Meatish

My Beloved adores mushrooms. He can't get enough mushrooms on his burgers, in his omelets, or in any dish at all. He didn't pass that gene along to his older daughter, Sarah, who enjoys the flavor of mushrooms but can't abide their texture. He's happy, though, as all through her childhood she would pick the mushrooms out of any dish she was served and pass them along to him. It is the little things that cement the Dad-Daughter bond.

I happen to like mushrooms so he gets fewer treats from me in that department. 

The other day, we had waffles to celebrate that we are going to enlarge our holdings of grandchildren in 2014, and we had left over waffles, since we are trying to eat a reasonable portion rather than our previous usual sizes, which were truly unreasonable. I couldn't figure out in my early morning fog how to halve the recipe for waffles, which uses only one egg, so I made the full batch and ended up with extras.

I did some internet research as to what to do with extra waffles, but chicken and waffles was the only toothsome idea I saw and I had no chicken on hand. As I scrolled around the recipes, however, my mother's favorite lunch came to mind. I can recall many occasions when I would find her in the kitchen cooking up mushrooms to put over a piece of toast. She never had a blazing appetite, but she would look quietly pleased when she sat down to her lunch.

And why not sub the toast for waffles?  

So, I baked up the extra batter and placed the waffles in the slots of our toaster to keep them crisp on both sides while I quickly made up the mushroom-and- herbed sauce combo to top them with. 

My Beloved, needless to say, was happy as a clam with his mound of mushrooms. I would have been happier if the waffles had stayed crisp, but I enjoyed the dish, too. I'd probably make it with sourdough toast next time, just for the texture contrasts. Mom was right.

I can't call it meaty, as there was no animal in it except the chicken broth, but they honestly tasted as rich and hearty as if there was meat in the dish. Crimini mushrooms are rich with funky, mushroomy flavor. The quick sauce was made in the same pan where I browned the mushrooms, too, so it was fragrant with woodsy flavor as well. 

I'd say it was meat-ish. And quite delicious.

Meatish Mushrooms

About 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, chunked

2 Tbs butter, divided

1 tsp thyme

1 large or 2 small shallots, chopped

1 Tbs flour

2 Tbs white wine

1 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth)

3 Tbs milk (or half and half for a creamier consistency)

1 or 2 crisp waffles per plate

In 1Tbs butter, sauté mushrooms until well browned but still firm. Add thyme and heat until fragrant. Add chopped shallot and continue cooking until softened. Remove shallot/mushroom mixture to a plate.

In the same pan, melt the rest of the butter, and add the flour, stirring until the flour is smooth, then cook for a few minutes to remove the flat taste from the flour. Add the wine to the pan, stirring until well incorporated with the butter/flour mixture (no lumps), then add the chicken broth a little at a time, stirring through each addition. When all the chicken broth is in the sauce, add the milk or cream and stir to incorporate, but don't boil it, just keep it at a simmer.

Add the mushrooms back in and any liquid that has accumulated on the plate. Simmer just long enough to warm the mushrooms through.

Place waffles on the plate, top with mushroom mixture, and serve.