I've been reading a lot about chestnut honey recently, it seems to be everywhere I look. I took that as a sign and got some in as it's been a while since I've played with it. The honey that we got was from Piedmont and had a lovely complexity, a syrupy texture and a slightly tannic finish like tea. It was wonderful and I pondered the best use for it. I wanted to use it in a savory dish in a way that would best highlight it's unique characteristics. An idea for a vinaigrette came to mind. I used some warm water to dilute the the honey and melt it into the liquid. I added lemon juice for my acid, salt and some grapeseed oil. I deliberately chose the lemon to accent the tea-like characteristics of the honey and the grapeseed oil for it's neutrality to let the other flavors shine. They worked together beautifully and since Alex was cleaning some chanterelles as I made the vinaigrette, they seemed like a natural match. We seared the mushrooms to a crispy golden brown and then tossed them with the vinaigrette and left them to macerate. The result is the best of both worlds where the sum is greater than it's parts, sweet, tangy, earthy, chewy and simply amazing. We will be serving them tonight with seared skate wing, braised baby turnips and bacon dust. Wish you all could be here to taste it.