Crockpot Crispy Caramelized Pork Ramen with Roasted Acorn Squash

Yes the name is quite a mouthful.  However this recipe, oh this recipe.  It was definitely one of my favorite meals I've ever made.  To quote DP, my eyes while eating it looked like "Call of the Wild meets Top Chef".  It left me kind of speechless.  I think I was actually dancing with anticipation while caramelizing the pork, because I mean, is there anything better than pork that's been caramelized in sesame oil and a sprinkle of brown sugar after slow cooking it all day long?  I'm beginning to think not.  We made a couple of small edits to make the recipe gluten free but we mostly stuck to the script.  I found this to be just a tad salty for my palette so next time I might ease up on the soy sauce element but I'm very sensitive to salt.  DP thought it was perfectly salty.

The recipe itself is not hard at all but I would say it's a little involved.  For a leisurely Sunday though I didn't mind sporadically tending to it throughout the day, step by step.  Since most of the cooking time happens in the crock pot you could pull this off on a weeknight if you planned well.  Whatever the case may be I highly encourage you to make this ramen.  It is, by far, the tastiest version I've had outside of the real deal.  Enjoy! (and maybe invite me over when you make it)


Crockpot Crispy Caramelized Pork Ramen with Roasted Acorn Squash
modified ever so slightly from Half Baked Harvest

Soup

• 3 lbs of pork butt (shoulder)
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup + 2 tblsp of low sodium soy sauce (Bragg's if you're gf)
• 1/4 cup + 2 tblsp of rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 2 tblsp of red curry paste
• 1 tblsp of fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tblsp of sambal oelek (chili paste)
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tblsp chinese five spice
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tblsp sesame oil
• 1/4 cup + 1 tblsp of brown sugar
• 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, left whole
• 4 packs ramen noodles (we used gf ones and they were great)
• 4 soft boiled eggs for serving - I used this method
• chopped carrots, cilantro, jalapeno + green onions for servings

Curry Roasted Acorn Squash

• 1 medium acorn squash, seeded and diced
• 2 tblsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tblsp curry powder (we used garam masala)
• 1 tblsp white miso paste
• 1 tblsp brown sugar
• fresh ground pepper, to taste

1. Add the pork to the bowl of the crockpot.  Pour the chicken broth, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of rice vinegar, fish sauce, red curry paste,  ginger, sambal oelek, lime juice, five spice, pepper, and 1 tblsp brown sugar into the pot.  Flip the pork around so it's all evenly coated and mixed together.  Cover and cook over low for 7 hours.
2. About 40 minutes before the pork is set to be done preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. In a small bowl mix together the coconut oil, curry powder, miso, brown sugar, and pepper for the squash.  Add the diced squash and mix to evenly coat.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until soft, tossing a few times so the sides of the squash get a little crispy.
4. Remove the pork from the crock pot once it's done and place in a bowl to shred with two forks or your hands.  Add mushrooms to broth in crock pot and cover again.
5. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium high heat.  Add 1 tblsp sesame oil and once hot add about half of the pork.  While cooking sprinkle brown sugar over pork and 1 tblsp of soy sauce and rice vinegar.  Let the pork caramelize for 3-5 minutes stirring only once or twice.  Repeat process with remaining half of pork.  Keep the pork warm - I used the residual heat from roasting the squash to keep mine in the oven.
6. Add the ramen noodles to the crock pot, cover and cook until soft.  At this point start your soft boiled eggs.  After noodles are soft, add half the pork to the crock pot.  Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with extra pork, carrots, green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, and boiled eggs.  Try not to let your jaw drop with amazement!

 

Gumbo - Portland Style

Even though the original recipe did not come from a Portlander I ended up thinking how quintessentially Portland this gumbo ended up being.  It's definitely not traditional and with the addition of quinoa instead of rice and oil instead of butter it felt healthier and a bit modernized.  While we really enjoyed the end product a lot I think there are a few additional tweaks I'd make for the next round but this recipe is a great jumping off point.

The dish wasn't too spicy but for those who want an extra kick you can easily add hot sauce or a spicy pepper to the bell pepper mix.  I personally loved the crab meat and shrimp in it but next time I will also add an Andouille sausage to round out the meat profile and to also kick up the spice.  For a week night meal I also love recipes where the chopping is kept to a minimum and this fits the bill with only one chopping step and the rest comes together in a cinch.

