The Luncheon

Last Saturday I was in charge of feeding 90 people.  It went suprising well thanks to amazing friends who helped.  So for all the people asking for for the recipes, this post is for you.  You'll have to forgive me for the lack of pictures.  I forgot to take them in all the hurry to get the food out.

Even if you're not feeding an insane amount of people, this is a great menu to have on hand.  Specificly, I was thinking it would be perfect if you wanted to host a nice lunch for a friend who is celebrating some milestone in her life.    

MENU

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Honey Dijon Chicken with Apple Cranberry Relish

Baked Apple Pudding with Butter Sauce

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe comes from The Dexter Cider Mill Cookbook. One Valerie Oldham gave it to my mom as a thank you gift when they came and spent Thanksgiving with us. That's her on the left at my wedding, crying because she didn't win an award... which is another story for another time.

It was one of those marathon Family Game night weekends. In fact, I believe that may have been the year of the infamous "Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do as interpretated by Trav, Trev, Ted, Britt and Ali" perfomance.

So you can see why I have warm memories of this soup. I should also mention that I am a butternut squash soup addict and of all the versions I've tried, this is still my favorite.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onion

2 T olive oil or veg. oil

1 1/2 t curry powder

2 butternut squash (1 1/2 lbs each) peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 medium apples, peeled, chopped

1 can chicken broth

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/4 t salt

pepper to taste

1 1/2 cup half and half

Instructions

Saute the onion in heated olive oil in a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat for 15 minutes or until tender. Stir in curry powder. Cook for 1 minute longer. Add the squash, apples, chicken broth, and water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the squash is very tender, stirring frequetnly. Process the mixture in several portions in a food processor until smooth. Combine the portions in a saucepan. Add the half and half, and mix well. Add salt and pepper. Cook until heated through, stiring occasionally.

Honey Dijon Chicken with Apple Cranbery Relish

Ingredients

Lawry's Honey Dijon Marinade

12 chicken breasts (I'm guessing here)

fresh spinach

apple cranberry relish

Instructions

Marinade chicken overnight in Lawry's Honey Dijon Marinade.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Cover loosely with tin foil for the first twenty minutes, remove for the second twenty minutes.  Serve over a bed of fresh spinach and top with Apple Cranberry Relish.

Apple Cranberry Relish (from Carol Voigts via Cooks.com)

Ingredients

8 red firm apples

juice of 1 lemon

1 can whole cranberry sauce

1/2 cup chooped candied giniger

1 T grated fresh ginger root

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup orange juice

Instructions

Grate the unpeeled but cored apples in fine julienne style, and toss with the lemon juice.  Mash up the cranberry sauce slightly and combine that and the rest of the ingredients with the grated apples.  Refrigerate and allow the flavors to blend for at least 1 hour.

Baked Apple Pudding with Butter Sauce

This is one of those recipes that got lost in the shuffle.  My mom recently found it and starting making it again.  And I'm so glad she did.  It's a really moist cake that it very good in it's own right, but the butter sauce puts it over the top.  

Ingredients

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

4 cups ground or shredded apples

2 cups flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

2 t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

2 t vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.  Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together, set aside.  Cream sugar and shortening together.  Add eggs and shredded apples, mix well.  Mix in dry ingedients, then stir in vanilla.  Pour into greased pan and bake for 45 minutes. 

Butter Sauce Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1 cup cream or evaporated milk

1 cup butter 

1 t vanilla

Butter Sauce Instructions

Simmer until dissolved.  Serve warm over pudding.  

Pie Fest

Oh people, you are going to love me after this week's post. Our guest chef Tara is gracing us with not one, but eight, yes EIGHT pie recipes. I mean, we have a Thanksgiving holiday to prepare for here. If you don't think your family needs eight pies for Thanksgiving, have a pie fest with your friends the next night and assign them each a pie from this post. You will not regret it. Well, you might, but not because it wasn't real real good.

