Winter Squash Soup with Gruyère Croutons

This was a great addition to our Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted something light to have as a first course along with salad and I needed to use the last of the squash from my CSA.

Overall, I was happy with the soup. My mom, however, LOVED it and got the recipe before she left. 

Ingredients:

Soup

1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth

4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)

4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh sage

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons sugar

Croutons

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

24 1/4-inch-thick baguette bread slices

1 cup grated Gruyère cheese

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

Directions:

For soup:
~Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

~Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and sugar; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.) 

For croutons:

~Preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with croutons and serve.

recipe by: epicurious

Taters and Cheese Soup

This was another simple dinner I made on the night of my CSA pick up. This was the first week we got 'taters, so I was very excited considering how fast we go through them in The Good Household.


Because we didn't get a lot of taters, I decided to stretch what we had and made this a taters and cheese soup. I would also have loved to put some beer in this, but The Good Husband differ extremely when it comes to tastes in beer and he wouldn't have like the beer I would have put in it. Maybe the next time I am making it just for me I will add good beer to it.

We also had grilled cheese along with our soup. TGH said it reminded him of being a kid again.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetables oil
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 10- to 12-ounce russet potato, peeled, diced
1 cup packed shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
chopped green onion for garnish

Directions:
~Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, carrot, onion and thyme and sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over and stir 2 minutes.

~Gradually whisk in broth, then milk. Add potato and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup until potato is tender, about 20 minutes. Add cheese 1/3 cup at a time, stirring until melted and smooth after each addition. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with green onion and serve.

recipe by: Epicrious

French Onion Soup

I used to hate French Onion Soup, which is funny because I can eat an onion like an apple, and may have on a dare once.

I don't know what it was about the soup I though I didn't like but then I tried it at a neighbor's house. I remember seeing her pull out of the oven this small white crock that overflowed with cheese and bread. The cheese was golden and running down the side of the crock. The bread was nestled under a pile of creamy cheese, soaking up all the hearty deliciousness of beef and onion flavor. One bite of that soup and I was forever a fan.

Sadly, I can't make this soup all too often. The Good Husband is super sensitive to onion cooking and no matter how well I think I have the kitchen ventilated, his eyes will start to water. So I have to wait for a day when he won't be home for a few hours, so the onions won't bother him.



Ingredients:
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
5 medium onions, thinly sliced
Pinch of dried thyme
2 Tbs. dry sherry (I used white wine, just because I am not a fan of sherry)
2 Tbs. Worcestershire
3 1/2 cups Brown Beef Stock
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 to 3 slices French bread, toasted if fresh
1 Tbs. grated Gruyere cheese (I used Swiss cheese, however, since I am not a fan of Gruyere)

Directions:
~Heat the oil and butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat until the butter is melted. Add onion and stir to coat. Add the thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, careful not to burn the onions, over medium heat. As soon as the onions start to brown, after about 15 minutes, reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, covered, stirring more often, until the onions are a rich brown color, about 40 min.

~Add the sherry (or wine) and Worcestershire and cook on high until the alcohole has cooked off. Add the beef stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

~Place 8 ovenproof crocks on a baking sheet. Fill 2/3 of the way full with soup. Top with French bread and cheese and broil or bake at 450 till cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve immediately.

Potato Leek Soup

You know there are a lot of simple recipes I haven't made yet. It seems like I would conquer the simple before moving on to the complex, but most of the time I forget I haven't made even the basic of dishes.

This is one of those simple dishes.

I had never made it or any variation of potato soup before. Come to think of it, I have never even had potato leek soup before.

But I had bought some leeks, thinking I would use them in a parsnip puree, but I didn't and I needed something else to make. Then it dawned on me to make this.

And it was simple to make and very flavorful. It was quick to make, which means it might become a staple in my menus.



