I have a confession to make.  I am a soup-a-holic.  I could eat soup every single day.  And the best thing about soup is that you can make it out of pretty much anything you have on hand.  I had some left-over enchilada sauce I had made, some fresh salsa and chicken thighs.  Then I threw in celery, carrots, tortilla chips and cheese.  Voi la! Delicious Mexican inspired Chicken Tortilla soup. The fresh salsa makes this recipe and is super easy to make.

The salsa recipe I learned on a recent trip to Mexico.  It’s super simple and enhances everything from tacos to eggs.

Authentic Mexican Salsa
4 Roma tomatoes*
1 Jalepeno
1/4 white onion diced
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch cilantro
juice of a lemon or lime
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the tomatoes and jalapeno until soft (about 10 minutes).  This trick helps the salsa keep longer in the refrigerator.  Set aside to cool.

Place onion and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade.  Pulse until finely chopped.  Add tomatoes, lemon juice, jalapeno and cilantro.  Process until smooth.  Taste for salt and add according to your preference.

NEVER tell anyone how easy this is because they are all going to want your secret.  I make a batch and it’s gone in 24 hours.  A container of “fresh salsa” from the supermarket will languish for a week or longer, sometimes until it’s t thrown away.

**  I suggest Roma tomatoes because in Florida they are the most flavorful available.  Any red tomato with flavor will work fine.

I posted my recipe for salsa rojo (enchilada sauce) previously along with the recipe for Turkey Chilaquiles.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 bone-in chicken thighs skin removed
1/2 white onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
2 large carrots peeled and cut into large pieces (spoon sized)
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
salt and pepper for taste
tortilla chips, fresh salsa, cheese and lemon or lime wedges for garnish

Place chicken thighs in water and bring to a slow boil.  Cook for 30 minutes until done, remove to cool.  Taste the broth, If it isn’t rich enough you can add some chicken broth (which I did).    Add onion, garlic carrots, celery and enchilada sauce to the pot.  Allow to simmer while chicken cools, about 45 minutes.  Remove chicken from the bone, add to the pot and heat through.  Taste for salt and adjust seasoning (soups should be salted at the end of cooking to avoid over-salting as the liquid reduces.

Crush tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl, add soup and top with cheese, fresh salsa and a squeeze fresh lemon.

Simple, not too hot and perfect for a summer afternoon!

Hope you enjoy this!

So once again I’m cooking winter food and it’s in the 80′s in Florida … But it’s DECEMBER, cut a girl some slack!

My original plan was to make my Beef Daube, which is one of my most popular posts.  But, as I looked in the fridge there was a bottle of Stone Levitation Ale staring at me.  It’s a yummy caramel ale with strong flavor.  However, to be honest, it’s not my favorite drinking beer but it has a complex flavor and bold body that I knew would lend itself to stew.

Also, I had a heavy meeting load yesterday so my crock pot was my friend (not to mention it doesn’t heat up the kitchen).  It took me 16 minutes to get the stew going and I’ve put maybe 5 more minutes into it.  The house smells heavenly.

Recipe:

2 lbs stew meat (pre-cut, it’s not the best option, but it’s a lifesaver in a time crunch)
28 0z can diced tomatoes (use organic, they are better)
1 large potato peeled and cut into 1 inch dice
1 white onion quartered (I quarter rather than slice so they can be picked out but you get the flavor)
3 carrots peeled and cut in 1 inch pieces
8 0z cremini mushrooms
1 12 oz medium to dark beer
1 herb packet (fresh oregano, thyme, Italian Parsley, chives)
1/4 cup butter softened
1/4 cup flour

Put everything in the crock pot except the butter and flour and set on low for 6 – 7 hours.  Combine the butter and flour to create a beurre manie.  Add the buerre maine to the crock pot about one hour prior to serving and let it cook into the sauce.  Stir gently.

Enjoyed this with a Yummy Dogfish 60 Minute IPA

Perfect Turkey Stock

I have  a love-hate relationship with Thanksgiving.  I love to cook, I love to entertain and I love to eat.  Every year I look forward to Thanksgiving with high anticipation and every year by 4:00 on Thanksgiving day I’m in bed cuddled up with a bottle of wine and a bad attitude saying “I will NEVER EVER do this again!”

