Sweet Potato Soup

Hello, I am alive despite the fact that I haven't posted in over a year. I am sorry to say that other things in my life have taken precedence. Like travel, job changes, books, classes, all sorts of things. That isn't to say that I haven't been cooking and even sometimes taking photos of the things I cook. It just means that when it comes to sitting down and trying to remember everything... I'm sorry dear readers, I know I have neglected you.

So here we go: sweet potato soup! And good timing for it too as we dive right into fall here in New England. The red maple across the street is a brilliant, fiery red and the streets are a mosaic of wet, fallen leaves in orange and gold. This is my favorite time of year because everything flames out in beautiful color and there is a certain smell to air, kind of like leaves and cinnamon and wood fires and pears.

Sweet potato soup. In making this I was trying to channel the incredible sweet potato soup I had a couple of years ago at Cafe Atlantico in Washington D.C. It had real depth to it, with all sorts of spices coming through, a bit of heat, a bit of sweetness, and it was topped by this incredible maple foam that tasted like... well, marshmellow. Let's just say I had very high expectations.

And while this soup is good, delicious even, it's no Cafe Atlantico Sweet Potato Soup. But that's ok. I think maybe using stock next time would add a richness, and I think one should definitely be more generous with the spices than I was. Still, it was filling and tasty and perfect for a cool October meal with Sister Heart.

Picture to come!

Sweet Potato Soup
Serves 4

1 very large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1/2 white onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 small head of garlic, roasted and removed from skins
1 quart (4 cups) water or stock
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon (I would add more next time)
1/4 tsp chili pepper (I would add more next time)
dash of allspice (may more of this? also cloves?)
dash of nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
sour cream (to garnish)

1) Heat butter in 4 qt sauce pan over medium-low heat. Once frothy, add onions, carrots, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and chili pepper. Saute until browning and softened, about 10 minutes.
2) Add sweet potato and toss until the potato is coated. Add more butter if pan is looking dry. Cover the pot and allow to cook for 5 - 8 minutes, stirring often until potato has begun to soften.
3) Add water, sugar, and maple syrup to the pot. Bring to a gentle boil, then cover and lower to a simmer. Simmer covered for 20 - 25 minutes until potatoes are very soft, stirring occaisonally.
4) Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Continue to cook the soup on low, uncovered until desired consistency is reached (I like mine thicker so I let it cook for another 15 -20 minutes). Add salt to taste.
5) Remove soup from heat. Stir in cream. Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream.

Red Potatoes Au Gratin

So when I made roasted red potatoes to go along with my Unceremonious Steak with Balsamic Vinegar, I was left with two hefty ones at the bottom of the bag. So I made a gratin! I've only maybe made a gratin once before ever, so I used Joy of Cooking as my guide, but monkeyed around with the amounts. This made enough for two as a good sized side dish, but could probably also serve three if you had a heavier main course.

This was creamy and delicious. It would also have been great with gruyere or a more kick-ass cheese, but all I had was Parmesan, which was still pretty darn tasty. All it lacked was salt, so I've modified the recipe to include a more daring salting approach than my initial attempt. It's always hard halving and cutting back recipes. Some flavors always seem to get lost!

Red Potatoes Au Gratin
Serves 2-3

2 large red potatoes, washed (About 1 lb? I'm really not sure. These were big red potatoes though.)
1 TBS butter, softened
1 cup milk, half-n-half, or light cream (I used half light cream, half skim milk)
1/2 tsp salt
ground pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1/2 tsp paprika
2 -3 TBS butter, cut into small pieces
1/4-1/2 cup grated parmesan

1) Preheat the oven to 350ºF
2) Slice the potatoes thinly. Combine with milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a large sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook gently for about 5 minutes, or until thick, stirring frequently.
3) Rub a shallow baking dish or pie dish with softened butter. Transfer potato mixture into pan, spreading potatoes in an even layer. Press the potatoes down so that they top layer is submerged in the liquid.
4) Sprinkle the top liberally with bread crumbs, paprika, and parmesan. Place pieces of butter evenly over the top.
5) Bake until the top is golden brown and the potatoes are tender, about 30-35 minutes.

Potato-Cheddar Soup

Soup is generally fairly new to me (enough qualifiers there?). The sum total of soups I have made include: wonton soup, chili, chicken and orzo soup, a rather tasty mexican pork & rice soup, and a not-so-terrible-but-not-completely-satisfying Greek egg-lemon soup (Marylanders… ever been to Ambrosia in Rockville? Their egg-lemon soup is the stuff I dream about. Mine is not yet up to snuff). So when I started flipping through our newly acquired soup book, so many of them sounded tasty, we just had to make them all.

First off, Potato-Cheddar. I like potato and cheddar and hearty soups in general. Plus, it was to be topped with bacon. Can’t go wrong there. I had never wrestled with leeks before, but was willing to give it a try (and was embarrassed not to be able to pick them out of a line up in the grocery store).

This soup could have benefited from: 1) me actually using my wand mixer more liberally (or using a food processor as recommended) because the texture was more gritty than creamy 2) some cream, more cheddar cheese, less leek, potentially some hefty chunks of potato, and more bacon/seasoning. Maybe I just had a different idea of what this should taste like versus what it did taste like. It’s a basic enough recipe and maybe that’s the problem—a little too basic. There’s plenty of room for changes next time (which I fully intend to try). Play around with it, let me know if you come up with anything a little more sure-fire.

Potato-Cheddar Soup
From William-Sonoma Food Made Fast: Soup
Serves 4
4/10 (could be better with some changes)

4 slices of bacon
1 leek, white part only, rinsed and thinly sliced (go easy on this… very strong flavor)
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups milk (I would replace at least part of this with half-n-half or cream)
salt and pepper (use liberally)
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I would double this)

1) In a large sauce pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about 5 min. Transfer bacon to paper towels and drain.
2) Discard all but 2 tbs of the bacon drippings from the pan and return to medium heat. Add the leek and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes.
3) Add the potatoes and broth and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cook uncovered until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
4) Raise the heat to medium add the milk (or cream) and 1/2 tsp of pepper and bring just to a simmer. Ussing a food processor, blender or want mixer, process the soup to a smooth puree (really, this is very important otherwise the soup is unpleasantly gritty). If removed, return soup to sauce pan and reheat to serving temperature. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper
5) Ladle soup into bowls, crumble bacon on top and serve.