French Onion Soup

This is another of Martha's Recipes. Again, another fool proof thing, that you don't need to mess with. I used the homemade beef stock, as shown below, which I would not substitute or it just won't be the same thing at all. This makes enough for 2 big bowls of soup, with a little leftovers or enough for 4-6 smaller before dinner portions. Here's how you do it:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 pounds yellow onions, sliced 1/4 inch into half circles
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup dry sherry
3 cups homemade stock
2 tsp fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 small baguette sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
8 oz gruyere cheese, grated, or I got them sliced at Corti Brother's Deli

Melt butter in a large dutch oven or heavy pot on medium low heat. Add onions. Spread them out in as thin as layer as possible. Sprinkle with sugar, and cook, stirring just as needed to keep onions from sticking, until they are melting and soft, golden brown, and beginning to carmelize, about 1 hour.



Sprinkle flour over onions, and stir to coat. Add sherry, stock, and thyme, and bring to simmer. Cook, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, to allow the flavors to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste:


Meanwhile, lightly toast bread under a broiler; set aside. Ladle hot soup into oven proof bowls. Arrange the bowls on a baking pan. Place 1 or 2 slices of toast over each bowl of soup. Sprinkle or place cheese over bread in each bowl, and place under broiler until cheese is melted and crusty brown around the edges. Watch carefully that the bread doesn't burn. Serve immediately

Beef Stock

Homemade beef stock is a wonderful thing. I came across this recipe when I wanted to make French Onion Soup. I have found that if you use the canned stuff in French Onion Soup, you don't have the same richness and flavor as you would if you used homemade beef stock. Here are some step by step instructions for making the best beef stock you'll ever have. Use for the soup (recipe posted separately) or freeze it and use it in some other type of soup, or reduce it really down to make a rich demi glaze. Emeril is the person responsible for this recipe, and trust me, once you've tried it, (warning, it does take a while, but worth it), you'll want to always make it.


Here are the ingredients:

7 pounds beef bones, sawed into 2-inch pieces**this time I used spare ribs bones, actually about 6.25 pounds)
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups claret wine
20 peppercorns
5 garlic cloves, peeled
5 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
1 1/2 gallons water

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and put your bones in a roasting pan into the oven for 1 hour. After the hour is up, take the pan out, and "paint" the bones with tomato paste:





Next, add your chopped veggies on top of the "painted bones":


And then roast for 30 minutes more. After that, add these ingredients to a big stock pot, we used "Big Bertha" since this is a job that requires it.


Then you want to "deglaze" the roasting pan with 2 cups of the wine:


Add this to the pot and then add the herbs:


Then cover everything with water and bring to a simmer. You'll want to simmer this for about 4-5 hours, so it's reduced down quite a bit and the veggies are practically falling apart. Here it is all together before the simmer:


Since you do have to "babysit" your stock, might as well finish off the bottle of wine that you used to make the stock, hate for it to go to waste, besides you can't go anywhere for the next 4-5 hours, unless you are the type of person that doesn't mind a big pot of stuff simmering on your stove when you're not around.


There isn't a whole lot to do at this point, as the simmering is going on, but every now and then you may want to skim the fat off the top of the stock. Here is what it looks like after 5 hours of simmering and not totally skimmed yet.


At this point, you can take it off the flame, and let it cool. Either put it in the fridge to use later, or start making some soup. I found that its easier to put it in the fridge, then you can scoop the fat off when it has cooled off. I hope you give this a try, its the best beef stock ever!

French Onion Bread Pudding

This makes a great side dish to beef, pork, chicken or turkey. Its like french onion soup, but in a bread pudding style. I made this for some friends and they went crazy over it. Cookworks show on Food Network gets credit for this one.

