Maple Roasted Split Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

Looking for an easy, low-maintenance, yet comforting dish to get you through these hectic days of holiday preparation? This fits the bill. With just a few minutes of preparation, you can slide the chicken and sweet potatoes into the oven to roast while you finish decking the halls or wrapping gifts. Even the kids like it.

I used fresh oregano because that's what was in my refrigerator, but I think thyme or rosemary would work nicely here, too. No fresh herbs around? No problem - just sprinkle in the dried variety instead. Chicken pieces can also be used instead of a split chicken.

Maple Roasted Split Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

1 split chicken, 3-4 lbs., or equivalent in chicken pieces
3-4 medium sweet potatoes
2 yellow onions
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
several sprigs of fresh savory herb, such as oregano, thyme, or rosemary
salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.

Peel and cut sweet potatoes into bite-size chunks, and cut onions into wedges. Mix olive oil and maple syrup together, then toss with the vegetables to coat, reserving a bit to drizzle over the chicken in the next step. Salt and pepper as desired.

Place chicken in large pan, and arrange vegetables around chicken. Drizzle reserved maple mixture over the chicken, and then scatter sprigs of herb over the top of chicken and vegetables. My pan was a little crowded in the picture below - I probably should have used a larger pan.


Roast in the hot oven for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is done, stirring once or twice during cooking time to evenly baste chicken and vegetables.

Pomegranate Muffins

So, I wanted to make muffins but with a little twist. Pomegranates are in season right now, and they are really juicy and red. A little tip when picking out a pomegranate: The uglier, the better. For some reason the ugliest ones are the reddest and juiciest.

These got good reviews by some friends who happened to be over, and I thought they were pretty good too. Try them out if you are tired of the same old blueberry muffins!



Pomegranate Muffins
adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
makes one dozen

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 or 1 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds and juice
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Spray or grease your muffin tin, set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and set aside.

In another medium bowl, beat melted butter and sugar vigorously until light and fluffy. Use an electric mixer if you have one. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well combined, then mix in the vanilla.

Now add the flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture, gently mixing just until combined and then slowly add milk (don't over mix). Fold in the pomegranate seeds and juice.

Divide batter evenly between muffin tin cups, lined with paper cups if you prefer.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until muffins are a light golden brown. Let cool for about ten minutes.

Toasted Coconut Pumpkin Pancakes

Tired of pumpkin yet? I hope not, because I can't get enough of it. Most of you have probably had pumpkin pancakes before, but have you had it with toasted coconut? It adds a great texture and a nice little crunch. The pancake recipe itself is low fat and fairly healthy, especially if you use nonfat milk or whole wheat flour instead of white.



Ingredients:

1 cup flour
2/3 cup toasted shredded coconut
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 large egg
1 Tbs canola or vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1/3 cup pumpkin puree


Directions:

Evenly spread shredded coconut on a cookie sheet. Place in oven and set to broil. Broil for about 10-15 minutes or until coconut is evenly toasted and a medium golden brown. You will need to keep a close eye on it and stir often to ensure even toasting and to make sure it doesn't burn. Set aside and let cool.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, coconut, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a small bowl, beat together egg, oil, milk, and pumpkin. Add the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Let sit for five minutes.

Meanwhile, get your pancake griddle or skillet hot over medium-low heat, sprayed with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto middle of skillet. Turn over when it batter is bubbly and edges appear to be cooked (2-3 minutes). Cook for about 1 1/2 minutes on the other side, and serve immediately.

Try spreading cream cheese and pumpkin butter over the top, or just use butter and syrup. Yummmm!!!!!

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin bread to me is just one of those breads that warms the soul. This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. Make this bread and your neighbors will smell it and break down your door. No need to buy baked goods from Starbucks when you have a recipe like this up your sleeve!


Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 buttermilk

Directions:
Heat oven to 350F and grease two loaf pans with non stick spray or butter. In a medium bowl whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all of the spices.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree and sugars. Martha suggests using an electric mixer on medium for 2 to 3 minutes, but I just mixed it by hand until well combined. Add the eggs and oil and mix until combined. Add half the flour and mix just until barely combined. Add the buttermilk, then add the flour and mix just until combined.

