Cream of Mushroom Soup with Sherry

I love it when the supermarket puts a large box of whole mushrooms on Manager’s Special. I take them home and make something out of them, this time Manicotti Stuffed with Cream Cheese, Spinach and Pine-nuts. When I opened my refrigerator this afternoon, I realized I had a lot of mushrooms left over, and what could I do with an almost whole box of mushrooms? Mushroom soup seemed like the perfect thing on a cold, winter day.

Some of you are probably saying “Ew! That’s the stuff you make casseroles out of, you don’t actually EAT that!” Well, that’s true. I would never have a bowl of that canned stuff, it’s only good for a few casserole dishes, and then that’s doubtful, too – now that I made this glorious mushroom soup.

This is probably one of the easiest soups you will ever make. When mushrooms go on sale at your grocery store, get a whole bunch of them, and share this wonderful soup.

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Manicotti Stuffed with Cottage Cheese, Spinach and Pine Nuts

Manicotti Stuffed with Cottage Cheese, Spinach and Pine Nuts
Manicotti Served

Manicotti is a child-friendly food. Most kids love spaghetti and pasta. What could be more fun than stuffing tubes and then eating them? Kids can get a little messy, but that’s their job, right?

My friend, Chef John Farion, came over and brought me a large container of cottage cheese. I did not think that Spane and I could eat if fast enough for it not to go bad, so I decided to stuff something with it. Quite frequently, cottage cheese is used for lasagna, but I don’t like meatless lasagna, and I wanted it for Friday. Oddly enough, I had everything I needed already at home, so I bought some manicotti and brought it home.

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Rosemary Garlic Chicken Purses with Lavendar Mustard Dipping Sauce

Rosemary Garlic Chicken Purses
Rosemary Garlic Chicken Cream Cheese Purse with Lavender Mustard Sauce

Rosemary Garlic Chicken Purses make a great lunch or appetizer. The chicken is infused with rosemary and mixed with cream cheese, all wrapped in eggroll wrappers and deep-fried. Of course, to lower calories, they can also be baked.

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Dulce de Leche Lemon Meringue Pie

Dulce de Leche Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie made with Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche Lemon Meringue Pie is a slightly different take on the traditional lemon meringue pie.  First, it does not use a cornstarch filling – it uses caramelized milk for filling.

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Ham and Spinach Quiche with Goose Fat Crust

Quiche with Goose Fat Crust
Ham and Spinach Quiche with Goose Fat Crust

Quiche with goose fat crust is very rich and tasty.  It’s also a great way to use up some of that goose fat you might have when roasting a goose. It does not taste like a goose but I might hesitate to use goose fat for a fruit pie.

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Hoppin’ John – New Years Day Lucky Food

Almost every year, I bake a ham for Christmas so that I can have the bone for New Year’s Day. Of course, this year I roasted a goose, so I had no ham bone. Luckily, my good friend Stevie Lewis saved me the bone from his family’s Christmas ham. From this bone, I make Hoppin John, an old Southern dish of black-eyed peas, ham, and rice. With it, I serve steamed Kale and cornbread.

There is quite a long tradition with this meal. The black-eyed peas are said to represent coins, the kale is green like money, and the cornbread is golden to represent gold. Eating this for New Year’s Day is supposed to bring good fortune for the New Year.

Well, it might not bring any more money into your purse, but it is very economical. It’s a break for all the heavy holiday foods. It’s also very good for you. Black-eyed peas are high in protein, iron, zinc, and potassium. Kale has anti-cancer properties. Cornbread, if you don’t put tons of butter on it, is also good for you.

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The Year in Review – Appetizers, Drinks and Light Meals to Bring in the New Year

Champagne

Well, December 25 is over, and now all we have to wait for is the New Year celebrations. I thought I would make a list of some recipes that have been popular this year, or you might want to make for your New Year’s Eve event.

Every year, I make a special New Year’s Day dish, but I’m going to hold that one for another post, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I think that you might find yourself making some of 2011’s most popular recipes for your own festivities.

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