Cream of Mushroom Soup January 28, 2009

You remember the can of condensed Cream of Mushroom soup? We used to mix that with boxed macaroni and cheese, tuna and peas. Bizarrely tasty. But that can of cream of mushroom soup (also used in the ubiquitous holiday green bean casserole) is nothing like real cream of mushroom soup. Chris and I ordered a bowl at a nice restaurant in Chicago sometime in December and it was amazing. Creamy and decadent, with lovely mushroom flavor. I searched a bit for a recipe that would match what I loved about that soup and I found it here, although I did make an addition of some actual cream at the end. By the way, I read this website everyday. Food nerd.

• 6 T. butter
• 1 onion – thinly sliced
• 1 large container of white button mushrooms – sliced
• 1 smaller container of small portobello mushrooms – sliced
• 4 cups homemade turkey stock (or chicken/vegetable)
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 c. heavy cream (!)

Over medium heat, melt two tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan. Toss in the onion and cook until soft but not browned. Toss in the remaining butter and then add the mushrooms. Cook for 8 minutes. Pour in the stock and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour. After an hour, either use an immersion blender (can not wait to get this) or a food processor and blend. Return to the soup pot and pour in 1/2 cup cream, stir, taste, adjust salt/pepper and serve.

Notes: Try this! Never eat canned cream of mushroom soup again!

Servings: 4-5 big bowls

Curry Turkey Quinoa Soup January 26, 2009

Soup soup soup. It’s the middle of January and the wind chill has been below zero so often that I’m not going to even apologize for all the soup recipes I’m posting. Deal with it! I found this one after searching for recipes to make with my turkey stock. I happen to like this blog as well so knew the recipe would be good. Thanks Je Mange La Ville! I switched the grains and left out the actual turkey meat, added in some cauliflower. Turned out well.

• 3 C. turkey stock
• 1 medium onion – diced
• 3 cloves garlic – minced
• 1/2 C. carrots – chopped
• 2 heads broccoli – chopped
• 1/2 head cauliflower – chopped
• 2 T. (or less to taste) curry powder
• 1 t. (or more) cumin
• 1 can lite coconut milk (or 1/2 can regular with 1 cup water)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes – cut in half
• 1 t. minced fresh ginger
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 C. red quinoa (or brown rice/regular quinoa)

Heat the oil in a heavy stock pot. Add onion and carrot — cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. Next add garlic, spices, and ginger. Sauté for a couple more minutes, then add turkey stock, coconut milk and diced tomatoes. Season with salt/pepper. Add quinoa and let simmer until rice is tender — about 35-40 minutes. Clean broccoli/cauliflower and cut off the florets. Add to soup and cook until tender (4 minutes or so). Taste for seasoning and serve with fresh bread.

Notes: Lovely, filling and healthy. I like the soups with a bit of coconut milk but not so much as to make it over powering and too heavy. And I love love love quinoa. The red quinoa is just pretty too.

Servings: 6-8 bowls

Turkey Broth January 23, 2009

This picture is really quite gross. It’s all the scraps of turkey carcas and vegetables left over from the turkey stock I made last weekend.  But let me tell you, it was worth it. This is the first time I’ve made stock and I think it turned out well. One turkey carcas, a bunch of old vegetables and 4 hours later and *BAM* I’ve got 12ish cups of turkey stock! I didn’t really use a recipe, just read a few recipes online and got the general idea. The turkey is from a month or so ago when I roasted it. It has been in the freezer since then, wait.

• 1 turkey carcas (gross!)
• 2 onions or bits of left over onion
• 4 sad, no longer crunchy carrots
• 5 sticks of celery – washed
• Salt
• dried thyme

In a big stock pot (It all makes sense now. It’s a stock pot because it’s so big, big enough to make stock !), pour in a bunch* of water and all the vegetables and turkey. Throw in some salt*. Heat to a boil and then turn down to a medium simmer. Simmer away for 4 hours. Taste the liquid. Need more salt and pepper? Add it now and continue simmering a bit. Once it’s perfect, use a fine mesh strainer and strain the broth. It should be nice and clear when you are done. Toss out the scraps. You can use the broth immediately or put it in the freezer. I did both! I also let it sit to cool a bit and scrapped off some of the fat.

* No idea how much water or salt to use. I may have used too much water, but really, I thought it tasted good so that’s what matters.

Notes: I can’t wait to do this with the next rotisserie chicken I get from the store. So thrifty and delicious.

Servings: I got about 12 – 15 cups of stock. Way too much from one turkey? Maybe, but again, it seemed good to me!

Lentils and Greens with Ham January 20, 2009

Hey look! I made this soup! I actually made it shortly after coming home from Christmas as I used leftover Christmas ham. But I’m pretty sure that this soup was delicious, if my memory serves me correctly.  I only used a little bit of ham but it’s just so FLAVORFUL, a little bit goes a long way, so this soup was pretty healthy and very filling with lentils and greens. I found the recipe here.

• 1 1/2 T. olive oil
• 1 onion – chopped
• 3 garlic cloves – minced
• 5 c. fat-free, less-sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 1 ham bone (I didn’t have the ham bone so just used the ham instead)
• 1 c. dried lentils
• 1/2 c. carrot – chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 c. Swiss chard – chopped
• 1 c. smoked ham – chopped
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes – drained
• 1 t. dried basil
• 1/2 t. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in big soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add broth, ham, lentils, carrot, and bay leaves; bring to a boil.

Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add Swiss chard and ham; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, basil, thyme, and pepper; simmer 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Notes: Leftover ham makes great soups. Amen.

