Cold Cold Monday

Potato Soup doesn't photograph well, but it tastes really good.

Yesterday it was cold again.  In fact, it snowed most of the morning.  So, since we are supposed to be getting a significant warm-up tomorrow, I figured this might be my last opportunity to make soup.  I decided on potato.

Daphne asked me what was for dinner.  I said potato soup.  Her head hung low.  "But MOM. I don't LIKE potato soup." And she slunk away sadly.

A little while later, we were playing and I told her it was time for me to go start on dinner.  Suddenly, she perked up and said, "Mom!  I know someone who is here and can HELP you make it!"  I looked around and guessed Quincy:

Quincy

 But she was talking about herself.  She volunteered to help, without me even asking.  A good sign.

So, we started on the soup.  I let her wash the potatoes while I cut up the carrots.  Then, when we got everything going in the dutch oven, I asked her, "So, are you going to eat this soup since you're helping me make it?"  "Of course!" she said.  Can I get a HECK YEAH!

And so, I sent her off to play while the soup cooked.  And while it cooked, I stewed.  I had a moral dilemma.  You see, at the end of the cooking time, when the potatoes are all nice and tender, a nice big handful of cheddar cheese is added to the soup.  To melt.  And that means Melty Cheese, and THAT means Daphne's Kryptonite.  I began to grate the cheese.  "For me and Daddy to put on top," I told her.  "Promise you won't put any on mine," she said.  "I promise I won't put any on top of yours," I said.  And when she wasn't looking, I added the cheese.  Oh, the guilt. 

But here's the thing.  She ATE it and she LIKED it.  But I feel like the world's worst mother because I promised I'd never lie to her about food.  And I guess I didn't lie...I just didn't tell the whole truth.

I'm going to have to tell her the whole truth.  Maybe Thursday.  Because on Wednesday, we're having the left-overs.  She is going to be so mad at me.  I don't blame her.

So, Future Daphne, when you grow up and read this, I'm sorry for not telling you about the cheese.  I really am.  But you liked this soup.  I hope you will forgive me.

Recipe below.  Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and serve with good crusty bread.

Potato Soup

 Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small ham steaks, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups diced peeled white potatoes
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups half-and-half or whole milk
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (Shhhhhhhh)
• salt, to taste

Directions:

Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and country ham. Sauté, stirring frequently, until ham starts to brown. Add flour and stir until well blended. Add the chicken broth and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Add potatoes; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add pepper, to taste. Add half-and-half or milk, and cheese; stir until cheese is melted. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Accidentally Stew

Using a recipe as a guide is a good thing to be able to do.  That way, you can tailor things to the way you like them, substitute ingredients, change it up a little.  I never ever used to be able to do that, as I've discussed here before.  Back in the day, I would follow recipes exactly as written.  Sometimes, this would work out for me, sometimes not.  As I got more confident in the kitchen, I was more willing to experiment a little, and change recipes to suit my family's tastes.  Good, right?

But yesterday, I got cocky.

You see, we were having a little hootenanny, and I wanted to get something in the slow cooker so that when everyone left, dinner would be ready.  Kev found a slow-cooked minestrone recipe in the Wegman's magazine.  It got great reviews, and looked really good and easy.  So I decided to use it as a guide and make a few little changes.  For example, I didn't want to get the plastic bag of pre-cut  veggies, so I got some carrots, celery, garlic, and an onion, and chopped them up myself.  I also don't like diced tomatoes, so I left those out.  Instead of Wegman's Italian tomato sauce, I used Hunt's plain tomato sauce (the big can), and added basil and oregano, and salt and pepper for seasoning, and I added a couple tablespoons of tomato paste.  And just for fun, I added some corn, cut off the cob, when I added the garbanzo beans and pasta.

And that's when things went wrong.  I forgot to consult my "guide" when it was time to add the pasta, and instead of 1/2 cup, I let Daphne pour in the whole box.  Yep. The whole box. Probably at least 2 cups of pasta, maybe more.

