Tag Archive for 'soup'

Our Thanksgiving Menu & Two Pie Recipes

Published by mel on November 18, 2008 in dessert, entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Carrot Pumpkin Soup
Pie recipes are from last year and I can’t seem to find any photos…will update the post with pie pictures next week!

Thanksgiving is 10 days away. Menus are finalized, grocery shopping is in full force. Thanksgiving recipe testing is complete! And so, here’s the final menu and recipes for Pupmkin Mascarpone Pie with a Gingersnap Crust and a Crunchy Apple Pie.

Carrot Pupmkin Soup with Crushed Hazelnuts
…flavored with smoked paprika, shallots and sherry vinegar.

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Roulade
…filled with caramelized onions and figs, goat cheese, toasted pecans and fresh cranberries. Wrapped in peppered bacon and basted in pear jam.

Corn-bread and Chorizo Stuffing from Gourmet
…Olive oil instead of vegetable oil, fresh tarragon instead of dried oregano, chicken stock instead of broth, and probably some dried fruit (apricots?) soaked in brandy.

Potato Gratin with Roasted Garlic and Manchego from Food & Wine
…Probably remove the rosemary (my mom’s not a fan) and replace half and half with whole milk. Maybe add some caramelized shallots too.

Roasted Butternut Squash stuffed with Wild Mushrooms, Leeks and Chestnuts
…Halved and roasted butternut squash, stuffed with wild mushroom and leeks, sauteed in butter and tossed with chestnuts. Sprinkled with panko breadcrumbs and baked until slightly browned.

Pumpkin Walnut bread, Banana Pecan bread, Lemon Poppy bread

Pumpkin Mascarpone Pie with Gingersnap Crust (Recipe below)

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie (Recipe below)

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Thanksgiving Test Recipe: Carrot Pumpkin Soup

Published by mel on November 12, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Thanksgiving Test Recipe: Carrot Pumpkin Soup

Some people are born to bake. They know how to follow instructions, can measure quantities with surprising accuracy and are patient enough to do things like let dough rise or bring ingredients to room temperature. Others are a bit more implusive, too impatient to wait for their ingredients (but I want cookies now!), too rebellious to follow a recipe’s instructions, tweaking and changing things as they see fit. These people may turn out some good cookies and cakes, but they’ll never be bakers at heart.

I think I fall into the latter category, and so my attempts and cookies and muffins are never as successful as attempts at soups, mains and sides. Whenever I’m baking, I feel like I’m throwing everything into a bowl and crossing my fingers. I can’t taste and adjust, add a little more of some ingredient, try different accompaniments. I’m coming to terms with it. I’ll never be a baker at heart.

Tangent over, now back to regularly scheduled programming…Thanksgiving. I mentioned on Monday that I’m using this week to test out some new Thanksgiving recipes. The first was a rousing, raging success: Carrot Pumpkin Soup with crushed hazelnuts. (Thanks again to Oh! Nuts for those hazelnuts! They’re so very delicious!)

I had some ground rules for this soup recipe. Since it’s just me and my mom cooking for a large crowd, it had to be somewhat simple. No simmering for hours, straining, simmering or making a roux. There will be enough of that with all of the other Thanksgiving dishes. This soup is super simple — a quick saute of shallots, carrots and garlic, then add some canned (or pureed) pumpkin and stock and simmer for awhile. Run it through with an immersion blender, then stir in some cream, smoked paprika and sherry vinegar. Top it all off with a good drizzle of olive oil and some crushed hazelnut and you’ve got a bright orange, smoky sweet soup that’s perfect for a Thanksgiving first course.

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Butternut Squash Tortilla Soup

Published by mel on November 5, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

It seems as though the Fall ingredients and soup trend continues over here. It’s not that I want to overload you with squashes and harvest fruit, it’s that I just can’t help myself. This tortilla soup has become an instant favorite at my house. It’s got sweet, roasted butternut squash and shredded chicken simmered in a chili powder-spiked broth with crumbled, salty blue corn tortilla chips. I’m such a sucker for anything sweet, spicy and salty.

The star here really is the roasted butternut squash. While I’m all for shortcuts, canned and frozen squash won’t give you the same roasted flavor as fresh. Now, I know a whole, fresh butternut squash is an intimidating thing. Unless you’ve got a hacksaw or cleaver in the house, splitting this thing open may be a bit more than you’re willing to take on. My suggestion? Ask the supermarket to halve it for you. Most markets will willing do it for no charge, then all you have to do is roast the halves on a cookie sheet with olive oil and salt. Once it’s done, simply scoop the roasted squash out with a spoon and use it anyway you’d like. (Can anyone say roasted butternut squash pizza?)

