Cream of Potato Soup with Jalapeno Oil & Neiman Marcus Popovers with Fresh Strawberry Butter

You guys will not believe the weather we are having in Dallas.  For the 17 years I’ve lived in Texas I have never seen this much snow, a record breaking 12.5 inches of snow in a 24 hour period.  INSANE!!  We had a transformer blow out last night and the power went dead, thankfully we were able to seek shelther at Collin’s parents.  Thank goodness for family 🙂

We woke up early this morning and built an 8 foot snow man!  Actually it was more Collin who built the entire 8 foot body and I sculpted the face :).  I was off taking pictures and I turned around and what do I see?  Collin rolling a gigantic snow ball around the front yard that sat almost as tall as my shoulders… I was concerned as how he was going to get the midsection on there, which weighed at least 200 lbs.  Thankfully with a family full of big Polacks (sp?), Collin and his dad moved it on there just fine.

It’s been years since I’ve built a snow man, and never one of such massive proportions (Which I have my intense fiance to thank for that)! 🙂 On our way back to our house this morning we saw streets decorated with all different types of snowmen of all shapes and sizes, it was truly adorable.

With weather like this I felt nothing could be better than warm bread and soup.  This classic cream of potato soup recipe can be dressed up in several different ways.  You can add bacon or sour cream, or perhaps some smoked chicken and cheddar cheese?  I decided to add some heat and drizzled it with some Jalapeno oil to give the soup an extra kick!

The popovers are to die for.  I had my first popover experience when Collin’s father took us out for dinner over the holidays and the restaurant had served them as starters.  They were warm and had a crunchy outside but a warm and chewy inside.  The recipe I am using is Neiman Marcus’, they suggest using a their popover pan, which I recommend using if you have it, but if not you can use a muffin pan.

Ingredients for Cream of Potato Soup with Jalapeno Oil:

(serves 4)

• 8 medium sized potatoes, cleaned peeled and cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 jalapeno, top discarded and thinly sliced
  
• 2 small leeks, white part only, washed and finely chopped
• 4 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, washed, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 celery washed and finely chopped
• 4 cups of chicken broth or water
  
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
  
• salt pepper to taste
  

Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter starts to foam.  Add the leeks, celery, carrots, onion and shallots along with some salt and cook over gently heat for 5-6 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.  Add the stock and potatoes, bring back to the boil, then lower the temperature to a simmer and cook slowly for 10 minutes.  Puree the soup in batches in a blender.  If you’d like you can pour the soup through a metal sieve.  Heat the pureed mixture and cream in a pan, check for seasoning and taste with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until oil slightly smokes.  Add the sliced jalapeno and allow to sautee until oil is fragrant and jalapenos are softened, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat and pour oil mixture through sieve.  Set jalapenos aside for garnish.Divide the soup among four bowls and add a generous dash of black pepper.  Drizzle with jalapeno oil and add jalapeno slices.  You can also serve this soup with some crostinis as I have.  You simply slice a baguette into 1″ pieces and brush with a butter mixture.

Ingredients for Crostini Butter mixture:

(for about 12 crostinis)

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon parsley, minced

Mix ingredients together in bowl and brush onto sliced crostinis.  Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until bread is golden brown.

“The key to making great popovers is having the eggs and milk warm before mixing.  It is also important to let the batter sit for an hour before baking it.  Popovers do not freeze well, and pre-made batter has a tendency not to work properly the next day.”

Ingredients for Neiman Marcus Popovers:

(about 2 dozen popovers)

• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Place the milk in a bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until warm to the touch.  Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.  Crack the eggs into the work bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk and beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until foamy and pale in color.  Turn down the mixer to low and add the warm milk.  Gradually add the flour mixture and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Turn the machine off and let the batter rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

Spray a popover tin or muffin pan generously with nonstick spray.  Fill the popover cups almost to the top with the batter and place the popover tin on a cookie sheet.  (If you are using a muffin pan, fill every other hole because the bread will puff up when baking).  Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn down the oven temperature to 375F and bake for 30 to 35 minutes longer, until the popovers are a deep golden brown on the outside and airy on the inside.  Turn out the popovers and serve hot with strawberry butter.

For Neiman Marcus’ recipe they used strawberry preserves, I actually used fresh strawberries and 1 tablespoon of agave syrup.  I have cut down the quantity of butter so the following recipe makes about 1/4 cup of strawberry butter.

Ingredients for Fresh Strawberry Butter:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup good-quality strawberry preserves (I used 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of agave syrup (I added this)
  

Place the butter in a bowl with minced strawberries and syrup.  Beat on high until lught and fluffy.  To serve, spoon or pipe the flavored butter into a plate or bowl.

If you have leftover strawberry butter it goes great on toast or any type of bread you may have lying around.  It am sure it is great with preserves, but the butter is SO fragrant when I made it with fresh strawberries, I recommend that everyone tries this recipe.  It is so ADDICTING!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I am off to ice a cake for a special someones birthday that is coming up!  🙂  Stay tune on Monday for a very special birthday dedication post for a very special lady!  In the meantime, everyone stay warm eat lots and be merry!!!

p.s.

Our 8 foot snowman 🙂

Wolfgang Puck’s Pizza in Two Ways

What makes a good pizza?  Some say the sauce, others say the cheeses, I say…THE CRUST.  At work we’ve just started serving gourmet pizzas as a lunch item and I found Woflgang Puck’s  recipe to be absolutely phenomonal — It’s crispy, it’s chewy, with just a touch of honey…it would go great with any toppings you choose.  The toppings I chose were not your usual pepperoni or supreme, I picked some “unique” ingredients to say the least haha but I ask you to keep an open mind 🙂  You can make any combination you want, I think that’s what makes pizzas fun to make.  Be creative and see what you can come up with!

