Creamy Mushroom Soup

Sliced Mushrooms

I have several delicious mushroom soup recipes. This one is the easiest, a great soup for a chilly autumn night. A food processor helps with the preparation, and keep in mind that many grocery stores sell vegetables already sliced or chopped, a big timesaver. (I sometimes use a 12-oz. bag of baby carrots, but don’t be tellin’ the neighbors.)

This soup has the closest taste to a gorgeous bowl of mushroom soup I enjoyed in front of a peat fire one winter in a pub in Killarney. Ingredient amounts aren’t critical, so feel free to experiment. Makes a great first course or light supper. For a vegan version, substitute oil or veggie butter for unsalted butter, use vegetable broth, and omit the cream.

　

CREAMY MUSHROOM SOUP

4 Tbs. unsalted butter                                1 bay leaf
5-6 carrots, peeled and chopped              1 tsp. salt
1 medium onion, chopped                         A good grinding of white pepper
1 leek, white and light green parts,         ¼ cup heavy cream
   washed, trimmed, and chopped           ¼ cup dry sherry
2 stalks celery, chopped                             Chopped parsley or chives
2 lbs. sliced white mushrooms                 Garlicky croutons, if desired
2 tsps. dried thyme                                     Truffle oil for the table, if desired
6 cups chicken stock

---

1. Melt the butter in an 8-quart soup pot. Roughly chop the carrots, leek, onion, and celery and sauté in the butter until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the mushrooms and thyme. Cook 3-5 minutes, until mushrooms start to soften and give off their liquid. Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes.

3. Discard the bay leaf and purée the soup in several batches, transferring soup to clean pot. Stir in cream and sherry and adjust seasoning. Serve with desired garnish(es) and pass truffle oil at the table. Serves 6.

Potato Salad With Sausage and Mushrooms

A fabulous, hearty, man-pleasing dish perfect for a summer barbecue (and the ladies love it too!)

POTATO SALAD WITH SAUSAGE AND MUSHROOMS

1½ lbs. small red potatoes
1 lb. sweet Italian sausages (about 4 sausages)
1/2 cup dry red wine
2/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup chopped scallions
1½ Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper

---

1. Wash potatoes and simmer in a large saucepan of boiling water until tender, 20-25 minutes. Let cool, then slice. Place potatoes in a large bowl.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 . Place sausages in a single layer in a baking dish. Prick several times with a fork, and bake for 15 minutes. Turn and bake for 15 minutes more. Pour off accumulated fat and add red wine. Turn and bake for 15 minutes more. Turn again and bake another 15 minutes. (Total baking time 1 hour.) Remove the sausages to a paper towel lined dish and let cool. Slice into rings and add to potatoes.

3. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add mushrooms and sauté over moderately high heat until they give up their liquid and most of it evaporates. Sprinkle on lemon juice and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add to potatoes and sausages. Add the scallions. Toss lightly to mix.

4. Place mustard, salt, pepper, white wine and stock in blender and mix well. With the machine on, slowly add remaining cup olive oil. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Pork Marsala with Mushrooms and Sage

With our resident vegetarian absent, I decided to try this French-inspired meat dish for our writers' meeting last night. It was delicious—and I hope to obtain the recipe for the chocolate soufflés our paranormal romance writer made for dessert!

PORK MARSALA WITH MUSHROOMS AND SAGE

2 lbs. pork tenderloin
1 Tbs. rosemary or vegetable oil
4 Tbs. unsalted butter
2-3 shallots, minced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
½ lb. sliced white mushrooms
2 Tbs. fresh sage, chopped
2 Tbs. flour
1 cup beef broth
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup Marsala wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

---

1. Trim pork of fat and silverskin. Slice into 1½ inch pieces. Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan and brown the pork quickly. Remove from pan.

2. Heat butter in pan. Add shallots and stir until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sage. Stir 1 minute. Add mushrooms and sauté until they start to color and give off their juices, about 6 minutes.

3. Add flour to mushrooms. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in broths and wine. Bring to a boil.

4. Return pork to pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 45-50 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Mushrooms Stuffed with Sausage and Pine Nuts

Inspired by a Spanish Tapas recipe, these stuffed mushrooms entice with butter and brandy. Try them and watch them disappear!

