Soup Kitsch

Stuffed Cannelloni

2011-12-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

Homemade Stuffed Cannelloni

My latest obsession - the pasta making process. It is long, arduous and messy, but there is also a great sense of accomplishment and almost zen when you are done. It is not difficult - with a little practice a basic level of competence can be reached.

Last night, I found myself with an empty house and 2 1/2 hours of downtime. My relaxation of choice? The adult version of PlayDoh!

I decided on a simple pasta - cannelloni - rolled 3"x5" squares stuffed with whatever. First step - make the pasta.

Egg Bowl

Give yourself a lot of room to work. Most basic dough recipes are some combination of flour, eggs, maybe oil and salt. I used one without oil, but with lots of eggs (2 1/3 C flour, 4 egg yolks, 2 whole eggs, 1/2 tspn salt). Use the fluor to make a bowl to hold the eggs, and salt. mix the eggs and salt together encorporating the flour slowly to make a paste.

Flour and Egg Mixture

Keep mixing in the flour and then start the kneading process with your hands. If the dough is too hard to work with, add a tablespoon of water, working it into the dough with your thumbs. Be patient. Be kind. The dough is your friend. Keep kneading the dough until it is somewhat elastic, but doesn't significantly change shape when you take your hands away. This process usually takes me 10-20 minutes by hand.

Now let the poor dough rest. Wrap it in plastic and let it sit for an hour. Go pour yourself a nice glass of Chianti - you've earned it - kneading is hard work.

Now get back to work. You have sauce and stuffing to make. For my stuffing, I diced onion, celery and carrot and sauteed it with garlic (I put the garlic in at the end of the saute so it wouldn't burn and taste bitter). I then browned bison meat with the veggies, added tomato paste, diced mushrooms, paprika, salt (taste to make sure you use enough)and pepper. A little reduced stock, parsley and a couple more eggs, a few pulses in the food processor, and voila!

Beef and Mushroom Stuffing

The last component is the sauce. I sauteed diced onions, added diced tomatoes, fresh basil, salt and pepper and let it cook down a bit. Meanwhile, I rolled out the pasta to make the squares (I went to setting 5 for thickness).

Roll Out the Pasta!

The pasta squares, once cut, need to boil for a minute or two. The sauce goes in the baking pan, the stuffed squares go on top of the sauce, a mix of 1/2C of cream, 1/2C parmesan goes on top, as well as a few pieces of butter. Bake at 400 deg for 20 minutes till brown on top. Maybe do some situps and pushups while you are waiting - have you seen what's in this recipe?

Festival of Light

2011-04-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

The Corcoran College of Art + Design Advanced Lighting class brings you the 2011 Festival of Lights in Rockville Town Square. Students and lighting industry professionals will be working together in teams all day to create temporary themed lighting installations in the Square!

While you are waiting for the sun to set, come up to the Rooftop for lighting talks and activities and great local music. There is a minimal admission charge, and food and drink will be available for sale.

Once it gets dark, walk through the Square with the student led teams, hearing about the installations and seeing Rockville Town Square in a whole new "light"!

See you there!

Corn and Lobster Chowder

2011-01-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

Corn and Lobster Chowder

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Corn-and-Lobster-Chowder-106800

Soup is one of those dishes that can be made quickly in a pinch - store bought broth and precut or frozen vegetables definitely speed up the process. Last night I had the luxury of breaking a soup into its individual parts, and pulling as much flavor as possible out of each of those components. Was the difference noticeable? Who knows. I can tell you the personal satisfaction was significant.

This is a simple recipe. Start with a fat, add onions, add stock and aromatics, add more vegetables, top with lobster. Season to taste. Done.

Or not. Start by thinking about the stock. The recipe calls for chicken broth - but this is corn and lobster soup - no chicken in the name. It makes sense to use chicken broth - it adds some richness without overpowering the other flavors, but its the other flavors that are so important to the soup. So - to increase the corn flavor, I cooked the corn on the cob, cut off the kernals and tossed the cobs in the broth. All of that milky corn sweetness was transferred to the broth.

As for the lobster, I am a chicken. I hate it that I don't have the guts to throw the lobster in the pot myself, and have to ask the fish monger at the store to be my lobster hit man, but there it is. I had two lobsters steamed and brought them home. As delicious as the meat is, the shells and juices are equally valuable. I opend up the lobsters over the broth, draining all the delicious juices into the pot, salvaged the sweet meat and threw the shells in the stock to add as much briny seafood flavor as possible. The chicken broth is now but a memory - adding lovely color and richness, but truly overshadowed by lobster and corn.

And the rest goes back to being simple. The fresher and sweeter the corn, the better. Fresh off the cob can't be beat - every bite ends in sweetness. I used red bell pepper instead of yellow to add a bit of color - since the soup isn't pureed color consistency is not a major issue. I also used very thinly sliced leek instead of scallions - just what was on hand. I didn't add any heat, but next time I think I will throw in a bit of cayenne - if the corn is sweet enough, it really can stand up to it, and the half and half will help with the balance. Too hot and the corn will be lost though, so it will be important to taste as I add. A handful of chopped parsley (added after I pulled the shells and cobs out)added more color, flavors and a bit of thickening to the soup. The flat leaf was the right choice for this soup - curly would have been too peppery.

Finally, season to taste. Possibly the least helphul phrase known to man. I added smoked salt and pepper. Tasted, added a bit more smoked salt, until I was at about two teaspoons. Probably could have added a bit more, but the smokiness was tastable, and I hadn't overtaken the sweetness of the stock, so I quit while I was ahead.

Start to finish, this version took about two hours (and one glass of wine). I would say, with store stock, lobster tales and frozen corn, probably you could cut it to an hour and the results will be fine. As for the satisfaction...

Beef, Borscht and Beyond

2010-12-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

Beef Borscht

My earliest memories of borscht are my Mom taking the container of purple liquid with the occasional beet chunk out of the refrigerator, adding some hard boiled egg, and pouring it in a bowl. It is a wonder I ever tried borscht again.

