Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder

We arrived back home in Vermont last night from a weekend away in Geneva, NY. We watched the temperature drop to 41 degrees on the car thermometer and hoped that the bedroom window was closed. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Thus our house is a balmy 50ish. Since it is only the first week of October, and we are tough Vermonters, it is obviously far too early to turn the heat on. Instead a day of baking and cooking ensued. What better than homemade bread and a rich fall soup?

This week's recipe comes from the New England Soup Factory Cookbook, a book I do not own but borrow often. We had received sweet potatoes in our CSA last week so I flipped through the recipes with that in  mind. When I saw it I knew it was perfect for a day like today. Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder.

The Recipe:

Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder

7 Large Sweet Potatoes, peeled

4 Tbsp. butter

2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

1 Spanish Onion, peeled and diced

2 ribs celery, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

8 C. Chicken Stock

5 dashed Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 C. Packed Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp. ground coriander

2 C. Heavy Cream

1 16-oz can whole kernel corn, drained

1 16-oz can creamed corn

salt and pepper

Directions:

                Boil some salted water. Dice 2 of the sweet potatoes and add to the boiling water. Boil 10 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.

                In a stockpot melt butter over m/h heat. Add garlic, onion, celery, carrots, and remaining 5 potatoes (chopped). Saute for 10 minutes. Add stock, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 30 minutes (or until the potatoes are soft).

                Remove from heat and stir in worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, coriander, and cream. Puree using a hand blender (immersion blender). Add the reserved sweet potatoes and both corns. Return to the heat and simmer for 5 more minutes. Season.

I served this soup with homemade multigrain "harvest" bread (I used the crusty boule recipe from this blog but mixed in 2 cups of harvest grains, kalamata olives, garlic infused oil, and marinated mozzarella balls. 

The soup was a wonderful fall soup. It was very rich with just a hint of sweetness. I found that I needed to season additionally at the table and next time would season as I added ingredients instead of just at the end. I also added a few dashes of hot sauce because I thought the soup seemed a little too sweet while I was cooking it. We will definitely be having this soup again!

Crusty Boule

Get ready. The recipe in this week's (ok... month's) blog entry will change your life. It has changed mine.

Matt and I love bread. When I say love I mean we truly LOVE it- we buy fresh, artisan bread multiple times a week and eat entire baguettes for dinner... 

Ok. The truth is out.

The problem is that making bread is such a huge undertaking and bread machine bread usually isn't the same (I'm not saying I don't like it! No! I love bread machine in it's own way!). But, in last month's issue of the Cooking Club magazine there was a recipe for extremely simple bread and I have been making it for weeks now. I think it is time to share the recipe. You're going to be amazed.

Crusty Boule (makes 4 boules)

3 1/2 C. lukewarm water
4 tsp. active dry yeast
4 tsp. coarse salt
7 1/4 C. all purpose flour

1. Combine water, yeast and salt in large bowl. Stir in flour with spoon or mixer with paddle attachment.
2. Loosely cover and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
3. Refrigerate over night (and up to 14 days). Dough will have more of a "sourdough" taste the longer it refrigerates. 
4. Seperate dough into 4 grapefruit sized sections.
5. Dust top of dough with flour. Quickly shape into ball by stretching dough from top of ball around to bottom, turning the ball a quarter turn as you go.
6. Sprinkle counter with cornmeal. Place dough onto cornmeal. Cover ball with lightly floured plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
7. Thirty minutes into rising place baking stone on center rack in oven and broiler pan on bottom rack. Preheat over to 450 degrees.
8. Dust loaf with flour and make 2-3 1/4 inch slashes into top of loaf. Slide loaf onto baking stone and pour 1 C. hot water into broiler pan. Quickly shut oven door to trap steam.
9. Cook for 25-30 minutes. Until loaf is a deep golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack.

The magazine I found this recipe in also includes some other bread recipes you can use the dough to make, which I am excited to try out- so look forward to the Nutella ring in a later post!