Celery and pear bisque: a recipe

It snowed again yesterday. Yes, I said again.

OK, I'm being slightly dramatic, as these have been snow showers that don't last long and don't leave any evidence behind, but still: yesterday was only Halloween. Last year at this time I was sporting a new sleeveless dress and sandals for my 40th birthday party in North Carolina. This year? Boots and a turtleneck.

All this is just my way of explaining why I've been posting a lot about soup. Thank god I bought fleecy boots or you might catch me soaking my feet in some of these recipes.

This one is adapted from Bon Appetit. It's ridiculously easy; most soups are, which is probably why I love them. I'm not kidding when I say there are just about 3 steps: 1) throw chopped veg in pot and cook, 2) add stock to pot and cook, 3) puree. Done.

I served these with some sausage pasties that I made but that unfortunately you're not going to see because they just looked weird. And no, in this case, "pasty" is not pronounced with a long "a" and no, it is not what you may think it is.

I mean, that kind of pasty wouldn't go very well with soup, now would it?

Celery and Pear Bisque (from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
6 cups thinly sliced celery with leaves
3 heaping cups unpeeled, diced pears (2-3 pears)
1 1/2 cups chopped dark green leek tops
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
3 to 3 1/2 cups chicken stock

Directions
Melt butter over medium-high heat. Add celery, pears, leeks, bay leaves and thyme; cover and cook until celery softens (about 8 minutes -- stir occasionally). Stir in flour and 3 cups stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until celery is tender (about 20 minutes). Remove bay leaves from soup and immersion blend -- add additional stock, a few ounces at a time, if you think the soup is too thick.