Souper Saturday!

"To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup."
-Laurie Colwin

Hello! The following recipe I have to share today is a perfect way to use up your over-abundance of summer squash, I know I will! It is actually very good as a cold soup also, just chill and top with a dollop of sour cream - it is decadent! Enjoy!

"There was a Young Lady of Poole,
Whose soup was excessively cool;
So she put it to boil, by the aid of some oil,
That ingenious Young Lady of Poole."
-Edward Lear


Squash and Leek Puree
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
* 3 Tbs olive oil
* 2 leeks, cleaned and finely chopped (only use white sections)
* 6 yellow squash, thinly sliced
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 4 cups chicken stock
* 3 Tbs finely chopped fresh basil
* 2 Tbs finely chopped fresh chives
* 2 tsp paprika
* 1 cup milk
* 2 tsp lemon juice
* Salt & Pepper, to taste

Equipment Needed:
* Immersion or standing blender

Directions:
1.) In a soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
2.) Add the leeks and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
3.) Stir in the squash and saute until lightly browned, about 10 min.
4.) Mix in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
5.) Add the chicken stock & cook, partially covered, until squash is tender.
6.) Remove from the heat.
7.) Using blender, puree the soup until smooth.
8.) Stir in the basil, chives, paprika, milk and lemon juice.
9.) Season with salt and pepper.
10.) Gently reheat the soup over medium-low heat.
11.) Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with chives.

"Cold soup is a very tricky thing and it is the rare hostess who can carry it off. More often than not the dinner guest is left with the impression that had he only come a little earlier he could have gotten it while it was still hot."
-Fran Lebowitz

Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!

Mangia Monday!

Hello! I hope you had an enjoyable weekend, and wish you well for the upcoming week! I am sharing a few recipes today that will make a great family meal - Enjoy!

Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains; another, a moonlit beach; a third, a family dinner of pot roast and sweet potatoes during a myrtle-mad August in a Midwestern town. Smells detonate softly in our memory like poignant land mines hidden under the weedy mass of years. Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.
-Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses


Home-Style Pot Roast



Serves: 6

Ingredients:

* 3 yellow onions
* 1 beef chuck roast, (about 2 1/2 lb.)
* 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
* 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 3 Tbs. canola oil
* 4 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 tsp. sweet paprika
* 1 1/2 cups beef broth
* 1 1/2 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
* 2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish

Equipment Needed: Dutch Oven

Directions:

1.) Slice the onions into 4 pieces, then Set aside.
2.) Season the chuck roast with the salt and pepper.
3.) Spread the flour on a plate. Coat the roast with the flour, shaking off the excess.
4.) In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the oil.
5.) Add the roast and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on both sides.
6.) Transfer to a plate.
7.) Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil to the pot and heat over medium-high heat.
8.) Add the onions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. minutes.
9.) Stir in the garlic and paprika and cook until the garlic is fragrant.
10.) Stir in the stock, tomatoes and the 2 Tbs. of parsley.
11.) Return the beef to the pot, nestling it in the onions.
12.) Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low.
13.) Cover and simmer until the beef is fork-tender, about 2 hours.
14.) Transfer the pot roast to a deep serving platter.
15.) Season the onion mixture with salt and pepper.
16.) Skim off any fat from the surface.
17.) Spoon the onion mixture around the roast and garnish with parsley.
18.) Serve immediately.



Garlic Mashed Potatoes



Serves: 10

Ingredients:

* 4 lb. small Yukon Gold potatoes, skins on/left whole
* Salt
* 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 3/4 cups half-and-half, warmed
* 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
* 4 Tbs. garlic (crushed into a paste)
* Freshly ground pepper, to taste
* Chives, finely chopped

Equipment needed: Potato Ricer

Directions:

1.) Place potatoes in a large pot and add water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches.
2.) Generously salt the water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3.) Reduce heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender.
4.) Drain well in a colander.
5.) Set a potato ricer over a large bowl and pass the potatoes through in batches.
6.) Add butter, 1 1/4 cups of the half&half and the sour cream and stir until smooth.
7.) Add more half-and-half until the desired consistency is reached.
8.) Stir in the garlic paste, and pepper to taste.
9.) Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and garnish with chives.
10.) Serve immediately.

(Potatoes boiled whole in their skins absorb less water and produce lighter, fluffier mashed potatoes)


Have a great day!

Until Tomorrow: Go Ahead & Indulge!