Mushroom Soup

We had this soup earlier this week, and it was the PERFECT night for it. It was cold and rainy and windy. Soup weather! This soup was really good, and it made the whole house smell yummy! Once again I got to use my much-loved immersion blender on this one. This was pretty easy to throw together, and even though Toby added hot sauce to his, I thought it was great. With this we had some cheesy foccacia rolls. Oh- Liam hates mushrooms, but ate two bowls of this. A 3 year old ate 2 bowls of soup!

rating: 8.8

Mushroom Soup
(from www.BHG.com)

Ingredients

* 1/4  cup butter
* 1  medium white onion, chopped
* 4  cloves garlic, minced
* 2  bay leaves
* 2  tsp. fresh snipped rosemary
* 1-1/2  lb. button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
* 2  14-oz. cans chicken or vegetable broth (I used veggie broth)
* 2  cups whipping cream
* 1  cup bottled roasted red peppers, drained (I omitted)
* 2  Tbsp. olive oil (I omitted)

Directions

1. In large saucepan melt butter. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and rosemary; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add mushrooms; cook and stir 5 minutes. Add broth; bring to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes more or until mushrooms are tender. Remove bay leaves. Cool slightly.

2. In processor or blender, a third at a time, blend soup until almost smooth. Repeat with remaining soup. Return to the pan; season with salt and pepper. Bring to boiling. Whisk in cream; heat through.

3. Mash peppers; stir in oil. To serve, ladle soup in bowls, top with mashed peppers, sprinkle snipped rosemary. Serves 12.

Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Pie

This is the 2nd pie that I took down to NC for Thanksgiving. I figured this would be a good switch from the typical pumpkin pie, but wouldn’t be so crazy that pumpkin pie lovers would get mad. There are lots of reviews of this pie on the Food Network website. It’s really good to read these reviews before you attempt any recipe because you pick up lots of great tips! Like, I found out that this recipe actually makes TWO pies! And that when a recipe calls for 2 cups of pumpkin, that’s ONE can! See? So with this recipe you are pretty much making a pie crust and then making the filling, and then filling the pie crust. I cheated (again) and bought a frozen pre-made pie crust. Again, a big family holiday get-together is NOT the time for debuting something big. This pie turned out ok. I say ok only because after it was done, and I let it cool, and then I put it in the fridge overnight and drove it down to NC the next day, it kind of fell. It turned out being a very THIN pie. The taste was good, but there just wasn’t much to it. The GOOD thing, though, is that I froze the other half of the pie filling, so now I can make another one and see if it fares better without traveling. Stay tuned!

rating: 8

Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Pie
(from www.foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients

* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
* 1 cup half-and-half
* 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional (I omitted)
* 1 piece pre-made pie dough (I used a frozen pre-made pie crust)
* Whipped cream, for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Pasta with Brie, mushrooms, and arugula

I think Brie makes just about anything taste better.  This recipe was pretty darn easy to make, and I wasn’t sure if it would be flavorful enough, but it was! Toby’s comment was “I am not sure I like arugula.” Well, I think the arugula MADE this dish. Something about a forkful of the pasta, the cheese, mushrooms, and then the peppery arugula. MMMM. I suppose you could sub spinach. Really good. Serve this with some warm crusty bread.

rating: 8.5

Pasta with Brie, mushrooms, and arugula

(from the Nov. 09 issue of Real Simple magazine)

Serves 4 Hands-On Time: 20m Total Time: 20m

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne (3/4 box)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound button mushrooms, quartered
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 8 ounces Brie, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 cups baby arugula

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onion and cook, tossing occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Toss the pasta with the Brie and reserved pasta water until the pasta is coated. Stir in the mushroom mixture and arugula.

Quick Mushroom-Barley Soup

I don’t think I have ever cooked with barley before. Barley is….very chewy. Not sure if I love it or not. Anywho, this soup was ok. I didn’t love it. I told Toby it didn’t knock my socks off. I used matchstick carrots instead of rounds, and I used vegetarian “chicken” broth.  With this we had a salad and some bread. Eh.

rating: 5
Quick Mushroom-Barley Soup
(from www.allyou.com)

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1  onion, finely chopped
• 2  carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (I used matchstick carrots)
• 10  ounce  white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1  cup  pearl barley
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried thyme
• 3  cups  low-sodium chicken broth (I used veggie chicken broth)
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until they release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add barley, oregano and thyme and stir 1 minute.

2. Add chicken broth and 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer until barley is tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

Toasted Sesame Balsamic Asparagus

I saw this ad for McCormick’s Toasted Sesame Seeds in a magazine (along with this recipe), so I thought I would give it a whirl. This is pretty easy, and really jazzes up your basic roasted asparagus. I roasted mine about 15 minutes. The sauce was very subtle but good! I left out the red pepper since I don’t do spicy, but this was still a really easy flavorful way to dress up your asparagus. We also enjoyed some Crash Hot Potatoes and Riblets. Mmmmm.

rating: 8.5

Toasted Sesame Balsamic Asparagus
(from an ad in a magazine)

2 tsp sesame oil
1 pound asparagus spears
2 tsp McCormick Gourmet Collection toasted Sesame Seed or Sesame Seed, toasted
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1/8 tsp McCormick gourmet Collection Crushed red pepper (I omitted)

Spread sesame oil in foil-lined baking pan. Wash asparagus and break off stalks as far down as they snap easily, 1-2 inches from ends. Roll asparagus in sesame oil. Sprinkle with sesame seed. Arrange asparagus in single layer.

