Chicken Soup...not your mama's

It's a good day for great friends and soup, bread and cheese. This recipe I adapted from Tyler Florence "Ultimate Chicken Soup" has chicken meatballs and cheese tortellini instead of the usual fare. My family likes it better than the regular soup but I still miss the frozen noodles and chunks of chicken from the old days.



Chicken Noodle Soup

  6 to 8 servings  Ingredients
For the soup:
  Extra-virgin olive oil
  3 cloves garlic, smashed
  2 large carrots, chopped
  1 medium onion, chopped
  2 ribs celery, sliced
  1 bay leaf
  4 fresh thyme sprigs
  3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
  5 parsley stems, plus 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
  4 black peppercorns
  Kosher salt
  Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for garnish
For the meatballs:
  1 medium onion, diced
  Olive oil
  6 links organic chicken-apple sausage meat (I can't find this so I ground some chicken with a 1/2 Granny Smith and the rest of this stuff. I used 2 breasts and 3 thighs and the food processor.)
  1 egg
  1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  1 handful fresh parsley leaves
  1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  2 pounds frozen cheese tortellini, store bought
  Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
For the soup:
Set a large stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, half the garlic, carrot,
onion, celery, bay leaf, and thyme and gently saute until fragrant, about 5 to 7
minutes. Pour in chicken broth, add parsley stems, black peppercorns and salt,
to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer while you work on meatballs
and tortellini.
For the meatballs:
Caramelize the diced onion in a saute pan with a little olive oil over medium
heat. Add the sausage, egg, onion, thyme, parsley, and cheese to the bowl of a
food processor and pulse until they all come together. Season with salt and
pepper. Heat a skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil until just smoking.
Use a small ice cream scoop to drop meatballs onto skillet. Cook, turning, until
golden brown.
Drop tortellini straight from freezer into soup. Cook until they float. Once
meatballs are browned, add to pot of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook
for 2 or 3 minutes. Give soup a final seasoning and serve in shallow bowls with
a small shower of Parmesan, olive oil, and parsley.

Welcome Home Food

No tortellini added yet as they will suck up the broth. I will add the tortellini just before I jar it up for the gift bag.

Brenda has been planning a nice welcome home for the ladies ever since they left for Europe. Apparently nothing says 'Welcome home' like a batch of dear old dad's Chicken and Tortellini soup, according to Mackenzie.

Mackenzie and her bud, Amanda have been in Europe nearly 3 weeks traveling to Ireland, the UK, Amersterdam and finally Paris where the temps have been dipping in the 30's. She texted her desire for some warm comfort on her arrival in the form of this Chicken Soup. I can hardly ever say no to this little girl.

The hard part was done as I had a large tub of frozen broth I made from dozens of wing tips and chicken trimmings. I used a Tyler Florence recipe several times the last few years that uses ground chicken formed into meatballs with tortellini instead of noodles and finally garnished with a bit of Parmesan cheese. The spice palate is decidedly Italian with the meatballs seasoned with an array of Italian herbs.

The world travelers will be greeted with some fresh groceries, flowers and a mason jar full of homestyle comfort and some fresh homemade bread upon arrival. So nice to have these two back safe and sound after a great adventure. What a great Mom to be prepared for them after their long journey.

The recipe is under the soup tab titled 'Not your Mamas Chicken Soup' Enjoy. 

http://icxcpainter.blogspot.com/search?q=chicken+soup

Cheesy Chicken Soup

 These cooler days are getting me thinking of soups for the chill. One of the family favorites is this Cheesy Chicken Soup. The history of this recipe comes from the old cafeteria at Bishop Clarkson where Brenda and I went to school for nursing. The cafeteria was full of cooks and chefs that actually made most of the food on the premises and offered staff a discount. Those days are long gone.  I always liked the soup and honestly have no idea if this anything like it but we have made it for years and it hits the spot with a nice crusty French baguette or biscuit. 

