Ingrid's soup

OK, today was a very typical fall day in Salem, Oregon..... rain, rain, rain.....I did not want to go to the store but I wanted to make the soup.....So after looking in my pantry and refrigerator I decided to attempt the recipe with what I found....I am happy to say it was a big hit.






Well I had gone to Portland last week and purchased some goodies from Trader Joe's and a couple other of my favorite stores. Among the groceries I had some dried cannelini beans and fresh escarole; both of which I had intended to use in different dishes.
I cooked the beans in a pressure cooker with one bay leaf in it.
For people who enjoy using endive in various dishes, escarole is a form of endive that is both versatile and tasty. Sometimes referred to as broad chicory or common chicory.
To my surprise I did have some andouille sausage, but I only had half the amount asked for in the recipe so I added 3 slices of cooked bacon to the soup since I had no other sausage available.
For the salad I had to improvise with arugula and herb salad mix, The boys asked me to add some red onion and apple to it and it was delicious!!!
I only added 1/2 the amount of honey since Leslee mentioned that it was a bit too sweet. I have to say that the boys still found it too sweet, I think that next time I will only add half the maple syrup as well. I am not a big fan of sweet salad dressing but this one is pretty good. The recipe sure makes a lot I only added half to our salad and saved the rest in the refrigerator.














I like to add the leafy veggies at the end to keep that nice fresh taste and to let people add as much or as little according to their taste, I also love fresh green onion sprinkled on top.
We had some delicious fresh backed french bread that Leon grabbed at the bakery on the way home and........... voila.........














I would definitely make this soup again, The salad too but with less honey and maple syrup.

Nika and Jacki’s review of Soup and Salad

 

We absolutely loved these two dishes and would make them both again.  Our tasters consisted of Me, Nika, Sterling and Isabelle.    We made the soup with the andouille sausage which gave it a nice spicy bite.  The collard greens really added a healthy flavor.   I was afraid I might have mashed the beans a little too much but it turned out just right.  It was very easy to prepare and I didn’t have any problems following the directions.  

We really liked the salad dressing and I don’t usually ever buy red leaf lettuce so that was a nice change too.  I went all out and splurged on the real maple syrup at $6.99 a bottle but it will be used again I am sure.  I think I should have chopped up the thyme a bit more but I have not really used herbs before so now I know.  The salad would also be good with tomatoes and other vegetables added.  I chose to make the soup and salad together but I think in the future I would serve the soup with maybe a fruit salad since there are so many collard greens in the soup already. 

Nika tried out a new recipe she had for Lion House Rolls that we served with the soup and salad and they were really, really good too.  If anyone is interested in that recipe just let her know.

Nika’s comments:  I really liked this meal.  It was like something you would get in a restaurant, lots of layers of flavors, and someone made it for me, hahaha.  Sterling and Isabelle liked it too, even though Sterling was a bit wary of the collard greens at first and Isabelle was trying to use the handle of her fork to cool her mouth off from the heat of the sausage.   I would really recommend trying this recipe.

Nika honing her baking skills and making homemade rolls.  Isabelle also helped her.

     

Adding the collard greens to the simmering soup.

Preparing the Thyme to add to the salad dressing.

Me (Jacki) mixing up the salad dressing (vinaigrette)

Adding the salad dressing to the chopped red lettuce leaves.

The finished soup – yuuuuuuumeee!

The final meal presentation of salad, roll and soup.

I hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as we did!

Leslee's Soup and Salad

The soup was a big hit at our house. I made it with a Kielbasa Sausage but it would have been good with something spicier. Very tasty and filling!

The Maple in the Vinaigrette made it a little too sweet for us but I enjoyed trying it. Instead of Red Lettuce I used Green Leaf Lettuce.
Excellent choices! I can't wait to see how everyone's turns out.

- Leslee

Soup and Salad for Week of Sept 27 - Oct 3

Hello fellow Sharpest Knives/Cooks, What better way to welcome in Fall than a hearty soup and simple salad. Pair it with a crusty loaf of French bread and you will have quite the meal!
Cook on!! - Jacki

White Bean Soup with Andouille and Collard Greens (pg 22)
(can experiment with different types of sausage)

1 Tblsp olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
12 oz andouille or chorizo sausage, diced
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
two 15 oz cans cannellini or other white beans, drained
1 bunch fresh collard greens, washed well, tough stems removed, and chopped, or two 10 oz pkg
frozen chopped collard greens, thawed
1 Tblsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until
softened, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the broth and
bring to a simmer.

2. Using a fork, slightly mash most of the white beans and add to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes,
then add the collard greens and simmer until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Red Lettuce with Honey-Maple Vinaigrette (pg 282)

1/4 cup honey
2 Tblsp maple syrup
2 Tblsp olive oil
2 Tblsp white wine vinegar
1 Tblsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4-6 cups chopped red lettuce leaves, or any lettuce variety

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients.
2. Arrange the lettuce on individual salad plates and spoon the dressing over the top just before
serving.

Up and Running

We will be getting started this coming week with two recipes chosen by Jacki. If you haven't gotten your books yet, she will be posting the recipe in its entirety. Below is a schedule of who picks the recipes which weeks. I started put the dates of the Monday of that week so maybe try and have the recipe up Sunday or Monday so we can all get cooking! Let us know if your week doesn't work well for you and we can switch it around, I just chose them randomly. We can take off the week of Thanksgiving since most people will be traveling or busy and then when this cycle runs out we can start over. If we get any new members we will just add them in at the end. We currently have 11 members, they are all family members of ours but not all of you are related so I will give a quick introduction of everyone.

Leslee Sitton

Jacki Davidson

Nika Dibb

Jacque Kirk (my aunt)

NaDee Davidson (my grandma)

Connie Burrows (grandma/ Jacki's mom)

Heidi Owens (aunt/Jacki's sister)

Ingrid Burrows (aunt)

Audrey Rutter (Jacki's Sister)

Kelly Sitton (my mother-in-law)

Chelsea Sargent (my sister-in-law)

Recipe Selection Schedule
Sept 28th- Jacki
Oct 5th: Leslee
Oct 12th: Ingrid
Oct 19th: Nika
Oct 26th: Chelsea
Nov 2nd: Heidi
Nov 9th: Jacque
Nov 16th: NaDee
Thanksgiving Week Off
Nov 30th: Kelly
Dec 7th: Audrey
Dec 14th: Connie