When I originally read the recipe I saw that one of the ingredients was file powder.  Now being someone who wasn't raised anywhere near the south I thought that was a misprint.  Then when preparing my shopping list I figured it was another name for some spice I probably already owned.  Boy was I wrong when I looked it up and discovered that file powder is a spicy herb made from dried and ground leaves of the sassafrass tree.  That was intriguing and I'm definitely going to try it out next time I prepare gumbo!

I changed some of the cooking times from the original recipe. Below as I made it.  Enjoy!

Seafood Gumbo
recipe adapted from here

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 unbleached flour
3 small bell peppers, differing colors
1 gumbo seasoning packet or make your own
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 lb shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 lb cooked crab meat
1 cup frozen okra
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 cups cooked quinoa
file powder, for garnish

Dice up the bell peppers and set aside. Combine the oil and flour in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, for about 10 minutes or until it's dark brown. Carefully add the bell peppers, okra, gumbo seasoning and cayenne pepper. Give it a good stir and let the vegetables cook for about 5 minutes or until softened.  Add the tomatoes and chicken broth, bring to a boil.

Start cooking your quinoa according the package instructions in a separate sauce pan.  Once the gumbo is boiling add the shrimp and cook for 5-7 minutes or until pink.  Add the crab meat and reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat and add the fresh parsley.  Serve with cooked quinoa and file powder.

Watch:



Look:

Mulligatawny

Mulligatawny soup is a great soup for leftovers.  The recipe I found was one of those ideas on what to do with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. I didn't have leftover turkey in late January (god forbid) but what I did have was a lot of similar ingredients to the recipe already in my pantry. So I ended up taking this soup and really making it fit what was in my cupboard.

The key to a good mulligatawny is the acidity and the warm Indian spices.  The spices are what I would say define this soup.  However the rest of the elements can be open to interpretation.  I ended up using the traditional lemon and granny smith apple to bring the acidity to the soup but I saw recipes that omitted the apple and just had lemon.  I think subbing in lime would work just as well too if that's what you had on hand.  Also, the protein can be chicken or turkey but you can use whatever cuts you prefer.  Chicken is traditional but using slightly dried out turkey from Thanksgiving leftovers is a perfect option to bring back to life in this soup.

The other element I played with was the grain.  The recipe suggested basmati rice but I used red lentils instead because I had just the amount needed on hand.  The key if you choose to use lentils is to use the red/orange ones (like these ones) because traditional lentils won't cook up as fast as you need them to in this recipe.  So go forth with this knowledge and use what you got and make one hell of a good winter soup, just don't sub out the spices or you'll regret it.

Mulligatawny Soup
adapted heavily from this recipe

4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, medium dice
1 medium Granny Smith apple, medium dice
2 medium carrots, medium dice
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
6 cups of chicken stock (we used homemade)
2 lbs chicken boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 (14 oz.) can unsweetened light coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
cilantro leaves for garnish, we also added some avocado on top

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put chicken thighs in a casserole dish, season with salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Roast chicken in the oven until temperature reaches 165 degrees internally.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Once cool, dice up into small bites.
2.  Heat other 2 tablespoons of oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and allow to cook until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add apple, carrots and garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Saute until apple is tender and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
3.  Sprinkle flour, curry powder, garam masala, cumin and cloves over vegetable mixture.  Stir until fragrant and flour has cooked down, about 2 minutes.
4. Slowly add stock and stir until flour/spice mixtures is all dissolved.  Bring to a simmer and cook until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. At this point I chose to use my immersion blender and blend these ingredients together before adding the other meat and lentils.  The original recipe didn't say to but I didn't love the idea of eating chunks of cooked apple.  I'll leave you to make the call.
5.  Add diced chicken, lentils, coconut milk, and lemon juice and return soup to a simmer for about 10 minutes.  Stir in lemon zest and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.  Server immediately topped with cilantro leaves and avocado (if using).

We also bought some pre-made naan at the store for dipping.  Next time I'd love to make some of my own naan at home but since it was a weeknight I decided to choose the quick options.

I made a Vine video for this but unfortunately accidentally erased it so all I have is this pretty picture of the final product.  Enjoy!