1 1/2 pounds onions (2 to 3 medium onions), thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
3 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons clarified butter*
1 tablespoon sweet sherry
1 large Italian or French bread loaf, crusts removed, cut into 5 by 1-inch pieces
6 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet, saute the onions, sugar, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in the clarified butter over medium-high heat; stir constantly to prevent burning. Cook until golden brown. Add sherry and stir to lift any caramelized onion on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Spread out the bread pieces evenly on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for about 5 to 8 minutes to dry the bread slightly but not to add color. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together the eggs, cream, mustard, thyme, the remaining salt, and pepper. Soak the bread in the egg mixture for 5 minutes.

In a casserole dish, layer the bread with the onions and cheese. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the top.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the egg mixture is set.

*Cook's Note: Clarified butter is unsalted butter that has been slowly melted, separating the milk solids from the liquids. After removing any foam off the top, the golden butter is poured or skimmed off the milky residue. Clarified butter is used to cook at higher temperatures because it has a higher smoke point.

Chicken Satay with Cucumber Salad and Peanut Dipping Sauce

This is meant to be an appetizer, but it made a nice meal with all the components together. Marinate the chicken over night to get maximum flavor. We learned how to make this at a cooking class at Thai Basil, so thanks to Suleka the owner for sharing her recipes.

Marinating ingredients for chicken:
4 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp white soy sauce (mushroom flavored soy sauce)**
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
salt
16-20 of 8-12 inch bamboo skewers

Mix all ingredients together with chicken and marinate from 1/2 hour to overnight. Thread chicken strips onto skewers. There are different ways to to do it, experiment and practice is the key.

Place skewers over hot grill. Turn the skewers over 2-3 minutes each side. Chicken should be yellowish to golden brown with crispy brown edges.

Soak skewers in cold water to prevent burning ends.

Dipping Sauce
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp red curry paste **
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 cup unsalted smooth peanut butter
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

Over medium heat in a sauce pan, add oil, 1/2 cup of coconut milk, curry paste and cinnamon sticks. Simmer and stir until the mixture turns red and oil separates from the mixture.

Add the rest of the coconut milk and all ingredients. Simmer on low heat and stir occasionally until the mixture is thick and creamy. Set aside to cool.

to serve, the sauce should be served lukewarm. Put the sauce in a small sauce bowl serve aside the cucumber salad.

Optional: add chicken broth or coconut milk to thin the sauce and use it for salad dressing.


Cucumber Salad
1 med. cucumber
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
salt
to garnish: red onions, thin slices 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper thin slices.

Peel and cut cucumber into 1/2 inch cubes. Discard the seeds and chill

Add all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and turn the heat to high. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.

To serve, put chilled cucumber in a small sauce bowl. Top with sliced red onion, jalapeno pepper and the sauce. Serve with peanut sauce/satay.

**ingredients were sold at the restaurant, they may sell if you ask.

Macaroni And Cheese

This is one of those recipes that you really don't need to mess with. Martha Stewart gets credit for this one. Everyone I make for loves it and it doesn't last long, and its way better than that crap you get in the blue box! You can vary the cheeses (I go with gruyere instead of the pecorino) but why mess with a "good thing." I like to add a dollop of daisy (sour cream) on the top, while others that shall remain nameless like to defile it with ketchup. Anyways, Thanks Martha!

This serves 12, but you can easily cut it half and bake in a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (jar kind is fine too)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 18 oz)
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 8 oz) or 1 1/4 cups grated pecorino romano cheese (about 5 oz)
1 pound elbow macaroni

Heat oven to 375. Butter a 3 quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small sauce pan (or I just do it in the microwave) melt 2 tbsp butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, toss. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk (again, I sometimes use the microwave). Melt 6 remaining tbsp of butter in a high sided skillet over medium heat. When it bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.

While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

Remove pan from heat, stir in salt, black pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cup gruyere or 1 cup pecorino; set cheese sauce aside.

Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than the manufacturer's directions, until the outside of the pasta is cooked and the inside is under done (different brands cook at different rates, be sure to read the box). Transfer to colander, rinse under cold running water and drain well. Stir into the cheese sauce.

Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining cheeses and breadcrumbs over top. Bake until the top is browned, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Chicken Noodle Soup

This is always a good standby for when you aren't feeling well. Here we used some homemade turkey stock that was frozen from the Thanksgiving turkey. Add your favorite veggies, curl up on the couch and enjoy a nice hot bowl of soup. Don't have stock? Well, canned chicken broth will work as well, it just won't be AS good.

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken or turkey stock (canned will work)
2 chicken breasts, cut up in bite sized pieces
1 cup celery (use the leaves, they have great flavor)
1 cup carrots
1 cup onions
couple of handfuls of egg noodles
salt and pepper to taste
a little fresh or dried thyme

Bring the stock to a boil, then set to simmer. Add the veggies and the chicken, salt and pepper, thyme. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the egg noodles and serve when the noodles are done. You can also add rice if you like, potatoes, peas, etc. You may need to add more stock if the noodles absorb too much liquid.

Butternut Squash Risotto

This recipe comes from a card that I got at Williams-Sonoma. They claim that they sell the butternut squash puree, but apparently either online or in the stores at Thanksgiving, so if you want to make this any other time, you'll need to make your own puree, which isn't that hard. I'll tell you how. They say it serves six, but you could probably serve more, since we had tons leftover.

Ingredients

7 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp minced fresh sage plus more for garnish

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock

2 cups butternut squash puree

2 tbsp olive oil

2/3 cup of carmelized onions (saute onions in butter, sprinkle a little bit of sugar, until they are browned)

2 cups Arborio Rice

1 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tbsp of the butter. Add 1 tbsp of the sage and heat until the butter browns. Strain the butter into a small bowl and discard the sage. Cover the bowl to keep the butter warm.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the stock and the squash puree. Bring just to a simmer. 8 to 10 minutes; maintain over low heat.

In a large saucepan or risotto pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the carmelized onions and rice and stir until the grains are well coated with the oil and nearly translucent with a white dot in the center, about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 tbsp sage and the rosemary. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed.

Add the simmering stock mixture a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after each addition. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding more.

When the rice is tender to the bite, but slightly firm in the center and looks creamy, after about 30 minutes, stir in the remaining 3 tbsp of butter, the 1/2 cup of cheese, salt and pepper. Add more stock if needed so the rice is thick and creamy. Let stand for 2 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sage butter and garnish with a sprinkling of sage and cheese. Serve immediately.

To make squash puree: Cut squash in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and put cut side down on a cookie sheet with a little olive oil and water. Roast in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour, scoop out the flesh and puree with some salt and pepper in a food processor.

Awesome Roast Chicken

Here is the chicken before the roasting started:

This roast chicken is probably the best you've ever had. I brined this bad boy for 24 hours, which I think was the key. Kitty says its one of the best she's ever had.. and she knows chicken. Serve with some mashed potatoes and pan gravy and you will be very happy. Save the chicken bones, and make some stock out of it to make some soup later on. As for the roasted mushrooms in the roast chicken recipe, be sure to make extra, because they are really really good. The brine comes from Alice Waters from Chez Panisse and the Chicken is from Tyler Florence.

Brine:

The recipe makes enough brine for a large turkey. If brining only one chicken or a pork roast, cut the recipe in half.
2-1/2 gallons cold water
2 cups kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 bay leaves, torn into pieces
1 bunch fresh thyme, or 4 tablespoons dried
1 whole head of garlic, peeled
5 whole allspice berries, crushed
4 juniper berries, crushed

Place the water in a large pot that can easily hold the liquid and the meat you intend to brine.
Add all the ingredients and stir for a minute or so until the sugar and salt dissolve.
Refrigerate poultry in the brine for 24 hours; pork for 3 days. If the meat floats to the top, use a plate or other weight to keep it completely submerged in the brine.

