RSS Feed

Tag Archives: Food

Boiled Irish Dinner and Irish Soda Bread

Posted on March 15, 2011 by amydeline

We’re just days away from St. Patrick’s Day now! Our green clothing has been starched and ironed and my iPod is loaded with my favorite bagpipe tunes. Ok… so, I admit there are no bagpipe tunes on my iPod and I’ve never actually starched a shirt. But, we are ready for our day o’ green! Everyone’s Irish on St. Patty’s Day, so polish your step-dancing shoes, tuck a shamrock behind your ear, and celebrate in Irish style!

When it comes to selecting an Irish meal for St. Patty’s Day, it doesn’t get any more traditional than a boiled corned beef and cabbage dinner. Corned beef seems to be one of those divisive meals. People tend to fall into one of two corned beef camps; the lovers and the haters. You can call me president of the club for corned beef lovers! I love it prepared as a classic corned beef and cabbage meal and I love every possible incarnation of corned beef leftovers that follows.

Over the years, I’ve prepared corned beef in a number of different ways. I’ve tried the slow-cooker method. I’ve baked it. I’ve braised it. I love it no matter how you prepare it, but in my stubborn Irish opinion, I firmly believe that boiled is best. On top of producing an incredibly tender brisket, the added bonus is that it couldn’t be any simpler to prepare. It’s a full meal, boiled in a pot.

Enjoy your boiled Irish dinner with a fresh slice of Irish soda bread and a tall glass of your favorite Irish libation. Have one for me while you’re at it!

Boiled Irish Dinner

Corned Beef with Cabbage, Potatoes, and Carrots

Ingredients

  • 1 Corned Beef Brisket
  • Carrots, peeled and chopped (or substitute baby carrots)
  • Red potatoes, chopped
  • 1 head of cabbage, cut into wedges

Directions

Place the corned beef brisket in a large pot. Sprinkle with the packet of seasoning included with the brisket. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the brisket. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3-4 hours, until fork tender. Add the cut potatoes and carrots to the pot during the last 20 minutes of cooking time and the cabbage during the last 15 minutes. Remove the corned beef from the water and cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting against the grain. Remove the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots to serve on the side.

Corned Beef Tip #1 – Remove excess exterior fat before slicing and serving for a more appetizing presentation.

Corned Beef Tip #2 – Your tender corned beef is likely to fall apart while you slice it. This works fine when served as a corned beef dinner, but if you’d prefer to thinly slice the brisket for sandwiches, allow the corned beef to cool in the refrigerator before slicing and reheating. Cooled corned beef slices easier than hot corned beef.

Irish soda bread makes the perfect accompaniment to a boiled Irish dinner. Soda bread is in the family of breads known as quick breads. It’s a no-yeast-required bread, which gets its rise from the reaction between baking soda and acidic buttermilk. It can be prepared with or without caraway seeds, raisins, or other dried fruits. My personal preference is seed-free, but loaded with raisins, served slightly warm with a generous smear of butter.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

  • 4 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 6 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/2″ chunks
  • 1 cup raisins (optional)
  • 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter. Stir in the raisins. Stir in the buttermilk and egg until a sticky dough begins to form. Once the dough becomes too thick to stir, use your hands to knead the dough until well blended. If the dough is still too sticky to handle, add up to 1/4 cup additional flour. Form the dough into a round loaf and place on the prepared baking sheet. Use a knife to cut an ‘X’ in the top of the loaf. Bake for about an hour, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Serve warm or at room temperature with butter.

*Recipe adapted from a combination and modification of the Food Network Irish Soda Bread recipes found here and here.

8 Comments

Posted in Baking, Beef, Breads, Food, Main Course, Potato, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetable and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Happy Pi Day!

Posted on March 14, 2011 by amydeline

Any fellow math geeks out there?

Happy Pi Day! That’s right…it’s March 14, a day to recognize that special number, 3.14! And what better way could there be to honor this significant number than with a nice slice of homemade pie??