I first made some chicken stock since all the spatchcocked chickens I made this summer had the backbones added to my stock bag in the freezer. Combined with a celery stem and leaves, carrots, onion and garlic in the pressure cooker, I have a nice stock in no time. The actual stock recipe is elsewhere on this blog. 

Ingredient list (makes 5 quarts)

1 Rotisserie chicken or the chicken you may have used to make stock, shredded

2 zucchini halved and cut into 1/4 inch moons

Bag of baby carrots, you might want to steam these a bit to soften them

2 Quarts of stock

1 quart of milk, plus 

1t Lawry's seasoned salt

1t Dry mustard

1/2 pound of cheese like Velveeta

1/2 c Parmesan 

I made the soup today without a roux and flour but you are more than welcome to start that way if you like it thick and creamy. I like a bit thinner and creamy so I add a bit of Wondra at the end to achieve the consistency I like. 

Heat the broth first and add the carrots to cook them a bit. Add the Velveeta in chunks and allow to melt, stirring to keep it from scorching. I added my milk, I use skim but whatever you have is fine. Let it simmer and just begin to boil but watch the heat so it does not scorch on the bottom. Add the seasonings and parmesan. You can add the zucchini and chicken to the pot. If its too thin start sprinkling in Wondra until it gets to where you like it,  Verify you seasoning adding pepper if desired and more salt although mine was plenty salty with the cheeses. I added more milk to fill my 5 quart saucepan. Pretty tasty,  easy soup. 

Cheesy Chicken Soup

Cold winter day with crappy weather and terrible icy, snowy cold temperatures call for soup. I have leftover chicken so what to do but make the family's favorite soup? Stopped by the store on the way home to pick up 2 zucchini and a package of shredded Triple Cheddar.


I generally don't start this way but I had bacon in the fridge, how bad can that be? asks Ina.

Add to that some 2% Velveeta (well, someone has to justify it's existence and it makes for a creamy soup), a bit of chicken broth and some zucchini and carrots. Sounds like a winner to me. Added a few baking powder biscuits since I spied some leftover buttermilk in the fridge. I love biscuits with sour cream on them. My weakness.

2 strips of bacon
2 T butter
4 T flour
1 large can Chicken broth
1/2 pound velveeta chunked
1 pkg Triple cheddar shredded
2-3 c milk
2 Cooked chicken breasts, chunked or shredded or a rotisserie chicken
2 zucchini  chunked
a handful of baby carrots rough chopped
1 or 2 t Lowry's seasoned salt
1 T dry mustard

This is a pantry soup so I use what I have, hence the baby carrots (sometimes I use canned carrots)  etc.  They used to make it at the hospital cafeteria and that's were I lifted the recipe from but after all these years I am not sure what theirs had in it anymore.

The bacon's is optional but I fried 2 strips in a large marmite (stockpot), till crisp then crumbled it and set it aside. To the remaining fat I added 2 T butter, once melted I threw in the flour and made the roux. I added the chicken broth and let it thicken up a bit then added the cheeses. Add the milk. Gotta watch it as it scorches easily so NO boiling. Added my spices, chicken, bacon and veggies then let it simmer, covered but no boiling. Boiling now will ruin the texture but it will taste OK but will be grainy. Something about it's creaminess that makes it great though if you do it right.  If its too thin for your taste...thicken with a buerre mannie or some cornstarch and milk.

Christmas Eve with Friends....

Our usual fare for this day is a Sausage and Tortellini soup that we love but we have loved it for the last 5 or 6 years so it is time to move on. Normally the Orthodox fast this time of year but sadly we do not participate that much. We have a family and friend tradition which we have done for many years that involves our oldest and dearest friends, Jeff and Michale as well as Bob and Kim and whatever child is not working that day. In this case Mackenize, Nick and Jill will be present we hope.

