Prime Cuts

This is a simple yet complex pureed soup that I consider a mature version of the common broccoli cheddar soup.  There are a few subtle key elements that make this soup incredibly good, such as the addition of a few potatoes for body, a touch of heavy cream at the end for smoothness, and the quick hot roasting of the cauliflower which will add a nutty aroma and taste.

It is best if you puree this soup with a standard blender, rather than an immersion type blender.  The end result will be a much smoother texture.  It is best to use a well-aged parmesan and grate it to a fine powder on the smallest size of your box grater.  Doing so will ensure that the cheese melts quickly and evenly into the soup.  I find that even people who do not care for cauliflower still really enjoy this soup; it is very warming and great served during the cold winter months.

Joe’s Roasted Cauliflower and Parmesan Soup

Ingredients

2 Heads Cauliflower, leaves and inner core removed
3 Russet Potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
1 Large White Onion, roughly diced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 L Homemade Chicken Stock, (Low sodium store bought stock will work fine)
1 ½ Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated into a fine powder
½ Cup Heavy Cream
Vegetable Oil
Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Cut the cauliflower along the natural branch structure, into roughly 2” pieces, coat thoroughly with vegetable oil, and place on a baking sheet in an even layer, season liberally with kosher salt.
2. In a preheated 375 degree oven, roast the seasoned cauliflower for 10-15 minutes, or until you just begin to see some browning on the edges.
3. In a large stock pot, lightly sauté the onion and garlic just until soft, add the potatoes and chicken stock, and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the roasted cauliflower, continue to cool until the potatoes are tender and the cauliflower is beginning to fall apart.
5. Working in small batches, blend some of the solids and some of the stock until smooth and even textured,  do so until you have blended all the solids, if there is stock leftover that’s ok, if the soup seems thicker than you would like, add some of the reserved stock back to it.
6. With the pureed mixture in a stockpot, bring back to a simmer, add the heavy cream, and cook until simmering again, turn off the heat and add the parmesan cheese, wisk to ensure that the parmesan is evenly distributed and melted.
7. Finally season with salt and pepper to taste, I prefer to use freshly ground black pepper, but if you are looking for a uniform solid color, use white pepper, however be careful as white pepper can be rather strong and overpowering if used too heavily.
8. There are many good ways to garnish this soup, personally for a bit of crunch and texture I like to top with some warmed, crumbled bacon and finely sliced scallion.

Enjoy!

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Photo Credit: Gordon

Winter. There are some out there who love its cold frostiness. Some who revel in the frozen brilliance of snow, ice and unflinching blue skies. Others, myself included, find Winter something to escape. They employ any means possible to avoid the clutches of Jack Frost’s frigid grasp, coming as close to hibernation as possible while waiting for the first signs of Spring to show their cheery faces.

No matter your feelings about Winter, though, it’s likely you’ll need to warm up at some point before it’s through.

For me, the best way to do that, my favorite way to thwart Old Man Winter’s attempts to turn me into a human snow cone, is to make a bubbling kettle of soup.

Soup. The greatest defense against Winter’s arsenal.

Whether it’s something creamy — smooth, sweet butternut squash laced with traces of cinnamon — or something more traditional like old-fashioned Chicken Noodle, there’s nothing like soup to warm you, to make you feel comforted, to give you the power to look Winter dead in the face and say, “Bring. It. On.”

My personal favorite is a hearty beef soup, brimming with vegetables and bolstered by the nutritional power of lentils. For me, there’s nothing that makes me feel better. It’s the food that comforts me. The one that is like snuggling under a warm blanket or slipping on a comfy pair of PJs. It’s the thing that warms me from the inside out.

Wonderfully Warm Winter Beef Soup with Lentils

Ingredients

A couple “glugs” of olive oil (regular is fine, save the Extra Virgin for something else)
2 pounds of your favorite boneless beef roast (a good pot roast is a solid choice), cut into bite-sized cubes
Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)
1 large yellow onion, chopped (Maui or some other sweet onion is great here)
1 head celery hearts, diced
2 or 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning (this mix usually contains oregano, thyme & basil, among other things)
3 1/2 (32 oz.) cartons of low-sodium beef broth
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes WITH the juice
2 cups (usually one bag) of lentils, rinsed
**Melissa’s super-secret “magic” ingredient

Preparation

In a large stockpot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Season the cubes of beef with salt and pepper (I’ve found it best to be liberal with the pepper, but sparing with salt, but that’s just my personal preference). Add the beef to the pot and cook until nicely browned. Remove the meat and place in a bowl, leaving the juices behind in the pot. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Put the beef (and any juices in the bowl) back into the pot. Add the broth and canned tomatoes. Bring the soup just to a boil, then reduce the head and let it bubble away at a low simmer for about an hour. Add the lentils, and continue to cook for another hour or so.

