bowl Archives - 3jamigos

Tryin’ to Squash A Cold! (Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup)

By threejamigos | March 24, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

How does that old adage go? Feed a cold, starve a fever? The thought crossed my mind as I was miserably lying in bed, achy, congested, and generally feeling like crap. Thank goodness for laptops and search engines…I found a Scientific America article that addressed this very proverb and whaddya know, going all Mythbuster, Scientific America, not only debunked it, but concluded it really should be “Feed a cold, FEED a fever”. Yeah baby, I love science.

What is the perfect antidote when it is cold, when you are sick, when you crave comfort, but you are too tired to fuss? SOUP. Am I right? Yep, bowl therapy to the rescue. It didn’t take long to find a soup that fit the bill. From the blog Creative Bites, Pressure Cooker Creamy Butternut Squash Soup. Lucky for me I had bought a butternut squash at the market and had all of the ingredients handy. “Kold karma” pointed me to this quick (thanks to my Instant Pot) and easy, delicious soup.

Here’s the HARD part. The PREP. Yeah, no getting around peeling that butternut squash and dicing ALL THOSE vegetables. Well, I suppose you could buy pre-cut squash, diced onions and minced garlic, but that’s your call. It’s part of cooking therapy for me.

NOW, the EASY part. Prep was 90% of the game. You’re now sitting pretty on 3rd base ready to score, just a mere minutes from homebowl. Get it? I love the apples and red bell pepper, they add a nice sweetness. Saute the veggies in your Instant Pot. It’s important when you add the stock, really stir the bottom of pot to release all those bits of saute goodness. The pot is very sensitive to bits stuck on the bottom and will turn off as a safety precaution if the bottom isn’t clean. Add the stock, seal the pot, and then set the timer for 5 MINUTES. Yep, five minutes and quick release at the end. With the time it takes to come to pressure, you’re still only looking at 15 minutes of cooking time. Not bad.

I used an immersion blender in the pot to puree the soup. There are a lot of comments online about how it doesn’t work as well as a blender. BUTTERNUTS. Not creamy enough? Throw the immersion stick back in and blend some more. I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of creaminess (though I don’t think I am) to do this, as oppose to pouring HOT soup, in batches, into my blender. I’m saving my blender for smoothies and Margaritas.

Go ahead and play around with this soup recipe. It’s very forgiving. Got thyme? Substitute for sage. Got time? Skip the Instant Pot, roast the vegetables instead. See the prepped veggies above? Throw it all in a roasting pan, give it a good swig of olive oil, toss, salt and pepper and roast at 425 for about an hour). The vegetables caramelize in the oven and add a sweetness to the soup that’s “souper” yummy. Creative bites calls for goat cheese or cream cheese. I like cream cheese because it adds a whole lot of mouth feel and just a slight tanginess. You could probably use sour cream, creme fraiche or even just a touch of heavy whipping cream instead. This would lighten the soup but you might lose that creaminess.

FINISH WITH TOPPING MADNESS. Once your soup is done, garnish with ANYTHING your little heart desires. Toasted nuts or pepitas, bacon, sliced apples, or more BACON, croutons. Did I mention bacon? I was sent a mix of nuts as a soup topping by my Food52 Holiday Gift Swap buddy- it was perfect.

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Creamy Butternut Squash Soup Instant Pot

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword butternut squash

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion diced
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 tsp. diced garlic
1 tsp. fresh ground ginger
2 lb. butternut squash peeled and cubed 1 medium squash
1 medium apple peeled cored and chopped
1 tsp. sage Substitute thyme or curry powder
1/8 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
3 c. chicken stock I used additional cup to thin down the soup a bit
3 oz. cream cheese Sub goat cheese
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
Salted Pepitas for garnish Or anything you like, like BACON BITS, spicy nuts, chives, sliced apple, sautéed wild mushrooms...
1 Tbsp Brown sugar, optional To add roasted squash’s sweetness

Instructions

Turn on the Saute function on Instant Pot. Add the olive oil, onions and bell pepper. Saute on high for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the cubed squash, apple, sage, chili powder, sea salt and chicken stock.
Place the lid on your Instant Pot and move the knob to seal. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes and do a quick release of the pressure.
Using an immersion blender in the Instant Pot, puree the mixture. Add the cream cheese and Parmesan, stir to melt and continue to puree until very smooth.
Garnish and serve.

BOB….Biscuits on the Brain

By threejamigos | August 26, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

Maybe its because I have two kids in college in the south, or maybe its just because who in their right mind doesn’t like biscuits, it is my current obsession. When I was a kid, scratch biscuits came out of a can with a chubby dough boy on the outside, pop the can open, ta-da, biscuits in 15 minutes!

In searching for a biscuit recipe, I learned southern families make their biscuits in a wooden bowl. These bowls are handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter. That struck a cord with me and I have been searching for a biscuit bowl of my own. A tall order here in California. I thought about having one made but I would have to make a gazillion biscuits to justify the cost. Then, I came across a Peruvian wooden bowl at NapaStyle…shallow and wide, it fit the bill. Not an actual biscuit bowl but close enough! When I visit my kid in Nashville I may continue the search for a true dough bowl but for now this is it so its time to make some biscuits!

This first recipe comes from State Magazine in Tennessee. From Tupelo Honey Cafe, not their signature AmAzing biscuit which I have had, but a nice tangy tender biscuit. A key ingredient is White Lily Self Rising Flour, available in the South, it is a softer winter wheat flour, lower protein content (King Arthur Flour has a version), perfect for biscuits.

Make sure your ingredients are cold! Mix in the butter with a pastry blender, until the butter particles are pea size. Use a light touch, don’t overmix.

I like this biscuit, but I wish the biscuit was taller, the search continues.

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Tupelo Honey Cafe Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups White Lily Self-Rising Flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup chilled shortening cut into pieces
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
Melted butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425˚ and position oven rack slightly below center of oven. Lightly butter a round cake pan or cast-iron skillet. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, and salt. Snap pieces of shortening with your fingers until they’re no larger than peas. Make a well in the mixture and pour in cream and ⅔ cup of buttermilk. Using your hands, sweep in the flour and turn dough until dry ingredients are moistened and dough resembles cottage cheese, adding just enough of remaining ⅓ cup buttermilk to reach this consistency. Sprinkle rolling surface with flour. Turn dough out onto the surface and sprinkle top with flour. With floured hands, fold dough in half and pat it into a ⅓- to ½-inch-thick round, using additional flour as needed. Flour again if necessary and fold dough in half a second time. If dough is still clumpy, repeat folding process for a third time. Pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round. Dip a 2-inch biscuit cutter into the flour and cut out biscuits, ensuring you don’t twist the cutter. Place biscuits in pan, sides slightly touching. Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter and bake for 15-20 minutes, until light golden brown, rotating pan 180 degrees after 6 minutes. Remove from oven and brush biscuits again with melted butter. Yields 10 biscuits.