Chestnut Stuffing

Last month Elements Theater Company presented two memorable weekends of Charles Dicken’s Christmas Carol in our church. Favorable comments were made about each little detail of the production, including one delightful feature that added much to my own enjoyment of the experience. This was the roasting of chestnuts out in the cold night air over an open fire in the church atrium before and after each performance.

 I think of Christmas time as chestnut season and since childhood chestnuts, along with pomegranates, have to me always been as essential as holly and ivy to its celebration. Not only did we enjoy eating the nuts warm out of the shell, but at our house they were always considered a necessary ingredient to our holiday stuffing. That’s what made it so special and different from the stuffing we had the rest of the year.

The combination of sausage, chestnuts, apples and savory herbs still remains in my memory as a most extraordinary culinary Christmas experience. But there’s no reason it can’t be enjoyed, even after the holidays while chestnuts are still available. Here’s my  suggestion for a cold winters night……stuff a nice crown or loin of pork and roast it for an unexpected, out of the ordinary dinner. I guarantee you rave reviews.

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Chestnut Stuffing
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COOK TIME
30minutes
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Put sausage meat and butter into a hot casserole.
  2. Add onions and celery and cook until soft, but not brown.
  3. Remove from heat and add marjoram and thyme.
  4. In a bowl combine bread, vegetables, hot stock, cider, apples and chestnuts.
  5. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
  6. Place in covered baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or stuff into roast.
  7. Add a sprinkling of pomegranate at serving time for a touch of color and extra flavor.

Autumn Shepard’s Pie

Whenever we have Shepherd’s pie for dinner I know for certain that there will not be any leftovers for lunch the next day. Simple as it is, people love its old fashioned goodness, and even those who never take seconds can’t seem to resist having just a little bit more.

Just yesterday, I learned that sweet potatoes may be one of the greatest sources of beta carotene and Vitamin A – thus very good for you. So why not put a little autumn spin on our Shepherd’s pie and top it with tangy orange-zested sweet potato instead of white? I gave it a try and to my delight it did exactly what I what I hoped for……a thick golden crust that was gorgeous to look at and mouthwatering to eat.

Served alongside a mixed green cranberry vinaigrette salad this became a most satisfying homespun November supper.

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Autumn Shepard's Pie
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COOK TIME
30minutes
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Put meat, onions, salt, thyme, pepper and if available bone and pan drippings, in a pot or pressure cooker and cover with water.
  2. Cook or boil them until the meat and onions are both soft. Boil the liquid down until flavorful.
  3. Add the wine and thicken with flour.
  4. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
  5. Place meat mixture in a pie dish (the peas may be added) and top with mashed sweet potatoes.
  6. Bake until golden brown and bubbling through, about 30 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

This week I am in an unfamiliar kitchen that is “equipment-challenged.” Anyone that has worked with me will tell you I am a “from-scratch” cook and have been known to look down on packaged mixes and ready made products. However in my older years I am mellowing in my opinions… So when I wanted to make chicken-pot-pie for a crowd this week and knew I lacked a pastry cutter and rolling pin, I realized that this was one of those moments to put aside pride! So off to the store for some pre-made pie crust. I did however make my own broth. Why waste boiling a whole chicken? Chicken-pot-pie is almost the first thing I think of when the leaves start to turn in earnest.

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Chicken Pot Pie
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COOK TIME
30-35minutes
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Put all of these ingredients in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
  3. Remove chicken and set aside. Keep simmering broth.
  4. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from the bones and return the bones to the broth.
  5. Continue cooking until you have about 4 to 6 cups of broth, after straining through a colander. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  6. Melt butter in a stock pot
  7. Add onion, carrots, celery, parsnips and mushrooms and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes.
  8. Add thyme and cook another minute.
  9. Add flour and cook again another couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
  10. Add 4 cups of the stock and bring to a boil to thicken.
  11. Turn heat down and simmer a few minutes until vegetables begin to get tender.
  12. Chop chicken into chunks and add that and parsley to the pot.
  13. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  14. Pile into a 9″ glass pie plate. Sprinkle peas on top.
  15. Place crust over all, crimp edge decoratively. Brush egg wash over crust. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Mushroom Beef Barley Soup

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.

Savory Bread Pudding With Leeks And Mushrooms

We leave our leeks in the garden to enjoy through the winter months. I took advantage of the January thaw to pluck a few for inspiration. I love using things up in a creative way, and I remembered that I had a few bags of croutons in the freezer, left over from our “O Antiphon” Party at Christmas, where we had served up a hot cheese dip on hollowed out bread bowls. I immediately thought of a savory bread pudding. I also found some sauteed mushrooms in the freezer — a treasure! So I added a little celery, some eggs and cream, and voila! I had tonight’s side dish for a roast, or today’s lunch with a salad and crusty bread.

Savory Bread Pudding with Leeks and Mushrooms

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Savory Bread Pudding With Leeks And Mushrooms
SERVINGS
7servings
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servings
COOK TIME
45 - 52mins.
PREP TIME
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.
  2. Melt butter or bacon fat in large skillet over medium high heat.
  3. Add mushrooms, leeks, celery and saute until soft, about 10 to 12 minutes; add thyme and cook about a minute more until fragrant.
  4. In a large bowl, mix together bread cubes and vegetable mixture.
  5. Whisk together heavy cream, eggs, salt and ground pepper in another bowl.
  6. Mix custard into bread and vegetables, then transfer to prepared baking dish.
  7. Sprinkle grated cheese over top.
  8. Bake pudding uncovered until set and top is golden, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Mountain Corn Chowder

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!