Chanterelles are the mushroom gift that keeps on giving for MONTHS, and I LOVE THEM. I love their apricot scent, their firmness, their abundance, their resilience, and their flavor. Far too often I see the unimaginative solution for all mushrooms as to fry them, or saute them in butter. Come on. An entire world of culinary delights and that what you do to literally every fungus that comes along. Boring.

I have made a point of doing anything other than frying food, and the whole “sauteed in butter” is played out. So the question becomes: what do I do with all these chanterelles? Today, I made Philly cheesesteak. Yes. That’s right. I made Philly cheesesteak with chanterelles (ok, to be fair there were 4 really small oyster mushrooms in there also, but it was mostly chanterelles).

I’ve had a lot of success with the harvests this year, and put plenty back for later, so I wanted a use for fresh chanties. My husband and I were thinking about stopping at Penn station for lunch after hunting and that’s when I got the idea to make Philly’s for dinner. We had most of the ingredients at home, we just had to pick up some buns and some cheese. A quick stop at Aldi’s for brioche hot dog buns and some provolone was all we needed.

Recipe:

• One pound of shaved rib eye.
• One large sweet onion, slivered.
• One large or two small bell peppers slivered.
• Three garlic cloves, chopped.
• One pound fresh trimmed chanterelle mushrooms chopped.
• 1/4 cup olive oil.
• Seasoned salt (to taste).
• Buns for sandwiches.
• Provolone cheese.

Instructions:

I am a huge fan of mise en place cooking. Chop, cut, season, prep, and stage all your ingredients ahead of time.

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Start by adding the oil to a hot pan. Saute the garlic and when translucent, add the onions and peppers (I actually cook the peppers separately since I’m allergic but my family isn’t so peppers are always served on the side for them). You might need to add a little water to sweat them, it really depends on their water content. Put the lid on to help break them down. When those are translucent, add the chopped chanterelles, and stir quickly to cook them.

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Once they are all cooked through, crank the heat a bit, then season the shaved ribeye, and add it to skillet. You are looking for a sear on the steak. Stir to cook the steak through, and then drain off any excess liquid. Turn the heat off and it’s ready!

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Line your bun with provolone, fill with the Philly mixture, and finish with more provolone. Delish!!! It was super easy to make, and yes I know it’s not a traditional Philly, so don’t come at me. It is a new, delicious way to enjoy chanterelle mushrooms. It was a total hit, and we will certainly be making this again!!

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