Cream of Broccoli Soup

Recipe from A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur

The name of this soup may not sound appealing, but for some reason it was appealing enough for me to try it. Even looking at the ingredient list, I wasn't too optimistic, but I must say I LOVED this soup. My picky husband and 3-year old devoured it too! We will definitely be making it again.

4 c. chicken broth
3 c. broccoli, chopped (1 large bunch)
1/2 c. diced onion
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash ground pepper
1/4 c. flour
1/3 c. diced ham
1/2 c. heavy cream

Combine broth, broccoli, onion, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in saucepan over high heat. Bring to boil, turn down heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf, transfer half of mixture to a blender and blend until nearly a puree. Pour back into saucepan over medium low heat. Add flour and whisk until lumps are dissolved. Add diced ham and cream. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until soup reaches desired thickness.

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as an entree.

Potato Salad with Asparagus

This is a "grown-up" potato salad, and I make it every year for Easter so I figured this would be good timing to post this recipe now.

3 lbs small red new potatoes
1/4 c + 2T olive oil, divided
2 lb fresh asparagus
1 c chicken stock
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 c pine nuts
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub potatoes with 2T olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through but still firm (this is important; if you cook them too long and they get soft, you run the risk of having a potato mush as the end result). Let them sit until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, blanch your asparagus. Any time I make asparagus, I have people asking me how to prepare it. The bottom of the stalk can be really tough, chewy, or stringy, and I think it's a very underused vegetable that a lot of people don't know how to prepare. To make sure you have tender asparagus without the chewy ends, just gently bend the stalk. It will snap where it is tender, and you just discard the bottom. Some may snap over the halfway mark, and some may snap really close to the base so there's no formula, just let the asparagus snap itself!

But I digress....on to blanching the asparagus. While you're preparing your stalks, bring about 2-3 inches of salted water to a boil. Drop the asparagus in the boiling water and boil it JUST till it gets really green, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and immediately plunge the asparagus into some ice-water. Again, you cook these too long or fail to use the ice bath and you'll risk having mushy asparagus as the end result.

Drain the asparagus and pat it dry. Cut it into 2 inch segments (I think it looks prettiest cut on the bias). Cut the potatoes into quarters. Heat the 1/4 c olive oil in a large saucepan - add the potatoes. Heat them through. Add the asparagus, stock, and garlic. Simmer 3-5 minutes, until everything is thoroughly heated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and stir in pine nuts and basil.

This is best if it's served immediately, but it also makes really great leftovers. It's also much, MUCH simpler than it sounds.

Sweet Potato Pie

I'll be honest, growing up I was scared of anything yam or sweet potato. But only because everyone else was. Then I tried my in-laws' sweet potato pie. And I went back for seconds, and thirds, and probably fourths. Now I love all things sweet potato. This one has got to be the best though, because it is pretty much dessert but you get to eat it as a side with the rest of the meal. No waiting necessary. My kind of vegetable!

1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 Tbs. cream
8 oz. yams (or sweet potatoes, technically they are not the same thing, but I interchange them and can't tell much difference)

Mix until well combined. Spread in greased pie dish.

Topping:
1/4 c. butter, melted
3/4 c. brown sugar
3 Tbs. flour
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Mix and sprinkle over potatoes.

Bake uncovered at 350 ° F for 30 minutes.

Butternut squash soup

There are a lot of fall soups out there, and a lot of butternut squash variations. I know that many of them are a sweet and sour type, with apples or other fruit. If that's what you like, you may not like this one. I enjoy the more savory soups, so this has leeks and bacon. Just so you know what you're getting before you try to make it.

1 butternut squash
1 onion or leek (whichever you prefer) chopped
1T fresh grated ginger
3T butter
3c broth
1-2 c apple cider
salt and pepper
heavy cream
sour cream
cooked bacon, crumbled

Quarter and bake your squash for 40-45 minutes. Once cool, scoop out the pulp.
Cook onion and ginger in butter in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add broth and simmer for 10 minutes, covered. Remove form heat and add the squash pulp and puree till smooth. Add cider to desired consistency, and salt and pepper to taste. Return to the stove and cook till hot. When ready to serve, add a splash (or 5) of cream. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and crumbled bacon.

