Building Flavor Profiles & Holiday Soup Recipe

What’s the difference between a cook and a chef? This was a question an old kitchen colleague and I were having when he stated quite frankly that a chef is “creative”.  I thought we were going to banter about ideas of technique or execution or knowledge of basic sauces but nope.  Just creativity!  Apparently, those other things can be taught.  Cooks can follow directions but that doesn’t mean a cook can necessarily create.  Creativity requires vision and a chef always has a vision. I’m sure that theory is largely debatable but it’s good enough for me!          

I’m not much of a recipe chef. I love a good cookbook but honestly, it’s the pictures that inspire me.  A photo and a list of ingredients is often enough to get the gears turning and that’s when the fun begins.  And since we are on the topic of cookbooks, I want to introduce you to two of my favorites. The Flavor Bibles!  They aren't exactly cookbooks in the traditional sense, and they definitely aren’t full of picture, however, these books serve as a reference for food items that pair well together.  They are a great place to start when building a “flavor profile”.  A place where your inner chef can start to develop it vision…  The Flavor Bibles, one of which is vegetarian, are books that basically allow you to cross reference ingredients to find flavors that work well together so you can construct you own vision using complimentary ingredients.   Below I've included Amazon affiliate links if you are interested.  

Both books, minus their jacket covers.

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs

By Karen Page, Andrew Dornenburg

The Vegetarian Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity with Vegetables, Fruits, Grains, Legumes, Nuts, Seeds, and More, Based on the Wisdom of Leading American Chefs

By Karen Page

They both are wonderful and if you are looking to inspire creativity in your kitchen these books are a great place to start. Again, these are not recipe books.  These are reference books to help you develop a foundation for tasty meals.  For example, say you have a head of cauliflower in the fridge and you are wondering what you can add to make it into a full meal.  Well, flip the book open to cauliflower and there you will find a list of ingredients that go well with cauliflower. It includes herbs, spices, vegetables, and meat items (assuming you don't have the vegetarian book) that are known to pair well with cauliflower.  You can then compare the list to items you have in your fridge or pantry and begin constructing your meal. As you gather the ingredients you start to have a better feel of what you can make.  Next thing you know, boom! You just just chefed!   I don't like following directions but I still appreciate guidance and these books allow me to develop my own style.  They have become the backbone of my kitchen and I'm sharing them because I love them and I think budding chefs and the gourmet crowd would love them as well.

All mixed in...

Ok, and now back to this holiday soup recipe.  It's sweet potato, pumpkin, and apple soup topped with blue cheese crumbles, pomegranate seeds, pepitas and a little fresh thyme.  According to the Flavor Bible all these items paired well together and, well... let's just say after my bowl, I agree! 

Ingredients:

• 1 diced yellow onion
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1 peeled, cored, and chopped sweet apple
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water (or enough to thin soup)
• 1 lemon wedge
• 1 tbsp. blue cheese crumbles
• 1 tbsp. pepitas
• 1 tbsp. pomegranate seeds
• ¼ tsp. fresh thyme

Directions:

1. Sauté the onion in a pot with a little oil until it begins to soften.
2. Add the sweet potato, pumpkin apple and the vegetable broth.
3. Bring to a low boil and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
4. When the ingredients have cooked through, carefully blend the soup into a puree with an immersion blender or in batches with a standard blender. Just be sure to let the steam vent if using a standard blender. (Trust me. I’ve made this mistake.)
5. Once pureed add the water to thin the soup. You can add as much as necessary to reach your desired consistency.
6. Squeeze the lemon wedge into the soup and add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve in bowls and top with blue cheese crumble, pepitas, pomegranate seeds, and a sprinkle of fresh thyme

* This page contains two Amazon affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This helps maintain the cost of How To Feed A Senior. Thank you for your support.

Pumpkin Hand Pies With Fresh Whip Cream

Nothing says Thanksgiving like pumpkin pie with fresh whip cream, but why not give the traditional recipe a holiday boost by making pumpkin hand pies? Hand pies make life easier when it comes to clean-up. No plates, no forks, no knives to messy up when slicing. Just a grab and go snack to help celebrate the season. And just in case you need a little soundtrack for inspiration, allow me to introduce you this gem!

Debi Smith and Doc Watson actually have a song called “Pie”. Ugh… ok! Don’t ask how I came across this but it couldn't be more fitting, especially if we are talking about my Dad. It’s difficult at times posting recipes because he is increasingly picky and often refuses to eat what I make. But... not when it comes to hand pies! I'm honestly not surprised given his tendency towards sweets and their hand-held convenience.  As his dementia's been worsening, he's slowly losing his mobility and competency with utensils.

As for making these pies, just know you have options.  I used this recipe for the dough.  It utilizes cream cheese which compliments pumpkin but also contributed to a soft pastry crust that I knew would be easily eaten. As with many seniors, aging teeth or dentures can be a real deterrent when it comes to food so the softer the better.  You can however use store bought crust if you are short on time or seek out a basic pie crust recipe. Like I said, you have options!

More pumpkin hand pies...

As for the filling... I roasted a Fairytale Pumpkin earlier in the week and wanted to use it up.  You can absolutely use canned pumpkin which might allow you to skip over pre-baking the filling (see below). Using the fresh pumpkin was much too runny in my case and if it's too wet, it will damage the dough.  Don't be afraid to bake the filling first if necessary.

Filling Ingredients:

• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• splash of cream

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. (If your filling is thick then you can immediately fill your hand pies. I used fresh pumpkin and the filling was very wet. I pre-baked the filling in mini muffin cups for 15 minutes until the custard solidified and used that as my filling.)
2. Roll-out your dough and cut out circles with a biscuit cutter if you have one. (I used a pint glass to cut-out circles.)
3. Roll out each circular cut-out to about 1/8 inch thickness and top one side with some filling.
4. Wet the outer edges of the dough with a little water, fold over, and seal the edges by pressing down with a fork.
5. Brush tops with an egg wash and poke a few holes to vent steam in each one.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-40 minutes or until the dough becomes a golden brown.
7. After baking, cool on a rack.

When it comes to the fresh whip cream just add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of powdered sugar to some heavy whipping cream and whip on high until stiff peaks form.  Then dip the hand pies in it until your hearts content!