Wedding Soup
Chef Fabio has another entertaining recipe for us: Wedding Soup. This is one of my favorites, though I’ve seen a version made with escarole instead of the spinach. Soup is my favorite food to make; it’s simple to prepare, and you can use any extra vegetables you have on hand.
http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/italian-wedding-soup-172100354.html
Chef Fabio shows all of us late evening eaters the way to snack… in classic Fabio style, of course.
Yahoo has a new series of video clips featuring chef Fabio from Top Chef. There are only six videos currently, but they’re enjoyable and appear to be well prepared and edited. Check out one of the latest for some tips on making meatballs!
I’ve been a fan of Hell’s Kitchen, but let me quantify that two ways. I’ve been more a fan of Chef Ramsay because I enjoy seeing his kitchen standards for fine cuisine. As of late, I’ve found the show more to be about the reality TV and drama and less about the cooking and the food. I still enjoy watching it, but I know the shock value drama is what helps get the ratings. I found a Chef Ramsay recipe (you’ll need to scroll down) for risotto and shimp.
Back during Season 1 of Top Chef Masters, I remember cheering for Rick Bayless to win it all. He seemed like a nice guy, and I’ve always enjoyed the flavor of Mexican cooking. The above video showcases his techniques for preparing a surely delicious poblanos rajas. I’ve burned peppers before for a roasted red pepper and corn soup (it was tasty). I love the not-too-hot flavor of poblano peppers. They’d be wonderful prepared this way, and it wouldn’t take long using the basic ingredients Chef Rick mentions to create a quick and delicious dish.
Image from article
There’s a grand range of food available in the world. We all fall somewhere on a continuum of adventurousness in eating. I’m not saying I’d be the first to try some of the most extreme examples, but having a curious palate can assist in finding new and outstanding dishes that would otherwise have remained unknown. If you’re already found epicurean bravery, great! If not, and you’re willing to try (and you like vegetables), vegetables are a great place to start. They are perhaps not as intimidating as some proteins.
For those of us who belong to community supported agriculture groups (CSAs), you may get some new foods in that weekly produce box. (CSAs provide produce for a yearly membership fee, and can be local, organic, and sustainable to reduce the carbon footprint.) I am occasionally left searching for a recipe to fit a previously unused veggie. Usually, I win two ways: I find a recipe I can use again, and I have a flavorful dish I did not know before.
As we creep ever closer to spring, it’s stimulating to think of all the options for the garden. I would plant much more if I could, but we have limited space. Cooking and gardening work so well together; nothing’s easier than using freshly-picked ingredients that were, moments ago, growing out back. I’ll start off a spring “series” of posts offering tantalizing options for that perfect epicurian/cultivation mix.
Mole peppers did fairly well in our northern garden. I only wish I had room to grow more! Mole is one of those ultra-complex sauces that is never the same wherever you have it. I like a sauce that’s so complex, you’re hard-pressed to name all of the ingredients. I have tried making it, but the mole-making disaster of ’10 necessitates that I try again this year. This pepper will always have a home in my garden and the sauce will hopefully be a “win” this year on the plate.
http://gardening.about.com/od/plantprofiles/ig/2007-AAS-Winners/Pepper–Holy-Mol–.htm
http://suzette.typepad.com/the_joy_of_soup/
This Joy of Soup blog, I fear, has progressed into the blog netherworld, with no further updates to be had… The last post was in 2007. While the updates have potentially ceased, the site remains a solid resource for soup recipes and other resources.
Soup is the food category I feel the most at home in making. It’s simple and comforting; a steaming bowl of soup is hard to beat on a cold day. Soup is adaptable to ingredients on hand and difficult to wreck. Here’s to soup!!
Snow
Winter’s arguably about half over, and I’m already missing gardening outside. Being in a colder climate, it can be difficult to make it through winter when the warmer days are calling nearly half a year away. My gardening habit is driven indoors to my potted plants, and my cooking must use some not-necessarily-fresh-or-local produce. This is the price we pay for some snow in winter.
Fortunately, perennial crops can come back without much extra effort. (We’ve got some rhubarb, bunching onions, and garlic. Rhubarb can grow well in a corner of a yard, and onions and garlic only need a small area of soil. I’ve tried to start an asparagus patch, but the jury’s out on that one until spring.)
Photo from Wikipedia:
Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers, even those not in the U.S.!
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’ve made a veritable smorgasbord of updates! (new categories, new links, and extra posts!)
What to do with all that Thanksgiving goodness: using up those leftovers
I tried a new recipe this year- Cranberry Couscous (cold). It turned out very tasty and would make an excellent vegetarian substitute for stuffing (if so desired- though we had both). I doubled the recipe and that caused no problems. I made the couscous according to the package directions (water/couscous ratio, which I believe was 3/4 c water to couscous). I also substituted pure cranberry juice for the water, to imbue more cranberry flavor. This was a direction in the alternate, hot recipe listed below. A suggestion on the original recipe called for vegetable stock instead of water. Another suggested making the recipe a day in advance, which I did, to allow the flavors to balance. The balance was good for the day after, but the balsamic vinegar dominated a little another day later. Perhaps a little more cranberry juice sprinkled over would help re-balance the flavors? I chopped the vegetables very fine and used baby carrots.
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1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked couscous
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped seeded cucumber
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
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3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
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| 1. | In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in couscous. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Cool for 10 minutes. |
| 2. | In a bowl, combine the couscous, cranberries, carrots, cucumber and green onions. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over couscous mixture; mix well. Cover and refrigerate. Just before serving, stir in almonds. |
Original Recipe Link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cranberry-Couscous-Salad/Detail.aspx
Hot Cranberry Couscous: http://www.cranberries.org/cranberries/recipes_couscous2008.html
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Image Source: Photo showing some of the aspects of a traditional US
Thanksgiving day dinner: November 2002 by Ben Franske.
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