Tag: main course
Butternut Squash Soup
Butternut Squash Soup
Every time I make this soup(which isn’t very often), I ask myself why I’m not making this all the time. Butternut squash soup is one of my favorites and is extremely easy to make. My version uses bacon, homemade croutons, and blue cheese crumbles as a topping. If you want this soup to be vegan, omit the bacon and blue cheese; using olive oil to sauté the vegetables in. If you want this soup to be gluten free, omit the croutons. Ultimately, it’s a win-win with how tasty this soup turns out.
Equipment
- immersion blender
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon diced; fat reserved
- 1 large butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 3 medium russet potatoes peeled and cubed
- 3 large carrots sliced
- 3 ribs celery chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 head garlic peeled and minced
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp ground white pepper
- 2 tsp thyme
- blue cheese crumbles
Garlic Croutons
- 4 slices white bread cubed
- olive oil
- garlic powder
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, brown the bacon until crispy. Scoop out and set aside. Keep the grease.
- Add in all of the veggies and brown for 10 minutes in the bacon fat.
- Pour in the stock and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes until the veggies are soft.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth.
Garlic Croutons
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet. Drizzle over olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping half way through. Let cool.
Top with bacon, garlic croutons, and blue cheese crumbles.
Steak Frites with Maitre D Butter
Steak Frites with Maitre d Butter
Steak frites is a classic French dish that is simply steak and fries. Popular cuts of beef to use are strip loin, hangar, skirt, and top sirloin. Traditionally, the steak is pan fried, but grilling or broiling are acceptable. The steak is topped with some fancy Maitre d butter, making the steak unbelievably flavorful; allowing the fries to sop up the buttery steak juices.
Ingredients
- 16 oz NY Strip steak
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- French fries of your choice
Maitre D Butter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 tsp parsley finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch smoked paprika
Instructions
- Let the steak rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Rub with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Start your charcoal in a chimney starter. Pour the gray charcoal in the grill and put on the grate. Place the steak over the charcoal.
- Grill for 5-6 minutes a side for medium rare. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Maitre D Butter
- Mix all of the butter ingredients in a small bowl. Place in the freezer until firm.
Put a tbsp of the maitre d butter on the steak and serve with your favorite fries.
Whole Smoked Bone-In Beef Short Rib Plate
Serve with your favorite sides. Turn the leftovers into short rib tacos.
Croque Madame
Croque Madame
I’ve been waiting a lifetime to try this sandwich. I recently went to Paris for a week and this was the first thing I ate at a small cafe when I got there. The Croque Madame is a decadent, classic French sandwich consisting of ham, gruyere, and Mornay sauce(which is a cream sauce made with gruyere), topped with a fried egg. Without the fried egg, the sandwich is called a Croque Monsieur. It was everything that I expected. Rich, creamy, cheesy, and artery clogging. Seriously one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten, period.
Ingredients
Mornay Sauce
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup gruyere cheese grated
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
Sandwich
- 2 tbsp butter divided
- 2 slices French loaf bread
- 1/4 cup gruyere cheese grated
- 2 slices ham
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp chives finely chopped
Instructions
- Over medium heat in a small pot, whisk together the butter and flour. Cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the milk. Whisk over low heat for 3 minutes until thickened.
- Take off the heat and whisk in the gruyere, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a skillet. Toast only 1 side of the slices of bread for 4 minutes.
- Take out the bread for assembly. Spread the dijon must on one piece of the bread; the other with half of the Mornay sauce.
- Place half of the gruyere on the Mornay sauce, followed by the slices of ham.
- Put the slice of bread with the dijon on top of the ham; mustard side down. Spread the rest of the Mornay sauce on top of the bread, along with the rest of the gruyere.
- Bake on a baking pan in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.
- While the sandwich is in the oven, melt 1 tbsp of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Crack and egg and cook sunny side up force minutes until the whites are cooked through.
Top with the fried egg and chopped chives.
