Potato Leek Soup - Three Ways

You may recall my introducing you to a fabulous new offering from Melissa’s Produce that I used in the Capellini recipe here.  So enamored was I, that I used them again in the recipe for fritters here.  I finally got around to making the Potato Leek Soup that is featured on the package yesterday afternoon.  This quick and easy recipe yields a light and tasty soup, perfect for those upcoming spring luncheons when you’re looking for something delicate to pair with a sandwich or salad. I changed it up a bit based upon what I had available, so used homemade chicken stock instead of vegetable. My seasoning “to taste” turned out to be about 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper and 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt. I used Melissa's Dutch Baby yellow potatoes that I washed and quartered, and a HEAPING half cup and full cup to make up the potatoes.

If your interest is in a thicker soup with a more velvety texture, double the amount of leeks and potatoes, and leave the liquid amounts the same. If you plan to serve it as a starter to a more elegant meal, make either version, but add 2-3 Tablespoons of dry sherry.  This is one versatile recipe!  I held out a few leeks to caramelize for a garnish on top as my garden chives aren't up quite high enough to snip.  Delicious!

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Drizzle

Generally, I don’t think of the second day of spring as a pancake day, but when I got up this morning and it was 25 degrees outside, pancakes sounded pretty good.  I found this recipe on the Chef’s Catalogue website some time ago and had printed it for a future breakfast.  Since Easter is fast approaching and these are filled with that favorite of all bunnies, carrots, it seemed like a good day to give them a try.  They are a bit labor intensive, so if you plan to serve these the first thing in the morning, be sure to get your dry ingredients assembled, and make your maple drizzle the night before.  Regarding the maple drizzle, I didn’t find it all that drizzly, so I’d add a bit of milk to make it flow more readily.

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Drizzle

For the pancakes:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1 t. baking powder

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

½ t. baking soda

½ t. fine sea salt

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

3 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

½ t. pure vanilla extract

1 cup packed finely grated peeled carrots, patted dry on paper towels (about 3 medium carrots)

1 t. finely grated orange zest

1 T. finely diced candied ginger

¼ cup finely diced, toasted pecans

Cooking spray or melted butter

For the Maple Cream Cheese Drizzle

8 oz. cream cheese

½ cup grade B pure maple syrup

4 T. butter

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spices, baking soda and sea salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the carrots and orange zest, if using, and mix until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold in the ginger and pecans, if using, and mix until just combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Coat the skillet with cooking spray or brush with melted butter. Spoon 1/4 cup mounds of the batter onto the skillet, spreading with a spatula. Cook until the tops are covered with bubbles and the edges look cooked, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes over and cook until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 1 minute. Repeat with the remaining batter. Keep the cooked pancakes warm in the oven on a baking sheet, if desired.

For the maple-cream cheese drizzle:
Combine the cream cheese, maple syrup and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment until combined, about 2 minutes.

To serve:
Stack the pancakes on a plate and drizzle with the maple-cream cheese drizzle. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts or pecans, if using.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

1770 House Meatloaf

If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I am a big fan of meatloaf.  Sometimes life’s simple pleasures are indeed the best, such is the case with meatloaf.  This wasn’t always my belief, however.  Growing up, I was subjected, as were all kids my age, to the meatloaf topped with tomato paste and baked in the oven for a lengthy, drying period.  I never could abide tomato anything as a youngster, and didn’t eat pizza until I was in college, so this accepted late '60s version I found to be particularly vile.  Once I moved out on my own I realized that there was more, oh, so much more, to meatloaf than ground beef and tomato paste.  Now I’m on a mission to try as many different varieties as possible, to find the very best.  What I have found is that I pretty much like them all.  So, continuing on my quest to cook my way through Ina’s latest cookbook Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, I gave the recipe for “1770 House Meatloaf” a try.  From the East Hampton restaurant of the same name, and the creation of executive chef, Kevin Penner, I think I’ve found yet another favorite.  I served it alongside a steaming pile of “champ” that I learned about recently from Mary on her Home is Where the Boat Is blog (if you don’t read this one, start. NOW!).

1770 House Meatloaf

A recipe by Kevin Penner from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof

Meatloaf:

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2 cups chopped Spanish onion (1 large)

1-1/2 cups small-diced celery (2 stalks)

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground veal

1 pound ground pork

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

2-1/2 cups panko crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent but not browned. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place the beef, veal, pork, parsley, thyme, chives, eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl.

Put the panko in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until the panko is finely ground.

