A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Fall is in the air. The weather is much cooler and crisper, and it is the perfect time of year for soup. Not just any soup, but thick, hearty soups that stick to your ribs and warm the cockles of your heart. Thanks to our friend the Ohiocook at https://beatcancer2010.wordpress.com/ and Whole and Heavenly Oven at https://wholeandheavenlyoven.com/ for the inspiration for this delicious, hearty soup.

Creamy Pumpkin and Turkey Soup

As always, I was inspired by their recipe and then expanded on it to make it my own. 🙂 I added turkey and a lot of vegetables, including both pureed pumpkin and whole pumpkin, celery and peppers. The result – DELICIOUS! And when I make soups, I make soups! I always have a big pot. Some for now and some for later, or better yet, some to share.

You can use chicken instead of turkey if you like, but I had some leftover turkey in the freezer that I pulled out to use.

3 lbs cooked turkey or chicken, cubed

1 onion, diced

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup carrots, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1-1 1/2 cups peppers, diced

1-2 cups, pumpkin, peeled and diced

1 can pumpkin puree

2 cups uncooked wild rice

6-8 cups chicken broth

2 cups heavy whipping cream

salt & pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

2 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped fine

olive oil for cooking

Get a large soup pot very hot and add your oil for cooking, then add all the heartier vegetables and cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the onions are translucent and the vegetables have softened a bit.

Whisk together the cream, pumpkin puree and chopped rosemary.

Add the chopped pumpkin, turkey, chicken broth and seasonings to the pot and mix together thoroughly.

Add the wild rice, mix thoroughly, and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 20-30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked, stirring occasionally.

Add the pumpkin puree and cream mixture, and adjust the seasonings as needed. Again, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10 minutes or so, stirring frequently.

Then bowl it up and sprinkle a few roasted pepita seeds on top and enjoy. This soup goes really well with breads of all kinds. I made a delicious Italian bread with prosciutto and cheese to go with it, but more on that later, and served it all with a delicious, white Verdicchio on the side, an Italian white wine we made last time we made wine from InVINtions.

Soup is good soul food and warms you up from the inside out. It is perfect for cold, blustery days.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

What dinner party would be complete without dessert, right?! This is the last of my Argentine Feast series, and it is all about the dessert of course. The piece de resistance, and our last course of the evening was some Argentine crepes, or dulce de leche panqueques.

Dulce de leche is a very popular dessert in the Latin world, but Argentina is renowned for their dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is a thick, silky, smooth, and glossy confection made from milk and sugar that has been caramelized. The name translates to “sweet from milk” in Spanish. It is a beloved part of Argentinian culture and cuisine. In fact, it is so popular in Argentina, that they even celebrate International Dulce de Leche Day on October 11 to honor the national delicacy. Dulce de leche is a source of national pride in Argentina and Uruguay, and is considered a regional staple. In 2003, Argentina attempted to declare dulce de leche a national patrimony, but other countries in South and Central America objected.

Dulce de leche is used in many ways. You can spread it on or add it to anything you want to sweeten up a bit. And after all, we all know the world needs a lot more sweeteners. 🙂

No one really knows the story of how ducle de leche was actually created, but one rumor has it that Napoleon’s cook heated a blend of milk and sugar for far too long way back in 1804. Some say it was an accidental discovery made by a cook for Argentinian leader Juan Manuel de Rosas, when she left sweetened milk on the stove, only to come back and find it had transformed into a thick and creamy mixture, back in 1829. Other theories suggest that dulce de leche originated in Indonesia in the 6th century and was brought to the Americas by Napoleon or Rosas. Again, no one really knows, and we may never know. All that we know, and all that really matters, is that it is an excellent dessert. 🙂

In keeping with the Argentine theme for the evening, I finished it off with some delicious dulce de leche panqueques, or crepes.

Dulce de Leche Panqueques

I made the batter ahead of time and let it set in the refrigerator for a few hours before making the crepes. It is a basic crepe recipe.

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

4 large eggs

1 cup cold water

1 cup cold milk

4 TBSP butter, melted

dulce de leche sauce

Combine all the ingredients, except the dulce de leche, and whisk together well. Let set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 24 hours before making the crepes.

When ready to make the crepes, take the batter out of the refrigerator a little before cooking. Get a small skillet very hot, then spray with cooking spray and add a dash of butter to the pan and swirl it all around to coat the skillet. Add about 1/4 cup of batter and immediately swirl it all around to coat the bottom of the skillet with a very thin layer of batter. Cook for about 1-1 1/2 minutes, then carefully flip over and cook for an additional 1-1/12 minutes. Remove from the skillet and transfer to a plate. Do this for every crepe until the batter is finished.