When I went back to check on things, I was shocked to find a giant pot of minestrone STEW.  There was barely any liquid left at all.  I am proud to say I did not panic.  I added a can of beef stock and about a cup of water, and adjusted the seasoning. This helped a little, but it was still far from being soupy.  Live and learn.

The good news is, I like stew.  It was still really really tasty.  Just very ditalini-intensive. Daphne helped make it, which was fun, and she got a couple of points toward her next New Food Chart goal (still undetermined) for trying minestrone and garbanzo beans.  Kev really liked it too.  And we had so much that he took some to lunch today, I froze a bunch of it, and we still have enough for leftovers tomorrow.  In spite of my huge mistake,  things ended well.  Yay!

There it is.  Sort of like Gourmet Spaghetti-o's. 

So, here is the original recipe, below.  I recommend it highly.  If you don't have a Wegman's, you'll have to work around their prepared products in the ingredients list.  You can use my changes above, or do your own thing.  But I don't recommend using a whole box of pasta.

Wegman's Slow-Cooked Beef Minestrone

Ingredients:

1 pkg (about 1.6 lbs) Boneless Beef Chuck Roast, cut into 1-inch cubes  (I used stew meat)
Wegmans Pan Searing Flour  (I skipped this)
2 Tbsp Wegmans Pure Olive Oil
1 pkg (16 oz) Food You Feel Good About Cleaned & Cut Minestrone Soup Vegetables  (I chopped my own - onion, celery, carrots, garlic)
Salt and pepper 
1 carton (32 oz) Food You Feel Good About Beef Culinary Stock  (I used Swanson's)
1 can (14.5 oz) Wegmans Italian-Style Diced Tomatoes  (I skipped this too)
1 pkg (24 oz) Italian Classics Seasoned Tomato Sauce (Prepared Foods)  (I used plain Hunt's sauce, plus basil and oregano to season the soup)
1/2 cup dry Italian Classics Ditalini Soup Pasta  (um...oops.)
1 can (15.5 oz) Italian Classics Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed 

(I added corn cut off the cob)
1 pkg (6 oz) Food You Feel Good About Baby Spinach  ( I used regular spinach) 

Directions:

1. Dust beef with pan-searing flour; pat off excess.
    
2. Heat oil in large braising pan on MEDIUM-HIGH until oil faintly smokes. Add beef; sear 10 min until all sides are paper-bag brown.
    
3. Transfer beef to slow cooker; don't discard pan drippings. Add vegetables to pan with beef drippings; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, 3 min; add to slow cooker.
    
4. Add stock, tomatoes, and sauce to slow cooker. Cover, cook 4 1/2-6 hours on HIGH or 8-10 hours on LOW.
     
5. Add dry pasta and beans 30 minutes before end of cooking on HIGH (45 minutes before end of cooking on LOW).
    
6. Add spinach to slow cooker; stir to blend well. Allow spinach to lightly wilt, about 2 min.

Food to Make You Feel Better

Mirepoix

Yesterday was Mardi Gras, and I had big plans for some shrimp and grits.  But Daphne woke up with a low fever, and plans were changed.  Since she was sick, she couldn't go to school (or piano lessons or Daisies), and I couldn't go to the grocery store to get my Cajun Dinner supplies.  Fortunately, I had a rotisserie chicken in the fridge that didn't get used over the weekend, so I was able to make chicken soup.

Daphne's favorite soup EVER is Daddy's Famous Chicken and Dumplings Soup.  This is delicious soup, but it involves roasting a chicken, making homemade broth, and making dumplings from scratch.  I did not make Daddy's Famous Chicken and Dumplings Soup.  I made Mommy's Cheater Chicken and Noodle Soup.  Much easier, and almost (but not quite) as good.  I highly recommend making this next time someone in your family is sick.  It will make them feel better.  It made me feel better, and I wasn't even sick.

