Thursday, December 26, 2013

Alton Brown's Christmas Eve Soup

That darned Pinterest...  It's such an easy and pretty way to organize everything I like on line.  I've become so dependent on it that I'm at a loss when I find something I like without an image.  If I can't Pin It, how in the world will I remember it?  Then I had a thought.  When I find something I really like for my kids, I blog about it and I can come right back to it in a snap.  That led to the bright idea to blog about these imageless finds, add my own image, and voila!  It's on my blog AND I can pin it!  I love it.  :)


This recipe if for Alton Brown's Christmas Eve Soup.  I found it on his Facebook page, but of course you can't pin from Facebook...  So here's the image:


And here's the recipe:


We have this soup for dinner every Christmas Eve.
Christmas Soup - serve 6-8
14 ounces kielbasa, sliced into 1/4 inch thick disks on the bias
2 teaspoons vegetable oil, as needed
8 cloves garlic minced
1 pound red kidney beans, soaked at least 4 hours or overnight
2 quarts chicken broth
1 pound red potatoes cut into .5 inch cubes
6 ounces fresh kale washed, rinsed and torn into 1 inch pieces
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Brown the kielbasa in a 7-quart Dutch oven and set over medium low heat until it has rendered most of its fat, approximately 15 minutes. Remove the kielbasa from the pan and set aside. If you do not have at least 2 teaspoons of fat, add enough vegetable oil to make 2 teaspoons of fat.

Cook the garlic in the fat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from burning. Add the beans and the chicken broth and cook, covered, for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, stir in the potatoes, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Toss the kale into the pot, cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes or just until it is tender, but not mushy.

Sprinkle with the red wine vinegar, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine. Return the kielbasa to the pot and cook just until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning.