Cheesy Potato Soup

Potato soup is comfort food at its best.  And this one is especially nice, loaded with veggies and sharp cheddar cheese.  It's one of the few meals my husband will actually request from time to time.  When he does, I try to honor his request, and if I have some fresh bread to go along with it, that makes it even better.

This recipe originally came from a friend at church, although I've changed it up so much, I doubt she would recognize it now.  The original called for smoked sausage and I eliminated that.  I added more vegetables and less cheese.  Don't you worry though, it's still plenty cheesy. 

Once you have the chopping out of the way, this soup comes together in about thirty minutes.  I diced onion, celery and carrots in small dices.  Remember the smaller the dice, the quicker it cooks. The carrots take the longest, so make sure you get those pretty small.  I diced the potatoes a little larger, because I like to bite into a potato when I eat potato soup.  I had one yukon gold that needed to be used, if you're wondering why my potatoes are different colors.  

Melt butter in a soup pot and then add onion, celery and carrots, stirring occasionally, until onions start to soften.  

Add flour and mix with veggies.

The mixture will be very dry.

Stir in dijon mustard, worchestershire sauce and chicken broth.

Add potatoes, give it a stir and cover.  Simmer on low, stirring often, because those potatoes like to try and stick to the bottom of the pot.   Make sure the vegetables stay covered with liquid.  You can add more chicken broth or water if needed, as it cooks.

I love broccoli in this soup, but I don't like mushy broccoli.  In order to prevent that problem, you can wait and add the broccoli near the end of the cooking time, maybe five or six minutes, before the rest of the veggies are fork tender.  Or you can steam your broccoli in a separate pot, and add it at the end.  Either way works fine.

While the soup is cooking, grate your cheese.  I like to use a very sharp cheddar, white or yellow.  I find that I can get by with using less if I use a very flavorful cheese.  Of course, you could use a mild cheddar or another cheese of your choice. 

When the veggies are tender, add the cheese and let it melt.  Then add milk.  I like to use half and half if I have it, but you could use anything from skim to cream.  How creamy do you want your soup?  Do not let the soup come to a boil after you've added you cheese and milk.  This is really important.  It will cause the dairy to curdle and even though you could still eat it, well, the texture is just all wrong.  This happened to me once, and since then, I've been more careful.

Get ready for a comforting meal.  Mmmmm.  Enjoy.  

My next post will be a spicy potato soup with Italian sausage and kale. 

Completely different, equally delicious!

Cheesy Potato Soup

1 large onion, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

2 large carrots, diced

4 T. butter

1/4 cup flour

3/4 t. dijon mustard

2t. worchestershire sauce

2  cups chicken broth- or more as needed

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 cup broccoli florets

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2- 3 cups milk

Saute onion, celery and carrots in butter.   Stir in flour.

Add mustard and worchestershire sauce.  Stir in broth

and potatoes.  Bring to boil and lower heat.  Cover.  Cook

until veggies are tender, stirring often, adding more broth

as needed.  Add broccoli near end of cooking time or steam

in separate pot.  Add cheese and let melt.  Add milk.  Cook

over medium heat until hot.  Do not boil!  If using steamed 

broccoli, add at the end.

Overnight Artisan Bread

Don't you just love chewy, dense, artisan bread?  You know the kind you buy at a good bakery?  Sometimes you can even find a decent loaf at your regular grocery store.  What if I told you, that I can teach you to make bread like this at home?  It's true.  Thanks to my friend j'Nae, who taught me this recipe (along with a bunch of others), I can now share it with you. You're aren't going to believe how easy it is and oh, how you're going to thank me every time you pull a loaf from the oven.  I know, because I go through this little gratitude ritual myself.  Good bread is a gift.

The easy part of the recipe is that you mix it up and pretty much forget about it, for about 12- 18 hours.  The hard part is to remember to start it a day before you want to eat it.  You have to plan ahead with this recipe, or make up a few loaves and have them stashed in the freezer to pull out at a moments notice.   

I start my dough late in the afternoon or right after dinner.  I mix up the flour, yeast, salt, and dried herbs (whatever blend you like) in a plastic bowl.  j'Nae said the Rubbermaid Take Alongs are the perfect size, so that's what I use.  Into the dry ingredients, you stir water and red wine vinegar.  Mix and put on the lid.  I leave it sitting on my kitchen counter over night and depending on the temperature in my kitchen, the next morning or by lunch, the dough is ready for the next step.

It should be bubbly and look like this when you take off the lid.  Oh, and it's going to smell really good, especially if you have a little garlic in that herb blend.  My favorite is a Mediterranean Blend.   But you could use olives and cheese, or nuts and seeds, or dried cranberries and cinnamon if you are thinking sweet bread.  Whatever you like to buy in the store, you can create yourself at home.

After the 12- 18 hour rest in the bowl, I turn the dough (which is quite moist) onto a floured surface and adding a little flour, knead about 8 to 10 times, until it's soft and workable.

Now you put this dough back into a greased plastic bowl (buy two) and cover to rise.  Let it rise for about 1 1/2 hour.  

At this point, take a cast iron dutch oven and heat it in the oven at 435- 450 for thirty minutes.  You want the pan to be screaming hot when you take it out.  And be really careful!  Use double pot holders.

When the dough has risen for two hours and the pot is hot, turn the dough over into the pot.  I spray mine first with cooking spray.

Put the lid on and bake for 27 minutes.  This is the secret to that chewy crust and soft interior.  That hot, covered pan creates the perfect steamy environment for this bread to bake.   Uncover the pan and continue to bake until browned (another 6-10 minutes).  Cool on rack before slicing.  Or wait as long as you possibly can. 