So this year I searched my soul and Pintrest and found a Chicken and Mushroom soup that looked tasty so I made atrial run last weekend and it was delicious! Onward and upward. So here is the recipe we will be making this weekend:

 Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup

by DamnDelicious blog....link below.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup half and half, or more, as needed*
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 sprig rosemary

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
2. Melt butter in the stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, mushrooms, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
   Coupons
3. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Whisk in chicken stock, bay leaf and chicken thighs, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
4. Stir in half and half until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more half and half as needed until desired consistency is reached.
5. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley and rosemary, if desired.

Original link here:   http://damndelicious.net/2015/01/10/creamy-chicken-mushroom-soup/

Chicken Noodle Soup

Today is a blustery day in the Big O so soup is the order of the day. I am exhausted from shopping, the tile guy here installing a new shower and just in general. Although I have been off the last 2 days for a four day weekend, I haven't gotten a proper amount of rest and fall asleep each night around 9-ish. I painted a canvas for Nick while Brenda was showering yesterday and he seems to be pleased with it but has only seen it in photos. He and Brooke will come over tonight to take a look.



So the soup is your basic Chicken Noodle. No meatballs or tortellini in this one. So to start:

1 Quart of water
1 med onion, unpeeled and cut in half
1 head of garlic cut in half
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 bay leaves
1 tbs Thyme leaves
1 tub of Knorr's chicken stock concentrate
a palm full of peppercorns
3-4 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on ( I used the saved wing tips also)
1 carton of chicken stock
1 package Reame's Frozen Egg Noodles
2 carrots diced
1 med onion diced
3 stalks celery diced

Bring the first 9 ingredients to a simmer until the chicken breasts are cooked through. About 30-40 minutes. This was good time to use up some of the wings tips I have been saving from the glut of chicken wings I had been making.

Strain the broth and set aside. I put a little butter in the stock pot and added my diced veggies for a few minutes, then added the strained broth back to the pot. I added an extra carton of chicken stock since I had a few extra mouths to feed. Taste now to add some salt. I like to wait since there is so much salt in the concentrate and pre -packaged stock. Shred to chicken and add it to the pot. Simmer till veggies are tender then bring to a boil and add the noodles. Cook till they float. Now, it's soup.

Sunday dinner

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz) pkg. chicken flavored stuffing mix
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon prepared, Dijon mustard
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces (I boiled mine)
3 cups fresh broccoli florets
2 cups cooked, chopped ham
6 slices of extra thin Swiss cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Prepare stuffing as directed on package. Mix soup and mustard in medium bowl; stir in chicken, broccoli and ham. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with cheese slices and stuffing. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through.

P.S.

We had this tonight and it was OK. Needs a flavor shot in the arm for sure. It was kind of bland. What would I do to fix it? Throw out the canned soup and make a nice Swiss Cream sauce with processed Swiss cheese (melts well.), half and half, cornstarch and chicken bullion.  And loose the stuffing topping and maybe make a Panko crust unless you like that flavor. It just really lacked that real Swiss flavor it needs to make it Cordon Bleu.

Chicken Soup for heart and soul

Nothing says love and comfort like chicken soup. I started the broth days ago and skimmed most of the chilled fat leaving a bit for flavor. I dropped in a quart of chopped carrots and celery and a handful of parsley. I let it simmer and added back the boned,  chopped chicken. The veggies are crisp tender and time to turn off the heat and get packing. I cooked the noodles separately to make sure they didn't steal any of my broth and added them last. The bread is in the oven as we speak and we have dinner fort 2 wonderful families who could use a little special attention as they face life's challenges. Brenda made some fabulous bars for dessert. Its going to be quite a meal.