Many years later, a neighbor of ours, freshly immigrated from Moscow, served me a warm version of that same purple concoction. This time, however, the soup was rich and velvety, brimming with melt in your mouth beef and bright, fragrant herbs. And so began my love affair with beets and borscht.

The recipe I finally have settled on starts with short ribs. I used boneless - that's all they had at the store, but on the bone would add more flavor. I browned the ribs and then simmered them in beef stock with cloved onions and dill for an hour and then with beets, tomatoes, potato, carrots, leek, caraway seeds, chicken stock and water for another hour. This time I added beer to deglaze the skillet after browning the ribs - I'm happy to report the beer added a yeasty flavor that complimented the caraway nicely. I finished the soup with lemon juice, fresh dill, salt and pepper and topped each bowlful with a dollop of sour cream.

And now for the beyond. What to do with the leftovers. The easy answer is - eat them. But when you have leftover horseradish mashed potatoes too, you start to get creative. My solution - pull the solids out of the soup and place in a casserole dish. Cook down the soup liquid to a syrup and pour over the solids. Mix in fresh chopped dill and top with the horseradish mashed potatoes. Voila - Psychedelic Shepherd's Pie.

2010-11-28T15:52:00.000-08:00

Ancho Chili Turkey Soup

After eating turkey for the last four days, I have to say I was less than excited about the prospect of turkey soup. However, the remaining turkey parts, leftover gravy and the need to reclaim my refrigerator from said leftovers, beckoned. So, I embarked on a painstaking search for an acceptable turkey soup recipe (ok, I used my Epicurious app on my Iphone). I settled on one that that suggested to me that with enough chili and cumin our beleaguered mouths and stomachs might not immediately recognize the same main ingredient they had been subjected to repeatedly since Thursday.

First let me say, that recipe was an extremely loosely defined term with this particurlar soup. More of an idea really - I liked the idea of spicy, smoky flavors. That is where we parted company. I already had made stock from the carcass, so I was way ahead of the game recipe wise. By way of preparation, I soaked a couple of dried anchos in a cup of boiling stock, then pureed it. To thicken the stock I made a roux with a butter/oil combination and flour, added in the onions, then when softened, the garlic and red chilis. A little white wine deglazed the pan (beer may have been better, but I was in the mood for a glass of wine), and in went the stock (mixed with the ancho liquid). I added in the leftover gravy too (no real need for it since I threw in most of the leftover turkey meat). After a good bit of simmering and tasting, I threw in frozen succotash (a dish served on the first Thanksgiving I believe) and seasoned with smoked salt. The spicy paprika I had planned to finish the soup with was unnecessary - the chilis spiced things up just fine. Tortillas served on the side added crunch and a bit more salt.

As hoped for, the turkey provided texture and some reminiscence of flavor, without just being more of the same. I would say four days of turkey is enough for awhile, but by next November we will certainly be ready to trod down the turkey path.

Turkey stock

2010-11-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

This year, our Thanksgiving meal began and ended with soup. Before, a lot of preparation, between, family, friends, lots of laughter and plenty of turkey, and after, exhaustion.

We started with chestnut soup. Roasted chestnuts pureed with veggies and herbs in homemade chicken broth and swirled with thyme cream. It's a rich soup, so I served it in a teacup, set on a saucer. And then we waited.

For the last ten years our turkey has perched on our grill rather than in our oven. While the results are juicy and delicious, the timing is less than predictable, with outside temps playing a part in the overall cooking time. To make life easier this year, I spent a bit more on an organic turkey - not for it's organicness, but for it's pop up timer. Hah. Guess what didn't work. Money well spent. A push or two on the bird and a thermometer in the thigh are a better tell anyway. Smartest move this year - buying a disposable roasting pan, putting a cutting board in it and carving the turkey. No lost juices and no mess. Ok, one out of two on the money well spent thing.

Dinner and cleanup was a group effort. I played no part in the creation of the desserts this year - a time saving relief for me, and a culinary relief for our guests. "mans got to know his limitations" - mine is pie crusts. Unless they are actually supposed to have the consistency of rubber, I fail miserably at pie crusts. Pumpkin whoopee pies were also a hit with the kids, and some of the not kids.

Last year, as we were enjoying our meal, our dog Ginger decided the trash can was not the best place for the turkey carcass - it was much better dragged out of the trash and gnawed on the kitchen floor. This year, I made stock. By the time the carcass was done simmering even Ginger wouldn't have wanted it. All the flavor from the meat was transferred to the liquid, fresh herbs and a bit of onion and lemon made for a really flavorful broth. Sorry Ginger. One meal done, and the promise of another already begun. More to be thankful for.

Cioppino (Fisherman's Stew)

2010-04-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Cioppino

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cioppino-106263

I love San Francisco. I love everything about it - the amazing hills, the barking of the sea lions at the wharf, Irish Coffee, fabulous hot chocolate at Giardelli's, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, MOMA, I could go on forever. Ok, maybe one more thing. Cioppino. Invented in San francisco by local fisherman, using their catch of the day. Cioppino comes from the dialect used in Genoa, Italy and means to chop. Italian fishermen settling in San Francisco in the late 1800s developed this wonderful stew as a means to use what was left of their catch.

Any assortment of seafood is fine here - as long as there is plenty! I used halibut, clams, shrimp and scallops. I love crab, and were there company coming it would have been in the pot, but for the three of us I saw no point in dealing with extra utensils to get the crab out of the shell, or the extra cost.

As for the red components of the stew; my mantra - if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it - a good, dry red wine should be used here. I also like to err on the side of too much when it comes to anything tomato - it is hard to find highly flavored tomatoes, so a little extra never hurts!

This particular recipe also calls for a combination of chicken broth and clam juice for cooking liquid. I have still never seen a chicken swimming in the ocean, so there will still be no chicken broth in my seafood stew. Last week I had made seafood broth from clam shells, parsley, garlic etc - it took about 45 minutes, made more than enough for last weeks recipe and the cioppino, so that's what I used.

