Apple Butternut Squash Soup

Creamy with a touch of tang, this lovely winter soup will make any cold day brighter! Perfect for the rainy weather we are having right now! I like to make a crispy grilled cheese with white truffle cheese and sourdough bread to serve along with this soup.


Ingredients-
2 Granny Smith apples-peeled,cored, and cubed
1 Butternut squash-peeled and cubed (you can also get it at the store already cut and cubed for you, I would recommend the larger bag or buy 2-3 of the small bags)
1 white onion-grated
1/2 cup of half & half
3 cups of chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth if you want to make it veggie)
1/4 tablespoon flour
Fresh Rosemary and Thyme
Salt and Pepper


There is a lot of chopping and grating to be done, so get to it! I usually get the apples done quickly, you can use fancy machines to peel and core but I just use a regular old peeler and then my handy knife. The squash can be a beast but if you cut it in quarters it is a bit easier to handle! Once the apples and squash are all chopped up, grate the onion and start heating up the soup pot on medium heat. 
Melt the butter in the pot and saute the onions for about 3 minutes, then add the apples and squash. Stir up a bit and then add the fresh Rosemary and Thyme. I like to just pick the herbs off the stems (don't put in the stems or people are going to think they are eating pieces of bark). Rosemary is a pretty overpowering herb so don't go crazy, 2-3 stems should suffice. I recommend the fresh herbs since it will blend up nicely and make the flavor even more fresh and delicious than dried herbs. Saute for 5 minutes.
Before adding the broth, put in the flour and mix well! This will help with the thickness of the soup. Then add in the chicken broth, stirring as you pour it in. Turn the burner down to low. Do not boil the soup first and then turn it down. Let it simmer for 30 minutes.
Once the thirty minutes are up get out your blender or food processor and start blending up! I like to do the soup in batches so as not to overload the blender and to get a consistent creamy texture. Return the soup back into the pot and add the half&half, simmering for another 5 minutes and then "Soup's On"!

Everybody Loves Latkes

Latkes just may be one of my most favorite things. Making them can be a process, but the end result is a plate full of amazing! I like to serve them with a brown sugar sour cream which can be made super fast and was such a hit at Hanukkah Dinner that we decided you could dip your fries in it!

Ingredients:

Latkes-

3 Russet potatoes peeled and shredded 

1 white onion grated

3 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or matzo meal or a combination of both!

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup peanut oil for frying (but you may need more, that's just to get your pan frying started!)

*cheesecloth or a ricer to strain out the excess water in the potatoes*

Brown Sugar Sour Cream-

1 regular size container of sour cream

1/3 cup maple syrup 

3 tablespoons brown sugar 

Flour to thicken

Make the sour cream before hand so it can chill in the fridge. Just combine the sugar, maple syrup, and sour cream with a spoon, mixing well. To thicken the mixture, add a tablespoon at a time of flour, mixing till you get the consistency that you want. Then just stick it in the fridge till serving time!

If you have a food processor, get that baby out and start shredding! If not, a hand grater is just fine. Potatoes have a short shelf life before they begin to brown, so if you know you take a long time grating, have a bowl of cold water on the side to put the shredded potatoes in. You'll have to strain the potatoes to make them ready for frying anyway(or you get  a soggy mash if you don't) so let them sit until your oil and onions are ready. 

In a large bowl combine the flour (or matzo meal or combination of both) and salt. Beat the three eggs and have them ready to mix into the flour mixture for when the potatoes are all shredded. I like to take the onions and saute them in butter before combining all the ingredients, it seems to make them melt into the latkes and who doesn't like butter? You can just heat up the butter in a small sauce pan, and saute till the onions are translucent but not brown(they will be brown when they get all fried up). Add the onion to the egg /flour mixture and then begin to heat up the peanut oil.

Make sure to use a large skillet for the frying and use medium-high heat. Squeeze the potatoes through the cheese cloth or ricer (paper towels work fine but you won't have as dry of potatoes and the latke mix can get sloshy by the last frying) and combine them into the mix. I like to use a nice wooden spoon to mix all the ingredients and it's a good way to measure out the latkes. 

When your oil is nice and hot slide in the latke mix from the spoon. Be careful not to stand too close or you may get some oil splash back!. I like to flatten the latke patty so it's about two inches in diameter and just fry till golden on each side. You want them to be nice and crispy on the outside, soft and delicious on the inside.

Keep the process going, transferring the latkes that have been fried up onto a plate lined with paper towels so the excess oil can drain out. Pull out the sour cream from the fridge and some applesauce(you can make homemade or dress up the store bought kind with a dash of cinnamon and ground cloves-be sparing with the clove, it is a powerful spice!) and serve!  

Enjoy!

Potato Leek Soup

Do you want something thick and hearty for when it's cold outside? Well, search no further! This Potato Leek Soup will fill you up with deliciousness and tempt you to go for seconds!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter 
2 leeks, halved and sliced thin
1 medium onion, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced 
6 - 8 yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced 
4 cups chicken broth (if you want to be veggie just substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth)
2 cups heavy cream 
2/3 cup parmesan 
salt & pepper

*goat cheese and olive oil to garnish*

First order of business, wash all your veggies, making sure the leeks do not have any grit left in them. Then get to chopping! Make sure to cut off the green stems of the leeks, cut the stalks in half and then cut again lengthwise. After that, just slice the leeks thinly. I like to grate the onion so that the flavor melts into the soup. 

On the stove heat up about 3 tablespoons of butter in a dutch oven or large soup pot (make sure it is big enough to house all the ingredients or you will have soup overflowing out of the pot!) You don't want to brown the butter, just get it melty enough that when you toss in the leeks and onion, it will sizzle and saute. While the leeks and onion are cooking, get the garlic minced and start slicing the potatoes.
Once the leeks are limp (about 5-7 minutes) and the onions are translucent, drop in the garlic and let it saute for about 2-4 minutes. By this time, your potatoes should be all sliced up and ready to get tossed into the pot. Make sure to mix in the potatoes with the sauteed leeks, onion, and garlic. 

After mixing well, add in the chicken broth, but do not add it all at once! Slowly pour in till the potatoes are just barely covered by the broth. You want the soup to be thick and rich! Leave the potatoes on medium heat for about 15 minutes, but make sure to keep an eye on the soup, testing the texture of the potatoes so that when they are nice and soft you can begin the mashing. I like to use the bottom of the ladle (less clean up when you use only a few utensils) but you can use a masher if you like. 

When the leeks and potatoes are nice and mashed up, pour in the cream, stirring over low heat. Add the parmesan cheese 1/3  of a cup at a time, so it doesn't thicken too quickly, with salt and pepper to taste. Let it sit on the stove for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so that it doesn't scorch the bottom of the pot. 

Serve the soup with a side of crusty bread, topped with a taster of goat cheese and a  drizzle of olive oil. This will taste even better the next day!