Apple-Cheddar-Squash Soup

This past weekend was the coldest of the season this year. Brrrrrr, here in St. Petersburg, Florida the high on Sunday was 54! It was so cold I couldn't wear sandals, which is, of course, in Florida the meter for how cold it is. We wear sandals all year long. Also, of course, cold weather calls for soup and I made one of my very favorites. I had always stayed away from squash or pumpkin soup because I thought they would be sweet like pumpkin pie, but when I found this recipe in Food Network Magazine I decided to give it a try. While it does have apple in it, it's not sweet. It is quite savory and very creamy, but without heavy cream. In fact, the recipe calls for whole milk, but I used 2% and it turned out great. The potato and the squash really thicken it up. The recipe also says to blend the vegetables and apples immediately after you cook them.  If you've tried to blend anything hot, especially with liquid in it you know the steam likes to explode out of the top of the blender. You can do this if you must, but I like to cook them and let them cool for a while before blending. The garnish, prosciutto, fried in butter, just takes
it over the top!

Cold weather or not, you should try this soon!

Ingredients

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 medium apples, thinly sliced

1 large white potato, diced

1 1/2 cups chopped peeled butternut squash, fresh or frozen

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup apple cider

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup milk

2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into bite-size pieces

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish

Chopped chives, for garnish (optional)

Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

 

Directions

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium-low heat and add the onion, apples, potato and squash. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sage and flour. Add the cider and cook over high heat, stirring, until thickened. Add the broth and milk, cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the potato is soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the prosciutto and cook until crisp, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Add the cheese to the soup and stir over medium-low heat until melted. Puree in a blender in batches until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the prosciutto, more cheese and chives, if using. Serve with bread, if desired.

Blue Cheese and Apple Cole Slaw

Happy New Year! Though I haven't posted in about a week, I have been doing plenty of cooking and enjoying time with family. Many of our meals have been casual and Cole slaw has been the perfect accompaniment. I learned to make Cole slaw from my mother, who used a very simple, but tasty recipe: packaged cabbage slaw, mayo, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. I made this slaw for many, many years. Then I started tweaking it by changing the cabbage slaw to broccoli slaw, which I think stays much crunchier and adding blue cheese, green onions and apple. I think it is the best Cole slaw EVER! Everyone who has tasted it seems to agree.

Ingredients
6 oz broccoli slaw
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
1 oz blue cheese, crumbled
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar or Splenda
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine slaw, onions, apple and blue cheese in a large bowl. Put mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Stir into slaw mixture.

Pork Chops in Spiced-Apple Pan Sauce

Last night's dinner was a version of a recipe from Rachael Ray's cookbook, 30-Minute Get Real Meals. The original recipe calls for serving with roasted broccoli spears, but I had Brussels sprouts in the fridge so I roasted those instead. With some mashed potatoes, this meal was really yummy. The spiced-apple pan sauce tastes like a savory apple pie. You should try this very soon.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

2 TB extra-virgin olive oil

4 boneless pork loin or rib chops

2 TB butter

1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced

3 TB fresh thyme leaves, stripped from 4 or 5 sprigs, chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

2 tsp pumpkin or apple pie spice

1 cup chicken stock or broth

A handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

juice of 1 lemon

 

Directions

Preheat a large skillet over high heat with olive oil. Liberally season pork chops with salt and pepper and sear on both sides for 2 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Remove the chops from the skillet and reserve. Add butter to the pork skillet, add the onion, thyme, sliced apple, and pie spice. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 - 5 minutes, or until the onion and apples are tender. Add the chicken stock and bring up to a simmer. Add the pork chops back to the pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes longer, or until the chops are cooked through. Add parsley and lemon juice to the chops and stir to distribute.