Shiitake on a Shingle

In a previous post, I offered the recipe for creamed morels served over toast.  The process reminded me a little of my grandmother’s “creamed turkey on toast”, our family’s obligatory 4th or 5th day post-Thanksgiving meal (following T-day repeat dinner, and hot and cold turkey sandwiches, preceding turkey tetrazzini and turkey soup…Mama always procured a huge turkey).  All this nostalgia got me thinking of that old American staple, creamed chipped beef on toast, aka “shit on a shingle”.

Recently, the Good Stuff NW blog put up a post referencing this Army-slang standard, with a delicious modern version creaming greens and bacon, rather than beef.

Norma Cravens has dubbed her version that she makes at home, using her organically cultivated shiitake mushrooms, “Shiitake on a Shingle”.  So, yesterday, at the Portland Farmers Market’s NW 23rd Ave. opening market, I threw together my own Shiitake on a Shingle utilizing Springwater Farm’s fresh shiitake mushrooms.  Here’s the recipe:

Shiitake on a Shingle
serves 4-12 (depending on size)

1 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped spring onion or leek
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh herbs (such as a combination of parsley, marjoram, thyme)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. brandy or cognac
1 Tbsp. champagne vinegar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup creme fraiche
a baguette, sliced 1/2 inch thick on a bias, into 12 slices, or a rustic loaf of bread, such as ciabatta, sliced into 4 thick pieces
olive oil for drizzling the bread

Warm a skillet over a medium flame.  Add the butter and the shiitake mushrooms and sauté them until they are cooked through and beginning to brown.  Add the onion or leek and cook until it begins to soften.  Stir in the garlic and herbs and continue to cook for another minute.  Season the mushroom mixture with salt and pepper.

Carefully add the brandy to the mushrooms and let it cook away.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegar and lemon juice.  Blend in the creme fraiche.  Adjust seasonings as needed with salt and pepper.

While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the bread.  Brush or drizzle the bread with olive oil and line the slices up on a baking sheet.  Bake until mostly crisp in a pre-heated 400 degree F oven (4-7 minutes).  Alternatively, grill the slices over a hot bed of coals.

Top the toasted bread with the mushroom mixture and serve.