**Up in the list of ingredients, I mentioned my “super-secret” ingredient. And it’s this: if you use wedges of Parmesan or Romano cheeses, what do you do once you’ve grated it all and gotten down to the rind? Throw it out? Well, stop that! Save those pieces of goodness in a Ziploc bag in your freezer. When you make this soup, toss one of the rinds into the pot as it bubbles away. The result will be an indefinable nutty goodness that your dinner guests won’t quite be able to put their fingers on. It’ll give the soup that certain “je ne çest quoi”.

When you’re ready to eat, ladle the hot soup into bowls and serve with thick slices of warm, crusty bread.

You’ll be sated. You’ll be happy. You’ll be warmed from the inside out.

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Photo by: stevendepolo

Everyone has their secret recipe. It’s their “go-to” for drop by/quick dinners, and always a grand slam with family and friends. I have to tell you, I’m really bad at keeping secrets. So, prepare yourselves folks. I’m about to share an all time fav, and it’s just in time for the cooling weather — chili.

Really, chili, Jessica? Well. I’ve been to enough chili cook-offs to know that everyone has their preferences, but I will happily boast that my soon-to-be-not-so-secret chili has never received a negative comment from vegetarians or carnivores alike (many of them were surprised it doesn’t have real meat).

Here’s REALLY great news: it only takes 15 minutes and you can keep all of the ingredients on hand (I strongly believe you should always have your go-to meal in your pantry for surprise guests). It cooks up a hearty batch which is more than enough to feed eight people, and if you’re a calorie counter this will be sure to please.

Ingredients

* Morning Star Soy Crumbles – I always keep a few packs in my freezer, they serve as a great ground beef substitute
* Small/Medium white or yellow onion, chopped
* 14 oz can kidney beans, drained – if you have black beans on hand those will work
* Two 14 oz cans diced tomatoes – typically I pick one flavored one like Italian herbs or garlic and onion
* 28 oz can diced tomatoes
* Chili packet –  taco seasoning can work, too. NOT fajita seasoning, I made that mistake once. Ew.
* 14 oz can unsalted yellow corn, drained
* Salsa – Pace will work fine, just something to add a kick
* ½ cup Splenda or sugar

You could add:
* Shredded cheese
* Sour Cream
* Rice (sometimes put my chili on top of rice to bulk it up)
* Fresh Spinach (it will wilt with the warm chili, but it’s a great way to add in some greens)

Preparation

You only need one pot to make this recipe, so pull out whatever large-ish pot you prefer. Spray cooking spray or a splash of olive oil on the bottom of the pot over a medium heat. When heated, add in onions and soy crumbles. Cook until soy crumbles are completely warm throughout, stirring frequently (otherwise they’ll stick to the bottom of the pot).

Add in chili packet and reduce heat to medium-low. Throw in tomatoes and beans and mix well let simmer until warm, stirring occasionally. Add in sugar and corn and add salsa to taste. Should only take 15 – 20 minutes to heat up this incredible dish!

Feel free to add over rice and/or spinach, add sour cream and cheese. Feel really cool for scoring a hot chili recipe? Hope you enjoy and go ahead, I give you permission to share with your friends!

BRR! Who turned off Summer? I’m not sure how things are going across the REST of the country, but here on the East Coast? WOW.  Summer decided to run away like a scared kitten, leaving the first frosty traces of Fall to take charge.

While I am one of those “Summer People” (yes, I get cold when it’s 70 degrees outside, I would wear flip-flops 365 days a year, if I could, and I think that having sand between my toes is one of the greatest pleasures in life), there are lots of things about Autumn that make me blissfully happy:

The firestorm of color when the leaves begin to change.
Picking apples straight out da’ orchard.
Hoodies.
Jeans.
Kids being back in school.
Carving pumpkins (or turning them into pies!)
Snuggling underneath my down comforter.

and …

Homemade soup.

Ohhhh, MAN! Do I love soup! I’m a junkie for it. It’s one of those things that always makes me feel good. And when it’s homemade? There are few things that are better. Sadly, many people are daunted by the thought of making soup from scratch, which is more than a little unfortunate, as it almost always kicks the stuffing out of anything you can get from a can.

I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, though. *Psst! Come closer (I won’t hurt you)!*

Making soup … is easy. I mean, REALLY easy. All it takes is a little time (and, sometimes, not even all that much of it). Even if you think you can’t cook, I’d be willing to bet you can pull it off. As the nip of Fall creeps further into our lives, I’m sure to post more than a few of my favorite soup recipes, but I’m going to start with the one that gives the most bang for the buck, the most excellence for the effort.

I ask you: is there anything better than homemade chicken noodle soup?

Melissa’s Better-Than-Your-Mom’s Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

2 split, bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts**
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly-ground pepper
2 quarts chicken broth (use the low-sodium kind)
2 large ribs of celery, diced
3 large carrots, diced
1 cup wide egg noodles
1/2 minced fresh parsley (if you like)
**If you want to make this impossibly, nay CRIMINALLY, easy, get a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from your grocery store, shred the meat and put it right into the pot.

