MITCH IN THE KITCHEN

apricot trial and error

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:27:04 -0400

“Can I tell you something about apricots? 1 in 30 is a good one. It’s such a low percentage fruit.”
- Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm

I have a hard time appreciating apricots. Unlike most of their stone fruit brethren, they lack the sweet-tart juiciness that makes cherries, peaches, and plums perfectly enjoyable with only a rinse of water as prep work. They’re a little mealy and have (in my opinion) a sort of off-putting pasty texture. The only things I really like about apricots are that 1. they are cute and 2. their pits are super easy to remove. So what did this apricot-disliker do with a dry quart of fresh ones? (I refuse to make jam/preserves.)

Oatmeal Cookies with Fresh Apricots, White Chocolate, and Pecans
I finally busted out my brand new KitchenAid mixer (thank you Diana, Nicole, Pavla, Jake and blog-less Mike) to make these. They weren’t exactly the best cookies I’ve ever made. In fact, they were probably the worst. My head is swimming with ideas why but I’m not ready to blame it on the apricots being fresh rather than dried, because it’s been done. Anyway, the idea of a chewy oatmeal cookie with fruit, white chocolate, and nuts is still a good one, so I am alarmingly determined to get this one right. Get ready for cookies, friends, because I certainly cannot handle that much dessert.

Apricot Clafoutis
Just like gooseberry clafoutis (or a traditional cherry clafoutis) but with pitted apricot halves and flavored with almond and vanilla extracts. Next time: smoother batter!

Apricot and Prosciutto Flatbread
Prosciutto and fruit is always so good. You almost can’t go wrong. The idea for this came from Cooking Light and a cooking blog far more impressive than this one. I pre-baked the crust for a few minutes in a very hot oven, then topped it with ricotta, sliced apricots, and prosciutto and popped it back in the oven for a bit. After that, a sprinkling of salt, pepper, fresh basil, and grated Parmigiano cheese to finish it off. The crust wasn’t (is never, sigh) quite crisp enough on the bottom. I am starting to seriously want a pizza stone but I’m not sure we have room for one (and the wooden paddle board thingy) among all the other cool new stuff in our kitchen. Like that KitchenAid mixer.

roasted radishes and summer squash with creamy farro

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:31:41 -0400

Last week I dug out a bag of farro from the back of my pantry to make this recipe from the always-inspiring 101 Cookbooks blog. This week, I tried a roasted vegetable version of it using some of the leftover cooked farro I had. Instead of the usual light and crunchy summer fare, I was craving something with a bit more cool-weather appeal (since it’s so gray and breezy in New York this week… I know, I’m not ready for sleeves either). Roasting the squash and radishes (yeah, roasted radishes) gave them that nutty brown-roasted-vegetable-flavor (pardon my lack of vocabulary on this one) that is good on almost anything. A bowl of this stuff was perfect as a single-serving quick bite to eat. I had it as a side item to go with a sandwich, but it could also be a good one-bowl meal with some beans, shredded chicken, or fried or poached eggs on top.

Farro
Bring farro and water to a boil, then lower heat and cook, partially covered, until tender. It can take as long as an hour, depending on whether or not the grains are semi-pearled (have had some of the outer bran removed). Farro that isn’t pearled can also be soaked in water overnight to cut down on the cooking time. Add salt toward the last 10 minutes or so of cooking.

Roasted Radishes and Summer Squash (fennel would’ve been good too)
Cut vegetables into bite size pieces and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I like to do this directly on a foil-lined toaster oven tray. Roast at 425 degrees until soft and lightly browned (about 20 minutes).

Creamy Dressing
I used a spoonful of homemade crème fraîche (easy instructions here) to make the dressing, but yogurt or buttermilk or sour cream (or no dairy at all) could also be good. Combine a small dollop of crème fraîche with minced onion, salt, pepper, white wine vinegar, and olive oil. Again, I like to do this directly in the bowl I’m eating out of.

