More Soup

I clearly was on a soup kick, and I had a craving for broccoli and cheddar soup (like the one at Panera).  This soup was delicious, and really easy to make.  I would definitely make it again.

Recipe: Broccoli, Cheddar and Potato Soup (from Eat, Live, Run)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
medium bunch of broccoli, chopped
1 russet potato
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
6 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 T all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole milk
3 cups vegetable broth

Directions:
Blanch broccoli by adding to boiling water for 30 seconds, and then removing and putting in an ice bath.

In a large dutch oven, melt the butter.  Peel and chop the potato into small 1-inch dice.  Saute both the onion and potato in the butter until the onion is translucent.  Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.  Then add the cayenne, mustard, nutmeg and salt, toss to coat.

Add the flour and stir well, cook for 1-2 minutes.  Pour in the broth and add back in the broccoli florets.  Stir and bring to a simmer.  Cook for about 15 minutes, until the potato is tender.  Slowly pour in the milk, and add the cheese, stirring to melt.

Puree with an immersion blender to desired texture.

Asparagus and Rice Soup

This hearty soup is almost like a thick, creamy risotto.  It had such great flavors, and was perfect on a chilly night.

Recipe: Asparagus and Rice Soup (from Pots and Pins):
Ingredients:
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups 1/2-inch cubed russet potatoes
3 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts
2 bay leaves
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 1/2 lbs fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch chunks
7 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 cup arborio rice
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Saute garlic with oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat 1-2 minutes.  Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until crusty but not browned.  Add leeks and cook until softened.  Add vegetable broth, water, bay leaves and salt.  Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot.  Cover, bring to a boil, and add the cut asparagus.  Lower heat to vigorous simmer and cook, uncovered, about 1-1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until reduced by a third.  Add rice, bring to a boil, and cook 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and season with s&p to taste.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese.  Ladle into soup bowls and top with additional cheese.

Creamy Artichoke Soup

Craving yet more soup, I made this recipe.  It was really easy to make, and tasted pretty good.  I drizzled in some of the homemade creme fraiche from the golden vegetable soup, and I think that really brightened up the flavor.  And as you can see, I added a ton of "everyday seasoning" from Trader Joe's.

Recipe: Creamy Artichoke Soup (from Everyday Italian)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks, white parts only, washed well and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small potato, peeled and chopped
1 package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
creme fraiche, for serving

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a heavy, large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the leeks and garlic and stir.  Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  (Be careful that your oil isn't too hot, or the potatoes will just stick to the bottom and scorch!)  Add the artichokes, stock, salt and pepper, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the soup.  Ladle the soup into serving bowls, swirl in some creme fraiche, and sprinkle with your favorite seasoning.

Golden Vegetable Soup

When it got really cold back in January and February, it was necessary to start making a lot of soup.  This one was easy to make, since you just throw everyone in the crock pot.  And the homemade creme fraiche is pretty darn good.  I like the fresh tangy bite it adds to the earthy soup.  And this works with any veggies.  I had a hodge podge in my fridge that I used.

Recipe: Golden Vegetable Soup (from One Perfect Bite)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 lb baby carrots
2 lbs russet potatoes
2 large leeks
~1 lb turnip roots
1 large onion
4 cups vegetable stock
1.5 cups water
s&p to taste

Creme Fraiche:
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream or buttermilk
2 tbsp plain yogurt

Directions:
Rub bottom half of slow cooker with butter.  Add carrots, potatoes, leeks, turnips and onions.  Add water and broth, and cook on low until vegetables are tender, about 6-8 hours.

Using an immersion blender, puree soup.  Season to taste with s&p.

For each serving, swirl in a heaping spoonful of creme fraiche (directions to make, below).  Serve with crusty bread.

For creme fraiche, combine cream, sour cream and yogurt in a small bowl.  Whisk until smooth.  Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until thickened, 6-8 hours or overnight.  The longer it sits, the thicker it will get.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.

A Perfect Fall Meal

I have also started having dinner dates with my friend Sarah.  We wanted to make something weather appropriate, so soup seemed like a perfect choice.  She mentioned that she likes Panera's Broccoli and Cheddar soup, so our plan was to try to recreate that.  For dessert, we wanted to use the apples we had just picked from Carter Mountain Orchard.  One of my friends recently made a pumpkin cheesecake that I can't stop thinking about, so we decided to make a cheesecake with apples, but in a bar form.  Like with my dinner date with Jess, we had to make the dessert before making the dinner, since cheesecake needs to be chilled before enjoying.
This dinner was delicious.  We made a TON of soup.  We actually had some concerns halfway through that everything might not fit into her 6 quart soup pot.  Don't worry, we made it all fit :)
We noticed that the soup actually had more of an onion taste than a cheese taste.  I think that next time, I might cook the onions separately.  They were in the soup base the entire time, so it makes sense that it transferred a lot of flavor to it.  I think I would be afraid to add much more cheese - it already had a ton in it!

