Soup's on.

Some women claim flowers as the key to their heart.  For others, it's diamonds or romance.  For me?  I choose warmth.  I could begin my dissertation on how a warm-blooded girl actually ended up in New England, but I shall summarize it in the following sentence: In my quest to follow love (aka: move to my husband's hometown), I began my never-ending quest for warmth.  

Simple love for me is found in wrapping my hands around a warm cup of coffee on a brisk morning, a roaring fire, mittens, my well-worn UGG moccasins and freshly washed blankets.  And nothing says good old fashioned down-home love as homemade bread and a simmering pot of soup. 

I could sit here all day with these great things all within reach.

When we made the cinnamon rolls last week, I made two pots of soup to enjoy.  It was an easy way to feed a crowd and a flexible, compact meal.  The Pioneer Woman website inspired not only the cinnamon rolls, but some tasty soup options.  I made the Chicken Tortilla Soup for the cinnamon roll baking and the Cauliflower Soup a few days later for some easy football watching food.  I am always a fan of Chicken Tortilla Soup and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the Cauliflower Soup turned out.  I almost refrained from telling Charles about the cauliflower to assure that he would try it, but he didn't require much explanation.  He was on his second bowl before we could discuss the contents.  

And for the 3rd batch of the week is a Potato Leek Soup recipe that I make quite often in the colder months.  I started making this after I found myself with a need to use up some buttermilk.  I have tweaked this recipe a little bit.  I use chicken broth instead of vegetable and slightly more potatoes.  For those of you who are deterred from the words immersion blender as I once was, put it on your gift list or splurge at your local kitchen store on this simple tool.  Once you use it, you will be seeking out recipes that require one.  It is great for anything from soup to smoothies and I guarantee that you will love it!  Anyway, back to the soup...I have found this to be the best potato soup recipe in my humble opinion.

It is from Alton Brown on Food Network:

• Ingredients

  • 1 pound leeks, cleaned and dark green sections removed, approximately 4 to 5 medium
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Heavy pinch kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
  • 14 ounces, approximately 3 small, Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced small
  • 1 quart vegetable broth
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 tablespoon snipped chives

  Directions

  Chop the leeks into small pieces.

  In a 6-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and sweat for 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook until the leeks are tender, approximately 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  Add the potatoes and the vegetable broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer until the potatoes are soft, approximately 45 minutes.

  Turn off the heat and puree the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in the heavy cream, buttermilk, and white pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately, or chill and serve cold.

  Stay warm!