Pumpkin Soup (soupe au potiron)

I had a left over pumpkin from Halloween that I wanted to cook up. I remembered eating a delicious pumpkin soup while in France over 12 years ago. A quick internet search lead me to this recipe which sounded a lot like what I remembered. I was able to translate the recipe (it's in French) and modify it to what I had on hand.

This soup recipe is absolutely wonderful. I was totally surprised how well it turned out. The nutmeg adds a nice touch. Since I was just experimenting, I'm not sure about the quantities I used. I'll probably make some modifications the next few times I make this.

I didn't get a picture because it was eaten too quickly. Most of us ended up having seconds.

Servings: 6
Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients:
1 small pumpkin
5 potatoes, peeled
1/2 qt half and half
salt
pepper
nutmeg, ground
2 tsp chicken bouillon
2 cups water

Directions:
1) Remove the skin and pumpkin 'guts' leaving the pulp. Cut the pumpkin pulp in 1 inch cubes. Peel the potato and cut in 1 inch cubes.
2) Boil the potato and pumpkin until soft. Approximately 10 minutes. Meanwhile heat 2 cups of water and the chicken bouillon.
3) In a mixer or food processor, blend the drained pumpkin and potato pieces until smooth. Add the puree to the hot chicken broth.
4) Mix in the half and half and spices. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce temperature to keep warm.

Zuppa Toscana

This is probably my favorite soup at Olive Garden. I was so excited when I found the recipe at tuscanrecipes.com. This is supposed to be the actual Olive Garden recipe, adapted to a manageable size.

I found this to be a little spicy, so I would recommend decreasing the amount of crushed red pepper. Other than that, the soup was wonderful and tasted as good as the restaurant version.



Ingredients
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes (3 large potatoes)
1/4 bunch kale

Procedure
1. Saute Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

2. In the same pan, saute bacon, onions and garlic for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.

3. Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling.

4. Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.

5. Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated.

6. Stir in the sausage.

7. Add kale just before serving.

Clam Chowder

My family usually has this for dinner on Christmas Eve. This makes a lot of chowder and is great when you have a few guests over. We usually serve this delicious chowder in freshly baked bread bowls. Make sure you save the insides of the bread bowls to dip in the chowder. I tend to like a lot of potatoes in my chowder, but feel free to reduce this if you want.

Ingredients
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
5 lbs potatoes, cubed
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 quart half and half
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper, coarse
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3 cans clams, minced

Procedure
1. Place potatoes, onion, celery, and carrot in large pot. Cover with water and cook until tender.
2. Melt butter in large sauce pan. Mix flour in with butter.
3. Slowly blend in half and half a little at a time. Add spices.
4. Drain clam juice into white sauce. Set clams aside. Continue to cook white sauce on medium heat, stirring constantly until sauce starts to bubble.
5. Add white sauce to potatoes with water. Let simmer.
6. Add clams just before serving.