Roast Chicken:

1 (3 pound) organic free-range chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 red onion, quartered
1/2 lemon, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 head garlic, about 6 cloves, smashed
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut in 1/2
3 pounds whole cremini mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp towel

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season the cavity with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl combine the onion, lemon, garlic, half the thyme, and 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper and mix it well. Stuff the bird with the mixture. Using 2 (3-foot) pieces of kitchen twine, tie up the chicken: Tuck the wing tips between the wings and the body. Put the midpoint of the twine under the chicken, bring the ends up and around the wings, and pull them tight against the body. Bring the ends of the twine up underneath the legs, wrap the string around them, pull the legs together, and tie them tightly. Place the chicken, breast side up in a roasting pan, and layer the strips of bacon up breast until covered. Scatter over the remaining thyme, drizzle over some more olive oil and season everything with salt and pepper.
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours; arrange the mushrooms around the chicken 45 minutes after roasting. Baste with the pan juices every 20 minutes. The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (the legs should wiggle easily in their sockets.)
Remove the chicken from the pan, cover with foil, and let stand for 10 minutes to rest. Serve the chicken with the roasted mushrooms and pan juices.

Chicken Cacciatore

My mom used to make this. Great for a cool night, and easy to make. Great with a salad and some garlic bread. Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts cut up
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 can sliced olives
1 25 oz jar Marinara Sauce
1 cup of red wine
salt/pepper to taste

Brown salt and peppered chicken in a skillet with butter until browned. Add onion and garlic until they are cooked, slightly tender. Pour marinara sauce and wine in. Cook on simmer for about 20 minutes or so, covered. Add mushrooms, peppers and olives and simmerfor another 15 minutes or so. Serve over pasta of your choice.

Chicken Enchiladas

These are some yummy chicken enchiladas. They are a little time consuming, but worth the effort. To make the enchiladas without the homemade sauce, you could substitute by using Las Palmas Enchilada sauce and they'll take no time at all. If you chose to try the homemade version, this is the one. Couple of notes, I doubled the sauce from the original recipe (recipe below is doubled), since it doesn't seem to be enough, If you have any extra, you could freeze it for next time. I also fry the tortillas all at once, and then fill them all at once. You could also just layer the tortillas like a lasagna if you want to as well. The recipe comes from Rob Williams from the Rob Arnie and Dawn show.

Ingredients

2 boneless chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled to medium rare, then cut/shredded into small pieces. You can also just bake off the chicken breasts in the oven at 350 for about one hour, or to make it even easier, buy a cooked chicken at the grocery store and shred it up.
2 fresh jalapeno peppers
6 cups chicken broth
2 large white onion, chopped
4 cups shredded/grated Mexican white cheese * (I usually 2 cups real Mexican cheese and 2 cups low fat pre-grated "Mexican" cheese mix in a bag)
12 small corn tortillas
4tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons chili powder
½ cup olive oil
4tablespoons white vinegar
2teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoon of sugar
1teaspoon black pepper
**(Most grocery stores now carry a brand called "El Mexicano" which has a cheese called Enchilado Queso Anejo, which is perfect for this dish. If you can't find it, the more mainstream "Mexican cheese in a bag" will work, but the dish will lack some Mexican zest and authenticity).

To Make...
1. For the filling, mix together the grilled chicken, ¾ of the onion and ½ of the cheese in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a non-stick dry skillet, cook the whole peppers over medium high heat, turning often until mostly blackened (about 10 minutes).
3. In a blender or food processor, combine the remaining onion, the roasted jalapeno, broth, sugar, black pepper, garlic, cumin, vinegar, and oregano and puree until smooth. Strain. I also will puree further the strained bits to get more into the sauce.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Using a large sauté pan, heat the butter to medium high.
6. stir in the flour and cook until the flour has browned slightly.
7. Add the chili powder and broth mixture and continue to cook and stir over low heat until thickened. Keep warm.
8. Pour a thin layer of the sauce onto the bottom of a 13x9 baking pan/casserole dish.
9. Using a medium sauté pan, heat the olive oil to hot, then lower to medium heat.10. Fry the tortillas, one at a time, for about 8 - 15 seconds per side (or until toasted). Tortillas should be wilted be wilted, not crisp. Allow excess oil to drip back into pan, then dip the fried tortilla into the sauce mix.
11. Place the tortilla in the baking dish and place a small scoop of the chicken filling in the exact center of the tortilla. Roll/fold the tortilla and place it, crease down in the baking pan.
12. Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas until the pan is full.
13. Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas, then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
14. Bake for 10 minutes and serve.