Mommy's Cheater Chicken and Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 or 3 stalks of celery, chopped*
4 or 5 carrots, chopped*
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced*
salt
pepper
dried thyme
48oz box of chicken stock, plus 2 cups water
Meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed, shredded into large pieces
About half a large bag of extra wide egg noodles

Directions:

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large dutch oven.
Add the garlic, onion, celery, and carrots, add a little salt, and cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes.
Season with salt, pepper, and thyme to taste.
Add chicken stock and water, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for an hour or so.
Add more liquid if needed, taste, and adjust seasoning.
Add chicken pieces and noodles to simmering soup, and cook for 8-10 more minutes until noodles are done.
Serve with your favorite crackers and a little black pepper if you want.

* these amounts are approximated.  Use as much or as little as you like.

More Slow Cooking with Daphne

Yesterday, Daphne and I had a play date after school, so I decided to try another slow cooker recipe.  That way, dinner could magically cook itself all day and be ready when we got home.  Whoever came up with this concept is my hero.  Absolutely genius.

I decided to try a recipe for Pasta Fagioli that I found while browsing around the pinterest boards.  There was no honey or brown sugar in the recipe this time, so I got Daphne excited about trying another new food by telling her we were going to make something really special: PAH-stah fah-JO-lee (said with a very bad fake Italian accent and wild stereotypical Italian hand gestures).  I made her say it with me, hand gestures and all. It was very silly, but whatever works.  Then I browned the meat and chopped the vegetables, and let her do the rest (rinse the beans and dump everything in the crock). She thinks she's a chef now.

When we got home from our play date, the house smelled amazing.  I threw a head of garlic in the oven to roast, cooked the fusilli noodles, sliced up some Italian bread and dinner was ready.

Yum.

This soup was really good.  Very flavorful, with just a little kick from the tabasco sauce.  And Daphne ate a whole bowl, declaring that "next to Daddy's Famous Chicken Noodle Soup, this is the best soup I've ever had."  She said she can't wait to have it again.  Plus, it's just as much fun to say as it is to eat!  PAH-stah fah-JO-lee!

You know what I'm thinking, don't you?  I don't even need to say it.  But I'm gonna say it anyway:

If they cook it, they will eat it.  Almost every time. 

Thank you, Kev, for my slow cooker.  It has really changed mealtime at our house.  Daphne has 14 Star Wars points for trying new foods.  Fourteen new foods in less than a month is pretty much miraculous.  Six more and she gets to watch Star Wars.  Way to go, little Peanut.  And, we're having a lot of fun cooking together.  That makes me happy.

OK.  The original recipe, from A Year of Slow Cooking, is below.  I made a few changes, which I will tell you about at the end.  This recipe makes a LOT of soup.  I froze some, and there is probably still enough left in the fridge for at least two meals.

Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli

-1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
--1/2 large red onion, chopped
--1 cup carrots, chopped
--2 celery stalks, sliced
--2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice)
--1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
--1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
--4 cups beef broth (check label for gluten!)
--1 jar (26-ounce) pasta sauce
--2 tsp oregano
--1 T Tabasco sauce
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time 

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart or larger crockpot, or cut the recipe in half. This makes a lot.

Brown the meat on the stovetop, and drain well. Let it cool a bit.

Chop up the carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crockpot.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and Tobasco sauce. Stir in your meat.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.

Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.

Serve with a bit of parmesan cheese if you have it.

 My Adaptations:

• I used a whole sweet onion instead of half a red onion
• I used 2 cans of tomato sauce because I don't like diced tomatoes
• I didn't have a big jar of pasta sauce so I used most of a small jar of Trader Joe's pizza sauce that I had in the fridge and needed to use up
• When I browned the meat, I salted it and added oregano.  When it was almost done, I added some minced garlic and cooked it another minute or two
• I didn't add the pasta to the crock pot because I was worried it might get mushy.  I cooked it on the stove to al dente, and added it to the soup at the very end.  I cooked a whole box, and probably added half of it to the soup.

Tuesday Soup

 Do you like cheese?  How about beer?  Bacon?  If the answers are yes, this might be the soup for you.

