Two days without rain

This is how many days in November it has been dry around here. Needless to say, I have been making a myriad of soups lately. Last night I made Leek and Potato Soup accompanied by Sage and Cheddar biscuits. I was out of eggs, I did not want to go the store and I just happened to have some fresh sage lying around. What are the odds??

I made the following adaptations to the recipes:

The soup was meant to be hearty, but since a certain someone is not too found of onions I thought it would be best to puree it, I also substituted non fat milk for heavy cream. For the biscuit recipe I halved the ingredients but it ended up making nine anyway in addition, I substituted non fat milk for the buttermilk.

Ingredients

Makes about 16

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3 cups grated cheddar cheese (9 ounces)
• 2/3 cup thinly sliced fresh sage
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and paprika. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mixtrure resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cheese and sage. Pour in the buttermilk, and stir with a fork until mixture just comes together to form a sticky dough. On a lightly floured work surface, with lightly floured hands, pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round.
2. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out the biscuits as close together as possible. Transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
3. In a small bowl, stir together egg and cream. Lightly brush top of each biscuit with egg wash. Bake, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

K’s Potato Leek Soup

3 tablespoons butter
3 leeks, thinly sliced*
1 medium or large onion, chopped6 – 8 russet potatoes, thinly sliced**
3 1/2 cups chicken broth (or enough to barely cover potatoes)
1 cup heavy cream
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

1) Melt butter in a large saucepan

over medium heat then add onions and leeks. Cook, stirring, until onions are limp and just slightly brown.

2) Add sliced potatoes to saucepan then pour in enough chicken broth to just barely cover the potatoes. Continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Using a potato masher, mash and stir potatoes until desired consistency is reached. As you mash the potatoes and the soup thickens, turn down heat and stir frequently with a large spoon to prevent scorching on the bottom.

3) Add one cup of heavy cream (or more

if you desire) and salt and black pepper to taste. Cook 15 minutes more over low heat, stirring frequently, then remove from heat and serve.