Roasted Potato, Onion & Garlic Soup

It sounded like a good idea. We love roasted potatoes, onions & garlic. Unfortunately, I think we like them better when they are not pureed into a creamy soup. I guess taste-wise it was ok but the texture which was a bit like baby food and color (Matt said it looked like peanut butter) were really a turn off. Plus I found the recipe, from Soup Makes the Meal: Ken Haedrich, a bit fussy. It has you roast the vegetables, easy enough, but then also heat the broth you puree them with, them make the roue separately after you blended the stack & puree together. I've made a lot of creamy soups & the way this one went together just didn't feel right if that makes any sense. This will not be something we make again.

Chicken Pot Pie

There are some ok frozen chicken pot pies out on the market but really its so easy to make your own (especially if you use a store bought pie crust or puff pastry) and the results are so yummy. I like to make a enough filling for 4 pies & then freeze half. One package of the Pillsbury pie crust is enough for 4 pies as well & can also be frozen so I have the makings of another meal in the freezer. This is a very classic filling but I also do a Moroccan one. I think you could pretty much do this with what ever veggies you have on hand.



Chicken Pot Pie

3 T butter
1/2 c celery, diced
1/2 c onion, diced
1/2 c carrots, diced
1/2 c pies, fresh or frozen
2 t parsley, minced
pinch dried sage
1/2 t fresh thyme leaves (We always have this in the fridge. It adds a lot of flavor to chicken dishes & lasts a long time in the crisper.)
3 T flour
4 c roasted chicken, diced (I used what was left from Sunday's roast)
2 c chicken stock
1/2 c cream
salt & pepper
one prepared pie crust or sheet of puff pastry
1 egg beaten with 2 T milk (optional just gives the crust a nice shine)

Place butter in a large sauté pan. When foaming add vegetables and herbs. Cook until onions are glassy. Add flour. Cook 2-3 minutes while stirring. Add chicken. Stir. Add stock in thirds. Bring to a light boil. Lower heat. Cook until sauce thickens. Add cream. Bring to a simmer. Pull from heat & season with salt & pepper. (The recipe says to then cool it before making your pie but I didn't bother.) Place the filling either individual 4 ramekins or a deep ceramic pie dish for one big pie. Cut the pie crust or puff pastry to fit the top with a slight overlap. Crimp the edges. Pierce top to vent. Brush with egg-milk wash. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Recipe Mpls/St. Paul Magazine January '08

This filling had a great flavor but it was a little soupier than I like. It could be because I didn't have quite 4 cups of chicken (more like 3 1/4) or perhaps I didn't let it thicken enough while cooking. Next time maybe I'll try a little less stock & then add more if it needs it.

Indian BBQ Pizza

We make homemade pizza quite often & decided it would be a quick easy meal for New Year's Eve . Back in San Francisco our English friends loved to order Indian Pizza. We'd been talking about trying to come up with our version since we liked it so much. Then over the holidays Matt's mother served Roasted Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts with an Indian Barbecue Sauce. We had discovered our Indian Pizza sauce.

Indian Barbecue Sauce

1 T ground cumin
2 T olive oil
1 t minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 1/4 c ketchup
1/4 c soy sauce
2 T sugar

Toast cumin in a small skillet over medium heat until darker in color & beginning to smoke, about 1 1/2 minutes. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger & garlic; sauté until very fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, and toasted cumin. Bring to a boil, whisking to blend. Reduce heat to very low; simmer 1 minute to blend flavors, whisking constantly.

Recipe from Bon Appétit September 2007

For topping we used leftover roast chicken from Sunday night, sliced onions & Fontina cheese. A section on other vegetables sch as cauliflower would be great too.

This made a terrific pizza & we'll use this sauce again. Matt even used it on his ham & cheese sandwich for lunch today.

One note about making homemade pizza. We had our second pizza stone crack in two this week.
Shouldn't these be made to stand up to 450 degree heat? We are going to try getting some unglazed ceramic tile & see if its any better.

