Brie & Chanterelle pizza

Have you ever gone mushroom picking?  I am personally not the poster child for the great outdoors but I’m a forager to my core!  Have a plum tree with too many plums?  I’m your girl!  I have been picking berries & veggies and fruit from the side of the road and people yards for as long as I can remember.  When I was about 8, my mom would take us kids to an open field by our home that had what seems like acres of cherry trees in my mind.  In reality it is was about 3 but when you are a kid everything is bigger.  We called this field cherry heaven, it’s where I learned the value of foraging.  We didn’t have much by the way of material things as a kid but my memories are worth pure gold.  We had so much fun, always.  These days the only thing I think I have never gone looking for is mushrooms!  Hunting for mushrooms has been on my bucket list for years!  Because it’s so tricky and can potentially kill you I’ve never been brave enough to head out on my own.  My love for foraging is equally met by a strong dislike for bugs and bears and wild cats!  A long time friend of mine has a mountain man for a dad so this year I begged to come along and gather chanterelles!  As I packed a small bag of supplies to have in the woods I couldn’t help but get nervous, what if I get lost?? In the PNW we have bears!  What if I ran into a BEAR?!   I put my fears aside and my boots on and brought a knife to cut the mushrooms.  When we got to our secret spot, Scott, our guide showed me exactly what to look for.  A chanterelle has veins that run from the undercap into the stem and he showed me what to avoid.  My mushroom hunting dreams were coming true.  We hiked deep into the woods off the beaten path in search of this North West Gold!  In about two hours, I found 1.  This was no joke!!  Scott and Delaney shared their haul with me and I was so proud.  Sweaty, sore and tired but I had about 1 pound of pure perfection in the form of chanterelles.  I wanted to treat these lovely fungi very special.  What pairs better with buttery chanterelles than Brie & chewy pizza crust?  A star was born.  

Brie & Chanterelle Pizza  

2 prepared pizza crusts (like naan) 

1 cup sliced Brie  

4 cups cups sliced mushrooms  

fresh thyme 

2 tbsp butter  

1 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste  

To begin, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.   In a large sauté pan heat butter & oil over medium high heat.  Add mushrooms and caramelize them, (takes about 8 minutes) add fresh garlic, thyme, salt and pepper at the end and cook for an additional minute.  Set aside.  Turn your oven over from 425 to broil and arrange the cheese all over the crusts on a lined baking sheet.  Broil until crust is golden and the Brie is melty and caramelized.  Divide the mushrooms between both crusts and enjoy!  Add a fresh glug of olive oil to finish the pizzas for fun and a sprinkle of chili flakes and flakey salt!