Potato Soup Revisited

The weather around here has finally been getting warmer and I am very excited for summer and the cookouts that go along with that. So you're probably wondering why I am posting a soup recipe.... Really I just had a craving for potato soup.

A while back I posted a recipe for Potato Soup that was pretty good. But today I decided to see if I could tweak the recipe to come up with a new and better flavor. I think I really hit the mark with this one. The flavor was perfect.

Potato Soup

5-6 russet potatoes, cut into bite size chunks
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup celery, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
kosher salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/4 cups milk divided
3 tbsp flour
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Boil the potatoes for about 8-10 minutes. While the potatoes are boiling heat the oil and butter in a stock pot over medium heat.

Chop the vegetables and drop into the hot oil/butter. Cook the vegetables until the onions are translucent (about 3-4 minutes).

When the potatoes are done remove from heat, drain the water, and put back into the pan. Lightly mash the potatoes so some are mashed and some are left intact.

When the vegetables are translucent, add the spices then the white wine. Let the wine cook down for 1 minute.

Next add the chicken broth and potatoes and bring to a simmer.

Combine 1/4 cup of milk with 3 tbsp flour, mixing well to make sure there are no lumps. Add to the simmering broth.

Next add the milk and shredded cheese.

Let everything simmer for a few minutes, taste testing to see if you need any more salt or pepper.

It's hoagy time again!

One of my favorite Italian dishes is Chicken Parmesan. I love the combination of crispy crust, salty Parmesan cheese, and tangy tomato sauce. It's only natural that I would figure out a way to put it on a hoagy roll. But in all honesty, tonight's dinner sort of came together by accident. I desperately need to do a large grocery trip but I was trying to figure out a way to make dinner with out going to the store tonight. So putting together the last 2 hoagy rolls, 1 1/2 chicken breasts, and left over sauce from the pizza I made on Sunday I came up with these Garlic Chicken Parmesan Hoagies. The best part about this dinner is that it came together in under 30 minutes!

Garlic Chicken Parmesan Hoagies

Ingredients

2 hoagy rolls
1 1/2 chicken breasts (about 1/2 pound)
1 egg, whisked
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used plain because that's all that I had but Italian work)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, enough to coat the bottom of a pan
1/2 cup marinara sauce
Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese for topping

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. When the oven is ready put the hoagy rolls in (bottom open side up top open side down) Set a timer and take them out after 8 minutes.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a pan. Cut the chicken into bite size chunks. In a bowl combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Dip the bite size chicken chunks in the egg, then the bread crumb mixture, then put in the hot skillet. Cook the chicken 2 1/2 minutes on both sides (it will cook really quickly since pieces are so small but check one to make sure it's not pink inside before taking out of skillet). While the chicken is cooking heat the marinara sauce in the microwave.

When the chicken is done, assemble the hoagies in the following order: sauce, chicken, a little more sauce, then cheese. Put back in the oven and cook for a few minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Maiden Voyages

Treat #2 for the World Champions!

The competition that the girls won at worlds was the choreography competition. For this competition each dance school comes up with an original story that is read before the dance begins. Then, the dance should tell the story through both traditional Irish dancing techniques as well as original choreography. The story that our choreography tells is called 'Maiden Voyages'. It tells a tale of young Irish girls who have to leave Ireland and travel to America because their families have no money. Once they arrive in America they start out working as maids and eventually rise to become part of the middle class of America.

So, long story short, I tried to make these cookies look like little ships to represent the story. I was going to pipe milk chocolate on the cookies to look like wood planks, but it was 80 degrees here and we had not yet turned on our air conditioning, so that didn't go so well. To make these ships I used round cookie cutters and then cut the circles in half. When the cookies were finished, but still warm, I stuck a toothpick in them with papers I cut to look like sails. The girls seemed pretty excited when they saw the cookies, so I think I got my point across, even if they weren't as "ship like" as I had hoped.

Brownie Roll Out Cookies
(Source: Smitten Kitchen)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup lightly salted butter, softened (Deb note: I don’t really see “lightly salted” much these days, so I used one stick salted, one stick unsalted)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used the “good” stuff–Droste or Galler–but I can assure you that my mother only used Hershey’s growing up, so your choice)

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. (It does disappear once baked, though, so don’t overly fret if they go into the oven looking white.) Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Taking on the World....

