Split Pea Soup

Sense of Home Kitchen

Split Pea Soup
~From the Sense of Home Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appétit October 1991

1 pound dried green split peas, rinsed
1 pound fully cooked smoked sausage, sliced
2 quarts chicken stock
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, diced
3 large celery stalks, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons dried lemon thyme
1 large bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Optional Garnish
Bottled hot sauce
Homemade Crème Fraîche or sour cream

Combine the first ten ingredients in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or dutch oven.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer until peas are tender, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with crème fraîche or sour cream and hot sauce to taste, serve hot.

Sense of Home Kitchen / Recipes / Soups                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream and Candied Pecans

Sense of Home Kitchen

Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream and Candied Pecans
~from the Sense of Home Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appétit, November 2003~

Pie
1 9-inch pie crust

2 cups pumpkin puree or 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roll out dough to form a circle for a 9-inch pie pan.  Place in pan and flute edges.  Pierce crust with a fork in several places, pour in pie weights, and bake crust for approximately 15 minutes, until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and cool on rack.  Turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk pumpkin, condensed milk, sour cream 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, vanilla, allspice, and nutmeg in a large bowl until blended.  Whisk in eggs.  Pour into crust, careful not to top the fluted edges.

Bake pie until filling is puffed around the sides and set in the center, about 55 minutes.  Cool on a rack.  Chill in the refrigerator.

Candied Pecans
1/2 cup whole pecans or pecan pieces
1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

Place the pecan pieces, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter in a non-stick pan.  Turn the heat to medium-high and stir while the heat dissolves the sugar and thickens the sauce.  Let the sauce bubble while stirring for a minute or two and turn off the heat.  Candied pecans will harden as they cool.

Spiced Whipped Cream
3/4 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat whipping cream, sugar and the 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon until peaks form.  Spoon over slices off the pie, decorate with candied pecans and enjoy.


Sense of Home Kitchen / Recipes / Desserts

Pork Chimichangas with Adobe Sauce

Sense of Home Kitchen

Pork Chimichangas with Adobe Sauce
~from the Sense of Home Kitchen~
Serves 4

Adobe Sauce
4 dried ancho chiles, stem removed and seeded
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobe sauce
2 cups pork stock
1 medium onion, about 1 cup, chopped
1/4 cup Merlot, or similar medium body wine
3 large garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
Salt, to taste

In a dry heavy bottomed pot heated on high, toast the ancho chiles on each side for about about 10 to 15 seconds. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chiles.  Leave the heat on until the water begins to boil and then turn off the heat and let the chiles soak until the are soft, about 30 minutes.  Once the chiles are hydrated, discard the soaking water and place the chiles in a blender.  Saute the chopped onion until it is tender and translucent.  Add the chipotle chiles, garlic, sauted onion, cumin, oregano, allspice, wine and pork stock to the ancho chiles in the blender and puree.  The sauce should be smooth and thick.  Pour the sauce back into the, now empty, heavy pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Simmer for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and reduces by about half.  Add salt to taste.  Set aside.

Pork Chimichangas
8 small- to medium-sized tortillas, homemade or store-bought
1 tablespoon reserved pork fat
3 cups shredded pork
1 4.5 ounce can of chopped green chiles
1/2 cup adobe sauce (recipe above)
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro or 1 tablespoon dried
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Dried cilantro to sprinkle
2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diced
Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix shredded pork, green chiles, adobe sauce, and 3 tablespoons of cilantro in a medium-sized bowl.  Place a small amount of the adobe sauce in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Heat a heavy skillet and place a small amount of pork fat on the hot pan.  Place tortilla on the skillet warming and lightly toasting on both sides.  Remove tortilla from skillet to a clean plate, place 1/3 cup of pork mixture in the center of the tortilla and fold one end in and both sides in, place filled tortilla in baking dish and continue filling flour tortillas until all 8 are filled and in the baking dish.  Sprinkle shredded cheese across the top of the filled tortillas and ladle adobe sauce around and across the top.  The sauce should not cover the tortillas completely, that way the tortillas can crisp in the oven.  Sprinkle with dried cilantro.  Place in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes, until tortillas are crisp and lightly browned.

Serve with diced tomatoes, avocados, and a dollop of sour cream.

Sense of Home Kitchen / Recipes / Main Dishes / Pork

Pumpkin Pancakes

Sense of Home Kitchen

Pumpkin Pancakes
~From the Sense of Home Kitchen~
Makes approximately 12 - 15 medium-sized pancakes

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3 eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon honey

Stir together all the dry ingredients.  Then make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and place the pumpkin puree inside, add the eggs and yogurt and mix together with the dry ingredients careful not to over work the batter. Add the honey, stir, and put one ladle full onto a hot, lightly buttered griddle.  Cook until several bubbles form and pop on the first side and flip to the other side to finish cooking.  Serve hot with honey or maple syrup.

Sense of Home Kitchen / Recipes / Breakfast