Serrano Ham and Manchego Crostini

These are some tasty little tapas that I made for our Tapas Dinner Party. Bobby Flay (who I don't hate) made this one up. Very easy to make and even better to eat. The olives are from Corti Brothers and are the spicy ones.

12 slices French bread, sliced on the diagonal into 1/2-inch thick slices
Olive oil
12 thinly sliced pieces Serrano ham
12 thinly sliced pieces Manchego cheese
Whole grain mustard

Preheat grill or a grill pan on the stove. Brush each slice of bread on one side with olive oil and grill, oil-side down until lightly golden brown. Turn over and divide cheese among bread slices. Top each slice of cheese with the slices of ham and grill until the cheese begins to melt. Serve with the mustard.

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Crepes

Tamara made this dish for our Italian themed dinner club dinner. These crepes were so good, and I believe inspired from a Cooking Light recipe. Try this out at your next dinner party and "wow" your guests.

Buy a rotisserie chicken from the deli counter, and use the breast meat for this recipe. You'll have some leftover chicken for another meal later in the week. If you can't find baby portobello mushrooms, use cremini mushrooms. Look for packaged crepes in the produce aisle.

Ingredients:
1 tsp butter
1 cup vertically sliced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups thinly sliced baby portobello mushroom caps (about 6 ounces)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup crème fraîche
2 cups shredded roasted skinless, boneless chicken breast
6 (9-inch) packaged French crepes (such as Melissa's)
Thyme sprigs (optional)
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper; cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. Add wine, and cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Add broth and fresh thyme; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add crème fraîche, stirring until well blended. Add chicken, tossing to coat.Place 1 crepe on each of 6 plates. Spoon about 1/3 cup mushroom mixture into center of each crepe, sprinkle with Monterey Jack; roll up. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 filled crepe)

Crepes

I used 4 tbsp of batter per crepe & cooked approx. 35-45 seconds each side
1 1/3 cups whole milk, room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
3 large eggs
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Mix first 6 ingredients in blender just until smooth. Cover batter and chill at least 15 minutes and up to 1 day. Spray 7-inch-diameter nonstick skillet with vegetable oil spray and heat over medium heat. Pour 2 tbsp batter into pan and swirl to coat bottom. Cook until edge of crepe is light brown, about 1 minute. Loosen edges gently with spatula. Carefully turn crepe over. Cook until bottom begins to brown in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer to plate. Cover with paper towel. Repeat with remaining batter, spraying pan with oil spray as needed and covering each crepe with paper towel. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Mamma's Tortellini Soup

This is called Mamma's Tortellini soup, since it's a recipe from one of our cooking club member's mother. Thank you Tamara and your mom. This soup is wonderful. I put down the original recipe and then the alterations I did. This again is one of those soups that you can add or delete anything you want. Wonderful for a cold winter night. The original recipe serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients
1 lb. of mild Italian sausage, casings removed and broken into bite-sized pieces
4 lg. cloves of garlic, chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cups of zucchini, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
½ tsp. oregano leaves, crushed
4 Knorrs chicken broth cubes
10 cups of water
1 large can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup of fresh chopped Italian parsley
1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
One 18 oz. package of fresh tortellini
Salt & pepper
Fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Method:
1) In a large soup pot, sauté sausage with onion, red & green peppers, garlic and oregano.
2) Add water, chicken broth cubes, tomatoes and beans.
3) Bring to a boil.
4) Reduce to simmer. (You can let it simmer for awhile, if needed.)
4) Add zucchini, parsley and tortellini approx. 20-30 minutes before serving
6) Add salt & pepper to taste.
7) Grate parmesan cheese on top and serve hot.