I typically start cooking on Tuesday and don’t stop until we sit down to eat.  My post gastric bypass sized stomach means I’m done eating in roughly 10 minutes (but there are leftovers!).  Then I get up and do dishes because guests shouldn’t.  I  usually miss the parade either because I’m cooking, or because my Dad arrives and declares that the addition of Broadway acts ruined the parade and immediately changes the channel.

This year my little condo is going to be home to 9 people and 2 dogs.  Typically we are 3 people and one dog.  There will be people (I love) everywhere and, I’m sure they are going to try to help.  That’s another post for another day, but I dread help.  I’m a very bad delegater and I’m a complete control freak.  Help me by making sure my wine glass is full and staying in the living room.

Anyway, this post is about to spiral into a full blown rant and rave which was not my intention.  My intention was to write about stock.  Michael Ruhlman is nearly religious about stock, and so am I.  I’m that way for two reasons, one, because it’s so much less expensive and two, because homemade stock is so much better.  You may not realize it but stock is the foundation of your meal.  It will determine the flavor of your stuffing, your mashed potatoes, your gravy, and maybe even some of your vegetable side dishes.  If you look at it this way you can see the negative impact bad or even mediocre stock will have on a dish.

I have some rules or declarations about stock:

1. Stock is NOT hard to make.  Stock IS time consuming.  They are not the same thing.
2. Stock should be simple.  Simple doesn’t mean flavorless, it meas simple.  Don’t over salt, don’t add strong spices.  Use aromatic vegetables, parsley, bones and meat.  You can add all the herbs you like and spices to whatever you make with the stock.  If you add the spices while making the stock you limit your cooking choices later.
3. Stock should be clear.

I know I’ve made a good stock when I absolutely can’t resist putting it in a coffee cup and having some.  Which technically means I’ve made broth.  (Broth is intended to be served, stock is intended to be the foundation of another dish).  This batch of stock was so good I had two cups with the brioche I made.

Last year I violated rule number 2.  I can’t remember which magazine I was reading, but all their recipes for stock had parsnips and lots of onion.  At the time I was not aware of the fact that I don’t like parsnips or that the recommended amount of onion was overpowering.  Further they suggested additional seasonings that that rendered the stock unpleasant in my opinion.  As a result last year I truly hated my gravy and stuffing.  As you can tell, I’m STILL pouting about it.

After that dismal result I spent a lot of time experimenting with stock.  I made it with more vegetables, more herbs I cooked it faster, lower.  I tried everything only to realize that I prefer the most simple stock flavorings: a couple carrots, a couple ribs of celery and my secret — leeks (rather than onions).  Lots of bones and low and slow cooking.

I made what amounted to a 1 1/2 gallons of stock for roughly $6.   We bought two packages of turkey wings — roughly 6 pounds for about $5.  I like using wings to make stock because the meat is cheap so if I don’t reuse it I don’t feel guilty and wings are bony — so there’s lots body to the stock.   I cut the wings into three pieces (at the joints) and distributed them in two pots.  I covered with cold water and brought them to a full boil.  This releases blood and impurities and prevents your stock from developing a scum.  Once the wings came to a boil I removed them from the pot, rinsed them and thoroughly rinsed the pots out.  (This is important, the bits clinging to the pot are not frond, they are the scum which will give your stock an off flavor).

Then I returned the wings to the pots and covered them with cold water added salt and put them over medium low heat (about 4 on my electric stove).

I put my remote thermometer in and set it to alert at 165 — my goal was to keep the water below 170.  I learned this from Michael Ruhlman’s “The Elements of Cooking.”  Boiling creates scum and introduces impurities that prevent the stock from being clear.  A little something interesting; both of the pots I used are the same size (7qt) both are Le Creuset but the oval shaped pot held more heat.

Notice — the vegetables are not in the pot yet.

After the stock had simmered for about 3 hours (I checked it often and used color not the clock as my guide.  I was looking to see body and a light gold color).  Now I was ready to add vegetables.  I used two leeks, 4 carrots and the heart of one stalk of celery as my vegetables.  Using a large saute pan and working in batches I caramelized the vegetables.  This added color and flavor.

I let the stock simmer about 30 minutes longer and removed the bones and vegetables.

