Butternut Squash and Leek Soup

Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum…Yum. Eating healthy never tasted so good. Were we just starving last night or was this a great combination? I’ll try it again next week and see. It began with a goal of healthy meal planning. After a season of not going to the grocery store on a regular basis with a 6 day meal plan, I am determined to get back on track. 1 beef, 1 pork, 1 chicken, 1 fish and 2 veggie meals. This was supposed to be one of my veggie meals but I forgot to replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock. So close… The original recipes of Butternut Squash and Leek Soup and Roasted Cauliflower called for fresh thyme. But as I searched my refrigerator I realized that I only had rosemary. So good – I’ll always use rosemary in the future. And I got double duty out of my rosemary by using it to infuse the soup and then chopping it up and including it in the Roasted Cauliflower.

Butternut Squash and Leek Soup
(adapted from Food and Wine Magazine)

4 1/2 pounds butternut squash, halved lengthwise
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large leeks, white and tender green parts, coarsely chopped (I only had one large leek, so I added a sweet onion, chopped)
3 fresh rosemary sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried
5 cups chicken stock or unsalted canned broth, or vegetable stock
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
About 3 tablespoons chopped chives (optional)

Finish with 2- 4 T apple cider vinegar 

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly. Using a spoon, scoop out and discard the seeds. Scrape the squash from the skin.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy saucepan or flameproof casserole, melt the butter over low heat. Add the leeks and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and browned, about 40 minutes. Discard the rosemary sprigs after about 20 minutes and reserve for the Roasted Cauliflower.

Stir in the stock and the squash. Simmer over moderate heat for 20 minutes. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pan and season with the salt and pepper.  Finish with 2-4 T apple cider vinegar to taste

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 1 teaspoon chives


To Make Ahead
The recipe can be prepared through Step Three up to 2 days ahead. Reheat the soup before proceeding.

Roasted Cauliflower

(adapted from Television Food Network

1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets (about 8 cups)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons roughly chopped fresh rosemary leaves, reserved from Butternut Squash and Leek Soup

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper on a baking sheet; sprinkle with the salt and thyme and toss again. Roast until golden and tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Chai Tea

I'm always on the look out for an authentic Chai Tea recipe While this one definitely sounds good, I'm dubious about it coming any where near what we had in India. Pretty sure I'll never get that wonderful, oily skim layer on the top.

Regardless, I am grateful to Pham Fatale for posting this recipe...
http://www.phamfatale.com/id_72/title_Bajis-Masala-Chai/

Yields: 12

12 cups water 2 sticks cinnamon, broken in half
30 cardamom pods, crushed with a mallet
4 cloves 1 (2-inch) chunk fresh ginger (optional), thinly sliced
5 cups organic whole milk
1 can evaporated milk
8 black tea bags

Preparation
Fill a large pot with water. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and ginger and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.Add the milk, evaporated milk and sugar and bring to a simmer again. Add the tea bags, cover, and turn off the heat. Let the tea steep for no more than 4 minutes otherwise the tea will release its acidity. Strain the tea and serve immediately. It should be hot and fragrant. I also like to add a dash of heavy cream (Don't feel guilty, just enjoy the creaminess) Serve with tea cakes or cookies. Time to relax and enjoy!

Connie's Meatloaf

I have never made a decent meatloaf in my life. How hard can it be? My friend and co-worker Connie suggests that I try this recipe.

1/2 c ketchup
1/3 c brown sugar
1 1/2 t mustard
2 t vinegar
1/2 t nutmeg
2 lb ground beef
2 eggs
1 c cornflake crumbs
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 T minced parsley
1 onion chapped

Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl mix the first 5 ingredients; set aside.

Prepare the meatloaf: Combine the remaining ingredients; mix lightly. Stir in 1/2 sauce mixture. Put into loaf pan and bake 350 for 1 hour. Cover with remaining sauce and bake for 30 additional minutes.

Island Pork Tenderloin

Why is it I have NEVER made a Pork Tenderloin. This sounds like a great recipe to start with. I found this at http://bakinandeggs.com/ where they site the recipe source The Gourmet Cookbook.


1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pork tenderloins (a little over 1 pound)
1 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon hot sauce (Tabasco)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and cinnamon and coat pork with spice rub.
Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over medium high heat until just beginning to smoke. Brown pork on all sides, about 4 minutes total. Remove from heat.

While the pork is browning, stir together brown sugar, garlic and hot sauce. Once you remove pork from heat, spread glaze onto top of each tenderloin. Roast in oven until thermometer inserted in center of tenderloin registers 140 degrees, about 20 minutes. Tent with foil and let pork stand in skillet at room temperature 10 minutes. (Temperature will rise to about 150-155 while standing.) Slice and serve.
Yield: 2 servings

Banana Pineapple Cupcakes with Caramel Fondant

Must try this... I found this recipe on Brooke McLay's blog
http://www.cheekykitchen.com/2009/03/ex.html
Check it out the picture of the cupcakes on her site.

1 white cake mix
2 eggs
2 banana's
8 oz. crushed pineapple, undrained
2 T. olive oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/3 c. crushed macadamia nuts (optional)
Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean

With an electric mixer, mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Batter will be thick. Spoon into mini-muffin pan, lined with small cupcake papers. Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly. Remove and cool.


Two Spoon Caramel Fondant
One spoon to stir, and one to lick.

20 caramels
1/2 c. butter
2 lb powdered sugar
1/4 c. milk

In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt caramels and butter together, stirring every 30 seconds until fully melted. Using an electric mixer on high, slowly beat in half of powdered sugar and half of milk. Continue to add sugar and milk, until a thick-but-spreadable consistency is reached. (Note: you may not need all the sugar or milk. Add it slowly at the end, there!)
Frost muffins while they are barely warm.

Allow frosting to cool and set before serving.

Buttermilk Syrup

I found this recipe on White on Rice Couple...
http://www.whiteonricecouple.com/
They suggest using it in replacement of maple syrup, such as on pancakes and waffles, to top french toast, or drizzled on ice cream. Yum...

1 1/2 c (340 g) Butter
1 1/2 c (355 ml) Buttermilk
3 c (575 g) Sugar
1 t (5 ml) Vanilla
1 T (15ml) Baking Soda

1. In large saucepan (make sure it is big enough to accommodate the syrup foaming when the baking soda is added), combine butter, buttermilk, and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly.

2. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and baking soda (it will foam up at this point.) It is now ready to serve.

Keeps for at least a couple weeks if you can manage to not use it all up quicker.