Add farro to dressing and toss to coat. Top with roasted vegetables and chopped fresh herbs.

green beans and potatoes with basil pesto

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:18:05 -0400

I’ve been getting a whole lot of basil these past few weeks, which means I will have a whole lot of pesto for the next few months. This salad (I guess that’s what you’d call it) is one of those easy-but-not-boring non-recipe things that can be thrown together quickly and without much thought. It’s healthy, it can be eaten at any temperature, the ingredients are cheap, and it’s meat-, dairy-, and gluten-free (in case that’s a concern). You can even mention that this classic combination of ingredients is from Liguria, Italy, and not just some random cobbling together of leftovers. Can you say, picnic? Or potluck? Or gourmet camping?

All you need to do is:

1. Bring potato chunks to a boil in salted water (start with cold water and use a lot of salt! Here’s an explanation why). Cook until they’re tender, then drain and set aside.

2. Blanch the green beans in boiling water, then dunk them in a bowl of ice water. This cools them off and keeps their color bright green (basic explanation, again). Chop into bite-size pieces.

3. Toss it all with some pesto (more than you see in the photo). Season with more salt and pepper, to taste.

leek and gruyere bread

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:03:43 -0400

Back in January (which feels like a crazy long time ago), John and I spent a week in San Francisco catching up with old friends and repeatedly overfeeding ourselves at places like Tartine, Bi-Rite, Humphry Slocombe, Chow, and the Mission (yes, the entire neighborhood). During one of our visits to Tartine, I had a slice of a moist, savory olive and ham bready loafy thing, enjoyed it, then returned to the East Coast. Months later, the New York Times told me it was a cake salé (“kek”… c’est drôle), a category of French quick breads that are ultra-portable and go well with summery wines. Um, yes please.

The accompanying New York Times recipe is pretty solid. I used leeks (the white and light green parts from 2 medium ones, chopped and gently browned in a little bit of butter and olive oil) instead of ham, but the combination of cheese and cured meat and onion-tasting things is enough of an excuse to make this again with all three add-ins. I don’t really understand how this stuff is supposed to be shared at picnics (or anywhere, for that matter) because I could easily eat an entire loaf on my own.

peachy biscuit ice cream sandwich

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:39:12 -0400

Forget cobbler. Instead of waiting for a dish full of fruit and dough to get all gooey and hot in the oven, I sandwiched some peach slices between leftover buttery breakfast biscuits with homemade honey-bourbon ice cream and a smear of Jocelyn’s tart blueberry jam. Incidentally, this was a break from learning about fat metabolism.

tomatoes + cheese + bread = lunch

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:28:00 -0400

Summer produce feels like the greatest thing in the world right now. Especially the way it smells. Every morning I stick my head into a bag of peaches and take a big whiff before slicing one up into my breakfast. Our CSA basil is so good that you can smell it halfway down the block from the pickup site (a church. an indoor church). And I love picking the stems off of tomatoes and sniffing them, because their scent reminds me of my grandparents’ old house.

I don’t have any good/fun/creative ideas or recipes for peaches (or fruit in general, really) because when we get some good ones, things like cake batter and ice cream only seem to get in the way. The tomatoes (especially the cherry tomatoes) have also been good enough to eat on their own. Still, I find myself eating the same thing for lunch everyday: simple tomato and cheese sandwiches. It’s hard to go wrong when you put tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a good smear of homemade basil pesto between two slices of bread.

Or how about a buttery-ass grilled cheddar and gouda sandwich with yellow and red tomatoes? This combo never ever ever gets old.

Ok fine, I had one of each of these today. I hope you’re all as in love with tomatoes as I am right now.

pickled rat-tail radishes

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:06:37 -0400

Rat-tail radishes are the seed pods of a radish plant, rather than the familiar round-ish or finger-shaped pink and white roots. The pods taste mellower than the roots, and their texture reminds me of a stringier string bean. I get a few branches of these pods every summer through my CSA. In the past, they were relegated to the back of the crisper drawer, and I’d chop up a few at a time as an afterthought to whatever salad. Eh, boring.

