::::yawn:::: wow this is awfully early in the day ... how are y'all? Long time no see! Well not really...I do read the kiddie pool every day, but by the time I get my butt outta bed, y'all are long gone and all that's left is empty beer cans and cookie crumbs.
So I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Mine was semi blissful- just me and a semi quiet house that I am housesitting for a fellow kiddie pooler to be named later. Was supposed to go cook dinner for the roomies, but they decided they weren't in the mood for holiday dinner so I went back to my Jewish roots and ordered Chinese food.
Someone gave Bill today off so here I am. Sunday night a bunch of my long time friends had our annual Secret Santa semi virtual gift exchange (the gifts were real, but we had to mail em and then we met in a chat room to open em) and it got my juices flowing for soup recipes again. Some of you may recall last year I did a series called Soupin It Up w/Sped... a weekly series that featured soup recipes. I got busy with the election and it died a slow and painful death, but with all the snow on the east coast and outside my front door I decided today would be a good time to share some of the most popular recipes from that series (with obligatory pooties of course)
Cheesy Crab & Broccoli Bisque
Ingredients:
1 lb. crab, cooked
2 heads broocoli crowns, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 medium leeks, sliced
2 tbs. olive oil
1 1/2 cups of 1/2 & 1/2
4 cups vegetable stock
1 lb shredded cheese (your pick but I use asiago)
Directions:
- Steam broccoli and set aside 1/4 of it.
- In stock pot heat oil, lightly sautee garlic and leeks.
- Add crab and vegetable stock. Simmer 15 minutes.
- In small batches, transfer to blender and puree til smooth. Return to stock pot.
- Add 1/2 and 1/2 and the rest of the broccoli. Simmer 15 minutes.
- Add cheese a little at a time, stir until melted in.
- Serve garnished with a little cheese or croutons.
Sped's Corn & Bacon Soup
Ingredients:
12 cobs of corn, parboiled and husked (non corn season 3 large cans of corn)
4 cups of vegetable stock
1/2 lb of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh cilantro to taste
sea salt and black pepper to taste
Directions:
- In stock pot bring vegetable stock to a slow boil. Add corn and simmer 20 minutes.
- Add garlic and sea salt and pepper to taste. Ad 1/2 of the crumbled bacon.
- Transfer to blender and puree until smooth.
- Transfer back to stock pot and add the rest of the crumbled bacon. Simmer another 15 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro.
French Onion Soup
Ingredients:
4 vidalia onions, sliced thin
1 red onion, sliced thin
2 medium leeks, sliced thin
4 tbsp. olive oil
8 cups beef stock
sea salt, black pepper, thyme and basil to taste
Provolone or Gruyere Cheese (for topping or both! optional)
Holland Rusk Crouons (optional)
Directions:
- In large bowl mix the sliced onions all together and lightly coat with the spices. Pour in olive oil and mix around til the onions are lightly coated.
- In large frying pan, heat the oil and lightly sautee the onions until they just start to crisp.
- In large stock pot bring beef stock to slow boil and lower heat to simmer. Add sauteed onions and simmer on low for 2 hours.
- To serve, ladle into bowls, top with a Holland Rusk and cheese and place on top shelf of oven at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and just starting to brown.
Roasted Red Pepper & Crab Bisque
Ingredients:
8 large red peppers, cut in half with insides removed
6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 lb. lump or claw crab meat
2 clove of garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups 1/2 and 1/2
Directions:
- Place halved red peppers in a large baking pan or on a cookie sheet and using a pastry brush, lightly brush each with a little olive oil. Place in oven at 375 degrees F and roast peppers until the skin JUST starts to bubble. Set aside to cool.
- If crab meat isn't already cook, place crab meat in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sautee until cooked thru.
- In small batches, puree red peppers, garlic and crab meat in a blender then transfer to a stock pot. When all is pureed add the 1/2 & 1/2 and fish stock and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 40 minutes.
- Serve with crusty french bread or garlic crisps.
Curried Apple Soup
Ingredients
8-10 Smokehouse apples, cored, peeled and diced
2 medium leeks, sliced thin
1/2 stick butter
1 cup cider
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup half and half
3-4 teaspoons Curry powder (I use hot)
Directions
- In sauce pan, melt butter and lightly sautee leeks til just starting to crisp.
- Transfer to stock pot and add Vegetable broth. Add diced apples and simmer on medium about 15 minutes.
- Transfer in small batches to blender and puree until smooth.
- Transfer back to stock pot and add half & half, cider and Curry powder to taste.
- Simmer on low 45 minutes.
Serve when ready (this soup is also really good chilled overnight and served the next day at room temperature).
Salmon Chowder
Ingredients:
1/8 lb. bacon, chopped, cooked and drained
1 lb salmon OR you can use 1 lb. smoked nova <eg>
8 potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 potato actually diced)
1 medium leek, peeled, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced extra small
6 cups fish stock
1 pint 1/2 & 1/2
Creme fresh
Salt, pepper and Parsley.
Directions
- Boil the potatoes except the diced one until soft to the touch, but not mushy. Set aside. Boil the diced potato to the same consistency and set aside.
- Bake salmon in oven until just starting to turn pink...you can baste with garlic butter or lemon butter if you want but I cook mine plain for this recipe.
- Fry bacon until just starting to crisp. Drain and set aside.
- In sauce pan, heat oil and add leek and garlic. Saute until you can just start to smell the garlic in the air.
- Add fish stock and bring to a boil. Add fish stock, salmon, cooked bacon and the 7 potatoes. Simmer on low 1/2 hour.
- A little at a time transfer sauce pot ingredients to a blender and add 1/2 cup of 1/2 and 1/2 at a time. Blend together and put in another pot on stove over medium heat. When all of the mix is blended add the diced potato and simmer on low 1/2 hour. Add spice to taste.
Garnish with the parsley and creme fresh when serving.
So...what are you up to today?