MUSHROOMS STUFFED with SAUSAGE and PINE NUTS

1½ lbs. medium white mushrooms
Lemon juice
10 Tbs. butter
1 large shallot, minced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
½ lb. sweet Italian sausage (about 2 sausages, casings removed)
6 Tbs. dried breadcrumbs, plain or garlic & herb flavored
1½ tsps. brandy
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley
3 Tbs. pine nuts, lightly toasted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)

---

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Clean mushrooms. Separate stems from caps and finely chop. Sprinkle caps with lemon juice.

2. Heat 8 Tbs. of butter in a medium skillet. Sauté shallot over medium low heat until wilted. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add sausage meat and cook until well browned.

3. Add chopped mushroom stems to meat and cook 3 minutes more. Remove pan from heat. Stir in bread crumbs, brandy, parsley, and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

4. Stuff mushroom caps with meat mixture and place in baking pan. Melt remaining 2 Tbs. butter and drizzle over stuffed mushroom caps. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Ratatouille Made Easy

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

Traditional Ratatouille recipes call for the vegetables to be sautéed then baked as a casserole. This easy recipe skips the sauté step, adds the flavor of baby bella mushrooms and uses tomato sauce instead of whole tomatoes.

As with many of my favorite dishes, this colorful recipe doesn't require exact measurements.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant (1.5 pounds), ends trimmed, unpeeled, diced
2 zucchini (1 pound total), unpeeled, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
6-8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, stems trimmed, quartered
5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup roasted garlic pasta sauce
6 large cloves garlic, halved (optional—add garlic if using plain marinara sauce)
pepper

1. Toss vegetables in large bowl with olive oil and season with pepper to taste.

2. Arrange on two parchment-lined baking sheets in single layer.

3. Place on center racks in 350 degree preheated oven and roast for thirty minutes. Switch pan positions and roast for additional thirty minutes. (total baking time: 1 hour)

4. Heat pasta sauce and mix with roasted vegetables in a large bowl.

Serve over rice or pasta as a meatless main dish or as a side dish with your favorite meat. We like it as a side for chicken. Serves 4 as main dish with rice.

* Can be made a day in advance and reheated with meal.

Risotto with Italian Sausage and Wild Mushrooms

When the mood for something special strikes, there's nothing like risotto. Madeira wine makes this one special. Elegant enough for company, down home and delicious enough for family, it's fun to make and a joy to serve. The evenings are growing cooler, so why not grab a bottle of Madeira and a package or three of those pre-sliced wild mushrooms the stores carry now and create this delicious dish?

RISOTTO with ITALIAN SAUSAGE and WILD MUSHROOMS

For the Sausage and Mushrooms:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1½ lbs. sweet Italian sausage (5-6 sausages)
8 oz. sliced Baby Bella or Crimini mushrooms
10 oz. sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ cup Madeira wine

For the Rice:
6-7 cups chicken broth
1 stick (½ cup) butter
1 large vidalia onion, chopped
4-5 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups carnaroli or other arborio-type rice
1 cup Madeira wine
1 cup fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese

---

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove sausages from casings and sauté in oil, breaking into bite-sized chunks. When sausage is nearly browned, fold in mushrooms with thyme and oregano. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Add ½ cup Madeira wine and stir another minute. Remove skillet from heat and set aside. Reheat on low when ready to cook rice.

2. Simmer chicken broth in a 3-qt. saucepan. Melt butter in non-stick skillet and add onion. Sauté until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic. Add rice and stir to coat grains with butter mixture, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup Madeira wine and simmer, stirring, until nearly absorbed. Add a ladleful of hot chicken broth to wine and stir until nearly absorbed. Continue ladling broth into rice, stirring frequently, for 18 minutes. Rice should be firm but not crunchy and have a creamy consistency. Cook more if desired, but don’t over cook.

3. Stir sausage and mushroom mixture into rice. Season with salt and pepper. Add parsley and serve, passing cheese at the table. Serve with salad and crunchy bread. 6 generous servings.