Finally, I would suggest, wherever possible, to finish this stew with fresh herbs, not dried. There is so much flavor and acid in here that the brightness of fresh parsley and basil will really make a difference.

Oh, and as we sat eating our stew, there was an empty bowl placed in the middle of the table. For what you ask? Why to save the clam shells and shimp shells for the next batch of seafood broth, of course.

Matzoh Balls with Chicken Soup

2010-03-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

Matzoh Balls in Chicken Soup

Happy Passover! As Jews all over the world contemplate the struggles of those without the freedoms we take for granted, solace is found, perhaps universally, in a familiar form; chicken soup. Maybe the seasonings and vegetables change with the locale, but warm, inviting broth with a generous dose of chicken, stays constant.

Seems like an easy enough soup to make. Heck, in a pinch, pop a top and you've got chicken soup. Just ignore that voice in the back of your head saying "man there's a lot of salt in this" and "I just don't get the sense of Mom in this soup".

For this particular soup, I needed a head start. I have found in the past, that if one of several aspects of this soup are bland, the whole thing falls apart. So this time, I decided to break out each component and deal with it separately. First, the chicken.

Day 1. Make roast chicken with lemon, rosemary, garlic salt. (1 C Kosher salt with grated lemon rind, chopped fresh rosemary, minced garlic). Clean and pat dry the chicken. Put 2 TBSp of the salt mixture in the cavity plus the juice of one lemon and the squeezed lemon rinds. Rub the whole bird with olive oil, and cook for 60 - 75 min @ 450 deg. As soon as it is cooked, and the juices run clear at the thigh, remove from the oven, and sprinkle with another Tbsn or two of the salt mixture. Let sit covered for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, deglaze the roasting pan and use as gravy. Enjoy - this dish makes my mouth water just thinking about it. SAVE THE CARCASS!!!! Put the carcass and any accumulated juices in a saucepan, cover with water and simmer for a couple of hours. Strain and save. Make sure you save at least two cups of this chicken meat for the soup - you do not want to rely on the cooked chicken meat from the broth making for flavor.

Day 2. Make brown chicken broth. Roast the chicken parts, carrots, celery, leeks, onions at 450 for an hour. Then move to a soup pot, cover with water, and add your bouquet garni of choice. Since I already had some broth flavored with lemon, rosemary and garlic, my bouquet garni consisted of fresh rosemary sprigs, flat leaf parsley and bay leaves. Since my amazing Boss went to Egypt and brought me back a huge container of really high quality saffron, I added a bit of crushed saffron in too. All this simmered for about 3 hours and was strained and saved. The chicken and cooked vegetables were not saved - I know, I am a bad, wasteful person. I also tasted that cooked chicken and decided it had given all of its flavor to the broth and was simply a shell of its former self.

Day 3. Make the Matzoh Balls. I have been using a version of this recipe from the "New York Cookbook" for about 10 years:

http://www.cooking.com/Recipes-and-More/recipes/Carol-Wolks-Prize-Winning-Matzo-Balls-recipe-6250.aspx

The secret ingredient is Vodka! Selzer makes them light, vodka adds to the flavor. Don't skimp on the salt here, make sure all the ingredients are well mixed. And the less you touch the matzoh balls the better - wet hands, roll them off the spoon quickly and into the boiling water.

Next, cut up your soup veggies. I used carrots, celery and leeks. Saute them in butter until the colors are bright and they are slightly tender. Add in the chicken meat from day 1, and just cook a little longer until it is heated.

Combine the chicken broth from Day 1 with the brown broth from Day 2, for a rich, flavorful, mahogany colored broth. At this point, all players are still separate, and will remain so. Once the matzoh balls are done, plop two into a soup bowl, add the cooked vegetables and chicken, and then ladle on the broth. I saved whatever matzoh balls were left over with a little broth, and the remaining broth went in the freezer for the next soup creation.

Happy Holidays!

Brazilian Seafood Soup

2010-03-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

Brazilian Seafood Soup

Food & Wine, April 2010

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/brazilian-seafood-soup-moqueca

One hundred, thousand, million times better than paella - if you like paella, you will love this. And if you don't like paella (infidel), try it anyway.

The most important step here, is to remember to read through the entire recipe before you ever touch a pan. Organization is key. If you marinate and make the stock the night before, this is a perfect soup for entertaining. It requires a bit of assembly, but is lush in color and aroma, and has enough flavors to keep your mouth highly entertained. Be sure to make the coconut cashew rice - it really adds dimension and sweetness to the soup.

I marinated my fish and seafood overnight. I only used the shrimp and mahi mahi, but truthfully, did not miss the squid. I think the main thing the squid would add would be additional texture - and truthfully this soup is texture city. I used peanut oil for the dende oil

"palm oil = dende oil (dendê oil) Notes: This bright orange palm oil is a staple in Brazilian cuisine, but very high in saturated fat. Substitutes: annatto oil (Not as flavorful, but it has a similar color and is lower in saturated fat.) OR peanut oil (This is lower in saturated fat, but it lacks dendê oil's distinctive color. To compensate, add ground annatto seeds to the oil.)" , Cooks Thesaurus, Oils & Cooking Sprays

because of the fat content, and paprika for the piment d'Espelette (dried red pepper from Espelette, FR) - because I didn't have any.

The shrimp I used was frozen with only the tail on (I know sacrilege) so instead of making my stock from shrimp shells, I used a bag of clam shells I had saved and frozen. Equally delicious, and I made enough to put 6 cups of seafood stock in the freezer for cioppino in the weeks to come.

The rest was per the recipe. If you already have the stock made and the seafood marinated, there is only about 30 minutes of work left to do. It only looks like it took forever.

Corned Beef and Cabbage made in the Crock Pot

2010-03-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

Corned Beef and Cabbage

First of all, I am not a week late with this post, I am 51 weeks early. Dishes like this take months of planning - I don't want anyone to fall behind. Not really. Actually, all the ingredients were assembled and in the crock pot in about 15 minutes. And in a mere seven hours +/- it was ready. Oh how I love slow cooking - thank you to my awesome Sister-in-Law, Juliana, for giving me a crock pot as a present many, many years ago.