I strained the stock twice using cheesecloth and did my best to skim the fat off.  After it cooled I refrigerated it and removed the rest of the fat then I transferred it to pint sized containers and froze it.

The photo at the top is my finished stock.  If you want to know more I highly recommend Michael Ruhlman “The Elements of Cooking.” Half the knowledge in this post was obtained through trial and error and the rest I learned from him.  This is truly my favorite batch of turkey stock ever.

Look out gravy here I come!

First and foremost before anyone thinks I have developed mad food photography skills, this picture is lifted — or borrowed from Williams Sonoma.  I feel fine about this because it links back to their Steak au Poivre Sauce.

Williams Sonoma has been offering free cooking classes every Sunday.  I went to a couple of them fully expecting to have them use these classes as an opportunity to sell their wares.  That was fine by me because I also went with the intention of picking up some stainless steel saute pans I’ve been coveting and they give you a discount for attending the class.  I did not however expect to buy any finished sauces or seasonings.  If you read my blog, you know I am passionately against sauce in a jar ….  I guess the old adage never say never applies here …

Tyler, Bill’s 17 year old is an avid fan of steak; all things beef really.  Tyler wanted to take the class so I thought I’d tag along and get my pans (you get a 10% discount on anything related to the class).  I chatted with the store manager while Tyler took notes.  I’m an accomplished cook! I didn’t think I had much to learn on a class that relied on sauce in a jar.  I did learn something; I learned that I had to get a jar of that sauce!

We all have our nights when we don’t want to cook — this is the perfect answer.  Rub this sauce (it’s really more of a marinade) on your steaks (we used NY Strips) and let them rest for at least a half hour.  Then either grill them outside or cook them on a smoking hot grill pan (it’s still so hot in Florida I went for the grill pan — but the smoke was more than I had anticipated so consider yourself warned).  I  pre-heated a cast iron grill pan (8 on my electric range) and cooked 3/4 inch thick NY strips about 6 minutes per side for a perfect medium rare.
Since I was cheating with the steaks, I made cream of mushroom soup from scratch.  This was incredibly worth it, but time consuming.  Over the weekend Bill took me to see Julie & Julia (I know, I don’ t like to rush into things).  I cried the entire movie — why I don’t know; but it made me cry!  The good news is that the tears lead to inspiration and I decided to tackle one of her recipes, Cream of mushroom soup.  Below is my version.  I’d never argue with Julia (or Julie) but the great thing about cooking in your kitchen is you adapt to your own tastes and based simply on the recipe this soup was not achieving it’s flavor potential.

Cream of Mushroom Soup (Click here for printable recipe)

6 Tbs butter separated
1/2 onion diced  (you are going to strain this out later so no points for neatness)
3 Tbs flour
About 1 1/2 quarts chicken stock (preferably homemade, but store bought will work, be careful with salt)
2 pounds mushrooms stemmed, caps sliced thin (I used cremini  and a few oyster but pick your favorite, keep stems separate from caps)
1/4 cup Marsala wine
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Over medium low heat cook onions in 3 Tbs butter until soft (less than 10 minutes).  Meanwhile bring stock to boil.  After onions are softened, stir in flour and cook for 3 – 4 minutes.  Off heat whisk boiling stock into onions, add mushroom stems and cook on a low simmer for about 20 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat remaining 3 Tbs butter over medium heat until it foams and then the foam subsides.  Add sliced mushroom caps and Marsala wine (this is my addition)  and season the mushrooms.  Put a lid on the pan and cook until soft, about 8 – 10 minutes.

Strain soup-base of stock, onion and mushroom caps. pressing to get all the juices.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the egg yolks and cream.  Slowly, by spoonfuls, whisk in hot soup base.  Don’t do this too fast or  your eggs will scramble instead of thickening the soup.  Once you have about half the mixture you should be fine to return it all to the saucepan.  Then add the mushroom caps and any liquids released by cooking to the soup base.  Return to medium low heat and cook for a few minutes to thicken.  Do not let it come to a simmer, you could still get scrambled eggs and to go through that at this point would be heartbreaking.

So, what did we drink with it you ask? The Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon that Bill and I love!  The picture below is a link to their website.

One other thought I want to leave you with!  I recently discovered the art of “White”  Really cool, funky art with attitude.  The image below will take you to his site.

