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AN EASY, ELEGANT THANKSGIVING SOUP

This soup is special enough for a very special day--Thanksgiving.

It's a creamy chestnut and mushroom soup, served here in an appropriately elegant Haviland china bowl. 

"Special" doesn't mean hard to make. On the contrary, this soup is surprisingly easy, thanks to chestnuts that have already been peeled and steamed so they need only to be heated through. 

The other ingredients are just as easy to handle--a leek, mushrooms and one unexpected addition, an apple, which complements the sweetness of the chestnuts.

Here are the key ingredients, except for the apple.

While the soup may seem rich, it's lighter than you might expect. I've used fragrant olive oil for sautéing instead of butter. There's not too much milk, and the small amount of cream could be replaced with broth, just enough to thin the soup slightly.

The last touch is a dash of wine because, after all, this is a holiday, and there's no harm in toasting it--with soup.

CREAMY CHESTNUT MUSHROOM SOUP

1 leek, white part only
4 ounces white mushrooms
1 small apple, about 4 ounces
1 (6.5) package peeled & steamed chestnuts
3 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup milk
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup dry sherry
Salt, if needed
Chopped chives or other garnish

Remove the outer layer of the leek. Cut it in half lengthwise, then wash it well and cut it crosswise in 1/4-inch-thick slices. 

Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth or paper towel. Cut off the tips of the stems, then slice the mushrooms and stems. Peel, core and slice the apple. Cut the chestnuts into smaller pieces. 

Heat the olive oil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the leek slices and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and apple and cook until tender, about 7 minutes, stirring constantly to keep from burning.

Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, then add the chestnuts, the chicken broth and milk. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring often. 

Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or cool slightly and puree in a blender or food processor, then return to the saucepan. Add the whipping cream and sherry. Taste and add salt if needed.

Heat to serving temperature and serve in warmed soup bowls, sprinkled with chives. Or make in advance and reheat when needed.

Makes 6 servings. 

Shopping Notes: The chestnuts, which are distributed by Melissa's Produce, would be perfect for the turkey stuffing too. The olive oil I used was a very fruity organic extra virgin olive oil produced in Spain by García de la Cruz of Toledo. It's available online and in some stores. 

Go Southwestern for Thanksgiving

This easy potato casserole will bring the flavors of the American Southwest to your Thanksgiving table.

To get that Southwestern touch, I layered green chiles, corn and onion with potatoes in a garlic-flavored cream sauce.

The chiles were Hatch chiles, which come from New Mexico. They're not in season now, but I had some in the freezer. If you can't get them, substitute any mild long green chile, and replace fresh corn kernels with frozen, if necessary.

For the potatoes, I used Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes from Melissa's Produce. These yield nice small slices, don't have to be peeled, and they become tender quickly. 

After layering the potatoes and vegetables in a casserole (above), I poured over the garlic-flavored sauce. To make this, I cooked the garlic in an organic fruity olive oil, then stirred in flour, milk and chicken broth.

The olive oil I used was Spanish, an extra virgin oil from olives harvested by García de la Cruz in the mountain range Montes de Toledo. This ties in with the Spanish influence in New Mexico, where Spain started colonizing in 1598.

And so with this dish you have history on the table, reaching back farther than the first Thanksgiving, which was a harvest festival observed by settlers of the Plymouth Colony and Native Americans in 1621.

SOUTHWESTERN HARVEST POTATOES

1 pound Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes
1/2 large onion, cut into thin slices 
1/2 cup chopped roasted and peeled green chiles, such as Hatch
3/4 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 1/2 tablespoons organic extra virgin Spanish olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground organic peppercorns

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Wash and trim the potatoes, but do not peel. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and set aside.

Cut the onion into thin slices and separate the slices into strips. Prepare the chiles and corn kernels and set aside.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a 1-quart saucepan. Add the garlic and stir a few seconds until fragrant but not browned. Stir in the flour until smooth and cook about 30 seconds. Add the milk and cook and stir until thickened, then add the chicken broth and salt. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat.  

Coat the inside of a 2-quart casserole evenly with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Make a layer of 1/3 of the potato slices, then 1/3 each of the onions, chiles and corn. Make 2 more layers in this fashion, then pour the garlic/milk mixture evenly over all. Sprinkle the top with the ground black pepper. 

Cover the casserole with a lid or foil. Place in the oven and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer until very lightly browned on top. Serve at once or reheat when needed. 

Makes 4 to 6 servings.