Buffalo Chicken Soup

We had leftover buffalo chicken cubes, so used this recipe as a basis to make soup.

Modifications:
- doubled the recipe
- substituted dehydrated onion (that we rehydrated before using)
- used evaporated milk,
.. and one full box (42 oz?) low sodium chicken broth
- used buffalo chicken instead of plain
- cut the buffalo sauce since the chicken already had the flavor
- added 1T. tabasco sauce to help with flavor
- served with a garnish:
few dots of tabasco sauce,
spoonful of chopped celery,
sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese
(could have used bleu cheese crumbles if we'd had them)

Karl's Beef & Veggie Soup

(very general instructions; approx. amounts as we had no recipe)

Part One

* 1 32-48oz. box beef broth or stock (lowest sodium possible)
* 2 T. olive oil (extra virgin olive oil is fine too)
* 1 medium red onion (yellow & white are ok too), diced
* 2-3 pounds beef (stew beef, round steak, sirloin tips, or similar), cut in cubes
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed with knife
* 1/2-1 cup red wine (merlot, burgundy, shiraz... whatever you have on hand)
...if no wine is around, use 1-2 T. vinegar (apple cider, red wine, or white vinegar)
* 2 bay leaves* 1 Tablespoons rosemary, dried (if fresh, use 3 times this amount)
* 1 teaspoon thyme, dried (if fresh, use approx. 2 times this amount)
* 1-2 teaspoons savory, dried (if fresh, use approx. 2 times this amount)
* 1 Tablespoons parsley, dried (if fresh, use 3 times this amount)
* 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
...or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon black ground pepper (fresh ground is best)

Put one box of beef broth in crockpot. Put on lid and heat on high while proceeding with recipe.

Heat oil in large skillet until a drop or two of oil sizzle in pan. Saute onion in pan until translucent & slightly browned. Add onion to crockpot.

If more oil is needed, add 1 more T. to same skillet, and heat until water droplet sizzles. Place beef cubes in bottom of pan so that one side of them lies flat. Allow that side to brown, turn cubes and allow opposite side to brown. If any cubes have unbrowned sides, turn them to unbrowned sides. Add to crockpot. (The goal is not to cook the cubes, but rather to sear the met to keep in the juices). Depending on the amount of cubes, you may need to do 2-3 round of cubes in the pan until all cubes are browned.

There is probably enough oil left in pan- if not add 1/2 T. Saute crushed garlic, be careful not to burn! (It burns easily and quickly, but this slight toast makes a nice difference in garlic's taste). Add to crockpot, stir.

Add wine (or vinegar), and herbs/spices (rosemary, thyme, parsley, black pepper). Stir. Cover. Turn crockpot down to low and let cook 6-8 hours or until fork tender/ falling apart. Avoid lifting crockpot lid as each time it's lifted, it increases cooking time.


Part Two: 6-8 hours later...

* 1 32-48oz. box beef broth or stock (lowest sodium possible)
* 1 ... oz. can crushed tomatoes (lowest sodium possible)
- can be diced, sauce, peeled... any variety... try to keep sodium & excess water at a minimum)* 1 crockpot cooked beef (from Part One: above)
- if time allows, cool beef mixture on porch (or counter, then fridge); scrape fat from top of mixture to reduce fat intake.
* Root Veggies
- 1/2 -1 lb. carrots, cut in coins
- 4-6 ribs celery, cut in slices
- approx. 2 lbs red potatoes (white or yellow are ok too), wash & cubed with skins left on
- could add parsnips, turnips, or other root veggies if desired
* Other Veggies
- 8 oz. frozen peas
- 8 oz. frozen corn
- 8 oz. fresh green beans, ends removed and snapped in 1/2
- 8 oz. fresh sugar peas, ends removed and cut in 1/2
- 8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
- could also add frozen lima beans, canned beans, canned artichokes, finely chopped bell pepper, grape tomatoes, zucchini slices, shredded cabbage, frozen spinach (drained) or fresh spinach (sliced)
* Can also add pre-cooked pasta, rice, barley, noodles... if desired

In large stock pot, combine beef broth. Add root veggies (carrots, potatoes... and celery), and boil for about a half hour until veggies are fork tender.

Add meat & broth from crockpot; remove bay leaves if they were whole leaves. Add can of tomatoes. Bring back to boil, then reduce heat to simmer.

Add other veggies, simmer about 1 hour to combine flavors. If desired, add additional herbs during last 1/2 hour of cooking (suggestions include: thyme, rosemary, parsley, savory, tarragon, marjoram, a bit of oregano... choose a couple, not all!). Add more fresh ground black pepper, and salt to your taste.

Can top with some fresh grated parmesan, and a bit of fresh parsley.
Can serve in bowl with a bit of provolone or soft cheese lightly browned on top.

Serve with warm rolls, and/or a salad.

Leftover soup freezes well for future meals.
Suggestion freeze either in individual serving-size containers, or in family-size meal containers; pre-portioning before freezing saves time later and reduces amount of times soup is frozen and thawed.

Books

These are autobiographical books about cooking that I've found interesting.


Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen
also know as Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously
memoir by Julie Powell
... (soon to be seen as a movie with Amy Adams & Meryl Streep)


Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table
Comfort Me With Apples: More Advetures at the Table
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
by Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine
... includes recipes throughout the narrative

Rustic Tart (easier than pie ;-)

-- also known as "gallette" or "free-form tart"

Use pre-made pie crust rounds. (or make your own if you have time; I'm terrible at pie crusts, so I buy).

Lay a round on a piece of parchment on a baking sheet. (I fold up the edges of the parchment about 1" all the way around, so if the filling leaks, it has less likelihood to be on the oven bottom.)

