More Soup

I've never  succeeded at making a creamy soup before. Sometimes I can get away with using soy cream cheese to replicate some of the cream taste, but it's never quite right. but this 'creamy' chicken soup turned out very very tasty! I adapted one of the recipes from the Julia Child cookbook where she uses pureed cooked rice to thicken the soup base. I precooked the carrots in the microwave, which prevented them from turning mushy and shortened the overall soup cooking time. I had frozen puff pastry sheets so I just covered an oven proof dish filled with soup with the pastry and it was great. I liked the crisp on the outside but a little popover type doughiness (should be a word, anyway) of the finished crust.

Creamy Chicken Soup (milk free) for Chicken Pot Pie

Dice, and sauté in 2-3 tbl butter or margarine until limp: ( I put it all in my largest sauce pan.)
    1/2 sweet onion, (about 2 cups diced) 2-3  ribs of celery, (about 1 ½ cups)
Meanwhile, cook 1 ½ cups diced or bite size julienne sliced carrots in 2 cups chicken broth in the microwave on high for about 5 minutes or until just starting to soften. Reserve the carrots.
Combine in the large saucepan with the onion mixture~
    ½ cup raw white rice, the chicken broth without the carrots, plus 4-5 cups
    additional liquid- more broth (vegetable, chicken) or water
    ½ cup dry white wine
    1 tsp dried thyme, 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 1 lg bay leaf
Cook until the rice is very tender about 30 minutes.  Add 2tbls soy (or real) cream cheese. Puree the mixture until smooth and creamy. (I put it in the food processor- remove the bay leaf)
Return to the saucepan, over med low heat and add:
2 boned and skinned chicken breast halves cut into 4 pieces
The reserved carrots
 Simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken can be shredded. Shred the chicken into bite size, but hearty chunks. Return to pot and add:
    Salt and pepper to taste
    1 cup sliced or diced raw mushrooms
    3 green onions diced
    1 cup frozen peas
    fresh or dried parsley to taste
Simmer for another 5-15 minutes or until mushrooms soften.
Serve as  a yummy soup OR ladle into an oven proof high sided soufflé dish or other casserole type bowl. Lay one thawed square of Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Dough sheets (available in the freezer section of most big box grocery stores) over the top of the dish and arrange and crimp the dough to form a generous pleated if need be ‘lid’ to the pie. Brush with one beaten egg wash. Cook until puffed and browned in a 425 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.

And now she's 30!

We had a great time at a Morrocan Restaurant in Portland for the big three-oh birthday. Here's my attempt to recreate a wonderful chicken with dried apricots that was served during the belly dancing! Mine isn't quite as sweet-also not as exciting- but turned out tasty, none the less.

Apricot Chicken

~ Brown 8 skinless chicken thighs in 2 tbls olive oil in a large roasting pan (stove top safe) push meat to one end of the pan and add:
1 ½ onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
2-3 carrots, diced
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
~Saute until onions are translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.
~Add to pan and combine with meat and veggies:
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp tandoori spice (available at world market – or try subbing ½ tsp ea. coriander, ground allspice, salt, and nutmeg)
1 tsp ground ginger, plus 1 inch fresh minced
½ tsp hot pepper sauce or to taste
¼ tsp turmeric
~Stir in:
2 cups chicken broth (might need to add more liquid as it cooks)
Juice from 2 large oranges, 1 large lemon (about 1 cup juice)
1 cup dried apricots
2 -3 tbls apricot jam

Cover and cook in 350 degree oven for 45 mins. or until chicken is almost falling off the bone. Uncover. Add 3-4 zucchini, cubed, 1 drained can of garbonzo beans (chick peas) and ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro. Cook until squash is just tender, 5-10 minutes.
Garnish with green olives and serve with couscous mixed with toasted almonds.

Serves about 8

Wedding Menu

Wedding Menu- August 30, 2003

This is a post I prepared to celebrate L and T's anniversary, but then I had a senior moment and "I FORGOT!" Doh- Anyway, I'll try to recreate the missing recipes and post them soon. It was a wonderful menu.


Oaxan peanuts and tri color chips with salsa
Scallop cakes with cilantro aioli
Jicama and orange skewers with mint and lime marinade
Mini Mexican quiches of cheese and green chilies
Cherry tomatoes stuffed with corn salsa

Mexican spring rolls with herbed dipping sauce*
Savory chicken fillo empanadas*
Mini sweet peppers with cilantro ranch dip
Pepper jack cheese cubes with scallions

Dinner Buffet:
Marinated prawns with lemon mango salsa served on greens*
Cheese enchiladas
Tortillas –warm with guacamole* and assorted salsas
Shredded red cabbage and orange salad with White Mexican Dressing*
Black Bean and corn salad with red sweet peppers*
Garden tomato salad with fresh oregano vinaigrette*

Bowls of seasonal berries
Brownies
Wedding Cake



*recipes made by friends and family

Coq au Vin

This is a wonderful wintertime, do ahead, chicken in wine stew to enjoy with friends. It takes a bit of chopping and stirring- but most of the work is done ahead and if you make
the mashed potatoes ahead, too- it's not bad. I mash the potatoes with soy cream cheese, and margarine, and chicken broth- refrigerate overnight and just reheat in the microwave.
We also had a salad with spicy pecans and pears, and quick, sauteed green beans tossed with roasted red peppers. Pumpkin pie came with a friend for dessert!




