Showing posts with label Soups. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soups. Show all posts
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Sourdough Croutons
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I have been dreaming of making a cream soup since the spring when I won a shopping spree at the Viking store for a recipe contest. One of the items I chose was an immersion blender, which had been on my kitchen wish list for a long time, and I've had it sitting in its unopened original box in the pantry since April, just waiting for soup season.
The other night I got soup fever, not because there was a chill in the air, OH NO NOT HERE, but because I realized it was the middle of October and I haven't made much soup yet, if any. So I put together an awesome cauliflower soup and took out my new immersion blender and the thing wouldn't even turn on. Bummer. So I went to get my regular blender, which I hate dragging out for hot soups, and when I picked it up, the entire bottom was cracked and I had to throw it away. So I am basically blenderless.
Life is hard sometimes.
What I finally did was take a potato masher and break it up into tiny chunks, which we all loved. This soup was wonderful and I really think the croutons added so much, so don't skimp on those. My four year old grandson made a tiny pig of himself eating a bowl. That made me happy.
Here are my notes:
-Soup is so easy. This is super simple and you could add bacon, herbs, different cheeses, etc. to jazz it up but honestly, it was delicious like it was.
-I did measure as I went along, but the measurements are approximate.
-My soup was not watery, but you may want to decrease the water a little if your cauliflower head is small. Mine was a nice big one. And I didn't salt or pepper it before I roasted it, but you could.
-You could use milk instead of cream. I would use whole milk though, and not fat free.
-You could use canned broth or stock, or do like I did and use chicken base which is my new favorite staple. I discovered something about myself recently. I hate to unwrap bouillon cubes. I get my chicken base at Sam's club.
-You could certainly puree this is you have the proper equipment. I don't. :(
-The sour dough croutons. They are good. Make them.
Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Sourdough Croutons
1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped, or equivalent from jar of minced
6 cups water
6 bouillon cubes or 6 teaspoons chicken base
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour dough bread cut into small cubes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the florets on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss using hands to cover evenly, then bake for 30-40 minutes stirring a couple of times until tender and golden brown.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes, stirring several times. Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add water and the chicken bouillon or base. Add the cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.
Stir in the heavy cream. Toss the shredded cheese with the flour in a small bowl, then slowly add to soup while stirring until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat.
At this point, you can do several things. Eat soup like it is. Or you can use a potato masher to mashed cauliflower into tiny bits which is what I did. You can also puree with an immersion blender or regular blender. Serve soup topped with sour dough croutons.
To make croutons, place the sourdough cubes on a large baking sheet, then drizzle with olive oil and toss to evenly coat. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, placing under the broiler if necessary.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Pimiento Cheese Spread Topped Chili Topped Crispy Baked Potatoes
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Of course you do.
First, after you have taken the time to bake your potatoes in the oven as per the instructions here, slice them in half, heat a griddle pan to screaming hot, and slap some butter, salt and pepper on the halves. Place them cut side down and grill until they are crispy and golden brown.
Next, top it with your favorite chili recipe. Or used canned if you want. Or go by Wendy's and get some of theirs. Or use my simple, quick, and easy recipe below. Whatever you want.
When you taste that melty pimiento cheese spread on the chili on the crispy baked potato, you can thank me later.
Simple, easy, comfort food. The end.
-Make the chili ahead of time and freeze it.
-The pimiento cheese spread can also be made ahead of time.
-I like to simmer my chili for at least 30 minutes to develop the flavors. You can even make it in a crockpot.
-I'm not trying to win a chili contest here, chili critics. This chili recipe is quick and easy and versatile and it's my go to recipe when I need it quick.
-Want more meat? Put more meat. Want more heat? Add cayenne. This is a basic starting recipe. Make it your own!
Quick and Easy Chili with
Beans
1 pound ground
chuck
1 medium onion,
chopped
2 teaspoons
minced garlic or 2 minced garlic cloves
Salt and pepper
1 (14.5-ounce)
can petite diced tomatoes (or regular diced or with green chilies in them)
1 (8-ounce) can
tomato sauce
2 (14 to
15-ounce) cans chili beans in sauce
2 tablespoons
chili powder (I use mild)
1 tablespoon
ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried
oregano
Salt and pepper
to taste
In a Dutch oven,
cook the hamburger meat until almost done, crumbling as you go. Add the onion and garlic and cook until
onions are soft and meat is done. Add
salt and pepper to season.