Chicken Khao Soi

The minute I saw this soup featured on the cover of March's Bon Appetit I knew I was going to make it at some point.  That bowl had some damn fine curb appeal.  I've been saving this in my back pocket for just such an occasion.  Occasion being that Michelle and I decided to resurrect this here blog of ours.    It's not often that I get to use turmeric in recipes but there's something magical about that spice.  I know it has a ton of health benefits and when you smell it you really believe that.  Not to mention that it stains everything it touches a beautiful sunny yellow. 

 

I'm hesitant to say this recipe is easy but only because procuring the ingredients was a bit of a task.  Guajillo chiles and Chinese eggs noodles are a lot harder to find in this progressive town of ours.  But here's a tip from me to you - go straight to your local Mexican tienda for the chiles, do not pass Go, New Seasons, Fred Meyer, or Safeway.  I did end up finding the Chinese egg noodles at Safeway after two other fails, so thanks Safeway for throwing me that bone.  The good news is if you have ready access to those two ingredients the other items are pretty much pantry staples.  The other good news is that this recipe has minimal prep and comes together in a cinch so it's good for a weeknight meal. DP being the non-dairy eating asian food loving person that he is really dug this soup.  It definitely lived up to its curb appeal.

Chicken Khao Soi Soup

adapted from March 2013 Bon Appetit

Khao Soi Paste

4 large dried New Mexico or guajillo chiles, stemmed, halved, seeded

2 medium shallots, halved

8 cloves garlic cloves

one 2" piece ginger, peeled, sliced

 ¼ cup chopped cilantro stems

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon curry powder

 Soup

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 14-oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk

3 cups chicken broth (we used homemade)

1½ lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, halved lengthwise

2 10 oz. packages Chinese egg noodles (we used Lo Mein egg noodles)

3 tablespoons (or more) fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)

1 tablespoon (packed) palm sugar or light brown sugar

Kosher salt

Sliced red onion, bean sprouts, cilantro sprigs, crispy fried onions or shallots, chili oil, and lime wedges ( for serving)

Khao Soi Paste

Place chiles in a small heatproof bowl, add boiling water to cover, and let soak until softened, 25–30 minutes.

Drain chiles, reserving soaking liquid. Purée chiles, shallots, garlic, ginger, cilantro stems, coriander, turmeric, curry powder, and 2 Tbsp. soaking liquid in a food processor, adding more soaking liquid by tablespoonfuls, if needed, until smooth. 

Soup

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add khao soi paste; cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darkened, 4–6 minutes. Add coconut milk and broth. Bring to a boil; add chicken. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is fork-tender, 20–25 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Let cool slightly; shred meat.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.

Add chicken, 3 Tbsp. fish sauce, and sugar to soup. Season with salt or more fish sauce, if needed. Divide soup and noodles among bowls and serve with toppings.

 

This video was cracking me up all last night because of the part where I forgot to turn it off and it caught me putting it in my sweater pocket and singing to Bonnie Raitt.

Tuxedo Chicken Chili and Baked Polenta

New years day is sometimes more of a mixed bag than New Year's Eve is.  I find that there tends to be a little bit of regret - from the night before, hopefulness - for the year to come, and some relief - for getting to wipe the slate clean.  This year a group of us got together at the Adrift Hotel in Long Beach, WA to eat a good meal, spend some time together gussied up and drink way too much because of the short distance it takes to stumble back to your room.

The next day left me going through my mixed bag of emotions which led me to make this soup.  It had a fancy title, sounded healthy, and little chopping was required for my hungover lazy self.  I expected this soup to be good but it actually turned out to be incredible.  I measure that based off of the number of times DP and I both swoon and mmmm while scarfing it down.  There were a lot of those on this one my friends.

I ended up adding the baked polenta for a few reasons.  I wanted something to dip in the soup but there's always that moment when we're on our best behavior when one of us decides that bread is just too unhealthy.  I was still determined though so I thought about making some simple focaccia but alas, I was almost out of flour.  So I landed on polenta which is so easy to whip up.  Because I wanted it to have a crispy exterior to mimic bread I let it cool in the fridge then sliced it up and baked it on a cookie sheet at high heat.   It did the trick! Every time I make polenta, either in soft or baked form, I always remind myself not to overlook this gem for any other suitable application.  The only thing I'd do differently is cut it up smaller so it has more crispiness and then bake it a little longer and finish it off with a few minutes under the broiler.