Changes I made:
In step one, I added 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes.
In step two , instead of water, I used canned chicken broth and did use 1 cube of the chicken broth cubes
In step 4, I also added a half bag of shredded carrots
After adding the tortellini, I did add a little additional chicken stock, since the pasta absorbed some of the water, and it wasn't as "soupy".
Because I didn't drain off the fat from the sausage, I did feel the need to skim it off the top of the soup as it was simmering.

Lemon Crostata With Plums and Goat Cheese

This is a tasty little dessert, especially when summertime plums are in full bloom. You could probably substitute for pears, apples or even berries to make it a little different. I got this recipe out of Oprah's magazine.

Here is how you make it. This serves 4

1 cup of flour
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp of lemon zest
1 stick of cold butter cut in pieces
1 egg yolk lightly beaten
8 small plums, sliced in small slices
4 oz of goat cheese
3 tbsp of honey

blend flour/sugar/zest in mixer until well blended at low speed. Add butter and mix until it resembles a course meal. Drizzle in egg yolk and beat until dough comes together. Take out of bowl and form into a ball and press into a disk and wrap in plastic. Place in fridge for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet (I also sprayed a little pam on it). Roll out dough on the parchment paper into a 10 inch circle. Fold edges over. Put in fridge again for 15 minutes. If dough cracks, just press together.Put cookie sheet with the dough into the oven and bake about 15-20 minutes so that it looks crisp and starting to turn golden brown. Take out of oven. Sprinkle goat cheese over crust and the place the plums in a concentric circle around the top of the tart. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of the honey and put back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes until the plums are starting to soften and crust is fully crisp. Drizzle with remaining honey and let cool. May be served warm or room temperature.

Black Forest Ham and Cheese Strudel

We made this as an appetizer for our German themed Dinner club gathering. It was pretty good, as it was completely gone by the end of the night. Couple of hints: phyllo dough was tough for me to work with, so I learned, to make sure it's defrosted properly (actually says on the box, 5 hours) and I heard that it also has an expiration date on it, so be sure to check that. I have some other notes on ingredients and amounts at the end of the recipe too. Recipe credited to germanfoods.org.

Ingredients:
7 sheets phyllo
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp German Style mustard**
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup grated Tilton or Bruder Basil Cheese**
1 1/2 cup grated Butterkase cheese**
1/4 lb shaved Black Forest Ham
1/4 lb thinly sliced Mettwurst**
1 onion (medium sized) sliced very thin
4 Roma Tomatoes sliced
salt and pepper

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt together butter, mustard and garlic. Place first sheet of phyllo on jelly roll sheet. Brush with butter mixture and sprinkle with Tilton or Bruder Basil. Continue until all of the phyllo is used up.Press together the sheets. Sprinkle top with Butterkase cheese, ham, sausage, onions. Top with tomato slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper.Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are beginning to lightly brown. Don't underbake. Cut into squares.

**I went and bought the German mustard, and found that it didn't taste much different from regular yellow mustard, so I would just recommend using that. I used Bruder Basil instead of Tilton. Nugget Markets (at least the one in South Land Park) carried both Bruder Basil and Butterkase cheeses. I used about the same about of Bruder Basil as the Butterkase, since 1/2 cup would not have been enough for the 7 sheets of phyllo. I found the Mettwurst at Morants Sausage on Franklin Blvd. It seems to be a very hard and spicy pork sausage, so you can can substitute if need be.This also seemed to take 10-15 minutes longer to bake in my oven then what the directions stated.