This time around, I stuffed the pods into a jar of pickling liquid (hot water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, yellow mustard seeds, black peppercorns, red chili flakes… exact quantities have been forgotten) and let them hang out in the fridge while I was in Hawaii. A few weeks later, ta-da! I nibble on a few every night while making dinner.

Previous pickling experiences:
spicy radish roots and carrots
exploding kimchi

wheatberries

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:59:33 -0400

Here’s my latest in grain exploration. Wheatberries aren’t actually berries the way, say, blueberries are berries. Wheatberries are entire kernels of wheat: bran, germ, and all. They’re kind of like round, chewy grains of rice. To prepare them, all you have to do is drop them in some boiling water for about 1 hour to 90 minutes, then drain them. They’re great for salads (e.g. with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, scallions, lemon juice, olive oil, and feta cheese) or even breakfast (scooped on top of yogurt with honey and fruit).

mitch (and john) in the vacation kitchen

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:03:13 -0400

A week spent in Kauaʻi is a wonderful, wonderful thing. We stared at the outrageously beautiful scenery from dawn ‘til dusk everyday, swam with sea turtles and the famous humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, and took beer-fueled naps on the beach every now and then. We ate fresh poke and all kinds of pork (kalua pork, lau lau, and of course, Spam), overbought then gorged ourselves on all kinds of locally grown fruit (mangoes, passion fruit, soursop, non-Hass avocados, little bananas that make the everyday Cavendish seem like a bland, oversized loser of a fruit), and even managed to pull together some cheap, tasty meals of our own creation in a modest kitchenette. Like the one you see below: sliced bread with sausages, Kauai Kunana goat cheese, drippy mango pieces, and nutty avocado slices.

You know what else is good? A nice ripe avocado with fresh lime juice (those Hawaii limes were killer, I wish I had smuggled some back) and a good sprinkling of salt, eaten with a spoon. It’s basically perfect.

gooseberry clafoutis

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:06:00 -0400

Kind of like flan, kind of like a Dutch baby pancake. Clafoutis is a dessert from central France that is traditionally made with sweet cherries, which are in season right now. The batter is eggy and custardy and soft. Best of all, clafoutis is a breeze to make. I didn’t even break a sweat, even with the oven pre-heating.

My CSA cherries were too good to not be savored on their own, so I made use of some tart gooseberries in their place. I also added a bit of St-Germain elderflower liquer, which I love but have too much of, since I am not enough of a master-cocktailer to make fancy beverages with it. Clafoutis can also be made with just about any other kind of berry or sliced fruit (and other liquers and extracts, if you’d like).

recipe:

a bit of butter and a bit of flour
about 1 1/2 cups gooseberries
3 eggs
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups milk or cream (or a combination of the two)
1/4 cup St-Germain liquer (optional… if you don’t use it, replace with 1/4 cup milk or cream)
1/2 cup flour
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 10-inch pie plate, gratin dish, or cake pan. Dust with flour, then shake off the excess that doesn’t stick to the butter.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl until frothy. Blend in sugar and salt, then add milk/cream and liquer. (Or maybe try soaking the gooseberries in St-Germain? I didn’t do this, but it might be a way to temper the tartness of the berries.) Gradually add flour while stirring gently to get everything well blended (there may still be some lumps, which is okay).

Spread gooseberries out evenly in the buttered and floured pan. Pour batter over the berries. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until top is lightly golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool, then dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Note: I am eating a cold wedge of this stuff as I write. The leftovers make a decent breakfast.

cold soups

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:39:06 -0400

New favorite summer food: chilled soups. They’re like cold smoothies you drink with a spoon. Or out of a glass with a straw, I don’t see anything wrong with that. And they’re great when you feel like eating your fruits and veggies in something other than a salad.

Chilled Watermelon and Cucumber Soup
Kind of like gazpacho, but not completely. I blended chunks of watermelon, peeled cucumber, orange bell pepper, and red onion with salt, pepper, lime juice, and mint, then drizzled a little olive oil on top.

