Twice Baked Chipotle Potatoes

When I first read this recipe in Cooking Light I thought it was for Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes. I don't think I ever got over that fact. I was hoping for a twice baked potato that tasted like those super good Mashed Chipotle Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup that I made for Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, these were really good and they came from Cooking Light, so all that cheese and bacon must be good for you right? We had them with BBQ Chicken and Green Beans. It was a nice meal, but next time I will use sweet potatoes for sure and maybe a little maple syrup!

Twice Baked Bacon-Chipotle Potatoes

from Cooking Light
Ingredients
6 medium baking potatoes (about 3 pounds)
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon salt
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (drained)
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Pierce potatoes with a fork. Bake potatoes at 450° for 50 minutes or until done; cool slightly. Cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Combine potato pulp, milk, 3/4 cup cheese and remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Spoon potato mixture evenly into 10 shells; discarding remaining 2 shells. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese evenly over potatoes. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Dutch Potato Soup

I promise I will get back to the kitchen and cooking regularly soon. Last week was a busy week (poor David had to eat frozen pizza), so here is a soup I made a while back but never posted. It was really good, but we made it with Chipotle Biscuits and they stole the show...

Cafe Flora is quickly becoming one of my favorite cookbooks. I have not made anything from this cookbook that I have not loved. This soup is no exception.

Dutch Potato Soup

from Cafe Flora Cookbook

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

Salt

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds potatoes, unpeeled and sliced

4 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon caraway seeds toasted and ground

3/4 cup beer, lager or pilsner

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups smoked Gouda cheese

Freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and saute until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring several times. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the potatoes and stock. Bring the pot to a boil, cover,  and cook the potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Add the ground caraway seeds and beer. Bring to a boil then stir in the cream. Return the soup to a simmer and stir in the cheese, a half cup at a time until it's melted. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, to melt the cheese. DO NOT BOIL, or you will curdle the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve at once. 

Suppa Club #1- Cheese and Potato Soup

I have joined an online supper club that Molly from Batter Splattered started. The premise was that we would all have one meal "together" each week. In the end we agreed that it would be difficult to all have our meal on the same night. This week Molly and a few others are making their soup on Friday. David and I will be at Bad Girls of the North friday night followed by the beer tasting at the Carlson Center. We will be eating brats and potato salad according to the flyer. So, in the end the supper club decided that we would all cook the same recipe sometime during the week. Each week a different person will host the supper by choosing the recipe. We are free (and encouraged) to make any changes as we see fit. To start things off Molly chose a potato soup...

Cheese and Potato Soup
Bon Appetit December 1995

Serves 4.

2 tablespoons vegetables oil
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 10- to 12-ounce russet potato, peeled, diced
1 cup packed shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped ham
Hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
Chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, carrot, onion and thyme and sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over and stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in broth, then milk. Add potato and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup until potato is tender, about 20 minutes. Add cheese 1/3 cup at a time, stirring until melted and smooth after each addition. Mix in ham. Season soup to taste with hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

The results: This soup is a very simple easily adaptable recipe(check out the Bon Appetite site for even more variations). I think I was a little overambitious considering it was the first recipe for the supper club. First off, I am not a big fan of ham, so I knew right away that I would substitute bacon. Then, I doubled the recipe. I used all local veggies from our farmer’s market. The addition of red and blue potatoes would give the soup a nice color. Fresh thyme from my herb garden was substituted for the dried thyme. Medium white cheddar cheese was used instead of the sharp cheddar so the color of the veggies would stand out more. Also, I had a lot of leeks so I used them instead of the onion. When cooking the potatoes I put a few in a pot on the side with half of the chicken broth, when cooked I pureed them with an immersion blender and then added this to the soup. In the end, the combination of leeks, bacon, and the white cheddar made the soup somewhat bitter. It didn’t help that I burned the bacon slightly. The pureed potatoes made the soup a weird consistency, almost as though the milk had curdled (it didn’t). The soup was still good, I am eating it for lunch today. Next time, I won’t make quite so many changes!

Cream of Celeriac and Leek Soup

Tonight was my time to catch up on odds and ends. I wanted to do something with the two cups of Cloudberries I picked before the rain came this summer. I am making a few small (I mean really small) batches of jelly. I'm hoping to save the Highbush Cranberries that I picked tonight and add some more tomorrow night to make a "real" batch of jam. In the meantime, I still have to eat. Tonight I made the Cream of Celeriac and Leek Soup from the Calypso Farm Note. I added a few more potatoes to the recipe, but that is all I really changed. I was worried it wouldn't have much flavor without the addition of any spices beside salt and pepper. The flavor was great, but I wouldn't recommend it for dinner as it is really light. It would make a very nice first course to a fall meal.

Cream of Celeriac and Leek Soup
originally from The Victory Garden Cookbook
3 leeks
1 1/2 pound whole celeriac
1 large potato
3 tablespoons butter
4-5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup light cream (I used about 1/4 cup)
Salt and pepper

Wash and slice leeks, approximately 2 cups. Peel and chop celeriac into 1/2 inch cubes. Peel and coarsely chop potato. Melt butter and cook leeks until wilted. Stir in celeriac and potato, then add 4 cups broth. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Pass through a sieve or puree. If very thick, thin with light cream and additional broth. Season with salt and pepper.

"Dirty Little Potatoes"

Many years ago I had a boss who also became a good friend. She once confided that the only problem she had with her marriage was that she couldn't eat broccoli for dinner anymore. Now, it wasn't that her husband didn't like broccoli, it was just that he wouldn't have been too excited to sit down to a big bowl of broccoli for dinner. For most people in couplehood a dinner consists of more than just a vegetable or two.
Tonight, I picked up the final share of our Calypso Farm CSA.It was more plentiful than most this season. Finally, our share had the potatoes we were promised and the garlic I had heard so much about. We go through two to three head of garlic a week, so this is a nice treat. I remember thinking as the guy from the farm was weighing out my potatoes that they sure were small and dirty. I was in a hurry to get to my yoga class and didn't give it much more thought. All of a sudden during yoga, the thought of those "dirty little potatoes" with fresh garlic was more than I could take. I was trying my best to concentrate on the instructor and our relaxation meditation and just as I was pulling myself together the ice cream truck went by....
Normally on Monday night I try and cook a recipe from the Farm Note that comes with our CSA. Tonight I was on my own for dinner. I decided to have myself a good old fashioned single girl's supper of Pan Browned Brussel Sprouts and Garlic Mashed Potatoes. It seemed like a wonderful way to celebrate the last CSA of the season. I'll cook something from the Farm Note tomorrow night.

Although I didn't really follow the recipe, my inspiration for Pan Browned Brussel Sprouts came from Batter Splattered. I skipped the nuts and just put the Brussel Sprouts on top of the garlic until it all turned brown.