Jessica

Chunky Cream of Leek Soup

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Notice the massive chunks of potato? Chuck wanted to help. I can’t decide if he was being nice or wanted to speed up the process. Either way I will take it. He may be a little behind on the ~~cooking~~ chopping thing, but he’s learning, and I appreciate that. Maybe someday I will be able to trust him with a whole recipe.

This recipe is one I made up. We had a cream of leek soup at The Bread Basket Bakery in Saratoga Springs a few weeks ago. It was pretty awesome, and I wanted to make it, but I wanted a little more substance so it would be a whole meal. I don’t know about you but I certainly don’t have time to make a soup, and a main course by the time I get home during the week, at least I don’t feel like I do, so I opt for hardy soups instead.

Chunky Cream of Leek Soup

3 large leeks, diced

3 tbs butter

2 cups vegetable stock

2 medium potatoes, peeled & chopped

2 large carrots, peeled & diced

½ lb cooked ham, cut into roughly 1” pieces

2 tbs heavy cream

In a large pan sauté leeks with 1 tbs butter until they begin to soften and brown. Add 1/c a cup of stock and allow the liquid to just begin boiling. Carefully transfer to a blender (ladling in small batches works best) and blend until smooth. Use the remaining butter to begin sautéing potato and carrot. Suate until they begin to soften & brown. Add the rest of the stock, blended leeks and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add ham. Allow to cook for roughly 20 minutes, or until the carrot and potato are soft. Whisk in cream and adjust seasonings. Serve warm. (Serves 2)

Christmas Decorations: Minimalist Style

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

I am a huge fan of minimalist decorations, especially around Christmas. One could go crazy with all the decorations that are available. Being a renter we don’t always have the storage for piles of Christmas decorations, or the room to display them all. Personally I find minimalist decorations to be more suited for our lifestyle. Things like pine boughs and strings of cranberries add cheer, while making our home smell wonderful, and at the end of the season they can simply be thrown into the compost pile. No cleaning, repacking or storing. It’s so much easier, and still fairly cheap!

Popcorn and cranberries cost roughly $5, while the string and sewing needle I used to string them were basically free. The paper snowflakes are made from scraps of paper in the recycling bin at work. The adorable set of jars I found in the cupboard and filled with leftover cranberries, and some tea lights. The front door is adorned with simple cedar boughs, pine needles, and pine cones, all wrapped up with hemp. See simple and easy.

D4One: Vegetarian Mushroom Stroganoff

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

I love stroganoff, but then who doesn’t? It’s a heavenly combination of creamy deliciousness. It’s one of my favorite things to make when I am home alone because I don’t have to use meat if I don’t want to, it’s fairly easy, and you can buy nearly all the ingredients in small quantities, so it’s perfect for a single meal. If I am looking for meat I simply brown some stew meat along with the onions and leave it in the pan while I cook the rest of the dish.

What’s funny about this dish is that I typically don’t like mushrooms; though I have discovered it is a textural thing, if they are cooked enough then I don’t mind them so much, which is what happens in this dish. Also I find that I don’t have as much of an issue with dried mushrooms, which are the base of this particular recipe. Fresh mushrooms can be used, just skip the soaking step and use vegetable broth where the recipe calls for soaking liquid. I tend to use dried mushrooms, because they don’t go bad easily, and when I have them on hand I can whip up something like this or vegetarian gravy very easily.

Vegetarian Mushroom Stroganoff

1 cup dried porcini mushrooms, diced

1 ½ cup warm water

2 tbs olive oil

1 small onion (or shallot), diced

2 tbs thyme

2 tbs flour

½ cup sour cream

Salt & Pepper

1 cup egg noodles, prepared according to package instructions

Minced parsley for garnish

Place mushrooms in water for roughly 30 minutes to rehydrate. Heat oil and sauté onion, until it becomes translucent. Add the hydrated mushrooms to the pan (reserve the water), and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Mix in thyme, and flour, until it is well blended and deglaze the pan with remaining soaking liquid. Cook, stirring continuously until the sauce has thickened, then remove from heat. Stir in sour cream until well blended and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm over egg noodles and topped with chopped parsley.

D4One:Perfect Broiled Haddock

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

There is a restaurant near my work that we frequent often. It is a little Greek place in what used to be a bank. I would link their website if they had one. The place is pretty darn fabulous. I pretty much love it there. I also pretty much go there every time I eat out at work, which isn’t often so that’s saying something.

They have this lunch special every week that is mouthwateringly fabulous. It is a broiled haddock served with a rice pilaf, broccoli and warm rolls. My stomach is rumbling just thinking about it, it is so good, and so simple! How do I know? I spent quite a few nights trying to figure out their recipe. I asked the wait staff a few times what was in it to get the jist, and then I went through quite a bit of haddock to perfect it, but now I think I have it, and dare I say mine is better? Well I’m sure that’s dependent on who is eating it. I prefer more sherry to butter, other may prefer more butter to sherry, so I guess it’s a wash.

Since I am making this dish for lonesome self, I decided it was fine to be bad and make extra sauce to toss pasta in instead of making rice pilaf. This was a fabulous decision! Especially after I topped it with fresh chopped parsley (about ¼ cup – you know how I love my herbs!), and a touch of parmesan cheese.

Now if you just want enough sauce for fish, then half the recipe below.

Broiled Haddock in Sherry Butter Sauce

½ a stick of butter (unsalted)

¼- ½ cup of sherry

½ lb haddock fillet

1 cup pasta cooked aldente

Preheat the oven broiler. In a large oven safe skillet melt the butter and allow it to brown slightly. Add ¼ cup of sherry and allow it to cook roughly 1-2 minutes. At this point you may choose to add more sherry or not, but if you add it allow it to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add fish to the pan and baste with sauce. Place skillet in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until fish breaks apart with a fork. Remove fish and add pasta to pan to toss with sauce. You may need to add a little butter or oil if it has reduced too much. Serve fish and pasta together, topped with parsley and parmesan cheese to taste.

Can you say divine? I can because it was. I felt like I was riding on clouds while I ate it. I am so happy I was able to figure this one out. Now I just need to figure out their creamy chicken soup.

Bangers & Mash: The Recipe

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

A while ago I posted about making pork & leek sausages from scratch; an experience that I loved! However I have come to realize that I never posted a recipe for actually making Bangers & Mash. This English/Irish classic is something that has been cooked in my home for as long as I can remember. It is so simple and delicious how can anyone not love it?

The recipe that I chose to use is closest the Bangers & Mash that I remember from our trip to Ireland several months ago. Don’t think you need to have pork & leek sausages either, pretty much any sausage will do, though it may change the flavor a bit.

Bangers & Mash

6 Pork & Leek sausages

Traditional Mashed Potatoes

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter

1 onion, sliced

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs flour

1 ½ cups beef broth

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat up the oil in a large skillet and cook roughly 6 sausages until nearly done. Remove from heat and set aside. In the same pan melt butter and add onion. Sauté onions until caramelized then deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar. Whisk in flour until well blended. Add broth, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and allow simmering, until the liquid reduces and sauce thickens. Adjust seasonings and return sausage to pan. Toss with sauce and onions before serving over mashed potatoes.

Jessica

Footer