This is a very easy to make soup that is perfect when you need a quick meal on a cold night like we are having here in Philadelphia. I completely changed this recipe around from one I found in a magazine my wife purchased at the airport on our way back from Park City, Utah.

I didn’t have most of the ingredients called for in the original recipe so I made this one up based on what I had in the freezer and pantry. Everyone, including the kids enjoyed the results and it was even better the next day for lunch.

Italian Sausage Spinach and Artichoke soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound of Italian sweet sausage
• 6 cups of chicken stock or broth
• 1 pound artichoke hearts, I used jarred in water but you can also use frozen but be sure to thaw them out before using.
• 1 pound of cleaned spinach leaves
• 1/4 pound of snow peas
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve with soup.

How to Prepare at Home

Mise en Place - prep the sausage as describe below, rinse off the artichoke hearts and cut them into quarters, clean the spinach in cold water and grate some Parmesan cheese. Please do not use the stuff that comes in a green can.

Heat soup pot over medium high heat until hot (do the water test), add olive oil and then the sausage. You can cut the sausage casing to remove the meat but I like to squeeze them out of the casing into the pot when its hot. Throw away the casings. As the sausage is browning, break up the pieces with a wood spoon or spatula.

Be sure to stir the sausage so it doesn’t burn. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to brown.

Add the chicken stock/broth, artichoke quarters plus 1 cup of water. Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer.

Add the spinach and snow peas, cover and cook for a few minutes until the spinach wilts and the snow peas are tender.

Serve in large soup bowls, garnish with Parmesan cheese or serve the cheese on the side and let your diners add to taste.  Some good crusty Italian bread would be nice too. I served it with white rice to make a meal out of it but it would be a good started too.

I’m sure everyone has their own version of post Thanksgiving turkey soup but I wanted to share with you this quick and easy version prepared by my friend Paula who is from Mexico and a wonderful cook teaching me the basics of authentic Mexican cuisine. This is a true what’s-on-hand recipe prepared with ingredients leftover from Thanksgiving and whatever is in the refrigerator.

It starts with preparing a simple turkey broth and I mean simple. We had a big crowd so my wife and I prepared two smaller turkeys. One was 16 pound and the other 12 pounds. I just threw their carcasses along with the leg bones and wings into a large soup pot, covered them with water, brought them to a boil, lowered the heat and let the pot simmer for about three hours hours.

Let the soup cool and then strain into containers to use for soup or freeze for other turkey dishes like turkey risotto.  There will be plenty of meat left on the carcass that will have fallen off or is easy to remove with your fingers. Save this to add back to the soup.

Paula made the soup by adding the following ingredients to a couple of quarts of the turkey stock.

• ½ to 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery
• 10 of those small prepped carrots or you can use 3 or 4 whole carrots, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• A handful of snap peas we had in the refrigerator, trimmed
• 2 cups (approximately) of shredded turkey meat that came off the carcass.
• And of course some ¼ cup cilantro, chopped. I don’t think Paula cooks anything without adding a little cilantro and I don’t mind at all although my kids think it smells like stink bugs.

After adding these ingredients, let them simmer on low for about 30 to 45 minutes and you are done. You can taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper, but I found it didn’t need any.

This is very good soup and better than anything you can buy in a can and much less expensive AND without all the unnecessary salt. I urge every home cook to use the bones from their roasted turkeys and chickens to make broth for cooking. It freezes well and there is always a need for homemade broth (stock) in one of your recipes during the week.

There are so many times I roast a chicken or even buy one at the supermarket only to throw out the carcass and don’t use it to make chicken stock. The next day I’ll be making something calling for chicken stock and I have to use one of my store bought brands. There are some very good commercial brands now on the market to choose from, but none will have the flavor of your own homemade stock.

I have been eating this soup for lunch 3 days running and it gets better every day. Filling and nutritious, what could be better?

Did You Make Turkey Stock With Your Carcass This Year?

We invited some friends over on Friday to enjoy some good food served with some great bottles of wine. My buddy Marc B was sitting on a bottle of 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape and itching to open so we gave him an opportunity. There were 8 adults plus 4 kids and we served this roasted pumpkin soup, lasagna, short ribs with mashed sweet/white potatoes and finished with my wife’s home made apple pie.

I’ll post the braised short ribs with Asian flavors later in the week but I wanted to share with you what may have been the best course of all…..Creamy Pumpkin Soup.

We had been served this at a neighbor’s house last week, and my wife was able to snag the recipe from her colleague.  This soup was so good that some of the guests asked for seconds even though we had a ton a food to serve.

Home Made Chicken Stock & Fresh Roasted Pumpkin

What makes this soup so delicious, in my opinion, is the homemade chicken stock made from the carcass of a roasted chicken we enjoyed the previous night and the fresh pumpkin also roasted the night before. You don’t have to roast your own pumpkin or prepare your own chicken stock to make this recipe but I think it makes a big difference.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter = 1 quarter pound stick
• 2 gloves of garlic, minced
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 5 cups of chicken stock
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 pounds roasted pumpkin or substitute canned pumpkin
• 2 cups half & half
• Salt and white pepper, to taste
• Chives to garnish with

How to Make Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Get all your ingredients together. I made the chicken stock in the morning but I also had some in the freezer and low salt canned in the pantry if I needed more. Mince the garlic, chop the onion and get the spices in order.

Heat up your soup pot and melt the butter but be careful not to let it brown. Sauté the garlic and onion until the onion is translucent. Stir in the curry powder and let it cook for 30 seconds.

Add the chicken stock and white wine and bring them to a GENTLE boil - not a rolling boil. That means the bubbles should be very small, just above a simmer. Let this cook uncovered for 20 minutes.

Next, add the roasted pumpkin and cook for 5 minutes.

Time to puree the soup. I used a hand blender because I find it easier to puree the soup in the cooking pot but if you don’t own one,  you could transfer the soup contents to a bender in batches and puree it to a smooth consistency.

I stopped here knowing I would be adding the half & half and salt & white pepper just before serving later that evening but you can finish the soup right now.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve in soup bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and some fresh snipped chives. We served a Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay with the soup and it was delicious.

This is a rich, very flavorful soup that can be served as a meal by itself with a loaf of French bread on a cool Fall night. If you make this at home, let me know how you like it.