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup (for an army)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 medium-large red onion, chopped
1/2 cup flour
4 cups whole milk
3 cups reduced sodium vegetable stock
24 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (we used a combination of yellow and white)
2 medium-large carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped in 1/2-1 inch cubes
2 bunches of broccoli, florets cut up
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
s&p

Directions:
In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the onions and cook until translucent.  Add the flour, and stir well to incorporate.  Cook for a few minutes, then slowly add the milk while stirring.  Once incorporated, add the vegetable stock.  Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then add in the cheese, stirring until melted.

While making the base, cook all of the vegetables.  You can either do this in separate pots, or use one pot at a time.  The potatoes and carrots will take the longest time - cook in boiling water until fork tender.  The broccoli will only take a few minutes, remove from water when bright green and crisp-tender.

When the cheese has melted, add in the potatoes, mashing them slightly to thicken the soup.  Then add in the carrots and broccoli.

Using an immersion blender, blend to desired consistency.  Add s&p to taste.

I love the green and orange flecks from the blended veggies!

Apple Pie Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling:
3 packages room temp cream cheese (we used 2 packages 1/3 less fat, and 1 package regular)
3 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Apples:
3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
For the crust: Mix the flour, graham crumbs, sugar and cinnamon.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives.  Use your fingers to mix together until large clumps form.  Pour in a 9x13 pan and press down to uniform thickness.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until just barely starting to brown.  Let cool.

For the filling: While the crust is cooling, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat.  Then stir in the cinnamon and vanilla until well combined.

For apples: Mix together the apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until the apples are coated.
Pour ~1/3-1/2 of the filling on the (slightly cooled) crust, spread to cover crust.  Spread out the apple slices on top, then pour the rest of the filling over the apples.

Bake 30-45 minutes, or until the filling is set and lightly browned.  If starting to brown too early, cover with tented foil.

Cool until warm, and then cool the rest of the way in the fridge.  Cut into squares with a sharp knife.

Surviving Passover

This is the 3rd night of Passover, and I've made it through so far!  Last night I was craving sweets and the only thing I could find that was kosher was a bag of chocolate chips.  I had to change that, so today I cooked a few things.  I made some stuff last night as well, but those were all dinner dishes.

First, I made matzah ball soup.  Unfortunately...I cheated - I bought a mix.  I added some spices to the matzah balls and cut up some carrots to put in the soup, though!  So I felt like I added a little extra to it.

Then, I made broccoli and cheese casserole.  Really easy recipe.  My mom got recipes years ago off matzah boxes, so I don't know where the credit goes.   It's probably really easily adaptable based on what veggies you have.  I would maybe mix in the broccoli with the liquid ingredients next time.

Recipe: Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
Ingredients:
2 heads broccoli florets, chopped in bite-size pieces (~4-5 cups) and parboiled for a few minutes
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream (I used 2% greek yogurt)
4 tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
1 cup hand cracked matzah (I used farfel)
2 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.  Drain the broccoli florets well, pressing out all the moisture.  Spread the florets in the pan.  Beat sour cream (or yogurt) with cottage cheese, butter, and eggs until well blended.  Fold in matzah and pour mixture over broccoli.  Arrange tomato slices on top and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake about 45 minutes then let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

So that was what I made last night.  Tonight I decided to first make something sweet.  So I used another one of those matzah box recipes.  It's a nice hearty and sweet snack.

Recipe: Raisin Walnut Pudding Cake
Ingredients:
4 matzahs, broken into small pieces
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
cinnamon sugar (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325.  Soak matzah in water for 10 minutes and drain.  Add beaten eggs and let stand another 10 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into greased baking dish, 8x8 or 9x9.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, until set, but not dry.

This last recipe was delicious!  I searched through my bookmarked recipes to find something that was kosher for passover, but DID NOT INCLUDE MATZAH!  And I found it in this great recipe.  I think it's my new favorite way to cook potatoes.  It's a little more time consuming than a simple roasted potato or mashed potatoes.  But it's worth it, I promise!  And it really isn't bad for you at all.  Oh and added benefit - I got to use my mixer to beat the egg whites :)  I think the next time I make it I'll try experimenting with different spices and different cheeses.