Add the onion mixture and the panko to the meat mixture. With clean hands, gently toss the mixture together, making sure it’s combined but not compacted.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan.  Pat the meat into a flat rectangle and then press the sides in until it forms a cylinder down the middle of the pan (this will ensure no air pockets). Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the middle reads 155 to 160 degrees F. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Slice and serve hot with Garlic Sauce.

Garlic Sauce:

3/4 cup good olive oil

10 garlic cloves, peeled

2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the oil and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Be careful not to burn the garlic or it will be bitter. Remove the garlic from the oil and set oil aside.

Combine the chicken stock, butter, and cooked garlic in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and cook at a full boil for 35 to 40 minutes, until slightly thickened. Mash the garlic with a fork, whisk in ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and then taste and for seasonings.  Spoon the warm sauce over the meatloaf.

“Champ”

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesdays

Seville Orange Marmalade

I have been remiss in posting this recipe for Seville Orange Marmalade. I feel badly about this because, alas, Seville Orange season is over. These bitter, made-for-marmalade oranges are only in season during the winter, and only a brief part of the winter, namely late December through early February. On the plus side, you now have time to plan for marmalade making next year. If you like authentic orange marmalade, this recipe by David Lebowitz, from his book, Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes, is definitely the one to use. One bite and you'll be transported to Scotland.

Winter is generally considered the off season for canning and preserving, something I love to do, so having found this recipe along with another soon to be shared one for lemon marmalade, I can see myself making jams and jellies all year long.

The best way to tell you how to make marmalade is to show you how with this photo tutorial and Lebowitz's text. It is not difficult, and the work may be spread out over the course of two days.

Seville Orange Marmalade

David Lebowitz

6 Seville oranges

1 navel orange

10 cups water

pinch of salt

8 cups sugar

1 tablespoon Scotch (optional)

Wash oranges and wipe them dry. 

Cut each Seville orange in half, crosswise around the equator. 

Set a non-reactive mesh strainer over a bowl and squeeze the orange halves to remove the seeds, assisting with your fingers to remove any stubborn ones tucked deep within. (NOTE: I have a juicer and found this a quick and easy way to juice the oranges and separate seeds and pulp.)

Tie the seeds up in cheesecloth or muslin very securely.

Cut each rind into 3 pieces and use a sharp chef’s knife to cut the rinds into slices or cubes as thin as possible. Each piece shouldn’t be too large (no more than a centimeter, or 1/3-inch in length.) Cut the navel orange into similar-sized pieces.

In a large (10-12 quart/liter) stockpot, add the orange slices, seed pouch, water, and salt, as well as the juice from the Seville oranges from step #1. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook until the peels are translucent, about 20 to 30 minutes.

(At this point, sometimes I’ll remove it from the heat after cooking them and let the mixture stand overnight, to help the seeds release any additional pectin.)

Stir the sugar into the mixture and bring the mixture to a full boil again, then reduce heat to a gentle boil. Stir occasionally while cooking to make sure it does not burn on the bottom. Midway during cooking, remove the seed pouch and discard.

Continue cooking until it has reached the jelling point, about 220F degrees, if using a candy thermometer. To test the marmalade, turn off the heat and put a small amount on a plate that has been chilled in the freezer and briefly return it to the freezer. Check it in a few minutes; it should be slightly jelled and will wrinkle just a bit when you slide your finger through it. If not, continue to cook until it is.

Remove from heat, stir in the Scotch, and ladle the mixture into clean jars.

This post is linked to:

Tutorials Tips and Tidbits

Be Inspired Friday

 Foodie Friday

A Tabletop Tidbit

I always admire the talented bloggers who manage to design, set, photograph, and post beautiful table settings every week.  Inasmuch as I'd like to do the same, I find that I get quite attached to some of the settings that I create, and just don't want to take them down to make way for something new.  Such was the case with last week's tablescape, Destination: Dinner.   At the same time that I was admiring it, a friend in the process of downsizing decided to gift me with this unique Griffin (I call him “Merv”) from the Blanc de Chine collection by Fitz and Floyd produced in the 1980s.  She told me that it was a gravy boat, but I saw it as a rather showy addition to my “worldly” table.  So here's a tabletop tidbit for today.  I've been envisioning it full of pansies, homemade pastel butter mints, overflowing with variegated ivy, or offering up spicy seasoned pecans.  Leave a comment and tell me what you'd use it for, and you may just see your idea in a future blog post!

  

This post is linked to:

Tabletop Tuesday

 Open House Party
 The Charm of Home
 At The Picket Fence

Tablescape Thursday

Show and Tell Friday