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

This is a wonderful little surprising shrimp dish. Original credit goes to Cherie K. for serving this to us at her P.F. Changs West party. The peppercorns in this dish give you a really funking feeling numbing sensation in your mouth (no, its not crack or anything like that. It's legal). I am tempted to try the seasonings on beef, it may be just as good as with the shrimp. Enjoy.

Servings: 4 as a main dish

2 TBSP Salt

1 pound large shrimp, unpeeled and deveined

Fill a large bowl with cold water, add 1 TBSP salt. Gently wash the shrimp in salt water, drain and repeat the process using fresh salted water. Rinse under cold running water, drain and blot dry on paper towels.

2 tsp coarse or kosher salt

1 tsp Schezwan peppercorns, ground

1 tsp sugar

Combine the above in a small bowl and set aside.

2 TBSP finely chopped garlic

2 tsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

2 TBSP finely chopped scallions

2 fresh red chili peppers, coarsely chopped

Combine the above in small bowl and set aside

2 cups vegetable or peanut oil (for frying)

Heat wok until hot and add oil. When the oil is very hot and smoking, add the shrimp and deep fry for about a minute or until they are pink (do not overcook). Remove immediately with a slotted spoon and drain well.

Pour off all but about 1 ½ TBSP of oil and reheat wok. Add salt, peppercorn and sugar mixture; stir-fry for about 10 seconds. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions and chili peppers and stir-fry for about 10 seconds more. Return shrimp to the wok and stir-fry over high heat for about 2 minutes or until the spices have thoroughly coated the outside of the shrimp.

Remove and serve immediately

Carne Asada Tacos

These are wonderful tacos that we had at the Tamale Making Party with our Dinner club. We've made them once since the party and found out what we were doing wrong, so now they are worth posting here. David and Stephanie Patten get the credit for this recipe.

3 lbs 1/4 inch sliced beef, nicely marbled.
2 large bell peppers finely chopped, seeded
2 large onions, yellow finely chopped
2 cups of tequila ( we use Jose Cuervo)
3 freshly squeezed lemons
3 freshly squeezed limes
2 bunches of finely chopped cilantro
1 tblsp pepper
2 tblsp salt
� tblsp seasoned salt (Lawry's)
1 tsp cumin
3-4 large fresh garlic cloves, minced

Mix it up and place in a large freezer bag to marinate/cook for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, (overnight is better, which we learned is key, since the citrus will more or less "cook" the meat, and then you just heat it up to serve).

Two hours before serving time, toss the contents of the bag into a crock pot and set it to high.

A seeded Jalapeno can be added for more heat, and a small can of green chili can be added for more flavor.

Salt and pepper to taste before serving.

It freezes well, and call also be scaled down fairly easily for smaller amounts.

Mexican Salad

I made this salad for our dinner club when we had a tamale making party. It was a pretty darn good salad if you ask me. Pretty simple to make, and you can add or delete just about any ingredient. The dressing is credited to Food Network.

Ingredients:

You have to use your judgement on the amount of veggies to put in depending on how many people you are serving. This served about 10.

ice berg lettuce
jicama
shredded carrots
cilantro (a bunch with stems removed)
tomatoes
fresh corn cut straight from the cob (not cooked)
red onion
green onion
avocado

Toss together

vinegarette:

3 Tbsp lime juice
2 shallots minced
2 garlic cloves minced
2 jalapeno peppers minced
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

mix together first 5 ingredients and whisk in the oil. This dressing tasted better after it sat for a few hours in the fridge.

Toss well into the salad and finish off with Queso Fresco Mexican Cheese and homemade tortialla strips.

To make strips

Cut corn tortillas into strips, fry in veggie oil until they are just about golden brown, salt after you remove from the oil. Drain on paper towels.

Citrus Pumpkin Soup

I had this one night at my Jr. League Bunco group and was really surprised how delicious and yummy it was, not to mention very easy to make.