So, pull out those circular pie pans, take your pick from one of the links below, and let’s celebrate Pi!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Coconut Pie

Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Pie

Chocolate Eggnog Pudding Pie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Grasshopper Pie

Not only is today Pi Day; it’s also Kids Cook Monday! Now, my little guys are not quite ready to tackle the mathematical concepts of radius, pi, circumference, and area. But, we can take a few baby steps in that direction by identifying circles in the kitchen and doing a bit of hands on measuring with our circular pies.

Looking to get older kids involved in the kitchen? Take this opportunity for a bit of tasty math practice. Measure the diameter of those pies, determine the radius, and then put that pi to work while calculating the circumference and area of your pie! Then, as a reward for all of that challenging math work, treat yourselves to a well-deserved slice of pie!

Wishing you all a very tasty Pi Day!

P.S. The Gourmand Mom is now on Facebook! Check it out!

3 Comments

Posted in Baking, Cooking with Kids, Desserts, Food, Recipes and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

St. Patty’s Day Grasshopper Pie

Posted on March 13, 2011 by amydeline

Saint Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and boy are we excited!

I couldn’t be more proud of my Irish heritage. As a child, I remember interrogating my young classmates about their Kiss Me, I’m Irish pins, demanding to know if they were really Irish and then triumphantly proclaiming that I, in fact, was really Irish. Top that, second grader!

The existence of a holiday devoted to celebrating all things Irish has surely contributed to my bloated sense of Irish pride. I may be somewhat delusional, but I have a sneaking suspicion that all people wish they were at least a little Irish. My husband, who can not count Ireland amongst his countries of origin, tries to argue that he must be Irish, since he has Irish children. His persistence about inheriting an Irish background from our children, is further proof of my theory that all people wish they were Irish…at least on St. Patty’s Day!

We’ve got a few yummy things lined up for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration. There will be corned beef and cabbage, of course, with boiled potatoes and carrots. The kids and I will also be baking fresh Irish soda bread with raisins, which we’ll lather with Irish butter. And for dessert, we’re having perfectly minty Grasshopper Pie! We’ll start with a chocolate cookie crust, which we’ll fill with a rich layer of dark chocolate peppermint pudding. Bright green whipped cream and crushed Grasshopper cookies will add the finishing touches.

Grasshopper Pie

Ingredients

  • 1 chocolate cookie pie crust
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 Tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 2 cups whipped cream or Cool Whip
  • Green food coloring
  • 5-6 Grasshopper or Thin Mint cookies, crushed

Directions

In a saucepan, mix together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt. Whisk in 1 cup of milk, stirring until combined. Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of cream. Continue whisking over medium heat until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes. Whisking constantly, continue cooking for another minute or two. Be careful to whisk into the corners and along the sides of the pan. Remove from heat. Whisk in the chocolate chips and peppermint extract, stirring until fully melted. Pour the pudding into the pie shell. Refrigerate until cooled completely. Add a few drops of green food coloring to the whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream over the cooled pudding. Garnish with crushed cookies.

8 Comments

Posted in Baking, Chocolate, Desserts, Food, Recipes and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Fishcake Friday

Posted on March 11, 2011 by amydeline

During this time of year, when many people choose to abstain from meat on Fridays, pizzerias and fish fry shops revel in the boost in business. You can often tell it’s Lent simply by counting the number of billboards advertising the best fish fry special in town. Suddenly, every restaurant’s specialty is fried haddock.

For my family, Fridays during Lent usually meant one of four things; pizza, fish sticks, my Daddo’s tuna burgers, or fishcakes. Fish sticks have never been a favorite of mine and I didn’t really learn to appreciate pizza until my college days, when my upstate New York classmates taught me to dip it in bleu cheese dressing. For me, my Friday favorite was always a toss up between the tuna burgers and the fishcakes.