Divide the batter between the two loaf pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Place loaf pans on a cookie sheet and bake for 55-60 minutes, rotating the pans 180 degrees half way through. When knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, bread is done. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Of course it can be enjoyed right away, but the next day the flavors will have combined more completely.

Caramelized Onions

Red and yellow onions were taking over my kitchen counter last week, and something had to be done.

So I caramelized a big batch of them, and now I have lots of carmelized onion delicious-ness. Think about the possibilities here. Pizza. Pasta. Soup. Risotto. Quesadillas. Omelets. With goat cheese and herbs, baked into a savory tart!

The first necessary step was peeling and slicing all those onions into rings. Then pouring a few glugs of olive oil and piling those onion rings into a pan.



I don't know if you can tell, but that is a big pan of onions. It's a 12" wide deep-fry pan, so it has deep sides. Note the pot of white beans bubbling away on the back of the stove.

Now all that's necessary is long, slow, and gentle cooking over a low flame. No lid! We want the onions to caramelize, not steam. Poke at them and turn them around every so often with a wooden spoon or tongs, but find something else to do, too. These onions will take their sweet time, here.

The onions are done once they have turned a delicious caramel-ly brown color and are so sweet that they practically melt in your mouth. This might take 45 minutes to an hour, or more.

Remember the white beans on the back of the stove? They were delicious topped with the caramelized onions, along with oven-roasted tomatoes and fresh rosemary.



I wonder if onions can be caramelized in the slow cooker? The idea inspires the lazy cook inside me.

How's the Pumpkin Butter, You Ask?

Positively scrumptious! Velvety-smooth, sweet, spicy, and so full of pumpkin-ey goodness it will warm you up inside. We enjoyed it this morning with freshly baked scones and scrambled eggs.



I ended up letting it bubble away in the Crockpot on low for about eight or nine hours. Long enough for it to get so thick and rich that it sticks to the spoon when turned upside-down.


For the recipe and related post, click here.

Basil Chicken in Lettuce Cups

I harvested the last of my basil the other day and immediately put all of it to good use in this flavorful Thai-inspired basil chicken. Oscar says it is even more awesome as leftovers for lunch the next day.



Ingredients:

4-5 cloves garlic, minced fine
1/2 cup or so of finely minced red peppers, sweet and/or hot (I used a combination)
zest of one lemon and/or lime
2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast, minced fine or ground
1 Tbsp sugar
1-2 Tbsp fish sauce
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
fresh whole basil leaves, at least 2-3 generous handfuls (the amount of my harvest, shown above, was not quite enough basil for me)
juice of one lemon or lime
Bibb lettuce leaves

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, peppers, and zest; stir-fry for one minute. Add chicken and cook thoroughly, mixing and breaking up with a spoon as necessary. When chicken has fully cooked and browned, mix in sugar, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Then add basil leaves.



Cook and stir until basil leaves have wilted, and then squeeze the lemon or lime juice over the basil chicken mixture. Scoop mixture into lettuce leaves and serve.

The Donnie Darko

Happy Halloween!

Here is a tasty little Halloween themed beverage I concocted in the spirit of one of my most favorite Halloween themed movies, Donnie Darko. I'm not sure it has much to do with the actual movie, but it's quite a decadent alcoholic beverage you could have any time of year. If you like chocolate and dulce de leche, then this one is for you.


The Donnie Darko
serves 1

1 oz. vodka
1 oz. dulche de leche liqueur
1 oz. half and half
chocolate syrup
chocolate caramel candy for garnish (optional)

In a margarita or martini glass, drizzle chocolate syrup around the inside of the glass. Place ice cubes inside a martini mixer and pour in vodka, liqueur, and half and half. Shake about 5-6 times. Drain liquid into glass and place optional garnish on the rim.

Pumpkin: Seeds, Puree, and Butter!

Happy Halloween, everyone! We are sure to see lots of jack o'lanterns on display tonight, and today we're going to talk about fresh pumpkin puree, roasted and crunchy pumpkin seeds, and sweet, spicy, and velvety-smooth pumpkin butter.