Beef Daube

There are as many recipes for Boeuf Daube as there are for meatloaf.  This is comfort food at it’s best.  All the flavors meld together the meat melts in your mouth and the noodles absorb the sauce.   I looked at several French Cookbooks and took elements from many of them to create my version of Boeuf Daube.  I have to admit, I was originally inspired by the recipe in the Editor’s Letter from this month’s Cooking Light.  For the record — I promptly added bacon thereby eliminating any claims to “light” eating but making my taste buds EXTREMELY happy!  There were almost zero leftovers from this meal; which is a huge statement to how much it was enjoyed as I typically cook as if the entire neighborhood may stop by at any second.

One of my pet peeves with cooking channels is they never admit when things go wrong.  Well, when Whineaux’s play with fire, sometimes the results are amusing.  There’s a video at the end of the post with my out-take.  It’s rated “R” for explosions and language.  Grab a glass of wine and laugh at the girl trying to get on The Darwin Awards List.

Whineaux’s Boeuf Daube (Click for printable version)

2T vegetable oil (you can use olive oil but it has a low smoke point and strong flavor)
1 Diced onion
12 cloves crushed garlic
4 slices bacon (slicked thin)
1 (2 pound) roast cut into 1 – 2 inch cubes.
1/2 cup cognac or brandy
1 cup carrots (cut them into big chunks or they will fall apart, roughly 3 – 4 carrots)
2 T tomato paste
1 package sliced cremini mushrooms
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomoatoes
1 Cup red wine (I used Merlot)
bouquet garni – (1 sprig rosemary, 3 sprigs flat leaf parsely, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp marjoram wrapped in cheesecloth so they can easily be removed)

Preheat Oven to 300 degrees

In a large Dutch Oven over medium heat, saute the bacon until crispy, remove and set aside

Lower heat to medium low, add vegetable oil as needed and slowly saute the onion and garlic until soft, but not browned remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.

Increase heat to medium high.  Working in batches, brown the beef on all sides (about 5 minutes each)

Off the heat (especially if you are using a gas stove) add brandy or cognac to deglaze pan.  Scrape up any frond from the bottom  of the pan.  Use a long lighter to burn off the alcohol (make sure your hair is pulled up and your face is not directly over the pot, please see video for what not to do)  Add remaining ingredients, stir, put a lid on the pot and put it in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.

Traditionally this is served with mashed potatoes or egg noodles, rice or cous cous would also be tasty.

And now for the outtake:

Disclaimer:  No actual Whineauxs were injured during the making of this dish.

Ahh, fall is in the air and the hearty soups that go with it are back on the menu!  (you’d think I’m writing from Vermont, not Florida where it was 93 degrees yesterday!)

In our case, we have to lower the air conditioner to experience fall.  True, we miss out on the turning of the leaves and the crisp morning air;  but we don’t get the colds and runny noses that come with fall either.  And, our downtown throws a superb Oktoberfest during which copper-toned paper leaves fall from the sky and we enjoy beer and sausages wearing t-shirts and shorts.

I’ve been trying to get back to the Paris Bistro Cookbook project but frankly I’m stumped on the next Bistro because it’s going to be a challenge and I’m chicken!  So instead I made the most humble and wonderful of french soups.  I based my recipe on the one found in Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  This is the first recipe from the book I’ve cooked.  This soup is deceptivley simple.  It would seem with 5 ingredients counting water it would be hard to destroy.

I had 3/4 lb of Leeks once they were cleaned, which is slightly less than the book recommends. To compensate I reduced the amount of water and potatoes.  I also reduced the salt — but not enough.

As written, the recipe yielded a very watery soup with little flavor other than salt.  Luckily I had some mashed potato leftovers in the refrigerator and I was able to use them to thicken the soup — even with the addition of the mashed potatoes there was too much salt.  So I’ve adjusted the water and salt below.

Potato and Leek Soup (click here for printable recipe)
6 cups of water
1 pound diced potato
1 pound sliced leek (pale green and white only)
2 sprigs thyme
fresh ground black pepper (or you could use white pepper if you don’t want to see the flakes)
1T salt
2 pats butter or dash of cream

Place vegetables thyme, salt and pepper in water in a 4 quart saucepan and simmer for 50 minutes or until tender.  Use an immersion blender or food mill to puree soup.  Taste for seasoning, you may wish to add more salt.  Stir in butter or cream to finish the soup.  Serve with fresh chives as garnish.

