With no education classes last night, our Ash Wednesday Soup and Pie Supper was a little smaller, quieter and less frantic than the usual Wednesday meal. We served 345 last night with 36 gallons of soup, 33 loaves of artisan bread, 330 grilled cheese sandwiches, 25 chocolate cream pies and 25 lemon meringue pies.
The first soup was a homemade vegetable soup that I adapted from a Weight Watchers cookbook recipe. Here’s the recipe for 100 servings:
Pistou: A Hearty French Vegetable Soup
100 servings
25 cups diced onions
25 cups sliced carrots
25 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 TBSP salt, add more before serving if needed
2 TBSP pepper
9 ½ gallons water
25 medium zucchini, sliced
25 cups chopped, trimmed green beans
25 cups corn
1 #10 can beans, kidney, navy or black
3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
6 cups minced basil, fresh
1 ½ cups tomato paste
25 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups olive oil
Divide among large pots, the onions, carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally about 30 minutes.
Stir in zucchini, green beans, corn and beans. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
In separate bowl, whisk the cheese, basil, tomato paste and garlic. Whisk in the oil. Stir about 12 cups of the hot broth into the mixture, then gradually add the basil mixture into the soup. Continue to simmer until ready to serve.
The second soup selection was a Creamy Tomato Bisque that I ordered from Sysco, made by Block and Barrel Classic. Whole milk is added to the concentrated frozen soup and we warmed it slowly in roasters. The grilled cheese sandwiches were assembled in advance with sandwich bread, American cheese, and a little margarine on the outsides of the bread. We used the griddle on the stove and 2 extra portable griddles in order to keep up with the demand.
Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup!
The third kind of soup was a Block and Barrel Classic from Sysco, Wild Rice with Chicken. It was also a frozen concentrate to which we added 2% milk and warmed up in the roasters. Great flavor!
The three varieties of breads we served were a Focaccia Bread made by Rotella, Asiago Cheese Batard and Olive Rosemary Batard made by BKRSIMP (I don’t know what that stands for). All the breads were ordered from Sysco. We warmed them up and sliced them to serve.
And now for the PIES! We made 25 chocolate pies on Tuesday and refrigerated them overnight. On Wednesday we added a coolwhip layer on top and shaved on some milk chocolate.
Here’s the recipe for 5 pies:
Chocolate Cream Pies Recipe for 5 pies: Use 1 large pot
Mix together in large bowl, whisk until blended, and set aside:
4 cups sugar
2 cups unsweetened cocoa
1 cup plus 2 TBSP cornstarch
¾ tsp salt
6 eggs
3 cups skim milk
In heavy pot, heat 9 cups skim milk, until tiny bubbles form around edges, to 180* but not to boiling. Remove from heat.
Gradually add hot milk to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pot. Add 12 oz semisweet chocolate. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add 2 TBSP Vanilla. Pour into 5 prepared crusts. Cover surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Chill completely, at least 3 hours. Top each pie with 8 oz coolwhip and shaved chocolate.
For each pie crust:
4 ½ oz graham cracker crumbs (about 1 cups)
2 oz sugar
3 oz melted butter
Combine all ingredients, pat into pie pan. Bake at 375* for 5 minutes.
(Filling for 25 pies: Total milk is 3 ¾ gallon, cocoa 10 cups, 30 eggs, 20 cups sugar)
(Crusts for 25 pies, use 7 pounds graham cracker crumbs, 4 2/3# butter, 3# sugar)
I Love Pie!
We also made 25 lemon pies on Tuesday and added the meringue on Wednesday. The meringue is better on the day you serve it.
Meringue Madness!
And into the oven it goes…
Here’s the recipe for one pie:
BEST EVER LEMON MERINGUE PIE
□ 1 baked 10 inch pie shell
□ 1 1/2 c. sugar
□ 1 1/2 c. water
□ 1/2 tsp. salt
□ 1/2 c. cornstarch
□ 1/3 c. water
□ 4 eggs, separated
□ 1/2 c. lemon juice
□ 3 tbsp. butter
□ 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
□ 1 tsp. vanilla
Combine sugar and water with salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Mix cornstarch with 1/3 cup water to make a paste; add to the boiling mixture slowly, stirring constantly; cook until thick and clear. Remove from heat.
Beat egg yolks, add lemon juice and stir into thickened mixture. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat and add lemon peel, butter and vanilla. Cool.
MERINGUE:
Combine and cook in saucepan until thick, stirring constantly:
½ cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Beat 4 egg whites at high speed, gradually adding 6 Tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form. Add the cooled, cooked mixture and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.
Pour filling into baked pie shell and top with meringue, making sure it goes to edges. Bake in a slow oven, 350 degrees F. about 12-15 minutes, until lightly brown on top.
Spaghetti Dinner next week, details coming soon!
thenewchurchsupper 