Good Morning! Happy Friday!
I have had this blog since I moved to Asheville "way back" in 2007. Rather than delete it, I changed the blog title and URL to "MahshieMonaLisa Cooks." When I met John he kept referring to me as his "Mona Lisa" and so the name has stuck and become my online handle.
I simply want to share recipes, tips, and tricks I've learned through trial and error in the kitchen. I told a friend I'd write down some of my recipes for her. I might still do that physically, but I thought I might-as-well do it on a blog to keep records for myself and to share with others.
Last night's success story was creamy potato and ham soup. The hard part is, I don't measure a lot and just kind of go by intuition...which works out most of the time. Part of what I want to impart is that ability to just go with it, and not stress about the exactness of everything. Sometimes exact measurements are necessary but the more you cook, the more comfortable you'll become and the more you can improvise. So...as you read these "amounts" pay attention to your own process and adjust accordingly if it doesn't seem right.
Ingredients:
Chicken Stock (maybe 6 cups)
Russet Potatoes (6 med/large)
3 heaping tbls flour
1/2 stick butter
2 tbls olive oil (light, extra virgin is too strong a flavor)
1/2 sweet onion
2 cups diced pre-cooked/sliced ham
4 cups milk (I used 2%)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
salt/pepper/onion powder/garlic powder/cayenne pepper to taste
The chicken stock I used was home-made. I used to think that sounded fancy and like way too much work, but really, when I finally made it, it was simple. A while back I roasted a chicken, pulled most of the meat off, and then boiled the remains of the "carcass" (yum what an appetizing word!) in about 10 cups of water for probably 2 hours. I let it cool, strained it, and then put the stock in a freezer bag in the freezer. It is a great way to practice "waste not, want not" and it tastes really good. Although, I do think it smells horrible while boiling. Point is: try it sometime - it's easy-peasy! However, canned/boxed chicken stock will do just fine.
Put the chicken stock in a big stock pot and boil on med/high heat. Dice your potatoes. I like mine in square chunks. You don't want to dice too thin or the potatoes will turn to mush once boiled, but you don't want the pieces so huge they take forever to boil and don't' fit on a soup spoon. So, find a happy medium.
Add diced potatoes to boiling chicken stock and about 1 tsp sea salt.
While potatoes boil, dice 1/2 of a sweet onion and saute in 2 tbls olive oil. Dice ham and add to pan. Saute about 5 - 10 minutes. Scrape onions and ham out of pan into a bowl, or a plate.
Add butter to pan, keep on medium heat. Once it's melted add the flour and whisk. Be careful not to over-brown this butter/flour mixture known as a "roux." It will become bitter if it gets too brown. You're going for a nice golden color. Slowly add milk and whisk continuously. Add some spices. I added some "dashes" of garlic and onion powder, cayenne and black pepper, and salt. Just a few shakes of all those over the milk and whisk it in.You're probably going to end up whisking it for about 5 to ten minutes. Whisk until it starts to thicken like a loose gravy. Once it has thickened, turn off the heat and add your cheese. Continue to whisk until the cheese has melted and blended with the "gravy."
Don't forget all the while the potatoes are happily boiling in the chicken stock. Check from time to time because you don't want them to over boil. They will become mush if they boil too long, you want them to maintain their nice little square shape and structure. Also, you'll want to turn the stock-pot to low and let it cool from the boiling point before you add your "cheese gravy" (sorry I keep saying "cheese-gravy" but I don't know what else to call it because it's not quite a roux and not quite a cheese-sauce). Milk is a delicate protein very sensitive to heat. If you added that cheese-gravy to the chicken stock while still boiling it would curdle.
Before I added the "cheese-gravy" to the potatoes and chicken stock I scooped out some of the stock. I didn't want my soup to be too liquidy but nice and creamy. So - I scooped out enough stock so that the potatoes were just slightly covered with stock. Then I slowly poured in the "cheese gravy" and added the sauted onion and ham. I mixed it all together with a big spoon until well blended.
Then I put in bowls and we ate it. Anna-Joy asked for more which usually means it's a winner, and gives me great joy. Seriously, there's not much that makes me happier then when John and Anna-Joy like the food I make. They can both be a little hard to please at times. John just says "we like good food."
So this recipe made it on the "good food" list. Hope you enjoy!
PS - I'm not sure why certain words are underlined with a link but I don't know how to change that?