The soup was so good and so filling my 17 year old step son thought it was dinner, he was surprised when I put another course on the table!

If you make the soup and it comes out too watery for you, instant mashed potatoes would work to thicken it.  You could also puree some canned white beans such a cannelloni which would add  a tasty new dimension.

A nice viognier or sauvignon blanc would be the perfect accompaniment to this meal.  Having a merlot while preparing it helped enhance the flavors as well!

Cheers!

As some of you know I went to the Netherlands last week.  From an architecture, history and meeting new people perspective, the trip was phenomenal.  From a foodies perspective — it was not my cup of tea.  I did however have two delightful bowls of soup that I wanted to recreate.  I made the first one yesterday, it was a vibrant green spinach soup, obviously full of nutrition because the spinach still had it’s color and it was full of great flavor.

Spinach is full of fiber, Iron,Calcium, Potassium, Riboflavin, and amino acids — and best of all, it has almost zero calories so if you are gentle with the cream – this is a very healthy soup.  For complete spinach nutrition information,  visit the USDA National Agriculture Library

The soup is best served with a sandwich or some crusty bread.  When I made it at home I had a frosty cold Dogfishhead 60-minute IPA with it, a lovely compliment because the bitter of the IPA balanced the cream of the soup.  When in Amsterdam I was drinking a Sauvignon Blanc which was also a great pairing.  Parmesan Cheese or croutons make a nice garnish.

Click Here for a printable recipe

2 tablespoons fat (I used bacon fat for flavor, you can use anything you’d like)
1 bunch of spring onions sliced
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
1 quart chicken stock
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1T kosher salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp celery salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 10 ounce ready to use spinach
1/2 cup heavy cream

Over medium heat in a soup pot or dutch oven, sweat onions and garlic until soft (you really don’t want to brown them because it will bitter the soup so be gentle with the heat)

Sprinkle in flour and cook for 2 – 3 minutes (you aren’t looking to create a dark roux, just cook the flour)

Whisk in chicken broth and add spices bring to a low boil and add spinach.  Put a lid on the pot and wilt the spinach into the soup base 1 – 2 minutes)  Add cream.

Now, blend the soup in batches.  Make sure to only fill the blender about half way and put a towel over the top and hold the lid before you turn it on.  Hot liquids expand in the blender and forgetting this can lead to a painful mess.

Return the soup to the pot, taste and adjust seasonings as necessary (I needed more salt and some more cayenne)

I’ve  been struggling with eating lately as  something was upsetting my stomach and I had to go back to the basics.  When my tummy decides not to cooperate with me I go back to soup, it always seems to work for me.  This process has taken about three weeks to figure out the problem.  I started eating canned soup.  It was not long before I could not face another can so I’m making lots of soup again.  First I made a fantastic Tortilla soup – but I ate it too fast to photograph it.  Today I made Minestrone soup and I want to share the recipe with you.

Minestrone soup is arguably the best known Italian soup — loosely translated it means “the big soup.”  Recipes for it are as varied as chefs.  The basics are tomatoes and potatoes (they made their way into the Italian diet in the mid 1500s, before that Italians thought tomatoes were poisonous), onions, zucchini, carrots then you are on your own.  Some people make a completely vegetarian soup, some add meat, some make a thin watery base, others cook the liquid down to a stew like texture,  pasta and beans are optional.  In my case I had some Italian Sausage that I didn’t have plans for so I made “meaty” Minestrone soup. I chose not to put pasta in the soup because Bill doesn’t eat soup so this is mine for the next 4 – 5 days and pasta doesn’t reheat well.  My soup is thin broth, but packed with so much flavor that it’s a meal in a cup.

Click Here for a Printable Recipe

Difficulty: Easy
Cook Time: 30 minutes active 40 minutes simmer

Ingredients:
3 Mild Italian Sausages, Skin Removed
1/2 White Onion Diced
1 Cup Chopped Carrot
1/2 Cup Chopped Celery
1 Cup fresh green beans cut in one-inch pieces
1 zucchini diced
1 28 oz box Pomi diced Italian Tomatoes*
Worcestershire sauce to taste (1 Tablespoon)
1 tsp dried chili pepper
1T chopped garlic
1 cup beef broth
2 cups water
1 T dried oregano
2 fresh sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
4 fresh basil leaves
handful of fresh parsley diced
1 can kidney beans
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions:
Crumble sausage and brown over medium high heat in a large stock pot (4 minutes).  Add Onion, carrot and celery to the pot and cook until soft (3 – 4 minutes).  Add remaining ingredients (excluding  kidney beans and Parmesan Cheese).  Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 30 minutes until vegetables are desired texture.  Check for seasoning, add salt and pepper as desired.

