Turkey Mushroom Barley Soup

Doesn’t soup just hit the spot after the holiday meals?

Feeling lucky? Carve the wishbone from the turkey breast. Clean and dry the wishbone. Two people each grasp one end and twist until it breaks. The person left with the longer piece (the one who got the “lucky break”) gets to make a wish, a wish to be granted by the great turkey spirits!

Cooking the carcass for soup makes the kitchen smell like Thanksgiving all over again. I break up the carcass then simmer it for a few hours in water with rough chopped onions, carrots, and celery. Strain, cool, refrigerate overnight, remove some fat.
Add 2 bay leaves to the turkey stock and a generous cup of pearl barley. Cook for about an hour or so until the barley is tender. Meanwhile sauté chopped onions, celery, and carrots in butter until soft, then add sliced crimini mushrooms, and finally chopped garlic.
When the barley is tender, add the vegetables and leftover diced turkey to the soup. Simmer for about 10 minutes more, remove the bay. To finish, add chopped parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.
Wishbone lucky break or not,
May all your holiday wishes come true…

Foie Gravy

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2022:
Seared Albacore, Peppercorn Brandy Cream Flambé now posted here!
♦ ♦ ♦
Want to impress your guests? Flambé !!!
Gravy is a key component to Thanksgiving dinner, no? This year, inspired by the fond memories of foie gras, I thought Foie Gravy would be a nice companion to the traditional style gravy. Kinda like giblet gravy but with liver only, lots of liver. I do not expect everyone to be a fan, I know my mother isn’t! But for those who love liver, this is for you!
Note: I am not able to light food on fire and photograph at the same time. This photo credit goes to Lena, our lovely guest from Germany.
Clean and rinse at least a pound of chicken/turkey livers. Sauté in butter until cooked through, then informedly add about 1/4 cup Cognac.  Do try this at home, but not before reading flambé tips first, linked from the Caramelized Apples Flambéd with Cognac post. Add fried sage leaves, salt and pepper. Coarsely chop.

Make your fabulous gravy as usual. Reserve half of your gravy for non-liver lovers.  Take the other half and add lots o’ liver. Don’t be shy.
If you would like my gravy recipe feel free to email me. And if you have a gravy recipe that rocks, please share!

Thank You Blogger

Blogs of Note
Interesting and Noteworthy Blogger-powered Blogs
Compiled by the Blogger Team
We had a terrific Thanksgiving here, if you celebrate, I hope you did too. And the icing on the cake (or should I say pie?) was that Blogger picked Taste With The Eyes as the Blog of Note for Thursday, November 27! WOW. In between cooking the Big Bird (25.90 lbs.) and making the dressing, other side dishes, and playing with my nephews, I took a break to post that adorable photo of Stone. Little did I know that a neat surprise was waiting for me! There were comments from folks far and wide who had never visited Taste With The Eyes before. All this was due to the absolute honor of being chosen as the Blog of Note. I am really excited to meet new bloggers. The friendships that I have made so far are amazing. It is a special relationship that we form and how we come to care for strangers met through our blogs, a unique experience indeed. To my old and new friends alike, I sure do relish your input. To the Blogger Team and Blogger Buzz at Google thank you so much for this awesome distinction and wonderful opportunity to make new friends.
Oh, the party is not over yet. At 1 o’clock this afternoon we have 20 or more friends stopping by for our annual open house, we call it Leftover Day. We’ll be putting the leftovers out on the buffet and grilling some delectable turkey and honeybaked ham sandwiches on the new panini maker!

Last night was a blast. After dinner, we played a hilarious game called Mad Gab. Everyone was in stitches. The boys insisted we play charades, so we did that too! So I’m wondering, how do you feel about leaving the dishes until the morning? Me? I feel just fine about it. Would rather laugh and play while everyone is here. The dishes can wait. But they can’t wait too long, now we’ve got another party in a few hours, so I gotta go take care of business…

Meet My Sous Chef

This is my nephew, Stone. He is six and he’s been helping me cook since he was three. Here he’s got a stalk of Brussels Sprouts that we are going to roast and drizzle with a balsamic glaze for today’s Thanksgiving meal.


