Soup = Kabocha + Leek + Parnsip
Yield 2 quarts what you need:
ginger, chopped, 2/3 oz.
garlic clove, 1 each
white wine, 1 cup
butter, 3 oz.
shallots, sliced thin, 5 oz.
leek whites, sliced thin, 5 oz.
parsnips, diced, 4 oz.
vegetable stock, 1/3 gallon
kabocha squash, roasted pulp, 4 1/2* lbs. *raw weight
heavy cream, hot, 3 oz.
kosher salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste
cinnamon, ground, 1 tsp.
nutmeg, ground, 1 pinch
star anise, 1 pod
how you make it:
1. Combine the ginger,white wine, and garlic and reduce to almost dry. Place in a spice bag with the anise pod..
2. In a large pan, sweat the shallots, leeks, and parsnips with the butter until they are tender.
3. Add the vegetable stock and simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
4. Add the roasted kabocha squash and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the sachet bag.
5. Add the cream and the remaining spices.
6. Puree the whole mixture, adding more stock as necessary to adjust the consistency.
7. Check the soup for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
8. Serve with spiced pecans, creme fraiche, or apple mostarda.
Root = Yam + Chestnut + Pecan + Marshmallow
Yield 3 pounds
what you need:
yams, 3 lbs.
heavy whipping cream, 4 oz.
coconut milk, 4 oz.
honey, 3 oz.
sugar, 2 oz.
cardamom pods, 1 1/5 oz.
cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp.
chestnut puree, 4 oz.
spiced pecans (recipe on blog), 1 cup
marshmallows, 2 cups
how you make it:
1. Bake the yams at 350 degrees until fork tender.
2. Remove the yams and scrape the pulp into a large bowl.
3. Heat the rest of the ingredients in a small sauce pan and reduce by 1/2.
4. Strain the cream mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Mix in with the yams.
5. Place the mixture into a large casserole dish, cover with marshmallows, and bake uncovered at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
6. Remove from the oven and top with spiced pecans. Cool for 15 minutes on a rack at room temperature before serving.
note from corey: "This is a rich twist on the traditional candied yam dish that populates so many Thanksgiving tables around the country. One of our Sous Chefs, Mtele Abubakar, first introduced me to a traditional yam dish from Africa that combines honey, coconut milk, and cardamom pods into wonderful layers of flavor. I add spiced pecans after browning the marshmallows for a really nice crunchy texture. Spiced pecans are one of my favorite childhood memories and I can't imagine a Thanksgiving without them. Pecan trees are all over the Texas countryside, and as children, my brother and I would sit beneath a canopy of trees and feast on the little brown gems. They were a quick snack that could be plucked straight from the ground, cracked, and eaten - the shells thrown into a pile at our feet. My first day on the ranch in the Texas Hill Country was right at Christmas time. My brother, sister, and I walked into the ranch house, and on a side table sat a big bowl of spiced pecans just within my reach. It was my first introduction to the magical combination of sweet and salty flavors."
Root = Yukon Gold + Garlic Confit
Serves 4
what you need:
yukon gold potatoes, 2 pounds
kosher salt, 1 Tbs.
heavy cream, 1 cup
unsalted butter, 2 oz.
confit garlic, pureed, 1 oz.
white pepper, ground, 1 pinch
kosher salt, to taste
how you make it:
1. Place the peeled potatoes in a large pot and cover with COLD water.
2. Season the water with 1 Tbs. salt and bring to a simmer over high heat.
3. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain.
4. While still hot, add the cream, butter, garlic, and white pepper.
5. Stir to combine the ingredients thoroughly.
6. Mash the potatoes and then whisk them to make them completely smooth.
7. Season with kosher salt and white pepper.
Method for Garlic Confit: Cook 4 whole cloves of garlic in olive oil over low heat until tender.
Soup = Tomato + Fennel / Roast
plum tomatoes, cut in 1/2, 13 each
fennel bulb, large dice, 1/2 each
white onion, quartered, 1 1/2 each
rosemary sprigs, 3 each
thyme sprigs, 3 each
garlic cloves, 4 each
salt, kosher, 1/2 oz.
extra virgin olive oil, 2 fl. oz.
black pepper ground, 1/8 oz.
chicken stock, 1 quart
tomato juice, 1 quart
how you make it:
1. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, fennel, onion,
herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper in the extra virgin olive oil.
2. Spread the tomatoes in an even layer on cookie sheet
and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
3. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and pour them
into a large stock pot.
4. Deglaze the sheet pan with a little stock to get every
bit of the roasting flavor into your soup.
5. Add the roasting juices, chicken stock, and tomato
juice into the pot with the tomatoes and cook for an additional
20 minutes.
6. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender or a household blender.
(When using a household blender, you will need to work in small batches.
Please be careful when working with hot soup.)
7. Taste the soup for seasoning and serve.
note from corey: "This soup has all of the tartness one would expect from eating a fresh tomato, combined with the pleasing sweetness only achievable through proper roasting. In the restaurant, we use only Living Hope Farm tomatoes. As you can see, we sometimes serve it with a country ham fritter made with Illg's Meats ham (Ill'gs is a local charcuterie craftsman just outside of Philadelphia)."
Video = Cheese Making + Birchrun Hills Farm
We recently traveled out to Birchrunville to visit Ken and Sue Miller, owners of Birchrun Hills Farm. They're first generation farmers that have become the definition of the American Artisan. They raise the cattle, that produce the milk, that they then turn into some amazing cheeses.
Video = Canning + Summer
The use of canning and preserving techniques has always been a dependable way of extending the culinary seasons of fruits and vegetables into the harsh months of winter. Here's a video to introduce you to the art.
