Cream of Mushroom Soup

My neighbors and I in NC have started a dinner/cooking club. The plan is to collaboratively cook something new at one of our houses every week. This is the third week of cooking club and so far the results have been scrumptious. (Last week we tried one of Katie's blog posts http://sharedoven.blogspot.com/2012/01/spicy-roasted-red-pepper-and-eggplant.html).

Yesterday we had cream of mushroom soup, a leek and goat cheese tart, a mixed green and herb salad, plus, lots of little dips and bread for appetizers.

My cream of mushroom soup is based off of the Hungarian mushroom soup recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook*....of course I made a few changes!

Here is what you need:
Soup tureen
Blender or food processor
Small sauce or frying pan

2 Tbs. butter
2 cups chopped onion
12 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp. salt
2 to 3 Tbs. Fresh dill
2 Tbs. paprika
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbs. flour
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup sour cream
Finely minced fresh parsley

 1.First sautee your chopped onion in a tablespoon of butter and a little bit of your vegetable broth, cook for about 10 min

2. In a small frying pan make a rue by slowly stirring the 3 tbs flour to your melted butter. Feel free to add more butter if you need it!

3. Slowly add the rue to your main pot. Next add the mushrooms, dill, salt, and paprika, and the remainder of your broth. Cook for about 15 min more covered.

4. Slowly stir in milk/cream and blend on high. Pour back into soup pot and add lemon juice.

5. Serve with paprika, parsley, and sour cream on top.

*The New Moosewood Cookbook
By Mollie Katzen
Ten Speed Press, January 2000

Pumpkin Lasanga

Pumpkin lasagna has become one of my go-to favorites. This recipe is based on a recipe Rachel found on delish.com. I made it for a potluck at our house in Seattle and it was pretty good, but not amazing. After changing the recipe a bit I made it for a dinner party in Minneapolis and I have been making the new version ever since.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 onions, chopped
2 pounds spinach or Swiss chard, tough stems removed, leaves washed and chopped
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 cups pumpkin puree (or one 28-ounce can)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
1/2 cups milk
9 no-boil lasagna noodles (about 6 ounces) 
1 cup low fat ricotta cheese




Here is how to make it:











 Cut one small sugar or pie pumpkin in 3rds or 4ths, bake until soft (45 min to an hour). Scrape away skin and puree in a blender.



Add salt and olive oil and roast the seeds!

Or open a can of pumpkin...
        Preheat your oven to 400 F. Mix together 2 cups of pumpkin, 3/4 cup cream, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup ricotta, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon sage, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.




  Sauté your onion in the oil and then add spinach or chard. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon sage, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Cook, stirring, until the leaves are wilted and no liquid remains in the pan. 






 Pour the milk into an 8-by-12-inch baking dish. Top the milk with one third of the (uncooked) noodles and spread half the pumpkin mixture over the noodles. Layer half the spinach or chard mixture over the pumpkin and top with a second layer of noodles. Repeat with another layer of pumpkin, vegetables, and noodles.

For the top of the lasagna mix together the remaining 1 cup of pumpkin, 1/2 cup ricotta and 3/4 cup of cream and spread on top. Next sprinkle the left over Parmesan.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, for 15 minutes.