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place the chicken breasts on a large baking sheet (one that has a good edge on it). Rub the pieces of chicken liberally with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with the Kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper. Roast in the oven til the skin is golden brown and the meat is cooked through (about 1/2 an hour or so). Remove from the oven and allow to cool (otherwise, you’ll burn the bejeezus out of your fingers; I speak from experience here).

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock/broth over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and celery & allow to cook for about 20 minutes (until the veggies start to get tender, but not mushy). Remove the skin from the pieces of chicken, and dice (or just tear) the meat into chunks. Add the meat to the pot. Add the egg noodles and cook at a simmer or low boil for about 10 minutes. Add the parsley, and you’re ready to serve!

It’s true, it would be difficult to find a recipe that’s easier. It’s low on time-commitment, low on effort, easy on your bank account, and BIG on return. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I think I’m gonna make a pot right now.

When she’s not getting her soup on for Prime Cuts, Melissa DelGaudio keeps things simmering over at Honeybee Consulting. Check her out there, or see what sort of stew she’s in on Twitter today!

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Photo by: pinprick

For Fresh Fridays, Joe teaches you how to make one of his favorite types of soup, cream of butternut squash.

So, for a cool fall evening I thought I would write a bit about soups, and in particular the pureed soups that are ever popular with fall squashes, butternut, perhaps being one of the most common types.  These are easy soups to prepare, but the difficult work can come when you have to peel some of these peculiarly shaped squashes, such as buttercup, hubbard, and some pumpkin varieties…just to name a few of the more oddly shaped ones. The things that you will need to have are a good blender, a big stock pot, and an ultra heavy duty vegetable peeler (I find that the pull down type work better for rugged jobs than the side to side types).For the purposes of this post I will list the basic method to making a good cream of squash soup, and then follow it up with my recipe for cream of butternut.  This method was adapted from legendary French chef Joel Robuchon’s recipe for cream of pumpkin soup.  Chef Robuchon’s seasonal cookbooks have been a constant inspiration throughout my culinary career, as he tends to have an elegant yet simple style that makes common ingredients become incredible.

The rough idea to this soup is to have approximately the same amounts by volume of peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped squash, and stock, which you will be boiling the squash in (for squash soups, chicken stock is the natural choice).  Begin by placing the squash pieces into your large stock pot, pour in the chicken stock to just about cover the top of the squash, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook till the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.  Next, you will be pureeing this mixture in your blender, in small batches (you could use an immersion blender, but I find that the container-type blender results in a smoother soup).  Ladle a few scoops of the solids and then just a scoop or two of the liquid into your blender and puree till smooth.   Repeat this process till all the squash and stock are pureed smooth.  If it seems too watery, use less stock and more squash, if too thick do the opposite.  Now that you have all your squash and stock pureed, return to your cleaned stock pot and bring to a light simmer, add heavy cream, spices/flavorings (salt, white pepper, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, honey, sugar, maple syrup, all work well in these type soups) and bring back to a simmer.   Remember when flavoring these soups that the squash themselves already contain a good deal of natural sweetness, so season carefully and think savory.  The last thing you want is to have an overly sweet soup that tastes like candy, or worse, one of those super sweet candied yam casseroles with the marshmallow fluff on it.  If your soup is this sweet, you may have trouble getting your guests to partake in the next courses of the meal.

To finish the soup I like to whisk in some cold unsalted butter pieces which provides some additional savory richness and body.   If after all this your soup seems too thick, you can thin by whisking in some more stock.  If too thin then you can whisk in some cornstarch diluted in cold water, like finishing a gravy.  Some other types of squash/vegetables that work well for these soups are, acorn squash, buttercup squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, potato, and leek, and you could even do a nice creamed carrot soup this way.

Experiment with lots of different types of squashes/vegetables and seasonings, and enjoy!

Joe’s Fall Cream of Butternut Squash Soup

Note: These are restaurant size portions so either make a large batch or cut back on the portions.

Ingredients

4 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
2 large white onions, peeled and quartered
6 qt homemade dark chicken stock (store bought works fine too)
3/4 qt heavy cream
1/4 lb unsalted butter chopped small
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp dark amber maple syrup
2 cinnamon sticks
2 or 3 small dashes freshly grated nutmeg

Preparation

-Boil butternut squash and onion in chicken stock till tender
-Puree all ingredients from previous step in blender
-Return to cleaned stockpot, add seasoning ingredients, whisk thoroughly to combine, bring back up to simmer
-Add heavy cream, whisk to combine, bring back up to simmer
-Add butter, turn off heat, whisk till butter is melted and incorporated, remove cinnamon sticks and taste for seasoning.

The finished product of this soup should be velvety smooth and more savory than sweet.  The texture should be that of warm baby food (sorry for the potentially appetite altering metaphor). The color should be a rich pumpkin orange lightly flecked by the grated nutmeg.  This soup will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

Enjoy!

You can download a PDF version of this Cream of Butternut Squash Soup.

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Photo by: Divine Domesticity