Summer Squash and Buttermilk Soup
Found this one on 101 Cookbooks. A nice way to get some extra squash and leftover buttermilk off your hands.

Cold Borscht
Classic! Simmer some chopped beets and onions in broth, then let it cool down. Add matchsticks of cucumbers and radishes, along with some yogurt or sour cream, fresh dill, parsley, and scallions.

vegetable paella

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:25:31 -0400

Because you know, Spain, World Cup, had some escarole, found some arborio rice in the pantry. Recipe from Epicurious.

cream cheese rolls with kiwi jam

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:59:00 -0400

I love cinnamon rolls, but I thought I’d improvise and make use of a lonely block of cream cheese whose bagel friends had already been eaten. And it’s like 100 degrees outside, so of course I felt like ripping the battery out of the smoke detector and cranking up the oven.

These little buns weren’t yeasty and gooey the way my favorite cinnamon rolls are. Instead, they were fluffy and biscuit-y and oh god do I love buttermilk in baked goods. A perfect accompaniment to yummy kiwi jam made by Jocelyn, Ashwin, and Hayes.

To make the filling, I combined 8 ounces of cream cheese (softened at room temperature) with 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and a little bit of lemon zest.

For the dough, I followed this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated (favorite food magazine by the way, thanks Mom!), swapped in my cream cheese filling for the brown sugar cinnamon mixture, and omitted the glaze. I am currently fantasizing about a savory, cheddar-crusted version of these pull-apart rolls. Hang on to your pants people, it’s gonna be good.

ricotta and edamame crostini

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:00:00 -0400

I’m back, I’m married, and I’m not ashamed to say that I have the greatest friends and family (including husband, whoa) in the world. Thanks to them, I had a blast. Best day of my life so far.

Now that we’ve returned, we’re back to the usual cooking and cleaning and working and studying. Not as fun as planning the biggest party of my life, but it feels good to settle back in.

explanation of what is in that photo above, and how to make it:

sliced not-too-dense, not-too-soft bread (I used a baguette)
extra virgin olive oil

fresh ricotta cheese
lemon zest

fresh or frozen edamame, shelled and cooked in boiling salted water

for the dressing:
6 garlic scapes (found at CSAs and farmers markets)
2 handfuls of cilantro (basil would’ve been good too)
2-3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
salt and black pepper
3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Toast bread in the oven or toaster oven until barely browned. Drizzle on some olive oil.

Combine ricotta with lemon zest. Smear on each slice of bread.

To make the dressing, combine garlic scapes, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor until finely chopped. Drizzle in olive oil. Add dressing to edamame. Top crostini with edamame. Finish with a sprinkle of salt.

potato and arugula salad with blue cheese and yogurt dressing

Wed, 26 May 2010 17:05:40 -0400

Last weekend I said goodbye to a grandfather who I will miss more than I ever imagined. Yesterday I took my last final of a semester that I should’ve earned higher grades in. Last night I had nachos and beers for dinner (Pavla would be proud). Today I’m playing frantic catch-up at work. Tomorrow my apartment will look cleaner and better than it does today, after we haul everything from one room into another. Next month I’m getting married (holy shit) to this dude I’ve been outrageously in love with for the past six years.

And all I really wanted for lunch today was this salad that I threw together while letting all of the above sink in.

a couple tablespoons of chopped red onion
a couple tablespoons of yogurt
salt and pepper
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
a drizzle of milk and/or olive oil
crumbled blue cheese

2 strips bacon
1 medium waxy red, yellow, or white potato, diced
handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
several handfuls of baby arugula, spinach, or other salad greens

Combine first 6 ingredients to make dressing. Set aside (I like to make it in the same big bowl that the whole salad will end up in).

Fry bacon in a pan over medium heat until crisp, turning frequently. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. Get rid of most of the rendered bacon fat, leaving just enough to coat the pan.

Add potatoes to pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until potatoes are soft and slightly golden.

