Blue Passion

I could eat blue cheese by the crumble, by the chunk or by the wheel. I am telling you it is genetic my entire family magnetizes to blue cheese. I love stinky strong cheeses, to me the so called stink just speaks to the high level of flavor.

The other night I made a big batch of blue cheese dip/dressing which can be used for just about anything. That night it was used as a dip for homemade Buffalo wings . It was so delicious, more so because I added probably triple the amount of blue cheese one would normally use....what I can say. I am the same way with garlic as I pointed out in the previous post. Some may say that I have severe issues with certain foods; I like to think of it more as having tremendous passion about certain foods.

I am also passionate about soup one of life's most perfect dishes and by adding blue cheese  this dish is way over the top!

ONION AND BLUE CHEESE SOUP

4 lg. onions, sliced thin
3/4 stick (6 tbsp.) butter
4 c. canned beef broth
1 c. dry white wine
1/4 lb. blue cheese, crumbled (about 1 c.)

1 baguette, for croutons. (Just slice, butter or drizzle a little olive oil on each slice and put in 400 degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes). Spreading with blue cheese is optional but really, really good!

In a large saucepan, cook the onions in the butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until they are softened. Sprinkle the onions with salt and pepper, stir in the broth and the wine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer the soup, covered, for 1 hour.
Remove the pan from the heat and add 3/4 cup of the cheese and stir the soup until the cheese is melted. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish it with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese and the croutons.

Life Is Just A Bowl Of Sherry

My mother's two favorite spirits were port wine and cream sherry as well as dry sherry. I use to always get her a bottle of each during the holidays, it was always a pleasure to watch her savor every little sip.
During dinner the other night my dear friend and neighbor, Christine started talking about recipes containing port or sherry. I was telling her that I always use sherry when I make lobster bisque and that port is used a lot in meat preparations. Well now I find myself very focused on finding unique ways to use the two spirits. This recipe could not be more perfect for us it uses one of our most favorite cheeses, brie and a heavy dose of cream sherry, which I am sure would have made my mother quite happy. Now we will just have to find some wonderful recipe to make using port.

Sherried Brie Soup

2 c. cream sherry
2 tbsp. butter
6 c. sliced mushrooms
2/3 c. minced shallots
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. flour
4 c. beef stock
4 oz. trimmed brie
2 c. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. pepper
1-2 tsp. salt
 cube up some brie and mince some chives for garnish

In a saucepan, reduce cream sherry by half. Melt butter in another medium saucepan. Stir in mushrooms, shallots and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in flour until well blended. Return to heat and add beef stock and reduced sherry. Bring to boil then reduce to a simmer about 25 minutes. Add trimmed Brie; stir to melt. Add heavy cream, pepper and salt. Ladle hot soup into serving bowls. Garnish with additional brie and minced chives.

Spring Goes Green

There was a time I would have never considered using lettuce for anything other than a salad or sandwich topper. I use to think of celery the same way but both of them stand up to cooking really well in a variety of ways. My cousin Pat use to always ask for the leftover salad from family dinners as long as there was no dressing. Pat would use the leftover salad; tomatoes, onions and whatever else may have been in it to make soup.
There are so many varieties of lettuce ranging from the very mild iceberg to the peppery arugula and lets not forget the bitterness of endive.
Bitter, peppery and mild seem to cover the lettuce flavor range for the most part, the bulk of all lettuce varieties do tend to be very delicate and mild in flavor. So keep that in mind when choosing what lettuce you are going to use in your soup. I prefer to go with a mild variety such as Iceberg, Bibb or Romaine; it adds a more delicate backdrop for the cream, butter and nutmeg making it very comforting to the palate.

Spring Lettuce Soup

2 med. heads lettuce, shredded
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. light cream
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Dash of pepper

In 4-quart kettle, combine shredded lettuce and chicken broth; bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered 10 minutes or until lettuce is soft. In electric blender, place one half lettuce and liquid, cover and blend. Pour into bowl. Repeat with other half. Pour back into kettle. Add cream, butter, sugar, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring until butter is melted and soup is hot. Beat mixture with a rotary mixer to make very smooth. Serve.

tonyolb/flickr

On A "Sauer" Note, How About A Nice Bowl Of Soup!

We were at Gram’s house one weekend and she was telling us about some restaurant that she and her husband went to many years ago. While there they both saw something on the menu that sparked their interest, sauerkraut soup. It really wasn’t a hard decision seeing that they were both huge sauerkraut lovers. One of their favorite meals just happened to be pork and sauerkraut, which was my mother’s favorite meal as well. Let’s just say a few bowls later pretty much sized up their love of this soup. This recipe is not identical to what they had at the restaurant that fine day but is just as delicious and extremely easy to make. If you love sauerkraut this soup is sure to put a smile on your face.