The beauty of this dish, is you don't really have to prep before throwing the ingredients in the pot - there is no browning of the meat - just a tiny bit of cutting of the onions. The cabbage goes in at the end, ( I actually used some of the broth to braise my cabbage separately)and the pototoes are boiled separately, so really, the corned beef and seasonings are all in the pot and cooking in about 15 minutes.

From experience, I would suggest a good quality corned beef - I have heard corned beef horror stories of the meat turning out gelatinous, or being flavorless. The meat comes prebrined (unless you want to take the extra time to do the brining yourself), so is really about cooking slowly to tenderize this cut of beef (brisket) and seasoning well. Remember, it is a fatty cut. I had a 5+ lb corned beef to cook and cut it in half before throwing it in the pot. It let me see how much fat I was dealing with. Even with the long (what turned out to be nine hour) cook time, there was still plenty of fat to cut away during carving. On the plus side, I had lots of delicious broth that I will use in the future to cook vegetables and who knows what else. (And now you see why this recipe made it to the blog - it is no different than any other broth that you make, other than the meat is not roasted first).

Here is the link to the recipe from Cooks.com that I used.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1612,157180-243201,00.html

Also, for those curious about the history of corned beef and cabbage, here is a short video that teaches and makes your mouth water at the same time.

Holiday Foods: Corned Beef and Cabbage — History.com Video

Smoky Black Bean Soup

2010-03-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

Smoky Black Bean Soup

I'm getting smarter - I've learned to set the picture up before I put the sour cream in top - because once the cream hits the hot soup, you have about a nanosecond to take the picture before a dollop becomes an octopus.

I also picked up a couple of new soup bowls for a change of pace - the one in the photo was $3.99 at IKEA. The quality is decent, and the price was right!

This was also an easy soup to make - to speed up the process, I brought the beans and cold water to a boil, then turned off the heat and let them sit covered for an hour. This is a good method if you don't have time for an over night soak.

The soup gets its smoky flavor from the hamhock. The usual suspects - leeks, carrots, onions and celery are browned, then the ham hock, beans thyme and bay leaves are cooked with chicken broth and water (about 6 cups of liquid)- simmering for about 2 1/2 hours. Make sure the beans are always covered in liquid during the simmering process. I used a highly seasoned broth made from the carcus of a chicken I had roasted. (This is a great way to get the most out of whole roast chicken. Roast the bird, carve it, and then cover the carcus with water and boil it. It is not the long process you have when you start with raw parts - but it also only makes about four cups of broth.)

Once the beans are tender, add in crushed tomatoes and hot sauce to taste (I used a chipotle hot sauce for a little Tex Mex dimension). Cook for another 15 minutes, adjust salt, add more hot sauce? and throw half of it in the blender. Add it back in the pot, taste it again and serve. Personally, I like a bit of sour cream on top, and a bit of cilantro adds color and compliments the chipotle hot sauce. Oh, and a ice cold bottle of Yeungling beer!

Cod Stew with Chorizo, Leeks and Potatoes

2010-03-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

Cod Stew with Chorizo, Leeks and Potatoes

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/cod-stew-chorizo-leeks-potatoes.aspx

So, I believe I have found the simplest comfort food recipe on the planet. A monkey could make this one. It is from "Fine Cooking", April 2004, and not only is it simple and quick, it is delicious. You can make most of the recipe ahead and just pop the cod on top and steam it right before you are ready to serve it.

This stew is really no different than most soup or stew recipes. Heat your fat and flavor it. I used a spicy chorizo - there was enough sweet and starch in the stew to warrant a bit of heat. In this recipe the chorizo and leeks are cooked first and then garlic is thrown in for 1 minute. Be very prepared to slow down the garlic with liquid as soon as the minute is up - there is nothing worse than bitter, burnt garlic to muck up a perfectly seasoned bit of oil. Next come the stewing liquids - wine, water and the juice from the tomatoes. If you are using fresh tomatoes be sure you still have enough liquid - I'm not convinced there is that big a taste difference using the canned, quite frankly. If they are not fresh off the vine, I dare you to tell the difference, and if they are fresh off the vine, why on earth are you wasting them in a stew? (Make sure you use good wine - you will know the difference if you don't.) Next, thicken things up with the potatoes and parsley. Now taste it. Add salt and pepper now, because once the cod is in there it will be tough to stir in additional seasonings.

Set your table, take your shower, play with the dog, have a nice glass of wine, do whatever you want until you are ready to sit down to eat. When its time, season the cod, pop it on top of the stew and partially cover.

Don't forget to make it look like you've been working really hard.

Transylvanian Goulash

2010-03-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

Transylvania

The bad news - I forgot to take pictures of my Transylvanian Goulash. The good news - I found beautiful pictures of Transylvania to post instead. I am also including a map to help locate Transylvania, and a travel website for more info.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Transylvania

As for the goulash, this one is made with pork shoulder and sauerkraut. I have also seen versions with chicken, and I'm sure they are delicious, but I'm sticking with the pork butt. I was struck by how closely this recipe is to traditional Alsatian recipes that combine meats simmering in sauerkraut. The difference is in the spices used. Paprika, caraway - provide a distinctly Eastern European flair.

As always when browning meat for stew, do not crowd the pan. It is always better to brown multiple batches properly, than to end up stewing your meat in released juices. Even if you are in a hurry, this step must be done properly or the meat will taste dry and the texture will be compromised.

It so happened the day I was making the goulash, I wandered into Wegman's supermarket. I don't get there often, and when I am there I don't always get to the deli counter, but on this day I did, and to my delight I found Hungarian sausage. Seemed like kismet to me, so they were browned also, when I was browning the pork.

After loosening all the yummy browned bits from the browning process with chicken broth, I proceeded to ignore the recipe, and did not wash the sauerkraut. I did that once, and ended up with tasteless cabbage. Now I leave the sauerkraut sour, the way it was meant to be.