During our Christmas trip to New York, we went to dinner at the Hyde Park Brewing Company.  It was really cold out, and I wasn't hungry enough for a giant entree, so I ordered their Cheddar Lager Soup.  And it was GOOD.  I've tried making beer cheese soup at home before, but it was sort of mediocre.  But the soup at the brewery was so good I decided to try again.

I searched through tons of recipes on the internet before I finally settled on one from Williams Sonoma.  Williams Sonoma never lets me down.  I gathered the ingredients (above) and got to work.  Here are my onions, carrots and celery (which years of watching Emeril have taught me is called a "mirepoix") simmering away in some bacon fat:

That's right.  Bacon fat.  Bacon makes everything better.

I followed the recipe exactly.  Finally, it was the moment of truth: Taste-Test Time.  So I scooped up a spoonful and gave it a try.  Hmmm.  It was good, but something was missing.  It definitely needed salt, so I added salt and tasted again.  Better, but it still needed something.

This is usually when I call Kev to the kitchen to taste things and tell me what's missing.  Only Kev was still at work.  I was on my own.

I had to use The Force.

Me plus The Force has often led to things going horribly wrong.  But not this time.  Because this time, I guessed right and threw in a pinch of cayenne and some liquid smoke:

Yep.  That's just what it needed.  The Force was strong with me last night.

A warning about liquid smoke (which you can find at most grocery stores near the ketchup and stuff):  Use it very sparingly, and use it BEFORE you adjust the salt, because it is pretty salty on its own.  I put in just 3 or 4 drops last night, and it really kicked up the flavor of the soup, but made it a little on the salty side overall because I had already added salt.

Daphne helped make this soup and she enjoyed doing it.  But at our house, the If They Cook It, They Will Eat It rule does not apply to things made with melty cheese.  Melty cheese is Daphne's Kryptonite.  I don't know how it is possible for any child of mine to be against melty cheese, but it seems to be the case, at least for now.  Needless to say, Daphne didn't eat the soup.  And I have to learn to be OK with that.

We served it in warm bowls (as the recipe suggested) with bacon and homemade croutons (above).  And a salad, because no matter how I try to spin it (Oh!  There are carrots in there!), this soup is pretty bad for you.  Beer, cheese, and bacon, you know.  Delicious, but not exactly health food.

You should know that while this soup isn't difficult to make, it does take time.  This isn't a quick weeknight meal.  But there are lots of left-overs, especially since Daphne wouldn't eat it, so we'll get a couple more meals out of it.  Left-overs are good.

The original recipe is below.  Don't forget to try adding the liquid smoke (or whatever else you think it needs) if you want a little more flavor.

Williams Sonoma Cheddar Ale Soup:

Ingredients:

• 4 thick-cut bacon slices, cut into 3-inch strips
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup pale ale
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Toasted croutons for garnish
• Olio novello for drizzling

Directions:

In a 4 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Discard all but 2 Tbs. of the fat in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Add the onion, carrots and celery, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ale and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Worcestershire, milk and broth, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.

Set the pot over medium-low heat and add the cheese by the handful, stirring constantly; do not allow the soup to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish with croutons and the bacon and drizzle with olio novello. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Family Cooking Time

New Year's Day Dinner Menu:

Salad (baby romaine, dried cranberries, toasted pumpkim seeds, and breaded warm goat cheese rounds with Wegman's Raspberry vinaigrette)

America's Test Kitchen Cold-Start "Easier French Fries"

Pumpkin Coconut Soup

New Year's Day dinner was extra good because it was a team effort.  We even put Daphne to work.  She tossed the salad and set the table.  Kev was in charge of the experimental fries, and I made the pumpkin soup and breaded goat cheese.

