Rustic Potato Soup

Rustic potato soup - borrowed image.

One of my favorite dishes from an unnamed Italian restaurant is this very soup. It's hearty, simple, and most of all, delicious. I've seen other versions of this recipe, but I assure you - once you make this, you will never pay the restaurant for their version again.

You'll need:

1 lb.ground hot Italian sausage - if unavailable, 5 links (skinned) will do
1/2 lb. cooked bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
6 minced cloves of garlic
1 tsp. or so sea salt
6-8 medium potatoes, skin on, thinly sliced (I use a mandolin.)

6 cups (about 4 liters) chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup cream
small bunch of kale, finely chopped

Also: olive oil

Heat some oil in a deep pot. Add sausage, Brown sausage, chopping it into small chunks as it cooks. Remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside; leave drippings in pot. Add onion and garlic, saute at low - medium heat until slightly translucent, then add the wine and stir to finish deglazing pot.

Pour chicken stock into pot and add potatoes. Add the salt and cook until potatoes are nearly cooked though. Toss in bacon, wait ten minutes. Add sausage back and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Taste and season as you go, this soup works well that way. Drop heat to low, add cream and kale. Stir it in thoroughly and serve.

Serves 6 to 8 well.

Main... Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin Roast with Bacon Gravy

The finished product, with herb roasted potatoes.

This recipe is loosely based on a couple of others. I'll also provide the herb roasted potato recipe, but that's another post. Note: I use a convection oven that has convection roast, but the recipe will use the same temperature. Just keep an eye on the bacon. This is also where a fork temperature probe comes in handy. The pork loin can also be substituted with a beef tenderloin, but you'll have to keep a closer eye on temperature and quick broil the bacon when it gets close to the temperature you want. 

All said, this is an amazing dinner recipe. Not hard to make, and absolutely delicious! The bacon gravy is also wonderful on fries or in poutine.

Marinade:
1/2 cup blackberries, crushed and seeded (seedless blackberry jam is acceptable - about 5 tbsp.)
1/4 cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, brand not important)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
6 cloves of garlic, crushed

Roast:
2 pork tenderloins
1 lb. thin sliced bacon

Bacon Gravy: 
3 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp. corn starch
1/4 cup water

Mix marinade ingredients. Place tenderloins in a freezer bag, add marinade and refrigerate for at least two hours (the longer the better.)

Preheat oven to 325° (roast setting, if you have it.)

Overlap the bacon so that it holds the marinade and moisture better.

Remove the loins from the bag and place at the end closest to you. To make them roll even, place the thicker part of each loin at opposite ends. Place some (about 2 tbsp.) of the marinade between the loins. Slowly lift the ends of the bacon and roll the roast, ensuring that the opposite end of the bacon is beneath the roast when you're done rolling.

It should look like this when you're done.

Put the roast on a rack in a roasting pan and place in the oven. Roast, uncovered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. As the bacon appears finished, the loins may well be too. Insert the probe at the thickest point. It should read at least 145°F (73°C). Let the roast rest on the cutting board.

Resting nicely.

Remove rack from the pan while hot and add some of the chicken stock. Using a wooden spoon, use the stock to remove the drippings (including the dark chunks - this is where all the flavor is!) Pour the drippings mixture into a small pot. 

Add the remaining stock and cook at medium high. To break down any bacon chunks, you can use an immersion blender while it heats. Mix the water and cornstarch together.

As the gravy begins to bubble, stir in the cornstarch, a little at a time until the desired consistency is achieved. Remove from heat.

Slice the roast into desired serving size and spoon gravy onto the roast. Serve with herb roasted potatoes (recipe coming!) and choice of veggie. Enjoy! 

Appetizer... Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites.

Simple and delicious. Good for any party.

This is not totally my own recipe - the internet has a lot of variants. But I will guarantee you'll love it, and it's pretty easy to make. The rub is my own, and I also use it on ribs.

First, you're going to need a simple rub. Try this: Ed's Rub

Also:
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into approximately 1" chunks
1 pound sliced bacon, slices cut in half
round toothpicks (easily available at any dollar store)

Preheat oven to 350°. Put some rub in a low flat bowl, set aside. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

Wrap each chunk of chicken with a bacon slice and secure it with a toothpick. Roll each piece of wrapped chicken in the rub, coating it evenly; place them on the cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes (test one to ensure chicken is not pink.) Enjoy!

Makes about 20
Total prep/cook time: 45 minutes 

Potato and leek soup

Potato and Leek Soup with Bacon and Mushrooms

I like potato and leek soup, but I decided to kick it up a bit, give it some texture and that good smoky flavor that comes with bacon. I made this last night, and it was really good. For this recipe I used dried spices though. Hope you like it as well!

2 lbs. of small red potatoes
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
3 quarts of chicken stock (I use the boxed liquid stock)
2 cups vegetable stock
3 leeks
1 pound of hickory smoked bacon
1/2 cup half and half
1/3 cup white wine
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tbsp. parsley
2 tbsp. fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano (the real cheese, it makes a difference)
dash marjoram
dash sage
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. coarse sea salt
1 tbsp. coarse black pepper

Cut potatoes into roughly 1" chunks and boil in lightly salted water. Cook the bacon to reasonable crispness, then set aside to cool. Cut up the leeks (white and light green part only) and wash them. (Separate the rings of the leeks in a colander and run them under water.)

Once boiled, drain the potatoes and place them back in the pot. Add two quarts of chicken stock and place pot on medium heat. Using an immersion blender, puree the potatoes (if you don't have an immersion blender, put them in a standard blender and do it that way. You may have to do it in several loads.) Add mushrooms,wine, and remaining stocks to the puree. Add Parmigiano, bay leaf and other spices. Cook on medium-low for about twenty minutes.

Sautee the leeks in the same pan the bacon was cooked in, till just softened. Chop bacon and add it to the soup. Add leeks and half and half, stirring it in slowly. lower heat and simmer for about fifteen minutes. Serve.

Cook time: approximately an hour and a half

Serves 6...well.