Garlicky White Bean Soup

Matt made this soup on Friday when I came down with a nasty cold. He was a little uncertain about it because it called for 6 or more big cloves of garlic. The result was wonderful though & just what I wanted when not feeling well. The garlic is not in the least bit over-powering & isn't garlic supposed to be good for a cold? Leftovers were great the next day for lunch.
This recipe takes 2 hours to soak & cook the beans so plan ahead before making it.

1 C dried white navy beans
1 t chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 t dried
1/4 C olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 big cloves of garlic, or more to taste, minced
1 large ripe tomato, cored, seeded & chopped
3 to 4 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes to taste
salt & pepper to taste

1. Put the beans in a colander & pick over them to remove any dirt & debris. Rinse well, then put them in a large saucepan with plenty of water to cover. Bring to a boil, boil for one minute, then remove from the heat. Cover & set aside to soak for 1 hour.
2. Drain the beans, then put them back in the pan with 5 1/2 cups fresh water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to moderately low, simmer, partially covered, until they are tender, about an hour.
3. While the beans are cooking, heat the olive oil in a separate large saucepan over low heat. Add the onion & garlic & cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes; there should be enough oil in the pan so the onion essentially stews in it. After 20 minutes, stir in the tomato, increase the heat somewhat, and stew another 8 to 10 minutes.
4. When the beans are tender, carefully pour the beans & their cooking water into the onion & tomato mixture. Add the bouillon cubes. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Taste the soup, seasoning with salt & pepper.
5. As the soup comes to a simmer, remove about 1 cup of the beans with a slotted spoon. Put them, & a little of the broth , into a blender & process until smooth. Stir the puree back into the soup. Simmer for about 10 minutes, partially covered, before serving.

Makes about 5 serving.

This one is definitely going to be added to our list of winter soups

Recipe from Soup Makes the Meal: Ken Haedrich

We're back

So we disappeared for a bit. We decided to make a big change in our life & pulled up our roots in San Francisco & headed back to the Midwest. We are settled in a lovely 1930's house in Minneapolis with a fabulous newly remodeled kitchen (hello 5 burner stove, I love you).
The move to colder climates has been interesting & we are really noticing a huge difference in the produce available to us. Learning to cook seasonally is going to have to be something we learn here. Right now I can't wait until the summer farmer's markets.

So back to the food! Where to start?

My cousin & I were talking on New Year's Eve about how we both plan a menu for the week & use it to write a list for shopping. I started doing this when Matt & I moved in together & it really saved us from eating out all the time because we have the ingredients on hand. We both felt the biggest challenge was coming up with the menus each week, looking for new recipes, remembering things we made in the past & what we liked & didn't. We decided what we needed to do was keep track of each weeks menu & write notes on the recipes then we can go back & look at past ones for ideas. She suggested if you could look at other peoples' that would give you ideas too. So that's how I'm going to jump back into this blog, talking about our weekly menus. Hope you enjoy it.

Week - Dec. 29 - Jan. 4
Garlicky White Bean Soup - Soup Makes the Meal: Ken Haedrich - RESULT: Yummy on a cold night with a cold, this one is a keeper.

Roast Chicken with parsnips, carrots, potatoes & onions - RESULT: Always a winner & the parsnips were so sweet.

Homemade pizzas - dough from The Easy Way to Artisan Bead & Pastries: Avner Laskin - RESULT: The Indian Barbecue Pizza was fantastic, we will make this one again & again.

Chicken Pot Pie - Filling from Mpls/St Paul Magazine January 08 issue - RESULT: Making homemade chicken pot pie is pretty easy & the results are so yummy this will stay in our winter menus.

Roasted Potato, Onion and Garlic Soup - Soup Makes the Meal: Ken Haedrich - RESULT: The color & texture of this soup were not appealing at all. We won't make this again.

Golden Root-Vegetable Couscous - How to Eat: Nigella Lawson - RESULT: Suberb. The spices with the vegetables are perfect for winter. Plan a little prep time as there are a lot of vegetables to peel & chop.

Tuna Casserole (or should I say hotdish?) - RESULT: a favorite from my childhood & something I'll probably always make.

I'll follow up with recipes & how each meal was.

Happy New Year!