An in-depth look at chowder

Cheddar Corn Chowder, that is. And yes, I know I've blogged of it before. But it is good. And this is another meal from my monthly meal chart, so away we go!

Cook bacon. Away from dog.
Chop onions. Lots.
Cook onions in bacon fat and a bit o' butter.
Chop potatoes. Lots.
Meanwhile, add seasonings to onions - salt, pepper, and the much-needed tumeric, which adds a lovely color and scent.
Then flour - give the flour time to cook up.
Then we add chicken broth (from a box, as you can see)
Then we add back in the chopped bacon - the recipe says to leave it as a garnish at the end, but I like the bacony flavor.
Meanwhile, get the corn ready.
And the dairy products.
Add the corn and let the soup return to a bubble.
Add cheese in batches, let it melt. Then add in half 'n' half.
Let it bubble, then serve with some crusty bread. Boo..ya....

Bistro part deux

I decided, per my monthly menu chart, to take another stab at French Onion Soup using my very wide electric skillet. I hoped to get a little more color on the onions this way. It was mildly more successful.

Here we have a lot of onions, ONE stick of butter, and some salt in said skillet.
15 minutes later.
25 minutes after that. We have more color. Then I added the flour, then the wine and vermouth as I did the last time. Salt, pepper.
I added some organic chicken broth and let it simmer for quite a while. I accidentally made it a bit too salty, but a side of crusty bread helps with that. Something still isn't quite right. Maybe I need to mix in a can of beef consomme or something as well.

Fin.

Romantic meal

Ok, maybe not. But it is good winter food and will put hair on your chest - CHILI! Of course, I've written of this before, but never before have I so annoyingly photographed my preparations!

First, I put about 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef in my big ol' pot with 3 chopped onions and a chopped bell pepper.
Next, we prepare our panopoly of spices. Chili powder, cumin, coriander, crushed red pepper, black pepper, salt (again not pictured, I really CANNOT get her in the picture)...
And garlic, we mustn't forget lots of garlic...
And the top secret (ok, so lots of people do this, but whatever) weapon - cocoa powder...Add these all to the pot and give 'er a stir and let the spices toast a bit.
Then you add 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, about 1 c chicken broth, a squirt or two of Worcestershire and let it simmer for a while.
Meanwhile, I rinsed and drained a 14.5 oz can of black beans and a can of light red kidney beans and got out some frozen corn to thaw.Add those to the pot, and let them heat through. For an added twist (and to clean out the pantry) I threw in about 1/3 lb of elbow macaroni. CHILI MAC! Once that was cooked to al dente, we were ready to serve with some sour cream and grated cheddar...

A bistro in Ohio

We are so very French in our mannerisms, mais non? Mais oui? Mr. R has been BEGGING for French onion soup for ages now, so I decided I would finally indulge his craving (is he pregnant?) and pair that with some of the leftover Christmas ham in the freezer and make little ham sandwiches.

To make FOS, you must first slice a lot of onions. Here, we have six onions and TWO sticks of butter. Delish.

An hour later, here's the same six onions and two sticks of butter. Not a lot of color sadly. I think I needed a wider pan to get more color, but I was too lazy to schlepp down to the basement to get my electric skillet. We'll make do with pale onions.

Next, let's talk to our friends Wine and Vermouth. Hello ladies. Welcome to the party. I put about 1/4 flour in with our onions, then tossed in a mix totalling 2 cups of our alcoholic friends. Then I allowed that to reduce over low heat for 10 minutes.
Then you add your broth, in this case, homemade chicken stock. About 8-10 cups. And salt and pepper to taste. And cook for however long you want it to. While the soup was percolating, I toasted up some homemade croutons using some rando bread in the pantry. Cube bread, toss with a tiny bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet, toss in a moderate oven for pretty much any amount of time until dry and crusty and brown. The end. I also shredded some Swiss cheese. Gruyere is better, but it was not a splurge week.
Here we are - little ham sandwich alongside. I made a little mix of mayo and whole grain mustard to put on the sandwich which also featured some shredded cheddar. Delish. The end.

