Despite My Best Efforts

Despite my best efforts I have no recipe for you today. I had a great idea for a wonderful new soup, sure to impress and delight you, and despite my best efforts, it was a bit of a bust.  I used to go to a restaurant in Rhinebeck, New York called La Parmigiana which is sadly now defunct. They had great Italian food, but by far my favorite dish there was something that will sound very strange (it certainly did to me) but tasted heavenly, a mushroom and red cabbage calzone. Are you wrinkling your nose? Well stop! It was amazing and I have tried over the years to re-create it without even coming close.

This calzone had the earthiness of the mushrooms, with a sort of rich, but not creamy sauce. There wasn’t any cheese, and the cabbage sliced very thin was soft and tender. The vegetables were mixed with the sauce which wasn’t overly saucy, so the dough didn’t get soggy. It was a brilliantly constructed and executed pastry, and I’d really like one now! If it were still there I might consider driving to Rhinebeck this weekend just to eat one.

Funny story, several years ago when I was working at the Whole Foods Market in North Wales, PA a woman named Mary came in about a job we’d posted. When I saw her resumé I nearly jumped in the air—she had been the owner of La Parmigina! Sitting in front of me was the woman who knew how to  make this calzone I’d spent years craving, and I had an opportunity to hire her. All I could think of was that when she worked there I could have that calzone every day ahhhhhhhhhh. In fact she told me how she’d made it, but I barely listened. Why bother, she’d be working there soon.

Unfortunately it didn’t work out, and she didn’t get the job (don’t ask) and I felt like it would have been pretty tacky to ask her for the recipe again. So I was back to the drawing board with renewed zeal, for a while, but I gave up in frustration. Until last week when I saw mushrooms on sale and remembered those calzones. Yes, this time I’m ready to take them on, this time I will make the calzone of my dreams. I figured I’d start by trying to recreate the filling, and deal with the calzone part later, so I thought I’d make the filling (the real star) into a soup. (I swear it sounded like a good idea at the time.) 

My plan was to make this delicious soup, share it with you, and we would all be pleased. The first part of my plan worked, and I did make the soup last night, and though it is OK, it is only OK, and not yet good enough for you. I wish I knew what magic/secret ingredient Mary used, but I am stumped, and now at the mercy of my memory. I will keep trying, if only to convince you how good this can be. If you know Mary, I am begging you to get the recipe from her!! Until then I’ll keep trying and putting forth my best effort.