Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Squash Soup

Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Squash Soup

Unknown   November 17, 2014   Comment  

Does the thought of grilled cheese sandwiches get you salivating? I think they are the best and have been dying to make some fancy versions with up-scale ingredients.

When Malcolm and Christie came over for lunch this past weekend I just knew they would enjoy making gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches as much as I would. And they did.  There were many yummy noises as we tried each of the four grilled cheese sandwiches we made. Everyone voted on which was their favourite and the funny thing was we each selected a different sandwich as the best. So they're all winners!

We used two types of bread - multigrain walnut bread and challa bread.  And four kinds of cheese each paired with some delicious ingredients.

I made the caramelized onions the night before as they take a ridiculously long time to cook. Have you ever made them? They are really simple, but cooking them a long time at a low temp is the key.  I chopped four onions added two tablespoons butter and cooked on low for 50 minutes until they were mouth-wateringly caramelized.

I also roasted some red peppers to use and then we set to work making our gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. We buttered the outside of each slice of bread, added the ingredients, and broiled them in the oven.

We also had squash soup with them because grilled cheese and soup go together like a hug and a squeeze, like salt and pepper, like bread and butter ... well, you get the idea. 

I had some frozen squash on hand so used that to make the soup. I modified a recipe from Skinny Taste which tasted great. Here's my version of it:

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons curry powder

4 cups cooked squash

3 cups chicken bouillon

1 400 ml can light coconut milk

pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cook the onion, celery, and garlic in the olive oil until softened (about 10 minutes)

2. Add the spices and cook for a minute longer

3. Then add the bouillon and squash and bring to a boil.

4. Cook for about 15 minutes and then add the coconut milk.

5. Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. 

6. Bring up to heat and serve.

When I looked at my photos that night after we had eaten our grilled cheese sandwhiches I realized about half way though a greasy finger (mine no doubt) had touched my camera lens and all the photos looked like the one below with the greasy smear on the top half of the photo. Thank heavens for Picmonkey so with careful cropping I was able to get some photos for this post.

Have you ever made gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches?  I thought they were so delicious that I had to have them again the next day for lunch. I would seriously eat them every day if I could.

Fiskesuppe - Norwegian Fish Soup

Fiskesuppe - Norwegian Fish Soup

Unknown   Februari 01, 2014   Comment  

We are a soup-loving family and one of our favourites is fiskesuppe (fish soup).  I discovered the recipe when we were cooking our way around the world and got to Norway.  Fiskesuppe is a traditional Norwegian chowder made with an assortment of fish and root vegetables (the original recipe called for tilapia, salmon, cod, and shrimp, but I've streamlined the recipe to include one reasonably-priced fish).

I have made it many times so this recipe is definitely tried-and-true.  I posted about it when I first started my blog (here).  I didn't get a very good photo of the soup back then, so I'm re-posting the recipe with new photos.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups (1 litre) water with 4 teaspoons of chicken bouillon

2 bay leaves

2-3 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 celery root, peeled and chopped

1 parsley root, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon cider vinegar 

1 teaspoon sugar

200-300 gms (about 10 ozs) fish - I used rainbow trout, but any fish would work 

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons flour 

1 1/2 cups (1/3 litre) cream or milk

PREPARATION:

Bring water, bouillon, and bay leaves to boil in stock pot.

Add vegetables and cook for 15 minutes.

Cut fish into smaller pieces and add to pot.

Bring to a boil again and turn down heat to simmer for about 5 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

Add vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Stir flour into cream/milk and add mixture gradually while simmering.

Remove bay leaves and serve.

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I actually spent some time analyzing soup photos from the blog Skinnytaste.com.  I love her photos - she always makes everything look so mouthwatering.  I took lots of photos - learning from her styling and trying different props - so I have a bit of a photo glut happening here.

Here are my takeaways:
1.  If you are taking the photos the day after you made the soup, you should re-heat your soup because otherwise you will be able to see the oil droplets on the surface.  Ooops!
2.  Using a mat with obvious horizontal and vertical lines can drive you crazy trying to get it straight and can't be fixed with photo-editing
3. I love how Skinnytaste styles her photos so I tried to do similar arrangements and for the first time was happy with them.   I especially like the one with the carrots.  I also finally found a good place to take photos in our kitchen which makes me happy because I'm trying to streamline my food photography.  It is hard to think clearly and be creative when everyone wants dinner and you are rushing to take photos.

What do you think?  Which ones are your favourites?

P.S.  I learned something else.  I wasn't able to find parsley roots at the grocery store this time, but saw parsnips and thought they were the same thing with different names so bought them to use for the soup.  However, when I googled parsnips and parsley root it turns out they just look the same, but taste different.  I put them in anyway and guess what?  The soup tasted the same as it always has.  So here is what I learned:  if two vegetables look the same, the difference in taste will not effect the outcome of the recipe (haha) ... or I got lucky!

Cream of Onion and Green Pea Soup

Cream of Onion and Green Pea Soup

Unknown   Januari 15, 2014   Comment  

  

Last weekend I tried out our new stick blender that I got for Christmas from my Mom.  I've been keen to have one of these kitchen gadgets for ages so I could make cream soups, so naturally that was the first thing I made with it.

I found the recipe in my Canadian Living cookbook and then made many changes to it so I had my own unique soup recipe and boy was it good.  I loved it with the sour cream and chopped boiled egg garnish - prettiness and protein all in one.

Here's the recipe in case you want to give it a try (and so I can find it again):

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
3 onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
Oil for cooking
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups chicken stock (or 2 cups water with 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon)
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup skim milk
salt and pepper
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
3 chopped boiled eggs

METHOD
1. Cook onions for 15 minutes until translucent and soft.  Add garlic in last 2-3 minutes of cooking time.
2. Add frozen peas, stock, and lemon juice and cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Blend in batches until smooth and return to the saucepan.
5.  Add the milk and cook just until heated through. 
6.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7.  Garnish with sour cream and chopped eggs.

I've always liked soups, but now that I have a stick blender I'm excited to try even more recipes. Anyone have a creamed soup recipe they love?  What else do you use your stick blender for?