The original recipe for the chili comes from Food 52 and the baked polenta recipe is an adaptation of this one.  Below are the recipes as I made them.

Tuxedo Chicken Chili
Serves 6

• 1 medium white onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 lb ground chorizo chicken (available at New Seasons Market)
• 1 lb ground dark meat chicken (feel free to just sub 2 lbs of this and crank up the spices if you can't find chorizo chicken above)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 3 (15) ounces cans canellini beans
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 (16) ounce can black beans
• 1 (16) ounce package frozen corn
• 1 (4.5) ounce can chopped green chiles
• Garnishments - sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, and/or baked polenta below 

1. Chop the onion and garlic finely. Add to the oil in a large Dutch oven. Saute over medium high heat until soft and translucent. Do not brown. Remove the onions and garlic to a bowl and set aside. (If the onions brown and overcook, the final color of the chili will be muddy. It will still taste delicious, but won’t look as nice). Add all of the ground chicken to the pan and cook until browning slightly, breaking it up into small pieces.
2. Sprinkle the oregano, cumin, chili powder, pepper and cinnamon over the chicken. Add the onions and garlic. Pour in two cups of chicken broth and one cup of water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until the water has reduced by half and the chicken is cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, drain and rinse two cans of white beans. Place the beans in a blender (don't be an idiot like me and think a food processor will work just as well, you'll end up with stock all over your counter) with the chicken broth and puree until smooth. Drain and rinse the remaining white beans and the black beans. Pour the pureed beans into the chicken mixture, stir well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium, add the remaining drained beans, corn, and green chiles and simmer until cooked through and thickened, about 30 minutes.
4. Serve in big bowls topped with grated cheddar cheese, polenta squares and some cilantro if you've got it (I didn't).

Crispy Baked Polenta

• 2 cups polenta (also known as corn grits)
• 8 cups water
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3 tbs butter
• 1/4 cup buttermilk, cheese, or anything else creamy you may have on hand

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot with 1 tbs kosher salt.  Gradually whisk in the polenta and whisk after all the polenta has been added to make sure no lumps form.  Turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes until thick, stirring frequently.
2. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and any creamy item you may be adding to the mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pour into 9x13 casserole pan and put in refrigerator to cool for at least 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
4. Remove the polenta from the refrigerator and slice the cooled polenta into long 1 inch strips. Slice the strips perpendicular to create 1 inch pieces. Place the polenta squares onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put into the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until they have turned golden and browned on the edges. Remove the baked polenta squares from oven and place on a cooling rack. The polenta squares can be served warm with a dipping sauce or at room temperature. To reheat the squares, place in oven at 200 degrees for several minutes. Can be stored in an airtight container for several days.

Only one picture of the end result was required because honestly, I chopped two things, sauteed some meat and dumped some other stuff in a pot.  SO simple!


I did also manage to take this video for you:

Chicken Pot Pie

We arrived home from a two week trip to Spain to find that fall has hit in Portland! Which is just dandy by me, I sure do love this season. All the traveling and hotel hopping left me yearning to spend the day in my kitchen so I decided to spend my Sunday making this very involved, from scratch, chicken pot pie that I got from the new Bon Appetit magazine. It was the perfect cure for fall weather and the need to cook. I went above and beyond on this one and even pulled the meat from the chicken carcass with my bare hands, a first and most likely a last for me. I'm not as carnivorous as I may have thought after shirking my vegetarian upbringing some 12 years ago. Overall, this recipe turned out really well but I think I prefer Ina Garten's Chicken Stew with Biscuits more. It's an all time favorite. This recipe can be a close second though and one to keep around should I ever need to impress anyone with my chicken ripping skills.


