond of these fennel pickles.)

This recipe comes to us from Beth Warren Nutrition. Beth is the author of two books, Living a Real Life with Real Food (2014) and Kosher Girl, due in spring 2018. Her focus is health-conscious kosher meals; but you don’t have to be kosher to enjoy every bite.

Beth likes this recipe for Rosh Hashanah. It goes splendidly with yesterday’s recipe for Buttermilk Roast Chicken.

Also take a look at this Orange Fennel Salad recipe, this Shaved Salad With Pear & Fennel, and these Fennel Pickles.
 
 
RECIPE: FALL FENNEL SALAD

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients in glass mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
 
 
FENNEL FACTS

Fennel looks like the offspring of a peeled white onion and a bunch of dill. It’s crunchy like celery, with a slight anise taste.

[1] A fall chopped salad: fennel salad, with apples and pomegranate arils (photo courtesy Beth Warren Nutrition).

[2] A bulb of fennel. All parts can (and should!) be eaten (photo courtesy Good Eggs).

 
The History Of Fennel

Fennel is highly aromatic and flavorful, with a long history of both culinary and medicinal uses. The bulb and stalks resemble celery, the leaves look like dill (Anethum graveolens, also of the same order and family), and the aroma and flavor resemble sweet licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabraa, a totally different order [Fabales] and family [Fabaceae]).

A member of the parsley family* (Apiaceae), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and celery (Petroselinum crispum) are botanical cousins, members of the same order* (Apiales) and family* (Apiaceae). Both are believed to be indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean, growing wild before they were cultivated thousands of years ago.

Records of fennel’s use date back to about 1500 B.C.E, although its use far precedes the records.

Fennel was likely first cultivated in Greece, and was used for both medicinal† and culinary purposes. The ancient Greeks and Romans ate the entire plant: the bulb, the the seeds, blossoms and the fronds.

Theirs was a more bitter variety. Florence fennel, also called sweet anise and finocchio in Italian, the variety eaten as a vegetable, wasn’t developed until the 17th century, in the area of Florence, Italy [source].

Although many recipes make reference to fennel “root,” it is actually the stalk, swollen into a bulb-like shape at the plant’s base, which is consumed (the same is true with kohlrabi).

Uses For Fennel

Fennel can be substituted for celery in recipes when an additional nuance of flavor is desired. We also enjoy it as part of a crudités plate.

Fennel seeds are a popular spice, for baking, bean dishes, brines, fish, pork, sausages and much more. We especially like them in cole slaw and cucumber salad.

Plain and sugar-coated fennel seeds are used as a spice and an after-meal mint in India and Pakistan. If you don’t see a dish of them as you leave, ask for them at restaurants.
___________________________________________
 
*We love this family, which also includes angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, lovage, cow parsley, parsley, parsnip and lesser known edible plants (sea holly, giant hogweed). It also includes the poisonous hemlock.

In case you don’t remember plant taxonomy from high school biology, here’s a refresher.

†Pliny The Elder mentions fennel as a treatment for stomachache, the “stings of serpents,” uterus health and other maladies. Those ancient homeopaths got it right: According to Web MD, modern uses include various digestive problems, such as heartburn, intestinal gas, bloating, loss of appetite and colic in infants. It is also used for upper respiratory tract infections, coughs, bronchitis, cholera, backache, bedwetting, and visual problems. Some women use fennel for increasing the flow of breast milk, promoting menstruation, easing the birthing process, and increasing sex drive. And yes, fennel powder is used as a poultice for snakebites.

An onion is a thing of beauty—until you slice into it and the fumes assault your eyes. But that doesn’t need to be. Here are some tips to minimize the impact of the acrid gas that’s released when you slice into an onion.

WHY DO ONION VAPORS BURN YOUR EYES?

Simply peeling an onion does not make your eyes water.

But once you chop, cut, crush or smash the onion, the onion’s cells break open, creating a chemical reaction. Enzymes called alliinases break down the amino acids (sulfoxides)in the onion and generate sulfenic acids.

These further react to produce a volatile gas known as the onion lachrymatory factor, or LF. LF diffuses through the air and activates sensory neurons in eye, causing that burning, stinging sensation.

It’s not dissimilar to the effects of tear gas. Tear glands come to the defense, producing tears to dilute and flush out the irritant. If you slice onions a lot, your eyes will become more tolerant (they may build up a tolerance to the LF).

NO-STING & LESS-STING SOLUTIONS

Our personal technique: For no sting whatsoever, wear swimming goggles (or any goggles). It works like a charm.

No goggles? These will help:

We have roasted chicken on our mind. It’s close to Rosh Hashanah (September 23rd this year), and we’re thinking back to Nana’s roasted chicken.

Post-Nana, our roast chicken was never as good, even if we followed the same steps. Nana must have had an understanding with chickens.

Until we tried the recipe below, soaking the chicken in buttermilk. Some chefs prefer to soak the chicken overnight. It creates a tender chicken with an extra punch of flavor.

Marinating chicken in buttermilk is a time-honored pathway to moister meat, whether roasted or fried. With a bit of advance planning the night before to marinate the chicken, you’re virtually guaranteed a beautifully browned and richly-flavored bird the next day.