Stir in the
remaining ingredients and adjust heat to a simmer. Cover and let cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
to prevent sticking. Add salt and pepper
to taste. About 4 servings.
*You can double
your meat and use 1 can less beans for a more meaty chili.
Quick Pimiento Cheese
Spread
4 ounces (1/2 a
package) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup
mayonnaise
1 (4-ounce) jar
diced pimiento peppers, drained
3-4 cups medium
or sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
to taste
Whisk together the
cream cheese and mayo until smooth. Stir
in the pimiento peppers and cheese. And
salt and pepper to taste.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Easy Chicken Gumbo with Lima Beans, Corn, and Crispy Okra
Yes, it's THAT serious.
I hope I'm not speaking too soon, though, because it's not over yet, or so the Weather Channel keeps informing me. Over and over.
And over. And over.
I want to change the channel, but it's forbidden because my man likes to stay shrewdly informed about all weather related matters. Especially when there is a hurricane out and about.
Do you want to see my front yard?
Thanks goodness the sunflowers are on higher ground. My husband and I have been staring out the window, both of us silently wondering if they will make it, but too scared to speak it out loud.
We worked sooooo hard planting them.
I mean my husband did. But still. *We are one.*
So the good thing about rain is that it brings about feelings of comfort and coziness. The tornado warnings not so much, but the rain that we had for like twenty hours straight brought some comfort and cozy to our home.
And a small lake in the front yard.
And when I feel all the comfort and cozy, I want to make soup. And more specifically, gumbo. I had a GLORIOUS bowl of gumbo this summer at a church gathering, and the woman who made it threw in some different kinds of veggies than what the average gumbo has, and one of them was lima beans. So I had some in my freezer and decided to throw them in along with some corn. And the only okra I had was frozen, breaded okra, but I had a light bulb moment and decided to fry it up and use it as a topping. It was fantastic.
This recipe is a very basic gumbo recipe. It's for the person who lacks time and, well, groceries. And yes, I know you can add more flavor by starting with bacon, sausage, ham , etc., then making the roux from the drippings and all that, but I have some non-pork eating family members and I have to play by different rules. Starting a roux without animal fat can be done. It can. And it can be very tasty. My family loved this.
Here are my notes:
-The roux is the key to gumbo. When making a roux, you're looking for the final product to be a reddish-brown. Think the color of a penny. I have made this twice in the last month and the second time I didn't cook my roux long enough and there was a noticeable difference in the flavor. It was still good, but the distinctive flavor was not as strong. Cooking the roux could take 20-30 minutes, so be patient and keep stirring.
-Other veggies would work too. I just happened to have lima beans and corn on hand.
-I boiled my two chicken breasts, then I seasoned the water they were boiled in to make a stock/broth.
-Don't forget to salt and pepper to taste. Salt will bring out the flavor in anything. I think it is the single most important ingredient in cooking.
-I used can corn, but frozen would certainly work too.
-The oil will rise to the surface and that needs to be skimmed off with a spoon and discarded as much as possible.
-This is great served with cornbread or biscuits.
Easy Chicken Gumbo with
Lima Beans, Corn, and Crispy Okra
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup
all-purpose flour
3 stalks celery,
chopped
1 medium onion,
chopped
1 medium green
bell pepper, chopped
8 cups chicken
broth or stock or 8 cups water and 8 bouillon cubes
2 chicken
breasts, cooked and shredded
1 (16-ounce)
package frozen lima beans
1 (15-ounce) can
corn, drained
Salt and pepper
to taste
Cooked rice
1 (16-ounce) bag
frozen, breaded okra, fried to golden brown and crispy
In a large heavy
bottom pot, heat the oil until hot and add flour. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring often to
frequently, until mixture turns reddish-brown, the color of a copper
penny.
Add the celery, onion,
and bell pepper and cook until vegetables are soft. Add the chicken stock, shredded chicken, lima
beans, and corn. Bring to a boil, then
reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Skim the oil off the top with a spoon and
discard as much as possible. Season with
salt and pepper. Serve over rice and sprinkle
each bowl with the fried okra.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Tortilla Soup
It's a bit chilly here in Mississippi and I am loving it. Me and hot weather just don't get along well. Give me mittens and gloves and scarves and soup. Give me lots and lots of soup.