Roast in preheated 425 degree F oven 10 minutes or until crisp tender.

Mix vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and red pepper in small bowl. remove asparagus from oven; place on serving platter. Drizzle with soy sauce mixture.

Pumpkin- Sage Polenta

Have you ever had polenta? I love it. And I love pumpkin. So why not combine them?  This is a great side to throw together in a snap. Seriously, this was ready in about 7 minutes. I did use Silk soy milk instead of the low-fat milk. I thought this was good, but it needed something. I don’t know what. And it started out really creamy, like grits, but the longer it sat on the stove it got dry and chunky. I doubt I will make it again, but it was a good idea. With this we had some Quorn naked cutlets and a green salad.

rating: 6

Pumpkin-sage Polenta
(from www.myrecipes.com)

Ingredients

* 2 1/2  cups  1% low-fat milk
* 2  cups  water
* 3/4  cup  canned pumpkin
* 1 1/4  teaspoons  salt
* 1 1/4  cups  instant dry polenta
* 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
* 2  tablespoons  1/3-less-fat cream cheese
* 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh sage
* 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) shaved fresh Parmesan

Preparation

Bring milk and water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add pumpkin and salt; stir with a whisk. Reduce heat to low, and gradually whisk in polenta; cook 1 minute or until thick. Remove from heat. Add 3/4 cup grated Parmesan, cream cheese, and sage; stir until cheeses melt. Top with shaved Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Mushroom Pies with Pear Salad

Well, the Food Network magazine has done it again. This was AWESOME. Toby said several times how great it was, and then he said “This is in your top 10 of best meals EVER.” Ever! I had my doubts about this. I wondered how in the world the portobello cap was going to cook in 25 minutes, all wrapped up in that dough?! I thought it might be a little undercooked. Nope. The crust was so flaky and good, and the mushroom was perfectly tender inside. We felt a little decadent, cutting into this cute little pie! And the salad was good as well! I told Toby that this would be a good dish to have when we have friends over for dinner, and he agreed, and said we should also have this salad, too, since they go so well together. I put my puff pastry in the fridge to thaw all day, but when I got it out at dinner-time, it was still a little frozen. It wouldn’t roll out much, and instead of just using the one sheet, I ended up using both. Oh well. I had alot of the cheese/bread crumb mixture left over as well. I would say next time to use maybe 1.5 cups of cheese instead of 2. Again, this was SO good. Top 10, people! Top 10!

rating: 9.7

Mushroom Pies with Pear Salad
(from the Nov. 2009 issue of the Food Network magazine)

* Cooking spray
* All-purpose flour, for dusting
* 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of a 17.3-ounce package), thawed
* 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
* Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
* 4 large portobello mushroom caps
* 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
* 2 cups shredded cheddar and/or muenster cheese
* 1 large egg, beaten
* 1 shallot, thinly sliced
* 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 6 ounces mache or other salad greens (about 6 cups)
* 1 pear, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and mist with cooking spray.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 14-inch square and cut into four 7-inch squares. Brush the center of each with mustard and season with salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms gill-side up on the pastry and season with salt and pepper.

Toss the breadcrumbs and cheese in a bowl and sprinkle over the mushrooms. Fold in the pastry edges, pleating to fully cover the mushrooms; press to seal. Brush both sides of the pastry with the beaten egg. Place seam-side down on the baking sheet, make slits in the top and bake until golden and crisp, 25 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine the shallot, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl, then whisk in the olive oil. Toss the dressing with the salad greens and pear. Serve the salad with the mushroom pies.

Guy Fieri’s Holy Haluski

We love watching Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives on tv. I get alot of good ideas from this show! Mostly it just makes me hungry. We saw this episode where this woman made this dish, and the host (Guy) tasted it and said that he loved it and that HE was going to make it at home. This is that dish. It was in the Food Network magazine that I get, and I knew I had to give it a try. I, of course, left out the pancetta, and was just going to omit it, but then at the last minute decided to fry up 3 strips of vegetarian bacon and use those instead. I also got frustrated while cutting up my head of cabbage and only used about 3/4 of it. This has alot of flavor! At first Toby said he didn’t think that he liked it, but he kept eating it and even got seconds! He said that he thinks it’s the texture that turns him off (the onions and cabbage being “slimy”), but the more he ate it, the more he liked it. He said next time less cabbage and more capers. I really think that egg noodles in a dish makes anything taste good, but I really liked this one. I ate some for lunch too! This is just a nice combination of unique flavors. Try it!

rating: 8

Guy Fieri’s Holy Haluski
(from The Food Network magazine)

• Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 pound thinly sliced pancetta, diced (I used Morningstar Farms fake bacon)
• 2 large onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 medium head green cabbage, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 cup carrots, cut in 1/4-inch julienne
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (I used dried thyme)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces wide egg noodles
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup green peas, preferably fresh, shelled, but can substitute frozen
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (I omitted)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the noodles.