Crumble or chop bacon. Combine with potatoes, tomatoes, and dressing. Mix in greens.

pad kee mao (drunken noodles)

Thu, 20 May 2010 16:34:46 -0400

Most of you probably have a standard dish you like to order for dinner at your local Thai takeout joint. John and I robotically call in an order for one pad see ew and one pad kee mao, both with veggie duck, and no utensils please, whenever we’d rather not cook. While these are staples on the menu of pretty much every American Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to, stir-fried noodle dishes are more of a street-food thing in Thailand. There are carts (and clusters of carts in what resembles a food court) that sell boxes of hot, spicy, greasy, cooked-to-order noodles throughout the night for about $1.50. No waiters, no cocktail menu, and no impressively designed restroom fixtures, as you’d expect in New York City. Just free outdoor seating on the muggy streets of Bangkok (or Udon Thani, where I also got a chance to scarf down some pad thai a few years ago).

Pad kee mao translates to “shit drunk noodles,” or in more menu-friendly terms, “drunken noodles.” When done right, it’s very spicy (unfortunately mine weren’t, thanks to weak ass supermarket jalapeños). But there is no alcohol in the dish itself. There are a few origin stories about the name floating around (as there are for plenty of other dishes):

You’ll get really drunk trying to soothe your burning mouth with that beer in your hand
You’d have to be drunk to be crazy enough to eat something this spicy
The dish is a favorite among late-night partiers
The chef was drunk and added too many chilies
It’s a great hangover cure

It seems like every other pad kee mao blog post out there notes that these noodles are good enough to eat while sober. I have to agree.

6 to 8 oz dried rice noodles (or the fresh, wide kind)
8 oz protein of your choice, sliced (chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, mock duck/seitan, tofu, etc. etc.)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, or a few Thai bird chilies, chopped
1 to 1 1/2 bell peppers, sliced
1/2 small white or yellow onion, sliced
2-3 heads baby bok choy (optional), chopped
2 small tomatoes (optional), chopped
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
juice of one lime
pinch of sugar
basil leaves (Thai basil if you can get it)

Soak dried noodles in a large bowl of warm (not hot!) water while you do all the other prep work. They should be pliable but not soggy.

Heat a saute pan or wok over medium-high heat with some canola, peanut, or vegetable oil. Add garlic and chilies and cook for about 5 seconds, then add whatever protein you’re using. Stir-fry over medium-high heat until protein is mostly cooked through. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until softened. Add remaining vegetables, if using.

Combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice.

Add noodles to the pan, and mix in with the vegetables. They should soften up a bit. Add sauce mixture and toss to coat evenly. Throw in some torn basil leaves.

grilled cheese with all kinds of things

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:53:06 -0400

You’re looking at cheddar, emmental, onion jam, baby arugula, and sliced apples piled in between slices of whole wheat bread. It was one of those fridge-cleaner meals with leftover odds and ends. A little bit messy, a lot delicious.

Here are my tips for how to make a decent grilled cheese sandwich:

Let the butter soften to room temperature before slathering it all over the bread.
Don’t use bread that is too thick; if you insulate your sandwich fillings, they’re not going to melt.
Have some cheese touching each slice of bread. It’s like a savory glue that holds your sandwich together.
Season veggie fillings (tomatoes, greens, etc.) with salt and pepper.
Use low heat and put a lid on on the pan. Your patience will result in a buttery crunchy exterior and a hot gooey interior.
Prevent sogginess! When the sandwich is ready to serve, put the “cold” side (the side that wasn’t touching the pan last) down on the plate, so that your sandwich doesn’t soak in condensation.

cream biscuits

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:53:00 -0400

I woke up this rainy Sunday morning and thought, “Let’s make oatmeal for breakfast.” When I discovered that we had only a scant 1/2 cup of steel cut oats left I thought, “Let’s make biscuits for breakfast. And then slather them with butter and honey.” Don’t be fooled by the whole wheat pastry flour; these biscuits are pretty fluffy and fatty (the whole batch has around 1900 calories, around 60 percent of which are from fat) and don’t really need extra butter slathered on top, in my opinion. You could also skip the whole wheat pastry flour and just use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.

