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Mushroom Beef Barley Soup

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The kitchen was really busy last night. Eight of us were buzzing around cooking for an upcoming party. Really great energy. As much as I think I am a person who prefers to be alone, I love the energy of being in the kitchen with a crowd of people. Don’t get me wrong — there is something  to cooking alone — being there in the quiet, creating something delicious for someone else to enjoy. It ministers to my spirit, and I sometimes get great ideas and thoughts about other projects. But a group that is working well together, chaotic as it might be, also ministers to the whole group in a way that can’t be duplicated. In the middle of this I was putting together my favorite Beef Mushroom Barley soup for guests and a retreat group the next day. What could be better on a cold rainy day! My brother in law just came through and tasted the soup. He said it needed some red wine, so I added a splash. He was so right!

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Mushroom Beef Barley Soup
SERVINGS
6servings
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servings
COOK TIME
8-10mins.
PREP TIME
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms to cover, set aside.
  2. In a large soup pot, saute beef in 1 Tablespoon oil until browned, 5 to 7 minutes, remove from pan.
  3. In the same pot, with the other Tablespoon of oil, cook your carrots, onions, leeks, celery and baby bella mushrooms until just browned, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  4. Stir in barley and thyme and cook for another minute.
  5. Add the beef broth.
  6. Drain dried mushrooms in a sieve, and add that liquid also to the pot.
  7. Chop the mushrooms until fine, and add those.
  8. Toss in the bay leaves.
  9. Simmer until meat is tender and barley cooked (about an hour for the beef tenders, and longer for the stew meat).
  10. A little while before serving pour in the wine, and heat again.
  11. Add kosher salt and ground pepper to taste. This can be made 2 or 3 days in advance — it will taste even better if made ahead.

Chicken Liver Pate

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Last night the Sisters had one of their most favorite comfort food meals. Old fashioned plain roast chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. That left us with ten chicken livers that I intended to sauté and add to today’s lunch for those who particularly enjoy them.  But I wasn’t able to get to them in time.  As I stood in the kitchen wondering what to do, our lace-making Sister came in to pack up a snack for seven or eight fellow lace-makers having their monthly Lace Makers Day tomorrow.  As she prepared her fruit, cheese and crackers I had a sudden thought:  “How would the ladies like a little liver pate for something different?”  “Great idea” was her response and within twelve minutes she had whipped up her favorite pate recipe. One of the easiest (as well as tastiest) I have ever come across.  Here it is in case you’d like to give it a try.

Chicken Liver Pate

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Chicken Liver Pate
SERVINGS
6servings
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servings
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Cook liver and onion with 1/4 cup butter until soft.
  2. Blend in food processor.
  3. Add remaining ingredients and turn into dish.
  4. Cover and chill.

Greek Frittata

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For almost ten years, a group of us met every Monday at 6:00 am to research, study, discuss, and plan the art work for our church. To make the early morning work more palatable, I prepared breakfast for the group. I loved doing it, they loved eating it, and showered me with compliments for the food. All around it was a most pleasant experience which we still refer to from time to time. I was particularly proud of my individual omelets which I felt I’d mastered the art of making. They were perfectly golden browned on the outside, while light and moist on the inside.  Everyone raved about them including Tom, our widely traveled food connoisseur.

However, twice after serving them he asked me “Do you ever make frittatas”?  Well no I hadn’t, nor had I ever had any desire to. For some reason I pictured them as a heavy baked egg dish which held no appeal to me, and I am ashamed to say that I let years go by before ever trying them. However, once I did, I immediately understood the reason for Tom’s question. Now I am an avid frittata fan, and I ask you, “Do you ever make frittatas”?  If not, don’t wait as long as I did to try one. Start now. You’ll be glad you did. One secret: Don’t over bake!

Greek Frittata

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Greek Frittata
SERVINGS
4servings
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servings
COOK TIME
30 – 35mins.
PREP TIME
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Heat toaster oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Add the oil to a 2-quart casserole and transfer to oven for 5 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper.
  4. Add the spinach, tomatoes, bacon, scallions and combine.
  5. Gently stir in the Feta.
  6. Remove the casserole from the oven.
  7. Pour the egg mixture into the casserole.
  8. Bake until the frittata is browned around the edges and slightly puffed and a knife comes out clean, 25 – 30 minutes.

