Potato Leek Soup

 

Potato Leek Soup

By Jennifer Segal

A French classic, this creamy potato leek soup is quick, easy, and delicious!

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Cook Time: 40 Minutes

Total Time: 1 Hour 5 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

·       3 tablespoons unsalted butter

·       4 large leeks, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped (about 5 cups)

·       3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

·       2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

·       7 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

·       2 bay leaves

·       3 sprigs fresh thyme

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

·       1 cup heavy cream

·       Chives, finely chopped, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the leeks and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until soft and wilted, about 10 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary so as not to brown.
2. Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper to pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft.
3. Fish out the thyme sprig and bay leaves, then purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth. (Alternatively, use a standard blender to purée the soup in batches; see note.) Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If soup is too thin, simmer until thickened. If it's too thick, add water or stock to thin it out. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.
4. Note: If using a standard blender to purée the soup: be sure not to fill the jar more than halfway; leave the hole in the lid open and cover loosely with a dishtowel to allow the heat to escape; and pour blended soup into a clean pot.
5. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen, without the cream, for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. Once heated through, add the cream and bring to a simmer before serving.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

 

PERFECT PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD

YIELD: MAKES 2-3 LOAVES

 PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES

 COOK TIME: 50 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

·   2 1/2 cups (12.5 ounces) white flour

·   1 cup (5 ounces) whole wheat flour (white wheat preferred)

·   3 cups (22.5 ounces) granulated sugar (see note)

·   2 teaspoons baking soda

·   2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

·   1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·   1 teaspoon salt

·   1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

·   1 cup canola, vegetable, avocado or melted coconut oil (see note)

·   4 large eggs

·   2/3 cup water or buttermilk

·   1 to 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pans or three 8 1/2-inch by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl or in a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together canned pumpkin, oil, eggs and 2/3 cup water (or buttermilk) until well combined and stir into dry ingredients, just until the dry ingredients are moistened and no dry streaks remain.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter in prepared pans.
5. Bake the bread for 50 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Run a knife gently around the edge of the bread and turn the bread out, right side up, onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. This bread freezes beautifully. After cooling, wrap the bread in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of tin foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.

NOTES

Let it Cool: this bread tastes best when it has cooled completely for a few hours and tastes even better the next day.

Sugar: over the years, I've decreased the sugar and the bread still tastes delicious. The ingredient list calls for 3 cups, but I often use 2 cups for a slightly less sweet bread.

Oil + Applesauce: you can easily replace part of the oil with applesauce (many commenters in the thread below have done so with great results). My favorite is 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup oil.

Chocolate Chips: if you have trouble with the chocolate chips sinking to the bottom of the loaf, try tossing them with the dry ingredients before adding the wet ingredients.

Sausage and Spinach Penne Skillet Supper

 

SAUSAGE AND SPINACH PENNE SKILLET SUPPER

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

 PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES

 COOK TIME: 20 MINUTES

 TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

·   1 tablespoon olive oil

·   1 pound Italian-style turkey sausage, casings removed (I couldn’t find turkey sausage so I substituted mild pork sausage)

·   3 medium garlic cloves, minced finely

·   3 1/2 cups water

·   2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

·   1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped fine

·   1/2 teaspoon salt

·   12 ounces (about 3 1/2 cups) penne pasta

·   1 (6-ounce) bag baby spinach

·   3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·   1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot and add in the sausage. Cook until lightly browned and no longer pink about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Stir in the water, broth, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then add in the pasta. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook at a strong simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and the liquid has thickened, about 15-18 minutes (if you find the liquid is absorbing too quickly and the pasta is still undercooked, add a bit more water in small amounts until the pasta is cooked thoroughly).
3. Stir in the spinach, a handful at at time, and cook until wilted. Off the heat, stir in the cheese and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Quantity: the original recipe only used 8 ounces of pasta. I knew that wouldn’t be enough for our family so I adapted the recipe to make a bit more. It makes for a very full skillet, but if you have a 12-inch skillet, it will still be big enough. This serves 6 easily. If you don’t want to make as much, scale down the amounts in the recipe (use 8 ounces pasta and 5 1/2 cups liquid total).

 

Apple Cider Donut Cake

 

Apple Cider Donut Cake

A tender and moist apple spice bundt cake with a cinnamon sugar coat.

Servings 18

Ingredients

For the Cake

·         3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour

·         2 tsp (5 g) ground cinnamon

·         1/4 tsp (1 g) nutmeg

·         1 tsp (5.6 g) salt

·         1 1/2 tbsp (21 g) baking powder

·         1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar

·         1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar

·         1 cup (224 g) vegetable oil

·         3 eggs at room temperature

·         1 cup (250 g) applesauce at room temperature

·         1 cup (248 g) apple cider at room temperature

·         1 tsp (5.6 g) vanilla extract

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating

·         1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter melted

·         1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar

·         2 tsp (5 g) cinnamon

Instructions

1.     Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray and then dust with flour. Set aside.

2.     In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

3.     In a large bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar and oil. Mix on medium speed to combine.

4.     Add the eggs to the sugar mixture and mix on medium speed for about two minutes.

5.     Add the applesauce and vanilla. Mix to combine.

6.     With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half of the apple cider. Continue alternating the flour mixture and the apple cider, finishing with the flour mixture. Mix until no streaks of flour remain. The batter will be slightly thin, not thick.

7.     Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.

8.     Let the cake cool for an hour in the bundt pan before turning it over onto a cake plate or cooling rack.

9.     Using a pastry brush, coat the cake in butter.

10.   Combine the 1/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon and then sprinkle onto the top and sides of the cake. To coat the sides, it's best to fill your hand with the mixture and pat it on the cake.

Lemongrass Coconut Rice

 

LEMONGRASS COCONUT RICE

 

Yield: 4-6  

Total Time: 30 minutes +/-

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed well
1 ½ cups coconut milk
1 ½ cups water
1 tbsp lemongrass paste
1 tsp sesame oil
Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the Jasmine rice into a large saucepan then fill with some cold water. Swirl the water around the rice using your hand to rinse the rice, the water will be cloudy. Carefully, drain the water from the saucepan making sure the rice stays in the pan. Refill the pan with water and swirl then drain and repeat one more time. Drain very well.

Add the coconut milk, water, lemongrass paste, sesame oil, and salt to the rice in the sauce pan. Place on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil, while making sure to mix the lemongrass paste into the rice very well. Once it’s boiling, place a lid on top of the sauce pan, turn the heat to simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. DO NOT LIFT THE LID!!! Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the rice sit for 5 minutes. DO NOT REMOVE OR LIFT THE LID!!! After five minutes, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Pour into a serving bowl. Enjoy.

 

CILANTRO LIME RICE

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS AS A SIDE DISH

 

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES

 

COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES

 

TOTAL TIME: 25 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  1 tablespoons butter
•  1 1/4 cups rice (long grain white rice or jasmine rice works best)
•  2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
•  3/4 teaspoon salt
•  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•  Juice and zest of 1 large lime
•  2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
•  1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a skillet or medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the rice. Stir, letting the rice and butter cook for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15-16 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve.