Leek & Potato Soup

2 bunches Leeks

6 Medium to Large Potatoes

1 Cup of Half and Half

2-3 Tbsp of Butter

1/2 Cup Chopped Onion

1 Quart of Chicken Broth

1 Tsp Powdered Garlic

Salt and Pepper to Taste

2 Tbsp of Fresh Parsley chopped

4 ounces - Cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)

Instructions: 

Clean and chop leeks. Heat butter, add leeks and onion, cook until tender. Add cubed potatoes and broth, and cook until tender. Add Half & Half, and simmer 20 minutes more. Add seasonings and adjust if necessary. Add parsley and cheddar cheese; stir and serve. 

• 3 hrs 30 mins
• Prep: 15 mins,
• Cook: 3 hrs 15 mins
• Yield: 6 to 8 servings
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• 1 (3 1/2- to 5-pound) corned beef brisket
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• Optional: spice packet from the corned beef package
• 2 pounds red potatoes (cut in half)
• 4 carrots (peeled, cut into chunks)
• 1 onion (large dice)
• 3 ribs celery (large dice)
• 1 -2 heads of fresh cabbage
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1. Place the corned beef, 1 teaspoon of the salt, pepper, bay leaf, and contents of the optional spice packet into a large pot along with three quarts of cold water.
2. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
3. Add the remaining salt if needed, potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery. Simmer covered for 30 minutes.
4. Add the cabbage wedges and cook for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes and vegetables are tender.
5. Remove from the pot and let rest for 10 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
6. Slice the corned beef against the grain and serve in a bowl topped with cabbage, vegetables, and some of the cooking liquid. Accompany with dark bread and mustard on the side.

Variations on this recipe are limited only to what the chef prefers, really. A small peeled and diced rutabaga or a few turnips can be added along with the vegetables for a more earthy flavor. Some sliced parsnips can be substituted for the potatoes or included along with them for a bit of variety.For a slightly different flavor, use sweet onions instead of standard yellow onions and add with the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Alternatively, try adding a few small peeled boiling onions.    

Do you like a moist potato or a dry fluffy one? How about the skin? Dry and crisp or with a light coating of oil? Do you like the skin to have a light coating of salt or be rolled in oil and dried herbs? All of these choices are possible, let’s start at the beginning.

Most of the upscale steak houses such as Morton’s or Smith & Wollensky use an Idaho® Russet Burbank variety potato. They typically choose a 40 or 50 count potato, which weighs about a pound each. Budget steakhouses such as Sizzler or Golden Corral typically use a slightly smaller potato, such as a 70 count or 80 count, the same size you’ll find at most grocery stores in the loose potato displays. Since they use their ovens for lots of different food cooking applications the chances are that they are cooking the potatoes longer and hotter than you do at home. The potato is done when the internal temperature is 210°F or a minimum of 185°F.

If you want a little moister baked russet potato choose the Russet Norkotah. This is the variety commonly sold in grocery stores. Personally I find that this variety needs to be baked a little longer, typically ten more minutes.

Of course, I am assuming that you looked for the “Grown in Idaho®” seal on the nearby bagged russets and found that Idaho is one of the few states (in fact, the first) to label the variety right on the bag or plastic white enclosure tag, called a quick lock. Look for the words Russet Norkotah or Russet Burbank or other Idaho variety names such as Ranger, Umatilla, Alturas, etc. If you find a variety you like, ask the produce buyer to continue to stock it.

Don’t store the potatoes in the refrigerator; the natural starches will convert to sugar and the potato will taste sweet when baked. Store in a cool dark place such as your pantry or where you store your dry cereals.

Don’t wrap the potato in foil, this just steams the potato and makes the skin wet. Yes, some restaurants do this but primarily they are trying to hold the potatoes longer and dress them up. The brown skin may not be the prettiest vegetable but it does not improve the flavor when the 80% or so water content is trapped inside a wrapper.

At home, I just set the oven at 400°F and then wash off the potatoes using a brush to get any dirt or sand out of the deep set eyes. I use a fork to pierce the potato on both sides to let steam escape and then I place the potatoes (with spacing around each) in the oven right on the racks so they will cook evenly and faster than if bunched together or on a cold metal tray. Use one hour as your guideline, some potatoes may bake in a little less time but with various sizes and different oven temps (have you had your oven checked to see if it is the same temp as the dial? The gas or electric service usually will do this and calibrate the oven for free).

When a potato is done baking you can usually start to smell the aroma leaking out of the oven or vent. Pull one of the potatoes and poke it with a fork till you don’t see the tines of the fork. Just like baking a cake, the fork should come out nearly clean once the potato is thoroughly baked. Or, use a meat thermometer and check the temp to see if you are above 185°F. If you need to hold a potato until dinner is ready, turn off the oven but keep the door closed and the heat will stay in for another 10-15 minutes. That’s about how long it takes for me to start a steak on the BBQ, 8 minutes on the first side and six on the second if the propane gas has already heated the BBQ grill to 300-400°F and is turned on high.

