ITALIAN MEATBALL SOUP

Colorful, flavorful soup, “souper” easy to make.
My personal take on Rachel Ray's &  Giada's soups.

SOUP BASE:

 3 T Olive oil

 5 slices bacon, chopped

¼ tsp. liquid smoke

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced or grated

2 heads Escarole, cleaned well and rough chopped

Salt & Pepper, to taste

1 tsp Red pepper flakes

Nutmeg, freshly grated, to taste, be generous

1 15oz can Cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

2 Quarts Chicken stock

3-5 C. water, as needed

1 lemon, zested

MEATBALLS:

⅓ pound ground beef

⅓ pound ground veal

⅓ pound ground pork

1 egg

2 handfuls bread crumbs

Splash of milk

1 handful grated Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp Allspice

½ tsp Tony’s

 ¼ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Pepper

1 handful fresh Parsley, finely chopped

SOUP PREP:

 Heat olive oil in a heavy soup pot over med-high heat. Add bacon and Liquid Smoke, cook until crisp, remove about half of the grease. Add onion and garlic and saute just until they begin to caramelize. Add the escarole and wilt. Season with Nutmeg, Salt, Pepper, and Tony’s. Add beans with juice. Stir well. Add chicken stock, increase heat to high and deglaze, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pot, bringing to a boil.  Add meatballs. Make sure you have added enough water to cover as meatballs are added, stirring as needed to make room. Adjust heat a little lower and continue to boil for about 10-15 minutes to cook meatballs. Turn off heat, and add lemon zest. Serve with more grated Parmesan at table.

MEATBALL PREP:

Combine all ingredients for meatballs. Use hands and mix until just combined. Over mixing will make meatballs tough. Dampen hands and form into balls about the size of a walnut. Set aside until needed.

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Two Color Soup and Stuffed Pork Chops with 3 Sauces

This will teach me to skip a couple of days, too much to catch up. 

Friday evening was a dinner party in honor of my friend's birthday.  Love you Tracy, you're the best!!!

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup and Roasted Tomato Soup with Serrano Cream

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Yellow-Pepper-Soup-and-Roasted-Tomato-Soup-with-Serrano-Cream-11554

I have made this elegant soup for years, it is our favoite and I really wish I could take credit for the creation of it.  It came from Gourmet Magazine, March 1993 issue (link above).  I have only made slight changes over the years.  I use fresh thyme, not dried and add a dash of cayenne in the pepper soup and I add a splash of cognac to both soups.  This soup was my excuse to purchase two matching All Clad pots and my very own Chinois. The matching pots I bought after major struggling to get the two soups the same consistancy(I can justify just about anything for my kitchen).  Important when it comes time to ladle the soups in the bowl at the same time, to get it to split down the middle.

The Chinois.

It is a conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh. It is used to strain custards, purees, soups, and sauces, producing a very smooth texture. It can also be used to dust pastry with a fine layer of powdered sugar.

I love this thing!

I had my butcher cut bone in pork chops 1 1/2" thick.  I cut a pocket in each of them and stuffed them with spicey sausage.  I use our HEB brand sausage but you can use Jimmy Dean Hot sausage.  The outside of the chops are dried and rubbed with cayenne.  I refrigerate them until about 45 minutes before I begin to saute them.  The three sauces were a Dark Cherry Sauce, Orange Marmelade and Apple Chutney.  With this I also served Asparagus with Hollandaise and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.

Cherry Preserve Sauce
12 oz jar Cherry Preserves
2 Tbl. light corn syrup
1/4 C Pomegranate infused Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat to boiling, stiring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes.  Keep sauce warm. Note: You can also use this sauce spooned over a pork lion roast to glaze, bake and serve the remaining on the side.

Orange Marmelade Sauce

12 oz. jar Orange Marmelade (good quality)
2 - 2 Tbl Hot Dijon Mustard, to taste

Heat to boiling, stiring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes.  Keep sauce warm.

Apple Chutney

3 Tbl. butter
3 cooking Apples, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 wedges
1 3-inch cinnamon stick or 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/4 C. Rum
1/4 C. Apple Cider (I like Woodchuck Draft Cider, Amber)

Heat butter in saute pan to med-high heat, add apples and cinnamon.  Saute until soft with a little bite left in them.  Deglaze pan with Rum and add cranberries.  Add apple cider and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Cook until the apples are the softness that you like.  Keep Warm.

For the chops, heat 2 Tbl. olive oil in large pan on high heat, saute chops on both sides until brown.  Move to pan with roasting rack, cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees until medium rare.  Let chops rest for about 10 minutes and serve with sauces.

Our evening was a fantastic success!  Luckily we had good weather so we set the table and ate outside and enjoyed delicious wine and each other's company until late in the evening.  We are planning Paella sometime before it gets too cold, just waiting for the lobster to go on sale!

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