Now that autumn is upon us, we can feel free to enjoy delicious soups and stews without any fear of heating up the kitchen. In fact, with the cooling temperatures a hot soup for lunch or supper might well be just what the Doctor ordered.
This delicious Garlic & White Cheddar Bisque is a favorite in my kitchen and makes an excellent light lunch or supper, or even an excellent starter for a celebratory or holiday meal!
It is smooth and creamy with a beautiful rich flavor, and is very simple to make. You can also make it ahead up to the point where you add the cheese.
Simply reheating it and then whisking in the cheese just prior to serving.
You may find yourself wondering what is it that makes a soup a bisque? Traditionally in France, a chef would define a bisque as being a soup made from shell fish and thickened with a paste created from their shells.
Sounds appealing eh? (NOT!) Julia Child was the first person to popularize Lobster Bisque in North America. Her recipe uses both shells and ground rice to thicken the bisque.
These days, more often than not, it is a term used to describe a creamy soup, usually made with vegetables, with a smooth velvety texture, which uses cream to enrich it.
They should feel smooth and luxurious in the mouth. Creamy and rich they are often served as the first course of a large dinner. You can use a food mill to puree them to the perfect silkiness, or you can do as I do and use an immersion blender. Both work equally as well.
This Garlic & White Cheddar Bisque recipe I am sharing with you today is a beautiful bowl of soup. Not only is it rich and creamy, but it has a beautiful flavor.
If you love the flavors of garlic and of cheese, you are going to adore this simple soup!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GARLIC & WHITE CHEDDAR BISQUE
Most of the ingredients for this beautiful soup are common every day ingredients.
Leeks
Carrots
Parsnips
Celery
Chicken broth
White wine
Evaporated milk
Garlic
Seasoning
A sharp white cheddar cheese
Cornstarch
Water
Butter and canola oil for sautéing the vegetables
You will only need to use the white and very light green parts of the leek, discarding the darker green part or freezing them to use in a stock somewhere down the road.
Leeks have a tendency to be sandy, so do make sure you wash them really well. Dirt gets easily caught in the rings of a leek, so you will want to get all of that out.
HOW TO CLEAN LEEKS
Submerge sliced leeks in a bowl of cold water. Give them a gentle stir or shake to remove any soil or grit between the layers. Allow the leeks to sit in the water for a few minutes. Then scoop them into a colander using your hands or a slotted spoon
Alternately, you can cut off the length of leek you need, removing and discarding the root end. Make a cut down one side lengthwise, cutting through to the center of the leek. Wash and rinse the leek under cold running water, using your fingers to separate the layers.
HOW TO MAKE GARLIC & WHITE CHEDDAR BISQUE
This is a very simple soup to make. You begin by sautéing the vegetables in a mix of butter and oil. The oil allows you to heat the butter to a higher temperature without it burning and the butter lends a lovely nutty flavor to the vegetables.
You want to make sure all you do is to soften the vegetables without coloring them, so do keep an eye on them and stir them frequently. You also only want to soften them until they are crispy tender.
Once that is done you add some chicken broth and dry white wine and allow the vegetables to simmer in that until they are soft. If you don't have any dry white wine don't panic.
There are some very good things that you can substitute for dry white wine. There is an excellent article here on Spruce Eats regarding this issue.
Do not make the mistake of confusing evaporated milk with condensed milk. They are not the same thing.
Today I used ginger ale with superb results. Who would have thought you could do such a thing! It worked wonderfully.
And there was no aftertaste from the ginger ale. Apparently Ginger ale has the same sort of dry, sweet taste as white wine. In any case, it was an excellent substitute.
Once your vegetables have softened in the broth you will need to puree them in the broth until they are smooth. I use my immersion blender for this, but you can also use a regular blender, or push it through a seive.
Once that is done, make a slurry with some corn starch and cold water and add that to the soup along with a can of evaporated milk. You could also use cream, but evaporated milk does the same thing.
It is much lower in fat and trust me when I tell you that you won't taste it in the long run. I always have evaporated milk in my store cupboard and I use it a lot in the place of cream when cooking. Undiluted of course.
Although both products have been heat treated to remove some of the water, condensing the product roughly in half, condensed milk has sugar added to it which makes it incredibly thick and sweet.
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Once you have added the milk and cornstarch slurry, you will need to bring the mixture to the boil and then reduce it to a simmer, simmering everything together until it bubbles and thickens.
