Behind the scenes of this week's Randwiches + I'm going on TOUR!

Let's talk about mushrooms. Growing up, I was never a fan of mushrooms. I picked them off my Costco-everything pizza. My fork skirted around them in pasta and good lord, I wouldn't touch anything with mushroom gravy on it. In fact, when I was working at a restaurant, my least favorite task was cleaning, chopping and sauteeing 3 bulk boxes of assorted mushrooms. Something magical happened over the Summer of 2009. Perhaps it was the forcible fact that I had to try everything I was cooking at the restaurant, but I started to adore mushrooms. Or maybe I had only encountered mere plebian button 'shrooms in the past! No, it was the water content. It was the squishy texture and the fact that I didn't know about deglazing yet. As you cook mushrooms, their walls start to break down and release water (this is the phase that I hate). I'm of the opinion that you're lazy if you stop here. I learned to revive the flavor and create a yummy sauce by adding wine or cream! Oh ho ho, the places you'll go !

Over the years, I've gone back and forth between butter and olive oil; when do I add the onions and what spices should I use? My new friend Mattias (composer of the game Cobalt !) sent me a Jamie Oliver episode about Sweden. Jamie went foraging for chanterelles and fried them over an open fire. His technique was familiar but the order of action was different from what I was used to. I'm used to heating up spiced olive oil, adding onion, the mushrooms and then the wine or cream. Instead, Jamie first dried the mushrooms out in the clean pan.


Here, I have chopped crimini, shitake and oyster mushrooms tossing around over medium heat. We're doing this so the little caps can collect more flavors! I toss them around for a couple minutes, some bits will stick to the pan. That's alright.

Next, a good 2-3 tablespoons of butter went into the pan with sliced shallots. This is very neurotic thing that I do, but I slice the shallots into rings, but I don't separate them. If you separate the shallots (or onions) into rings before you sear them, they're more likely to break in the stirring process. Let them come apart on their own in the pan.

Ok, I am having a moment. Butter, swirling. Yes.


You can see that the edges of the mushrooms are getting browner and the shallots are getting softer. I like to add a couple pinches of salt around this time, things start to get a little sweaty.

Maybe I like to see bubbles or hear the SCHISHHHHHHHH of the pan when I add liquids to mushrooms, but I turn the heat up all the way when I think the little babies look thirsty.


This is where you scrape the bottom of the pan for that lovely declacage (yup, there's a name for recovering the burned bits at the bottom of the pan for sauce). I let the cream sizzle there for about 30 seconds before I stir it up. It needs a second to bind with the butter. Just two quick turns and I turn the heat off. If you keep the heat on, the cream will reduce too much and you'll get more of a paste than a gravy-like sauce.

I fed my 50th sandwich to Kim Wong! Here is the finished sandwich with creamy mushrooms, red cabbage and kashkaval. Are you brave enough to eat a random sandwich? Next available delivery day is Monday 3/21. You can also schedule delivery far in advance or for someone else! Fill out the order form at Escoffiette! 

Why am I taking a break from deliveries? My band, The Shortsleeves, is going on tour ! You're all invited to our kick-off show this Tuesday (3/8) at Fontana's !

We were going to print up shirts (see sweet design by Gideon on the left), but our travel costs are a little more than we could handle. Please come and see us if you can! If you’re unable to attend,consider donating a couple bucks on our Bandcamp page.


(_/¯~_~)_/¯ THE SHORTSLEEVES BLACK WHITE TOUR ¯\_(~_~¯\_)

3/8/2011 - New York, NY -  Fontana’s with Burnkit 2600, Beta Club Field Trip + InvaderBacca

3/10/2011 - Rochester, NY -  The Bug Jar with Revingineers and Walmart Supercenter

3/12/2011 - Philadelphia, PA - 8static with Bit Shifter, Kris Keyser + The C-Men

3/13/2011 - Boston, MA - PAX East / Boston8Bit Chip Showcase with glomag + Corset Lore, Disasterpeace, facundo, 7th Gear

3/15/11 at The Apohadian (Portland, ME) with Computer at Sea and The Gloaming