My particular recipe also called for a red bell pepper and salt paste. Basically 2 lbs of pepper mixed witha cup of salt (I ground it with my mortar and pestle). This quantity may last me the rest of my life - we'll see. I did not get the sense it was absolutely necessary, salt would have done fine, but it did brighten the flavor and color of the dish.

With that said, I was a bit disappointed with the overall color once the cream was mixed in. I guess it can't be helped, but there was a muddiness to it that I did not find as appealing. I can't really complain though. The sourness of the cabbage combined with the sweetness of the pepper and paprika, and the savor of the meats was perfect in combination with the sour cream. Add in good, garlicky bread, and life is grand.

Moroccan Beef Meatball Tagine

2010-03-03T16:26:00.000-08:00

Moroccan Beef Meatball Tagine

Meatball tagine?! That's not soup, that's stew. And what happened to the Transylvanian Goulash?

So, the thing I'm finding about blogging, is it is really easy to get behind. I had made the tagine a couple of weeks ago, and just didn't have a chance to write about it yet. It just didn't seem right to move the goulash ahead in the blog line.

The recipe is from Bon Appetit, January 2010, but I found it on Epicurious, when I was searching for a quick meat stew. A tagine is a Moroccan stew. Ok, technically this is not a soup, but the broth (hah, soup term) is so delicious you will want to to use a spoon, and for me, that is close enough.

I like this dish for a few reasons:

1. If you are organized and prepare properly, it takes about a third of the time of regular beef stew.

2. It meets a major criterion for moving from recipe to favorite - it excites four out of the five senses - glorious colors, tantalizing aromas, multiple textures and complex flavors.

3. The ingredients include saffron - 'nuf said.

4. The meatballs are made with minced garlic. So is the stew broth. Lots of garlic. Mmmm.

5. It only requires two cups of beef broth, so doesn't overly deplete my dwindling supply (yes, there is a broth making weekend in my immediate future).

6. It cooks in the oven leaving the cooktop free.

7. The meatballs cook in the stew, leaving the cooktop spatter free.

8. Did I mention all the garlic?

Like most soups/stews, this one was even better two or three days later. I served it over couscous, which gave it a bit more body, but wasn't starchy like rice. You may want good bread too, just so none of that stew broth goes to waste. You may also want to go to the gym, so that none of the meatballs go to waist.

As for the Transylvanian Goulash - stay tuned.

Epicurious App

2010-02-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

I would try to blame my lack of posts on all the snow, but that would be ridiculous -I was stuck in the house anyway. Blaming it on my broken foot is pointless too - we still have to eat, and I can sit to type. So I am going to blame it on winter malaise. There. Argue with that.

However, the snow is melting, the sky is blue and I am starting to come out of the doldrums of monotone and frost, prompting me to begin rooting around for all things soup related. This exploration (and an ITouch from my thoughtful hubby) led me to my new favorite App - Epicurious

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/epicurious-recipes-shopping/id312101965?mt=8

This app lets you search for recipes based on ingredients, meal type, cuisine, diet, or occasion. Once you do a search you can scroll through all the recipes for your parameters in the data base, most with photos and reviews. You can save your favorites and create shopping lists based on specific recipes. You can even email recipes. It is very convenient in a grocery store, when you see a great piece of something and need to build a recipe around it.

So far the recipes I have tried have been from top cooking mags - Bon Appetit, Gourmet, one was a rip off from Cook's illustrated, and the recipe reviewers caught it (I did too - it looked pretty familiar).

All in all, for under $5, I would say this is a handy, mobile tool.

Szechuan Pork and Pickle Soup, sort of

2010-01-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

So, remember how I went to the trouble of color coding the lids on my broth. Apparently, that only works when you pay attention to the broth you are pulling out of the freezer. Because frozen, chicken brown broth looks a lot like beef broth. One trick, look for stray beef particles at the bottom of the container.

With that said, the other night, I made Szechuan Pork and Pickle Soup, sort of. Very quick and easy. Marinate very thin slices of pork in sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil, combine with Szechuan preserved vegetable (you can get this at a specialty shop - there are lots of different kinds - cabbage and other vegetables). I wouldn't worry if you can't find the Szechuan preserved vegetables - even kimchee or any other asian pickled vegetable will impart that sour, spicy taste that makes this soup wonderful. I used a pickled cabbage, but not the szechuan version, so my soup was not terribly spicy. You can always add chiles to suit.

Next step, combine the meat and pickle with chicken broth, unless, of cccccourse you have defrosted beef broth. Since we all know what a time consuming activity it is to make broth, guess what I used...

Finally, add scallions and serve. Season with soy sauce if necessary.

Here is what I learned regarding this soup:
1) beef broth is too heavy a substrate for pork - even marinated pork is lost
2) I might have been able to use water instead of the beef more effectively. It didn't taste bad, its just that the pork was lost.
3) Keep the cooking time on the pork to a minimum. Unless it is paper thin, it will get chewy quickly.
4) Slice the pork paper thin

Here is what I am thinking for next time:
Substitute tenderloin or even brisket for the pork, use the beef broth and use spicier preserved veggies like kimchee or the Szechuan cabbage recommended originally.

Sunchoke Soup?

2010-01-22T11:40:00.001-08:00

Sunchoke Soup

Sunchoke soup. It was on the menu last night at The Blue Duck Tavern - a fabulous restaurant in DC. The full description included black garlic custard and gingerbread flavors. I was salivating. And yet I didn't order this spectacular soup. Why? Well, two reasons really; there was another appetizer that really intrigued me - when I am dining from the menu of a master chef, I am inclined to try dishes that I might not try at say, Denny's. A lesson learned from my husband - if I am going to try something questionable, I should at least be reasonably sure it is cooked properly, and - I knew at least one other person at my table would order the soup and I could have a taste.