Sauerkraut Soup

2 lbs. sauerkraut (canned or bagged)
6 cups canned beef broth
2 cups water
1 cup chopped onions
3 tbsp. butter or bacon grease
1/2 - 1 tsp. paprika
1 cup of flour
2 med. potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 lb. Polish sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices (may also substitute with bacon, pork or any other type of sausage).
3 tbsp. butter
Salt or pepper to taste

Wash sauerkraut and drain, using a large kettle, add beef broth and water. Simmer 30 minutes covered. Meanwhile cook onion in shortening until soft. Stir in flour and paprika. Cook another 3-4 minutes. Mix into skillet 3 cups of sauerkraut mixture with onion. Stir until smooth. Stir in rest of sauerkraut. Add diced potatoes. Simmer 30 minutes. In same skillet used for onion and butter, add Polish sausage. Cook for 10 minutes until slightly browned. Add to soup and simmer another 5 minutes before serving.

Serving tip: A dollop of sour cream compliments the flavor of this soup nicely.

Photo/postcardsMN/flickr

A "Souper" Fall Bounty

The crisp air of fall brings with it a bounty of apples and squash so versatile to use in so many different ways. Even though I enjoy soup throughout the year, I seem to crave it more during these cool fall months. So I especially like this recipe because it takes the creamy richness of the squash and the tart sweet crispness of the apples and turns it into a really rich and flavorful soup.



Acorn and Apple Soup

2 med. acorn squash, seeded & halved
3 c. degreased chicken stock or canned
2 tart green apples (2 c. cored, seeded & chopped)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. unsweetened apple juice
2 tsp. fresh ginger root, peeled & grated
1/2 tsp. salt (omit if using canned stock)
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Yogurt or sour cream & chives (garnish)

Cook squash, remove pulp. Combine 1/2 cup stock, apples and onion in heavy medium saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add squash pulp, remaining stock, apple juice, ginger and salt. Cover and simmer until ingredients are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Puree soup in batches in blender or processor. Strain through sieve into clean saucepan, pressing puree with back of spoon. Reheat soup gently and season with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Ladle into bowls, garnish with yogurt or sour cream and some chives.

Whatever You Call It Soup

This is such a comforting recipe at any time but especially now with the cold weather returning. The hot steamy broth and the soft chewy dumplings are just a match made in heaven. I am not sure how this recipe found its way into our family from what I understand this soup was a staple of Bavaria and a friend of mine said Germany as well.
I cannot pronounce these too well but liver dumpling soup is also called; “Leberklosse or leberknodel”, whatever your family calls it; it still feels good going down.

Liver Dumpling Soup

4 to 6 cups of homemade or canned chicken, vegetable or beef broth
Season to taste

Put in pot and set to a medium simmer

DUMPLINGS:

1 lb. liver, ground, (may use either chicken or beef liver, the chicken tends to be milder in flavor.

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tsp. minced onion, brown in 1/2 cup of butter

2 eggs

1 tbsp. flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients. Mold in balls the size of walnuts, using flour on the fingers. Drop into simmering broth and let simmer for 25-30 minutes then enjoy.

Add scallions or fresh parsley at the end for a little extra flavor.

May I Please Have Your Turkey Carcass?

When my friend Pamm was little her mother always made turkey carcass soup with the Thanksgiving Day dinner remains. This became one of Pamm’s favorite things and a tradition that she did not take lightly.
One thanksgiving Pamm’s father decided to give his wife a break from cooking and took her and Pamm out for thanksgiving dinner. This did not make Pamm happy, nothing tasted good at the restaurant, it just wasn’t like her mother’s especially when it came to the pumpkin chiffon pie that she was accustom to.
But it wasn’t until they got home that it hit her that because her mother hadn’t cooked a turkey that there was no carcass for her to make Pamm’s favorite turkey soup. Now poor Pamm who is in absolute panic mode did the only thing that a little girl could do in desperate times to keep a tradition alive………she got a brown paper bag and went door to door and asked her neighbors if they had any turkey carcasses and if so could she have them so her mother could make turkey soup. Four of these neighbors took pity on Pamm and gave up their dinners skeletal remains. Now happy and skipping back home with four turkey carcasses in her bag so pleased with her ingenuity all was right with her world again, until..... Apparently while Pamm was out telling her sad story and gathering her carcasses, people were calling her mother asking if they had fallen on hard times and was there anything that they could do. This highly embarrassed her mother and made her a little angry at first and Pamm did get sent to her room. But in the end she got her soup and all these years later Pamm is still getting her turkey carcass soup, the only thing that has changed is the person who prepares it (that would be me).

Turkey Carcass Soup
In Memory of Pamm's Mother

1 turkey carcass
2 onions, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup of rice or pasta
Salt & pepper to taste

In enough water to cover carcass boil carcass for 2 hours. Pick meat from bones. Strain broth and return broth and meat to pan. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 1 hour.