I like my butternut squash in all forms, but this tortilla soup might emerge as the favorite. Healthy, hearty and satisfying, it makes a perfect lunch or weeknight dinner. A great, seasonal twist on a classically delicious soup.

Related: Chorizo and Blue Corn Tortilla Soup

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Black Bean & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Published by mel on October 22, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Black Bean & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I appear to be on a soup kick recently. This may be due to the fact that I haven’t really been grocery shopping in two weeks and I’ve been having to dig deeply into the pantry. So deep, in fact, that the pantry is actually starting to look a little bare. It hasn’t been this bare since the week we moved in. But, I’m not knocking pantry meals. They’re usually quick, inexpensive and surprisingly delicious.

This morning I found myself in need of lunch. I take lunch pretty seriously, and have some requirements for my mid-day meal. It needs to be filling, nutritious, easy to eat at a desk (or meeting, or standing) and must be tasty. So I grabbed a couple cans of black beans, a huge jar of roasted red peppers, fire-roasted tomatoes and bulgur. Into the pot for 30 minutes with some garlic and spices and out came a surprisingly delicious soup. I actually wanted to eat some for breakfast, but held out.

Black beans and roasted red peppers compliment each other perfectly. A little cumin, cayenne, sweet paprika and sherry vinegar make this soup a little spicy, a little tangy, a little earthy. It just goes to show that you’ll always have a great tasting and healthy meal on hand if your pantry is well stocked.

On a side note, I promise this will be the last bean/soup recipe for a little while. I’ll post a fun one on Friday so stay tuned!

Other pantry meals:
Quinoa & Red Lentils
Sausage Bean & Barley Soup
Three Bean Vegetarian Chili
Green Rice & Beans
Sausage & Red Lentil Soup
Tomato Almond Soup
Double Curry Lentils

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A Simply Delicious Corn Chowder

Published by mel on October 15, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

A Simply Delicious Corn Chowder

I really love a good soup. A good soup is one that I can throw together in under 10 minutes and let bubble on the stove for as long as I please. A good soup will fill me up for the whole day. A good soup is healthy and makes me feel good all day. This corn chowder is definitely a good soup.

Instead of loading the chowder up with cream and flour and other heavy chowder staples, I used fingerling potatoes to give the chowder its rich creaminess. I also added some slow-cooking polenta to thicken it up and add another layer of corn-y-ness. Some stock, frozen corn, lemon, crushed red pepper and a little bit of cream finish up this super simple chowder.

A Simply Delicious Corn Chowder

I topped it all off with cheese, herbs and dollop of plain yogurt for one of the best soups I’ve made in awhile. I could probably eat this every day and be a happy woman. Next time, I might add some crumbled bacon or sausage, or maybe even a poached or fried egg to top it off. It’s a simple, affordable and delicious lunch or weeknight dinner. In fact, I wish I had some in my lunchbox right now, but I suppose I’ll settle for Turkey & Pumpkin Lasagna.

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Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Published by mel on September 29, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

It’s officially Sports Food season. Baseball playoffs are coming soon (go Red Sox!), college football is in full swing (go Eagles!) and the NFL is taking over Sundays and Mondays (go…uh…). This means lots of nachos, 7-layer dip, pizza, buffalo wings, blue cheese and other assorted Sporty Foods.

I happen to love Sporty foods. Last year, I made delicious chorizo nachos and boneless (organic and whole wheat) buffalo fingers for the Super Bowl. It’s all about bold, hearty food that pairs nicely with a beer, or two, or three… But soup? Can soup be a Sporty Food? Why yes, yes it can. This weekend, I made Loaded Baked Potato soup. Thick, creamy, topped with bacon, cheese and hot peppers, this soup can definitely hold its weight during the baseball playoffs or a football tailgating session.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

You can set your soup station up like you would a taco or baked potato station: a big pot of soup, bowls and toppings. Begin with your potato soup and layer on as many toppings as you’d like. Go crazy here – anything goes. Personally, I’m all about bacon bits, cheddar cheese, chopped spinach, sour cream and jalapenos. It’s a fun, Sunday kind of soup, even if you’d rather curl up with a good book or episode of Gossip Girl (What? Everyone has their guilty pleasures…) than a football team.

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stick-to-your-ribs sausage, bean & barley soup

Published by mel on September 19, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

stick-to-your-ribs sausage, bean & barley soup

I see on the news that it’s starting to cool down in some places. Not here. It’s still getting up to 90° most days, but the humidity is starting to let up. And so, it’s time for soup. Warm and hearty soups full of beans and grains and vegetables. Yummy soup that fills you up and comforts you on a bad day.