Recipe: Parmesan Potato Puff (from Lisa's Kitchen)
Ingredients:
2 lbs potatoes (I used baby yukon golds)
2 tbsp butter (I used unsalted so I could adjust the salt myself)
s&p to taste
1/3-1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp paprika
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Boil some lightly salted water.  Wash and peel the potatoes, cutting them into uniform pieces.  Cook until they are tender.  Drain, mash, and return to pot.  Season with s&p, and add butter and milk and mash until they are light and fluffy.

Grease a small casserole dish (I used a pie plate and it worked out perfectly).  Beat the egg yolks well.  Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.  Stir the spices and cheese into the potatoes.  Now beat in the egg yolks.  Fold in half of the egg whites.  This helps loosen up the potatoes a bit.  Fold in the rest of the egg whites, being careful not to deflate them.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish.  Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the potatoes have formed a golden brown crust.

Fall in a Bowl

I almost thought that I missed the opportunity to make my favorite soup.  I know that it is no longer fall, so it's hard to find butternut squash in a lot of markets.  But I got lucky, and found a container of the pre-peeled, pre-chopped stuff (which is actually way more convenient to use).  I started making this soup about three years ago, right when I first started cooking.  I always make a full batch of it and freeze the leftovers.
Note: a tip on freezing leftovers.  I freeze individual servings in tupperware containers, usually overnight. When they are fully frozen, I run the tupperware under hot water for a few seconds, to loosen the contents, and let it slide into a freezer bag.  That way I have individual portions that I can bring with me for lunch or reheat for dinner, but I'm not using up all of my tupperware in the freezer.  And be careful with the tupperware after freezing - they shatter really easily! (Speaking from experience.)
Back to the recipe - this soup is so delicious, and really easy to make, especially if you buy the pre-peeled butternut squash.  My knife definitely isn't sharp enough to manage that task while keeping all of my fingers.  I think it would work really well in a slow cooker.
If you're going to freeze a lot, don't add the milk/cream to the whole pot.  Just add it to whatever you're eating, and then add it when reheating the leftovers.  I never know how dairy is going to last while frozen, so I try to avoid it.  I usually add skim milk (what I have on hand) but this time I added some leftover half-and-half, and I liked it.  It made the soup taste richer.  But I think I'm used to the skim, so I might go back to that.
So I started writing this up while the soup was cooking.  I went to add the rice, when I realized that the box I bought (Zatarain's) had the seasoning already mixed in!  Definitely not what I wanted.  So I had to fudge this part a bit - I added 4 oz brown rice, let that cook for a bit, then added 2 oz white rice.  So make sure that the box of rice you buy has a separate seasoning packet, and don't use that!  Or just use 6 oz of whatever rice you have on hand, like I did.
This is a really easy recipe to work with - you could add herbs to it (I think sage would be great).  You could also add different vegetables - either swap out with different root vegetables, or just add whatever you happen to have in your fridge.  I think this is a great base recipe that isn't too sweet, which is what I have found is the problem with a lot of butternut squash or sweet potato soups.
Oh and one last note!  I recently saw on Dinner at Christina's a great way to use up vegetable scraps - make homemade vegetable stock!  So I decided to give it a try, and I saved my first few scraps - the onion and sweet potato ends from this recipe, and some broccoli stems that were in the fridge.  I'm excited to make some broth once I have enough scraps.

Butternut Squash Rice Soup (adapted from SparkRecipes)
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I used a pre-peeled and cubed 2 lb container - I'm not sure what size butternut squash you would need to get that amount of flesh, but this recipe is flexible)
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed (mine was 1 lb)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped (*a friend recently told me that if you put the onion in the fridge for about 30 min-1 hr before you are going to use it, it won't make you cry)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/8 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp light brown sugar
6 cups vegetable stock (low sodium)
1 box long grain & wild rice
1 cup milk/cream
s&p to taste

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until starting to get soft.  Add the remaining ingredients (but not the rice or milk), cover, and cook until the sweet potato and butternut squash are soft.

Use an immersion blender and blend until the consistency of your liking - I like having some chunks still in mine, but you could completely blend if you prefer a smoother soup.  If you don't have an immersion blender, then just transfer the soup in parts to a regular blender, but be careful when blending the hot liquid!
Then return to pot, add the rice and cook until tender.

Stir in the milk/cream and cook until warmed through (don't add if you are going to freeze the leftovers).

Add s&p to taste.
And then enjoy your bowl of fall!