The fishcakes, which my dad prepared for us, came from a recipe passed down from my grandmother. As my dad explains it, this is a meal which was designed to stretch the food budget for a family of eight. One pound of salt-preserved cod is combined with mashed potatoes and a few simple seasonings to form a dozen delicious fish cakes! Served over a heaping pile of spaghetti, this budget-friendly recipe makes a hearty meal for a big family!

Salt cod, or baccalà, can usually be found near the seafood section of your grocery store. Try asking at the seafood counter if you don’t spot it!

Codfish Cakes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound salt cod (baccalà)
  • 4-5 potatoes, chopped*
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 Tablespoon parsley
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • Additional salt, if desired
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • Shortening or Vegetable Oil

*You can adjust the quantity of potatoes based on how fishy you prefer your cakes.

Directions

Soak the salt cod in cold water (refrigerated) for 6 -24 hours. Change the water once, about halfway through. (The longer the fish soaks, the less salty it will be.) Gently simmer the fish for 10-15 minutes. Remove the fish from the water and set aside to cool. Save the water. Add the potatoes to the hot fish water. Boil until fork tender. Strain and mash the potatoes with the butter. Flake the fish, while carefully checking for bones, and add to the mashed potatoes. Add the onion, parsley, black pepper, paprika, and additional salt (if desired). Knead the mixture until well combined. Form the mixture in large 2-3″ balls, then flatten into thick patties. Coat both sides with flour. Heat shortening or vegetable oil* over medium heat. Cook the patties in the oil for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Serve over spaghetti with tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes.

*My grandma says it should be shortening, but I admit to using vegetable oil. Shhh…don’t tell my grandma!

Makes 10-12 Fish Cakes


4 Comments

Posted in Food, Main Course, Potato, Recipes, Seafood and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Pork with Pork, Pork, and Pork

Posted on March 8, 2011 by amydeline

Happy Fat Tuesday! Put those Lenten resolutions of abstinence and chocolate deprivation on hold for one more day. Tomorrow, we fast. Today, we feast!

Recently, during a particularly lucid early-morning shower brainstorm, I developed a recipe which is either my most genius creation or proof that I’ve completely gone insane; pork stuffed with pork and pork, wrapped in pork. I’m calling it The Whole Hog. We’ll start with boneless pork chops, then stuff them with a sweet and savory filling made from bacon and sausage, and wrap them in prosciutto for the final touch. This is a dish to send the three little pigs running for the hills.

In honor of Fat Tuesday, I proudly present you with The Whole Hog: Pork with Pork, Pork, and Pork.

Genius or insane? You decide.

The Whole Hog

Bacon, Sausage, and Apple stuffed Pork Chops wrapped in Prosciutto

Ingredients

  • 2 boneless pork chops, trimmed of fat
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 4-5 slices applewood-smoked bacon, chopped*
  • 4-5 breakfast sausages, removed from casings**
  • 1 granny smith apple, diced
  • 1/2 cup panko crumbs
  • 4 slices prosciutto
  • Salt and pepper

* Regular bacon can be substituted

**Use an apple flavored sausage, if available

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and sausage. Cook until bacon begins to crisp and sausage is fully cooked. Use the side of a spoon to break up the sausage as it cooks. Add the apple and cook for a few minutes longer, until softened. Add the panko and stir until the panko crumbs absorb the excess fat and pan juices. Season the stuffing with salt and pepper, as desired.

Split each pork chop almost all the way through, to create a pocket for the stuffing. Generously stuff each pork chop with the bacon and sausage mixture. Scatter any extra stuffing on the bottom of a baking dish. Place the pork chops on top of the extra stuffing. Season the outside of the pork chops with salt and pepper. Wrap each pork chop with prosciutto. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until fully cooked.

Serves 2

4 Comments

Posted in Food, Main Course, Pork, Recipes and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

The Kids Cook Monday – Chocolate Coconut King Cake

Posted on March 7, 2011 by amydeline

I’ve always felt a strong pull towards the city of New Orleans, as if in some long-forgotten past life, it were my home. The most likely explanation for this feeling comes from reading way too many Anne Rice novels during an impressionable period of my youth. I dreamed of the vampire Lestat in the way which girls today dream of  the infamous Edward. I so clearly imagined myself in Rice’s stories, that I began to believe I had a history with New Orleans. Whatever the case may be, the city calls to me. I’ve yet to visit New Orleans, but it’s high on my list.