Once this has happened you can add the cheese. I always grate my own cheese for things like this. It melts much better into the soup.
I add it by small handfuls, stirring in and melting each handful before I add another one. It works a charm. You soup/bisque will now be done and ready to serve.
I tried to make some fancy leaf shaped garlic croutons to float on top of my soup today, but alas, they didn't end up looking like leaves. I sure miss my autumn set of cookie cutters that I had to leave in the UK. They were the perfect size and shape.
It was a set I had gotten from Gooseberry Patch many years ago. I also had a Christmas set and a Heart in hand cookie cutter and a special gingerbread man cookie cutter that had a heart in the center. I try not to think overly much about what got left behind because when I do, it upsets me a tiny bit.
In any case, I hope you will make this lovely soup. Its really simple to make and deliciously rich and cream. If you don't love it, I'll eat my hat!
Garlic & White Cheddar Bisque
Yield: 6
Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 H & 10 M
This rich, delicious soup makes an excellent first course for a holiday meal, or when served with some crusty bread a fabulous light lunch or supper.
Ingredients
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 TBS canola oil
- 1 medium leek ( the white and light green parts only) washed, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 small parsnip, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 stick of celery, trimmed and chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
- 1 cans of chicken broth (28 ounces)
- 2/3 cup (160ml) dry white wine (see notes for substitutions)
- 2 TBS corn starch
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water
- 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
- 2 cups (240g) freshly grated sharp white cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan. Once the butter begins to foam add all of the vegetables. Cook, stirring occasionally, over moderate heat until the vegetables are crispy tender (6 to 8 minutes).
- Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes longer, then add the chicken stock and wine. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for15 to 20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
- Using a stick blender (or very carefully in a regular blender) blitz the soup until smooth.
- Whisk together the corn starch and cold water. Add this to the soup along with the evaporated milk. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until thick and bubbling.
- Whisk in the cheese, one handful at a time, until the cheese is thoroughly blended into the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper.
- Ladle into heated bowls and serve immediately.
Notes:
If you don't have any white wine you may substitute the following in its place and in the equal amount. Ginger ale. Additional chicken stock. White wine vinegar and water mixed half and half. Water.
Are you like me? Do you like every aspect of the meals that you serve to your family, be then one or be they ten, delicious?
I try hard to make everything I serve on my plate delicious. Now there is only me that doesn't mean that I can't still create delicious foods for myself. I always aim for every main, side and dessert dish to be the tastiest possible.
Favorite Cheesy Potatoes are one of my favorite side dishes. Not in the least because they are very simple to make, but also because they are delicious.
A bit decadent perhaps, but this is the type of dish you want to serve on the side when you main dish is a bit lackluster. You want a side that will shine!
I can promise you that these cheesy potatoes do just that! This is a small batch recipe in that is makes four servings rather than 12. I hope that's okay!
Trust me, they are so rich and so decadent that you won't want to eat more than 1/4 of this recipe, but I promise you that you will enjoy each and every mouthful!
This recipe is a slight variation on my regular recipe for Funeral Potatoes. Funeral Potatoes are a wonderful dish that you will see served at many Potluck suppers here in North America.
I first tasted them about 30 years ago at a Potluck supper at the church I was then attending, Oh my but they were some delicious. I begged the recipe from the maker and have been making them ever since, with the odd variation.
The original recipe used frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed. Today I have chosen to use boiled russet potatoes. For those of you who live in the UK, a russet potato is a type of floury baking potato.
They are usually much larger than regular potatoes and almost oval in shape. They have a nice floury texture when cooked, which makes them ideal for baking and mashing and for recipes such as this one.
I used them in an attempt to cut back on some of the fat in the recipe. Just peel and cut them into 3/4 inch cubes. They are then par-poiled in lightly salted water.
You don't want to boil them completely or they will fall apart and that is not what we want for this. No worries, they will finish cooking in the oven.
Another change I made was to use French Onion Dip rather than cream cheese. This adds a lovely richness to the dish, that is really delicious.
It also adds a nice onion flavor without having to add any onions. Easy peasy. Those are my main changes.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE CHEESY POTATOES
There is really nothing too out of the ordinary needed to make these potatoes. Unless you consider the onion dip as being out of the ordinary.
- Russet potatoes
- condensed soup (undiluted)
- sour cream
- French onion dip
- milk
- cheddar cheese
- seasoning
- crispy salad onions (like French's French fried crispy onions, or in the UK, crispy salad onions
Generally speaking I use strong cheddar cheese, or sharp aged cheddar when I am cooking with cheese. I find it has so much more flavor then the milder cheese, which means you won't need to use as much to get the same flavor impact!
