Month: April 2021

A sweet potato soup is the perfect balance of sweet and savory with onions, garlic, and leeks along with nutmeg and cinnamon. It’s creamy and satisfying. If you’d like to skip on the dairy, feel free to substitute it with soy or coconut milk. You can serve this soup with crusty bread to dip or along with beef, pork or chicken. Due to its creaminess, the soup goes well with a side salad of fresh lettuce greens. Prep time: 15 minsCook time: 50 minsTotal time: 65 minsServings: 6 to 8 servings Note: If you want to make this soup without dairy, feel free to substitute either additional stock, which will result in a thinner soup, or soy milk or coconut milk for the cream and milk in this recipe. Omit the sour cream or yogurt topping, and use olive oil instead of butter. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 2 celery ribs, chopped 1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, sliced 1 clove garlic, chopped (1 teaspoon) 1 1/2 pounds (about 2 large) orange-flesh sweet potatoes (a.k.a. yams), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups) 4 cups chicken stock (use vegetable broth for vegetarian option) 1 cinnamon stick 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup milk Salt Pepper 1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt Directions: Cook the onions, celery, leeks, and garlic: Melt the butter in a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the celery and leeks and sauté for 5 more minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Make and simmer the soup: Add the sweet potatoes, chicken stock, cinnamon stick, and nutmeg. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and simmer uncovered until the sweet potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Blend the soup: Remove the cinnamon stick. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup or work in batches and purée the soup in a standing blender. Finish the soup: Add the cream and milk to the soup. Heat on medium until the soup is heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.Sprinkle with more black pepper and swirl some water-thinned sour cream or plain yogurt over the soup to serve. Source: Simply Recipes

Madeleines are little French butter cakes with classic lemon scents. They can be a bit tricky and need a fair amount of confidence to turn out just right. Madeleines come in many different flavors such as chocolate, rose and vanilla. Some people even add mini chocolate chips or a glaze. This recipe is fairly straightforward for the classic lemon taste. Ingredients: 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of salt 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest Powdered sugar (optional) Equipment: Small saucepan Small bowl 2 medium mixing bowls Measuring cups and spoons Whisk Spatula 2 madeleine pans Pastry brush Small sieve for dusting with powdered sugar (optional) Directions: Melt the butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. If you feel you can get it slightly toasty brown, go right ahead and do so by leaving it to bubble in the pan until it smells toasty and starts to color. Just remember that the butter will turn very quickly from toasty to burnt and that it will continue to color after it is off the heat unless you pour it into a new container. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the butter into a small bowl or cup and set aside. Let the rest of the butter cool slightly. Prepare the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in separate bowls. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the flour and the sugar, and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk the 2 eggs with the vanilla, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest until the eggs are frothy. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Add the eggs to the flour. Using a spatula, stir until just combined. Add the remaining 1 stick melted butter and continue to stir. It may take a minute for the butter to blend into the mixture but do not over mix. Rest the batter. Cover the bowl with a plate (or plastic wrap) and place in the refrigerator to rest at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Prepare the pans. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon flour to the 3 tablespoons reserved butter and stir to combine. Using a pastry brush, brush the interiors of the shells with the butter-flour mixture so that they are well coated. Place the pans in the freezer for at least an hour. Preheat the oven and fill pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the batter from the refrigerator and one pan from the freezer. Fill each well in the madeleine pan with 1 tablespoon of the batter. Remove the other pan and fill in the same way. Bake the madeleines. Place both pans on a baking sheet for easy handling and place in the oven. Check after 8 minutes and rotate plans. Check again 5 minutes later. The madeleines should be browning around the edges and puffed up a little in the middle. Using your forefinger, press lightly on the center hump — when the madeleines are finished baking, it should spring back at your touch. Cool and dust with sugar. Remove the madeleines from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Using a fork, gently loosen the madeleines from their molds and then tip the whole pan out onto a cooling rack or tea towel. Once cool, dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve. If you are freezing or storing the madeleines, do not dust with the sugar until you are about to serve. To store. Store cooled madeleines in an airtight container for a few days or freeze them in a double wrapping of plastic wrap for several months. Let the cakes defrost before dusting with sugar. Source: the Kitchn