While the crepe is still hot, and another one is in the skillet cooking, spread about 1 TBSP of the dulce de leche all over the crepe, then roll it up.

!Esta perfecto! I don’t think it needs anything else, but Larry being the ice cream lover that he is, thought it needed to be topped with ice cream as well. 🙂

This is a very simple dessert, made with very simple, basic ingredients, but it was a huge hit. As I often say, simple is always the best. 🙂

This concludes my Argentine feast series. I hope you all enjoyed my Argentine dinner party as much as we did. !Desfruta!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay sweet, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I had originally planned on making a version of these potatoes for our Argentine feast, but then changed my mind at the last minute. I just had a feeling they weren’t going to “pan out”, so I just made mashed potatoes instead. I did try them again a couple of days later though, and I was right. They didn’t work out as expected. There was no binder for them. Even though they did not look like they were supposed to, they sure tasted good, and that is really all that matters. 🙂

Theoretically, these were supposed to be a potato galette. But the recipe just called for butter, potatoes and salt. There were no eggs, or any others binders, so how are they supposed to bind together and make a galette? I gave up the idea of making them into a galette and just pan-fried them in butter, garlic and basil olive oils instead.

After rinsing and peeling the potatoes, I sliced them into thin rounds.

Then I got the skillet very hot and added the butter and the oils. I arranged the potatoes in the pan, gave a good sprinkling of coarse salt and let them cook for about 7 minutes, or until they browned, before carefully turning them over to cook the other side.

I added a bit more salt as needed and added a dash of chopped parsley to finish them off. They came out perfect, other than they were not behaving for the shape. They were crispy on the outside and soft and velvety on the inside. YUMMY!

Things don’t always go as planned. In fact, they rarely do. It’s always good to have a back-up plan. And bottom line, when cooking, the most important thing is always whether or not the end result tastes good. It’s the taste that counts. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I was so excited. My new camera arrived. It is another Canon PowerShot, like my old one, but it is a newer version, with a higher resolution. Of course I was real excited to go out and find all kinds of things to take pictures of. I was really hoping to find my Heron again. But no. I did see one very young, very small Red-Eared Slider Turtle though, but as soon as I turned my camera on and started to focus on him, into the water he went. Darn!

I did see some beautiful roses and beautiful fall colors that I took pictures of. My old camera was great and I was very pleased with it, but this one. Oh WOW! When I edited my pictures, I was just in awe. They are so clear and bright. I LOVE my new camera. Maybe loosing my old one was a bit of a blessing.

Just look at how vibrant these colors are. 🙂

Having a good camera is a must if you like to take a lot of pictures, as you all know I do. 🙂

Though the Argentine diet is very meat heavy, they do enjoy eating their vegetables too. Like with so much of their food, they like to cook their vegetables over fire. They even like them charred. I can’t say that I blame them either. I charred mine and they came out so good. 🙂

Charred Vegetables with Lemon Basil Dressing and Shaved Parmigiano Cheese

Of course I did what I normally do. I had a basic recipe, then added to it. It’s just what I do. I can’t help myself. 🙂 Bob had just given me yet another batch of his delicious fresh tomatoes, so I added some to the vegetable mixture. I think they made the vegetables much better and certainly more colorful too. I also added garlic, and garlic oil, basil oil and oregano.

4 small fennel bulbs, cut in 1/2

3 zucchini, sliced into thick rounds

2 or 3 tomatoes, cut in 1/2 or 1/4

1/2 cup olive oil

1-2 TBSP garlic olive oil, optional

1-2 TBSP basil olive oil, optional

coarse salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

1-2 tsp lemon zest

2 TBSP lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

1-2 TBSP fresh oregano, chopped

4 oz shaved Parmigiano cheese

Gently toss all the vegetables in about 1/3 of the oil(s) with the salt & pepper.

Combine the rest of the oil(s), lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic and fresh herbs together and set aside.

The Argentine way to char these vegetables is in a chapa, or very hot skillet. I cooked them all on my inside grill, while Larry was cooking all the meat on the outside grill. Char the vegetables for about 2-3 minutes, or until charred, then gently flip over and repeat.

Once the vegetables are charred to your liking, gently toss them together with the oil, lemon and herb mixture. You can toss them with the Parmigiano cheese too, to mix it all in, or you can just add it to the top of the vegetables. Since I am not a big cheese eater, I just added it to the top. You can also leave the cheese off completely too, if you prefer. If I were making it just for Larry and I, I probably would have left the cheese off. But since I was serving it to a bunch of cheese lovers, I added it to the top. It was a good compromise.

