Chicken & Vegetable with Gorgonzola Soup

     Of late I have found myself with a regular surplus of leeks and chicken. When I find myself with vegetables and poultry, my thoughts generally turn to soup. I decided to do something different than regular old chicken soup and veggies. Having recently attended a Highland Games and Celtic Festival, I decided to to a spin on a traditional Scottish soup. Chicken and leek soup has a proud Scottish pedigree but a truly unfortunate name.

Egad! Cock-a-Leekie? Seriously?

     There was no way I was going to use that name. It sounds more like a medical dysfunction than a recipe. I wound up taking bits and pieces from a few different variants on chicken and leek based Irish and Scottish soups. This is what I came up with. Chicken & Vegetable with Gorgonzola Soup. We were pretty pleased with the results. The strong cheese played well with the mellow taste of the vegetables and chicken. The soup was a touch creamy, but not thick. I'm calling this a winner.

Chicken & Vegetable with Gorgonzola Soup

Ingredients

• 2 medium leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 2 ribs celery, thinly slices
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 head broccoli (florets)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5-1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 chicken breast, skin removed
• 4 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Extra cheese and chives for garnish

Directions

1. Heat butter and oil in pan, cook vegetables about 10 minutes. You don't want the veggies browned, just soften them up a bit.
2. Reduce heat to low and add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and incorporated into the vegetables. Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes. You're going to end up with something that looks a bit like a roux. Don't overcook it. You don't want this to get brown.
3. Once the flour and cheese are fully incorporated, slowly add in the wine, stirring constantly. Once the wine is completely in, add the chicken broth. Increase heat to bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer.
4. Throw the chicken breast into the simmering post. You're going to leave it all simmering, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is done. We don't want to poison anybody. When the chicken is done, strip the meat from the bone and shred the meat. Throw the meat back into the soup.
5. Add the heavy cream and let simmer for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Garnish with a little more Gorgonzola and finely chopped chives.

Good times!

Monday Recipe: Creamy Pappardelle with Leeks and Bacon (via Bon Appetit)

     Being married to woman with Italian heritage carries with it certain burdens.

This certainly is one, but not the one I was thinking about.

     The burden particular to my wife is the demand for pasta. She has made it abundantly clear that I provide her with pasta dishes on a fairly regular basis. With that in mind, I find myself constantly scouring my books, magazines and web sites for new and exciting pasta dishes. I found one this weekend at Bon Appetit, my go-to source for recipes. I will now share it with you. I didn't have any pappardelle on hand, so I used penne and it worked fine. So with no further delay:

Creamy Penne With Leeks and Bacon (via Bon Appetit)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 pound pappardelle or fettuccine (I used penne)
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan or Grana Padano

Directions

1. Heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring often, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 5-8 minutes. 
2. Add leeks and season with salt. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until leeks begin to brown, 5-8 minutes. 
3. Add cream, thyme, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 5-8 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid.
5. Add pasta, Parmesan, and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to sauce and stir to coat. Increase heat to medium and continue stirring, adding more cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta.

Makes 6 servings. 580 calories per serving.

Monday Recipe: Gratin of Greens via Relish.com

     I'm going to stick with Thanksgiving-related recipes right through the holiday. Today's selection is another well-received side dish. Gratin of Greens. It's not a terribly difficult dish to cook. The only substitution I made was to replace the chard with leeks. For whatever reason, chard just tastes dirty to me. I think the leek gives a nice flavor. Basically you've just got six pounds of assorted greens. You could fairly easily swap in and out. I imagine kale would work well in this. In any case, it's a nice change from the traditional green bean casserole and is a visually appealing dish as well. Good times!

Gratin of Greens via Relish.com 

          Ingredients

• 2 pounds spinach, chopped 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
• 2 pounds Swiss chard, chopped (Leeks can be substituted)
• 2 pounds zucchini, diced 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup hot cooked rice 
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped 
• 6 eggs, well beaten 
• ¼ cup fine bread crumbs 
• ¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

          Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Wash and dry spinach. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. When hot, add spinach and cook just until wilted. Remove spinach from pan. Cook the chard in 1 tablespoon oil until just wilted. Remove from pan. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil; add zucchini and cook until just tender.
3. Stir cooked vegetables together with salt, rice and garlic. Transfer to a well-oiled heavy baking dish. Bake 20 minutes.
4. Remove pan from oven and stir in eggs. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese. Return to oven and cook about 15 minutes, until eggs are just set. Serves 8.


Nutritional Information
Per serving: 220 calories, 11g fat, 160mg chol., 13g prot., 21g carbs., 6g fiber, 610mg sodium.