Will's Tasty Robillita

I hope you like what I've done with your soup Will. : )

Ribollita is a wonderful, tasty Italian soup dating back to the 17th century. Served up with a wedge of Parmesan and some crusty Ciabatta, this is a perfect way to get your veggies in winter or summer!



Ingredients

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling on bread
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 medium carrot, chopped
* Six slices smoked bacon, stripped of fat and chopped
* 2 cloves garlic; 1 minced; 1 whole
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon double-concentrated tomato paste
* 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 pound frozen kale or spinach; thawed and squeezed dry (you can certainly use the equivalent amount of fresh product in the summertime, or if available in winter)
* 1 (15-ounce) can cannelloni beans; drained and rinsed
* 1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence
* 3 cups chicken stock (I use ‘Better than Boullion’ vegetable-based stock)
* 1 bay leaf

(Total raw-prep time: 1/2hr)






Directions

* Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat.
* Add the onion, carrot, bacon, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onion and garlic have begun to caramelize and the bacon is starting to crisp (6-8min.).
* Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved.
* Add tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits.
* Add the spinach, beans, herbs, stock and Bay leaf.
* Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer (just bubbling) for around 30 minutes.
* (Total cooking time – 45min.
* Total preparation time – 1 1/4hrs.)














It was tasty indeed!~












One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

La Creme de Soupe de Champignon Redux

When I think of comfort food,

I want something soothing,

something creamy,

something that warms me

from the inside out.

Soup does it for me every time.

Don't cringe when you hear me say

Campbell's cream of mushroom soup,

made with milk heavy cream and a

tin of canned mushrooms added to it is what I go to.

I can do better than that and I know it.

I love James Beard. 

He's one of my absolute favorite chefs.

I have over 500 cookbooks.

His book American Cookery, is one I reach for time and again .

Don't think I have a big head about my collection.

I know there are people out there with thousands.

And my mom keeps me humble by

reminding me with a couple of credit cards

she could outdo my collection in a matter of minutes.

This was the one book I got from my Granny.

Until today,  I hadn't noticed her handwriting there on the page.

She is one of my favorite "comforts"

Makes me smile and remember.

I love her script.

.

Sharon is her daughter and my mother.

My mother is another favorite "comfort"

: )

On with the food yes?

***************************

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound mushrooms

1 quart chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons sherry or Cognac (optional)

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco (I say optional)

I also added:

shallots

garlic

and a dash of nutmeg

Preparation:

Mushrooms. I used white button.That's what I had in the frig.

Note that this is only a base recipe, use any and all mushrooms you like.

More mushrooms the better, a variety of shrooms

will add depth to the flavor of your soup and different textures are a good thing.

It's recommended 

you clean your mushrooms 

with a dry towel, 

or a mushroom brush.

Remove the stems, set those aside.

As for the mushrooms,

mince them. slice them...

Mr. Beard wants you to melt equal parts butter, and or olive oil

and flour, add mushrooms saute, add broth, cream and season.

I say,

instead of the roux,

(yes I dare to disagree with the master of all things culinary)

do the butter/olive oil.

lightly saute the shallots and garlic,

 deglaze with sherry.

Toss in the mushrooms,

add pinch of salt,

cook until they are softened.

set aside.

oh hey those mushroom stems?

Add those to your chicken stock. I use what two or three cups if that?

You want to steep these in the broth, until the mushroom flavor is imparted.

40 minutes or so.

Strain the mushrooms using cheesecloth.

Pour the strained liquid into the stock.

Grab your mushrooms....

Into the stock they go...

Add your cream...

*if you choose to skip the roux,

use enough stock to barely cover the mushrooms,

then add the cream.

Let it sit on low for a bit. 

Garnish with parsley, pinch of nutmeg. salt. pepper.

On a cold wintry Sunday afternoon, there's nothing more comforting for me ...