Chicken Pot Pie
slightly altered from Bon Appetit

Crust
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Chicken
2 cups peeled, coarsely chopped carrots
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 leek, coarsely chopped
1 3-pound whole chicken
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
6 sprigs thyme
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Filling
2 tablespoons dried chanterelle or shittake mushrooms
1 cupo 1/2" slices of carrots
1 cup fresh (or frozen, thawed) peas
1 cup fresh (or I used frozen already peeled) pearl onions
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup all purpose flour
6 fresh sage leaves
4 thyme sprigs
2 sprigs rosemary
1 cup button mushrooms
1 cup 1/4" rounds sliced fingerling potatoes
1 egg, beaten to blend
coarse sea salt and ground pepper

PREPERATION:

Crust

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor. Add cubed butter and shortening and process until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size lumps. With machine running, add 1/2 cup ice water and process, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry, until dough forms. Form dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 12x9 1/2" rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Place on prepared sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Chicken

Preheat oven to 400°. Place carrots, onion, and leek on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large pot fitted with a lid. Add chicken, breast side down, celery, thyme sprigs, wine, salt, and peppercorns to pot. Add 8 cups water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat, cover, and poach chicken until cooked through, about 35 minutes.
Remove chicken from pot and set aside until cool. Reserve broth. Shred meat; discard skin and bones. Set a large strainer over another pot. Strain broth into clean pot. Stir in tomato paste. Return to medium heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 5 cups, about 40 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cool. Cover chicken and broth separately; keep chilled. Rewarm broth before continuing.

Filling

Place dried chanterelles in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup hot water. Let steep for 10 minutes; set aside. Reserve soaking liquid. Cook carrots in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium bowl. Add peas to saucepan; cook for 1 minute; transfer to bowl with carrots. Add onions to saucepan and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside; let cool. Peel onions. In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Whisk in herbs and warm broth from chicken. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chanterelles to saucepan. Pour in soaking liquid, leaving sediment behind. Simmer for 20 minutes. Set a strainer over another large pot. Strain broth into pot; discard solids. Add chicken, carrots, peas, onions, mushrooms, and potatoes. Bring to a simmer. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cool; cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing. Preheat oven to 400°. Spoon filling into an 11x8x2" or 2 1/2-qt. round baking dish. (Add pie bird, if using.) Top with pastry, pinching edges to seal. If not using pie bird, cut a 1" slit in center of crust for steam to vent. Brush pastry with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, if desired. Place pot pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Poaching the chicken and making the stock base

Stirring the roux

The filling. so good


et voila

Chicken and Dumplings-Trial One

I recently met a friend at a bar here in St. Johns which is somewhat known for its chicken and dumplings. I'll admit, I've never had chicken and dumplings before and I didn't that night either. But my friend did and as I looked at the dish I thought, hm, just seems like thicker chicken pot pie without all the fuss, I could probably swing that. And it just so happens that DP loves chicken and dumplings. Probably because he likes to say dumplings but really, who doesn't? I went in search of a recipe and ended up with one from Real Simple that looked easy. I didn't change much about the recipe except for I poached some chicken breasts and shredded them instead of using a store bought rotisserie chicken. Oh yes and I added mushrooms. And peas.

I liked this recipe but it lacked the thickness that I wanted. Next time I'd probably try using a slurry or a beurre manie to thicken it up. I'll definitely give this another go during the approaching fall! I have posted the recipe as I made it.

Chicken and Dumplings

adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 leek (white and light green parts), halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
• 1 1/2 cups of crimini mushrooms, sliced in half
• 3/4 cup of frozen peas, or fresh if you have 'em
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3 medium sized chicken breasts (2 1/2 to 3 lbs), poached and meat shredded
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Directions

1. First poach the chicken. Cover chicken with water in a medium sauce pan. Add any spices you like, I usually go for ones that dissolve easily. After about 15 minutes of boiling, check the chicken. Be careful not to overcook it as it will cook a little bit more later in the recipe. Once it's done, put it on a plate and shred it using two forks.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, leek, and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with ½ cup of the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute (do not let it darken). Stir in the broth, wine, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and reduce to a simmer.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of flour with the baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir in the sour cream and egg.
4. If soup doesn't seem thick enough, this is where I might add in a slurry to thicken it up. Add the frozen peas. Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough into the stew and cook, covered, until the dumplings are plump and cooked through, 15 to 17 minutes. Sprinkle with the dill before serving.

Siamese Mushroom!

Chopped up

I really missed Mich for this one, she's a master shredder

Sauteing

This was the fun part

and done.

Classic Minestrone, sorta.

