Jook

There are many names for this dish, but at it's most basic, this is a rice stew or soup. But it's not just rice stew ... it's creamy rice cooked in a mixture of chicken broth and water with earthy mushrooms, spicy ginger, and pretty much anything else you want to add. I used what we had in the fridge--roast chicken, ham, carrots, and green peas--along with a few shrimp I picked up at the store today. The flavors all cooked together with a little Thai fish sauce and black soy sauce, and the result was perfectly warm and comforting and soothing on my sore throat. I based my recipe on one from David Lebovitz.

Comfort Me With ... Upside Down Apple-Ginger Cake and Chicken Soup

Comfort has been the theme of the past week. Tonight I made chicken soup using the roast chicken we had last night, adding lots of fresh (and local!) ginger and garlic from Next Step Produce, along with carrots, onions, peppers, and green beans. For dessert, we had an upside down apple cake, based on a recipe from Cook's Illustrated, but boosted with lots of freshly grated ginger. Just a slice ... Isn't this ginger beautiful with its pink-to-green stems? Love the colors--and the flavor! Chicken soup, served on top of creamy mashed potatoes

Potato and Cheddar Soup

There are about a million recipes for potato and cheese soup, so I decided to add one more to the list. I didn't want baked potato soup--which is delicious, but so way rich--but I didn't want a watery mushy potato mess either. One version I saw was your basic mac and cheese recipe, but with potatoes instead of pasta and a spoon instead of a fork. I opted for a slightly lighter version, using mostly chicken broth and just a cup of milk, instead of all milk or cream. Kt's Potato and Cheddar Soup 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 small to medium onion, diced 3 Tbs butter 3 Tbs flour 3 c chicken broth 1 c milk 1 c cheddar cheese, grated (plus extra to top) salt and pepper to taste 1 green onion, slivered (opt) In a large pot, add the cubed potatoes and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook til tender. Drain and set the potatoes aside. Back in the pot, melt the butter and then stir in the onion and flour, letting it cook for about a minute or so. Then slowly add 1 c of broth, stirring constantly so there are no floury lumps. Add the remaining broth and the milk, the salt and pepper, and cook, covered, for about 20 min., stirring occasionally. Add the pototoes back to the pot and then add the cheese, and stir well. Let cook for another 10-15 more minutes, so the flavors can blend, and serve. Sprinkle additional cheese and slivered green onions on top.

Chicken and Corn Chowder

It's still warm outside, but today's downpour gave me a hint of fall. I decided to make chicken and corn chowder, using chicken stock made last night, shredded chicken, and fresh corn off the cob. The recipe is based on one in Jasper White's 50 Chowders, and there are tons of variations--it could be made with vegetable broth or with cream or milk or more vegetables etc. I used French jambon, as that's what I had, but you could use chicken sausage or bacon (as in the original recipe) or even skip that part. Here's what I did: Chicken and Corn Chowder 1/4 lb jambon, or any kind of ham, diced 1 Tbs butter 1 Tbs olive oil 1 medium onion, diced 1/2 red (orange/yellow) bell pepper, diced 1 large russett potato, diced 3 ears of corn, with the corn sliced off the cobs 4 c chicken stock 2 c shredded cooked chicken 1 c half and half 1-2 Tbs sherry salt and pepper In a large pot, saute the ham til it is lightly browned. Then add the butter and olive oil, the onion, and the red pepper and cook til softened but not browned, about 5-10 min. Then add the diced potato and the corn kernels, and let cook for a minute or two. Then add the chicken stock, which should just cover the vegetables (and if it doesn't, add enough water or more stock to make up the difference), and let it come to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat, and let simmer for 10 min., til the potatoes are tender but not mushy. Turn off the heat under the soup, and add the shredded chicken. Then add the half and half and the sherry, and mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir again, and enjoy.

Roasted Wrinkly Tomato Soup With Basil

Tonight, faced with a pint of wrinkling grape tomatoes, I made roasted tomato soup with basil. I sliced the tomatoes and roasted them at 400 degrees for about 40 min. Then, in a saucepan I sauteed 1/2 c onion with one clove of garlic in some olive oil. After about 10 min., when the onions are golden, I added about 2.5 c of chicken broth, a 14 oz can of fire-roasted tomatoes, oven-roasted tomatoes, and a cup of fresh basil. The soup came to a boil and then simmered for about 45 min. I pureed it with an immersion blender, added a couple tablespoons of cream, adjusted with salt and pepper, and topped with a little basil. Along side this soup, I had a sandwich with flank steak and fresh feta -- and if you eat meat and have never had steak and feta together, you really need to, and soon.

In reverse order, here's the soup in its ugly duckling stage, before being pureed. The somewhat blackened roasted tomatoes are floating around in base of chicken broth, fire-roasted canned tomatoes, and lots of basil.


The tomatoes just out of the oven ...


And the fresh tomatoes themselves, not looking particularly aged here, but they needed to be used in the near future.

Stirring once, stirring twice ... Avgolemono

Tonight I made avgolemono, a Greek soup flavored with lemons and rice. It's deceptively simple and so good on a cold, blustery night. For quick reference I based my recipe on the one from the Silver Palate, but I made a few changes, adding chicken and baby spinach for a little more balance. I cooked bone-in chicken in the broth to give it a bit more flavor, then shredded them, and added the meat back to the pot. I served this with toasted French bread lightly spread with feta. Here's my version:

Avgolemono

8 c chicken broth
4-5 bone-in chicken thighs (leftover chicken would work too)
1/2 c uncooked long-grain rice (could use a bit more)
4 egg yolks
1/3-1/2 c lemon juice
1 c raw baby spinach, approx.

parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste (may not need/want any)

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken thighs, turn the heat down to a simmer, and then let cook til done. Then take the chicken out of the broth, let cool slightly so it can be shredded, and set aside the shredded meat. Add the rice to the broth and let cook for about 25 min. In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolks and the lemon juice in a bowl. When the rice is cooked, add two ladlesful of broth to the egg/lemon mixture and whisk it in quickly. Then add all of it to the pot and stir it in completely. Add the chicken and spinach to the pot and let heat through. Adjust with salt and pepper, if desired, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Mom's matzoh ball soup

Rich and flavorful chicken broth, large pieces of chicken, and tender matzoh balls ... perfect for the cold weather we've been having lately.

Bumblebee Chicken Soup

It's cold and rainy today, perfect for a big bowl of Bumblebee soup, aka chicken soup with homemade noodles. The chicken cooked for four hours--in my beautiful new Le Creuset French oven--with onions, garlic, carrots, and celery, and was then combined with thin curls of fresh pasta. The noodles cooked in the broth, absorbing its rich flavor and becoming deliciously tender. The original recipe suggests serving this all over mashed potatoes--which, admittedly, is carb-intensive but a surprisingly fabulous combination. It works just as well without noodles, if you want to cut back just a little.