Now let me tell you about Tara. We were roommates in college. Ah college, wasn't that fun? Yes, well, one of those crazy college nights Tara made Razzelberry Pie for a Pie Bake Off. And that's when I fell in love with her. She tore that Bake Off up. I mean, no other pie even compared to my girl Tara. And today, ladies and gentlemen, she is here to share that blessed recipe with you.

And just for kicks I will now mention a few other little known facts about TaraMitch and myself:

1. I first discovered text messaging with her and Brandi. We thought it was the greatest thing ever. Then we got our bills. 10 cents a text. Ouch.
2. She is from Danville. I am a Northern Californian magnet. Those people love me there. And they find me wherever I move. Can I get a witness Mary, Justin, Elizabeth, and the girl I met at bookclub last month?
3. She is a co-creator (again with Brandi and myself) of acoustic night. All you BYU students out there having "acoustic night" at your house? You owe it all to us. No, really.
   

Okay, back to food. Here is a list of the many pies you have to chose from:

Award Winning Pie Crust
Razzelberry

Vanilla/Banana/Coconut/Peach

Chocolate

German Chocolate

Pecan

Strawberry

Apple

Pumpkin

Award Winning Pie Crust by Guest Chef Tara

First of all, I have to give a shout out to the queen bee of pie making, Martha Edgren. She is my mom's best friend and is well known in our area for her pies as well as her cooking/baking all around. When I was 12 she taught me how to make pies at mutual, and I've been making our family's pies ever since.

So my family was over at the Edgren's house for Thanksgiving one year and my younger brother, Justin, was good friends with Martha's nephew, Ben. Boys being boys and these particular boys being about 15 years old, they got into the competitive mode. They were arguing over who could eat more at Thanksgiving. Well they ate. And ate. And ate. And then Justin puked. Then he filled up another plate of food and ate again, because hey, how can you not take advantage of a second chance of eating Thanksgiving dinner and pie?

Ingredients

2 c flour

1 t salt

2 pinches sugar

1 c Crisco (I prefer butter-flavored, but do what you must)

Scant 1/2 c cold water

1/4 t salt

Instructions

Mix first three ingredients together, cut shortening into flour mixture (I use a pastry knife) until it is uniformly the texture of cornmeal (less is more here). Pour cold water, about 2 tablespoons at a time, evenly over all and mix quickly with a fork. Shape into a ball, then divide ball into two equal pieces. Cover one ball with a towel.

Using a floured, flat napped tea towel, roll the other ball flat, evenly rolling from the center outward with a rolling pin (nonstick or silicone works best here). Be careful to keep the circle even and round as you roll. Don’t be afraid to patch, either. You will have to occasionally add flour as you roll when the dough begins to stick. When the circle becomes approximately the size of your pie tin in diameter, fold in half, and place inside the pie plate. Unfold the pie dough and adjust to fit your pie plate. Patchwork is not frowned upon.

After you have filled the pie, repeat with the other ball of dough. Place the second crust over the filling and press the two crusts together at the edge of the pie plate, sealing them to each other. Using a sharp knife, cut off both crusts evenly, slightly larger than the pie plate. Tuck the excess under the edge of the plate and crimp the edge of the crusts with your fingers in a decorative pattern all of the way around the pie. Optional: Brush egg-white over the top for a nice glossy finish. Cook until lightly browned.

Razzleberry Pie by Guest Chef Tara

Ingredients

12 oz package frozen raspberries

16 oz package frozen boysenberries

1 1/2 c - 1 2/3 c sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

1/3 c flour

2 T butter

1 T vanilla

Instructions

Fill the unbaked pie shell with berries. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar. Pour over the berries. Cut butter in small chunks and place evenly over flour and berry mixture. Drizzle vanilla over the top of everything. Place second crust on top with the vents. Place in 375 degree oven for about an hour. Don't forget to put a baking sheet on the shelf underneath to avoid a messy cleanup. Serve with vanilla ice cream.