PS

Dinner was pretty good and delivered on time. The Kenkels kindly invited us to join them for dinner so we did and had a lovely evening as we always do with them.  Brenda was jokingly mocking me because I was trying to explain the 'art' of creating a flavorful yet clear broth for soups and everyone joined in. Really in cook's circles, this is a big deal (only to cooks apparently) to make something that is visually appealing as well as balanced in color and flavor. I am not ashamed to have fussed at all. It's become my middle name and I am known to be very fussy about things (things that matter, like chicken broth) so sue me. In the end we made about 12 quarts of soup and brought most it to the families and left us about a quart at home.

Cold Days for Warm Soup

So today is about in-laws coming to stay a few days and food to serve for the week. I started the day dragging my frozen collection of wing tips and veggie trimmings from the freezer to stock the InstaPot for a bit of broth making.
Since the weather was so bad and the roads a nightmare I made a bunch of egg noodles too and voila! Chicken Soup that would rival any Jewish Grandma's.

So starting with the Pot:

1 pound chicken wing tips
1 pound shaken thighs, bone in and skin on, browned if you like
Celery bottoms, halved unpeeled onion, a few halved garlic cloves, and some carrots.
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons of salt, a few peppercorns
Cover with fresh cold water
Process for 30-40 minutes and natural release. Strain broth into a stock pot and pick over thighs to remove meat, set aside and discard veggies. Shred the meat.
I added a tablespoon of Chicken flavored Better Than Bullion, about a cup of diced carrots and celery and the shredded thigh meat. Check the seasoning adding a few grinds of pepper and  a teaspoon of turmeric to enhance the color and bring to a boil before adding the noodles, either homemade or frozen. 

Egg Noodles
2 cups AP flour
2 eggs beaten with 1/3 cup milk
1 tbls soft butter of olive oil
1 tsp salt
Process in the food processor till the dough pulls from the sides. Turn out on a well floured board and knead smooth. Roll out to 1/8 thick and cut into 1/2 strips. Toss with flour to keep from sticking and drop into boiling soup, cook for 3 minutes.

Soup of the French Onion

So we had a craving or at least I did and so did Mackenzie. So she agreed to join us for dinner last night as I put the finishing touches on the French Onion Soup. Brenda had a late lunch so we ate a bit later than usual and we had a visitor who should have stayed and had soup with us but did not. Sorry Mvi,  but you missed a good meal, you should have stayed.

The soup is not really that big of a deal to make. It's hard to screw up really. I did a little research and while most of the recipes called for beef or chicken broth as a base, I was intrigued and found a highly recommended stock made by Swanson. I used the low salt variety as I like to control my saltiness.  Sam's Club had a large bag of even larger sweet onions and I peeled about 4 or 5 of them.

I have a nice 5 quart cast iron that sauteed the onions for me till they were golden and it took a good hour, so don't be in such a rush.  The variety of onion really makes a difference. I thought this might be too sweet but it calmed down after a bit.

French Onion Soup

4-5 large sweet onions but use what you like, red, yellow.
2 cloves minced garlic
4 T butter
1 cup red wine
2 t thyme
1 bay leaf
1 T beef bouillon before I add the salt and I get a little flavor boost in addition.  I use the Better Than Bouillon brand.
Salt and Pepper to taste.
1 t Fish sauce
1 t apple cider vinegar

2 cartons no salt Beef Stock, chicken stock or vegetable stock.

Toasted bread
Swiss, provolone or whatever melt-y cheese you love
White Truffle butter (op) I just happen to have a tub and used it to butter the toast before broiling.  Yes please, there are no rules here.

I used my trusty mandolin and had my way with the onions in short order. I added the butter to the dutch oven and then the onions with a generous dose of salt and then let the onions cook down for about an hour keeping a close watch and very low flame, I added the garlic after a few minutes. They were golden and a nice fond on the pan came up with the addition of the wine. I added the herbs, bouillon and then the broth and allowed it to come to a boil then lowered to a simmer until the onions were good and soft, about 45 minutes. I was in no hurry.  Checked the seasoning, added salt as needed and the cider vinegar and fish sauce. Remove the bay leaf.