I love soup. It’s so good for you, comes together in just a few minutes and you’ve only got one pot to wash when you’re done. A few years ago, when I still lived in a place where it snows in winter, I discovered bean and barley soup. It sounds so simple, I know, but there’s something about red kidney beans and barley that taste amazing together.

For this soup, I added in some hot Italian chicken sausage to really make it a meal and some smoked paprika and lime to perk it up. It’s the kind of soup I’ll make on a Monday morning and eat for lunch the rest of the week with some whole grain bread or crackers. It’s thick and flavorful, stick-to-your-ribs goodness.

Related: Simple Sausage & Red Lentil Soup

p.s. See if you can spot me in the spoon. Hi guys!

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spicy pozole with steak, avocado & lime

Published by mel on August 27, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

spicy pozole with steak, avocado & lime

Wikipedia says that Pozole is a traditional Mexican stew made from hominy that’s been cooked with meat and seasonings and topped with garnishes, such as avocado, cabbage, radishes and lime juice. It’s like a hearty, Mexican corn chowder. I actually spotted a recipe on Elise’s site awhile ago and knew I had to make it for Tom. He has an unnatural attachment to Mexican cuisine. Since I always lose them, I never printed out the recipe, but saw some dried pozole at the market and decided to wing it.

While you can use canned hominy, it has a much softer texture than the dried pozole kernels. You can get these online or at Hispanic markets, some grocery stores and Whole Foods. They’re like beans in that you have to soak them overnight, but their texture is much meatier and provides a nice chewiness to the dish.

They soak overnight and then stewed with dried chile de arbol and ancho peppers, making a nice, spicy broth. Just add a bit of cream to thicken it up, then top with your favorite garnishes. I used what I had on hand — avocado, red onion, thinly sliced skirt steak (leftovers!), sour cream, lime juice and cilantro. The garnishes are really the fun part. You can set them all up on the kitchen counter and have everyone assemble their own pozole the way they like it. It’s kind of like taco night with a spoon.

And it was delicious with all of the different textures and flavor contrasts. I think someone will be begging me to make it again quite soon.

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chilled fennel soup w/crab, avocado & grapefruit

Published by mel on August 25, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

chilled fennel soup w/crab, avocado & grapefruit

I had a perfect birthday. This year, it was on a Sunday and I was on vacation. I slept in, watched some Olympics, ate a Japanese hot dog, went shopping, toured the Vancouver Aquarium, took a nap and was taken out to a most fabulous dinner at Parkside. As with most meals on our Pacific Northwest adventure, Parkside is all about fresh, seasonal ingredients. Everything, including the wine, was responsibly farmed and delicious. The dishes themselves were simple, but interesting. For my appetizer, I had a very memorable chilled fennel soup topped with Dungeness crab, avocado and grapefruit. I knew I had to try to imitate it and noted as many ingredients as I could identify on my trusty iPhone.

I think I did an admirable job, though I definitely suffered from a lack of awesomely fresh crab. It’s just the wrong coast, I suppose. Next time, I think a juicy hunk of Florida Lobster tail will make a nice substitute for the crab, and is much more appropriate for the area. But the soup itself was Miami perfection. Light, refreshing and chilly enough to cool you off after a long, hot day on the beach.

Note: Where’s the crab in the picture? It sunk. I recommend using more shallow bowls if you’re trying for a nice presentation…

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big, slurpy bowl of udon noodles

Published by mel on May 30, 2008 in entree and recipe.

big, slurpy bowl of udon noodles

Nothing says comfort food like a big bowl of slurpy noodles. Surprisingly, I don’t miss living in New York as much as I thought I would. I’ve adjusted well to the tropical weather and the beach across the street from my home. And the flip flops. But one of the things I really miss is the delicious and plentiful Asian food. It’s sorely lacking here in Miami, so I’ve taken to making much more of it at home than I ever did in New York.

Lately, the craving has been for a big bowl of Udon noodles with pork, dumplings, fish cakes (they’re delicious - I swear!), shrimp tempura and a poached egg. A bit weird since it’s full-blown summer here and that’s definitely a winter meal. But I craved it nonetheless. And it’s nowhere to be found. (If anyone has a recommendation, please please please leave a comment!)

Where was I? Oh yeah - so I made some Udon soup to calm the craving. It’s not really authentic, and doesn’t have the shrimp tempura or the fish cakes, but it’s still a big comfy bowl of noodle soup. And it’s delicious!

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