In other words, less is more! It does use tinned condensed soup, but I always have several tins in my larder and to be honest I am not a tinned soup snob.
If you really dislike tinned soups, or if condensed tinned soups are not available where you are, you can substitute a homemade thick cream sauce for it.
Just make a 1/3 cup sized cream sauce, using 1/3 TBS butter, 1/3 TBS flour and 1/3 cup (80ml) of milk. You can also use half stock and half milk if you wish.
Melt the butter, whisk in the flour, cook for a minute, whisk in the milk and cook over moderate heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens. You can season to taste.
HOW TO MAKE CHEESY POTATOES
When I say nothing could be easier than these, I really mean it. If you can open a can or two and stir things together then you can make these!
Basically that is all you do. You par-cook the potatoes and drain them well. Whisk the sour cream, onion dip, soup, seasoning and 2/3 of the cheese together in a bowl and fold in the potatoes.
This mixture then gets spooned into a casserole dish, covered and baked. Once everything is heating through and the cheese is starting to melt, you uncover it and then top it with a bit more cheese and the crispy onions and bake for a tiny bit longer.
Just until it is thoroughly heated through, bubbling away and turning deliciously golden brown. Easy peasy. You do want to let it sit for a few minutes before serving however. Molten cheese can really give a nasty burn.
This is a delicious side dish that goes wonderfully with everything. Poultry, meat, fish, you name it! I have even served it with hotdogs (out of the buns).
In fact you can actually turn it into a delicious main dish by folding in some cubed ham or sliced hotdogs if you want to! Nobody will complain!
Today I served it with some Shake and Bake Chicken wings I had done earlier in the summer and frozen, as well as some green beans. It was utterly delicious.
Of course I have leftovers to enjoy tomorrow, but that has never been a problem for me. I am a girl that loves Octobers, cooler weather, comfort foods and leftovers! Enjoy!
Favorite Cheesy Potatoes
Yield: 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 50 MinTotal time: 55 Min
Potato comfort food at its very best. Quite simply delicious.
Ingredients
- 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (1 pound)
- 1/3 of a tin of condensed cream of chicken, mushroom or cheddar cheese soup, undiluted (freeze the remainder for another use)
- 1/3 cup (75g) French onion dip
- 1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk
- 1/3 cup (80g) sour cream
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 cup (115g) grated strong cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 TBS crispy onions, crumbled
- 1 tsp dry parsley flakes, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a small (2 cup) casserole dish. Set aside.
- Cook the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water for about 8 minutes. Drain well and allow to cool slightly.
- Mix the soup, dip, milk, sour cream, 3/4 tsp of parsley flakes, and 2/3 of the cheese together in a bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Fold in the potatoes. Transfer the mixture to your prepared casserole dish. Cover tightly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top along with the crumbled crispy onions. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes. It should be bubbling and golden brown.
- Let stand 5 minutes before spooning out to serve.
Have you ever had one of "Those" days? You know the kind of day I mean. A day where everything you touch turns to dust.
This has been one such day for me. I had a ton of stuff to do and nothing was working out. I found myself in a bit of a funk and was quite unsure as to what to cook for my dinner. I was hungry, but really didn't want to put in a lot of time or effort.
I was really late getting up, which made me late doing everything else. I couldn't get my mind to settle on any one thing.
I found out I had to teach in RS/PH next Sunday and am not really prepared. My kittens knocked a glass of drink all over my floor that I had to clean up (thank goodness it didn't end up on my PC).
I knocked my fruit fly trap off the counter onto the floor and it was full of bugs, so I had to clean that up. Blech. Not my cup of tea.
Tomorrow is bin day so I was trying to get my garbage ready to put out. I have two small boxes of broken glass so decided to condense then into one and ended up with broken glass all over the floor. (Try keeping two nosy kittens out of that!)
My bag of plastics and tins, etc. fell over and half emptied on the floor. I had to pop everything back in and decided to mop the floor because . . . well . . . by then it needed it.
I had someone complain about ads on the page and had to explain to them why they were necessary. I wish that they weren't but it is what it is. The only way I can afford to live in a place of my own is if I make an income, and this blog is it.
I am not some huge conglomeration with a bazillion people working for me. I am just me, and I do all the work here. It is not as fancy, admittedly, as some other people's blogs. There are no videos for instance.