Mushrooms à la Greque

Cool and colorful, an antipasto is always perfect for supper on a hot summer evening. Our writers’ group enjoyed a sizable one last night before rolling up our proverbial sleeves and getting down to work. Our meal was nearly vegetarian (we had tuna in the cannellini beans and some hard-boiled eggs). Make your very own version by combining your favorite vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, cold cuts, and cheeses. If you do throw one one of these classic composed salads together, I strongly suggest you try adding these fabulous Greek-inspired mushrooms.

MUSHROOMS à la GREQUE

2 cups water
6 Tbs. olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
½ tsp. salt
1 large shallot, minced
6 sprigs parsley
1 small celery stalk
½ tsp. fennel seed
½ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. black peppercorns
½ tsp. coriander seeds
1 lb. fresh mushrooms caps, washed and trimmed
Minced parsley for garnish

---

1. Combine water, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and shallots in a 2½ quart saucepan. Place parsley, fennel, thyme, peppercorns, and coriander in a small bouquet garni bag or cheesecloth. Cut celery into large pieces and add to saucepan with spice bag. Cover tightly and simmer 10 minutes.

2. Add mushrooms to hot liquid and stir to coat them well. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Using a slotted spoon, remove mushrooms and arrange on serving dish. Boil cooking liquid rapidly until reduced to about ½ cup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Strain over mushrooms. Cover and chill thoroughly. Sprinkle with minced parsley just before serving. Serve alone as an appetizer or as part of an antipasto.



Clockwise: Cherry Tomatoes, Marinated Chickpeas, Sugar Snap Peas,
Orange Cauliflower, Purple Potatoes in Olive Oil and Garlic,
Baby Carrots, Asparagus, Yellow Zucchini, Red Quinoa,
Tuna and Cannellini Bean Salad
Center: Hard-Boiled Eggs and Mushrooms à la Grecque

Garlic Green Beans and Shitake Mushrooms

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

Store bought produce just isn't as tasty as fresh-picked veggies. My dad used to grow a variety of string bean (green bean) known as Kentucky Wonder. I remember sitting on the patio in a webbed chair on a hot summer evening, helping my mom snip the ends and remove the strings from the beans before she'd cook them for dinner. They both have passed, but I think of my parents every time I cook green beans.

Most green beans purchased from the local grocery store no longer have strings—all you need do is wash and snip the ends.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound green beans, washed and ends snipped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces shitake mushrooms, sliced
pepper
¼ cup sliced almonds

1. Pour olive oil into a large sauté pan. When hot add beans and whirl in oil to coat. Cover and cook on med-low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until beans are al dente and mushrooms are softened. Sprinkle with pepper to taste. Stir in almonds and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes.

Makes 4 side-dish servings.

Serve with chicken, steak or lamb. Try Slow Cooker Rosemary Chicken.

Enjoy!

Soba Noodles with Stir-Fried Vegetables

In a quest for something new for our Monday night writers’ dinner, I experimented with an Asian-inspired side dish that perfectly complemented my tried and true Teriyaki Fish Marinade. For a tasty vegan supper, simply omit the fish. This colorful veggie dish is an adaptation of a recipe I found in Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook. Definitely a keeper, and I look forward to tweaking the flavors.

The original recipe calls for scallions, but as our romance writer doesn’t care for scallions, I omitted them. Next time, however, I will definitely sneak them back in along with some fresh ginger to punch up the delicate sauce, increased at the request of my sauce-loving husband and served over soba noodles, a delicious buckwheat pasta. I will also try to keep the noodles warm or add them to the vegetables and sauce to heat them up.

SOBA NOODLES with STIR-FRIED VEGETABLES

8 oz. soba noodles
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced
1 medium yellow squash, quartered and thinly sliced
5 oz. sliced shiitake mushrooms
10 oz. fresh or frozen shelled edamame (soy beans)
9 Tbs. mirin (rice wine)
9 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
3 tsps. corn starch

---

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook soba noodles according to package directions and reserve.

2. Combine mirin, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a bowl and reserve.

3. Heat oil in a wok or large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic for a minute, then add mushrooms and stir until they release their juices. Stir in squash, edamame, and soy sauce mixture. Sauté until vegetables are crisp-done, 2-3 minutes. Plenty for 4-5.