Possibly the BEST Ina Garten recipe

I do know I've blogged of this before. But I don't think one go-round can convey my deep love and admiration of the Barefoot Contessa Cheddar Corn Chowder (please consult The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which everyone should have, along with all of her other cookbooks). Nothing warms your cockles quite like this soup/chowder/stew/concoction/witches' blend.

First, you start with bacon.







Then, onions. Soften those up, then you add salt, pepper, tumeric (KEY! more later), and flour.








Then you add chicken stock (homemade, I'm so smug) potatoes...boil...boil....corn, half and half, cheese....







Served up with a hearty hunk of bread (sadly, not from my own kitchen, I've not quite mastered the whole starter thing yet), how can one be sad about anything at all?

Soup travails

So, seeing as it is winter, and it WAS cold last week (notwithstanding today's 60+ degree temps), I decided to try Ina's Mexican Chicken Soup (ignore the messy bowl in the picture, you know I'm not know for presentation!). I used a store-bought rotisserie chicken instead of roasting my own, but I did not deviate from the recipe otherwise. Oh, I did use fire-roasted tomatoes, figuring they'd add some flavor. I even used homemade stock. The resulting soup was very bland. I don't know if my jalapenos had lost their zip or whatever. So I doctored it up. I added one chipotle pepper and a tablespoon of adobo sauce. Nothing. I added several squirts of Texas Pete, then some of some random hot sauce in my fridge. Again, nothing. So, I went for the "depth of flavor" angle and threw in some chicken base. It helped a bit. It needed tang for sure, so I added some lime zest and juice. Nope. Red wine vinegar. Nothing. Worcestershire. Couldn't taste it. Finally, I broke open a bottle of this lemon/garlic/soy finishing sauce my brother gave me for Christmas. That seemed to add a tiny bit of something. But still, it was just an okay soup. I mean, any homemade soup is going to be better than stuff out of a can on your average day, but this was really underwhelming for me. That said, R seemed to enjoy it and others seem to find it ok. But I was really hoping for a home run and was a bit disappointed. HOWEVER, the plus side of this recipe was the cool discovery (sue me, I'm coming to the party late on this one probably) of using tortillas to thicken a soup - those corn tortillas dissolved right into the soup. I had my doubts, but they went away. It was cool.

Our child-like dinner

Mmm. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. V. homey, v. good on a cold night. I was flipping through some old Everyday Food magazines and came across a recipe for homemade tomato soup. I was intrigued. I've never been a huge fan of tomato soup out of a can - it's a bit too smooth, a bit too bland. This one looked like it would have a bit of texture and flavor, and I knew I could jazz it up myself. I added red pepper flakes with the sauteed onion. I also used an Italian spice mix instead of just thyme. I used lots of black pepper. And, since I apparently went heavy on the salt, I added in quite a bit of milk at the end (which made it creamier AND balanced out the ridiculous salty taste). Serve up with some lovely grilled cheese on the side (with ham for Mr. Carnivore), and it was quite delish.

Daisy likes stew!

I made beef stew on Sunday since it is getting out of "stew" season here in central OH. I neglected it for a bit, and as a result, got a lovely ring of baked-on goodness in the bottom of the pot. When we finished said stew, I gave the pot to Daisy to help Mommy clean. She did a great job! Clean as a whistle, if you don't mind Daisy drool!

Building a soup

Sunday was spent in the kitchen making some soups. I decided to do a sort of vegetable beef stew and R requested chicken noodle for his lunches.


For the vegetable beef stew, I lightly floured* 2 lbs of extra lean stew meat and browned it in a small amount of olive oil, in batches. Set aside the meat on a plate. In the remaining fat, add 2 chopped onions, 1 c thinly sliced carrots, and 1/2 c chopped celery.



Give that 10-15 minutes to soften. Then I added 1 chopped zucchini, about 1 1/2 c fresh green beans, and 2 diced potatoes.