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 leeks, thinly sliced
3 shallots, chopped
6 – 8 russet potatoes, diced
4 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 cup milk or heavy cream
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
~Cook leeks and shallots in butter and oil in a large sauce pan until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

~Add potatoes and enough broth to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Pour half of the soup mixture into a blender and puree. Meanwhile, use a potato masher and gently mash the potato mixture in the pan. Add the blended soup back into the pan and add the milk or cream. Heat through and served with bacon crumbles.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Mexican Tortilla Soup

As I said in my previous post, I was looking for recipes that contained lime and/or cilantro. This is another Rachel Ray recipe I found using both ingredients. I normally have a love/hate relationship with soup. There are only a few that I actually like and I usually prefer (unless it is a cream soup) for soup to be thick.

I also modified the way I made this recipe by a lot. I just read the directions and then almost did the opposite, but I will explain that more below. The original recipe also didn't call for corn, but I thought it would be a great addition. I would have also added some black beans, had I had any.

The original recipe also called for a pile of crushed chips to be added to the bottom of the bowl and then the soup poured on top. I found that the chips got way to soggy for my liking. On second serving of this I just placed some chips on top and dipped additonal chips in the broth. I liked it much better that.

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken stock
1 pound chicken tenders
1 bay leaf, fresh if available
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 slices thick, smoky center cut bacon, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 chipotles in adobo, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons sauce
1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
Salt
1 can corn, drained
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake
4 cups lightly crushed corn tortilla chips
2 cups shredded fresh smoked mozzarella or smoked sharp white Cheddar
1 lime, cut into wedges
1/2 red onion, chopped
Freshly chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions:

~Bring broth to a simmer and add chicken tenders, poach 6 to 7 minutes with a bay leaf. While chicken poaches, heat extra-virgin olive oil in a medium soup pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp then remove with slotted spoon. Drain off excess fat, leaving 2 to 3 tablespoons in the pan. Add onions and garlic to the skillet and cook 5 minutes then stir in chipotles and tomatoes. (Since the purpose of this recipe is to deliver smokey flavors, I decided that I would sear the chicken on the outside, to get a nice caramelized color, before poaching them. The poaching time was less, but since I seared them, the overall cooking time was the same. I followed the original directions in cooking the bacon and the onions.)

~Remove chicken from stock, dice and then add to soup. Pass stock through a strainer then add to the soup. (I also added cumin and red pepper flake to the soup to give it more of a kick. I also added the cilantro directly into the soup, as well as the juice of 2 limes. I added a can of corn kernels, drained. Mexi-corn and black beans would also be a good addition and would add more heft to the soup. The soup also looked a tad too thick, even for me, so I added one chicken bullion cube and one cup of water.)

~Place a pile of crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of each soup bowl. Cover liberally with smoked cheese then ladle the hot soup down over the top. Serve with lime, raw onions and cilantro at table to finish the soup.

recipe by: Rachel Ray

Clam Chowder

Mmmm. Clam chowder. We only eat this dish once in a while but I had been having a craving for it lately. Now, I have never been to the east coast so I am not sure if this tastes like "real" clam chowder is supposed to taste like, but it is not bad. Not bad at all, says the girl that has never been east of Indiana.

The only thing that would have made this dinner any better was a nice crusty loaf of sourdough and a glass of white wine. I had neither so there might be a tear floating in my clam chowder.

Ingredients:
2 6-1/2-ounce cans minced clams
4 slices bacon, halved
2-1/2 cups chopped, peeled potato (3 medium)
1 cup chopped onion (1 large), I used 2 large shallots
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups milk
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:
~Drain canned clams, reserving juice. If necessary, add enough water to reserved clam juice to equal 1 cup. Set juice aside.

~In a large saucepan cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble bacon and set aside.

~Stir reserved 1 cup clam juice, potato, onion, bouillon granules, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and pepper into saucepan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. With the back of a fork, mash potatoes slightly against the side of the pan.

~Stir together milk, half-and-half, and flour; add to potato mixture. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in clams. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes more or until heated through. Sprinkle each serving with crumbled bacon.

recipe modified from: Better Homes and Gardens