A Soup Luncheon

We had a "missing man" formation 

for the monthly Lunch Bunch luncheon

There were three instead of four

And our original plan was to go to Kansas City

for a "treat day"

But with one Lunch Buncher recovering from a cold

And another Lunch Buncher gone . . . 

We decided to make the treat day another day

All of this decided on Sunday before our Tuesday Luncheon.

Usually, I spend a big part of the month planning the menu,

looking through cookbooks and sometimes even deciding on two or three

menus before I find

"the one"!

Now I had two days . . 

Well, really only one!

I decided on a simple soup and pie luncheon

And since it was only three

we ate in the Breakfast room!

A lace tablecloth

White damask napkins in silver rings

And my beloved blue and white

Because I love those Spode Camilla soup bowls

My BIG German silver spoons

Which I adore for soup

Jim not so much!

And a centerpiece of orangey mums in an very old

Blue and White pitcher

The menu?

Soup . . . 

Chicken pot pie soup with Parmesan black pepper biscuits

It was really good!

And the pie?

Apple Cider Cream Pie

An award winning apple pie

(Daughter Sarah won first place in the Creative Pie division of Excelior, Minnesota's Apple Days Apple Pie/Dessert contest)

And I can see why it won!

It was delicious

A wonderful light apple cream filling

topped with cinnamon whipped cream

It's Thursday and I'm sharing my Luncheon Table with Susan at Between Naps On the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

And for those who want the recipes:

CHICKEN POT PIE SOUP

20 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded in to bite size pieces
5 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 small onion)
1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks)
1 cup peeled and diced carrots (about 2 carrots)
1 (15 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups (heaping) peeled and 1/2-inch diced russet potatoes (2 medium potatoes)
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried crushed rosemary
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen or fresh peas
2 1/2 cups milk
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 recipe parmesan drop biscuits, recipe follows

In an enamled cast iron pot, melt 1 1/2 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Add in onion, carrot and celery and saute 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, potatoes, parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, (press veggies down into broth) cover with lid, and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 15 - 25 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in chicken and peas.
In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, melt remaining 4 Tbsp butter. Stir in flour and cook mixture, stirring constantly for 1 1/2 minutes. While whisking slowly pour in milk and whisk vigorously to smooth lumps. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat while stirring constantly, then remove from heat and stir in cream. Pour and stir milk mixture into mixture in pot. Stir in lemon juice.
Remove bay leaf and serve warm with Parmesan Drop Biscuits.

Note: I used all fresh herbs and increased the amounts.

And it is a very forgiving recipe for you can increase or decrease the amount of vegetables or chicken depending on what you may have in your crisper.

APPLE CIDER CREAM PIE

Crust:
1 cup flour
1 T. cornstarch
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch dice and chilled
3 T. cold milk
1 t. apple cider vinegar

Filling and Topping:
2 c. apple cider
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 t. salt
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 t. cinnamon

In a food processor, combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse in 1 second bursts until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine the milk and vinegar and drizzle it on top. Pulse in 1 second bursts until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather up any crumbs and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to an 11 inch round, a scant 1/4 inch thick; ease it into a 9 inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Trim the overhanging dough to 1 inch and fold it under itself. Crimp decoratively and chill the crust until firm, about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425. Line the crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in the lower third of the oven for about 15 minutes, until the crust is barely set. Remove the parchment and pie weights. Cover the edge of the crust with strips of foil and bake for about 15 minutes longer, until the crust is just set but not browned. Press the bottom of the crust lightly to deflate it as it puffs; let cool. Lower the oven temperature to 350.

In a medium saucepan, boil the cider until it’s reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Whisk in the 3/4 cup sugar, the sour cream and salt, then whisk in eggs.

Pour the custard into the pie shell without removing the foil strips. Bake the pie in the lower third of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custard is set around the edge but the center is slightly jiggly. Let the pie cool completely.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream with the remaining 1/4 c. sugar and the cinnamon until firmly whipped. Mound the cream on the pie, cut into wedges and serve. Serve with baked apple slices.