As you get ready to carve your best pumpkin face tonight, don't forget there's lots of good eating to enjoy there. Of course, the carving pumpkin variety is not really the smoothest or sweetest squash out there. If you are buying pumpkin purely for the sake of eating, consider using a smaller variety, like the sugar pumpkin or kabocha. But if you are carving jack 0'lanterns tonight, remember to save the good parts, because that is perfectly edible pumpkin and can be used in a myriad of ways!

We clean the pumpkin before starting so that no dirt transfers to the inside of the pumpkin when we cut into it.

First, the seeds. Everyone knows the seeds are delicious when simply roasted and salted. Or we can get crazy with our spices and concoct our signature flavor roasted pumpkin seeds. I'm imagining cinnamon. Or garlic and lemon-pepper. Or maybe something spicy, like chili and lime, or curry powder. Mmmmmm. How about roasted in soy or tamari sauce? That sounds good, too. I can't decide!

• Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: To prepare the seeds, you must remove them from the pumpkin and then rinse in water to remove all the stringy bits. Next dry them out on a towel. Toss them in a bowl with your seasonings of choice. Roast in a single layer on a lightly oiled cookie sheet at 250F degrees for about an hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes or so.

These are great. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc. Snack on them alone, or add them to salads, muffins, breads, or anywhere else we would use nuts.



Now for the pumpkin "meat." We don't want all the stringy stuff, of course. Throw that out with the compost. We want the chunky flesh. When you cut out the face parts or other shapes from your jack 0'lantern, toss them in a baking dish. We're going to bake the pumpkin pieces in the oven until they get nice and soft. You can remove the skin with a paring knife now, or later, after the pumpkin is cooked. Do you carve out the inner wall of the pumpkin to reduce thickness before carving your design? Toss that in the baking dish, too! Just remember, none of the slimy, stringy, messy guts.

• To make pumpkin puree: Place pumpkin chunks in a baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350F degrees for about an hour, or until pieces can be poked easily with a fork. When pumpkin has cooled, remove any skin if necessary. Puree in a food processor until smooth, or mash and press through a sieve.

Now we have pumpkin puree! This can be used just like the canned pumpkin available at the grocery store. There are lots of pumpkin recipes out there, y'all. You can make pie, cake, muffins, bread, pancakes, soup, souffle... what else?

What am I making with my pumpkin puree? I'm making pumpkin butter! It's bubbling away in my little Crockpot right now, in fact. Want to try some? Here's the recipe - let me know what you think!

• Pumpkin Butter: Combine two cups of pumpkin puree, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. Cook in a small-size slow cooker on the low setting for 6-12 hours. We want the pumpkin butter to stay on a spoon when the spoon is turned upside down. If you don't have a small slow cooker, you can also cook this on the stove in a saucepan, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat for an hour or two.

With such a small recipe, I won't bother with any canning. I plan to keep a bit in the refrigerator to use now, and perhaps freeze the rest for another time. It should keep fresh in the 'fridge for two to three weeks, and in the freezer for at least six months up to a year.

Have a great Halloween! Don't eat too much candy; it's not good for you in so many ways.

I'll be back later with more food to share - there's been a lot of cooking going on around here, and I have some yummy things to show you, like Thai basil chicken, roasted tomatoes and carmelized onions, and chorizo & potato stuffed peppers. And I've baked a pretty birthday cake and some tea party cupcakes, too!

Ricotta Plum Pie with Lavender and Honey

Sunday is farmer's market day in my neighborhood. The weather in D.C. has been unbelievably sunny, crisp, and gorgeous lately; and the vendors at the market are selling the last of their summer harvest. I took advantage of the last of this season's plums and also bought some amazing fresh whole milk ricotta cheese from Keswick Creamery.

I made up this recipe on the fly as an experiment. I wasn't sure if lavender and plums go together, nor have I ever made anything with lavender before. The result is an unusual combination that works well together. Fresh figs could easily be substituted for the plums.

In the end, next time I will make this pie just as is but without the lavender. If you are feeling adventurous though, I would definitely give the lavender a try!

P.S. One of these days I will post a detailed tutorial on how to make this pie crust. It's an amazing pie crust and is pretty easy to handle; another one of those reliable recipes that has been passed on in our family.