Sunchokes

First things first. The sunchoke, also called the Jeruselem Artichoke, sunroot, earth apple or topinambur, is a species of sunflower native to the eastern United States. It is a tuber, with a nutty, artichoke like flavor and a potato like consistency. It is wonderful to puree with other root vegetables, cauliflower, artichokes - you name it. Like everything else in life, it is great with bacon. Between the nuttiness and the sweet earthyness of the sunchoke, the possibilities for flavorings are endless. Add some good stock, a little cream, season to taste and off you go.

The soup last night was everything I expected - creamy texture, complex flavors that were made richer and sweeter by the additional flavorings.

So, what did I pass this all up for? Veal cheeks, that's what. Subtle flavor, succulent, braised to sublime tenderness, it doesn't even matter what other flavorings were on the plate (smoked potato puree and celeriac fondant). These cheeks definitely added to my smile.

Soup Flight

2010-01-15T17:49:00.001-08:00

January is National Soup Month. Makes sense, sort of. I mean, yes, soup is wonderful comfort when it's cold out, but frankly, soup is wonderful period. Still, glad it's being given its due.

As for me, I will continue to celebrate the glory of soup on a regular basis. However, since it is soup month, I felt a little extravagance was in order. So, off to dinner I went, to Mon Ami Gabi in Bethesda. Why you ask? Was it for Michael Corso's wine selection? Was it for their reknowned steak frites? Was it for the lovely dining experience? No, no, no. I wanted the soup flight. Three two ounce portions of their specialty soups (ok, and the wine).

The soup du jour was white bean purée with garlic and fried sage. Frankly, they had me at garlic and fried sage, the purée was just an added perk. Next was the porcini mushroom purée. Also lovely, great texture, nice flavors. Finally, onto my personal favorite - French Onion Soup - bubbly cheese tightly gripping the sides of the mug, thick with carmelized onions, tantalizing aroma - sigh, heartbreak - totally flavorless broth. Oh well, two out of three isn't bad for $5.95!

I paired my flight with a very dry reisling. Quite a nice way to begin an evening, or a mid month celebration of a favorite repast.

Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie

2010-01-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

What do you do with a mountain of roasted chicken meat leftover from making stock? Why, you learn to make pasta, cut it into squares, and cook it in your fresh made chicken broth.

Learning to make pasta was easy - I had a good teacher and a hand crank pasta machine. I used a non egg dough recipe, passed down from my husband's Great Grandma. Mix it up, knead it till it holds together, flatten it out and crank it through on the fattest setting. You will have to put it through a bunch of times at that setting until it is fairly elastic again and ready for thinning. We folded it each time and turned it 90 degrees to keep it smooth and even. Keep cranking on thinner and thinner settings until you like the thickness. I rotated the strip 180 degrees each time to keep it smooth at the ends.

The rest was easy. once the pasta dries a bit it is easy to handle and cut - if it is too dry it will crack. Once it is cut into squares, you can add the squares, one layer at a time to the boiling broth. If you add them all at once they won't cook properly. I added a pinch of saffron too. Start checking the noodles after about 15 minutes.

I also sauteed carrots and onions in butter, and added them and the chicken meat to the broth after about 10 minutes of noodle cooking. A bit of good vinegar to taste and again, great, hard crusted bread. Who needs more? Well maybe a nice glass of wine too. A buttery Chardonnay would be lovely.

Stock Talk

2010-01-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

Stock. Do you immediately think of your portfolio when you hear that word? I do too, sort of. My portfolio is in my freezer. Chicken stock, beef stock mostly, but you never know. Except my portfolio was empty. Time to reinvest.

Stock - simple to make, if you plan well. Things to consider:

• How much? Stock is time consuming and freezes well, making large amounts can be cost effective and practical. Shop with an open mind - if chuck is on sale, great, but shanks and neck meat work well too. Whole roasting hens can be a lot less than cut up parts. Necks, backs and wings work too. Will you reuse the meat once its cooked - that will help choose the cuts you use too. Personally, I think beef chuck has a more pleasant taste and texture once it has been used

for stock than shank or neck.

Beef Stock

What kind? What do you use most - chicken can be substituted for beef if necessary, not alwaysthe other way around. Consider the time of year and the kinds of dishes you will be making.

Chicken Stock

• What will you cook it in? If you plan to make multiple pots at once, make sure the pots are large enough, and will all fit on the range top at once. At about five hours prep and cook time, I try to make as much as I can together!

• What will you store it in? Multiple size containers give you flexibility when you are cooking - no point having to defrost more than you need. I use a color coding system with my lids to differentiate one type of stock from the next.

With those questions answered, time to consider some details:

• White or brown stock? For me, unless the color of the stock will effect the color of the dish, I go brown. That means the extra step of roasting the meat and veggies before simmering. It adds about 45 minutes, but the result is deep, rich color and a more developed flavor. I also think the cooked meat tastes better for the roasting.

Roasting the Chicken

• Veggies - the basics - onions, carrots, celery. For chicken stock, I like to add leek greens. I don't want to muddy the flavor of the meat, though, just enhance it.

• Herbs - bouquet garni - standard is parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Consider what you will use the broth for. If you tend toward Mediterranean cooking, maybe rosemary and or sage would be better. I usually make batches with different herb combinations depending on what looks good at the store and what I will use the broth for.

Butternut Squash Soup

2010-01-05T13:16:00.001-08:00

The answer to winter's chill is soup. Soup to satisfy as many of the senses as possible. Last night I chose butternut squash. Beautiful orange color, aromas both sweet and smoky, silky texture with bits of bacon and smoked clams for chewing satisfaction, and a complexity of flavor. If this soup could play jazz, it would be perfect.

As usual, I consulted a couple of cookbooks for ideas. Some I kept, most I didn't. I was in a hurry, so my usual approach of roasting the squash was out. Cooks Illustrated provided an option for steaming the squash. Shallots, squash seeds and guts are sauteed, then water is added to boil, creating an aromatic steaming liquid. Rather than 90 minutes, it took 30 minutes. Much quicker, but not as sweet as when the squash carmelizes from roasting.