As part of the new year I'm trying to get back at this blogging thing. I have a million recipes to try, more time to spend cooking and baking, and tons of motivation to boot. Yet one missing piece still remains and that is a functional camera. So for the last time I ask you to please excuse my horrible iPhone pictures because I'm setting forth on a camera buying mission this weekend.

As an homage to my last poorly pixelated pictures we have minestrone soup. I came across this recipe on Food & Wine's website and since I had a bunch of kale to use up (isn't that always the case?) and we haven't done one of the most classic soups of all time I decided it was meant to be. I modified the recipe quite a bit and used cannellini beans in place of potatoes, added a can of fire roasted tomatoes and substituted the kale for the chard/spinach but I guess I'll still give credit where credit is due. I also added more spices than just the s&p that the original recipe called for, I can't help myself when it comes to throwing those around.

The final result was really good. One trick that you can use for any soup, but works perfectly in this Italian soup, is saving parmesan rinds to throw in while the soup is simmering. I keep them in a plastic bag in the freezer. It adds a rich creaminess that isn't too salty and can't be replicated with just stock alone. Plus it falls under my neurotic need to not waste food!

Minestrone Soup
adapted from Food & Wine

3 tblsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
1 quart low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
2 cups water
1 can cannellini beans
1 can diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup orecchiette pasta
1 bunch of kale, tough stems removed, roughly chopped
1/3 grated parmesan or parmesan rind (optional)

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion, fennel, celery, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and other spices. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.

Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, water, the remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and the pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes (this is where I throw in the parmesan rinds). Stir in the pasta and simmer for 5 minutes longer.

Add the kale and bring the soup back to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are wilted and the pasta is tender, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the Parmesan, if using.

Prepped

Almost ready


Set up and my shriveled parm rinds

Poor Man's Soup

Otherwise known as "the soup I made yesterday because I'm on a Christmas budget". Or you folks might know it as Split Pea Soup. This was one easy and cheap soup to make. Although this soup has never exactly screamed appealing I have to say I thought it was quite good for a rainy winter evening. I took the original recipe from Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn but I modified it a bit.

Split Pea Soup
modified from The Kitchn

4 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, sliced or diced
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste
2 cups of dried split peas
6 cups broth of choice
1/2-3/4 cup of half & half

Preparation
In a large, heavy pot (about 4 quarts in size) melt the butter and add the vegetables, and cook until the onions are soft. Add the bay leaves, thyme, garlic powder, and salt & pepper and stir. Add the split peas and stir to coat with the spices and the butter, then add the broth. Turn heat down to low, cover, and simmer for an hour. Check on the soup. It should be creamy and soft, but not so thick that it's like a pea loaf. If it's getting too thick, add a little more broth. The soup is ready when the peas are soft, about a hour to a hour & half. Puree in a blender if desired (I did about 3/4 of the soup and left the rest chunky). Add in half & half and serve.

Please excuse the iphone pics. Santa needs to bring me a god damn real camera.

Cheese and bacon are always good

A few months ago, V made the most delicious corn chowder ever, and we kept saying "next time we will do this and this and this and it will be even more amazing!" I had a hankering for something rich and creamy and cheesy and delicious on a cold day last week, but we could not quite nail down the recipe that had been used before. I took a look through The Big Book of Soups & Stews, and decided to make this:

Cheddar Chicken Corn Chowder

3 slices bacon, diced
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped (We used the whole pepper)
2 cloves garlic, minced (We used 3)
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 1/2 cups unpeeled cubed red potatoes (We used 3 small-medium ones)
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen (We used frozen, and a little more than 1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast (We used 2 small breast fillets, poached them in the broth and shredded them instead of cubing them)
1 cup seeded, peeled, chopped tomato (I bought a jar of diced tomatoes instead of whole, oops)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (We used white cheddar, closer to a cup)
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Transfer bacon to a plate, leaving 1 tablespoon drippings in Dutch oven. Make sure you don't eat all the bacon while you cook the rest of the soup. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add Stock and potatoes and bring to a boil. If you choose to poach the chicken like we did, add the chicken in at this point as well, so it will cook in the broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in Corn.

