Butternut Squash Soup

Mike made this delicious soup.  It was quick and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1 Butternut squash, roasted and chopped
1 medium onion
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic,  chopped 
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chardonnay
1 quart chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions :

Rinse, stab, and butter the butternut squash.  Roast at 350°F for 45 minutes.

Saute vegetables in butter and olive oil until tender.  Add wine and stock.  Bring to a boil.  Lower flame and add squash.  Simmer until the squash breaks apart.  Add minced parsley and puree with an immersion blender.  Add heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste. 

Cream of Asparagus Soup with Gruyère

I've made this dozens of times.  First time with Gruyère. 

Ingredients:

1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch a pieces
6 cups chicken stock
1 pint cream, room temperature
1teaspoon rosemary
1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese

Directions:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and saute 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add asparagus and saute another 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 30 minutes, until asparagus is very tender. *Carefully transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to saucepan, stir in sour cream and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to serving bowls. Dust with paprika and serve.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

Seven Cheese Ravioli with Mushroom/Shallot Cream Sauce

This recipe is easy to make, just a lot of ingredients.

For the ravioli filling:

7 ounces sheep's-milk ricotta or well-drained fresh whole cow's-milk ricotta
2 ounces Italian Fontina cheese shredded, shredded
2 ounces fresh mozzarella, shredded
2 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shredded
2 ounces asiago cheese, shredded
2 ounces provolone cheese, shredded
2 ounces of mozzarella cheese,  shredded
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Mix all together and refrigerate

Pasta dough:

Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add eggs and yolks, and mix with hands or wooden spoon for a minute or so, until dough comes together. (Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.) If dough seems dry or crumbly, add 1 or 2 tablespoons cold water, but only enough to keep the dough together.
Turn dough out onto a board and knead to form a ball. Flatten dough ball to a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap in plastic, and let rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour (several hours is fine).
Divide dough into 4 pieces. Knead each piece until smooth. Roll with a rolling pin or pasta machine as thinly as possible (but not quite paper-thin). Cut each sheet in half, making 8 smaller sheets, forming the sheets into retangles.  Lay the first sheet out and a small ice cream scoop, place the filling on the dough in four a five sections.  Then place a rolled pasta on top, forming circles.  Cut each of the filled and rolled pasta with a ravioli cutter.  Repeat the process unitl you have 28 - 32 raviolis.

Mushrooms cream sauce optional:

8 ounces portobello mushrooms, diced
2 shallots diced
4 tablespoons butter
4 ounces cream
4 ounces half and half
Salt and pepper

Puree the mushrooms and shallots finely.  Melt butter in a saucepan.  Saute the mixture about 5 -7 minutes on a medium flame.  Add it the cream and half and half.  Cook an additional 5 minutes,  stirring frequently.  Serve with the raviolis.

Beignets

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   2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 
   1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
   1/2 cup white sugar
   1 teaspoon salt
   2 eggs
   1 cup evaporated milk
   7 cups all-purpose flour
   1/4 cup shortening
   1 quart vegetable oil for frying
   1/4 cup confectioners' ssug
   Directions:
   In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, evaporated milk, and blend well. Mix in 4 cups of the flour and beat until smooth. Add the shortening, and then the remaining 3 cups of flour. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours.
2. Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2 inch squares. Fry in 360 degree F (180 degrees C) hot oil. If beignets do not pop up, oil is not hot enough. Drain onto paper towels.
3. Shake confectioners' sugar on hot beignets. Serve warm.

Artisan-Tuscan Bread

Made this recipe and I incorporated other ingredients to it.  I added sugar and corn meal.

3 ½ to 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon sugar

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and yeast.  Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours.  Overnight works great.  Heat oven to 450 degrees.  When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, pour dough onto a lightly floured corn meal or oat bran parchment paper and shape into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating.  Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough.  dust with corn meal, cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.  

Moroccan Chicken Brochettes

Thought I'd try this new recipe I found on Bon Appetit.

Garlic Sauce

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Kosher salt
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
• fresh dill

Chicken

• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2” pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• Vegetable oil (for grilling)   

Garlic Sauce

Place garlic in a mortar; season with salt and pound to a very fine paste. (Alternatively, place garlic on a cutting board, season with salt, and mash with the side of a chef’s knife.) Transfer garlic paste to a small bowl and gradually whisk in oil.

Very gradually whisk yogurt into garlic mixture until emulsified. (Add too fast and sauce will break. If it does break, gradually whisk in 1 tsp. water just before serving.)

DO AHEAD: Garlic sauce can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Chicken

Toss chicken, garlic, parsley, cumin, paprika, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl; season with salt. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

Prepare grill for medium-high heat and oil grate. Thread chicken onto skewers. Grill, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 8–12 minutes. Serve with garlic sauce, pita bread, labneh, tomatoes, and mint.

DO AHEAD: Chicken can be marinated 12 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Garlic Herbed Scalloped Potatoes

This is a new recipe.  Simple ingredients not too much food prep.
Recipe courstsy of Food Network Kitchen(R)

1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lbs potatoes
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped chives
Garlic herbed cheddar cheese
Pinch nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rub the garlic around the inside of an 8 by 8 by 2-inch casserole dish and let it dry. Reserve the remaining garlic. Rub the butter around the inside of the dish. Reserve the remaining butter.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes on a mandoline or vegetable slicer (about 1/8-inch-thick slices).

In a medium saucepan, combine the garlic, butter, potatoes, half-and-half, salt, pepper to taste, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring, until the mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish. Shake the pan so the potatoes are distributed evenly.

Bake the potatoes, basting occasionally, until lightly browned and bubbly, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.