You're going to be so impressed with yourself when you taste this bread.  It's absolutely delicious!  And think how easy it is. Mix it up in a plastic bowl, let it sit and do it's magic, knead it a few times and then let it rise some more.  Put it into a heavy duty pot and bake.  This is the simplest bread I make.   It's perfect with soup.   The next couple of posts will be two of my favorite potato soup recipes.  Practice making the bread now, so you'll be ready. 

Rustic Overnight Artisan Bread

3 cups plain flour

3/4 t. instant yeast

1 1/2 t. salt

Mix above ingredients, adding any spices/nuts or condiments that you like to the dough. 

 Add 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 t. red wine vinegar.  Stir well.

Cover bowl and let rest 12-18 hours.  When surface is 

dotted with bubbles, dough is ready.  After the rest, place dough

on well floured work surface and gently knead for 7- 10 kneads.  Spray a second large bowl with nonstick spray.  Transfer dough to oiled bowl.  Cover and let rise until it has doubled in size and does not readily spring back with poked with your finger.  After dough

has been rising for about 1 1/2 hours, preheat the dutch oven for 30 minutes at 435- 450 degrees.  Carefully remove pot from the oven and turn dough into pot.  Cover and bake 27 minutes.  Uncover and continue baking until browned to your liking.  Cool on wire rack.

Goldens In the Snow

A storm like this is big news in NC.  Just when I was beginning to give up hope for a "real" snow, we've been dumped on!  I've been trying to enjoy every minute of it, because it's supposed to be in the 50's this weekend, and it will all melt.  Ahhh, winter in the south.  Before the snow had even stopped, I grabbed a flashlight, warm coat and two very eager dogs and headed out the door for a night walk.  What a peaceful experience.  I loved it!

The next morning, my deck looked like this.

After running out the door, barefoot and in my jammies, I stuck the ruler in the snow and ran back in the house to grab the camera.  Only then did I realize it would have been better to put it in the  other direction.  Oh well.  We can do the math.

I've been out three or four times since then, walking around the farm, snapping pictures, trying to catch the light at different times of the day.

My favorite thing by far has been watching my dogs play in the snow.  Oh. my. gosh.  I've never seen dogs that love the snow more than these two.  I've laughed my head off, watching them jump, dive, roll, and run, as I've tried my best to capture some of their excitement with my camera.  Moving targets are challenging.

And now it's time for some snow removal.  Thanks to my hubby and his little red tractor, I guess I'll be able to get off the mountain tomorrow.  I've sure enjoyed the slower pace of a couple of good snow days, though.

Just in Case You Want To Bake Up Something Sweet for Your Valentine...

If you want to bake a special little dessert for someone you love this Valentine's Day, then I have the perfect recipe for you.  No, it's not chocolate, but it's still really good.  Think layers of butter cake, cream cheese, raspberry preserves and a crumb topping.  Are you interested yet?  This Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake would be perfect on a brunch buffet, but I never serve brunch, so at our house, it's dessert.  If you added a little spoonful of freshly whipped cream and sprinkled some fresh raspberries on the plate, well, then you would have something really fancy.  We never get that fancy. I'm just saying, it would be pretty all dressed up like that. 

Here's how this cake comes together.  Start by mixing flour and sugar in a bowl.  

To the flour mixture, add softened butter.  I'm doubling the recipe here, so don't panic at the amount of butter.  I know, it looks like a lot.

I like to do this part with my hands.

Set aside a cup of the crumb mixture to be used later.  The remaining mixture will be added to a mixing bowl, along with baking powder, salt, soda, sugar, vanilla, eggs and sour cream.

This will become the cake batter that forms the first layer of the dessert.

Spread this into a buttered and floured springform pan.  I'm making several cakes today, one for the freezer, to be pulled out at a later date and a couple to give as gifts.  I like to use the small springform pans for these.   Two of these little guys equals one larger cake. 

The batter is spread over the bottom of the pan and about an inch up the sides.  

In the same mixing bowl (no need to wash it), I mixed up the second layer, with softened cream cheese, an egg and sugar.  Notice I used light cream cheese (but not fat free!), I almost always do, because when I bake, I can't tell a difference.  I also use light sour cream (but not fat free!).  Those two things don't make this a "light" dessert, but I cut back where I can. 

When this was smooth and creamy, I poured it over the cake layer in the pans, spreading carefully, so as to keep it on top of the cake batter, but not touching the sides of the pan.  Does that make sense?

The fruit preserves go on next.  I used raspberry jam (sadly, my last jar), but I think this would also be delicious with strawberry, blueberry or blackberry. 

I chopped up some pecans (sliced almonds would be good too)

and added those to the crumb topping that I had set aside.  This gets sprinkled on the top.  I baked the cakes at 350 for about 45 minutes.  After cooling on a wire rack for 15 minutes, you take off the side of the springform pan and cool completely.

Yum!  Can you feel the love?

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

2 cups unbleached, plain flour

1 cup sugar, divided

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

3/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs, divided

1 t. vanilla

1 package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup chopped pecans

raspberry preserves

In large bowl, combine flour and 3/4 cup sugar.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture; set aside.  To remaining crumb mixture, add baking powder, salt, soda, sour cream, 1 egg and vanilla.  Mix well.  Spread batter over bottom of a greased and floured springform pan.  In small bowl, beat cream cheese, remaining sugar and remaining egg until smooth.  Pour over batter in pan.  Spoon preserves over filling.  In small bowl, combine reserved crumb mixture and pecans.  Sprinkle over top.  Bake at 350 for 45- 55 minutes.  Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes.  Remove sides of pan.  Serve warm or at room temperature.