In a bowl, blend flour and milk. Stir into soup. Increase heat to medium-high and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add bacon, tomato, cheese, salt and pepper (and chicken, if you choose to cook it beforehand and add it in, as the recipe calls for originally).) Simmer, uncovered, until flavors are blended and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes longer. If it doesn't seem thick enough, you can add a dash more flour, which we did.


We ate this soup with a big loaf of rosemary bread that I found at Whole Foods which was super tasty. The soup turned out really delicious. Perfectly creamy, the bell pepper added a nice bit of crunchiness, and the tomato, though it was a little saucier than the recipe called for, was delicious. If I make this again, I will make sure and use tomato chunks instead of diced saucy tomatoes from a can. Sometimes I am just lazy and did not feel like trying to peel and de-seed a fresh tomato. I think I would like the fresh tomato addition with the cheesiness. The soup was so pretty and colorful too!



Yummmmmm.

Stir, Stir, Stir-Shiitake and Asparagus Risotto

Well, it's true what they say about risotto, it requires a whole lotta stirring. Mich and I are not very patient cooks but I'd say we pulled this one off without a hitch. It helps to have a glass of wine in hand. I picked up some shiitake mushrooms at the Farmer's Market last week intending to try out a sublime sounding slow-cooked pork recipe that my dear friend Jenn sent to me. But between work and packing to take off for a 3 day weekend in rainy CA, I didn't have time to pull that off. So using the rest of the bunch of asparagus we ate with the chicken parm and the shiitakes, I thought, hey, ho - risotto. And what a lovely idea it was.

Shiitake Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto
Adapted from May 2003 Gourmet via epicurious.com

5 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into pieces (I used a tad less than this)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3/4 lb shiitake mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped (I used 4 large shallots instead)
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used pinot grigio as that's the stuff I like to drink)
2 oz Parmesan cheese

Bring broth and water to a boil in a large soup pot. Prepare a bowl with ice water. Throw in chopped asparagus and cooked until slightly tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and put in the ice water bowl to stop the cooking process. Keep the broth simmering over low heat, covered.

Heat oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a large soup pot over moderately high heat. Saute mushrooms until browned and soft, about 4 minutes, season with salt and pepper (I threw in some thyme too) and remove from pot to a small bowl.

Put 2 tbsp of butter in the same pot and saute the shallots until soft. Add rice to the pan and coat with butter, stirring, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Ladle in 1 cup of the simmering broth, stirring, until all is absorbed. Continue this process until most all of the broth is absorbed and your rice is soft and creamy, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese, remaining butter (I skipped this part), and salt and pepper. Add asparagus and mushrooms back in and let stand, covered, for about a minute. Serve with remaining cheese on the side.

Stir stir-drink drink

Eat eat-drink drink

I have to say this turned out pretty outstanding and was still delicious the next day for lunch. Some of the asparagus had too much of a crunchy texture but I think that's due to my dumbass not trimming them down far enough. Well worth all the stirring!

Back to Soup

Sorry for the momentary diversion but it can't be all soup all the time. Just most of the time. Ahem.

This last week we whipped up some Creamy Asparagus Soup using some asparagus I snatched up at the PSU Saturday Farmer's Market and some left over buttermilk I was itching to use up (I get antsy if I know there's impending spoilage in the fridge). This recipe came from Mich's soup bible, aka The Big Book of Soups and Stews. We modified it slightly because the grocery store only had one leek left so we subbed a yellow onion. Also, we sauteed some shrimp in orange juice, salt and pepper to throw on top. Oh and those red strips? That's our attempt at "presentation" with a couple of red bell pepper slivers. All in all, a solid soup.

Creamy Asparagus Soup with Shrimp
adapted from The Big Book of Soups and Stews

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 leeks, whit and light green parts only, sliced 1/2 cup chopped celery
1 large russet potato, peeled and cubed
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 lb asparagus, tough end removed and discarded, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (can use low-fat)
1/2 cup bay shrimp for topping (we used large ones as that is what we had)

In a soup pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add leeks and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add potato and stock. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes. Add asparagus and simmer, covered, until potato and asparagus are tender, about 10 minutes longer.

Transfer to blender or food processor in batches and puree. Return to pot and stir in salt, pepper, and buttermilk and reheat. For a creamier soup, puree again. Serve in bowls with a few shrimp sprinkled on top.


Cooking


Puree


Done! <3!