Note from the Cook:

Do your sauteing and deglazing in a heavy bottomed dutch oven/soup pot. I love and use Le Creuset

Then all you have to do is add your home made chicken stock and cream to the cooked mushrooms,

 with no major clean up, it can all be done in one pot.

While you're at it ...

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Le Creuset

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

La Creme de Soupe de Champignon

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats 

Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Le Creuset. 

 Voting is now open. I sure hope you'll vote for me!  

I'm # 27 and #28  

 Voting will end on December 19th.  
CLICK THIS TO GO TO THE VOTING PAGE

I love James Beard. 

He's one of my absolute favorite chefs.

I have over 500 cookbooks.

His book American Cookery, is one I reach for time and again .

Don't think I have a big head about my collection.

I know there are people out there with thousands.
And my mom keeps me humble by
reminding me with a couple of credit cards
she could outdo my collection in a matter of minutes.

This was the one book I got from my Granny.

Until today,  I hadn't noticed her handwriting there on the page.

She is one of my favorite "comforts"

Makes me smile and remember.

I love her script.

.

Sharon is her daughter and my mother.
My mother is another favorite "comfort"

: )

On with the food yes?

***************************



Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound mushrooms

1 quart chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons sherry or Cognac (optional)

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco (I say optional)

I also added:

shallots

garlic

and a dash of nutmeg

Preparation:

Mushrooms. I used white button.That's what I had in the frig.

Note that this is only a base recipe, use any and all mushrooms you like.

More mushrooms the better, a variety of shrooms

will add depth to the flavor of your soup and different textures are a good thing.

It's recommended 

you clean your mushrooms 

with a dry towel, 

or a mushroom brush.

Remove the stems, set those aside.

As for the mushrooms,

mince them. slice them...

Mr. Beard wants you to melt equal parts butter, and or olive oil

and flour, add mushrooms saute, add broth, cream and season.

I say,

instead of the roux,

(yes I dare to disagree with the master of all things culinary)

do the butter/olive oil.
lightly saute the shallots and garlic,
 deglaze with sherry.

Toss in the mushrooms,

add pinch of salt,

cook until they are softened.

set aside.

oh hey those mushroom stems?

Add those to your chicken stock. I use what two or three cups if that?

You want to steep these in the broth, until the mushroom flavor is imparted.

40 minutes or so.

Strain the mushrooms using cheesecloth.

Pour the strained liquid into the stock.

Grab your mushrooms....

Into the stock they go...

Add your cream...
*if you choose to skip the roux,
use enough stock to barely cover the mushrooms,
then add the cream.

Let it sit on low for a bit. 

Garnish with parsley, pinch of nutmeg. salt. pepper.

On a cold wintry Sunday afternoon, there's nothing more comforting for me ...

Note from the Cook:
Do your sauteing and deglazing in a heavy bottomed dutch oven/soup pot. I love and use Le Creuset
Then all you have to do is add your home made chicken stock and cream to the cooked mushrooms,
 with no major clean up, it can all be done in one pot.

While you're at it ...

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Le Creuset















One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Six Ingredients

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup with Cream

(MASTER RECIPE)

Ingredients:


Red bell peppers roasted
(I added yellow as well)
Three large cloves of garlic smashed
Salt
Pepper
Heavy whipping cream
Vegetable or Chicken Broth


Preparation:


I don't measure.

I roast my own peppers.

Puree the roasted peppers
(make sure you have removed all the seeds before puree'ing)
(as well as the skins if you have roasted them yourself)

Add enough broth to thin it out to your liking.
(remember you are adding cream to this)

smash the cloves of garlic.
add to the soup.
salt and pepper to taste

simmer on low for an hour.

Add the heavy cream.
I like a lot of cream.
but that's me.




I like more cream than what's in this picture
and this cream was added
after i poured the soup
for prettiness.

The Cook's word on soup:

It always taste better the next day.
Everybody knows that right?

It doesn't take 3290485675 ingredients
to make something spectacular.
Everybody knows that too ...