Roasted Brussels Sprouts: Toss Brussels Sprouts in olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until tender and the outer leaves are brown and crispy. Toss with a balsamic reduction.

We both would like to wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving and share with you one of our annual traditions. We put a place card at every seat at the table and scatter some pens about. During the beginning of the meal everyone is encouraged to write on their card the things they are grateful for this year. We save these cards so friends and family that have been coming to Thanksgiving at my home now have several cards at their setting. It is fun and poignant and sometimes sad to read what we were grateful for in past years. During dessert, we read our current card out loud and some from the past. We also cherish the cards that have been written by those who are no longer with us on this planet.
This year Stone is in first grade and his writing skills are excellent, so he made the place cards.


Gratitude from the Past
“I am grateful for big things in life: That my family can come to spend a week with me and we have such a wonderful time together, I am grateful to have two nephews and the opportunity to really spend time with them. I am grateful that my cousin Davida is on the mend and was able to make the trip to join us at Thanksgiving. I appreciate the little things: Pat’s help shucking the oysters, Bill’s excellent turkey carving skills, Linda’s delicious mashed potatoes and creamed corn which she brings year after year and everyone’s help in the kitchen.”
“The freedom we have.”
“Good friends.”
“Good health and old age.”
“Having exciting happy moments, lots of them, with my family.”
“I’m grateful for my family and friends.”
“I am grateful for my lovely daughter-in-law.”
“I’m grateful for my job and my life.”
“We are thankful for fresh air from the ocean, good earth to grow vegetables, clean water for seafood, and friends to share with.”
“I am thankful for my family, wife, health and great dinner, and I am finally thankful I am not a Yankee fan.”
“I am thankful right now to be sitting among all these lovely people.”
“Great food!”
“Thank you for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”
“I am thankful for God.”
“I am thankful for this great opportunity to get to know a different country and new people and to be part of a traditional Thanksgiving in America.”
“I am thankful to be able to watch the kids grow.”
“I am thankful for the lives we live and all our loving friends and kin.”
Thanks to all for being so dear
And I hope to see you again next year.
The same faces have again appeared
Along with some new ones which we cheer.
With our friends and family we remain very close
As we celebrate Thanksgiving
With those we love the most.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Chestnut and Mushroom Soup

Chestnut and Mushroom Soup
Truffle Oil and Tamari Drizzle
Yep, we’re in the kitchen today. First dish we completed for tomorrow’s Big Feast is the soup. This is Clotilde Dusoulier’s recipe from her Chocolate & Zucchini Cookbook. Bravo Clotilde! For the past several years I’ve made a Cauliflower Soup with a Vanilla Chestnut Cream Swirl. Thought we’d try something different this time. An excellent soup for Thanksgiving, Chestnut and Mushroom Soup is elegant and unique yet not too much work, as we have lots of other dishes to prep today. The compelling ingredients include chestnut, mushroom, leek, shallot, garlic and Cognac with a vegetable stock. There is no cream, but this vegetarian soup has a wonderful creaminess as well as a lovely Fall earthiness. I added a drizzle of truffle oil and tamari to give it an even deeper umami flavor.

Here’s the Menu for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving meal:

  • Cheese Platter with Accompaniments
  • Barbecued Oysters
  • Chestnut & Mushroom Soup
  • Traditional Turkey & Traditional Gravy
  • Foie Gravy
  • Pat’s Popovers
  • Linda’s Mashed Potatoes
  • Linda’s Creamed Corn
  • Wild Mushroom, Leek, & Sage Dressing
  • Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze
  • Sweet Potato Gratin
  • Cranberry Relish
  • Assorted Homebaked Pies with Ice Cream & Whipped Cream

OK, back to the kitchen. Wishing you all a Glorious Holiday!