Ricotta Plum Pie with Lavender and Honey
Serves 8

Ingredients:

Filling:
1 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 tsp. dried lavender
2 egg yolks
3 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Fruit and Topping:
6 or 7 plums, sliced (8 slices per plum)
2 Tbs. white sugar
2 or 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 or 3 Tbs. honey

Crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbs. cold water


Directions:

With a fork, mix together flour, oil and salt until a crumbly mixture forms. Sprinkle cold water over mixture. Combine the water and flour/oil mixture just until barely incorporated. After the point where you add the water, mix as little as possible. The less you mix, the more flaky the crust will be. Form into a ball, you should be able to see white ribbons in the dough where the oil and water are immiscible (I just learned this word). Set aside.

Heat oven to 400F. To make the filling, place ricotta, egg yolk, honey and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and whisk until evenly combined. Add dried lavender and whisk again until well combined.

Now form the crust. To do this place plastic wrap flat down on a damp counter. Place the ball of pie dough in the middle and flatten a little. Place anther piece of plastic wrap over dough. With a rolling pin, roll out dough into a circle slightly larger than the pie pan. Place dough into pie pan; roll edges and pinch with fingers to make a ruffled edge. Spoon ricotta mixture onto the pie shell and even out with the back of a spoon or spatula.

Gently mix together sliced plums and white sugar, let sit for 5 or 10 minutes. Neatly arrange the plums on top of the filling in a circular pattern, or however you see fit. Drizzle honey and lemon juice over plums.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the crust is a light golden color. Let cool completely before serving. Goes well with a cup of tea or coffee!



UPDATE: Julie had a brilliant suggestion for next time: simmering the lavender in the honey and then straining it out so that there would be the lavender essence but not the lavender bits in the filling.

Coconut Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Lentils

This curry was so good that we (four adults) ate it all before I had a chance to take any pictures. Now I have a wonderful excuse to make it again real soon, just so I can add a picture to this post.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 Tbsp mild Indian curry paste
2 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized chunks
2 medium size sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-size chunks
1/4 cup lentils (I used the split red lentils)
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
other vegetables of choice, diced into small pieces, if necessary (I threw in about a half a cup green peas, straight from the freezer, because that's what I had)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the curry paste and stir-fry for about a minute. Then add the chicken, sweet potatoes and lentils; stir until well-coated in spices and oil.

Add the coconut milk and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes, or until the chicken and potatoes are cooked through, and the lentils have thickened the sauce. Add additional veggies and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, until vegetable pieces are tender.

Serve over hot, cooked basmati rice, or with naan bread for scooping. Delicious!

Looking for more sweet potato ideas? Check out this hash recipe I posted last week - the next time I make it, I think I'll try it with eggs at breakfast time and use chicken sausage instead. Yum!

Apple Cinnamon Bread

You probably have everything needed to make this bread already in your kitchen. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, see my note below. This recipe produces a sweet and spicy bread that is slightly chewy (in a good way). While it was baking I went for a nice walk in Rock Creek Park to check out the beautiful autumn leaves, fall is so beautiful in D.C. It was nice to come home after walking in the crispy weather to a warm apartment filled with the smell of apples and cinnamon.


Apple Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk*
1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces

Topping:
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2-2/3 cup brown sugar (enough to make mixture crumbly)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350F. Mix together buttermilk*, sour cream or yogurt, oil, brown sugar, and apple until well combined. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and stir with a wooden spoon until wet and dry ingredients are completely incorporated.

Pour evenly into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the top of the batter and lightly swirl with a knife.

Bake for about an hour or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Enjoy!

*If you don't have any buttermilk on hand (I didn't), simply make your own. All you do is pour 1 Tbs. of apple or white vinegar, or lemon juice into a 1 cup liquid measuring cup and then fill the rest of it with milk. Let sit for about 5 minutes or until it curdles, and now you have buttermilk. Also, this could easily be turned into a vegan bread by substituting the milk with soy or almond milk, and using soy yogurt instead of dairy yogurt.

Sweet Potato - Chicken Hash

My Greenling Local Box has been heavy on sweet potatoes for the last few weeks, and I've garnered quite a collection. I was getting tired of my usual standbys (in a vegetable curry or diced and roasted with olive oil as a side dish), so I decided to try something a little different: some hash patties. I topped the hash with a chipotle-garlic salsa, but I think these would be just as good with a finely diced chipotle pepper or two tossed into the hash mix before cooking. I was doubtful as the mixture came together, wondering if it would be a success, but in the end, these turned out very tasty, and I will certainly make these again. Served with cornbread and salad, these made a great weeknight meal.



