just a pinch.

Cauliflower Veloute with Crispy Bacon and Chives

I feel like I’ve only recently turned into a soup lover. Maybe when I was little girl growing up I enjoyed a nice bowl of Campbell’s but over the recent years it’s nothing that I’ve ever really craved. Come to think of it, I’ve never really been too fond of cauliflower either, funny how your taste buds change. Anyway this is a very velvety soup, hence why I am calling it a veloute. Using whole milk instead of cream doesn’t only cut down on the calories but it is a major slash in fat. Feel free to use 2%…mayyyyybe even try 1% but I definitely wouldn’t use skim. You won’t get that beautiful creamy taste and I truly believe that whole milk is easier for our bodies to digest over skim milk. Seeing how a thick and creamy soup can sometimes be a bit boring in the texture department I decided to cook off bacon and crumble over top with fresh chives for added crunch and color.

Ingredients:

2 strips nitrate free bacon (I use 40% lean peppered bacon found at Whole Foods)

1 white onion, small dice

1 head cauliflower, cleaned and chopped into equal size pieces

1 tsp chopped, fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

2 cups low sodium vegetable stock

2 cups milk

1/3 cup sour cream

salt and pepper

olive oil

chopped chives for garnish

Render the bacon in a large dutch oven. Remove when crispy and place on a paper towel lined plate.

Add onions and a little sprinkle of salt and cook in rendered bacon fat until onions are soft and translucent. Add cauliflower, thyme and bay leaf and stir to coat well with the bacon fat.

Add vegetable broth and milk. Bring to a simmer and cook until cauliflower is very tender, about 20 minutes. Make sure the broth does not come to a full boil, you don’t want to curdle the milk.

When the cauliflower is tender, you can test with a knife, turn the heat off. If you have a hand mixer now is the time to use it or transfer the soup in batches into your blender until soup is velvety and smooth. Return back to the pot. Stir in sour cream and season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with crumbled bacon, chives and a drizzle of olive oil. As we all know, like most one pot meals, it is always even tastier the next day!

Smoky Sweet Potato Stacks

Every time my boyfriend craves french fries I always offer up my famous sweet potato fries. Okay, well famous might be a tad bit of a stretch but at least he loves them. I love them too, but as a Chef it is my job to switch things up a bit every now and again so this past week I decided to make these sweet potato stacks. They are a delicious mix of sweet, salty and spicy all packed in one little stack. Finished off with a refreshing dallop of chilled sour cream and a sprinkle of chives makes for a perfect two-bite hors d’oeuvre.

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

2-3 tbsp butter

1-2 tbsp freshly chopped sage

large pinch of hot smoked paprika

course sea salt

sour cream for garnish

freshly chopped chives for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Give the sweet potato a good scrub, because you will be keeping the skin on (looooots of nutrients in that beautiful orange skin that is always being peeled off). Slice the sweet potato into very thin slices, hopefully you have a mandolin or a very steady hand.

Heat butter in a small sauce pan and bring up to a simmer. It will start to foam a bit, don’t be nervous because this is what you are looking for. When the foam subsides stir in the chopped sage.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Begin to make your stacks, you want 10 sweet potatoes per stack. Each layer needs to have a little brushing of the sage brown butter and repeat until there are 10 sweet potato slices. Don’t worry if the layers don’t match up perfectly, they won’t and it looks beautiful and rustic that way. Repeat with as man stacks as possible. Sprinkle a bit of the paprika on top of each stack then a nice big pinch of your preferred course sea salt, I normally opt for the grey celtic sea salt.

Place the baking sheet into the oven and cook for about 30 minutes until the edges are beautifully browned and golden, gives the potatoes and needed crunch.

Let the potatoes cool for a bit when they come out of the oven, you may need to adjust a few that shimmied around a bit in the oven. Top with sour cream and chives as I did or obviously you’re the chef so top them off with whatever you choose! Best served at room temperature.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

I remember when I was a little girl, being a extremely picky eater with a normal diet of fresh bread and butter at any restaurant we went to. My mom worked at a German/American restaurant called the Spa Brauhaus which my grandfather would take us to every once in a while, well…who am I kidding? It was his, my nearly 100% Irish grandfathers’, favorite place to wine and dine so we were there for far more than just special occasions. So, back to my point. Besides my diet existing of bread and butter (which by the way, they had THE best dinner buns) I loved their twice baked potatoes. Crispy skin on the outside and fluffy whipped potatoes on the inside, delicious. We all know that the Germans are quite the heavy eaters so when I think back to that delicious twice baked potato I’m glad I didn’t know then what I know now about the loads of butter and cream they most likely used to whip those potatoes to perfection. With a returning craving I decided to see how a sweet potato worked.

Sweet potatoes are just that, sweet. They have such a unique flavoring and knowing that they taste just as good, or sometimes better, when I substitute them for an ordinary potato in something like french fries, I had to do a little taste testing. When choosing the best sweet potato go for the ones with a darker orange skin because they will have more beta carotene…and yes, you can eat the skin! Though “sweets” are something we are normally adding to our forbidden food lists, they may actually be a beneficial food for diabetics, as preliminary studies have revealed that it helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and to lower insulin resistance…who would have thought?!

Here I share with you the recipe for a delicious and nutritious twice baked sweet potato!

1 Large sweet potato, try to find one with that is straight

olive oil

2 tbsp low fat organic sour cream

2 tbsp thinly sliced scallions or chives, plus extra for garnishing

Cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce (optional if you want to kick up the spice)

pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Slice Sweet potatoes cross wise into thick pieces (see photo). Rub them with olive oil, be generous or they may get a bit too dark in the oven. Place on a oiled baking sheet and roast for about 35-40 minutes or until tender and “scoopable.”

When cool enough to handle scoop out the majority of the insides and place into a bowl leaving enough flesh attached so that when you refill them the “cup” is sturdy enough to hold the filling. Add your sour cream, scallions or chives, spice, salt and pepper to the sweet potato flesh. Always taste to see if you need to adjust the seasonings a bit to fit your taste buds.

Using a spoon refill your sweet potato cups enough so it makes a mound. Place back into your pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are reheated through and slightly browned. Top with more chives or scallions and enjoy!

*Chef’s Note: After I tasting them I thought…mmmhmmm, should have added bacon! A great peppered bacon to purchase is one they sell at whole foods that is 40% lean with NO nitrates! When I go back this week I’ll get the brand name for everyone :)