That's what a group of dancers from McGing (the school where I teach Irish dancing) did just 2 weeks ago. The World championships for Irish dancing are held every year during Easter week and this year, for the first time ever, they were held in the United States. Also, for the first time, a group of dancers from our school won FIRST PLACE!! Our junior choreography team took first place. We also had a soloist take first in the under 21 competition. Needless to say, it's a pretty exciting time at our dance studio.

To celebrate their win the choreography team is having a party/lock-in at the dance studio tonight and I thought it was a great excuse to bake something cute. I decided to make sugar cookies with a world on them. Turns out, making world cookies with royal icing takes a royal amount of time. I wound up doing half royal icing worlds and half buttercream "1's". I think they turned out pretty well, but I wish they were a little smoother. Next time I will use a smaller piping tip for the outline, I think it will be easier to work with. I'm also making another treat which I will update later today.


Sugar Cookies
(source: Good Things Catered)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp lemon zest
5 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Powdered sugar, for rolling

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Cream butter and sugars in a mixer for 5 minutes.
-Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly.
-Add vanilla, almond, and lemon zest.
-Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt a little at a time.
-Do not over mix, this process should take about one minute.
-Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut right away.
-Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies for 7-8 minutes.
-Wait until cookies are cooled before icing.


Royal Icing
(Source: Annie's Eats, she has great instructions for working with the royal icing)

Royal Icing
Ingredients:
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. meringue powder
5 tbsp. water

Chicken Philly Take Two

Jesse is not a huge fan of leftovers. Usually he'll only eat left over soups and chili, anything else he turns his nose up at... that is unless I can come up with a creative way to disguise the leftovers and turn them into a new meal! That's exactly what I did tonight. I made this pasta with leftover chicken philly filling (say that 3 times fast). I love it when dinner is these is easy and TASTY! Here's what I did....

1. Heat leftover filling in skillet with 1 clove of garlic (pressed), pinch of red pepper flakes, pinch of thyme, pinch of cayenne pepper and pinch of paprika.
2. Add 1/2 cup white wine and reduce by half.
3. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and a 1/4 cup half and half (and a little parmesan cheese because I was feeling cheesy)
4. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
5. Toss with pasta and serve!

Chicken Philly Hoagy

This post has moved to the Sunny Side :) Click the link for the recipe, I promise it's worth it!

Do these look familiar to you?

Every so often a recipe or idea makes it's way around the food blog world. This is one of those ideas. I'm sure you've already seen it on other food blogs but I just had to give it a try because it is too darn cute! And, I wanted to make something fun to celebrate. I finished my first quarter of nursing school!! And I am *hopefully* going to be getting straight A's! So these are celebratory cupcakes.

It's hard to really cite one source for this idea because I have literally seen it everywhere so I will just link the website that pushed me over the edge today, Beantown Baker. I used the filling and ganache recipe found on her blog but I used a different recipe for the cupcakes.

Hostess Fake Out Cupcakes

Cupcake
Source: Hershey's, This is a recipe I have actually made quite a few times but surprisingly I have never blogged! I think this recipe is a great staple for any kitchen. For these cupcakes I cut this recipe in half.

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water


1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3.Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Filling
Source: Beantown Baker

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine filling ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled. Reserve 1/2 cup of the filling to use for piping the swirls on top of the cupcakes at the end.

Chocolate Ganache
Source: Beantown Baker

1/4 cup cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

In a small saucepan, heat cream until steaming. Remove from the heat, add chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Transfer the frosting to a small bowl and dip the top of each cupcake to thoroughly coat.




Assembly

Cut a hole in the top of the cooled cupcakes (about the size of a quarter). Remove that part of the cupcake. I cut the top off of each "hole" to put over top of the filling once piped and set aside.

Fill the hole in the top of each cupcake with the filling. Then put the hole top over the filling.

Dip the top of each cupcake in the chocolate ganache. Put the cupcakes in the fridge for about 5 minutes to set the ganache.

Pipe the swirls on top of the ganache. Then put back in the fridge to set again for 10-15 minutes.