Weekend Comfort

This is one of my favorite meals to make as the weather starts to cool off.  The last of the sweet summer corn is combined with chunks of veggies, potatoes and shredded chicken in a comforting creamy broth, and of course topped with crunchy bits of bacon.  This is by no means a low calorie meal but I choose to believe it is healthy simply because it is a soup and all soups are healthy, right?  This soup packs a punch with heat from both fresh jalapeno and crushed red pepper flakes, as well as a smoky spice from chipotle seasoning (I chopped up a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce since this is what I had and it still added the same smoky flavor).  If you aren't a big fan of spice, you could easily leave these ingredients out but I recommend trying at least a little!   

  

Corn Chowder

from My Baking Addiction <- Yummy website!

Ingredients

5 strips thick cut bacon; sliced into ½ inch pieces
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon chipotle seasoning (or a chipotle chili in abobo sauce finely chopped)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like some heat)
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
6-8 ears corn (I used 6)
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (rotisserie works great here)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
green onions; sliced for garnish

1. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp; remove bacon with a slotted spoon and allow to drain and reserve for garnish.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, jalapeno and thyme to the bacon drippings and cook until the vegetables are soft; about 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour, chipotle seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and stir to coat well.
3. Cook vegetables, flour and seasonings for 2 minutes; stir frequently.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a rapid boil. Allow soup to boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down. This process will help thicken the soup.
4. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add in the cooked chicken. Simmer until the corn is soft and chicken is heated through; about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Stir in the parsley. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the reserved bacon and green onions.

This recipe makes about 8 servings so we ate it for a few meals the week I made it and froze the rest for a quick, delicious meal some night when I don't feel like cooking.  Hope you enjoy!

What are your favorite soup recipes?  Please share in the comments.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Blue Cheese Burgers

Sorry for the delay in posting this recipe.  Once the weekend got started, I ditched the computer until last night.  Last week I wrote about Bobby Flay's Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes from his book Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes.  Greg had bought some fresh ground beef from the farmer's market and I wanted a recipe that would feature it, so I decided on burgers.  There were about 10 different burgers I wanted to try, but I already had most of the ingredients for this one so I went for it.

Bobby recommends seasoning your meat with a simple dash of salt and pepper and adding additional flavor in the form of toppings and sauces, rather than mixing them into the meat itself.  He suggests forming meat into patties no more than 3/4 inch thick and using your thumb to create an indentation in the center of each patty to prevent "bulging" as your burgers cook.

You can make these burgers with a simple crumble of blue cheese on top, or you can do what I did and kick it up a notch with Bobby's blue cheese sauce.  And if you have any sauce leftover, go ahead and use it as a dipping sauce for some kettle cooked potato chips.  Trust me, you won't regret this decision!

Blue Burgers

from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes
Serves 4

8 slices thick-cut bacon (I used 4 but go for 8 if you want to:)
1 1/2 lb. ground chuck (80 percent lean) (I used 1 lb.)
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. canola oil
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled, or blue cheese sauce (recipe below)
Chopped fresh parlety leaves, for garnish (optional)
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted if desired

Cook bacon until golden brown and slightly crisp.  I just read about a new technique for cooking bacon.  Place it on a foil lined baking sheet and put in a cold oven.  Turn the heat on to 400 degrees and let bacon cook for about 20 minutes until crisp.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate.  You can also cook your bacon in a saute pan but I found the oven technique keeps the bacon nice and flat and allows it to cook more evenly since they are spread on a baking sheet. 

 

Perfectly crisp and flat oven baked bacon.

Divide meat into 4 equal portions.  Form each potion loosely into a 3/4 inch thick burger and make a deep depression in the center with your thumb.  Season both sides with salt and pepper. 

Cook burgers in a cast iron (or regular) skillet, using oil or on the grill.  Mine took about 5 minutes on each side but you can choose how well done you would like yours.  Top with blue cheese crumbles for the last few minutes or top with the blue cheese sauce when you remove them from the pan. 

Place burgers on the bun bottoms and top with bacon and chopped parsley, if using.  Cover with the bun tops and serve immediately. 

Blue Cheese Sauce

makes about 2 cups (I halved the recipe)
2 cups whole milk
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese plus extra for garnish
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives

Pour milk into small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Heat butter in a medium saucepan, over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in the warm milk and continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and cayenne pepper and continue cooking, whisking occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.  If the sauce is too thick, thin with a little more milk.  Sauce can be prepared 1 day in advance, covered, and refrigerated.  Reheat gently in a double boiler.  Sprinkle with chives.   

 

I could eat an entire vat of this stuff!

 

What are your favorite burger recipes?  I think my all-time favorite is a classic burger topped with BBQ sauce and a thick slice of American cheese - delicious!

Twice Baked Potatoes

 

Greg and I like to talk about food.  We often discuss topics such as, what is your all-time favorite fruit (strawberries and pineapple)?  or, what do you think is the most disgusting food in existence (water chestnuts, the texture kills me.  olives, I am willing to try them once a year to see if I change my mind)?  

One of our favorites is, if you had to live on one food for the rest of your life what would it be?  Greg usually answers with bread or cheese, both good options.  I always go with potatoes!  My reasoning is that they are so versatile.  You could probably make a different potato dish every day of the month and still come up with new ways to cook them.  And yes, I realize I'm bending the rules a bit because I would probably need a few other ingredients in order to make some of the potato recipes, thus eating more than one "food," but it's my game and I can do what I want!

 

People who know me in real life know that I can easily kill a bag of potato chips if left to my own devices.  Add a tub of French onion dip and you will find me a couple of hours later in a food coma on the couch.  It's scary stuff.

Today, I bring you a recipe for twice baked potatoes.  I often forget about this delicious baked/mashed potato combination, but I think it's perfect for cookouts.  You can make them ahead of time and simply reheat when it's time to eat.  I made mine to go with spicy BBQ ribs and coleslaw.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 large Russet potatoes, scrubbed

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 scallions, finely chopped

4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

1/2 tsp. salt

freshly ground pepper

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place potatoes directly on rack in center of oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Pierce each potato and continue to bake until tender, about 30 minutes.  I skipped the oven and used the microwave instead.  I pierced each potato and wrapped in a damp paper towel.  I microwaved for about 8 minutes and then another 4 minutes.  I only used the oven to reheat once I had refilled them with the potato mixture.

Allow potatoes to cool slightly, trim off the top to make a canoe-like shape.  Carefully scoop out most of the potato into a bowl, making sure to leave the skin intact.  

Mash the potatoes lightly with a fork.  Add the sour cream and buttermilk.  (I might also add a few tablespoons of butter here)  Fold in the scallions (I saved the green portion of the scallion to sprinkle on before serving) and crumbled bacon.  Season with salt and pepper.  Refill the shells with the potato mixture, mounding slightly.  At this point you could probably store them in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to finish.  Sprinkle with the cheese, return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes until heated through, serve immediately. 

 

 

Yum!

So if you had only one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?