Category Archives: Recipes

Creamy butternut squash soup

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Creamy squash soup ready to ladle out

Creamy squash soup ready to ladle out

When I was at Costco last week I noticed that they were hawking bags of cubed butternut squash ready to cook.  At $5.49 for 2.5 pounds, and my shortage of time this week, it was serendipity defined. 

I decided to make a killer squash soup for the fam, who declared it the best I ever made.  Here’s the recipe:

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

2.5 lbs. cubed butternut squash (about 1″ cubes)
3 tbsp. canola oil
1 quart chicken stock
1/2 tsp. ground dried thyme
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 c. mild, creamy bleu cheese, in very small pieces, for garnish (you could even use a hybrid like Cambozola)
Kosher salt & white pepper

1).  Place the squash on a sheet pan and rub with the oil and some salt; spread out in single layer
2).  Roast at 400 deg F. until the edges start to get a bit brown – at convection, if you have it.  This should take no more than 30 mins.
3).  Removed the squash from the sheet pan and place in a dutch oven, being sure to get any stuck-on bits.
4).  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
5).  Reduce to a simmer, cover, add the thyme, and allow to cook for about 25 mins.
6).  Add a little white pepper and then blend with an immersion/hand/stick blender (directly in the dutch oven) until very smooth.  Alternatively, blend in batches in a regular blender, but at your own risk! 
7).  Place pot with blended soup back over very low flame and add the butter, which should be stirred in until melted.
8).  Bring to just under a simmer and turn off heat.
9).  Stir in heavy cream and adjust seasoning.
10).  Ladle into bowls and garnish with bleu cheese

Squash soup being simmered

Squash soup being simmered

Warm potato salad

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Here’s a recipe courtesy of Chef Erwin Pirolt, one of my cooking school instructors.  This is a close second to German potato salad, but has no bacon.  It has great flavor and I make it all the time, so trust me when I tell you you have to give it a try.  Be sure to get some high-quality beef base for this – not the cheap stuff that’s all MSG.  If you have rich beef stock, this would be a good time to dip into your supply.
 
Warm Potato Salad (variation of German recipe)
5 lbs new potatoes (do not use floury potatoes!)
2 onions, finely chopped
4 or 5 T Dijon mustard
2 or 3 T Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 c salad oil
1/2 c cider vinegar diluted in 1/2 c water
1/2 beef bouillon cube diluted in 1 c water
4 to 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Fresh chives, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

1) Boil potatoes in their jackets, peel and slice while piping hot 
2) Add onion, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper (do not toss until indicated)
3) Pour oil over top
4) Pour diluted vinegar over top
5) Pour bouillon over top (do not use all if it would make salad too watery; use more if too dry – use own judgement here)
6) Add garlic and gently toss
7) Top with plenty of chopped chives

NOTES: Salad is especially good when it sits awhile

Zucchini bread

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Zucchini bread (baked in an oblong pan instead of loaf pans)

I wanted to be sure to post my zucchini bread recipe during the holidays – so here it is.  This was given to me when I was a teen by Martha Yanavitch, a close friend and neighbor from my Stevensville, PA days.  There is so much good food in that area!

Quick bread is a wonderful thing in that it is easy to make and fairly fool-proof.  With this recipe you can’t go wrong, and it would make a nice gift or dessert at a holiday party.  Great also with a cup of coffee before work.

Pineapple Walnut Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup canola oil
2 cups grated raw zucchini
3 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans work well)

1)  Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil and zucchini
2)  Mix in dry ingredients
3)  Mix in pineapple and nuts
4)  Bake in loaf pans (recipe makes two loaves) at 350 F. for one hour or until done

Savory oatmeal

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This may not be the most attractive dish to photograph, but it’s tasty.

While I love hot breakfast cereals, I am not always fond of having them sweet, so I came up with this savory version a few years ago just to have some variety.  I know it may seem a little odd to some, but try to think of it like congee (aka jook), the Asian rice porridge cooked with everything from pork meatballs to tripe.

I make this in a Wolfgang Puck electric wok I bought from HSN.  I kid you not – this thing is great when you need constant heat that travels the whole way up the sides of a sloped vessel and a non-stick surface that allows you to work smoothly with a heat-proof spatula.  Normally I shun non-stick, but this is an exception because it prevents major oatmeal stickage.

What I give you here is my basic recipe, but you can fool around with it.  This will make enough for 5 or 6 people, give or take.

Ham & Cheese Oatmeal

4 cups thick-cut oatmeal (not instant – the slowest cooking kind you can get)
1 quart chicken stock
2 cups milk
2 cups water
2 cups finely cubed cooked ham
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 – 2 cups aged (or extra sharp) white Cheddar cheese in small cubes
1/2 tsp. white pepper

1)  Add oatmeal and all liquids to heavy guage dutch oven or similar vessel and stir to combine
2)  Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer
3)  Cover and cook to desired consistency, stirring often, especially when the mass starts to thicken (I cook for 20 minutes when using the really thick oats)
4)  Stir in pepper, ham and butter and allow to cook for another 30 seconds
5)  Remove from heat and stir in cheese, but do not mix it in too much because you want to wind up with pockets of melted cheese
6)  Cover and allow to sit for a couple of minutes
7)  Serve in deep bowls under a couple of over-easy eggs, if you want to be fancy about it

Easy green bean salad

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Green bean salad

When you want to serve a large family or don’t mind leftovers and are in a pinch, this is what you want.  Easy and tastes good.  If you get all postal with me about the canned beans, feel free to use fresh – I won’t stop you.  This is where that $2.50 #10 can of Blue Lake green beans from Costco comes in.

Easy Green Bean Salad

1 #10 can (big, big can) of green beans (not French cut, please)
1/2 red onion, large, finely chopped
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
About 3 T sugar
S&P

Intersperse the drained beans and chopped onion in a large, shallow bowl.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar and sugar, ensuring that all the sugar dissolves — you might have to leave it and come back to it a couple times.  Taste it.  You want the sugar to significantly cut the acidity of the vinegar so that it is sweet-sour.  Adjust as needed.  Whisk in a large pinch of salt and a couple big dashes of pepper.  Whisk in the oil.  You are making, basically, a watery vinaigrette.  Use more or less of each, as you like, but don’t make a traditional vinaigrette for this dish.  Adjust S&P.  Pour over the green beans and leave out for an hour.  Every 15 mins or so bring the beans from the bottom of the bowl to the top so they are all equally marinated.  If you use a large, stainless steel bowl, this will work well since you can take a large spoon and run it down the side to pull beans up from the bottom.  What you don’t want to do it create a mush, so be gentle.  If you are serving the next day just cover and pop in fridge.  Take out a good hour before you serve so it is not ice cold.

Notes:  Better the next day and good with tuna sandwiches.