Autumnal Mushroom Soup

Soupin’ Into Your DMs
I don’t spend an awful lot of time on Instagram. But, I do find myself on the app for a multitude of reasons. It has become the go-to app to find out anything and everything happening at my kid’s school. Sports, plays, early out days, etc. Anytime my daughter has a gig, she gets the word out via the ‘Gram. And then there is the Tail of Fragile the Sheep (pronounced fra-GEE-lay) and the hijinks documented on his profile last holiday season. (It’s a long story.)

All of this is to say that I am on Instagram enough that I receive suggestions for pages and videos I might find interesting. And, most of those, as you would imagine, are food-related. Some are fun to watch but I would never tackle.

They are mostly cake-decorating mind-blowing videos. Others are of people making their “famous” dishes that are frightening to behold and would never make an appearance in my kitchen. But then some recipes are undeniable and make you wish you could DoorDash them immediately. This exact scenario happened last week.

Autumnal Mushroom Soup Recipe
Adapted from Whisper of Yum
Yields 4 servings

This hearty soup is a flavorful mix of cremini mushrooms, herbs, and aromatics. It is perfect for an Autumn meal. Read more…

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala Two Ways
I have a new favorite pasta. Normally, I swing back and forth between tomato-based pasta dishes and olive oil or garlicky ones. Last night I took one of my favorite recipes for chicken marsala and turned it into a really good mushroomy bowl of pasta.

There is some magic that occurs when you mix mushrooms, butter, and wine. The flavor just can’t be beat. This is why chicken marsala, (or veal if you want to go traditional) is such a good dish. It seems so fancy—but really, it is simply good comfort food.

The recipe below is the marsala recipe I use when I want to do it straight. (I did add garlic to it). Last night, instead of pounding the chicken breasts into cutlets, I cut them into chunks and browned them before moving on to the rest of the instructions as written. I still added my garlic to the pan with the prosciutto and I may or may not have added just a bit more butter than was asked for.

When everything was all done, I spooned the marsala, sauce and all, over some lightly buttered pasta. It was a flavor bomb of umami awesomeness and a perfect start to the new month. Next time I make this I might try to double the amount of liquid and toss everything together.

Definitely try to get a decent bottle of Marsala wine. It will make all the difference.

Chicken Marsala Recipe
Adapted from Tyler Florence and the Food Network
Yields 4 servings

Here is our adapted version of the original recipe (with garlic!). You can also try it over pasta with the variation at the bottom of the recipe. Read more…

Winter Veggie Cobbler

Cobbled Together
I’ll bet you any amount of money that the first thing you think of when you hear the word cobbler is peaches. Peach and cobbler are two words that are almost always used together. Imagine my surprise when I came across something totally different.

When it comes to vegetable side dishes, I tend to struggle to not make the same things over and over. When it comes to veggies, it’s easy for me to get into a rut. While looking for something else, I found this recipe for a Winter vegetable cobbler, and I must admit I was immediately intrigued. I have rarely seen a cobbler that wasn’t sweet, and I was skeptical that this was just a pot pie in disguise. It’s not. It is a legitimate vegetable cobbler that is great on its own and equally as good as a side dish.

Give this Winter Veggie Cobbler a try some night when you need to use all of the vegetables in the fridge and want something hearty and comforting.

Winter Veggie Cobbler Recipe
Adapted from Saving Dessert
Yields 8 servings Read more…

Cornish Pasties

Tasty Pasty
Back when I was in high school (or like my kids like to say, when dinosaurs roamed the earth) I had a history teacher that I loved. For some reason that I can no longer remember—but was most likely a lesson on the Gold Rush and the miners that immigrated from all over the world—one afternoon we found ourselves making Cornish Pasties in class.

I am a fan of anything in a flaky crust. And, the savory meat and potatoes pasties were an instant hit. I like them because they are the epitome of comfort food. And, also because they can save you from a night of cooking if you have extras in the freezer. Bonus points for portability.

For some reason, I have seen recipes for Cornish Pasties popping up all over my social media feeds. Maybe it’s the change of the season or maybe it’s a coincidence. But, needless to say, I have had pasty on the brain.

Here is the recipe I use for pasties. The traditional recipe calls for the use of a swede, which is the British term for a rutabaga. My inner petulant child refuses to use rutabaga so I will substitute parsnips or carrots or just up the amount of potato and onion. The recipe calls for rolling these out to rounds of about 7 to 8 inches. Personally, I like to make them a little smaller. Closer to 5 or 6 inches. That way, if I am super hungry, I can eat two.

News flash, I eat two a lot…

I opt for a crust with both butter and shortening. While I like all butter crusts in general, with this I prefer the combo. Try it both ways to see which you prefer.

Amy’s Cornish Pasties Recipe
Yields 4 large or 6 small pasties Read more…