The recipe is from chef/writer Samin Nosrat.

Samin serves the chicken with a panzanella (bread salad with vegetables). In this case, panzanella comprises the greens and rustic bread cooked in the pan.

If you’re off bread, simply roast, saute or steam triple the amount of veggies. Samin uses mustard greens. We highly recommend them—they’re a very under-used green. If you don’t like even a hint of mustard flavor, you can substitute collards or kale.

Thanks to Good Eggs for sending us the recipe.

Don’t need a while bird? Another of our favorite food writers and photographers, the White On Rice Couple, presents this delicious recipe for Milk Roasted Chicken Thighs, using whole milk.
 
 
RECIPE: SAMIN’S BUTTERMILK ROAST CHICKEN WITH MUSTARD GREEN PANZANELLA

With the chicken marinated in buttermilk, you need just 15 minutes of prep time, and 60 minutes to roast the chicken.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Plus

________________

[2] A country loaf, also known as a rustic loaf.

Mustard greens. You can substitute kale.

King trumpet mushrooms. All photos courtesy Good Eggs.

Preparation

This recipe requires some preparation a day in advance. Beginning the day before you plan to cook the chicken:

1. SEASON it generously with the salt (more salt than you’d use for ordinary seasoning). Let the salted chicken sit for 30 minutes.

2. ADD 3 tablespoons of salt into the container container of buttermilk. Seal it and shake to encourage the salt to dissolve. Place the chicken in a re-sealable plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. Seal it, squish the buttermilk all around the chicken, place the bag on a rimmed plate or in a pan, and refrigerate. If you’re so inclined, over the next 24 hours you can turn the bag so each part of the chicken gets marinated, but it’s not essential.

3. REMOVE the chicken from the fridge two hours before you plan to start cooking. When you’re ready to roast, preheat the oven to 425°F/218°C. Remove the chicken from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive (we used a rubber spatula).

4. TRUSS the chicken by placing a 12-inch length of butcher’s twine with its center at the small of the chicken’s back. Tie the twine around each wing tightly and then flip the chicken over and use the remaining twine to tie the legs together as tight as you can.

5. PLACE the bird in a big cast iron skillet or a roasting pan with, the legs pointing toward the rear left corner of the oven. Place in the oven and close the door. You should hear the chicken sizzling pretty quickly. After about 15 minutes, when the chicken starts to brown, reduce the heat to 400°F/205°C and continue roasting.

6. WAIT another 15 minutes, remove the pan and add the shallots/onion, greens, herbs and chanterelles. Using tongs, mix the veggies around in the chicken drippings and place the pan back in the oven, this time with the legs facing the rear right corner of the oven.

7. CONTINUE cooking for another 35-40 minutes, stirring the veggies with tongs once or twice so they cook evenly. The chicken is done when it’s brown all over and the juices run clear when you insert a knife down to the bone between the leg and the thigh.

8. REMOVE the bird to a platter and set it on a cutting board on your counter. Add the bread to the skillet or pan and toss with all of the veggies, making sure to coat the bread evenly in the drippings.

9. RETURN the vegetables to the oven for 10 minutes. When you remove the pan from the oven, add the preserved lemon to the bread and mustard greens. The chicken will be ready to carve and eat immediately.

[2] Blini with quail eggs, trout roe and crème fraîche. Here’s the recipe from Martha Stewart.

[3] Quail egg stuffed mushrooms. Here’s the recipe from Bite Delite.

[4] The quail herself (photo courtesy Red Ted Art).

To some fine chefs, small is better: from miniature vegetables to more “elegant”-size portions overall.

Quail eggs fit right in.

For years, we’d only seen quail eggs at Japanese restaurants, on top of an uni (sea urchin) or tobiko (flying fish roe) gunkan-maki.

Since better supermarkets now carry them, it’s time to take a closer look at quail eggs.

Quail Eggs Are Barely Healthier than Chicken Eggs! Compared to chicken eggs, quail eggs are slightly healthier if

> For soft-boiled eggs, gently place the eggs in boiling water (with a spoon) and boil for three minutes and place in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
> For hard-boiled eggs, boil for 4-5 minutes. Test one after 4 minutes.

>The body temperature of quail is also higher than that of chickens: another reason why quail don’t harbor the same harmful bacteria.
>Here’s more on the health benefits of quail eggs.
 
 
HOW TO SERVE QUAIL EGGS

You can garnish a green salad, serve three boiled eggs with asparagus, make Scotch eggs, stuff mushroom caps (photo #3), garnish a mini-latke with smoked salmon and a boiled quail egg.

You can pickle quail eggs, turning the white exterior into a vivid red (from beet juice). Don’t say what they are: Let guests be surprised.

You can pop fried quail eggs onto ramen, make breakfast tartlets, top an avocado tea sandwich, serve them raw with steak tartare…whatever your palate desires.

Here are some ideas from D’Artagnan:

 
Quail eggs are pricey, so they are [for most of us] a special-occasion treat.

When you find them at a good price, get ready to pounce!
 
 
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EGGS

*Lysozyme is present to a lesser or greater extent in other animals, as well.