In another time and place, I would have surely planned my New Orleans trip to correspond with the uproarious celebrations of Mardi Gras. But at this point in my life, as I sit here expecting my third child, I’d almost certainly plan my trip for any time of year except Mardi Gras. I’m just not sure there’s enough wild youth left in me to handle Mardi Gras. These days, I’d be much more inclined to find a dimly lit bar and sit back with a few drinks, listening to live jazz until the wee hours of the morn.

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is traditionally celebrated on the day before Ash Wednesday; a sort of last hurrah before buckling down for Lenten preparations. Tomorrow, as I’m comfortably nestled on my couch, watching American Idol and eating Easter candy, the city of New Orleans will be buzzing with the grand excitement of Mardi Gras; parades, beads, music and wild partying.  It’s a time to celebrate, indulge, and let the good times roll!

If you were composing a list of foods associated with Mardi Gras, King Cake would surely top the list. King cakes have a long history as part of the Mardi Gras tradition in New Orleans. They are typically made from a ring of lightly-sweetened bread, similar to a brioche, which is then drizzled with a sweet glaze and decorated in the customary Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold. Part of the king cake tradition involves placing a small plastic baby, said to represent the baby Jesus, into the cake. Other items, such as dried beans or nuts are often used as a substitute for the baby. The party guest to find the ‘baby’ is deemed the king.

Holidays make fantastic opportunities for getting kids involved in the kitchen. As with all cooking activities, young children develop early-learning skills in multiple areas. But when the cooking activity relates to a special holiday, it also becomes an opportunity to create a memorable experience which helps kids to connect with their newly learned knowledge of customs and traditions. Experiences like these create memories and help to develop curious lifelong learners.

As part of our Kids Cook Mondays series, my little helpers joined me in making a traditional king cake with a twist. We started with a basic king cake recipe, courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, the culinary king of New Orleans. Then, as Emeril would say, we kicked it up a notch, with a double filling of coconut cream cheese and chocolate. The kids helped to measure, mix, stir, and knead. As we worked, we talked about Mardi Gras and its relevance to Lent and our upcoming Easter preparations. We chatted about the history of king cakes and the tradition of the plastic baby in the cake. Then, once the cake was complete, we eagerly plunged our forks into the sweet slices of cake, curious to discover who would become our king for the day.

Chocolate Coconut King Cake
Adapted from Emeril’s King Cake


Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 1/2 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 packets dry active yeast
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon lemon peel
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup warm milk (105-115 degrees)
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

For the Fillings:

  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/8 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup shredded coconut

For the Icing:

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Water (a few spoonfuls)
  • Colored sugars (green, purple, and gold)

Directions

Combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Stir until dissolved. Set aside for about 10 minutes. It will begin to bubble up, indicating that the yeast has been activated.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and lemon peel. Gradually stir in the egg yolks, milk, and melted butter. Stir in the yeast mixture until well-blended. If the dough becomes too thick to stir, knead the ingredients together with your hands. If the dough is too sticky to handle, add additional flour until it becomes more manageable.

Coat a large bowl with a bit of vegetable oil or melted butter. Place the dough into the prepared bowl and turn once or twice so that the top of the dough is lightly coated with oil. Cover with a towel and let the dough sit for about 1 1/2 hours.

Prepare the coconut filling by stirring together the softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and coconut. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Once the dough has rested and risen for 1 1/2 hours, split the dough in half. Roll each half into a log, about 30 inches long. Flatten each log into a long rectangle. Sprinkle the chocolate chips along the center of one of the rectangles. Spread the coconut mixture along the center of the other rectangle. Fold the rectangles in half along the long sides and pinch closed. Form into rounded logs. Twist the two logs together. Then, arrange the twisted logs into a circle and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover with a towel and allow to rest for 45 minutes. Then, bake for 30 minutes.