Sometimes,
we try too hard.
We over season, when we didn't need to.
it ruins what was already good.


This is just a base recipe...
the roasted bell peppers could be switched out for
pumpkin
butternut squash
broccoli
corn
asparagus
cauliflower
garlic
potato



y'all have a good weekend.

xo

Dave's Hunter Minestrone

(Dave happens to be my Dad) : )))

We're in a bit of deep freeze in northern Minnesota.

With the wind chill over night temps are running -25 /- 30 give or take,
I thought a nice warm soup might be in order. Kitchen's open. Make yourself at home...

Ingredients:

2qts Chicken Stock
1 head Garlic, halved
1/2 lb Campanelle or small Penne pasta
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 fresh Sage leaves
1 sprig fresh Rosemary
1 sprig fresh Thyme
3/4 lb loose sweet Itailan sausage
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 28 oz can crushed plum tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 28 oz can cannelloni beans, draned and rinsed.
1/2 bunch fresh parsley leaves, finely minced (Italian flat leaf parsely)
Coursely ground black pepper
1 baguette sliced
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano



Preparation:

Put the stock and halved garlic head in a saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes
to give the stock a nice garlicky taste; strain out the garlic, keep warm.

Bring a pot of salted water to boil for the noodles.

Pour 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the sage, rosemary and thyme.
Warm the oil over medium heat to infuse it with the flavor of the herbs for 3-5 minutes.
Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the sausage with the side of a big spoon
until well browned. Chop the carrots, celery and onion in a food processor.
Add to the saucepan and cook for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables
are softened but not browned.

Stir in the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, cannelloni beans
and the chicken stock in the pan with the sausage.
Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook the noodles slightly underdone, about 6 minutes. Drain and stir into the soup.

Add the parsley, ground pepper and salt to taste. discard the bay leaf and herb sprigs.

Put the baguette slices in a single layer on ta baking sheet.
Sprinkle with parmesan and broil until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
Ladle the soup into bowls and float the baguette slice on top.
(nice idea, I'm happy with a fresh baguette and butter)

A Roasting of Chicken and Vegetables

The simplest food is usually the best.
This is some serious LOVE YOU food.
So EAT I say!

Ingredients:



1 Chicken
(whole)

Potatoes

Rutabaga

Carrots

Corn


Brussel Sprouts and Cabbage


Sweet Potato

(or a yam)

Green beans

These are what I happened to have in my frig,
Use vegetables you like.

Ah, and chicken broth.



Preparation:

Liberally salt and pepper the chicken.

The salt that falls into the bottom of the pan will season your vegetables.

I dig these little handy props for the chicken roasting,

roasts the bird evenly on all sides.
You can find them anywhere,
either one like this or one of those beer butt chicken holders.

I put my chicken in first because I want to give it a head start,
while I work on the vegetables.

Remember how we chopped up a potato?
Same thing here with the rutabaga, and yam. Cut both ends off.

Slice the skin off the sides

I like to chop them relatively small, they'd be overcooked
and nothing but mush if I put them in right away.

*Ack, let me say this also,you can make this dish in a crock pot,
you can substitute ham for the chicken,
you can cook this in a closed casserole dish.......doesn't really matter.



Chop the vegetables.
Leave the brussel sprouts whole.

Remove the cabbage core

Cut the cabbage in half.

V out the middle white core.

Hey! About the celery, don't throw out the hearts,
the leaves in the middle... there's a ton of flavor in those little things.

As for carrots, I leave the skin on.

I cut my corn into pieces, they'll cook a little faster.

You'll rarely see me use a food processor.



I love the slicing and dicing.
I like my hands on the food.

After giving the chicken a half hour start in the oven

drop the vegetables in the roasting pan.

Add enough chicken broth to almost cover them.

All the aromatics are going to flavor the chicken.
I can't begin to tell you how freakin good your house is going to smell.

I never pay attention to time.
I watch the chicken.