Servings: 6ish big bowls

Garbanzo Beans with Mushrooms January 18, 2009

I made  this dish BEFORE Christmas. It’s been siting here waiting to be posted only because, well, I’m lazy and need to get the Bittman cookbook from the kitchen. The recipe in the cookbook is called “Beans and Mushrooms.” This is great with dried beans and can be a flavorful main dish, can be served on top of a nice salad and the leftovers make a great hummus!

• 1 bag dried garbanzo beans
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 package mushrooms – sliced
• 1 onion – diced
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• garam masala – to taste
• 1 bunch parsley
• salt/pepper

In a large pot, boil the beans in water. Fill the pot until about 1 inch over the beans. Toss in the onion and 2 bay leaves. The beans will need to cook for 60 minutes at least. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then toss in the mushrooms and the garam masala (maybe 1-2 T.). The beans should be cooked at this point but not soft. Continue cooking until the water is gone and the beans are nice and soft, about 30 minutes more.  Toss in the garlic and parsley about 5 minutes before serving.

Notes: The water is approximate. If you need to add more, do so! The beans will also vary in how long they cook depending on if you soak them or not. I served these with some sauted brocolli rapini and a toasted pita. Makes a ton of food!

Servings: I don’t remember. A very large amount.

Venison Garam Masala Chili January 11, 2009

First off, let me acknowledge that this is a terrible picture. The bowl is all “dirty” with chili on the side and you can’t really see the meat. What can I say, I was hungry and took really bad pictures. BUT! Go to the original recipe on Esquire and see what it should look like! The orignial recipe is for wild-boar chili, but I used venison instead which I’m sure altered the taste. It was still good but very very meaty. Probably not a chili I’ll make again since I’m more of a fan of the bean-y chili.

• 1 pound ground venison
• 1 package stew meat (venison)
• 5 slices of bacon – chopped
• 1 large onion – minced
• 4 cloves garlic – minced
• 1 jalapeño – deseeded and minced
• kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 2 qts sweet cherry tomatoes (about 8 cups), cut in half (I used one large can of diced tomatoes)
• 4 T. garam masala
• 2 C. chicken stock
• 2 15-oz cans red kidney beans – rinsed and drained
• Garnish: cilantro

In a large, heavy pot over moderately high heat, heat olive oil until nearly smoking. Add meat mix and cook until deeply and evenly browned, about 15 minutes. Add vegetable mix, reduce heat, and cook until soft, six to eight minutes. Add tomato paste and cook about five minutes, stirring frequently. Add canned tomatoes and stir in the 4 tbsp spice mix, add stock, and simmer until well combined, about five minutes. Stir in beans and cook until slightly thickened, 30 minutes more. Add garnish.

Notes: Again, this chili was fine. I really enjoyed the garam masala flavor, but it was too much meat!

Servings: 8-10

Wild Rice and Corn Casserole January 8, 2009

This was the most complimented dish over Christmas. I think it was somewhat due to low expectations, but upon tasting it, everyone was enjoying it.  It’s a pretty simple dish from The Pioneer Woman and, as is customery with her recipes, is full of butter and heavy cream. It’s why it tastes so good! Mmmm, holidays.

• 2 C. cooked wild rice
• 3 to 4 C. fresh corn kernels (scraped off the cob) – I used frozen corn
• 2 eggs – beaten
• 1 C. heavy cream
• 1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 6 T. butter
• 1/2 to 1 cup milk, for thinning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook wild rice in chicken broth until almost done. Rice should still have a firm (but not crunchy) bite. Drain rice and allow to cool.
Scrape corn kernels into a large mixing bowl (or let frozen corn thaw). Add in cream, butter, beaten eggs, salt. Stir together. Add in cooled wild rice, stirring gently. Splash in milk so that mixture is stirrable, but not overly juicy.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until just turning golden brown on top and mixture is somewhat set.

Notes: I’ll definitely make this again next year, but probably not before that. It’s pretty rich but a great, family friendly holiday dish.

Servings: 10+ leftovers

Bourbon, Pecan and Molasses Glazed Ham January 5, 2009

My oh my what a beautiful *18 pound* ham! I splurged and went to Paulina Meat Market in Chicago to get a fully smoked, not spiral cut ham for Christmas dinner. While the spiral cut hams are convenient, I found that it kind of dried out the top part of the ham the last time I cooked one.

The glaze on this ham was pretty easy, looked nice and gave a nice sweetness to the edge. The ham itself was very good and made plenty of leftover ham sandwiches and soup! Christmas dinner was comprised of ham, garlic mashed potatoes, balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts with blue cheese and toasted pecans and a wild rice and corn casserole, which I’ll feature later.

• 1/2 C. apple juice
• 1/4 C. bourbon
• 1 3/4 C. (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 C. pecans – toasted, cooled, finely ground
• 1/4 C. mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 3 T. dry mustard

• 1 whole bone-in 16- to 18-pound ham

Boil juice and bourbon in small saucepan until reduced to scant 1/3 cup, about 6 minutes. Combine sugar, pecans, molasses, and mustard in bowl. Add bourbon mixture; stir to form thick paste. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line large roasting pan with heavy-duty foil, leaving overhang on all sides. Trim off skin and all but 1/4 inch fat from ham. Place ham, fat side up, in prepared pan. Roast ham until thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 130°F to 135°F, about 10 minutes per pound or 2 hours 40 minutes for 16-pound ham.

Remove ham from oven; increase oven temperature to 425°F. Lightly score fat on ham in diamond pattern. Rub glaze thickly over top and sides of ham. Return ham to oven and roast until glaze is deep brown and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let ham stand at least 20 minutes and up to 45 minutes. Serve with chutney and spoon bread.

Notes: Ham is good, no matter what you put on it!

Servings: 1 billion, or 10 for dinner and 4 large bags of left over sliced ham.