To prepare the icing, combine the powdered sugar and vanilla with just enough water to form a pourable glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the warm cake. Sprinkle with colored sugars.

Prior to serving, insert a nut or dried bean into the bottom of the cake. The guest to find the nut in their piece of cake is deemed king!

King of the Mardi Gras!

5 Comments

Posted in Baking, Breads, Cakes, Chocolate, Cooking with Kids, Desserts, Food, Fruit, Recipes and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Chicken with Prosciutto, Brie, and Figs

Posted on March 5, 2011 by amydeline

Some things just go together, like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, wine and cheese, family and laughter, children and…messes, bodily fluids, and noise. And some ingredients seem to beckon for others; peas and carrots, chocolate and peanut butter, mashed potatoes and gravy, Buffalo wings and bleu cheese dressing.

I spend my time dreaming up new ways of combining my favorite flavor friends…turning chicken wings into a lasagna or steak dinners into pizzas or pizzas into salads.

Lately, one of my favorite combinations has been calling to me; prosciutto with brie and figs; a perfect blend of savory, sweet, and creamy.  I’ve married these flavors in warm cheese tartlettes and tasty thin-crust pizzas. I’ve earmarked the combination for a unique twist on a creamy macaroni and cheese. And for now, I’m going to roll them inside a chicken breast and call it dinner!

Chicken with Prosciutto, Brie, and Figs

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4-5 slices prosciutto
  • 8-ounce wedge brie, sliced
  • 1/2 cup dried figs, sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • Olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pound the chicken breasts down to between 1/4″ and 1/2″ thickness. Line the chicken breast with slices of prosciutto. Top the prosciutto with pieces of brie and the sliced figs. Tightly roll the chicken, tucking the ends in. Secure with toothpicks, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Dip the rolled chicken into the beaten eggs, then roll the chicken in the panko, until well coated. Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Place the chicken in the pan, seam-side down and cook for a minute or two on each side, until golden brown. Place the chicken in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, until completely cooked through.

5 Comments

Posted in Cheese, Food, Fruit, Main Course, Pork, Poultry, Recipes and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

In Like a Lamb Shepherd’s Pie

Posted on March 2, 2011 by amydeline

They say that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. This year, March came in like a lamb…a very chilly lamb, but a lamb all the same. The thermometer may have registered a cool 23 degrees and the ground is still covered in white, but the sun was shining and the air was calm; a rare occurrence ’round here during the winter. I sense that spring is just around the corner. But that might just be wishful thinking!

In honor of our lamb of a first day of March, it seemed appropriate to make a nice shepherd’s pie for dinner; a perfect comfort meal for a sunny, late winter day. Traditionally, shepherd’s pie is made by layering ground lamb, in a seasoned sauce, with vegetables and a layer of mashed potatoes; a well-balanced meal in a baking dish! This Irish-inspired dish makes a perfect one-dish meal any night of the week or would make a fantastic substitute for corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day!

Many variations of shepherd’s pie call for ground beef as a substitute for lamb. Technically, that wouldn’t be a shepherd’s pie at all, but rather a cottage pie. Shepherd’s herd sheep; not cattle. And shepherd’s pie is made with lamb; not beef. If your grocery store does not regularly carry ground lamb, you have a few options. First, try asking at the butcher counter to see if they would grind a lamb shoulder for you. Many accommodating butchers would be happy to do this for you. If you’ve got a KitchenAid mixer with a food grinder attachment, another alternative is to grind your own lamb. Finally, I’ve read that you can grind meat by pulsing it in a standard food processor, though I’ve never actually tried this particular strategy. If all else fails, substitute ground beef and call it cottage pie instead! It will still be delicious!

Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup carrots, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup onions, finely diced
  • 1 pound ground lamb
  • 3 Tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more, if desired)
  • Pepper
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas, warmed
  • 3/4 cup frozen corn, warmed
  • 2 cups creamy mashed potatoes*
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Additional cheddar cheese and parsley, for garnish

*Prepared using your favorite mashed potatoes recipe or boil 4-5 Russet potatoes until fork-tender. Blend with butter and milk until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add carrots and onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the ground lamb. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until fully cooked. Sprinkle the flour over the meat. Stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer. Cook for about 2 minutes, until a sauce thickens around the meat. Season with salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, combine the mashed potatoes with the cheddar cheese.

To assemble the pie, spread the meat and sauce into a baking dish. Top with a layer of peas and corn. Spread a layer of mashed potatoes on the top. Garnish with a sprinkle of cheddar and fresh parsley. Bake for about 15 minutes, until it bubbles around the edges and the top is lightly browned.

9 Comments

Posted in Cheese, Food, Lamb, Main Course, Potato, Recipes, Vegetable and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Just What the Doctor Ordered – Chicken with Matzoh Ball Soup

Posted on February 25, 2011 by amydeline

This has been a rough winter for my family in the general health department. I blame it on my three year old starting nursery school. Up until this year, my family has been in our own personal germ bubble. The kids stay at home with me and my husband works in an office by himself. Our biggest exposure to germs occurred sitting at the doctor’s office for well-visits. But now, with my little guy in school, we’re exposed to the full spectrum of winter viruses. We’ve become regulars at the pediatrician and it seems like one of us is always on antibiotics for some condition or another. Even our labrosaurus rex has endured a winter full of vet visits and internist appointments! Add that to the ever-accelerating schedule of my normal third trimester prenatal appointments and I’m pretty sure my family is solely supporting the medical community of the Central New York area. You’re welcome doctors, nurses, and midwives.

This week, we’re in the midst of dealing with another virus, which has knocked each of down in succession like a family of dominoes; first one kid, then the next, then myself, and then my husband. Three out of the four of us are still wrapped in blankets and using tissues like they’re going out of style. The contractor, who’s currently remodeling our bathroom, hasn’t removed his face mask in days and it’s got nothing to do with drywall dust!

When all the medicine in the medicine cabinet fails to heal what ails you, there’s only one thing left to try; homemade chicken soup! A few months ago, I shared my step by step guide for preparing a delicious, flavorful chicken soup from a leftover chicken carcass. The process is the same, even if you’re starting with a whole, raw chicken.

  • Throw the chicken in the pot with a bunch of rough chopped vegetables. Use whatever you’ve got on hand; celery, carrots, garlic, onion, shallots, parsley, etc.
  • Cover the chicken and veggies with water.
  • Bring to a boil. Simmer, partially covered, for 3-4 hours.
  • Strain the broth into a pot and set the chicken aside to cool. Discard the veggies.
  • Simmer the broth uncovered, if desired, to reduce the liquid and produce a stronger flavored broth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  • When the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull apart all of the meat and throw it in the broth.
  • Add the veggies of your choice to the broth. (I used sliced carrots and leeks.) Simmer, just until the veggies are tender.
  • Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, as desired.

Voila! Chicken Soup!

**Click here to see the full step-by-step guide to making chicken soup.


Typically, I serve my chicken soup over cooked orzo pasta. Other noodles, pasta, or rice work well too. I recommend keeping your pasta or rice separate from the soup. Otherwise, it will absorb the broth, leaving you with undesirable, mushy pasta or rice.

Another alternative to accompany your chicken soup are matzoh balls. To be honest, I have very minimal experience with matzoh balls. It is not something which my family ate often, if ever at all. I’ve ordered a bowl of matzoh ball soup from a deli at one point or another, but I honestly can’t recall the exact taste or texture of the balls. That being said, I’m clearly no expert in matzoh ball making, but I’m always up for a culinary adventure.

