Soup Days Ahead

 Fall is happening, cooler days and chilly nights, crisp leaves falling, and soup time! With these uncertain times it can be unsettling going into fall and winter in this pandemic. Soup can be a comfort food. It has been said "Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite." (from the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts). I agree, soup can be calming, and it is an easy meal to fix - that's calming for the cook! 

We had this Potato Leek Soup to use leeks from our CSA bundle and paired it with ham and cheese sliders (a favorite recipe from the January 29, 2019 post) on a cool day. The cattle crew thought it 'hit the spot'. 

Potato Leek Soup        

 

3 large leeks (about 3 cups, chopped)

2 tablespoons butter

4 cups chicken broth

2 pounds potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon sea salt, less or more to taste

Pinch of dried marjoram

1-2 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Sprinkle of Tabasco sauce or other red chili sauce

White or black pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1.    Clean and cut the leeks: Cut off the roots of the leeks. Cut the leeks lengthwise, fan them open under running water to dislodge any dirt or mud hiding inside. Cut off the tough dark green tops and discard. Slice the white and light green parts of the leeks crosswise into ¼ -inch thick slices. Place the slices in a bowl of cold water and agitate them with your hands to dislodge any remaining dirt. Then scoop out the leeks with a slotted spoon. 

2.    Cook leeks in butter to soften: Melt butter on medium heat in a 3-4 quart thick-bottomed pot. Add the chopped leeks, stir to coat with butter. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low, cook for 10 minutes until the leeks are softened. Check to make sure the leeks are not browning. 

3.    Simmer the soup: Add the broth, diced potatoes, bay leaf, marjoram, thyme, and a teaspoon of salt to the pot. Increase the heat to high to bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through. 

4.    Puree the soup: Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme spring. Use an immersion blender or standing blender to blend about half of the soup if you want a chunky soup, or all or it if you would like your soup to be smoother. 

5.    Season the soup: add the parsley, can cook a few more minutes. Add a few dashes of Tabasco to taste. Add freshly ground pepper and more salt to taste. 

(from Simply Recipes)

 

Sliders for Sharing

Ham and Swiss Cheese Sliders

Being co-hostess for our Extension unit means preparing the entree for the covered dish lunch. I made everything easy by hosting at our church (where several of us were in UMW meeting that morning) and making these sliders for the main dish. I also made it simple by doing much of the preparation the night before. I sliced the rolls (Hawaiian Sweet Rolls) in half, laying the top half on a sheet of wax paper so they could be easily lifted off for filling. I prepared the filling for the cheeseburger sliders and reheated it just before putting it on the rolls. For the ham/cheese sliders I layered the sliced ham and Swiss cheese on the bottom half of rolls and refrigerated overnight. For both recipes, I prepared the mixture of melted butter and other ingredients that is poured over the top, stored in a sealed plastic container in the refrigerator. Cooked and crumbled bacon, toasted sesame seeds, shredded cheese, and sliced pickles were also prepared and stored in containers in the refrigerator. The morning of the meetings, I packed it all and it was quick to assemble just before heating the pans of sliders for the 12:30 lunch. 

I'd been wanting to try these recipes, but didn't think it was a recipe suitable for a light supper with 2 people. Not unless you wanted to serve these as leftovers all week. If you do want a smaller preparation, I'd suggest using a half package of rolls (6) and half of the filling ingredients. 

Cheeseburger Bacon Sliders

Its hard to say which is my favorite! I like the ham and cheese for the simplicity of preparation. But I like the flavor and hardiness of the cheeseburger sliders. Try them both and you decide! 

Savory-Sweet Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders 
2 pkgs. Hawaiian sweet rolls, 12 oz each 
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided use 
1 ½  lbs. ground beef 
1 medium yellow onion, diced 
14 oz. can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained (such as Rotel) 
1/3 cup ketchup 
2 Tbs. spicy brown mustard
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper 
Sliced hamburger dill pickles

½ pound bacon, cooked and chopped into large pieces 

Glaze 
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted 
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard or spicy brown mustard 

1-2 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Leaving the packages of rolls intact, cut each of horizontally in half, then arrange each sheet of bottom halves across the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. (Reserve the top sheets of rolls for later in the recipe.) Sprinkle the rolls with 1 cup shredded cheese. 

3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef with the diced onion until the beef is fully cooked throughout (no longer pink and 165 degrees F internal temperature) and onions are tender and translucent, crumbling the beef as it cooks. Remove the skillet from the heat and drain all fats from the beef mixture. 

4. Return the skillet to the burner over medium heat and stir in the tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper; stir until well combined and heated throughout, 2-3 minutes.

5. Spoon the prepared beef mixture evenly over the cheese and the rolls in the baking dish, then top the beef mixture with the remaining cup of shredded cheese. Sprinkle the cooked, chopped bacon over the cheese, then top with sliced pickles. Lastly, add the reserved sheets of rolls as the top and final layer of the sliders. 

6. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Drizzle this butter mixture over the sliders, then sprinkle the sliders with sesame seeds. 

7. Bake sliders, uncovered, until golden brown and heated throughout, 23-25 minutes. Slice sliders apart and serve at once!

 Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders

¾ cup melted butter

1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds

1 tablespoon dried minced onion

1 pound thinly sliced cooked deli ham

1 pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese

24 mini sandwich rolls

Directions: 

1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 -inch baking dish. 

2.   In a bowl, mix together butter, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, and dried onion. 

3.   Separate the tops from bottoms of the rolls, and place the bottom pieces into the prepared baking dish. Layer about half the ham onto the rolls. Arrange the Swiss cheese over the ham, and top with remaining ham slices in a layer. Place the tops of the rolls onto the sandwiches. 

4.   Pour the mustard mixture evenly over the rolls. 

5.   Bake in the preheated oven until the rolls are lightly browned and the cheese has melted, about 20 minutes. Slice into individual rolls through the ham and cheese layers to serve.