Author: Heidi Lee (Page 37 of 96)

Mostly Meatless Mondays! Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Fried Shallots

It’s that time of hear when all things ‘gourd’ are coming to the table.  We borrowed this little beauty from our friends at Peddler’s Son Produce….thanks gang!  You can eliminate the whipped cream topping and use vegetable stock for a true vegan dish.  Happy Fall One and All!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Fried Shallots       

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice
  • 2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1- inch cubes
  • 2 cups white wine
  • 2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 bundle thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 orange, cut in 1/2
  • Peanut or other neutrally flavored oil, for frying
  • 2 large shallots
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼  teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

 

Coat a large pot over medium-high heat with olive oil. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Season with salt, to taste, and sweat the veggies until they start to soften and are very aromatic, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the squash and potatoes and season with salt, to taste. Stir to coat the mixture with the oil and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Add the wine and reduce by half.

 

Add the stock, thyme and bay leaves. Squeeze the orange into the soup and add both halves. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if needed. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and simmer until the squash is falling apart, about 35 to 40 minutes. * If the liquid level starts to get too low, water can be used to replace it.

 

Remove and discard the orange halves, thyme bundle and bay leaves and puree the soup with an immersion blender or a blender. If using a blender, cool the mixture for about 5 minutes and carefully add it to the blender. It should be very smooth and velvety. Check the consistency. If it is too thick add water to thin it.

 

In a saucepan heat about 1-inch of the oil over medium heat. Slice the shallots into thin rings. Just before frying, toss the shallots in the flour. Fry the shallots until they are crispy and brown. Remove to a paper towel and sprinkle immediately with salt.

 

Whip the cream in a large bowl until it holds its shape in soft peaks, then whip in the cinnamon.

Ladle the soup into serving bowls and top with a dollop of the cinnamon whipped cream and fried shallots.

Grandma Neuharth’s Bohnensuppe (German Bean Soup)

This is my grandma’s bean soup recipe (via my brother–all in the family). My family is 100% German, so we thought Bohnensuppe would be great addition to the ‘all German/Ocktoberfest’ theme of the week. I have happy memories of going to Grandma’s for bean soup and homemade bread. As with most ‘grandma’ recipes, you need to use your best judgment on measurements (I’ve tried to fill in the blanks). Leftovers (Grandma always made sure to send home leftovers!) are excellent reheated throughout the week.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb navy beans
  • Ham bone*
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 2 Potatoes, chopped
  • Salt and Pepper (add at very end)

Directions:

  1. Soak navy beans in water (to cover) overnight.
  2. Drain the beans the next morning and place in a large pot.  Cover beans with enough water to cover them by 1 inch and simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours.  Cook until al dente.
  3. In another pot, cook ham bone (with some meat still on), a bay leaf, and chopped onion.  
  4. Add cooked beans and continue to simmer until the meat is soft.  Remove ham bone and meat from pot; remove meat from the bone, chop, and set aside (discard the bone).  
  5. Add the two chopped potatoes and the cooked meat to soup.  
  6. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Another option: Soak beans overnight.  Drain.  Add beans, water, bone/meat, potatoes, bay leaf, and onion to a crockpot on LOW.  Cook for 10-11 hours.  Remove bone; remove meat from bone and chop meat. Return meat to the soup.  Note: The potatoes tend to get a little soft in this method…

Ham bone note: You can buy a ham bone at the store/meat shop or use a leftover ham bone (with some meat still on) from a previous meal (i.e. bean soup is a great meal to make after a big holiday ham feast).

 

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The Weekly Whet ~ Weltenburger Kloster, Barock Hell

We’re jumping on the Oompa Band Wagon and celebrating all things German this weekend.  Naturally, we’re going with an authentic German Beer from the world’s oldest monastery brewery in Bavaria.  Come join us at Oktoberfest at Tempe Town Lake.  We’ll be broadcasting live from 2-4 p.m. this Saturday.  Prost!!

 

 

 

 

This rich full-bodied pilsner is beautifully clean with a fairly complex aromatic profile of fruit with lemon and some straw like aroma. As in a wheat beer, it has suggestions of clove and spice. Lightly sweet upfront with a very nice bitterness right in the finish, this is an exceptionally drinkable beer with some real structure. Alcohol: 5.6%

Sauerbraten (German Pot Roast)

Heidi is broadcasting the radio show from Oktoberfest this weekend, so, in honor of all things German, we’re giving you one of the national dishes of Germany. This is a tried and true recipe from my brother (chef disguised as a German teacher).