It was a big hit and everyone loved it. The freshness of the vegetables really came to life with the lemon basil dressing. !Desfruta!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I have been seeing so many Northern Flickers lately. And that is perfectly OK with me. I love seeing them. I think they are beautiful birds.

I have also seen quite a few Robins as well. Sometimes, they are even side by side.

Everyday has its beauty. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder to see it. 🙂

No Argentine meal would be complete without empanadas. Empandasoriginated in Spain and were brought to Argentina by Spanish colonists in the 16th century. The word “empanada” comes from the Spanish word empanar, which means “to wrap or coat in bread”. Though empanadas are found all over Spain and Latin American countries, Argentina is really known for its empanadas. Each region of Argentina adapted the empanada to suit their local produce and preferences. The Argentinian Ministry of Culture has declared the Creole empanada of Buenos Aires a Cultural Heritage of Food and Gastronomy.

In Argentinian history, the empanada was once known as the working man’s meal because it contained a full meal that was easy to carry to work. In many Latin American countries, the empanadas are made from a corn or maize dough. In Argentina, however, they are made from flour. They are filled with anything you want to fill them with, and are both sweet and savory.

Of course I made empanadas for my Argentine feast. How could I call it an Argentine feast without empanadas? I made chicken and vegetable empanadas. I actually make them quite often. I love empanadas. Empanadas de Rincon Argentino, Southwestern Chicken Empanadas, Pork and Pumpkin Empanadas, From Leftovers to Empanadas

This time my filling was a chicken, vegetable and wild rice combination.

You can bake them or fry them, but my preference is to fry them. You can’t really go wrong wither way though. 🙂

As you might expect, these all disappeared rather quickly. They were light and airy and just melted in our mouth. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

No, my new camera hasn’t arrived yet, but fortunately, I have lots of pictures in stock.

If I am lucky, I am able to get multiple shots of things I like. But that isn’t always the case, especially with birds or other wildlife. Sometimes, you are lucky to get one shot. So today, I am sharing my “one shots” with you.

Cassin’s Vireo – For this one, I did get lucky and was able to get 2 shots before it flew away.

Gray-Headed Junco

Spotted Piper

Magpie

Red-Naped Sapsucker

Sometimes you only get one shot. Make the most of it. 🙂

As with most Argentine meals, mine too, was meat heavy. They eat a lot of meats of all kinds in Argentina. Not only did I make the beef tournedos My Argentine Feast – Part 2 – Beef Tournedos as a a main dish, but I also had chicken. I used another delicious recipe from the Seven Fires cookbook and made chicken with capers and olives. This is yet another recipe with both Argentine and Italian influences, as are so many of the Argentine recipes.

I plated both my chicken and my beef tournedos together.

Chicken with Capers and Olives

The recipe called for Kalamata olives. Don’t get me wrong, I love Kalamata olives, but I also love green olives. In fact, I actually like green olives more. So I ALWAYS mix my olives and use a variety of types. I have about 3 or 4 different kinds of olives in my fridge right now, but I also had a mixed olive tapenade, which worked perfectly for this recipe, especially since I had to chop them anyway.

4 chicken breasts about 6 oz each

coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped olives

1 TBSP capers

1 TBSP fresh oregano, chopped

1 TBSP fresh thyme, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all the ingredients together and mix thoroughly.

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Coat the chicken on both sides with the olive mixture, and firmly press into the chicken.

You can cook this on top of the stove, in a very hot skillet or chapa, or you can grill it parilla style. We grilled both the tournedos and the chicken this time. As you would expect, it got rave reviews and was a big hit. Both were. I just heard from Janet and she said she gained 2 lbs from this meal alone. 🙂

As I have said many times, often times, the simple recipes are the best recipes, using simple ingredients. So much of what makes a dish fancy is the presentation, and even more importantly, the love that goes into making the meal, more than anything else. 🙂

!Desfruta! ! Mangia! Enjoy! Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I sure do miss my camera. It was stolen at an event we attended the other day . 😦 😦 😦 I went walk-about yesterday and saw a beautiful Heron. I tried my best to get good shots with my phone, but none of them turned out. I couldn’t zoom in and it was grainy. I also tried to take good pictures of the beautiful fall colors, that are now on full display, but again, they just didn’t turn out well.

I ordered a new camera, that is a slight upgrade to what I had. It is the same camera, just a newer version. We received notification that my new camera has been shipped, so it is just a matter of days before it is delivered. But everyday that passes is a day of missed opportunities for good shots. I also ordered a bigger memory disk, but this is what is on the way. The sooner the better!