Toss about 3 cups of fresh or frozen fruit** with zest & juice of one lemon, then with 2 T. cornstarch and 1/4-1/3 c. sugar.

On pie crust round, place fruit in circle about 1" from edge. Dump any remaining liquid-sugar mixture over the top.

Fold up edges, slightly folding as you go and wetting underside of fold with a bit of water so it will stay put. Brush pie crust edges of finished tart with melted butter (or one beaten egg). Sprinkle crust (and middle if you want) liberally with turbinado sugar, and/or sliced almonds or ground nuts. Bake in preheated 400-425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is browned.

If liquid ran out of pie, scoop it off the parchment & discard.

Let tart cool on pan for about ten minutes. Then slide to a cooling rack for the remainder of cooling.

It will be softer if stored in plastic container with tight lid; it will be a bit more crispy if left on counter & covered loosely with parchment.

Easy and yummy. Great with vanilla bean ice cream (like Breyers or homemade) or frozen Cool Whip! Can be drizzled with chocolate, caramel, a contrasting pureed fruit, or melted ice cream.


NOTE:
-- If using dried fruit, I use a small amount and place it on the crust first, then pile the other fruit with lemon & cornstarch on top; this helps semi-hydrate the dried fruit.
-- If using frozen fruit, the tarts tend to leak more, but the fruit melds together better.
-- If using fresh fruit, unless is overly ripe, it will tend to retain it's original shape more and leak less.

Of course lime could be substituted for lemon.
And I wonder what orange or grapefruit would be like??!


** fruit or any fruit combination you want; the possibilities are endless

We've tried:
frozen blueberry
frozen red raspberry
frozen blueberry- red raspberry
blueberry, red raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, dried mango
dried peach, fresh apricot, red raspberry,
dried peach, fresh nectarine, red raspberry
fresh nectarine, blueberry, lemon
fresh apricot, red raspberry, lime
fresh plum, nectarine

We plan to try:
fresh peach, fresh blueberry
dried grape/raisin, fresh apple, AND cinnamon-sugar (in place of plain sugar)
frozen cranberry, fresh apple, maybe orange juice & zest?
fresh strawberry- fresh rhubarb (but may need to use tapioca to thicken?)


Our camera is lost, so here's some similar sweet & savory recipe examples from online sources:(Click on a number to get the link) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

The Wonderful World of... Food!

In my hunt for a recipe using ligonberry sauce that I had purchased at IKEA. I came across an incredible wealth of delicious-looking recipes from the Walt Disney World Resorts. In case you are interested, check here and here and here and here and here and here. Many of these are not your average recipes! Enoy! ;-)

Mini Cheesecakes with Wine Gelee

Also made for the "late notice leaders' meeting".... it was a sort of wine & cheese soiree, so this fit the occasion.

Mini Cheesecakes with Wine Gelee

-- made in this pan; so they were bite-sized instead of the "mini' described in recipe.
-- recommendation: don't move cheesecakes in oven for 10 minutes or so until they are completely set.
-- used only three wines: rose, orange muscat, pinor noir
-- had leftover gelatin, so added equal amounts to the wines until it was gone.

Irish Coffee Cheesecake

Made for "late notice leaders' meeting" at Jeff & Adrienne's house.
It has a great coffee flavor.

Irish Coffee Cheesecake

-- can substitue milk for irish whiskey if you don't have it. (other whiskeys will work too)
-- espresso powder can be found at Carfagna's on 161 and Italian groceries (maybe even Italian section of regular grocery?)
-- used Watkins double strength vanilla (the best!)
-- used Kaluha coffee liqueur, but there are many other varieties, including one by Starbucks.(these are available in miniature bottles, if you only need it for the recipe!)
-- found non-iced oatmeal cookies- the crisp variety- at Kroger (HoneyMaid by Nabisco- same as the graham crackers)
-- to garnish: used Trader Joe's chocolate covered coffee beans and a light dusting of crushed espresso powder

Artichoke & Cheese Tart(s)

Several people have showed interest in the small-size veggie tarts that we brought for the bake sale Saturday. Below is a link to the original recipe and a list of my modifications:

http://www.cwinters.com/recipes/artichoke_and_cheese_tart.html

1. Use pre-made pastry/ pie dough. Cut to fit in eight, small-size tart pans (available at Sur La Table, Tuesday Morning, etc). After pastry is in tins, sprinkle dough with garlic powder.

2. Make filling as directed. Fill tart pans. Add a bit of extra gorgonzola & rosemary in the center of each tart. Sprinkle shreds of sharp cheddar around the edges.

3. Due to the smaller size, reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees and set oven timer to 15 minutes. If not done, be sure to check every 3 minutes after the intial 15.

Similar recipes are available for veggies tarts with cauliflower & broccoli, watercress, spinach, or red pepper.

Double Chocolate NY-style Cheesecake

Another recipe we made for the bake sale...

http://www.landolakes.com/mealIdeas/ViewRecipe.cfm?RecipeID=6827b


Modifications:

1. Used Oreo crumbs instead of graham crackers. Used crust recipe on back of of the Oreo crumbs box; made a double recipe.

2. Put in six to seven, small-size springform pans. (Recommendation: line bottoms with parchment papper).

3. Put pans on baking sheet(s) so easier to slide in and out of oven. Be sure there is space around the outside edges of the pans to allow heat to flow throughout the oven. Set a bowl of water on the lower oven rack to reduce probability of cracks on the top surface.

3. Make filling as directed. Bake as directed, but reduce oven temp by 25 degrees. Reduce time by 10-20 miuntes.

4. After cooled & removed from pans, garnish with a dab of dark chocoalte icing, fresh mint leaves, and fresh red raspberries.

5. Serve with or without the original recipe's red raspberry sauce.