Spoon a good dose of soup into a heat proof bowl and top with the buttered toast and a healthy dose of your favorite cheese. Broil till the cheese is bubbly.  How is that for decadence? I read a recipe where they dosed the soup with cheese then added the crouton and more cheese on top. Too much to hope for? I think not. Great warming no meat meal.

Soup du Jour...Chicken, Sausage and Cannellini Bean

 We had a pizza last Friday and half the cooked sausage I topped the pizza with haunted me in the fridge. I picked up a few key ingredients at the market today and assembled a great, hearty soup/stew for dinner tonight. 

6 oz cooked Hot Italian Sausage

4 chicken thighs, skin and bone

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion

2 stalks of celery

2 cubed carrots

2 cloves garlic minced

1 carton chicken stock

1 tin of Fire Roasted tomatoes 

1 tin of Cannellini Beans, drained

2 handfuls fresh spinach

2 bay leaves

1 tsp Thyme

1 tbls Italian seasoning

Shredded Parmesan for garnish. 

In a 5 Quart Dutch oven....Cut the sausage into bite size chunks. Sauté till cooked thru. Remove from pan and use the fat for the chicken, adding the olive oil if needed. Salt the thighs and cook them in the reserved fat  till the skin is browned, about 3-4 minutes on each side, then remove from pan

Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté till softened, adding a little more oil if needed, then deglaze the pan with a bit of the stock. 

Add the sausage and chicken back to the pot with the tomatoes and spices.  Simmer slowly for 30 mins covered with lid askew. Remove the chicken and shred the meat. Discard the bones and skin. Add the beans and spinach to the pot. Remove the bay leaves and bring to a boil then turn off the heat. Cover a let sit till ready to serve. A little shredded cheese on top would be great. 

Chicken and Dumplings

Ben had talked about making Chicken and Dumplings in the crock pot. I started thinking about it and found a recipe for the dumplings I wanted to try. In the past dumplings have been gut bombs, dense and chewy or like wet biscuits and unappealing. I founds something a little different to try but first I have to make the stock.
I know that canned stock is readily available but I had none and I did have a lot of frozen parts in the freezer so that's what I used.

To 8 quarts of water in a large marmite I added one large onion, unpeeled and cut in half, 2 carrots chopped, a celery bottom trimmed from the package we bought, a teaspoon of cracked pepper, thyme and a bay leaf. I also added 1 heaping tablespoon of chicken base and 2 tablespoons of salt.

Dumplings are about ready, steamed and light

I had 4 chicken breast bones with some meat attached and a chicken back.

All in the pot and simmer, not boil, for about 2 hours. Taste for seasoning, filter and set aside.

To make the Chicken and Dumplings:

Dumplings

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 teaspoon chopped chives
1 egg mixed with
1/2 c buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients then add egg and milk mixture. Do not over mix, set aside for a few minutes.

Soup:

2 carrots chopped 1/4 inch
1 onion chopped 1/4 inch
2 stalks celery 1/4  inch
1/2 cup or less flour
2 T butter

4 Quarts of broth

Saute veggies in butter till onions sweat and add flour.  Pour in broth and allow to come to a boil. Drop dumpling batter by teaspoonful as they will expand x 3 or so. Cover pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes to steam dumplings. Needed a bit more salt but overall very tasty. Dumplings were light as pillows and a perfect texture.

Ravioli Soup and family

Every year about this time we venture west to Brenda's folks and have a quiet dinner and gathering. This year, besides the Stromboli, which is required to cross the county line, I brought a soup recommended by Lori last week. Ravioli Soup uses frozen ravioli but the rest is on me. Cooking for about 8 this will feed all with leftovers. The recipe for stromboli is elsewhere on the blog, explore.

