Golden Winter Vegetable Soup

I have made this soup for every Thanksgiving dinner, many a Christmas and New Years dinner since 2008 when it appeared in Cooking Light.  It is a great soup for special dinners or for a weekday paired with a grilled cheese sandwich.  It is just as good left over.  Potatoes and leeks are the base and butternut squash adds a bit of sweetness.  The recipe calls to serve it with a toasted baquette slice but that step can be skipped without compromising the recipe.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled russet potato (about 12 ounces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sliced leek (about 2 medium)
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
12 ounces baguette, cut into 16 slices
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add squash, potato, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add leek; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Place half of potato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture. Stir in half-and-half. Cover and keep warm.
Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Broil bread slices 2 minutes or until golden. Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 1 teaspoon chives. Serve 2 bread slices with each serving. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

Mariangela's Olive Oil Banana Bread

I have always turned to the banana bread recipe on the back of the Bisquick box for a quick use of overripe bananas. I found this recipe on Bay Area Bites .  She had this bread while visiting a friend in Italy. It is a very quick, simple recipe with no need of a mixer.  It is great for breakfast, snack, or dessert.


Mariangela's Olive Oil Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup yogurt
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, olive oil, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold until everything is combined. Pour into a well-greased or parchment paper-lined pan (8.5″ x 8.5″ pan, bundt cake pan, skillet, or traditional loaf pan would all work).
5. Bake for 50-65 minutes, or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

No Spread Sugar Cookies

These sugar cookies are great for cookie cutters as they do not spread while baking.  I like to cut out squares or circles because they are easy to decorate.  These I made for Halloween.  At Christmas time squares can be decorated into packages and circles into ornaments.  I use dough spacers to roll the dough which keeps all the cookies uniform in thickness.  I use royal icing to decorate.

No Spread Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

6 c flour

1Tbs baking powder

2 c unsalted butter

2 c baking sugar

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (optional)

1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, five minutes.
2. Add eggs and vanilla.
3. Mix well.
4. Mix dry ingredients and add gradually to butter mixture.
5. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.
6. Chill for 1 to 2 hours
7. Roll to desired thickness on Parchment Paper and cut into desired shapes. 1/4" is ideal.  
8. Bake on Parchment Paper-lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges.

Mario Batali Penne all'Arrabbiata

This is almost as simple as Trader Joe's frozen penne in Arrabbiata but food always taste better when prepared fresh.  This was in the New York Times Magazine.  I did not use the whole tablespoon of red pepper flakes and it still had a nice kick. So adjust that to suit your taste.  Even though it is not traditional in an Arrabbiata sauce but some Italian sausage makes a nice addition.

Mario Batali Penne all'Arrabbiata

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 4 more tablespoons
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon hot red-pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, like Pomì
• 1 pound penne
• Maldon or other flaky sea salt
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving.

PREPARATION

1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 3 tablespoons kosher salt.
2. Meanwhile, put 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, and then add the tomato paste and pepper flakes; reduce the heat to low and stir just until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and remove from the heat.
3. Drop the pasta into the boiling water, and cook until al dente.  Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
4. Add the pasta and the reserved pasta water to the tomato sauce, stir and toss over medium heat until the pasta is well coated.

Season with salt if necessary, then add the remaining oil, tossing well. Serve immediately, with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.

YIELD

Serves 6