Remove bay leaf.

Add kidney beans and heat through.

Yeild: 6 servings

* you can use any diced tomatoes but Pomi are really much better flavor.

I usually have this as my lunch and/or breakfast so I don’t have wine with it.  What would you drink?

I made this almost a week ago and am just now able to sit down and write about it.  I only get around to making Chicken and Dumplings 2 – 3 times a year and I don’t know why, it’s easy and it tastes so good that writing about it is making me want to cook it again!

My mom wasn’t a huge fan of cooking, in fact we suspect she sabotaged many a dish to cement a reputation as a bad cook and therefore ensure she would escape kitchen duty.  That said, her chicken and dumplings were yummy!  I’ve changed the recipe, adding some of my own favorite ingredients, but it’s still just simple fantastic comfort food.

Recipe:

Stew:

1 whole cut up chicken, skin removed
well washed greens of one leek (dark greens)
2 carrots peeled and cut in half
2 Celery ribs halved
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs thyme
4 -5 sprigs fresh Italian parsley
Kosher Salt (Start at 1T as the chicken cooks, taste and add more)
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
3T flour
2T butter
1 Cup Frozen Peas (or mixed vegetables if you prefer)

Dumplings:

2 Cups Flour
3tsp baking powder
1/2tsp white pepper
1tsp kosher salt
3/4 Cup milk (preferably whole)
1/4 cup light vegetable oil (not olive)

Directions:

Put first nine ingredients into a cold stock pot and cover with cool water.  Gently bring up to a simmer and cook for 2 – 3 hours until chicken is falling off the bone. Remove chicken and place on a plate to cool.  Remove and discard vegetables and strain the broth through cheesecloth.  Allow to rest so you can skim the fat off.

Meanwhile prepare the dumplings by combining dry ingredients in a medium bowl, stir and add the milk and oil.  Use a fork and stir until combined, but don’t over work the dough. Set aside to rest for 5 – 10 minutes.

Rinse the pot (just make sure that there is not any stock remnants as in spices pepper or anything that will cloud your soup stock) place on stove over medium high heat.  Melt the butter and add the flour to create a roux.  Cook roux for 2 – 4 minutes keeping it light in color, but making sure the dough has cooked.  Whisk in broth and bring to a low boil.

Using two spoons, drop dumpling dough into the pot.  Cover and simmer for 10 – 12 minutes.

While the soup is simmering remove chicken from the bone.  Add to the pot when the dumplings are cooked along with peas.  Cook until heated through — 4 – 5 minutes.  If desired finish with a generous glug of cream but the soup is wonderful without it.

This dish lends itself to an ice cold glass of milk just as easily as a glass of wine.  We had it with a Heitz Cellars Sauvignon Blanc we purchased on our last trip to Napa.  The visit to the winery was our favorite as the tasting room was small and intimate and we were able to speak to the winemaker, not to mention their dogs were there too.  This was an excellent pairing.  It’s a drier wine not as fruity as many Sauvignon Blancs with a nice balanced acidity that compliments rather than clashes with food.  The crispness of the Sauvignon Blanc complimented the rich chicken broth and brought out all of its flavors.

This may seem like a dish exclusive to winter, but because you are cooking low it never heats up your kitchen.  You could cook the broth in a crock pot if you want as well — but you’ll need another pot to finish the soup so I just use the same pot.

Polidor in Paris

:Sigh:

I am writing tonight with a stunning lack of inspiration.  Had I not committed to cooking my way through the Paris  Bistro cookbook I wouldn’t even write this entry.  But I did commit — and if my first post was about a ruined dinner then I can certainly write about an uninspiring meal.