Ravioli Soup

2 pounds of sausage I used Jimmie Deans and an Italian bulk  sausage
Medium or large onion chopped
5 cloves minced garlic or more
5 cans of tomatoes  I used all diced but a few cans of sauce would have been best. 2 large can of Hunts Spaghetti sauce would have hit the mark too.
2 quarts chicken stock
1 tbls oregano
1 tbls basil
Salt and pepper
8 ounces mozzarella shredded I used whole milk
A few cups torn spinach leaves
2 bags of  frozen mini cheese ravioli

Brown the sausage and drain the excess fat leaving enough to saute the onions then the garlic. Add the tomatoes, stock and spices let simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
To assemble, bring soup to a rolling boil. Pre heat the broiler. Place a handful of spinach in each heat proof bowl lined up on baking sheets.  Drop ravioli in soup and cook till they float and puff a bit. Ladle into bowls over spinach then top with shredded mozzarella. Broil till bubbly and a little brown. Serve.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup

Tonight was a night of experiments. Burgers on the grill and this soup. Careful...its a bit spicy.

1 qt of heavy cream
1 qt of chicken broth
3 c diced onions
3 c diced celery
1/4 cup butter with green onion, parsley and garlic added mixed in
1/2 T celery salt
1 T Dijon mustard
2 T Tomato paste
1 cup Franks Hot Sauce
1/3 c flour
1 1/4 pounds grilled chicken breast diced
4 oz blue cheese

Heat cream and chicken broth to a boil. Meanwhile, saute the celery and onion in butter mix till soft.
Mix celery salt, tomato paste, Dijon and hot sauce into veggies.
Sprinkle flour over veggies a and add a few ladles of the boiling broth mixture and allow the mixture to thicken then add to pot with broth. Add the chicken. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Makes 1 gallon.

Garnish with blue cheese crumbles.  This recipe was marked M's Pub from Omaha. A great eating establishment in the Old Market area.

I made a 1/3 the full recipe and took some liberties. Too much cream for me so I used some skim milk. Pretty good but spicy for some.

Eating Omaha....The Blatt Beer and Table

A new place in West Omaha opened last week and we tried it twice with uneven results but it's a Sports Bar with a famous Omaha name.

The bar itself sports the Rosenblatt sign from the original stadium and the seats are a combination of padded benches along the wall and incredibly uncomfortable chairs on the aisle side. The menu sports the usual bar food type of deal but with a ball park twist. Burgers and Brats as well as unique appetizers round out the massive beer selection.

The service the first time was prompt and attentive and we had appetizers with friends. Pretzel bites and dips, french fries and Chicken fingers. The fingers were great but I thought the very crisp crust a bit greasy. The Pretzel bites are my favorite served with a mustard and a cheese fondue sauce. I would prefer a more robust cheese sauce personally. All in all a good experience despite the uncomfortable seat. A bonus we ran into a kid we used to go to church with, Tyler Manucuso, all grown up and super friendly and fun to talk too.

The second visit was after a long meeting and a little later in the evening. We split a Indian Chicken Sandwich and a side of fries. I had a cup of Beer Cheese soup also. It took some time to get our order and the wait staff was slow. I like my water glass full at all times and I drink a lot of water with my meals. The sandwich was pretty good with a chutney to balance the seasoned chicken breast on a soft roll. The fries were cold and the replacement order was lukewarm and came after we weer done.  The soup was a nicely balance Beer cheese with large crunchy croutons. Very good but pricey really for a cup of soup.

All in all a nice place to stop for a quick nosh if you're not in too big of a hurry. Great little corner bar.

French Onion Soup

Nice day yesterday cool and breezy. Mackenzie was coming over with a pal I have several very large onions from Brenda's folks that were getting soft so I made French Onion Soup. The hardest part is cooking the onions so I got an early start.

I had 3 large and 1 medium onion, halved and chopped. I used every bit leaving only the root end.

