Curried Pumpkin Bisque--A Soup that Tastes Better than it Looks

Every year my next door neighbors organize a soup party. It used to be held in fall, but since recently they have been hosting also a Halloween party, the soup party has been moved to spring. They invite many friends and cook huge pots of soup for their guests. You are also encouraged and welcome to bring your own favorite soup to share. It is a nice pretext to meet friends and neighbors, have a glass of wine and a chat.

This party event makes me slightly ashamed because it should have been me who came up with such a party idea, since in Poland every dinner starts with a plate of soup. But I am not crazy about soups--I like only some of them, and I am happy to skip them in my menus, and replace them with salads, which I love more than anything.

When the party was held in fall, the hosts prepared a pumpkin soup which I liked a lot and asked them for the recipe. This soup is heavier than many that I know and therefore if it is served with bread it can be the whole meal in itself. I also love its spiciness which comes from curry and other Indian spices. The recipe I received from them also includes smoked ham, but since they are vegetarian, I have always had only its vegetarian version, which is delicious anyway, and one that I cooked recently myself.

Curried Pumpkin Bisque

Ingredients:
2 lbs butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed,
1 green pepper, seeded, and finely chopped,
6 whole scallions chopped,
1/4 cup of parsley, chopped,
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil or 1 tbsp dried,
1 can (14 oz) plum tomatoes,
4 cups vegetable stock,
2 tbsp butter,
1 garlic clove, minced,
1/2 tsp ground allspice,
1/4 tsp ground mace,
pinch of ground nutmeg,
2-3 tsp curry powder,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. In a large saucepan, over medium heat melt butter and add chopped scallions. Cook for 2 minutes, and add garlic, green pepper, parsley, and basil. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add squash to the saucepan and stir until squash is covered with herb mixture.
3. Add tomatoes, stock, allspice, mace, and nutmeg. At this moment, you also add ham if used. Heat to the boiling point, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 40 minutes until squash becomes tender.
4. Remove soup from the heat and (take out the ham if used), puree in batches in a blender.
5. Transfer to another saucepan. If you like the soup to be lighter, you may add some water.
6. Stir in the curry powder and bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes stirring frequently.
7. Season with salt and pepper and serve with white bread or Indian Naan.

When I made it recently and wanted to take a picture, a friend of mine was very sceptical about the photogenic aspect of it. However, after trying the first spoon of it, his verdict was "Delicious! It tastes a thousand times better than it looks!"

Apple Half Moons--to Dream About

It would have been extremely rude to complain about a country that has been my home for the past fourteen years, and has been nothing but friendly to me but, especially in this season, I have one pet peeve about America--APPLES!.

I just cannot understand how on such an enormous continent it is impossible to get a good quality apples that are suitable for cooking. In Europe we have probably hundreds of different apples, which are excellent to be eaten raw, but we also grow apples that are destined exclusively for cooking. They usually are stronger in taste, more or less juicy depending on the dish they are used for, more sour and having this specific winy taste that you can always find under the sweetness of added sugar in all kinds of tarts, preserves, and desserts.

Some would consider Granny Smith cooking apples, but in my opinion they are not and I am sure that my European readers understand exactly what I mean. Granny Smith lacks this natural tartness and does not soften desirably during cooking. It is just another version of the same apple on the supermarket shelve, and not the one unique in taste, like those from my family's backyard orchard.

During my recent visit to Poland I saw a recipe for apple half moons (or "apple kisses" as they are called back home), which my grandmother used to make when I was a child; every Friday or Saturday evening she was baking something sweet for Sunday. I used to help her making the yeast dough for them and when I saw the recipe for them in a cooking magazine, I realized how much I missed them with their smell filling my grandma's kitchen adding to its warmth and comfort.

My grandmother was a master of all kinds of cakes and pies. I have learned from her all of them, except for those that were based on yeast, which I still cannot get to be as light and fluffy as they should be. But this recipe is fairly easy as it is half butter and half yeast dough. I made with them with Granny Smith apples but any of the European cooking apples would be better.