Ingredients:

2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" cubes
2 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast
about 2 Tbsp butter
about 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion
1/2 green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
Salsa, for garnish

Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until potato pieces are soft and easily pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, chop the chicken breast into very small dice. Or, if you're like me and don't really enjoy the trouble of chopping a lot of raw chicken, toss the chicken into the food processor and process until the chicken is broken up into small bits. (I suppose here you could even use chicken that has been pre-ground by your butcher.) Also finely dice the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. (Or, again, if you're like me and feeling lazy and/or pressed for time, toss these in the food processor, too. When it comes to feeding my kids, the-smaller-the-better when it comes to vegetable pieces, anyway.)

Heat about 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and vegetable mix, and stir and cook until cooked through and slightly browned. Stir in the oregano and paprika, and then add salt and pepper to taste. Combine the sweet potatoes and chicken mixture in a large bowl, mashing as necessary to bring the mixture together.

In a large skillet (preferably non-stick), heat another tablespoon or so each of butter and olive oil over medium heat. Scoop out 1/4 cup size or so mounds of the hash mixture and place them in the pan, pressing down a bit to make patties. Cook each patty until browned and crisp on one side, then carefully flip with a spatula and cook the other side. I had to cook mine in two batches.

Remove to a plate, top with salsa, and dig in.

Grammy's Ginger Cookies

Food For Thought: "The purpose of flavor is to arouse a special kind of emotion, that flavor must emerge from genuine feelings about the materials you are handling. What you are, you cook."
~ Marcella Hazan

What better way to start out than to bake a classic family recipe? This recipe was passed down from our father's mother, Clarice Marie; or as we so affectionately called her, Grammy. These cookies are great for getting you in the mood for fall, and they smell delicious. Even if you think you don't like Ginger Cookies or Ginger Snaps, you ought to give these a try. As Julie pointed out to me today, people who stubbornly claim they do not like ginger cookies will often fall head over heels for these.


Grammy's Ginger Cookies
makes about 4 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. salt (if you are using salted butter, just use 1 tsp.)

Directions:
Melt butter and let cool for about 10 minutes. Add oil, sugar, molasses, eggs and beat until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Combine the two mixtures and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or until the batter stiffens slightly.

Preheat oven to 375F. Form batter into balls about one inch in diameter, or the size of a donut hole. Roll each ball in a bowl of sugar to coat completely, and then place on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until your preferred consistency is reached (you might want to experiment with this). When the cookies come out of the oven they will be puffy, but as they cool on the counter they will flatten. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk, yummy.

Spicy-Sweet Butternut Squash Soup

A butternut squash has been sitting on my kitchen counter for a few weeks now, eyeing me as I walk past everyday, silently challenging me to do something with it. I don't know, but winter squash feels like, well, winter, and it's been hard for me to wrap my mind around cooking with it when it's still 90+ degrees outside. But finally, as the weather begins to cool off here in central Texas (albeit only slightly), I found the inspiration I need. The temperature has fallen to the mid-80's, and we have rain in the forecast. Has fall finally arrived? Let's have some soup.



Ingredients:

1 medium-sized butternut squash
2 medium apples
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 chipotle peppers with adobe sauce, chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
dollop or two of cream
salt to taste

While the oven is preheating to 350F, cut the squash open lengthwise and remove the seeds and strings. Quarter and core the apples. Place squash, cut side down, and apples on a lightly greased baking sheet. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until the squash can be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh of the squash and discard the skin.

In a large soup pot, saute the onions in the olive oil until soft and golden. Add squash, apples, chipotle peppers, cumin, and stock. Simmer gently for 20-30 minutes. Working in batches, puree in blender or food processor to the consistency you like (Ultra smooth, or a little on the chunky side? You choose.). Transfer to a large bowl or soup tureen, salt to taste, and stir in the cream.

Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with extra cream. Serve with good bread and salad, and you have the perfect meal to usher in the cooler weather of fall.