My first combination was shaved Brussel Sprouts with Porcini Musrooms and Red Onion topped with Parmeasan Romano cheeses drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar.  I kept the cheeses at a minimal to keep it low in calories and made sure to slice my vegetables very thin so they can quickly roast in the oven when the pizza is baking.  My second combination was Rosemary Potato topped with Roasted Pine Nuts and Fresh Arugula drizzled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Both pizzas are very light, you can add more cheese if you prefer — mozarella works really well with both combos. 

Ingredients for Woflgang’s All-Purpose Pizza Dough:

(Makes 4 small (8-inch) pizzas or 2 large (14 inch) pizzas)

• 2 1/2 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (105F to 115F)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for brushing the pizza crusts
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bread bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water.  Add the honey and stir together.  Let sit 2 or 3 minutes, or until the water is cloudy.  Stir in the olive oil.

Using a stand mixer: Combine the flour and salt and add it to the yeast mixture all at once. Mix it together using the paddle attachment, then change to the dough hook.  Knead at low speed for 2 minutes, then turn up to medium speed and knead until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and clusters around the dough hook, about 5 minutes. Hold onto the machine if it bounces around.  Turn out onto a clean work surface and knead by hand for 2 or 3 minutes longer . The dough should be smooth and elastic.  When you press with your finger it should slowly spring back, and it should not feel tacky.

Kneading the dough by hand: Mix together the yeast, honey, water, and olive oil as directed in a medium-sized or large bowl.  Combine the flour and salt.  Fold the flour in a cup at a time using a large wooden spoon.  As soon as you can scrape the dough out in one piece, scrape it onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl, rounded side down first, then rounded side up.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm spot to rise for 30 minutes (you can leave it for up to an hour).  When it is read the dough will stretch as it is gently pulled.

Divide the dough into two to four equal balls, depending on how large you want your pizzas to be.  Shape each ball by gently pulling down on the sides of the dough and tcuking each pull under the bottom of the ball, working round and round the ball 4 or 5 times.  Then on a smooth, unfloured surface, roll the ball around with your palm until it feels smooth and firm, about 1 minute.  Put the balls on a tray or platter, cover them with pan sprayed plastic wrap or a damp towel, and leave them to rest for at least 30 minutes.  At this point, the dough balls can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for 1 to 2 days.  You will need to punch them down again when you are ready to roll out the pizzas.

Preheat the oven to 500F.  Place a pizza stone in the oven to heat.  In the meantime press out the dough.  Place a ball of dough on a lightly floured surface.  While turning the dough, press down its center wit hthe heel of your hand, gradually spreading it out to a circle 7 to 8 inches in diameter for small cricles, 12 to 14 for larger pizzas.  Alternatively, use a rolling pin to get an even circle.  With your fingers, for ma slightly thicker raised rim around the edge of the circle.  Brush everything but the rim with a little olive oil, then top the pizza as you like.  You can transfer the pizza to a lightly oiled pizza pan if you like, or you can bake it directly on the stone.

Depending on your taste, spread the dough with marinara sauce or pesto sauce (about 2 tablespoons for small pizzas, 1/4 to 1/3 cup for larger ones).  If you dont have sauce, a can of tomatoes, drained, chopped, and seased with salt and chopped sauteed garlic, will do.  Top with shredded or grated cheese of your choice .  Add thinly sliced vegetables such as Roma, tomatoes, pitted olives, red peppers, or red onions, sauteed sliced vegetables such as mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, or artichoke hearts.

Ingredients for Shaved Brussel Sprouts and Porcini Mushroom Pizza:

(makes 2 x 8″ pizzas or 1 x 14″ pizza)

• 2 tablespoons spaghetti sauce or wolfgang puck sauce
•  3 brussel sprouts, washed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup porcini mushrooms, washed and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/8 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan
• 1 tablespoon grated romano
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Take your pizza dough and roll it out to two 8″ circles — roll the dough as thin as you can without ripping it.  Using a ladle or spoon, spread the tomato sauce all over your dough leaving an inch around the edges for the crust.  Lay the mushrooms down first then the onions, top with the shaved brussel sprouts and minced garlic.  If you do not have a pizza stone, you can use a regular baking pan. 

 Bake at 500F as previously instructed for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and crisp.  Remove the pizza from the oven and sprinkle with the cheese and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cut into squares or triangles and serve immediately.

For the Rosemary Potato Pizza I usually add goat cheese, but I was unable to find what I was looking for at the store I went to last night.  It really pairs well with the pine nuts and rosemary.  I also added some vegetarian sausage, it wasn’t great so I would recommend you guys leaving it off.  Did anyone notice that both combinations were vegetarian? 

Ingredients for Rosemary Potato Pizza with Roasted Pinenuts and Arugula:

• 1/2 medium red skinned potatoes, washed and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons goat cheese
• 1 stem rosemary, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons roasted pinenuts
• 1 cup arugula, picked and rinsed
• salt pepper to taste

Take your pizza dough and roll it out to two 8″ circles — roll the dough as thin as you can without ripping it.  Using a ladle or spoon, spread the tomato sauce all over your dough leaving an inch around the edges for the crust. Lay down the potatoes first and then the goat cheese.  Sprinkle with rosemary and place in the oven at 500 F.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden and crispy. 

Remove from oven and top with toasted pinenuts and fresh arugula and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Taste with salt and pepper.  You can sprinkle Parmeasan and Romano cheese ontop as well.  Cut into squares or triangles and serve immediately.