THEN, I added the herbs - a sprig of rosemary, several sprigs of thyme, and some bay leaves, along with more salt/pepper. And I squished in some roasted garlic.



I added about 1/2 c of red wine and allowed that to simmer. Then came a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, with their juice, and 2 boxes of beef broth. I let that simmer forever, meanwhile, adding about 1/3 c of pearl barley, 1/4 elbow macaroni, and about 1/4 c lentils. There was also corn. I added about a shot's worth of Worcestershire sauce and probably a tsp of bouillion powder over the duration of the cooking time. I don't have a pic of the final product, because I keep forgetting. But it is quite good. And we're eating it again tonight. Third night of it. Yeah.


The chicken soup is much quicker. First, I browned 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in a small bit of oil. Once the skin was browned, I added some salt and pepper, and 1 box and 1 can of low sodium chicken broth, along with a can's worth of water. I added a sprig of rosemary, two thyme sprigs, a sprig of majoram, more salt and pepper, 1 chopped onion, about 1 c of chopped carrot and 1 stalk of chopped celery (R doesn't like celery). I also squeezed in some remaining roasted garlic, about 3 cloves worth. I allowed that to simmer at a low boil for about 20-25 minutes, until the chicken was cooked through. I took the chicken thighs out, and replaced them with 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. After 15 minutes, those were also removed, and all the chicken parts were de-meated and the meat was shredded (skin/bones were discarded, much to the pup's dismay). The chicken meat was returned to the pot, the liquid was brought back up to a boil, and a heaping handful of egg noodles were added and cooked until soft. And that's that.








*I seasoned the flour with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Pasta fagioli

As mentioned, we kick off the diet with dinners of decent sized helping of pasta fagioli, or, Italian bean soup (we add meat too b/c we heart meat).

Start by frying up one strip of bacon over medium low heat with 1 tbsp olive oil in a large stockpot. Meanwhile, brown 3/4 lb ground sirloin in a separate pan, and drain thoroughly. To the bacon, add 2 medium onions, chopped, 1/2 chopped carrots, and 2 chopped celery stalks. Turn up heat to medium and cook until slightly tender. Add 3-4 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes, 1 tsp dried rosemary (crushed), 1-2 tsp dried thyme (crushed), salt, and pepper. Allow the seasonings to toast a bit, then add in the ground beef, 1 large can of crushed tomatoes, 1 smaller can of diced tomatoes (I used leftover garden tomatoes), and about 5 c of chicken stock. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then add 6-8 oz. dried elbow macaroni, or other short pasta. Add one can each dark red kidney beans and navy beans, rinsed and drained. Allow to cook on medium heat until pasta is tender. Serve with a light dusting of parmigiano reggiano grated on top. Delish.

My Ode to Chowdah (of the Cheddar/Corn variety)

For those who were at my shower, or just generally appreciate the goodness of Ina Garten, you will know the delight that is Cheddar Corn Chowder. Here is a modification of said recipe (modified only in proportions, as I do not actually have a pot big enough for her entire recipe):

Swirl some olive oil in the bottom of a large stockpot and heat to medium. Add approx. 8 oz of chopped bacon (more or less depending on taste and fatty cravings). Cook the bacon until crisp, remove from pot and drain on paper towels. Add about 4 cups of chopped onions (2-3 medium onions) and cook until soft and translucent. Add 1/2 tsp tumeric and salt and pepper (I tend to use a lot of pepper to season it up) to taste. Add about 1/4 to 1/3 flour and cook for another 2 minutes. Add in about 9 c chicken stock and allow stock to warm. Add 2 pounds of chopped red skin, yukon, or white boiling potatoes. Allow chowdah to simmer for 20 minutes or so. Add 2 pounds frozen corn kernels (or fresh, if you blanch it first). Allow kernels to warm. Add 1 and 1/2 c half and half and 1/2 to 3/4 pound grated sharp cheddar cheese. Cook until cheese melts and serve with crusty bread in a big ol' bowl. De-freakin'-licious.