This recipe is from the first bistro in the book,  Polidor, which is in the Latin Quarter.  (Their site is in French — see the Frommers Review)  The Bistro has a charming history that includes Erenest Hemmingway, James Joyce and bathrooms that are a historic monument.  You can see why I felt the recipes held great promise.  I chose to make Soupe de Potiron (Pumpkin Soup) and Pintade aux lardons et au Chou (Guinea Hens with Bacon and Cabbage).  The recipes appear on p. 21  I should note that there are other recipes from this bistro that may be better than the ones I chose.

The soup was  attractive, but bland.  Both my husband and I pushed it aside not wanting to fill up on lackluster soup before dinner.

The main course: the book suggests that you can substitute chicken for Guinea Hen and given that my local Publix caters to tourists this was a necessity.  Dannenberg also translates “chou” as kale.  After looking it up in a French dictionary (I really need to start using my Rosetta Stone, but I digress…) I saw that it could mean  ”Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, coleslaw, darling, kale or sprout.”  While I’m not planning to put “my darling” in a pot anytime soon, using Brussels sprouts or cauliflower would have made a tremendous difference and most likely a better dish.  The recipe is extremely heavy on onion and calls for two cloves.  These two flavors overpowered everything else in the dish, which I found surprising.  The bitterness of Brussels sprouts (had they cooked with the chicken) probably would have balanced the sweet flavor of the cloves.  But the recipe directed me to cook the kale separately and then plate in a shallow bowl.  In a nutshell I was highly unimpressed.  As a result we are having chicken and dumplings tonight — a family favorite that I don’t think anyone could mess up!

I should mention that the highlight of the meal was the wine, we enjoyed a Sobon Estate Viognier 2007.  It was crisp and had just the right amount of fruit and acid.  I thought it was well balanced.

You’ve read my notes, if you want to try the recipes — you are on your own! LOL, but here they are.

Pumpkin Soup (excerpted from Paris Bistro Cooking p.21)

3 Cups water
1 Medium diced onion
1T Sugar
2 tsp salt
1 16oz can pumpkin puree (unflavored)
1 Cup milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sour cream or creme fraiche as garnish

In a medium saucepan bring water and onion to boil, cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Whisk in pumpkin, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook 5 minutes stirring constantly.

Puree the mixture in batches using a food processor or blender [hold the top of the blender and cover with a towel, hot foods expand when you puree had I not learned this tip my kitchen and I would have been doused in boiling pumpkin soup)

Return mixture to a saucepan, add the milk and heat, then season to taste and serve with sour cream or creme fraiche.

*I asked friends for suggestions pump up the soup, the most interesting was red curry paste.  I have some leftovers and I plan to try this, I think making it spicy is an interesting concept but completely different from the chef's original intent.

Chicken with Bacon and Cabbage (excerpted from Paris Bistro Cooking p.21)

1 2lb Guinea Hen or Chicken
2 medium carrots sliced
2 medium onions sliced (I would cut this to one)
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 boquet garni (1 sprig parsley, greens of one leek, one bay leaf tied in cheesecloth)
2 whole cloves (I would cut this to one)
salt and pepper
3 - 4C dry white wine
5 ounces slab bacon
2T flour
3C chicken stock
2lbs Kale

Combine the poultry, carrots, onion, garlic, boquet garni and cloves in a bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Blanch bacon in boiling water for 5 minutes, remove pat dry then saute until golden brown in a 6 quart saute pan.  Remove with slotted spoon and reserve.

Remove chicken from marinade (reserve the marinade) and pat dry, brown deeply (8 minutes per side) Remove the chicken and set aside.  Drain off all but 1T of fat.  Add the flour and cook for 1 - 2 minutes.

Add marinade [Note:  at this point the recipe lacked clarity -- I assumed the onions and carrot were part of the "marinade" but perhaps they were supposed to be removed which would explain why the onion flavor was so overpowering.  The photo in the cookbook clearly shows carrots and that's how I made my decision] cook for several minutes scraping the pan bottom.  Add chicken stock [another lack of clarity -- in the book she says add chicken stock or water but the ingredient list doesn't suggest this choice.  I used broth but perhaps water would have been better]

Return the chicken to the pot; liquid should almost cover; bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of “heavily” salted water to boil.  Cook kale for 15 minutes.  Drain and cut into 1/4 inch strips.  Press out excess water and add bacon.

Dish into 4 bowls and serve.