Creamy Cheesy Potato and Onion Soup with Cheesy Bread

Fry up the onions in olive oil and butter.






Add diced potatoes, 1 tbls of dried rosemary, salt and rub thyme to sprinkle some on top.






Mash 8 to 10 cloves of garlic.











Freshly cracked pepper adds a nice kick, try not to grind it down too much.

In a saucepan, add 1/4 cup Half & Half or light heavy cream to 1 cup milk. Add a sprinkle of pepper, 1 tsp of curry and dry mustard and whisk.









Tear off bits of soft white cheese and put up to 8 oz into the cream sauce, whisking gently the whole time to ensure it mixes well. Then mix 4 oz of water with 2 tbls of flour and then blend it into the sauce.

Pour in the sauce and mix well.










2 tbls of real soy sauce added to the bacon adds an interesting twist of flavor.

Continue to fry the bacon until crisp. Drain very well and set aside to crumble over the bowl of soup.

Add the bacon and soy sauce drippings from the pan.

1 cup warm water 1 1/2 tsp yeast and a sprinkle of sugar set aside to proof for 5 minutes. Then in another bowl mix together with your fingers 2 cups flour 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp sugar. Slowly add the proofed yeast and mix by hand until you have a tacky well mixed ball of dough. Set it on the counter and wash out the bowl. Wipe or spray in olive oil and after kneading the dough a couple times, set it in the bottom and cover the top tightly with plastic wrap.

Put the crockpot insert into the oven with it's lid set in place. Remember the lid may not have any plastic or metal pieces! Set the dough on the back burner of the pre-heating oven (400 degrees) to rise for one hour. Shred 6 to 8 oz of cheese and fold in the cheese. Open the oven and with mits open the lid and plop the dough into the center of the pot, put the lid back on top and close up the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and allow to bake for another 10 minutes to brown the crust. You can eat this hot if you'd like!

Aprons

The apron is a relic of a lost time. Bringing images of Thanksgivings at Grandma's house. Some stained bit of ratty fabric found crumpled in the back of a drawer.

The apron, like many other culinary tools, is a vital part of the success of any dish you produce. This ancient tool has been reduced to a dishtowel in modern kitchens.

A shamefully abused article of clothing for selling infomercial indoor grills. Even celebrity chefs throw a flour sack towel over a shoulder of their perfectly matched and efficiently starched jackets and often opt out of the versatile half apron to complete the unsullied look.

But the apron is beginning to see a revival. As more people begin to appreciate the importance of using this tool in the process of creating in the kitchen, the more we allow ourselves to stretch and experiment beyond the recipe card.

Which in turn reflects in the quality of the food we create. As you should wash these anytime you handle any oils, fats, or animal products you will need at least three or four. You can buy them anywhere but keep an eye out for vintage ones at thrift shops and church basement stores as they were usually well made.

Creamed chicken with orzo pasta and vegetables

In a pan, melt 3 tbls butter with 2 tbls of olive oil. Add a small handful of fresh thyme sprigs. Add chicken thighs and then slowly pour 1/4 cup of red wine on top. I avoid using store bought cooking wines and sherries and use a bottle of cabernet. 

 Slice up mushrooms, green peppers, celery, and English muffins.

 Drizzle olive oil over the bottom halves of the bread.

 Rub the bunch of thyme vigorously to release the oils and 

sprinkle a handful of thyme leaves.

 Boil the orzo.

 Pan fry the chicken until browned and then turn over.

 Cook for five more minutes.

 Dish out a heap of orzo on top of each bread bottom.

 Place chicken on top.

 Scrape all of the browned bits off the bottom of the pan, adding one cup of water, warming over a medium flame.

 Melt and stir until smooth, 1/4 cup of cream cheese. Then stir in a pint of heavy cream, flake salt, freshly ground pepper, and 1 tsp of ground oregano and garlic. Pour the cream sauce on top of everything.

 Slice the English muffin tops and tuck the slices around the edges. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

 Let rest for five minutes and then serve.

Potato, Onion, and Cheese Pierogies with Sour Cream and Chive Sauce

I totally changed the recipe to something even easier to handle.
They turned out to be even tastier than the previous recipe when we made them for the most recent International Dinner.

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 large egg (or 1/4 cup applesauce)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup butter

Filling:

3 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 Vidalia onion, chopped

3 clove garlic, minced

1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Sour Cream and Chive Sauce:

1/2 stick butter, cut into 1 tablespoon portions

1/4 cup chives, chopped

1/4 cup sour cream

sprinkle of sugar

splash of heavy cream (in place of these two last ingredients you can put in a nice healthy helping of whipped real heavy cream from a can if you'd like. It's how I do it and it creates the most beautiful creamy foam.)

For the dough:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sour cream and butter. Mix with your fingers until well blended. Add in the applesauce until the mixture is combined.

Turn the dough onto a well floured surface. Knead it gently. Knead only until the ingredients are blended and the dough is smooth and slightly sticky, about 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to over work the dough.

Cover the dough and let rest for five minutes.

For the filling:

Put the potatoes in a medium pot and add just enough cold, salted water to cover them. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

While the potatoes cook, melt the butter and oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion and garlic cooking until the onion turns translucent, about 2 minutes. Lower the heat and continue cooking until onions caramelize slightly, about 20 minutes. You may need to add a bit more butter as the onion and garlic mixture cooks. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside to cool.

