White Bean and Kale Soup

This is a fantastic recipe we made last night with friends courtesy of Monkey and Kitten. I highly recommend it.

White Bean and Kale Soup

about 1 lb kale, swiss chard, or the like
1.5 Tbs olive oil
1.5 Tbs garlic, minced
2 medium carrots
1 quart chicken broth
2 cans cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. rinse kale, remove from stems, and chop leaves into manageably
edible pieces (about 1 inch or so); slice stems thinly crosswise

2. heat oil over medium heat in a 4-5 quart pan; add chard stems,
garlic and carrots, stirring often until carrots become tender

3. add kale leaves, broth, and 3.25 cups water. Bring to a simmer,
cook, stirring occasionally until kale is tender to bite (about 10
minutes)

4. add beans and stir occasionally until they're hot; add parmesan and
salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve!

adapted (and improved upon!) from a recipe in Delicious Living magazine.

Shephard's pie.

I recommend this shephard's pie. I didn't make it but my friends did and it was really yummy. I had thirds.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22590,00.html

2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons sour cream or softened cream cheese
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup cream, for a lighter version substitute vegetable or chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 3/4 pounds ground beef or ground lamb
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock or broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire, eyeball it
1/2 cup frozen peas, a couple of handfuls
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.
While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef or lamb. Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. If you are using lamb and the pan is fatty, spoon away some of the drippings. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas.

Preheat broiler to high. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

This is what we ate a couple Sundays ago. I had a very good review of it. Most were happy. Keep in mind for those that have frequent heart attacks that I'd stay away from this. It's got lots and lots of Butter. I used PBR in this one. For those that don't know that's Pabst Blue Ribbon. We also had white bean soup and I"ll try to post the recipe for that one.

RecipeSource: Beer Cheese Soup:

Exported from  MasterCook  *
CHEESE AND BEER SOUP

Recipe By     :
Serving Size  : 1    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Cheese/eggs

Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
1       c            Finely chopped bacon
1/2                Green bell pepper, chopped
                        -fine
1/2   c            Chopped celery
1/2   md           Onion, chopped fine
2/3   c            Flour
1                    Stick butter
3       qt           Milk
1                    Pimiento, drained and
                        -chopped
1       c            Chicken bouillon
1/2   ts           Garlic powder
1 1/2   lb           Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2   lb           Provolone cheese, grated
1/2   c            Beer
1/4   c            Chopped parsley
                        Salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan and reserve.  In about 3/4 tsp) (2
oz.) of the bacon drippings, saute bell pepper, onion and celery. Make a
roux by mixing flour and butter over a warm burner of the stove. When it
starts to brown, add milk slowly, mixing all the while.

Add the mixture of sauted vegetables, bacon, pimiento, bouillon, and garlic
powder.  Heat over medium heat.  (High will scorch milk). When the milk
mixture reaches a medium temperature, add the cheeses and stir until
cheeses liquefy.

Add beer to the soup.  Reduce heat to simmer and simmer uncovered for 20
minutes.  Just before removing soup from stove, mix in parsley for color.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Freezes well.

Makes 1 gallon or 10 servings.

Source:  Kelly's Restaurant, in The Orlando Sentinel, 10/24/91

Posted by Cindy Tarsi. Courtesy of Fred Peters.