Soup Season

Hello readers and sorry for the long pause. The last few weeks have been such a whirlwind. I can’t even remember the last night I got a full 6 hours of sleep. It feels like undergrad all over again – late nights, Red Bull, Vietnamese coffee. Lots of cuddle sessions with my laptop as I frantically try to crank out paper after paper. But thank goodness most of my half-semester classes have finally ended, and I should be cruising right to graduation. In these last few weeks when time and energy were at an ultimate low, the best thing to whip up in the kitchen was/is SOUP. Especially now that it’s autumn and the weather is a bit chilly, soup is the cure for a rough day. Soup is a prophylactic for the seasonal cold. Soup is my savior. Warm, versatile, filling, delicious. Here are a few of them now…

Meatless Tortilla Soup with Home-fried Tortilla Strips

Hearty Chunky Veggie and Beef Stew with BowTie Pasta

Creamy Potato Kale Sausage Soup

These are among my most frequented soups, as they are quick, easy to prep, and just hits the spot every time. Soup making is an excellent way to use up pantry/leftover foods. A spare carrot from carrot cake making? A celery stalk left over from those buffalo wings? Cans of beans? Veggies just past their prime? Leftover rotisserie chicken? Into the pot they go – and love, seasoning, and time turn them into delicious 1-bowl meals. I’ve recently developed a kale obsession, so 2 of the pictures above feature strips of dark, leafy kale – which holds up so well in a soup. The texture, the earthy and subtle bitterness adds such nice contrast and balance to the other ingredients in the soup. Below is a recipe I adapted from Pioneer Woman. I essentially added a few more herbs and some leeks (loooove leeks too) – it’s just so darn satisfying, try it out yourself!

Kale, Sausage, Potato Soup
Adapted from Pioneer Woman. Serves 2-3.

Ingredients
5 red potatoes, skin on, cleaned, thinly sliced
1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing [alt: 1/2 lb ground beef/pork + fennel + oregano + garlic + onion + paprika + salt/pepper]
1 small onion, chopped
1 leek, white & light green part thinly sliced
2-3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 c chicken stock
~5 sprigs fresh thyme
1-2 bay leaves
1 bunch kale, cleaned & cut into eatable strips
1/2 c heavy cream [the potatoes make it creamy enough!!]
freshly cracked black pepper

Directions
In a medium pot, cook sliced potatoes (skin ON), until tender. Drain and set aside.

Place a large soup pot on high heat, and add a teeny splash of olive oil. Once hot, add the sausage meat (or ground meat), and vigorously break up the meat as it begins to brown. Once cooked 75% through, reduce heat to medium and add chopped onion, celery and leek. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. While sauteeing, add a dash (or 5) of cayenne pepper. This will really bring out the spices in the sausage meat, and a nice contrast to the richness of the soup. And if you accidentally add too much – not to worry, the heavy cream will help neutralize some of the heat.

To the pot, add chicken stock, thyme and bay leaves, and bring to rolling boil. Add to pot cooked potatoes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. After another 15 minutes or so of cooking, fish out thyme and bay leaves. Using an emulsion blender or very carefully in a regular blender, blitz the soup until desired consistency. I prefer a chunky soup so I don’t blend it for too long, but if you want something smoother – by all means, blend away.

To the pot, add kale and allow to wilt in soup before adding heavy cream. Again, adjust seasoning one last time before serving with a nice bit of crusty bread. Enjoy!

The red skin on the potatoes and the dark leafy kale look so pretty together. And those potatoes – creamy, warm and just so perfect for a chilly autumn day.

Until next time,

AnhD

Sweater Weather

Today, I don’t feel like doing anything. No, I’m not quoting Bruno Mars, but I really don’t feel like getting out of bed or changing out of my comfy sweats. I just want to curl up in bed with my lovely Kindle, sipping a warm cup of chai and maybe having someone deliver me brunch in bed. Unfortunately the latter isn’t going to happen, as (1) I live alone, and can’t bully anyone to make me brunch, (2) the only person I could bully is more than 3000 miles away. Tough luck. Looks like I’m on my own here – so to make up for the fact that no one will make me breakfast but ME, I decided to treat myself to something special.

Last week, FoodBuzz sent me 2 loaves of Bauducco® Panettone. Studded with little bits of SunMaid raisins and fragrant citrus peel, panettone is the quintessential cold-weather bread. It reminds me of the holidays, and family, and all things warm and lovely. It’s probably one of the best parts of winter – suddenly the store shelves are stocked with panettone. Everytime I unwrap a panettone loaf, it feels like Christmas. There is the special domed cardboard box, then the cellophane bag, then that twist-tie-thing that holds it all in. When it finally unwraps, wow – I’m hit with this punch of buttery, citrusy goodness. It smells amazing. I could bottle it and turn it into perfume (who needs Chanel No5). Or air freshener (Glade or Air Wick should really get on this). And when you slice into it – it’s soft and ever so slightly spongy. So after a week of just eating panettone as an after-school snack, today, I prepped it a bit differently. Left soaking in a decadent custard, cubes of panettone bread are transformed into an even more (is this possible? yes!) warm and comforting dish – welcome, panettone bread pudding.

