A lucky meeting. HG, pockets jingling with beach glass after a long walk on the beach off Prince Edward Island’s Maclaren Road, spotted a familiar figure near the beach entrance. It was Winfried S., the distinguished Swiss publisher. HG/BSK met Winfried and wife a few years ago. Charming couple. Publishers of the German translations of Donna Leon’s Venetian detective novels. At the time, they were vacationing at one of the chalets on Maclaren Road and they had returned. Winfried, now retired, is a consultant to various publishers and was soon leaving for the Frankfurt Book Fair. He told HG that the field around his chalet was filled with chanterelle mushrooms. And, he made a lovely offer: Drive to the entrance of the cluster of chalets, and he would give HG/BSK some bags of freshly picked mushrooms. Happy HG. Chanterelles are HG’s favorite fungus (morels are the runner up). HG/BSK drove home with a very large amount of these good things. BSK cooked a bunch of them with chopped onions and herbs plus a generous hunk of butter and white wine. Mixed them with orzo and served them as an accompaniment to roast spatchcocked chicken (a BSK signature dish). The chanterelles were earthy, fragrant with a subtle spiciness. Joyous meal.
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