Chestnut and Celery Root Soup

Thanksgiving was at my house this year, and I took it on as an exciting opportunity to integrate some new and interesting dishes into the holiday routine.  Tangy and refreshing pomegranate seeds were stirred into the cranberry sauce.  Instead of stuffing or dressing, we had butternut squash and kale bread pudding.  And to start?  Soup and salad of course.  But not just any soup and salad.  Brussels sprouts and red cabbage, pine nuts and dried cranberries were dressed in a chile and honey mustard vinaigrette to play the salad role.  For the soup?  I revived this chestnut and celery root soup recipe from a couple of years ago...and then wondered why I hadn’t been making it the whole time.  Not only did our Thanksgiving guests love it, with its creamy texture, earthy depth, and just a touch of chestnut sweetness, but it was a breeze to put together, and even could be done the day before.  It will surely be making an appearance again over the holidays, and probably once more in January or February, when its hearty warmth will be most welcome in the dead of winter.

Use a sharp Y-shaped peeler to peel the celery root without going mad.  And season liberally, but don’t sweat the heavy cream if you’d rather not add the extra fat - I think it’s perfectly delicious without it.

You can find the recipe for Chestnut and Celery Root Soup here.

Silky Cauliflower Soup

I have my dad to credit for introducing me to this Dave Lieberman recipe for a very simple, yet incredibly satisfying cauliflower soup. When finished, it is hard to believe that this soup contains not cream, but rather cauliflower, as the main ingredient! It is delightfully silky (as the name implies), and surprisingly rich - you won't miss the presence of meat or cream at all. I've found that the real secret to this recipe, though, is salt. Be sure to salt and pepper liberally before serving; It will make the greatest difference in the results. I add about 1 1/2 tsp. of salt and many, many turns from the pepper grinder.

The original recipe from Dave Lieberman includes serving the soup with Parmesan crisps, but I just couldn't bear the thought of shredding any more Parmesan tonight, so I garnished it with some homemade wheat croutons and a bit of lemon zest, which worked out just as well.

Silky Cauliflower Soup
-Dave Lieberman
(Recipe available at foodnetwork.com)

Stracciatella

In January and February, when the temperatures in Michigan drop into the teens and the ground seems to be permanently covered with ice and snow, I often feel compelled to put a pot of simmering soup on the stove. It seems that nothing else can do such a thorough job of warming a person both inside and out! So as I sat at the kitchen table with my coffee this morning, watching yet another four inches of snow falling on my front yard, it became apparent that it would be a soup day. In addition to its warmth, soup is also great because it is often easy to make, and usually good to freeze for later. Today I tried out this recipe for Stracciatella (literally "little rags") from cookbook author Martha Rose Shulman, courtesy of Sunset magazine. After a particularly indulgent holiday season, I found this soup to be just perfect. As Shulman says, the "Broccoli rabe's slight bitterness contrasts nicely with [the] mellow chicken broth". The result is a sufficiently light, yet filling, winter dish. I ate it with a slice of bread and a glass of crisp white wine to make it a meal. As an added bonus, this soup was very quick and easy to make, and is a wonderful way to get your leafy greens!

Stracciatella with broccoli rabe
- Martha Rose Schulman (from Sunset magazine)
(Recipe at myrecipes.com)