Let me tell you about these fries.  My friend Emily told me about them when she came to visit last summer, and sent me the recipe when she got back to Texas.  I was suspicious.  You start the fries in cold (room temp) oil, bring the temp up to boiling, and just let them cook with no stirring for 15 minutes.  Then, you stir them gently and cook them for another 5-10 minutes, and you end up with perfect crunchy-on-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside french fries.  Yum.  We served them with warmed-up Patak's Korma curry sauce that I found in a jar at Wegman's.  It was good, spicy and sweet and went nicely with the fries.  So, thanks to Emily for the great recipe and to America's Test Kitchen for experimenting with fries and coming up with this.  So easy.

Kev's Spam apron was a gift from my friend Whitney.  Awesome, huh?

We recently went to a dinner party and my friend Jen made some great pumpkin soup.  She was nice enough to send me the recipe, so we decided to try it for New Year's Day dinner.  This was another very simple recipe, and the results were great.  I followed the recipe exactly, and the soup was good, but seemed to need something.  I added more lime juice, which helped a little, and then Kev swooped in with some cinnamon and nutmeg, which really made it great.  We drizzled on a little cream and served it with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Daphne was eager to try the soup, and she tried really hard to like it, but she just didn't.  That's OK, though.  At least she tried it without a battle.  She loved the fries and ate up all her salad.  It was a good meal.  And meals are always better (more pleasant) when Daphne is involved in the planning and execution.  Wait until I tell you about the chili!  But that's another story.  Recipes below.  Seriously, those fries are pretty amazing for how easy they are.  Let me know if you make 'em.

Pumpkin Coconut Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil 
• 1 onion, chopped (1 cup) 
• 2 carrots, chopped (1 cup) 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth, divided 
• 2 (15-ounce) cans unsweetened pumpkin 
• 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons lime juice 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar 
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 
• Garnishes: drizzle of whipping cream or crème frâiche, toasted coconut, lime zest curls

1. 1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add onion and carrot, and cook, stirring frequently, 5 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir in garlic, and cook 30 seconds. Add 1 can of chicken broth; bring to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes.
2. 2. Transfer mixture to a blender, and puree until smooth. Return mixture to Dutch oven, and add pumpkin, coconut milk, and remaining can of chicken broth, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; stir in lime juice and next 3 ingredients. Garnish, if desired.
3. Note: Pumpkin Coconut Soup can be made the day before. Pour into a screw-top container, and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to hit the road.

Jackie Mills, MyRecipes
NOVEMBER 2004

(Note:  We added cinnamon and nutmeg to taste)

ATK Easier French Fries 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes (You MUST use Yukon gold in this recipe for it to work - not russets) scrubbed, dried, sides squared off, and cut length-wise into 1/4 x 1/4 inch batons.

6 cups peanut oil

Kosher salt

1. Combine potatoes and oil in a large dutch oven.  Cook over high heat until oil has reached rolling boil.  Continue to cook, without stirring, until potatoes are limp but exteriors are beginning to firm, about 15 min.

2. Using tongs, stir potatoes, gently scraping any that stick, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp (5-10 min).  Using skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer fries to thick paper bag or paper towels, season with salt (right away! while they're vulnerable! - from Emeril) and serve immediately.

If you are registered with ATK/Cook's Illustrated on line, you can read about this method (and the science behind it) in more detail if you look it up.  There is even a video.  But trust me.  It works.

Breaded goat cheese rounds

 

Goat cheese log (I like the honey goat cheese from Wegman's or Trader Joe's)

Panko  (Japanese bread crumbs)

One egg white, beaten with a little splash of water 

1. Cut the goat cheese into rounds about 1/4" thick. (Dental floss works nicely for this)

2. Dip the rounds in the egg white to coat, then dredge in the panko.  Refrigerate until you're ready to cook them.  (It works better if they've been in the fridge for at least 15 minutes)

3. Heat a very small amount of olive oil in a nonstick skillet (I usually wipe it around the skillet with a paper towel just to lightly coat the bottom), and cook the goat cheese on both sides until it's as golden and crispy as you want it.  Put it on your salad of choice.

This makes pretty much any salad more fun to eat. Unless you are Daphne and hate melty cheese.