Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Our first snow of the Season is predicted for early next week!  Temperatures ranging from mid 80's  during the day to almost freezing at night.  That's Northern Nevada for you.  When the weather gives us this Wintery mix, there's nothing better than brewing some hot steamy soup to warm the old bones and sooth the soul.

I've tried different recipes for cauliflower soup.  Some spicy, some bland,  and some with roasted cauliflower.  My mother used to make cauliflower with cheese sauce years ago so I guess I'm trying to achieve those exact flavors.  Not there yet, but until then, this cheesy cauliflower soup was pretty tasty.

Ingredients:

3 cups raw cauliflower florets

3 cups chicken broth

2  pieces of sliced leeks (3-4 inch pieces of the white end), washed or 1 3/4 cup of the same

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 tsp herb de Provence

1/8 tsp cayenne

dash of salt

Cook all ingredients in a large pot on medium high heat until cauliflower is done.  This may take about 15 minutes.  Puree the soup in batches in the blender and add back into the pot.

Add approximately 4 oz. of any good melting cheese such as cheddar, fontina or smoked Gouda (this is what I used).  Stir often on low/med heat.  When the cheese has melted, time to serve!

Glazed Carrots

This was a side dish I prepared for our good friends and traveling buddies.  We were invited to spend a lovely evening at at their home Saturday.  I've always been taught to never arrive without a bottle of wine or at least to make a contribution to the meal.  It was suggested I bring something to go with steak.  What goes well with steak without being filling or fattening? I steered away from potatoes or orzo and decided on a new recipe for glazed carrots, hoping it would turn out.  (not a good time to experiment, but these friends are like family and you can test recipes on family, right?)

The inspiration came from Williams Sonoma and it's a side dish I'll make again.  I followed the recipe to the letter which is pretty hard for me to do.  I like to "shake it up" most of the time.  Carrots are difficult to mess up and these were no exception.  Simple and delicious with just enough flavor so as not to distract from their scrumptious barbecued steaks.  Yum...Thanks P & C for a nice time with friends!

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

about 2 lbs of carrots, sliced into "sticks"  You could probably use baby carrots, too.

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup Madeira wine (or dry sherry)

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the carrots, coating well with the butter.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the Madeira wine and broth.  Increase the heat to med-high and bring to a simmer.  Loosely cover the pan and simmer until the carrots are tender.  About 8 minutes.

Uncover the pan, add the sugar and continue to stir, occasionally, until the liquid evaporates and the carrots are glazed.  About 6-7 minutes more.  Place in a baking/serving dish and either serve immediately with parsley topping or transport them, covered.  Microwave at your destination for 3 minutes until warmed through.

Split Pea Soup for Grownups

I really don't know what possessed me to create this kind of soup.  I guess I'm still grasping for those tried and true French recipes.  In all honesty, I do not like to eat my peas.  They are my least favorite vegetable next to lima beans!

Growing up, fresh veggies were not readily available so people usually reverted to canned products.  Yuk, canned peas.  Next came those frozen bags of peas.  Not too bad, especially if they were smothered in that white sauce, if you know what I mean.

I remember many times my parents would put that bowl of dreaded peas in front of us at the dinner table.  Of course, we couldn't leave until they were gone!  My sister and I thought we were so smart when we would sneak a mouthful of peas into our napkins, lower them below the table to our eagerly waiting German Shepherd/wolf mix, Laddie.  Laddie loved peas!  What a brainstorm!  What a great way to dispose of  eat our tasteless peas!  To our chagrin, my parents were not as dumb as we thought and after they realized what we were up to, we'd be dished up some more.  Then they threatened to save them for breakfast if not gobbled up.  That never happened; they'd forget  fix us a nice breakfast and send us on our way.  But, to this day I cringe at the sight of peas and lima beans on my plate!

However, split pea soup is another story.  Even though I didn't like it as a child, I have developed a taste for it now.  Beans are so easy to incorporate into meals, especially soups.  When it's Winter outside soup comes to the rescue.

