Menu Monday

I have spent the morning figuring out our menu for this week. I am excited to try some new recipes. Hopefully they will make it to the blog!

Monday: Sweet Potato Skins, green salad, watermelon. 

Tuesday: Garlic Noodles, relish tray

Wednesday: Potato and Zucchini Frittata, sugar snap peas, grilled chicken

Thursday: Sticky Seeame Chickpeas, roasted broccoli, rice

Friday: Rømmegrøt, fresh berries

Saturday: leftovers

Chowder of the Pumpkin Persuassion

Right. Like I could take a photo of food that would look that delicious. This was obviously a google image. :)

Years ago, Jeffrey served his mission in Australia and Tasmania. There, he developed a great love for the unique foods that we don't always have here in the States. His favorite was Pumpkin soup. Since he told me that, I have been on a search for a really good pumpkin soup. Having never had it, I have to rely on his memory of how it tastes to see if I got close. Thus far, his response has always been, "It's good. It doesn't taste like the pumpkin soup in Auzzie land, but this isn't bad." That answer, of course, was never good enough, so I would scour the internet for a different recipe.

Last week, I was planning my menu when I stumbled across an old recipe book I had forgotten about. In it, I found a recipe for pumpkin chowder. The thing is, though, this chowder has bacon in it. Whether or not it is authentic, I knew I had to try it. Of course, I can't touch a recipe without altering it. I view recipes more as a guideline for how to make the food, not the law.

After tasting it, Jeffrey's response was much different. "This is delicious! I love smokey taste, and the bacon in it. They never put bacon in it Down Under, but I think I prefer it this way. Also, the combo of the pumpkin and potatoes is new. I never had that, either. But I really like this!"

Win!

We will be adding this easy soup to our rotation, I believe. I am so excited to share it with you all so you can try it, too! This is my version:

Pumpkin Chowder

3/4-lb. applewood smoked bacon, diced

1 large onion, chopped

2 tsp curry powder

2 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 15-oz can pumpkin puree

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 c chicken broth

1 c half-and-half

salt and pepper to taste

Garnish: sliced green onions

Brown bacon in a stockpot over medium heat for 5 minutes or until beginning to be crispy. Add onion. Saute for 10 minutes; add curry powder and flour, stirring until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add pumpkin, potatoes and broth; simmer until pumpkin and potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Pour in half-and-half; season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Very important: Do not boil! If it boils, the half-and-half will curdle. Spoon into soup bowls and garnish with green onions. Adding some toasted pumpkin seeds might be yummy, too. It serves 6.

Might I add, this pairs beautifully with homemade rolls. Just saying!

Leave a comment and let me know if you tried this. What variations did you use? What did you like or dislike about this recipe?

As always, Buen Provecho!

Pizza Dough Delight

google image

Keith loves pizza. He loves it so much, he would love to eat it for every meal, and would never get tired of it. Unfortunately, that is not the truth for me. Especially when that pizza is Little Ceasar's, the equivalent of cardboard with cheese and pepperoni. Yuck!

Because of this massive difference in opinion, something had to be done.

Enter Adrienne!

She makes a mean... well, anything, really. She is a fabulous cook, and I love eating her food, which is nice, because she loves sharing it! She shared her pizza dough recipe with me, and it makes Keith so much happier than not having pizza at all, or having the cardboard imitation.

I haven't felt great in the past, but I am just starting to get my mojo back, so homemade pizza is on the docket for tonight. And this is Adrienne's recipe.

Pizza Dough

Ingredients

1 3⁄4 c warm water

2 tsp sugar

1 Tbs active dry yeast

2 tsp garlic salt (or less)

Dash of oregano

Dash of basil

4 1⁄2 ­ 5 cups flour

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for bowl (I use butter)

Cornmeal, for pan (optional)

Directions

Measure out 1 3⁄4 cups warm water (it should be pleasantly warm on your wrist). Sprinkle the yeast

on top of the water and allow it to activate, about 10 minutes.

Add salt, spices, and oil to the yeast mixture. Mix in flour one cup at a time, beating and scraping

the sides of the bowl until well blended. When it’s too hard to mix the dough with a spoon, dump it

out onto a well­-floured board and knead it until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should be soft,

but not sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel.

Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, until doubled in size; then punch it

down. Divide it in half; each half will make 1 (12 ­inch) pizza.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place on a cornmeal-­dusted pizza stone, pizza pan, or cookie sheet. Roll up edge slightly to create

a ridge around the pizza. Top as desired and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until crust is light

brown.

Cook's Note: If using only half dough, freeze the other half. Place the dough in a Ziploc freezer

bag. To thaw, remove the bag from the freezer and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Roll the

dough out while cold then allow it to come to room temperature before adding toppings.

Irish Pub Potatoes

My mouth died and went to heaven today.

It happened in the form of potatoes. I call them Irish Pub Potatoes. I found a recipe and adapted it, and it just makes my mouth so happy! I can't wait to make these again. They remind me of something I would have gotten on one of my late night college Denny's runs, except less grease and so much more flavor! I cannot sing their praises enough. Although now I am probably setting expectations too high, but I don't care. So yum!