Green Bean Casserole

This is fresh, people. No canned veggies or condensed soup here. And it's the bomb.

3 lbs green beans, strung and snapped
2T unsalted butter
2T fresh thyme
2T fresh chives
2T olive oil
2 pounds mixed mushrooms (I use button, shitake, cremini, and portobello, but you can really use whatever you like)
2 shallots, sliced
1c heavy cream
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and the green beans. If you like your green beans crisp, cook them for about 5 minutes, as they will cook more in the oven. If you like them more tender, cook for 8-10 minutes. Drain them and set aside.
Melt the butter and olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the shallots are tender and the mushrooms have released all their liquid. Pour in the cream, thyme, and chives, and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the green beans and stir well. Season to taste. Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish and top with desired topping (choices listed below). Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

*Toppings*

Croutons:
1 loaf crusty Italian bread
1T fresh chives
1T fresh thyme leaves
1T fresh rosemary
2T parmesan cheese
3T olive oil

Cube bread (2" cubes). Put them in a bowl with all the ingredients and mix well. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake at 375 until it turns just golden (about 10 min). If using the croutons, sprinkle a little more parmesan cheese on top of everything before baking.

Fried onion strings:
1 large onion
1 egg plus dash of milk
1c flour
1t garlic powder
1t season salt
1t salt
1/2 t pepper
peanut oil or other frying oil

Mix egg and milk to make a batter coating.
Mix flour, garlic powder, season salt, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Heat oil to 350 degrees. Thinly slice your onion into rings. In batches, dip in egg mixture and lift out, letting excess egg drip off. Toss in the flour mixture until coated. Shake off excess and fry in hot oil, about 3 minutes, until golden. Place on paper towels to drain and repeat with remaining onions. Use enough to coat the casserole. You don't need to add these until the last 5 or 10 minutes of baking time. Place unused onion strings in an airtight container. Will keep for about 2 weeks. Longer if stored in the fridge.

Or you can just use a can of French's fried onions if you want to cut down on your work.

*I use the homemade onion strings - they're a lot easier than they sound, and they are amazing!!!

Herbed corn on the cob

This is the best grilled corn on the cob ever. Really. And it's super easy!

What you need:

however many ears of corn you want, husked and shucked

butter

thyme (please use FRESH!! Your tastebuds will thank you)

salt

pepper

aluminum foil

Combine softened butter and thyme leaves (for 4 ears of corn I use about 1/4 c butter to 2T thyme leaves). Slather all over the ears of corn. Wrap in foil individually. Grill for 3 minutes on each side, rotating 1/4 of a turn for each side. Unwrap the foil, sprinkle with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. Grill for an additional minute on each side without the foil, just enough to give the corn grill marks, or "color". Eat.

Skillet-Browned Broccoli with Pan-Toasted Garlic

Ingredients
3 large broccoli stems with stem end attached
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. thinly sliced garlic cloves

Directions
1. Preheat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Slice broccoli heads lengthwise in a 1-inch-thick slices, cutting from the bottom of the stem through the crown to preserve the shape of the broccoli (reserve any florets that fall away for another use). Brush both sides of each broccoli slice with some of the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

2. Place half of the slices in the heated skillet and set a heavy medium skillet on the slices to press them to the cast-iron skillet. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until well browned. Turn slices and cook second side for 3 to 4 minutes more or until browned (for more tender broccoli, cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side). Repeat with remaining broccoli slices. Transfer to a warm platter, cover, and keep warm.

3. Drizzle the remaining olive oil into the hot skillet, reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic slices. Cook garlic, stirring gently and constantly for 2 minutes or until the slices are lightly browned. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

4. Arrange broccoli on serving platter. Sprinkle the toasted garlic slices over broccoli. Makes 8 servings.

5. *Kitchen Tip: Keep cooked broccoli slices warm in a 300 degree F oven or cover with foil while the remaining broccoli cooks.

Compliments of Better Homes and Gardens