(recipe adapted from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Cooking)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour*
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
up to 4 teaspoons sugar (optional. I used 2 teaspoons and the biscuits were just a little bit sweet)
3 to 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (I find that 3 tablespoons make them plenty rich, and 6 is just too too much)
3/4 cup cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl. Add butter and combine using a pastry blender, until the butter is the size of small peas. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cream, and pour the rest into the flour and butter mixture. Using a fork, mix just until combined. If the dough isn’t coming together and seems too dry, add a little bit of the reserved cream.

Knead the dough lightly in the bowl until it seems smooth-ish, then put it on a lightly floured cutting board or counter. Roll dough about 3/4-inch thick, then cut into squares or circles (I used a shot glass to make little biscuits). Arrange biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then brush the tops with reserved cream. Bake for 17 minutes (for my tiny-sized biscuits), or until tops are golden brown.

* Pastry flour contains less gluten (the protein component of wheat) than all-purpose flour. Gluten is what makes things like pizza dough elastic and bread chewy (which is why bread flour is on the other end of the spectrum from pastry flour: it has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour). Gluten is also the thing in wheat that those with celiac disease react to. Okay fine, I guess I should save this for a wheat post someday.

arugula salad with hazelnuts and goat cheese

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:17:57 -0400

Full disclosure: I had a brownie and a glass of milk for dinner tonight, around 8pm. I’ve gone mad, I know. Thankfully, I also had a salad and some leftover rice and beans for dessert.

To make the salad the way I make my salad: Put baby arugula and thinly sliced shallot in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Add a drizzle of pomegranate molasses (or a mixture of vinegar and honey? I just thought of that) and a drizzle of olive oil. Toss gently with your hand. This is my favorite way to mix baby greens. Add chopped hazelnuts and crumbles of fresh goat cheese.

mushroom ragout

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:39:40 -0400

In the past, I’ve committed horrible culinary crimes against even the humblest of mushrooms. Bruising them. Letting them get all slimy in the fridge. Cooking them on heat that was too low. Adding salt to the pan way, way too early and watching the mushrooms simmer in their own extracted juice. At last, I think I may have gotten it right. Months ago, Diana and I showed up at a Whisk & Ladle dinner with some MilkMade goods to share. The guest chef from Studiofeast cooked up some crazy delicious trumpet mushrooms, served to guests with a consomme but perfect for snacking on with nothing but lickable fingertips. The secrets, he told me, were 1. patience (don’t move them around the pan and wait and wait and wait for them to get really caramelized), and 2. lots of butter and olive oil. And there was some sticky balsamic vinegar in there at the end. I’ve yet to re-create that night’s addictively delicious dish, but the advice got me back into mushrooms. I’ve been patiently preparing them here and there ever since.

This stuff is delicious on polenta, in a quinoa salad with more herbs and vegetables, smothered all over a piece of chicken, or maybe just about everything.

1 pound mushrooms, cut into bite-size pieces (any slice-able kind you want! or like, a mix)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small shallot bulb, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
splash of white wine (optional)
about 1/2 cup broth (I used chicken broth, but vegetable works too if that’s your thing)
splash of balsamic vinegar
some thyme
salt and black pepper, as usual
a few tablespoons of heavy cream or creme fraiche (optional)

Add butter and olive oil to a heated pan. Add sliced mushrooms and leave them alone for a little while on medium heat (at least 5 minutes). When they start to brown, toss them around so the other mushroom surfaces can get brown. After 5 more minutes or so, add shallot and garlic. Let cook for another few minutes, or until everything is soft. Add white wine and scrape up all the slightly burnt pieces stuck to the pan. Add broth, vinegar, thyme, salt, and pepper and let simmer until liquid has reduced. Add cream or creme fraiche at the end.