What you need:

3 large potatoes
olive oil
rosemary
thyme
any other spices you so desire
salt
pepper
cheese
guacamole
1 green onion
bacon
sour cream

What you do

Wash and dry the potato. Slice it into 1/4 inch slices, or however thick you like them. Put into a bag with olive oil and spices. Shake until the potatoes are all coated evenly. Spread on a cookie sheet and place under a broiler until golden and crisp. Flip and repeat. When they are done, pull them out and use the plop and spread method to evenly pile them in a pie tin. Toss a handful of cheese in with it, I lifted up some of the potatoes so the cheese would be all throughout rather than just on top. Put the tin of potatoes back in the oven until the cheese has melted. Plop a couple of spoonfuls of guacamole in the middle of the potatoes. Add a dolop or two of sour cream to the center of the guacamole, sprinkle on some thinly chopped green onions, and sprinkle with crisp bacon crumbs.

Devour while hot.

I made this twice tonight, and the second time I used the bacon grease instead of the olive oil to coat the potatoes. Jeffrey liked it a lot better with the bacon grease, but he will always favor bacon flavor over healthy olive oil, so what can you do? It is great both ways, I think.

Obviously this isn't a science, and I don't have it down to exactness yet. I doubt I ever will. It is more of a "do what your mood dictates" sort of food. But that is part of what makes it so lovely, the versatility.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Kale Gratin

sweet potato & kale gratin

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 10-12 servings

A rich, creamy gratin made with sweet potatoes and kale. Perfect for the holidays!

ingredients

• 1 large bunch (about 1 lb.) kale, tough stems removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
• 3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (mine were between 1/8 and 1/4-inch)
• 1 c. shredded Organic Valley Parmesan cheese
• 1 pint Organic Valley heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. Organic Valley salted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more to grease baking dish

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Steam kale for about 3 minutes, or until wilted, in a large steamer basket set over boiling water. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Squeeze out excess water.
3. Place half of the potatoes in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. (You don't have to do this neatly, but try to make sure each layer is even!) Top potatoes with kale, then top kale with half of the Parmesan cheese. Place remaining potatoes in dish and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Whisk together whipping cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and pour over potatoes. Dot with butter.
4. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20-25 minutes more, or until potatoes are tender and cheese is golden brown. Allow to sit 15 minutes before serving.

notes

To make this more of an everyday side dish, you can use whole milk in place of the heavy whipping cream, but this increases the likelihood of the gratin curdling. If the gratin curdles, don't panic! It is still perfectly fine to eat, it just doesn't look very pretty.

http://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-sweet-potato-kale-gratin/

French Bread

From It's Always Autumn blog.

Bread is the bread of life around here. I know that sounds redundant, but it is true. Without bread, Jeffrey would think life was over. It is a very good thing we don't have any gluten issues in our family!

When I found this French Bread recipe from It's Always Autumn, Jeffrey was ecstatic. Because nothing goes better with soup than homemade French Bread. Yum! My favorite part about this recipe is how easy it is to make.

What you need:

1 1/2 T instant yeast

1/2 C very warm water

1 1/2 T sugar

2 C water

1 1/2 T oil

2 1/4 tsp salt

6 C flour

What to do: 

Combine the yeast, 1/2 C warm water, and sugar, let proof for 10 minutes. Add remaining 2 C water, oil, salt, and 3 C of flour. Mix until flour is incorporated, then add remaining 3 C flour gradually. Knead about 5 minutes, then turn out onto generously floured surface. Every 10 minutes for the next hour knead 2-3 times. Form into 4 loaves. Brush with beaten egg white. Slash 3 diagonal lines into tops. Raise until double or 30 minutes. Bake at 425* for 10 minutes, then at 375* for 20 minutes.

***Note: this is her recipe, I just posted it here for my convenience.***

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Growing up I hated cauliflower.  We always had it boiled, and sometimes, if we were really lucky, we got to have cheese on it.  Very typical for the 80's, I think.  But not great to get kids to like it.

When I was 15 or so, I finally braved a piece of raw cauliflower and was shocked with how much I actually liked it.

Now, it is one of my favorite vegetables.  I love it roasted with a bit of olive oil and cumin seeds.  Mmmmm!

Recently, I learned of this delicious cauliflower soup.  I found it on Cooking Classy's website and am much obliged, I'm sure.

picture taken from CookingClassy.com

What you need:

1 large head cauliflower, cored and broken into small bite size pieces

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

3 Tbsp butter

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

3 Tbsp flour

1 garlic clove minced

3 cups milk

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or a slightly heaping 1/4 tsp dried)

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp granulated sugar

4 oz shredded white cheddar cheese (1 cup)

1 oz finely grated parmesan cheese (slightly packed 1/4 cup)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 425*.  Place cauliflower on baking sheet, drizzle with oilve oil and toss to evenly coat, then spread into an even lawer and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, until golden.  Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Add in onion and saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes.  Add in flour and cook, stirring constantly to create a roux, 1 1/2 minutes, adding in garlic during last 30 seconds of cooking.  While whisking, slowly pour in milk followed by chicken broth and cream.  Add in parsley, thyme, bay leaf, sugar, roasted cauliflower and season soup with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently and allow to cook until thickened slightly.  Puree 3 cups of the soup in a blender and return to soup in pot.  Remove from heat and stir cheeses.  Serve warm garnished with additional shredded white cheddar, parsley, and serve with fresh bread or croutons if desired.

This soup is so delicious!  It thickens quite a bit in the refrigerator when there are leftovers, so I like to add a bit of milk the next day to thin it out a bit, but it is so good the next day, too!

Buen Provecho!