From the Kitchen: May 2003 Archives

7 oz spaghetti, broken into 2” pieces and boiled
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
1 tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. White pepper
¼ tsp. Nutmeg
2 cups chicken broth (or one can 14 ½ oz chicken broth)
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp. Sherry flavoring
2 cups cooked chicken, cut in small pieces
½ cup cooked ham
¼ cup chopped green pepper sautéed, or 4 oz. Jar pimiento, cut up
1cup ripe olives cut in large pieces or ½ lb. mushrooms, sliced and sautéed
in butter 5 minutes
1 egg yolk
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese or ½ cup slivered toasted almonds

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter over low heat in heavy saucepan. Blend flour and seasonings. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil; boil one minute, stirring constantly. Blend in sherry flavoring. Add sauce to cooked spaghetti. Add turkey, ham, green pepper, olives and egg yolk to spaghetti. Pour into a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese or almonds. Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

My family likes the version with green pepper and mushrooms. Use whole milk to make the sauce or it will look gray! The sauce is VERY thin…so don’t worry when you make it….there’s nothing wrong. This is a great recipe for using up leftover chicken or ham, and if you have any left over, it’s good
reheated the next day.

This is an absolutely perfect recipe for when the tomatoes are warm and ripe. Plant some tomatoes now, and surround them with some basil, and you can grow some of the ingredients in your own garden!

Farmer’s Tomato Pie

30 minutes preparation
32 minutes baking
10 minutes stand time

1 piecrust
1 1/3 cups shredded Italian blend cheese (5 ½ oz.)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. Fine dry breadcrumbs
2 lbs. Ripe tomatoes cut into wedges
1 cup Cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
½ tsp salt
1/4-1/2 cup loosely packed small basil leaves

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Pie crust

Roll out a prepared piecrust to a twelve-inch circle. Place in a 9” quiche pan or a 9” pie pan, and trim. If using a pie pan, crimp the edges. Line the unpricked pastry with TWO thicknesses of foil. Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 4-5 minutes, until set and dry. Remove from the oven.

Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees.

Filling

Sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese evenly over baked shell.
Sprinkle garlic over cheese.
Sprinkle 2 tsp. Breadcrumbs over garlic and cheese
Top with 1/3 of the tomato wedges and 1/3 of the cherry tomatoes

Sprinkle ½ cup cheese
Sprinkle 2 tsp of the dry breadcrumbs
Top with 3 of the tomato wedges and 1/3 of the cherry tomatoes

Repeat last set of instructions once more and then sprinkle with salt.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and tomatoes are just beginning to brown.

Remove to wire rack
Sprinkle with basil and let stand for 10 minutes

This is for Desiree.

White Wine Onion Soup

1/4 cup butter
6 cups sliced Bermuda onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
5 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup beef broth
2 cups dry white wine

Melt the butter in a large heavy saucepan over low heat. Add onion and garlic and stir to coat. Cover and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with sugar, increase the heat to medium and cook uncovered until onion is a deep amber color, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low, blend in flour, and stir 3 minutes. Add broths and wine. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, cover partially and simmer the soup for 20 minutes. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Ladle into heated bowls and top with 2 slices of Gruyere Garlic Toast. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Gruyere Garlic Toast

10 ounce loaf French bread
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, halved
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound sliced Gruyere cheese
Preheat the oven 425 degrees. Arrange the bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until crisp and golden, about five minutes per side. (Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead to this point. Cool completely and store in an airtight containter.)

About 15 minutes before the soup is ready, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheets with foil. Arrange toast on prepared baking sheets. Rub surface of toast with cut side of garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with Gruyere. Bake until the cheese is lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Serve immediately.

For stronger flavor, use 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese instead of Gruyere. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over each slice of toast before second baking.

Notes: We prefer to reverse the amounts of beef and chicken broth, so that we use 5 3/4 cups of beef broth in our soup. If the soup is too strong to your taste, or you need to stretch it, you can add water. You can choose any white wine that you care to drink for this soup. Each type will give the soup a slightly different flavor. Personally, I don't care for chardonnay, so I don't put it in my soup.

Oven conversions for UK readers.

Thanks to my youngest sis for this recipe!