Don’t cut a baked potato with a knife, it just compresses the starch cells and when the interior glazes over the butter or sour cream will make it soggy. I open the potato with a fork, cutting a cross into the top of the potato. Then I push in both ends of the potato and it will blossom open, just like at your favorite steak house. If the potato is still moist inside I pop it into the micro wave for 30-45 seconds, pull it out and put on salt, pepper, sour cream or cottage cheese or low fat yogurt. For a healthier option (which I love for a lunch entree) I put fresh salsa on the potato with no dairy products. It tastes great.

• 1/2 pound broccoli rabe 
• 1 small onion, diced 
• 3 garlic clove, diced 
• 1/2  pound sausage, no casing 
• 3/4  pound ricotta cheese (whole milk) 
• 1/2  cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3  tablespoons grated cheese 
• 1 egg
• 2 pie crusts for bottom and top
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 

Sauté garlic and oil until lightly browned and add broccoli rabe; sauté until tender. Strain the broccoli rabe and garlic mixture to remove the excess liquid. Chop the mixture finely, and set aside for later use. Cook the sausage meat and the diced onions until the mixture is fully cooked.  Drain the sausage mixture of any excess liquid.  Make sure the sausage and onion mixture is chopped, without any large pieces of meat. Add sausage mixture to the broccoli rabe mixture.  Blend well.  Next, add the ricotta, mozzarella, grated cheese and egg.   Stir until mixed well.  Add broccoli rabe and sausage mixture to the pie crust, and distribute evenly.  Add pie crust over the top.  Cut a vent hole in the center of the pie. Pinch the edges of the two crusts together. Brush the top of the pie and the edges with a beaten egg yolk.    Place pie on a cookie sheet, and bake at 375° for 45 minutes to an hour, or until golden brown. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving 3 

Makes  6 to 8 servings

6  Large Apples  ( A mix of different apples is great)

3  Tablespoons sugar

3  Teaspoons ground cinnamon

2  Teaspoons instant tapioca

1  Baked  9-inch pie shell

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

CRUMB TOPPING

1 1/2 cups flour

1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup ( 1 1/2 sticks) butter

Preheat the oven to 375*F

Peel, core, and slice the apples and place in a large bowl. Add the sugar,

cinnamon, and tapioca and stir together until the apples are well coated.

Spoon the apple mixture into the pie shell. Dot with butter or margarine

and set aside.

For the crumb topping, place the flour, cinnamon, and sugar in a large

bowl and cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the

mixture has the texture of course cornmeal. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the apples.

Bake the pie for 40 to 45 minutes.

Enjoy the Taste of Fall

• 2 eggplants, cut      lengthwise into 1/8 or 1/4 inch slices
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/4 cup milk 
• bread crumbs
• salt to taste 
• vegetable or olive oil 
• Prepared tomato sauce 

Filling

• 1 ½ pounds ricotta cheese
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese grated 
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

Dip the eggplant slices in egg and milk mixture, then coat with bread crumbs, both sides. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot and fry eggplant until golden brown; drain on paper towels. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together all of the filling ingredients.

In a large baking pan, place sauce on bottom of pan to cover. 

Spread a thin layer of cheese mixture onto each slice of eggplant. Roll up tightly and place seam side down in baking pan. Once the pan is filled with the rollatini pour sauce over the rolls and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Also, sprinkle some Parmesan or Romano cheese over top. 

Bake in preheated 350° oven for 20 - 25 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

  PEACH COBBLER

Ingredients: 

 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, melted

· 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

· 1 cup all-purpose flour

· 2 teaspoons baking powder

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 1 cup milk

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 3 to 4 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, thinly sliced

· 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°. 

Pour melted butter into a 2-quart baking dish (11x7 or 8-inch square). In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir to blend. Stir in the milk and vanilla until blended. Pour the batter over the melted butter. Toss the peaches with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Arrange the peach slices over the batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. The top will be browned and the cake will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Serve warm with a little heavy cream, whipped topping, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Serves 6.

• 2 pounds broccoli rabe (Approximately  2 Bunches)
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced      
• 1 pound sausage, hot or sweet 
• ½ teaspoon hot red crushed pepper      
• Salt & pepper to taste 
• Cooked pasta (optional) 

In a large frying pan, brown sausage. After sausage is cooked, cut into approximately 1/4" circular pieces and set aside. Cut off about 2 inches from the bottom stem of the broccoli rabe; rinse well and drain. In a large pot, put in broccoli rabe and add approximately 4 cups of water, cover and steam on medium-high until tender, stirring occasionally.  In colander, drain broccoli rabe and set aside. In the same empty pot put in oil and garlic and sauté garlic until lightly browned. Add broccoli rabe, sausage, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to the sautéed garlic and oil and stir together. If desired, place broccoli rabe over cooked pasta and serve.  

• 2 heads broccoli, cut into small pieces 
• 1/2 cup golden raisins or dried cranberries      
• 1/2 small onion, red or white, diced     
• 1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled     
• 3/4 cup of cashew nuts

• 1-1/4 cups mayonnaise 
• 3-4 tablespoons red wine or balsamic  vinegar     
• 1/3 cup sugar 

In a large bowl, mix together all the salad ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over broccoli and stir until well coated.  Chill and serve.