Chunky Baked Potato Soup

I made this tasty soup for dinner last night and served it with BLTs. It is hearty enough to serve as a stand alone meal with some crusty bread though. I really didn't make any adjustments to the recipe other than using chicken stock instead of chicken broth. I almost always choose stock over broth. I think stock gives a recipe a more full flavor and can make a quick recipe taste like you slaved all day in the kitchen! Anyways, moving on from my love of stock... The only complaint that I have is that the soup was a bit thinner than I would have liked. Not sure exactly what to do about that without sacrificing the wonderful flavor and smoothness. The recipe explicitly says 'Do not bring to a boil" though next time I might try to let it boil just for a second to thicken up. Once the soup sat for a couple minutes at the table it did thicken up a bit and was okay. I received no complaints, it was well loved but in my mind just slightly too thin. Also, I think next time I am going to stir in some bacon ahead in addition to what was sprinkled on top. This would also be lovely with ham instead of bacon. I found this recipe on a blog that I adore, Calm in the Kitchen. Go to www.calminthekitchen.blogspot.com/ and check it out! Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

3 large (about 3 pounds) of baking potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups skim milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
cheddar cheese
bacon

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees, scrub your potatoes and poke some holes with a fork. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Meanwhile, you can go ahead and prepare your bacon (if you dig on swine). Place a wire rack on a baking sheet. Lay the bacon strips on top of the rack and bake in the same 425 degree oven for 17-20 minutes (depending on thickness and desired doneness). Set aside to cool, cut into small strips.

Once the potatoes are cooked, set them aside to cool. You can do this the day before even.
When ready to prepare the soup, cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the potato out with a spoon. I just gave mine a rough chop, but you can do whatever you wish. If you like a smoother soup, just mash the potato.

In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and oil. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or so. Add the flour and stir to coat the flour in the fats. Using a wisk, slowly add the chicken broth. Once well combined, slowly add the milk, continuing to wisk. Once everything is combined, add back in the potatoes and heavy cream. Salt and pepper to taste. (The bacon I had was kind of salty, so I went easy on the salt). Stir to combine and keep over medium heat. Do not let the soup boil.

Before serving, I added the bacon and a little bit of cheddar cheese to the soup, stirring to combine. This is totally optional. You could just add them as toppings or leave them out all together.

Caramel Macchiato Cookies

These cookies are a favorite around my house. I generally double the batch in the hopes that they may last for more than 24 hours. Looking at these you might think they are your average cookie but you would be very wrong. These are packed with espresso flavor that is complimented perfect with caramel and chocolate. I found this recipe at a food blog called Cookie Madness. You can check it out at www.cookiemadness.net I pretty much follow the recipe exactly except that I usually double the amount of caramel used. The caramel bits are generally pretty hard to find other than during the fall. I usually buy up a lot of them to last me until I can find them again. You can throw the bag in the freezer to keep them fresh until you are ready to use them. One thing that cannot be skipped is that the baking sheets MUST be lined with parchment paper. If you try to simply grease the pans you will end up with a mangled greasy mess that hardly resembles a cookie.

Caramel Macchiato Cookies

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup Kraft caramel bits (more if you like)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment.

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; Set aside.

Using high speed of an electric mixer, beat both sugars, butter and shortening until creamy. Beat in espresso powder. Reduce speed to low and mix in egg, egg yolk and vanilla – do not overbeat after adding the egg. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until flour is incorporated. Add chocolate chips and caramel bits.

Drop cookies by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden around edges and set. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Makes about 26 cookies

Sausage Popovers aka The Miracle Sausage Cups

The first time I made these ugly little appetizers I could never have predicted how popular they have become! People go crazy for these things, they have become a legend. People flock to our house when sausage cups are rumored to be among the items served or the only item served for that matter! I am sure there must be some way to harness their power and use it for total world domination until then I will just continue to serve them for game nights, football games, birthday parties and whenever anyone begs enough. They are great! The original recipe calls for venison and bacon. I have never made them with venison or bacon. I use ground sausage. If you opt to go with the sausage you need to omit the venison and the bacon not just one or the other. One thing I think is very important is that you get the sausage made fresh in the meat department rather than the prepackaged kind. A lot of the flavor comes from the sausage so it is important to get the good stuff. I also do not add any of the rosemary that the recipe calls for, try it if you like, we just are not big rosemary fans in this house. Also, I cut up regular tomatoes rather than using cherry tomatoes. These are super easy and fun to make and everyone loves them! I got this recipe from the Rachel Ray show.

Ingredients

• 4 bacon slices, chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus additional if needed
• 1 large onion, small dice
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds ground venison (sausage can also be substituted, just eliminate the bacon)
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into small dice
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 tablespoon flour

• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup Asiago cheese grated, divided
• 3/4 cup provolone cheese shredded, divided
• 2 canisters biscuits (recommended brand Grand’s Jumbo)
• 2 mini muffin tins (16 count each)

Yields: 8 servings

Preparation

Preheat oven 350°F.