Coq au Vin (Adapted from The Silver Palate)


~One day before serving, fry 10 slices of bacon in a large roasting pan that can
handle stove top cooking too. When crisp, remove and drain on paper towels

~Brown about 6 lbs of chicken pieces in the hot bacon fat. I think that thighs (with skin and bones) are best- but you can also use halved (like you have to cleave the usual size chicken breast in half) chicken breast pieces (so they’re more the size of thighs) if you only like white meat- or mix and match. Remove when nicely browned and set aside.

~Add to pan and sauté for 5 mins-
20 or so 1 inch peeled boiling onions
2 bunches, chopped scallions (mostly just the white part)
1 small regular onion chopped fine
1 large head garlic, cloves separated and peeled (cut big cloves in half)

~Sprinkle 3 tbls flour over the vegetable mixture and stir to combine
Cook for a minute or so.
~Slowly add to vegetable mixture:
3 ½ cups of good quality hearty red wine (cabernet sauvignon or a favorite)
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme leaves, 3 bay leaves,
2 tbls ketchup
2 tbls dried or fresh parsley, chopped
~Heat mixture to boiling, return chicken and crumbled bacon to pan and spread
out evenly. Salt and pepper to taste. Cool, cover and refrigerate over night.

~The next day, let the coq au vin warm to room temperature before baking.
~Add 1 pound mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered, about 4 cups of 3 -4 inch
long, julienned carrots
~Bake covered for an hour in a 350 degree oven.

~Uncover, stir, add additional broth so that the tops of the chicken pieces can
brown, but the lower halves stay in the liquid, and continue cooking for
at least an hour- or until the meat is almost falling off the bone tender
and the liquid is gravy consistency.

~Serves 8-10, sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley and mashed potatoes.

Salsa Chicken Soup

I made this to contribute to our night before Thanksgiving dinner. Folks had started to arrive from out of town and we were gathering at our Daughter's home. It was a nice and easy meal. We had guacamole and chips and spicy persimmon salad with the soup- felt very decadent to have such pretty and fun side dishes. (Both recipes are posted)
The first time I had a soup like this was in college at our good friends' house in Mexico. We were sunburned and tired after a great beach day and pretty much just opened cans and mixed things together. We added canned black olives that day,and I think the salsa and canned tomatoes were the only other vegetables- good though.
Salsa Chicken Soup

Dice, peel if desired, and sauté until limp:
1 sweet onion, 4-5 carrots, 4-5 ribs of celery, 1 green pepper
Combine in large saucepan with~
6 ½ chicken breasts (boneless, skinless -cut in thirds)
1 can diced green chili, 1 can diced tomatoes with liquid, 1/2cup tequila,
½ cup mild salsa, 1 qt. chicken broth, 1 whole lemon- seeded cut in half
Season with- 1-2tbl smoked paprika, 5 crushed cloves garlic, chopped fresh
Cilantro (1/4 cup or so) 2 tsp cumin or to taste-2 tsp dried oregano, 2 bay
leaves. You might want to add more liquid as needed.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1 hour or until carrots are softened and chicken can be shredded. Can be frozen. Add 1 can black beans before reheating.


Serves about 8- with leftovers.

Almost your Birthday Puff Pastry Chicken

Happy Birthday M.! This is a favorite- you can add any flavors you like to the spread- or try a combination of cream cheese with herbs. Just make sure you use enough in each packet to keep the chicken moist.


Chicken in Puff Pastry

Preheat oven to 400-


~Mix together:
3/4 cup chopped green onion (opt)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbls lemon juice
2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
3/4 tsp dry tarragon

~Roll 1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets* out on a floured board
till it’s about 12” x 16” – cut into 6 equal pieces

~To make packets:
place 1 tbls of mayonnaise on each section
top with 1 boneless skinless chicken breast lightly salt and peppered
fold meat around about 2 more tbls of mayonnaise mixture
fold the pastry over the chicken stuff to form a closed packet-
use 1 egg beaten with 1 tbls of water as ‘glue’ and to wash top of packets
~Place seam side down in a shallow roasting pan

~Bake until toasty brown-(45 mins) and let rest 5 minutes before serving


Serves 4-6 .

*Allow time to defrost the pastry- in gets wrecked if you try to microwave it- You might also need to turn down the oven part way through cooking to prevent pastry from browning too fast- but it’s important to start it in a hot oven to crisp the packets.

Beer Butt Chicken

This is our friend CM's recipe, and marked my official re-entry into chicken-eatingness.

Insert a 3/4 full can of beer (we prefer Pabst Blue Ribbon) in a whole chicken, standing upright on a pie plate or broiling pan.

Make a spice rub out using about 1 tbsp olive oil, a splash of beer, and equal parts:

garlic powder
salt and pepper
chili powder
onion powder
paprika
oregano

Rub the entire chicken with the spice mixture, and put anything leftover in the beer can itself. Cook on the bar-b-que on high (or in the oven at 425) for 45-60 minutes or until the wings pull off easily.