Panettone Bread Pudding
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
1/2 loaf panettone [I munched on the other half....], chopped into cubes
3 eggs
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 c sour cream [fat free!!]
3/4 c sugar

Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream and sugar, until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Reserve a 1/2 cup of the mixture for the sauce, recipe below. Here, I used fat free sour cream to replace the additional heavy cream or whole milk that other recipes call for, hopefully (in theory, anyway), trimming down on the richness a bit. To the cream mixture, beat in the eggs until incorporated. Toss in the cubes of panettone, and push to submerge in the custardy mixture, as needed to evenly soak the bread. Allow the bread to absorb all of the liquid (~30 mins).
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350* and lightly butter a loaf pan or a few small ramekins. I used 4-3oz ramekins, and still had some leftover. Divide the bread mixture evenly among the ramekins or spread into a loaf pan. Sprinkle the tops of each pan or ramekin with a bit of coarse sugar. This helps form a crunchy, sweet, and very pretty crust. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick into the center comes out clean and the tops are golden. Serve with berries and almond cream (see below). Enjoy!

Almond Cream
1/2 c sugar/cream/sour cream mixture from above
1/2-1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp almond extract [Giada uses amaretto liqueur, but I don't have any]

Place the 1/2 cup of reserved sugar/heavy cream/sour cream into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer, and whisk in the cornstarch and almond extract until the mixture has thickened. Start with a 1/2 tsp of cornstarch and sprinkle in a little more as needed to reach the desired consistency. Once smooth and all the lumps have disappeared, remove from heat but serve warm.

The texture for this particular bread pudding is extra tender and decadent, but less ‘pudding-like’, as I actually don’t like pudding’s consistency. This bread pudding is still soft and custardy, but still retains a bit of chew, which I like. The recipe is endlessly adaptable, and if you prefer a more custardy/puddingy bread pudding, by all means, increase the amount of cream/eggs.

So I’ve made myself brunch and am going to crawl back into the warm cocoon that is my bed. Until soon lovely readers,
AnhD

PS. Look out for a deluge of soup/step recipes in the coming weeks

Uggh

My new favorite expression is “UGGGH.” Growled with a fierce grimace, glaring eyes, and that’s what I look/sound like right now. Exactly 2 years ago, I was stressing over finishing my undergrad and applying to grad school and worrying about the next steps in my life. Remember this mess? Well, funny – exactly 2 years later, I’m doing the EXACT same thing. Trying to finish up my masters and finalizing job offers and apartment hunting (in Manhattan no less!!!) and figuring out what I’m doing with my life. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m take 18 units of class, and have tons and tons of extra work to do, aand have a semi-functioning social life to keep up. Top that off with house guests and frequent trips to California and I’m beat. Ugggh, I’m exhausted. I can’t wait until I graduate – just a short 10 weeks away. I just have to keep afloat until then.

And the best way to do that? Get pumpkin wasted (to quote a friend)! The weather is finally cool enough to pull out those comfy cable knit sweaters and long cardigans, those tall cognac knee-high boots, those warm Pashmina scarves – I love autumn. It’s time to indulge in a cup of warm pumpkin spice latte, while eating a spicy pumpkin cupcake or slice of apple pie. Autumn is the best. So here’s a quick autumn recipe for pumpkin scones – a perfect 5 minute escape from my hectic schedule. Shmear a bit of home-whipped spiced cream over a split pumpkin scone, and heaven just got that much closer. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Scones
Adapted from King Arthur Flour – see for pictures

Ingredients
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice [or 1/4 tsp black pepper]
1/4 c cold butter, cubed
2 tbs whipping cream [and more for brushing]
1/3 c pumpkin puree [fresh or canned]
1 egg
2 tbs coarse sugar
Optional:
1 c minced crystallized ginger, cinnamon/chocolate chips, or chopped dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, apricots, etc)

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and all spices (and/or pepper). Add cold butter, and using minimal touch, incorporate until crumbly, and pieces of butter are still visible. Add in optional dried fruit pieces or chocolate chips, again using minimal touch to incorporate.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, heavy cream and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until all is moistened and comes together – it should be a bit shaggy still. Dump dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet and shape dough into a circle, about 3/4″ thick and 5″ diameter. Brush the top of the dough with a bit of whipping cream, then top with coarse sugar (or even cinnamon sugar, if desired).

Use a knife to slice the circle into even-sized wedges, and carefully separate wedges about 1″ apart. Place entire pan in freezer for > 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F. Remove scones from freezer and bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown, and insides are no longer wet. To make a quick cream to serve with scones, machine-whip 1/4 cup of whipping cream with 1 tbs sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Serve the scones warm with cream on the side. Enjoy!

The perfect 5 minutes in heaven. Time to get pumpkin wasted.
AnhD

ps. congratulations to my lovely friend NicoleC + her PLee! wishing you a happy ever after <3
pps. FoodBuzz recently sent me 2 panettone loaves – be on the look out for a panettone bread pudding recipe in the near future