I first saw this recipe a couple of years ago on one of my favorite blogs, Big Mama. (Have you ever read her? She keeps me in stitches.) This recipe comes from The Mansion at Turtle Creek, but, like most recipes, it's been adapted, and now I am adapting it again because this is what works in my kitchen.
I made this last night for my crew and it is one of our very favorite soups. Ever. I haven't been able to make it this season until now, because I always make it when I can get good avocados and cilantro and I haven't been able to find either at the same time until this week.
Here are my notes:
-I always go the extra mile when I make this soup and put out an array of toppings--shrimp, chicken, sour cream, cheese, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, diced avocado, and the most important part, fried tortilla strips. I just think the toppings make this soup, although the broth is excellent on it's own.
-I usually cook up a couple of chicken breasts with some butter and blackened seasoning in a cast iron pan, and I do the shrimp the same way. I know that blackened seasoning is cajun and this soup is Mexican, but the flavors are fine together for us.
-I think what makes the broth so flavorful is processing the onion and tomatoes into a puree. That's what originally caught my eye about this recipe.
-I use fire roasted tomatoes, but regular ones would be fine too. I have a freezer full of frozen fire roasted tomatoes in little bags equivalent to the amount in a can. Remember when I was all awesome back in the summer by putting up tomatoes? Yeah, I'm glad I did that. *Pats self on back for the 30 millionth time*
-Those diced tortillas will soak up the oil fast, so just cook them for a few minutes. Some of the other recipes I've looked at say to cook the tortillas until they start to crisp, but there is not enough oil in the pan, so I just cook them for a few minutes, then add the broth.
-The tortillas will start to break apart in the soup, but this is a good thing. It thickens the soup and provides flavor.
-I love avocados with this soup. One of my favorite toppings.
Tortilla
Soup
(Adapted from the Mansion at Turtle Creek)
3
tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 corn tortillas, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
6 corn tortillas, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1
tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons chili powder
8
cups chicken stock or broth, or 8 cups water and 8 chicken bouillon cubes
2
(15-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
1
large onion, chopped
Salt
and pepper to taste
Toppings: chopped avocado, fried tortilla strips,
cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro, lime juice wedges, cooked shrimp, cooked
chicken
Heat
oil over medium-high heat in a large pot until hot. Add the diced tortillas and garlic and cook
until soft. Add the cilantro, cumin, and
chili powder and stir to evenly coat.
Add broth.
Process
the tomatoes and onion in a blender until smooth. Stir into soup. Bring to boil, then let simmer for about 30
minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
To
serve, ladle soup into bowl, then add whatever toppings you desire.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Turkey Sausage, Spinach, and White Bean Soup with Cornbread Biscotti
Have you ever seen the episode of Little house on the Prairie where Laura runs away to the mountains after her baby brother dies, and there she meets Jonathon, the mystery man/angel/God person, and then Pa comes looking for her, but she doesn't want him to find her because God hasn't answered her prayer yet which was for her to go to heaven and trade places with her baby brother because she thinks Pa would rather have had a son, but then Jonathon grabs her by the shoulders and says "Child, God HAS answered your prayer and He says your pa needs you and that is why your pa came looking for you?"
Huh? Have you seen that one?
Because I just finished watching that episode a few minutes ago and it sent me straight into a gasping-for-breath ugly cry. I am SO glad my husband left just before my meltdown. It was not attractive in the least.
And just as a warning to women everywhere, that episode called "The Lord is my Shepherd" is probably not the best one to watch if your body is in any kind of heightened state of hormonal activity.
Did Micheal Landon know how to bring on a sob or what? He is the *best* crier ever in the history of television.
Alright. Enough with this emotional roller coaster I've been on the last fifteen minutes. Let me clear my mind and talk about soup. Because this one is really good.
In the October issue of Southern Living, they ran a soup recipe along with a recipe for Cornbread Biscotti. Their soup recipe is very similar to mine (Or is it that mine is very similar to theirs?) but my soup is a little different with some marinara and orzo stirred in. And I think I've said it before but I'll say it again, most soup gets better the longer it sets. This soup is better the next day, so it's the perfect make ahead meal.