I began the cooking on the stove top to soften them up a bit before a long stint in a hot oven to caramelize them to a soupy brown syrup. To this I added the rest of the ingredients and some fresh herbs from my yard. Topped with toasted croutons and Gruyere it made for a satisfying meal. I had made some chicken wings also so I served them on the side. Delish!

French Onion Soup

There are a lot of variations out there but the premise is always the same. A savory broth with falling apart onions in it.

3 very large or 6 medium onions, sliced in half moons about 1/4 inch thick.
3 tbs butter
1 tbs Salt
3 tbs flour
1 quart or more of Chicken  Broth
1 cup white wine or red your choice
1 can Beef Consume
4 sprigs fresh thyme

I used a cast iron pot and melted the butter. I cooked the onions with the salt till they became soft and had a lot of liquid, about 20-30 minutes. I let these simmer covered for an hour covered.

I heated the oven to 400 and placed the pot in the over with the lid ajar to let some of the steam escape for another hour, stirred them then let them cook till they were very golden brown another 20 minute to an hour.

Back on the stove top I added the wine and reduced it then added the flour and cooked the raw taste from it. In went the chicken broth and thyme. Once it came to a simmer I grated 1 large clove of garlic into the mix,  let it go for an hour, tasting to adjust the seasoning, adding pepper and more salt, fishing out the thyme and discarding.  Ready to serve.

Champagne Shrimp Bisque (when you don't have the exact ingredients)

 Two weeks ago, at the Fangman's, Lori made this soup for dinner. It was delicious and it was meatless day so I decided to make it also.

The original recipe from The Cottage Journal looks like this:


Makes about 6 cups

4 tablespoons butter
½ cup minced shallots
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups clam juice
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 pound
Medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup Champagne or other dry sparkling wine
2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
Garnish: Gruyère cheese, chives
1. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots, and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle in flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Gradually whisk in clam juice and stock; bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. (At this point, soup can be refrigerated up to 3 days.)
2. Cut shrimp into ¼-inch pieces. Over medium-low heat, add cream and Champagne. Return soup to a simmer, and slowly whisk in cheese ¼ cup at a time, letting melt between additions. Stir in chives and shrimp, and cook for 3 minutes or until shrimp are opaque. Garnish with shredded Gruyère and chives.
Note: Clam juice can be replaced with chicken stock for a milder flavor.

Tom's pantry version

 Not having  some of ingredients I subbed a few things with a pretty good outcome. The soup was velvety and smooth with a great flavor.

Firstly, Clam Juice. Well you can buy it bottled but what are you going to do with all those shrimp shells?  You are buying shrimp in the shell right? It tastes the best and has the best texture so once thawed and peeled, reserve those shells.

In a saucepan, place a medium onion, unpeeled, cut in half. Also a few stalks of celery, a chopped carrot or two, half a head of garlic cut in half along the equator and your shrimp shells. Cover with cold water, add some salt and a few peppercorns and in about 30 mins you have a quart of shrimp stock!

Next champagne? Well I did have a cup of a dry Chardonnay as a sub.

2 Cups of Gruyere? How about 2-3 slices of processed Swiss (melts better) and a little Parmesan to round out the edges?

I also subbed onion for the shallot, minced. Now just make the recipe with the substitutions.

I found the roux to be perfect for the amount of fluid listed and I used all Shrimp stock and it was great. Of course I had dried chives but they reconstituted well in the process. Taste along the way to make sure you headed the right direction. This was a great meal but lesser without our friends.

A Broth to Remember, Take Stock

Ok so I am no poet but I have a huge stash of chicken wing tips and trimmings from whole birds. Our friend Lori's mom, Annette,  had surgery and I wanted to bring something over so I made a batch of Chicken stock for a base for some soup or something. Annette is recouping at Lori's house. I cannot imagine a more comfortable place to recover or a more gracious hostess.

So...on to the Stock, so easy but really delish.

