Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

3/4 pound Italian sausage links, casings removed (mild or hot)

1 medium onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

1-3/4 cups water

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

2-1/4 teaspoons minced fresh basil or 3/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Dash crushed red pepper flakes

Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Crumble sausage into a Dutch oven; add onion. Cook and stir over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.

Add tortellini; return to a boil. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until almost tender, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; add the spinach, basil, pepper and pepper flakes. Cook 2-3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted and tortellini are tender.

Serve with grated cheese if desired.

Fruity Broccoli Salad

You will need to go easy on the seasonings, and taste as you go. I changed all of them from the original recipe, as it was too sour and needed more ginger. This salad actually tastes better the second day.

2 crowns fresh broccoli

½ sweet onion, chopped

1 bag shredded carrots

1 red apple, diced

Sliced seedless red grapes

3/4 cup dried cranberries

½ – ¾ cup slivered almonds

2 Tbs sugar

10 oz. plain, non-fat Greek yogurt

1/3 to ½ cup mayonnaise

¼ tsp ground ginger (scant), or to taste

2 pinches of black pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until well combined.

Pack in an air-tight container and keep refrigerated up to one week.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Soup

It's so velvety and intensely flavored, just a cupful is fine. A real winner. 

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

4 c. pumpkin pie filling

2 c. pureed sweet potatoes

1 c. peanut butter

6 c. chicken broth

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. salt

Chopped chives (garnish)

Sour cream (garnish)

Seasoned croutons (garnish)

Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Stir in pie filling, sweet potatoes and peanut butter. Add broth, pepper and salt; stir well until smooth. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. To serve, garnish soup with croutons, chives, and a dollop of sour cream.

Serves 8 - 10

Browned Butter Pecan Ice Cream

It is a better-than-classic butter pecan ice cream, made with browned butter, brown sugar, and roasted pecans. It was creamy and rich, with a perfect, deep butter flavor. The flavor is rich, deeply nutty.  Makes about 1 quart (I doubled the recipe).

    1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter

    2 cups whole milk

    1/2 cup heavy cream

    2/3 cup packed brown sugar

    2 tablespoons tapioca syrup or light corn syrup

    1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon tapioca starch or cornstarch

    2 tablespoons sour cream

    1/2 cup to 1 cup roasted pecans or pecan pieces

If you have a cylinder-type ice cream maker, have the cylinder completely frozen.

Brown the butter in a medium or large saucepan, and reserve the clarified butter for another use. Keep the solids in the saucepan. (I found the easiest way to do this was to pour the browned butter into a clear glass 2-cup measure, let it settle a bit, pour off the clarified butter, and return the solids to the pan.)

Combine the starch with 2 tablespoons of the milk in a little prep bowl and place nearby.

Add the rest of the milk, heavy cream, brown sugar, and syrup to the solids in the saucepan.

Bring to a boil and boil, stirring, for exactly 4 minutes. Whisk in the starch-milk slurry, and continue cooking over low heat for just a moment, until the mixture no longer tastes of raw starch.

   

Remove from heat, and whisk in the sour cream. Let the mixture cool, then chill. (An ice bath will speed this up!) Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Pack into a container, adding the pecans, and put it in the freezer for a few hours, or until it has hardened enough to scoop.

Neiman Marcus Poppy Seed Dressing

This makes a lot of dressing, even when cut in half. Half measurements are in parenthesis.

1-1/2 cups sugar  (3/4 cup)

2 teaspoons dry mustard  (1 tsp)

2 teaspoons salt  (1 tsp)

2/3 cup vinegar  (1/3 cup)

3 tablespoons onion, minced finely  (1½ Tbs)

2 cups vegetable oil (do not use olive oil)  (1 cup)

3 tablespoons poppy seed  (1½ Tbs)

Mix sugar, mustard, salt and vinegar; add onion and whisk together thoroughly. Slowly add oil, beating constantly until thick. When mixture looks thick enough, beat 5 minutes more. Stir in poppy seeds. Store in refrigerator

Excellent over sliced fruit.