What really caught my eye, though, was that cornbread biscotti recipe. What a brilliant idea! I just had to try it and I'm so glad I did. The crunchy biscotti soaks up the soup and it's just wonderful. LOVED! Such a nice change from regular cornbread.
Here are my notes about the cornbread biscotti:
-After many years of having bad luck with every food processor I've ever owned, I am without one again. Until the money comes through for a Cuisinart, I'll just remain food processor-less, because I will not fork over any more money on anything else cheap. The original recipe is written using one, so I rewrote the directions to mix by hand.
-I also halved the original recipe with some slight tweaks, because I wasn't sure I would get good results without using a food processor, but I did. So mine is a small batch and it gave me about 8-10 biscotti.
-I can't tell you how much I loved the fresh rosemary in them. It really made them pop. I grow my own, but I'm sure dried would be good too.
-I did use parchment paper like the original recipe called for. I think that's important because it keeps the dough from spreading too much and allows an easy transfer to a cutting board.
-The batter was thick, but wet. I was afraid it was too wet, but it wasn't.
My soup notes:
-I prefer cannellini, but I used Great Northern because I can't get the cannellini beans here.
-One more time--the soup gets better tasting the longer it sets. Have you got that yet?
-I cook the sausages whole, then slice. An alternative would be to squeeze the sausage out of the casings and crumble as you cook.
-Add the spinach to the hot soup as the very last step. It will immediately wilt and you no longer need to cook it. Kale would be great too.
-I always cook my pasta separately because it tends to swell too much in the soup. I store them separately in the fridge too, and add my pasta to each bowl of soup individually.
-Yes, you could use canned chicken broth or stock, I just always have bouillon cubes. I read an article about ten years ago that said canned chicken broth is 5 times costlier than making broth with bouillon cubes, and that has always stuck with me.
-I love this soup because it's quick, easy and pretty darn healthy. Did I mention yummy too? Because it totally is.
Turkey
Sausage, Spinach, and White Bean Soup
2 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil
1 (16-ounce) package
turkey Italian sausage
1 medium onion,
chopped
2 garlic cloves,
finely minced
6 cups water
6 chicken
bouillon cubes
1 1/2 cups
marinara sauce
2 (15-ounce)
cans cannellini beans or great northern beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (10-ounce) bag
baby spinach leaves
1 cup orzo pasta
Heat olive oil
in a Dutch oven over medium high heat.
Add the sausage and cook until brown on all sides and cooked all the way
through. Remove to cutting board and
slice into 1/4 inch slices. Add the
onion to Dutch oven and cook until soft, stirring often and scraping brown bits
off bottom. Add garlic and cook for two
more minutes. Add water, bouillon cubes,
marinara sauce, sausage, and cannellini beans.
Bring to a simmer and let cook uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Season with salt and
pepper to taste. Stir in spinach and
remove from heat.
Meanwhile, cook
orzo according to package direction.
Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to keep from sticking.
To serve, spoon
orzo into each bowl, then ladle soup over pasta.
Cornbread Biscotti (Small Batch)
(Adapted from Southern Living)
1
(6-ounce) package yellow cornbread mix
1/3
cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1
teaspoons coarse ground pepper
1/2
teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2
tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
2
large eggs, divided
2
tablespoons buttermilk
2-3
tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Parchment
paper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine
cornbread mix, 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, pepper and rosemary in a medium
bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or fingers
until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Whisk
together 1 egg and buttermilk. Stir into cornbread mixture until batter
mixed. (Batter will be thick, but wet.)
Spread dough into approximately a 6 x
4-inch rectangle on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet using lightly greased
hands. Lightly beat remaining egg; brush over dough. Sprinkle with remaining
cheese. Bake at for 20 minutes or until
pale golden brown and firm. Let cool on baking sheet on a wire rack 10 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Gently slide loaf onto a cutting board,
and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices using a serrated knife. Place
slices, cut sides down, back onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes on each side or
until golden and crisp. Let cool on baking sheet on wire rack 15 minutes. Serve
warm. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days, or freeze up to 2 weeks.
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