potato leek soup

Quinn and I are obsessed with this soup right now.

Potato Leek Soup

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 sliced of bacon--cut into pieces
1 diced onion
4 large leeks, cleaned and sliced (I have a hard time having the patience to really clean the leeks before I slice, so a lot of times I'll clean them, then slice them, then put them in a strainer and run them under water for quite a while to really get all of the grit out. To me this is easier.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2-3 cups chicken stock/broth (the first time I made this I had stock on hand, the second time I only had broth. It was significantly better with the stock rather then the broth.)
2-3 cups beef stock/broth
1-2 cups of cream
4 russett potatoes

Directions

Heat oil in a pan that will hold the soup over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook to render the fat. Add the onion and leeks, saute for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add butter. When melted, stir in flour to make a roux. Whisk in chicken and beef stock. Add potatoes. (I just sort of gauge how much stock to use here. Just enough to cover all the ingredients.) Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender. Right before serving I add in the cream and heat through.

pretzels

I don't think I will ever buy a pretzel in a mall again after making these. They were super easy and very delicious. We are on day 3 now of pretzels and after popping them in the micro for 20 seconds they are still as delcious as they were fresh out of the oven.

The recipe is courtesy of My Kitchen Cafe. You can find it here.

Chewy Soft Pretzels

Makes 8 pretzels

Dough:
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) warm water*

Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes (see pictures below).

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown. I only bake one baking sheet at a time and let the other rest while the first is in the oven.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.