Sauerbraten (German Pot Roast)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cider vinegar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp juniper berries
  • 6 peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 onions, diced, plus extra for roasting
  • 4 1/2 lbs beef rump roast
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 10 gingersnap cookies, crushed
  1. In a large saucepan over high heat, combine the first 11 ingredients (vinegar through onions); cover and bring to a boil. Remove from heat; set aside to cool.
  2. Place roast in a resealable bag or container and pour over cooled marinade.  Refrigerate for 5 days (yes, 5 days!).   
  3. After 5 days, drain off the marinade and pat roast dry.  Place beef in a roasting pan; add some of the marinade to the pan along with carrots, celery, and a little more onion.  
  4. Bake at 325 degrees F until tender, approximately 4 hours.  Remove meat from roasting pan and keep warm.
  5. To make the sauce, strain the leftover liquid from the roasting pan to remove the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and place over medium-high heat. Whisk in the gingersnaps and cook until thickened, stirring occasionally.
  6. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce.

 

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Apple Crumble

Bring on fall/autumn and apple season!! Faced with a sea of apple recipes, this recipe for Apple Crumble is by far the best and easiest. My mom makes the recipe with rhubarb, but apples are a show-stopping alternative for fall.

Apple Crumble

Ingredients:

Crumble:

  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter

Filling:

  • 5-6 cups sliced apples (use a mixture—Granny Smith, Gala, McIntosh, etc.)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  1. Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Coat a 9×9” baking pan with cooking spray.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients for the crumble in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until crumbly (coarse crumbs—it’s OK if some larger pieces of butter remain).
  3. Press half of this mixture in prepared pan.
  4. Mix apple slices, sugar, cinnamon and salt in another large bowl. Pour mixture over bottom crust (it will look FULL but the apples will shrink during baking).
  5. Sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture over apples. Press down lightly.
  6. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until apples are bubbly.
  7. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. YUM!

Note: if you use rhubarb, please use 1-1/2 cups of sugar in the filling… or prepare to pucker up!

 

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Cat Cora’s Chilled Melon Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

I had the amazing opportunity to interview Cat Cora on my show, and she graciously shared this soup recipe with us.  In Cat’s own words… “This chilled melon soup is impressive enough to be the first course for a formal dinner party yet so easy it can be a light, refreshing workday supper on a hot day. I either make the soup the night before or I whip it up as soon as I get home from work; then I can relax with a glass of wine and watch my boys run through the sprinkler while the soup chills. You can kick back as long as you like because this soup is happy to hang out in your fridge, chilling, until you’re ready to eat.”

Ingredients:

  • 2 Medium Cantaloupes (About 8 cups; Peeled, Seeded and Cut into Chunks )
  • 1⁄2 Cup Dry Sherry
  • 2 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
  • 3 Ounce Thinly Sliced Prosciutto
  • 4 Tablespoon Fresh Mint (Finely Chopped )
  1. Puree the cantaloupe chunks in a food processor until very smooth. (If the melon chunks don’t all fit in your food processor, just whip them up in several batches.) Add sherry and lime juice and pulse (or stir together) until thoroughly mixed, just 10 seconds or so. Pour into a serving bowl or pitcher and store in the refrigerator until the soup is well chilled, for at least 1 hour or overnight.
  2. About 15 minutes before you’d like to serve the soup, sauté the prosciutto in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until crispy, about 7 minutes. Let it cool and then top each serving of soup with about 2 teaspoons of crispy prosciutto; spoon it into a sort of mound in the center of the soup. Spoon the extra prosciutto into a small bowl and set it on the table so guests can help themselves to more if they like. For the mint garnish, sprinkle it around the edge of the soup.

Twist It:

This is a simple addition but it changes the soup. Add 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint to the food processor at the very end. If you’re processing in two batches, just add 1/4 cup to each batch.

Cat’s Note:

Don’t get too hung up on the weight of the melon called for here. Just aim for about 8 cups of melon chunks and, if you have more, spoon in a little more sherry and lime juice to taste.

 


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