When the potatoes are soft, drain them in a colander and lightly press out the remaining moisture. Return them to the pot, remove from heat and add the cooled onion mixture and the cheese. Mash them just until blended and large lumps are gone. Season again with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool while you roll out the pierogi dough.

Assembly and cooking instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. With lightly floured hands, pinch off one third of the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Using a large glass, cut out as many circles as possible, using up all of the dough.

On a well floured surface, lay out the rounds. Hold one in the palm of your hand, filling the center of it with a generous tablespoon of the potato mixture. Lightly dampen the outside edge of the dough, fold, and then use a fork to crimp them firmly shut to enclose the filling. 

As you work, set your filled pierogi aside on a very lightly floured surface, too much flour will dry them out and pop them open. 

Working in batches, drop no more than 6 pierogi at a time into the boiling water. After they float back to the surface, dunk them into a cold water bath and then drain and slide them onto a greased cookie sheet.

Sauce:

In a Pyrex bowl add all of the sauce ingredients and cover with a paper towel. Put in microwave 30 seconds and then beat with an egg beater. Heat for another 30 seconds and then beat again. Then set aside.

Sauté and serve:

To finish the dish, melt two tbls of butter in a pan over medium heat and briefly sauté them in batches until they are slightly crispy and brown on the exterior.

Transfer to a serving dish and top with Sour Cream Garlic-Chive Sauce.

Here is my fiance Bob filling and crimping the pierogies.

 Boiling them until they pop to the surface.

 Cooling them once they've popped up, makes them plop straight to the bottom.

 Then they are laid out on greased cookie sheets.

 Then fried in oil and butter. Lots and lots of butter!

Buttery Garlic Pan Bread

This is very similar to Jack Astor's Garlic Pan Bread, only better. Besides containing half the fat and calories, you can switch up the types of flours you use to increase the fiber content and improve the flavor like I have.

2 1/4 tsp yeast in 1 cup warm water (1/4 cup warm water)
6 tlbs cool beer
3 cups bread flour/whole grain flour/barley (use a variety of flour to change the flavor and texture of the dough)
3 tbls sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tbls olive oil

5 tbls butter with 3 tsp powdered garlic and 3 tsp oregano melted







Mix water and yeast. Set aside to proof. Mix sugar and salt into flour, and then with your fingertips, incorporate the oil into the flour. Add proofed yeast and then the cool beer. Slowly add another 1/4 cup of warm water and mix until the dough rolls into a nice rubbery ball.

Let the dough sit under a towel for five minutes while you wash the dishes and wipe down the counter. Rub unsalted butter onto the bottom of a pie pan and sprinkle lightly with powdered garlic and oregano.

Knead the dough in a little bit of flour for one minute, cut the dough into eight even pieces and roll in your palms to ball up, then cover with the cleaned bowl you used to mix the dough in. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Let rise for one hour. Place into the pie pan and put it on the back burner of your stove and cover with the bowl and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Bake for aprox. 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Pull out and set on the back burner to start to cool. While still hot melt the butter with the garlic and oregano and then pour all over the bread.

This is one of those few times where you can eat these hot out of the oven!

Baklava

Place the chopped walnuts in a bowl, pour two ounces of melted butter on top.

Heat 2 cups of brown sugar in 2 cups of water 1/4 cup of honey and a squirt of real lime juice until a light syrup forms. Then set aside.

Pour 2 tablespoons of syrup over the nuts and combine the syrup, walnut and butter mixture for 10 seconds until shiny and well-mixed.

Grease the pan with some melted butter. Pour the butter in one bowl. Set brush nearby.

Open the package of Phyllo; unroll it. Count the sheets: you should have 22 sheets of Phyllo. You will use 10 sheets for the bottom and 10 sheets for the top layer. That leaves 2 sheets for the middle section.



Using the brush, wipe two tbls butter on the pan. Brush for a few seconds to spread it all around.Take 2 sheets of the Phyllo and place in the pan; wipe butter at different spots on the pan.

Take 2 more sheets, repeat the operation; take 2 more sheets, then 2 then 2, until all 10 sheets have been used.

Take 1 sheet of scrap and crumple it up like a piece of tissue paper. Place on the pan, and crumple 5 more sheet until all are crumpled and placed side by side.

Drizzle butter on all the crumpled sheets generously.

Place two sheets of Phyllo on top of the crumpled sheets to prepare a smooth surface for placing the walnuts.

Using a large spoon, place the nuts all over and smooth out the layer with the back of the spoon.

Now that the pan is covered with a layer of nuts, cover with the remaining 10 sheets of Phyllo; take 2 sheets at a time, brushing with butter going up and down until all 10 sheets are used up.

Take a knife with a dull edge or a spatula, run all around the pan tucking the phyllo into the pan so that it is neatly tucked.

With the sharp knife, cut 3 columns and 4 rows; you will obtain 12 squares. Cut diagonal lines in the squares to obtain 24 triangles.

Brush butter on top of pan. Place the pan in a 400F oven for 30 minutes or until the baklava appears toasted and a deep gold.

Pour the syrup on the baklava when you pull it out of the oven; use a tablespoon and pour the hot syrup one spoon at a time in the cut sections of the baklava; use as much syrup as your taste dictates, reserving the extra syrup for people who want to pour more on their plate.

After having drizzled the syrup, let it sit uncovered for a few hours, then cut the individual pieces.