Mountain Corn Chowder

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The cold weather is really upon us. We have a crusty covering of snow and the wind is blowing in off the bay right across the common. I love the cold and all the great food that goes with it. I recently had the challenge of feeding a construction crew at a mountain site and it was really cold up there, so I wanted to give them hot lunches or at least hot soup. The challenge was that the cooking facilities were a distance away, and I needed to transport hot soup to a really cold place. I wrapped a big pot in a blanket in a cooler with two big rocks heated in the oven on either side. It worked — it was almost too hot to eat! And the grilled ham and cheese sandwiches we put in there also stayed warm. The crew was very happy! My recipe today is the corn chowder I served on the mountain. It’s enough for a crowd of 12 hungry men.

Mountain Corn Chowder

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Mountain Corn Chowder
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, cook sausage, breaking up with a spoon until chunky and brown.
  2. Remove from pot to a paper towel-lined plate or pan.
  3. Cook onions in the sausage fat left behind in the pot until almost translucent, then add thyme and cook a couple of minutes longer.
  4. Add potatoes and vegetable stock and cook until potatoes are just tender.
  5. Add drained canned corn and creamed corn and browned sausage.
  6. Add milk to desired thickness.
  7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  8. Heat thoroughly but do not boil.
  9. Enjoy!

Deviled Eggs

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Last weekend Elements Theatre Company performed Henrik Ibsen’s “Pillars of the Community.” Each production we fed the cast and crew meals and snacks. This year I was feeling homey, so made some really good comfort food for them — what I like to eat, and what I know a number of them really enjoy. So it was meatloaf (a great recipe by Emeril Lagasse), macaroni and cheese, a really meaty lasagna, fried chicken (Ina Garten’s oven fried – my favorite)…you get the picture.The last night we decided to “pull out the stops,” making up big platters of antipasti, salad, home made bread with some of the lasagna, and as an afterthought, deviled eggs. Now I think I make a pretty mean deviled egg, and guess it’s true, because they were all gobbled up to rave reviews in the first wave of diners. I did this pretty much by “add a bit and taste.” I’ve tried to give you some measurements, but it’s really best if you make this to your level of devilishness.

Deviled Eggs
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Deviled Eggs
SERVINGS
12deviled egg halves
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deviled egg halves
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Cut eggs in half lengthwise, remove yolk to a small bowl, set aside whites.
  2. Mash with a fork, adding mayonnaise, Worcestershire, and mustard, mixing until creamy.
  3. Add onion salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Spoon or pipe (with a star tip) mixture into egg white halves.
  5. I found that I had just enough to fill all 12 halves.
  6. Garnish with paprika if desired.

Apple Carrot Chutney

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This is a busy time of year for us in Paraclete House Kitchen. We are in the process of making baked goods and preserves for the holiday season, some of which will also be for sale in Priory Gifts. Most Saturdays there are about fourteen people of all ages in the kitchen — from 5 years to 80+ years — making jams, chutneys, baking loaves of bread, cookies, pies, and cakes, as well as putting together mid-morning snack for the 200 other people out working on various projects around the community. We have of course been making a lot of things with our plentiful apple harvest; caramel apple pies, apple harvest jam, and my favorite, apple carrot chutney. This is a delicious accompaniment to roast pork, ham, or chicken, and is also wonderful for ham and cheese sandwiches. It’s especially good with cheese on a cracker or mixed into a spread.

Apple Carrot Chutney

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Apple Carrot Chutney
SERVINGS
5cups
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cups
COOK TIME
3 - 5mins.
PREP TIME
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a heavy pot, sauté carrots in canola oil until almost tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  2. Add in all the other ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about one hour until slightly thick, stirring frequently.
  3. Ladle into hot, sterilized jars and seal, or transfer into a container and store in the refrigerator.