Ingredients:

1/2 Hickory smoked ham shank, rinsed  (Find one, it's worth it.)
1/2 c onions, chopped
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped
5 cups water
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 c dried split peas
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 potato, peeled and chopped small
pepper

Using a large pot, saute onions in the oil until soft.  Add garlic, carrots, celery, peas, water, ham shank, bay leaf, basil and thyme.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to simmer for about 2 hours or longer.  During the second hour, add the potatoes and broth with a little pepper.  (No salt is needed due to the saltiness of the shank.)  You'll love this soup!

The Stoveman Swisschard Strata

The stove man swisschard strata almost sounds like a dance step, doesn't it? Well, a week before Christmas our gas stove decided to quit on us! Thankfully, it wasn't the stove you cook with. It ONLY supplies the heat for the house! Of course, it can't break when its 90 degrees outside. I think its factory set to break in 20 degree weather and before the Holidays!

Needless to say we did a few dance steps to get it back to working status. We found out that there aren't very many people in town to service this type of unit. The place where we purchased the stove had gone out of business. (as soon as they saw us walk out their door with the sale!) We did, however locate a very nice gentleman who offered to work on it for us. What we didn't realize was that he had never seen our kind of stove (translation: never worked on) and as he scratched his head in wonder, we were also wondering where our primary heat source would come from. I should also mention that this was a traumatic event for our cat who thinks this is her personal warming perch! After days of taking it apart, scratching his head, and replacing parts the unit fired up. For how long, we don't know!

As I was watching this unfold from the kitchen, I made this strata. Remember when I'm feeling stressed, I cook! Another great original was born from this ordeal. There is ALWAYS a bright side to everything! You just have to be looking for it....

Ingredients:

In a large bowl place

3 eggs, beaten

2/3 c milk

2 1/2 c bread cubes

Put aside for 30 minutes while you do the following.

Chop and steam 1 bunch of chard.

In a large skillet saute:

2 T oil

1/2 c onion

5 mushrooms, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 sage leaves, chopped

Add the chard and 1 cup of shredded fontina cheese. Mix well and add this to the bowl of egg/bread mixture. Mix until well blended and pour into a greased casserole dish. Add an additional 1/2 c fontina and a sprinkle of fresh nutmeg on top. Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Serve with a nice salad and dinner is served! Even better left over!

Chili Verde for those Chilly Nights

Some of the best meals come from family and sometimes we take them for granted. A few years ago I hired someone to remove the wallpaper from my kitchen/breakfast nook area. I attempted to do this myself but soon found that the paper was not going to budge no matter what method I used. I called a handyman over for an estimate. He exclaimed that he could do the job and for a reasonable price , I thought. He started the removal process only to find that the wallpaper would not come off for him either! His plan B was to seal, prime and paint the area while honoring the estimated price. Wow, what a guy!

As he was working I decided to make the chili verde recipe passed down from my parents. As the aroma permeated my workers nostril's, he agreed to be my taste tester. He said it was probably some of the best chili verde he's ever had and pleaded for the recipe. Of course, I obliged and wrote it down for him. It was the least I could do after all the hard work he had done. I hope after all these years he has made this for his family.

This week has been the perfect time to cook of a batch of chili verde. It's very cold outside and I had leftover pork roast waiting to be the "star" of the day, again. Sounds pretty Martha Stewart-ish, huh? I usually don't buy much pork but I stumbled upon a small shoulder roast for under $4.00. One night we had a typical Czech meal of roast pork and dumplings and two nights later I fixed this recipe. Such a deal!

Ingredients:

About 3 cups cubed pork roast meat. You can make this from pork chops but it is better when the meat is precooked from a roast.

1 T oil

1/4 c fl;our

1 small can diced green chili

1/2 - 1 cup salsa (your favorite brand)

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 c fresh chopped cilantro

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can of chicken broth (14oz)

salt and pepper to taste

Put oil in a large pan, add pork and heat while stirring in the flour to thicken. Add all the remaining ingredients and cook for at least 30 minutes. Stir often. I usually cook mine for at least hour or so. It's even better the next day. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or queso fresco and warm tortillas. Delicious!