2. In a large Dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat and add the pancetta. Cook, stirring, until crisp, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the pancetta to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Reserve.

3. Strain the fat from the pancetta into a bowl and wipe the pot clean. Add back in 2 tablespoons of the pancetta fat and melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in the pot. Reserve the remaining pancetta fat for another use or discard.

4. Add the onions, cabbage, carrots and thyme. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and half the pepper. Stir to coat the vegetables with the butter. Cover and cook until the cabbage is wilted and almost tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the cabbage is very tender, about 10 more minutes.

5. While the cabbage cooks, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.

6. Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring, until the cabbage and onions are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add in the garlic and capers and cook for 1 minute. Add the peas, deglaze the pan with the white wine and add the lemon juice. Add in three-quarters of the pancetta, combine well and remove from heat.

7. Drain the noodles and add to the pot with the cabbage. Toss well to coat the noodles with the cabbage and onion mixture. Sprinkle with the parsley, remaining pancetta and the remaining pepper.

Serve immediately.

Marche Wedding Soup

This recipe comes from The Splendid Table from NPR. I get their emails (maybe weekly?) and sometimes the recipes sound really good! I figured I would give this soup a try. We had it last week when it was cold and rainy, and it was really the perfect night for soup. There’s really not much to it. Like, literally. It’s basically broth. I suppose you could jazz it up with some pasta or something. I think it’s a great soup for, say, if you are sick on the couch. This is a good “sipping” soup. It’s really good, but again, there’s not much there. I substituted vegetarian chicken broth for the real stuff. With this we enjoyed some crusty olive bread and a green salad.

rating: 8

Marche Wedding Soup
Stracciosa in Brodo
From The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy’s Farmhouse Kitchens by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (Scribner, 1999). Copyright 1999 by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Serves 6 to 8

Lacing hot broth with a blend of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, egg, lemon zest and spices transforms a pot of good-tasting liquid into an elegant event. The creamy mix firms into threads. The soup is a close relative of Rome’s Stracciatella and a favorite opening to wedding feasts in central Italy’s Marche region. Eggs and meat broth are old symbols of celebration. Begin almost any meal with the soup, as long as cheese and lemon are not important flavorings in any other dish.

• 10 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth (or homemade if you have some) (I used vegetarian chicken broth)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Shredded zest of 1/2 large lemon
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1. In a 4-quart saucepan, simmer the broth and wine 5 minutes, partially covered. Season to taste.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, blend the eggs, water, cheese, lemon zest, nutmeg, and about 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

3. Take the soup off the heat. With a fork, gently stir in the egg mixture with long slow strokes until it firms into pale shreds floating in the broth. The long strokes lengthen the shreds slightly. This should take 10 to 15 seconds. There will be a moment when the Parmigiano and lemon release their fragrances – enjoy it. Quickly taste the soup for seasoning and serve it while it’s still very hot and fragrant.

(Faux) Chicken Cacciatore

I had chicken cacciatore once when I was younger, and I remember it being SO good. I decided to attempt this recipe with the Morningstar Farms fake chicken (Chick’N Strips). At first I was going to just throw the strips into the recipe, but then I thought, why not really treat them like they are real chicken? So I dipped them in the flour mixture like it says. They were good that way! I also left out the carrot, celery and parsley. I hate when you only need a little bit of an ingredient for a recipe, and you have to buy ALOT of it (the rest of the carrots and celery would go bad in my fridge). Does that make sense? Anyway, when Toby took the first bite of this dish, he asked “is there any booze in this?” I guess you could really taste it. Another thing- this ended up almost like a pasta sauce. I thought, we can’t just eat this like soup, so I boiled some egg noodles and served it on top of that. That turned out well. Oh, one more thing…at the very end I added about 1/2 cup of heavy cream.

rating: 8

Chicken Cacciatore
(from www.myrecipes.com)

Ingredients

* 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4  teaspoons  kosher salt
* 3/4  teaspoon  black pepper
* 1  3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, cut into pieces (I used Morningstar Farms Chick’N Strips)
* 1/4  cup  olive oil
* 1  medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
* 1  carrot, diced (I omitted)
* 1  celery stalk, diced (I omitted)
* 4  cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 3  sprigs fresh thyme
* 1  bay leaf
* 1  28-ounce can plum tomatoes
* 1/3  cup  dry red wine
* 1/4  cup  fresh flat-leaf parsley,roughly chopped (I omitted)

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Working in batches, lightly coat the chicken with the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add some of the chicken to the pan and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; set aside. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Add the onion to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Crush the tomatoes in the can with a large spoon and stir them into the vegetables along with the wine and the remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Add the chicken, reduce heat, and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes, turning the pieces occasionally. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the parsley.