My photos may not even be as good as they are on other people's blogs. But I do my best and I do this every day. I spend hours doing it. Cooking. Photographing. Editing. Writing things up. Answering comments, questions, etc.
There are some expenses which I incur to do this. I pay for a registered domain, which is a necessity. I pay for a program which gives my readers the option to print the recipe. I pay for an e-mail program which means I can send out a newsletter each day to let people know I have posted. I pay for photo storage.
I pay for the cost of the food, and all of my utilities. The internet. Electricity, hot water etc.
In return my readers have access to already tested recipes, and there are almost 5000 of them on here. Admittedly I could have a better index system, but I am working on that.
I work hard developing and testing recipes that work out well and won't fail. (so long as you follow the instructions) And I do it every day.
I respond to all the comments left, not only on here, but also on the Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, etc. If anyone has a question I do my best to get back to them right away, or as soon as I can! I try to respond to every single comment that people leave on all of my platforms. Some days that can be hundreds.
For years and years I did all of this for not much more than the pleasure of doing this. But, through no fault of my own, last autumn I found myself in need of an income, and so I put ads on the page. I have to say I am very grateful for the income that they bring me.
Were it not for them, I would not have a home. They pay my rent. I never worked in jobs where I had a pension plan and I earn a basic state pension. I get no other benefits. I don't have a partner or a husband to help split the cost of living expenses. This blog is it.
People happily pay for recipe magazines, often at a huge cost, and for recipe books. I was astonished at the cost of a recipe magazine these days when I returned to Canada. $15.99 plus tax for many of the better ones.
And they are filled with ads. You might only cook one or two things from out of them as well.
All it costs you to look at my page is your time. Nothing more, nothing less. And you have access to a data base of almost 5,000 recipes.
I personally think its good value, but admittedly I am a bit biased.
Anyways, thinking about all of this and my comedy of errors around the house, etc. put me in a bit of a funk, and I was having a hard time settling down to making something to eat.
And then I remembered this recipe. Its simple. It uses store cupboard ingredients. Its quick and easy. Most important of all, its DELICIOUS!
Admittedly it is a far cry from a traditional chili recipe. If you are wanting one of those, I do have some very good ones on here. You can find a recipe for a very tasty baked one here: Chili with a Difference
I also have a great recipe on here for Simple Chili. Then there is The Best Chili Ever, always a winner.
White Bean Turkey Chili. Creamy White Chili. Fireside Skillet Chili. Just to name a few. There is no shortage of chili recipes.
Today I am sharing Quick & Easy Chili. Its quick. If you can open a few cans, you can make this. It uses ground turkey, so a bit healthier than ground beef, although you could certainly use ground beef if you wanted to.
It goes together in next to no time and is a real belly warmer.
Its a bit on the sweet side because of the brown sugar used, but its delicious. You could leave that out entirely if you wanted to, or cut it back. I love it with as it is.
It is just spicy enough. It uses a full TBS of mild Chili powder. Don't make the mistake in the UK of using regular chili powder. The chili powder here in North America is adulterated with lots of things like garlic and oregano. Its not pure and is a heck of a lot milder, so adjust accordingly.
You can dress this up if you wish by adding canned corn or green chilies, peppers, etc. But I can assure you, even at its basic right here, its delicious.
Children love this and so do I. I enjoy mine in a bowl with a grated spicy Tex Mex blend sprinkled on top and some crusty bread to mop up all of that delicious sauce.
It does make four servings which may be a bit much for the smaller family, but it freezes really well. It never hurts to have something like this in the freezer that you can haul out on busy days! Enjoy, and thanks for listening.
Quick & Easy Chili
Yield: 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 30 Min
This is a bit sweeter than most chili's but it is incredibly quick to make and quite delicious. It is the perfect choice when you want something on the table pronto that is filling and belly warming.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 can (15 3/4 oz/ 425g) baked beans with pork
- 1 can (14 1/2 oz/400g) tin of chopped tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (10 3/4 oz/305g) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
- 1 TBS soft light brown sugar
- 1 TBS mild chili powder (in the UK play it by ear)
To serve:
- Grated cheese (I use a Tex Mex blend)
- crusty bread
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the turkey and the onion. Scramble fry the turkey over medium heat until the turkey is no longer pink and the onion has softened. Drain if necessary.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until heated through and all of the flavors have melded together.
- Ladle into heated bowls and serve hot with some grated cheese sprinkled on top and crusty bread on the side.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
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