Celebrity Chef Cat Cora Shares a Favorite Recipe for the Holiday Season on MSN Online Cooking Show “Chef to the Rescue”

Cora prepares turkey and potato cream soup, and shows online viewers how to properly carve a turkey.

NEW YORK — Nov. 21, 2006 — Celebrity chef Cat Cora of MSN® and Kraft Kitchen’s online cooking show “Chef to the Rescue” tells viewers how to spice up their leftover Thanksgiving turkey. This is the season for great soups, and what better way to not let that delicious turkey go to waste on a cold day than to use leftovers in preparing a hearty soup?

Before they plan their big holiday meal, online viewers of her webisode will see Cora show how to prepare her favorite turkey and potato cream soup. Cora is known for her unique, eclectic cuisine style that blends her Greek and Southern heritage in dishes such as her favorite dish, kota kapama (Greek cinnamon chicken), and slow-cooked lamb shanks with feta salsa verde.

Where: http://cheftotherescue.msn.com

Who: Before she became the first female Iron Chef on the Food Network’s top-rated show “Iron Chef America,” Cora was co-host of the Food Network’s “Kitchen Accomplished,” where she worked with a design expert and contractor to surprise a homeowner with a three-day kitchen makeover. In November 2006, Cora achieved another culinary distinction when she was named executive chef of “Bon Appetit.”

Cora is part of Macy’s Culinary Council, a national culinary authority composed of 15 of the world’s most prominent chefs. She serves as president and founder of Chefs for Humanity, an organization founded in response to the 2005 tsunami disaster. She is working on her second book, “Cooking From the Hip,” scheduled to be published by Houghton Mifflin in April 2007.

What: According to Cora, putting turkey into a soup mix adds moisture to the turkey so that it doesn’t get dry like it typically does when left in the fridge after Thanksgiving. Cora’s turkey and cream potato soup doesn’t take long to prepare, especially since the turkey is already cooked. It’s smooth, creamy and easy to make. Those who are not fans of turkey can make this dish with chicken.

RECIPE (makes 8 servings)
• 4 slices Oscar Mayer Bacon
• 3 cups sliced leeks, white and tender green parts (alternatives are scallions or green onions)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and quartered
• Salt and white pepper
• 1 1/2 cups cooked turkey meat, chopped
• 1/2 cup Breakstone’s or Knudsen Sour Cream
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives or flat-leaf parsley
• Triscuit Rosemary & Olive Oil Crackers, for serving

Place a soup pot over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towel to drain. Add the leeks and garlic to the rendered bacon fat. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about three minutes. Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Cover and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. With a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor, puree the soup until smooth. Return the soup to the heat and fold in the turkey meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls and top each serving with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled bacon and sprinkling of fresh chives or parsley. Serve immediately with crackers.

About “Chef to the Rescue”

“Chef to the Rescue” provides an interactive forum to find fresh, useful and easy ideas to implement in the kitchen. Viewers can interact with Cat Cora and learn how to create their own culinary delights. Cora responds to user questions in the weekly webisodes and via the online message boards.

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