From what I gather, there are two schools of thought regarding the preferred matzoh ball texture; sinkers and floaters. Sinkers are more dense and require the edge of a fork to cut apart, whereas the floaters are lighter and more likely to fall apart on their own in your soup. As a matzoh ball novice, I have no strong personal preference. I pulled a few of the best sounding ideas from a variety of matzoh ball sources to develop my very own matzoh ball recipe. The result is a flavorful and tender ball, probably more in line with the sinker variety. Works for me!

Matzoh Balls for Chicken Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 cup matzoh meal
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Combine the matzoh meal with the salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the vegetable oil until smooth. Set aside. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Then, fold the egg mixture into the matzoh meal, just until combined. Do not over mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes – 1 hour, until the mixture is firm. Form the mixture into 1 – 1 1/2″ balls. Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Carefully drop each ball into the water. Once the balls have risen to the surface, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not open the lid as it simmers.* Once cooked, remove the matzoh balls from the liquid with a slotted spoon. You can add the balls immediately to your soup or store separately and reheat with the soup, as desired.

*I’m not completely clear on why you’re not supposed to open the lid, but it seems to be common matzoh making advice, so I think we best obey!

Enjoy and stay well, my friends!

6 Comments

Posted in Food, Main Course, Poultry, Recipes, Vegetable and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

The Kids Cook Monday – White Garlic Shrimp Pizza

Posted on February 21, 2011 by amydeline
Don’t get me wrong…I love a traditional slice of saucy, cheesy pizza as much as the next person (preferably dipped in a bit of bleu cheese dressing). But there’s something about a slice of white garlic pizza which makes my taste buds do a little happy dance. And last week, my happy-dancing taste buds decided that a homemade white garlic pizza, with a generous topping of tiny shrimp, was exactly what we needed.
Truth be told, I made this pizza twice last week. I had initially planned to post the recipe on Friday, but my first take on the pizza was less than ideal. It was garlicky and delicious, but the proportions of sauce and cheese to the dough were off kilter. On top of being too heavily sauced, the ricotta layer cooked up into a bit of a mess. I figured that all it needed was a little reduction on the toppings and a touch of egg white to bind the ricotta. I was about to post the recipe with my theorized improvements, but made a last minute decision to run another test. There were no complaints in our household about having this pizza twice in the same week! The second run-through was a definite winner!
As part of our Kids Cook Monday series, I invited my little helpers into the kitchen. Pizza making is ripe with opportunities for young children to get involved. Stretching dough, spreading sauces, arranging toppings, and scattering cheese are ideal tasks for little hands. Kids benefit in a number of ways while cooking. They develop math skills while measuring, fine motor skills while spreading and arranging pizza toppings, health and safety skills while washing up before cooking, and language skills while following directions. But, in my opinion, there’s no bigger reward than the proud smiles on their little faces as our family sits down to enjoy the meal they had a hand in creating.
White Garlic Shrimp Pizza
Ingredients
  • 1 large pizza shell or pizza dough, prepared or homemade*
  • 2 cups salad shrimp, cooked
  • 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

For the Ricotta Layer

  • 3/4 cup Ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

For the Garlic Sauce

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 Tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons flour
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup Asiago or Parmesan cheese, shredded
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Ground black pepper

*Click here to see my post on making homemade pizza dough.

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If using pizza dough, stretch the dough into a large round and arrange on a pizza stone or large baking sheet, lightly greased with olive oil.

Prepare the ricotta by combining the ricotta, egg white, garlic, parsley, and salt.

Prepare the garlic sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic to the butter. Cook for about two minutes. Add the flour to the mixture and stir. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, until the milk begins to thicken. Turn down the heat. Add the cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

To assemble the pizza, spread a thin, even layer of the ricotta mixture over the pizza dough. Then, spread a thin, even layer of the garlic sauce over the ricotta. Scatter the salad shrimp over the sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and parsley. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Leave a comment

Posted in Cheese, Food, Main Course, Recipes, Sauces, Seafood and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →
Look, Feel, Live Beautiful

Beauty Awaits

The Gourmand Mom

Good food, seasoned with a dash of life