You can do all different versions of this one--we like to do a Mexican take using Chalula sauce and Mexican seasoning in the rub.

Cilantro Pesto

This one is so easy, and great- spicy from the cilantro and mellowed by the nuts.
Try this on grilled salmon with a corn and tomato salad. Or with shrimp fajitas with avocado, mango, and black beans. Or fish with mango salsa and green chili polenta!
Hmmm- maybe try it with the beer OR with wine...not both?
Cilantro Macadamia Nut Pesto-

~Combine in food processor:
2 cups, loose packed, washed and dried,fresh cilantro leaves, (it takes a while to remove the little leaves from the stems- it’s ok to have a few stems, but make sure you process them till finely chopped) 6 – 8 roasted garlic cloves, (or 2 minced fresh), 3/4c dry roasted, salted macadamia nuts , and juice from 1 lime.

~Process until roughly ground and then slowly drizzle in:
3/4 c olive oil or peanut oil
~Process until finely ground and creamy.

~ Add salt to taste- if you like it spicier- increase the cilantro a bit.

Serve with shrimp or chicken or fish-

Lemon Tarragon Chicken

Lemon Tarragon Chicken –

This is one of the chicken recipes that we've used a lot- rain, snow or shine-
but it is a weird recipe- just because you let the garlic get bitter and the tarragon is sort of bitter too- some how it works with the savory chicken. I’ve used it with individual game hens too and any garlic lover will like it.

~Place 8 chicken pieces in a roasting type pan – I think that thighs (with skin and bones) are best- but you can also use halved (like you have to cleave the usual size chicken breast in half) chicken breast pieces (so they’re more the size of thighs) if you only like white meat- or mix and match.
~Preheat oven to 425
~Cut off the ends of three large lemons and then cut off the rest of the peels.
Of course you can peel lemons any old way you like- but this way you get to have a flat part that helps the lemon sit still while you work on the rest of the peeling.
~Cut out the little lemon segments leaving behind the white membrane and the seeds.
~You should pour any lemon juices you can salvage over the chicken. Once in a
while, I add a little margarine or white wine to the roasting pan- especially if I’m using a lot of white meat.
~Sprinkle about 3/4 tblsp dried tarragon leaves over your pile of prepared lemon
and mix it all up.
~ Slip about 1/8th of your total lemon/tarragon stuff under the chicken skin
of each piece- smoosh it down so it covers the piece pretty evenly.
~Use your garlic press to mince 3-4 cloves of garlic and spread scant 1/2 of a
minced clove over each of the chicken pieces skins.

Roast for 15 minutes at 425 and then turn oven down to about 375 and continue roasting uncovered until quite done-(1-1 1/2 hours) this is hard to cook too long- the chicken pieces actually stay pretty moist in their own juices and the skin should be crispy with browned garlic.

Serves 4-6 depending on their appetites.

Las Cuevas Fajita Chicken

Chicken Fajitas

~Chop in a rough dice and sauté in 2 tbls good quality olive oil
1 med sweet onion until soft and sweetly fragrant
2 cloves minced garlic

~Drain, remove from pan and set aside onion mixture.
~Add to pan:
More olive oil (enough to just coat bottom of pan for sautéing)-heat oil
before adding:
3-4 chicken (boneless, skinless breasts)-cut into bite size pieces
~ Sauté about 7 mins.
~ Add to pan and chicken and sauté for 5-10 mins or until chicken is no longer pink
and vegetables are soft:
Sautéed onion mixture
1 diced sweet red or yellow pepper
1 diced large tomato
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1-2tbls chili powder or scant 1 tbls chipolte chili powder (it’s spicier)
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1-2tsp cumin powder
salt to taste- or garlic salt to taste
1 tsp red chili flakes (optional- just depends on how much kick you want)
1 tbls ketchup

~Fry or heat flour tortillas (ooo- Costco has some ‘ready to cook flour’ tortillas that you just heat in a frying pan and they are really fresh and good)

~Serve in tortillas with grated cheese, lettuce, guacamole, chopped tomatoes,
salsa

Nice with heated black beans (I just heat a drained can in a sauce pan with a little ketchup and pressed garlic) and Spanish rice (I just reheat cooked rice with a bit of tomato paste, salt, diced roasted green chili, and a pinch of saffron)

Serves 4-6

Mustardy Fish Marinade

Citrus and Mustard Marinade.
Great for a big group!


This came from my sister in law a long time ago. I forget about how great and easy it is-and yet sophisticated too. I use it on mild fish- but it'd be great on pork or chicken.



~ Combine:
3 tbls olive oil
2 tbls sweet hot mustard
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbls lemon juice
1 tbls orange rind
Juice of 1/2 orange

~ And use to marinate for 15-20 mins:
1 1/2 lb firm white fish fillet (salt and pepper to taste)

~Remove fish from marinade and broil or grill

~Heat marinade in small sauce pan with 3 tbls fresh chopped parsley

Serve fish with marinade – garnish with fresh cilantro and orange slices
Serves 4-6