I went out and picked a bunch of thyme from the herb pot and threw it in a large Marmite (stockpot). To this I added a whole unpeeled onion, halved, 3 cloves of garlic crushed, 3 large carrots washed and chopped, the top of Brenda's celery with leaves attached, about 10 peppercorns and all my wings (about 3 pounds). I filled the pot to an inch of the top and set it to simmer.

After it came to a good strong simmer, I skimmed it and added some salt and a scant teaspoon of turmeric. Instantly the already fragrant stock had a nice chicken golden color. It needed a bit of bouillon (about 2 good tablespoons) before I added any more salt  but the end result was chicken heaven. About 6 quarts or so.

So now...what to do with all?

Roasted Tomato Soup

Jill stopped by the office the other morning bearing the fruits from her brother's farm in Iowa. a box of assorted goodies included some bright yellow tomatoes that were getting past their prime so had to be processed quickly to preserve their integrity.

 

I started by selecting a few reds of our own, halving them and pulping them over a strainer to catch the juices. About 16 tomatoes yielded about 1 1/2 cups of tomato juice in a peachy color due to the mix of yellows and reds. I set this aside for later and proceeded to sprinkle the rest with olive oil and salt, throw in a few cloves of garlic and roast at 400 degrees for about an hour.

I threw everything including the reserved juice into the processor and whizzed away. In a large sauce pan I heated some butter and olive oil and sauteed a medium onion, 3 cloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon  of dried thyme. Normally I would use fresh basil but with the temperature dipping my basil is gone for the season. I added 1 tub of Knorr's Chicken broth with a cup of water and the pureed tomato mix. Still needing a little something to push it over the edge I added a 1/4 c grated Parmesan. That seemed to do the trick. The yellow tomatoes are very sweet so a little salt mellowed it out a bit.

Roasted Tomato Soup

2 pound ripe tomatoes halved and pulped, juice reserved
Olive oil for tomatoes and later for making soup
butter
1 medium onion chopped
6 cloves of garlic, 3 roasted, 3 plain and minced
1 teas dried thyme
1 tub Knorr's Homestyle Stock (chicken)
1-2 cups water
1/4 c cream
1/4 c Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Italian Comfort Food...Passatelli in Brodo

 

Basically noodles in broth, this rich, satisfying soup hits all the notes.  Sturdy noodles made from bread crumbs, Parmesan and eggs with a bit of lemon and touch of nutmeg. The broth, while usually chicken, tonight was vegetable with a dose of Turmeric to give it color and health benefits. A hearty soup for a cold night, I started early today and looked forward all day to putting it together.  Since I didn’t want to hit the stores today with the snow and street situation, I used what I had on hand. I made the noodles while I had the mixer out and used my meat grinder attachment to press the pasta. Worked great! I allowed the pasta to hang out in the fridge, covered and dusted with flour. When it came time to eat, I brought the broth to a rolling boil, dropped the noodles in and let them simmer after I turned down the heat. It gave the broth a chance to thicken nicely before spooning into bowls with more Parmesan and a grind of black pepper (improves the bio availability of the Turmeric.)  Great dish. 

For the Passatelli:

1 cup of plain bread crumbs (I used Panko)

1 cup Parmesan, freshly grated, real stuff.

2 large eggs 

Zest of a lemon

Grind of nutmeg

I used my mini processor to make the dough, adding a tablespoon of flour to tighten it up if needed. Let that rest for an hour before extruding the pasta either in a meat grinder or potato ricer. I dusted the finished product with flour on a plate and covered in the fridge till dinner.

For the broth I used vegetable which I augmented with 1/2 an onion, 2 celery stalks, 2 carrots, 3 crushed garlic cloves and a few peppercorns with a teaspoon of thyme. Salt to taste and simmer for about an hour. Strain and use. Chicken broth would have been made in a similar manner but adding a few chicken legs or bone in, skin on breasts. I almost always add Turmeric to improve the color and add health benefits. 

Enjoy! We sure did.