Got spuds?

For venturesome Kelly Ann Stanley, one kind of spud just wasn’t enough when she made her mark at the Hood New England Dairy Cook-Off last fall.

Brandishing a smooth soup made with both white and sweet potatoes, not to mention sour cream, habanero peppers, horseradish and prosciutto, the 25-year-old semi-finalist from Raymond put her culinary pedal to the metal when tasked with using Hood dairy products in the competition.

Conceding she never favored dairy as a child and still doesn’t except for the occasional yogurt or ice cream, she’s none-the-less fully invested in making friends happy using their favorite cheeses in a special dish or stirring the select panel of judges with her inspired, dairy-laced soup.

“I learned to cook because my mother did not,” quipped Stanley of her intense love of all things flavorful. She had also entered dishes in two of the other five Hood categories last year that included breakfast/brunch, soup/chowder, appetizer/side dish, lunch/dinner and dessert. “My mother was the ‘just add water’ queen, and I wanted something more than boxed mashed potatoes,” she recalled of her years cooking and experimenting with ingredients for three other sisters.

Graduating from the New England Culinary Institute in 2008, Stanley, who in addition to chef training has a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, explained she was a bit frustrated with her work as a bartender and server in 2010. She began prospecting for cooking competitions, feeling they would help keep the machinery well-oiled. Stanley found the Hood contest just two days before the deadline and chose it because it would both challenge her and leave time for her 2-year-old son Bronson (working full time in a grueling kitchen was never an option, she said).

“It was the first competition I’d ever entered,” Stanley said, recounting some special lessons alongside her “food broker/incredibly great cook” aunt in Burlington, Mass., as well as having invented dishes with a best friend from a large Italian family during high school. “I’d spent two years in Texas as well, and a little heat is a good thing,” she said of her decision to include seeds from a habanero pepper and fresh horseradish in her savory spud soup.

As for son Bronson, whose father is a chef at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, Mass., Stanley said he has been cooking with her practically since he was a year old, perched on a chair. “I’m always picking out terms from the Food Lover’s Companion for him, teaching him about emulsions,” she said. The book is billed as “an encyclopedia of everything you’ve ever wondered or will need to know about culinary terms and ingredients.” Stanley added that from Bronson’s earliest moments, she made up a food alphabet for him with items like “H for halibut, herring and hake,” and “G for gastrique” (a French sauce made with a reduction of fruit and vinegar).

Pondering a plunge into this year’s Hood competition with a grand prize of $10,000, Stanley said she may focus on an entree using seasonal garden bounties and also a dessert, because she loves pastries and baking.

“When I first began to cook, half the time I gave people heartburn and the other half was a great success,” she said of the joy of creating for excited friends and family. “I’m hoping my son at least has the passion.”

Kel’s Savory Spud Soup

Ingredients:

3 slices prosciutto ham

1 pound white potatoes of your choice, peeled and medium diced

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and medium diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups leeks, julienned

2/3 cup sweet onion, peeled and diced small

3 1/2 teaspoons fresh horseradish, peeled and grated

2 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 cups whole milk

1 cup chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon seeded habanero pepper

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place sliced prosciutto on top. Bake until crispy – about 10 or 15 minutes.

Put diced white potatoes in a stock pot, cover with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Add sweet potatoes once water is boiling. Cook until tender, about 25 minutes.

Bring a large frying pan to medium heat and add olive oil. Add leeks, onion, horseradish and garlic. Saute until soft, but do not brown. Set aside.

When potatoes are tender, strain and put into a blender. Add milk, chicken stock, leek mixture and habanero pepper. Blend until smooth. Season with salt to taste. Pour soup into a stock pot, adding more chicken stock or milk to thin soup to desired consistency. Heat until warm.

Crush prosciutto into medium-sized pieces. Pour soup into bowls and garnish each with one teaspoon sour cream and crispy prosciutto pieces.

Copy the Story Link