Month: April 2020

Poppy Seed Dressing

Poppy Seed Dressing

I have always enjoyed when someone makes a salad with a good poppy seed dressing. I found this recipe years ago in a Saveur magazine and have kept it in my recipe file for years.The note on the recipe says: Popularized by Texas cookbook author …

Salad, Salad Dressing
Instant Pot Ranchero Beans

Instant Pot Ranchero Beans

After experimenting with several recipes, I have come up with this one on my own. Beans are so easy to make in the Instant Pot, you will never want to open another can of pinto beans for dinner again. You can adapt this recipe and …

Instant Pot, Side Dish
CPK Potato Leek Soup

CPK Potato Leek Soup

This is such an easy and flavorful soup. When it was on the menu at CPK, I ordered it all the time. I haven’t made this soup in years, but while on Quarantine Week #3, I decided to revisit some of my old recipes and make this again. 

 
Ingredients:
 
½ pound leeks (cleaned, trimmed and sliced, 1/4 inch; white part only)
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled, dried and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
3 cups water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 bay leaf
¾ teaspoon dried oregano
¾ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1. teaspoon soy sauce
1 ½ cups half and half
½ cup whipping cream
2 Tablespoons chopped scallion greens (optional garnish)

Directions:

Place half the leeks and all the potatoes, water, salt, herbs and spices in a 3 quart pot over medium heat. While the potatoes are cooking, cook the remaining leeks in olive oil in a separate pan over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the soy sauce to the leeks after they have begun caramelize; they should not be crispy or black. Continue cooking gently, until the leeks are a uniform caramel color.

Add the stock to the leek pan and carefully four leeks and stock into the potato pot. Use a rubber spatula to recover all pan drippings and add them to the potatoes.

When the potatoes are soft and crumbly, remove the pot from the burner; remove and discard bay leaf and process the soup to a coarse puree. Return the soup to the pot, whisk in cream and half-and-half. Bring the soup to a gentle boil and remove from heat. 
Recipe from The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook-1996

Soup