Stuffed mushroom and green apple soup

[bbally]

Disclaimer,

I am writing some of these down for your use. However I was taught to make soup by Chef Jack Wilson; a very old blackman from McCalisters of New York. When I was mentored by him in the 70s he was in his seventies. He taught me to fix a Sunlight Martini and "get right" then start making soup. So I don't do recipes and am trying my best to remember through the wonderful haze of a Sunlight Martini what the heck I put in these soups. So if it is off a little, add stuff to make it balance.
In pairing I use a merlot with this. Though it could hold up to an earthy Syrah as well.

The Stuff you need:

Stuffed Mushrooms:

25 Mushrooms (cleaned and stemmed just the caps)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup sweet onions chopped
1/4 pound butter solids
1/2 cup breakfast sausage
1/2 cup sherry I have also used merlot
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
couple of eggs
1 pound extra sharp cheddar cheese, (Tilamook Special Private reserve)
Green onions chopped for garnish

Apple top

25 green apple slices
butter for apple slices
Salt
Cinnamon fresh grated micro plane
Nutmeg fresh ground I also use all spice
Sugar

Soup Stock

4 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 cup sweet onion chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup butter solids
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sherry I also use merlot
3 quarts chicken stock
2 cups cream
Salt & pepper


Instructions:

Place mushrooms, onion & butter and sausage in a pan. Sauté’ until onions are translucent & sausage is cooked. De-glaze pan with sherry or merlot, remove from heat then add breadcrumbs & eggs. Blend together. Stuff each mushroom cap with filling. Put cheese on top of each mushroom cap. Bake at 325 degrees until golden brown. Save on counter.


Place apple slices on prepared baking sheet. Place some butter on each apple piece. Sprinkle the top of each piece with salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Bake at 300 degrees until golden. Hold for plating


Place mushrooms, onion, celery & butter in a pan and sauté until onions are soft. Add flour & form light roux. De-glaze pan with sherry or merlot. Add chicken stock & boil. Kill the heat and while stirring add cream. (if you have trouble with heat and cream use crème frieche as it won’t break or curdle) Add salt & pepper to taste.

Plating the beast

Place apple slice in serving bowl, put 2 stuffed mushrooms on top of apple slice. Ladel stock into bowl and present. Garnish with a little green onion.

[cheztom]

Very nice Bob - duly saved.

Love the disclaimer too - I have the same trouble with posting recipes also. I do a lot of "free-hand" and teach others my recipes by handing them a list of ingredients and amounts for each and then show or tell from there.


Oh, what's in a Sunlight Martini?

[jevka]

yikes! that is the shiznit, brother!

[bbally]

OK but there is a story to it.
Chef Jack Wilson told me that Theodore Roosevelt had a quote that offered up the attitude a Chef must have to be on top of the craft and that in honor of this great thinking we must drink his drink the Sunlight Martini.
The quote:
"It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat; who strives valiantly; who errs and may fail again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who does know the great enthusiasm, the great devotion; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Chef Wilson was the first to tell me that you won't go through culinary life undefeated. And if you do you followed recipes instead of creating genre!
I love this quote and think it is a great model for life.
Sunlight Martini,
Teddy Roosevelt believe that Vermouth ruined a perfectly good drink, so you fill the glass with good gin, plunk in two olive with pimentos and then held the bottle of vermouth so the sunlight would shine through the bottle into the martini glass. When you had it right the green from the vermouth bottle would color the gin in the glass. That was all the vermouth that needed to touch good gin! And Chef WIlson said one bottle of vermouth lasts a long long time using Teddy's method.
And that my friend is the story of the Sunlight Martini!

[bbally]

Thanks Bro!

[cheztom]

Chef Wilson was the first to tell me that you won't go through culinary life undefeated. And if you do you followed recipes instead of creating genre!

I love this quote and think it is a great model for life.

Amen, Bob. Should be branded on the forehead of every culinary school grad and culinarian affected with ego bloat. Terrific story- thanks for telling us. The sun's goin' down so I best be going. Now where's that Vermouth?

[Fred]

This recipe has been added to our Top100 Forum Recipe list at http://chef2chef.net/rank/top-recipes-1.htm

Fred