1 Cup onions chopped
white part of a leek, chopped
1 chili pepper chopped
1 tbsp butter
3 Cups of Chicken Stock
150z can of pumpkin puree
zest of one orange
juice of one lemon
salt/pepper to taste
little nutmeg
little allspice
little cinnamon
marscapone cheese (optional)
heavy cream (optional)



In the butter, saute the onions, leek and chili pepper until soft. Add the chicken stock and pumpkin puree, salt and pepper, allspice, zest, juice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Simmer for about 20 minutes or so. When the flavors have melded together, puree in either a blender or use a stick blender in the pan. For additional creaminess add, marscapone cheese (I had about 1/2 cup) and little heavy cream, blend till incorporated. Enjoy.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ok, its a little labor intensive. This was meant to be a small glass of "Mushroom Latte" to be served before a meal, but I wanted a bowl of soup. I scaled this recipe down a little from the original and it made enough for two plus some leftovers, its pretty rich. The original recipe comes from the local restaurant, "The Supper Club", where we learned it at one of their cooking classes. These are the porportions I used:

2 1/2 pounds of crimini mushrooms, stemmed (keep them) and sliced
1 carrot rough chopped
1 medium onion rough chopped
2 cloves of garlic
2 roma tomatoes, rough chopped
1 package dried mushrooms (I used chantarelle since the store was out of porcini--grind them up in the food processor)
1/2 bunch of fresh thyme (the store didn't have fresh, so I used dried and it was fine)
1 largish shallot
2 cups of cream
sherry wine for deglazing
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 regular sized can of beef broth

Saute the stems, onions, carrots, garlic in 1/2 of the oil until slightly carmelized. Add the tomatoes, ground dry mushrooms and thyme saute for another three minutes or so, most of the liquid is absorbed at this point. Cover with water and let simmer for 1 1/2 hours. This makes a mushroom broth

Saute the sliced mushrooms in the rest of the oil until tender, drain and then add the juice from this into the simmering broth. The recipe then called to put these away for another use, or chop fine for this dish...I opted to keep in the pan and cook them down a little more, added the chopped shallot and some sherry wine and let them simmer about 20 minutes or so to cook down. I then added a shot of madeira wine to deglaze again. Then I put them in the food processor to chop up a bit.

After the broth has simmered, strain it and then strain it again (to get the bits of dried mushroom out). I added a can of beef broth at this point. Let that reduce down to almost half. They say to strain again, which I did, then add the cream. Let this reduce down about half, then I added the chopped mushrooms and let that heat through. Serve hot.

If you wanted it to be like the "latte"...froth it with a stick blender before serving and put it in little cups. It was good for a small bowl of soup with some sourdough bread on the side.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of my friend's favorite soups. It's hearty and hits the spot, especially on a nice cold winter night. I also like to call this one, clean out the fridge soup, since you are only limited by your imagination on what to put in it. Here's a starting point, of which I will credit Emeril for giving me the initial inspiration for this. Enjoy.

This is the first stage, how I got here:

2 TBSP olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 pasilla or poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 ears of corn, kernals cut off
1/2 bag of shredded carrots
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of mexican oregano
1 tsp of ground coriander
salt/pepper

saute all of the above in olive oil/butter mixture, you want them to still remain somewhat crunchy. After that:

add 1 can of diced tomatoes
I had a handful of cherry tomatoes and a couple of other random tomatoes, so I added that as well. 2 large cans of chicken broth

Let all that simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Then add 2-4 thinly sliced chicken breasts, let simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add 1 lime worth of juice, squeezed and a handful of chopped cilantro. At this point, you can thicken it if need be...I used about a cup of corn meal, but it started globbing up on me, so cornstarch might be a good option. The corn meal, made like little corn meal dumplings, that weren't horrible. I also tempted fate and added about 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream.

Tortilla strips for garnish: cut up corn tortillas and fry in oil, after they come out of the oil (golden brown) season with Emeril's Essence.

Here is the final plating, with some fresh avocado and sour cream, and a little queso quesadilla mexican cheese, which is pretty mild, Monteray Jack might be a better choice. Enjoy.