At this point, my path deviated from my recipe books. Rather than go the maple syrup or brown sugar route, I happen to feel that butternut squash has enough sweetness to stand up to smoky, savory flavors. So, into the skillet went chopped up bacon. When it was getting chewy and deep red/brown, I added diced jalepenos, diced red onions and after a few minutes, diced yellow pepper. I let it all drain and blot to remove as much bacon grease as possible then threw in a small container of smoked clams.

Once the squash was tender, (and a bit cooled) I pureed it until it was smooth. I heated it up then took off the heat, and swirled in some golden balsamic vinegar. I put heaping spoonfuls of the bacon mixture in each bowl, poured the soup on top and yum.

Cioppino

2009-12-31T05:39:00.000-08:00

Fisherman's Soup. You gotta think like a fisherman to do this soup justice. Use fresh ingredients. Keep it simple - it should be about the fish. I like James Peterson's recipe for this soup.

Start building a flavorful liquid. Onions, garlic, white wine, fresh herbs. If you're cooking bivalves do it now, them pull them out but keep all the cooking juices in the pot.

Pick a liquid. Peterson says fish stock, chicken broth or water, absolutely no clam juice. Cooks Illustrated says fish stock or water with clam juice but no chicken broth. I say no fisherman is cooking his fresh caught fish in chicken broth, and clam juice is too one dimensional and strong. I went with fish stock, but frankly with all the flavor and cooking juices, water would be fine.

If you are using lobster or crab, steam them separately, but be sure to capture all the internal cooking liquid in the soup pot as well a the shells. The meat will go in at the end.

So what flavors the liquid? Shells, fish heads whatever is from the seafood you will be cooking. Simmer it all till it smells fabulous - about 30 minutes.

How could something this ugly end up tasting so good?

Next add tomatoes. I'm guessing if there weren't tomatoes available the fisherman would use whatever veggies were available - soup is a great way to use up vegetables! I like the tomatoes because they add a bit of acid to the flavor - gives it more dimension and strength. I suppose lemon would work too, but it would be a much different soup. The tomatoes add a lovely color too.

Now that you have a delicious broth, you can cook the fish and seafood. Start with what takes the longest, adding the bivalves and
any other cooked seafood at the end. Finally, turn off the heat, add salt and pepper as needed and whisk in some fresh flat leaf parsley. And don't forget the crusty bread!

Incidentally, hard crusted bread is the rough translation of my husband's family name. Hmmm...

2009-12-12T10:59:00.001-08:00

Lunch with my Honey - Pho sure. Pho 75 is a fabulous Vietnemese soup restaurant in Rockville, MD. Long tables, capable of seating multiple groupings, sparse decoration and CASH ONLY. The place is packed, so it must be about the soup.

French Onion Soup

2009-12-08T10:23:00.001-08:00

Gooey, tangy cheese, melted over carmelized onions, a generous dose of sherry, rich broth and french baguette - this may be my desert island food.

Not a soup to make if you are in a hurry. I started with Cooks Illustrated (a favorite source for recipes because every step and ingredient choice is analyzed).

Step one - carmelize your onions - I did this by putting about 4lbs of sliced onions in the oven at 400 degrees with about 3 - 4 Tbsp of butter and a tsp of salt. The oven works better than the stovetop - you can stir the onions every hour or so (and scrape the bottom and sides of the pot) instead of constantly stirring and adjusting the flame, you will get more flavor out of the onions this way too. By the way, caramelization is the oxidation of sugar, a process used extensively in cooking for the resulting nutty flavor and brown color.

The process took about 2 3/4 hours. The result are rich brown onions in a fabulous, slightly thickened, caramel colored juice.

Once the onions have carmelized, you can cook them on the stove for about 20 min over medium -high/medium (keep and on eye how fast the liquid evaporates) heat. Keep cooking it until you evaporate the liquid, making the onions even yummier and browner, and forming a wonderful dark, brown crust.

Using water, 1/4 cup at a time, deglaze the pan. Pour in the first 1/4 cup - scrape the crust off the bottom and sides. Don't worry - it probably won't all come off the first tiime. It took me 3 goes with the water to get all the crust back into the onions.

Now it is time for the sherry. Just like cooking with wine, if you wouldn't want to drink it, you shouldn't cook with it. I added 1/2 Cup. Cook off the alcohol - about 5 minutes. Next add in about 6-8 cups of liquid. Recipes I have seen use some combination of chicken and beef broth - the more beef, the richer and browner the soup - but if you are using store bought beef stock, I would say go 50 -50 - you can even add water for the last two cups - that way you don't lose the flavor of the onions. For my soup I used 4 C homemade brown chicken stock, 2 Cups store bought beef stock (I ran out of homemade) and 2 C of water.

I add fresh thyme - 6 healthy sprigs - I like the flavor of thyme in this soup, 1 bay leaf and salt to taste. Make sure all the crust is scraped off the sides and bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Toss the herbs add salt and pepper to taste - go slow with the S & P - too much of either can really throw off the balance - keep tasting until it is right.

Now for the fun part. Figure 2 slices of baguette per bowl - toast the baguette slices (or bake at 400 deg for about 10 minutes until crisp).

Fill individual broiler safe bowls with about 12 oz of soup, top with two baguette slices and sprinkle with shredded Gruyere. Cover the bread evenly - at least one ounce of cheese per bowl. Broil for about 5 minutes until the cheese is bubbly add nicely browned. Let the bowls stand for a few minutes and enjoy.

Yook Ke Jang Korean Spicy Beef and Scallion soup

2009-12-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

Cold days and warm, spicy soup are a great combination. A good question to ask yourself when you first encounter a bowl of soup sporting an orange/red colored liquid: where did that color come from. If the answer is red chili peppers, the experience may be a good bit different, than if it is, say, from tomatoes.

On my way to class recently, I stopped at a favorite Korean restaurant - Arisu, in Georgetown, DC. I was wet and cold, so naturally I thought soup. I settled on a traditional spicy beef and scallion soup - Yook Ke Jang (in researching the soup after the fact, I found at least one other spelling Yukgaejang - but the recipe appears to be basically the same - boiled brisket (water and onion), vegetables including scallions, a Korean mountain fern (gossari) and bean sprouts, garlic and a boatload of chili powder. The soup I had, also had shiitake mushrooms and glass noodles.