Preheat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook till golden brown then remove to a platter using a slotted spoon and reserve, leaving the fat drippings behind in the skillet.

While the bacon is cooking, preheat a medium-size skillet over medium heat with the EVOO. Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and cook until soft and caramel in color, about 10 minutes. Season with rosemary, thyme, salt and freshly ground pepper.

While the onions are carmelizing, add the ground venison to the skillet the bacon was cooked in and cook until brown over medium-high heat. If you need to add more fat to the pan, use about 2 to 3 tablespoons EVOO. While the meat is browning, break it up into small pieces so it is easy to fill the holiday popovers. After the meat is browned, season it with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then remove to the same platter along with the bacon and reserve.

Once the onion and garlic are nice and caramel in color, add the pepper, tomatoes, salt and freshly ground black pepper cook until peppers are soft, 5 minutes.

After the onion, pepper, tomato mixture has softened, add in the reserved bacon and browned venison. Sprinkle the mixture with flour then add the stock, let the mixture cook for a 2-3 minutes to cook out the flour taste and thicken up the gravy a bit. Remove from heat and fold in 1/4 cup Asiago cheese and 1/4 cup provolone.

Remove the biscuits from the canister -- you will have a total of 16 each -- and slice each of them down the middle so you have 2 thin biscuits that are equal in size. Repeat this procedure to all the biscuits so that you have 32 thin biscuit rounds.

Line the muffin tin with 1 biscuit per muffin cup so it makes a little bowl then fill them with 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of filling. Repeat with the remaining muffin cups and sprinkle the remaining Asiago and provolone on top of each popover. Bake for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden brown, and cooked through.

Asian Style Noodle Salad

I found this recipe in the April 1998 issue of Bon Appetit. It was super simple and got rave reviews! It was a great dish to feed a crowd. Next time I make it I will most likely include more peppers and carrots but other than that it was great!


Yield: Makes 4 servings

8 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
4 teaspoons oriental sesame oil
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 red bell pepper, very thinly sliced
1 cup matchstick-size strips peeled jicama
1 cup (packed) spinach leaves (about 1 ounce), thinly sliced

3 tablespoons thick teriyaki marinade
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain; rinse with cold water and drain well. Place spaghetti in large bowl; add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and toss to blend. Add carrot, bell pepper, jicama and spinach to bowl.

Whisk next 4 ingredients and remaining 3 teaspoons sesame oil in small bowl to blend. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Add dressing to salad and toss to combine.

Divide salad among bowls and serve.

Chocolate Stout Cake

This turned out to be a very interesting cake. I was looking for a chocolate cake that was a bit out of the ordinary and this one seemed perfect. It is definitely not a your kid's chocolate cake. This has a very grown up rich, dark chocolate flavor. Everyone that tasted it loved it with the exception of my husband. I have convinced myself that his palate simply has not been refined enough to enjoy such an exquisite creation! Anyways it was a ton of fun to make and true chocolate lovers will rejoice at the full flavor! I used a double chocolate stout beer. The recipe is from the September 2002 issue of Bon Appetit

Yield: Makes 12 servings

Cake
2 cups stout (such as Guinness)
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)

4 cups all purpose flour
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sour cream

Icing
2 cups whipping cream
1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line with parchment paper. Butter paper. Bring 2 cups stout and 2 cups butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack; cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely.

For icing:

Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing is spreadable, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.

Place 1 cake layer on plate. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with second cake layer. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake.

Pasta Pie

This is my most requested recipe!! And oddly enough the one that made me think of starting my own food blog. I found this recipe on Yumtastic Recipes from Kelly, which can be found at the following web address: http://kelly-eats.blogspot.com/ I will post the recipe as it is on her site, however after making this a few times I have chosen a few short cuts. I used jarred sauce that I simmered with the meat and added a few of my own little tweaks, like extra seasoning and a little sugar. Next time I plan to try using some chopped muchrooms and maybe some other veggies to make it extra yummy! This looks overwhelming and hard when you see it but it is not bad at all! I like to make mine in the morning and keep it in the fridge and then just throw it in the oven when it is time.

Pasta Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 pound rigatoni
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound ground beef (I used ground sirloin)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 can (28 ounces) good quality crushed tomatoes
Butter, for pan
Salt
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone (I cooked mine for 12 minutes when the box indicated 14 minutes). One pound of pasta should be cooked in 6 quarts of water, make sure you are using a big enough pot so the pasta doesn't stick together. When done, rinse in cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon olive oil to coat. Set aside.

Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Add garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes more.

Add crushed tomatoes; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end. Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.

Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up. Stuffing the meat into the holes is a weirdly satisfying task. Enough said.

Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold.

Cut into wedges and serve with any remaining meat sauce you might have.

Bacon Salad Cups

I found these bacon cups on www.notmartha.org Which is a website that I adore! I filled the cups with fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes and covered it with sweet vidalia dressing. They turned out great! The whole house did smell of bacon for days though which was a drawback! You can find a full set of instructions with additional photos at:
http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2008/02/27/bacon-cups/