When I can move the legs, or the wing easily it's done.
(Roughly and hour, hour and a half if I had to guess)

Oh and this will make one hell of a pot of soup the next day.

Might look a little plain here,


but I don't really care.....
I was WAY too hungry to fuss with it. And I was losin daylight fast.
What it lacks in presentation it makes up for in taste.
.The chicken was so succulent, and the flavor imparted from all the aromatics...

It had flavor that's good enough for me.

DAY TWO



Best part of this dish is what happened today........soup.
Take the chicken meat off the bone, tear into small pieces
and add to soup, add more chicken stock, little salt and pepper.

Peggy Lu's Chicken and Noodles

I asked people what their idea of comfort food was.

Took a bit of a poll on FaceBook.  The answers were 

all over the place. Comfort food is a very personal thing I've learned.

There's not necessarily a most popular, everyone has their own idea of comfort. 

I was thinking about what I want when I want comfort food,

it varies depending on the day.  

Chicken and dumplings just sounds good to me.

After seeing her post and salivating a bit
I decided this was going to be Sunday night dinner.
Most of this recipe is HERS.
Credit where credit due.
I'm not the best at following recipes to the T.
And this was no exception.
Now her base recipe is excellent,
my changes happened because I was out of one or two things
and needed to improvise.

Chicken Broth

1 - 5lb stewing chicken (I use chicken breasts now so I can skip the stripping part)

1 ½ qts. Water (I use vegetable or chicken broth)

2 tsp. salt

1 onion (mine is sans onion, I was out, go figure)

1 carrot

1 branch celery

Place chicken in large kettle,

add water, salt, onion, carrot & celery

(leave these in large pieces - they’re only for flavoring and you‘re going to strain them out).
 
 

Simmer covered until tender.

(3 - 3 ½ hrs. for a whole chicken … about I hr. for frozen skinless/boneless chicken breasts)

Remove chicken, cool, strip into large pieces.

Strain veggies from broth.

Refrigerate chicken & broth when cool.

Egg Noodles

3 egg yolks

1 whole egg

3 tsp. cold water (I ended up using about 6 Tbs.)

1 tsp. salt

2 cups of flour

Beat yolks and egg well. Beat in water & salt
Measure flour. Stir in with spoon. Dough is stiff, knead in last of flour
Dough is stiff, knead in last of flour. Divide into 3 parts.
Roll each piece as thin as possible on lightly floured surface.



Cut into strips.



Allow to dry before using.
I happen to have a pasta rack, mostly it collects dust.
Was happy to be able to use it.
At one time I thought I was going to
make home made pasta regularly.
yeh.
no.

Here's where I went my own way:

I melted about 3/4 of a stick of butter, added a half cup flour.
This is called a roux.
The reason behind this method is to cook the flour in the butter
so it doesn't taste pasty which is what sometimes
happens when flour is added to liquid.
Typically it's equal parts flour to butter.

I then added the chicken broth, stirring as it thickened.

Peggy used food coloring,
I didn't have any.
I thought what would give this a yellow color.
Saffron. Tumeric. Curry.
I chose Curry.
I used about an 1/4 tsp.

Curry imparts a rather strong flavor,
better to add less than to over season.
The only other thing I added to this was pepper.

I'm also a smeller.
I season by smell.
Instead of onion or celery salt/powder,
I took three stalks of celery and thru them in for additional flavor.
(is it stalks or ribs. ha. I dunno.)

I was short for chicken stock,
so once my broth started to thicken,
I added the noodles and the chicken.
hey that rhymed. HA!
Let it simmer for about 35 minutes with the cover on.

Miss Peggy I can't thank you enough.
I have never successfully made egg noodles.
These were PERFECT! In fact this is one of my new favorite comfort foods.
I hope I did your recipe justice!





hey...what's dinner without dessert?




new york vanilla ice cream.
One of my fav's.
My grandpa used to make these
and of course they were called Grandpa Specials.

More comfort food.
ha.


How'd I do Miss Peggy Lu?





Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Le Creuset

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.