The color is rich, and aroma of spice hits you well before being rounded out by the beef and vegetables. The meat was tender if a little bland - I'm not sure that isn't how it should be, however I did find a recipe that marinated the beef with a chili paste:

http://www.chow.com/recipes/11335

so, of course, I will try it and report back. I also found this wonderful step by step video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ViCgcNEYLQ

It is about eight minutes long but will get the soup in your bowls if you follow along.

One interesting ingredient - gossari - is a mountain fern - apparently available in Korean markets. I'll report back on my findings there too. We have a local Korean market here in Rockville, MD - Kam Sam so I am hoping to find all necessary ingredients. The soup was served with rice, kim che and a pickled carrot and sprout salad - a deep spoon and chopsticks were necessary to get through this meal!

Cookbooks

2009-12-01T07:54:00.000-08:00

What to do with leftover turkey? Last night I made turkey chili. It was chock full of spice and kidney beans and tomatoes and, oh yeah, as much leftover turkey as I could push into the pot. Even so, it was definitely more about the tomato and spices than the turkey - this time the protein was mainly for texture. Quite frankly, I was more than ok with that.

Since I was remiss in my duties and did not take a photo of said chili, I will move on. I have started collecting soup cookbooks as well as recipes, and thought I would mention one of my favorites. There are so many cookbooks out there - where do you start to find one that works for you. For me it was easy - I had James Peterson's "Glorious French Food" and loved his writing style. He provides clear, insightful instruction in french cooking technique, and then shows how each approach can be applied in various recipes.

"Splendid Soups - Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups" works the same way. A good bit of time is spent on the basics and the basis of good soup making - stock. The photographs are excellent, and he provides lots of ideas for variations. The chapters are logical, and I have yet to use one of his concepts in a recipe with negative results.

http://www.amazon.com/Splendid-Soups-Recipes-Master-Techniques/dp/0471391360/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259683241&sr=1-9

Our Thanksgiving day soup was from this book. Smoke Scented Broth with Herbs and Ravioli. Definitely a winner - ham hocks are simmered with vegetables and herbs to create a smoky, salty broth. After the soup is strained, 24 cloves of garlic are added to the broth, simmering to infuse a roasty garlic flavor. Finally, tomatoes, herbs and raviolis (I used spicy meat ravioli) are added just before serving. The result is a rich, warm, mahogany colored soup that fills the senses and definitely requires seconds.

What's your favorite soup cookbook? Why?

Beef Borscht

2009-11-29T16:58:00.001-08:00

Great winter soup. This one hits most of the senses - the color is beautiful, the flavor has the richness of beef, garlic mixed with the sweetness of the beets and the tangyness of dill and lemon. The aroma will fill the entire house.

No real recipe is necessary here - just some basic soup making approaches -

Start with a meat base - I used beef short ribs, but I'm sure chuck or shank would work well too - I do like using meat with bones - you get the added flavor from the marrow. The key is in the browning - I used butter in a cast iron skillet and got all sides nice and brown.

Next step, start to braise the meat - I used beef broth - I imagine water would work for cost savings, but the beef broth does add richness. Especially cooking beef in it - even the store bought stock that is usually just made with bones (maybe they pass a tray of beef near it when it is cooking) will be fine because it is infused with the beef flavor. I added onion with cloves, garlic and dill for flavor and let it simmer for an hour. I used an enameled cast iron soup pot, just big enough to keep the meat totally submerged in liquid, and covered the pot.

Next came the veggies - carrots, leeks, potatoes, tomatoes and beets (I'm thinking fennel might be nice too - any root vegetables would be fine - just nothing so strong that it overpowers the beets) as well as chicken broth (I used homemade brown broth, again for richness - but store bought would work fine) and caraway seeds - make sure you have about 10 cups of liquid all told - if as its simmering it cooks down add a little more. You could probably use water - just to keep it around ten cups. I also add a bit of tomato paste because we like tomatoey soups! (One note - because I wanted the meat submerged in the last step, I had to switch pots when adding the extra ingredients - one more pot to wash, but the meat turned out really tender).

After another hour of simmering, let it cool, shred the meat and return it to the soup. Toss the cloved onion (I quartered mine for ease of removal). The best situation at this point is to put the whole deal in the fridge, let the flavors meld and easily get the congealed fat off the top. Because the meat is fatty, there will be a good bit of grease which does nothing for the soup eating experience. If you can't wait, and must have the soup right away, strain the liquid and put it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. Then you should be able to skim the fat off the top. A gravy skimmer will work too - I actually used both methods last night just to be sure.

Finally, when you are ready to enjoy your soup, add more fresh dill (or whatever prevalent herb you are using - I am definitely trying fennel next time instead of dill, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. You might also decide to add sugar for balance - that is a taste as you go sort of thing. I also topped the soup with sour cream.

Pumpkin Apple Soup with Duck

2009-11-28T10:20:00.001-08:00

Pumpkin apple soup with duck topping at Clyde's Restaurant in Rockville, MD. The pumpkin was pureed very smooth, the apple was diced and still fairly supple. The soup was well seasoned with a mild bite to it. All of the flavors were well balanced. Personally, I would have preferred the apple as puree also, with some diced apple as topping - the small diced pieces of apple made the consistency less pleasant.
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Thanksgiving Turkey

2009-11-27T14:09:00.001-08:00

18 pound turkey cooked on an infrared grill. The U shaped pan allows total circulation of the heat without direct flame. Wood chips were also used for smoking. The result - the turkey cooked in 2 hours and was extremely juicy. The skin browned fairly quickly and needed to be tented for the last 30 minutes. The turkey was basted 3 times in the 2 hour period, and was cooked at 300 degrees. The skin was rubbed with olive oil salt and pepper, and the bird was stuffed with onion, lemon, rosemary and thyme. Helpful tips - the bird was brought to room temp prior to grilling, and was patted dry inside and out prior to dressing.