Apple Half Moons

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter,
2 and 1/2 cup flour,
1 egg and 1 yolk,
1 sachet dried yeasts,
1 tbsp sugar,
a pinch of salt,
3 sour cooking apples,
1 tbsp butter for the baking tin,
confectioners sugar and cinnamon for taste.

Preparation

To make the dough:
1. Place butter and flour in a big bowl.
2. Using knife or hands make small crumbles.
3. In a smaller bowl or a measuring cup mix eggs, sugar, yeast, and sour cream.
4. Add egg mixture to the flour and butter crumbles and make a smooth dough.
5. Wrap in foil and chill for at least one hour or over night.

To make the half moons:
1. Heat up the oven to 350 F.
2. Peel off the apples, remove the cores and cut apple in 1/2 inch quarters-about 10-12 per apple.
3. Roll out the dough--it should be 1/4 inch thick.
4. Using a cookie cutter cut out circles that have about 3-4 inches in diameter.
5. Place a quarter of apple on each circle, fold the circle to cover the apple and place on a buttered baking tin.

6. Using a brush paint each half moon with egg white.
7. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until gold.
8. Serve them still warm or cold dusted generously with icing sugar and cinnamon.

My apple half moons came out pretty good, but the apple slices did not soften, as much as Polish cooking apples would have. If you try this recipe and find a suitable kind of apples, please share it with me, as I still dream about the perfect ones.

Crispy Mushroom Crostini--Party Alternative to Crunchy Veggies

There is a one type of party food, besides chips, that I tend to ignore--a plate of raw vegetables and the white dip that accompanies them. And the arguments that carrots are good for your eyes, celery for your vitality, and broccoli for everything else do not convince me to move any closer in their direction. I love all those vegetables in any kind of dish, and I do eat them raw in salads, as I am huge veggies lover, but the idea of crunching them at a party, especially when a glass of wine is served, seems awkward to me. I do not come to a party to watch my diet, but to enjoy myself, or even indulge in foods that are not necessarily on my doctor's "must eat" list.

For that reason I am always happy to find a new recipe for a party snack, especially one that can make the party experience complete, even if you are hosting people just for drinks. A good party snack is a nice touch and it shows that you care. I often serve, with great success, blue cheese and pear snacks. Those tiny toasts do not require much preparation but are much more attractive and satisfying than chips and crunchy veggies.

This one is another such party idea, especially since wild mushrooms are now in season. I served it once to my guests as a dinner appetizer. From the whole dinner it was one of my friend's favorite part. On the way home he was raving about those snacks to my other friend, not to mention that he had at least twenty of them that night. As holiday party season approaches, I dedicate this recipe to those party organizers who would like to move beyond serving chips and crunchy veggies.

The original recipe calls for wild mushrooms, but since they are not so easily available in the United States, you can use white mushrooms, or a mix of white, shiitake, portobello, or any mushrooms you can buy.

Mushroom Crostini
(Adapted from Bon Appétit--serves 6-8 people)

Ingredients:
1 baguette cut into slices quarter inch thick,
2 tbsp butter,
2 tbsp olive oil,
3 shallots,
5 cups (about 12 oz) mushrooms,
2 garlic cloves,
1/4 cup table cream,
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary,
1 cup grated Fontina cheese,
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Chop shallots and saute on melted butter for about one minute.
3. Chop all the mushrooms and saute them for 6-8 minutes, until well cooked, almost brown.
4. Add crushed garlic and cook together for one minute.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and add rosemary, cream, salt, and pepper. Mix and let cool.
6. Add shredded Fontina and Parmesan.
7. Cover each piece of baguette with one tsp of mushrooms topping and place on a baking sheet slightly greased with oil.
8 Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crostini become gold and cheese is melting.

I have made a few modifications to the original recipe. I replaced the heavy whipping cream with table cream, to save some calories, skipped the lemon peel and bake the entire crostini at once, instead of baking first the baguette slice and later broiling them with the topping. They turned out to be perfectly crispy and strong in taste. A wonderful wine accompaniment.