Get Well Chicken Soup

The weather is beautiful here in Southern California.  But we still have the cold & flu season to battle even in the sunshiny weather. When I heard a friend had been down with pneumonia since before Christmas, I felt compelled to make some soup to share. Once I started I couldn't stop and I've made three batches this week, handing it out to the not so well as they each raised their hands as willing acceptors of the healing liquid.  A longtime friend requested the recipe so she could share with her family and friends & here it is, my Get Well Chicken Soup.

Get Well Chicken Soup

(Feeds 6-10 depending on sickness) 

 

Get Well Broth Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery ribs
4 garlic cloves
4 slices of ginger
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1 sprig of flat leaf parsley
10 peppercorns

Soup Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
Salt to taste
8 oz wide egg noodles

Special Equipment
Cheese cloth for straining

Method
Rinse the chicken in cold water and place it in a big soup pot. Trim the onion, carrots and celery & cut into large chunks. Put them in the pot with the chicken.  Add the other broth ingredients to the pot (ginger, garlic, bay, thyme, parsley & peppercorns). Fill the pot within 1" of the top with water and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat and keep at a very low simmer for 2 hours.  Remove the chicken from the broth and let it cool.  Turn off the heat on the broth. Remove the meat from the chicken and pull apart into bite sized pieces.

In another large pot, heat 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil over medium heat. Saute the diced onion, carrot and celery until they begin to soften. Turn the heat to low.

Drape cheesecloth over a strainer and place over the onion, carrots & celery.  Ladle the broth into the strainer and keep adding broth until you have 3" of liquid over your vegetables. Remove the strainer. Add the chicken meat and stir gently. Bring to a boil.  Simmer until vegetables are tender. Add salt to taste.

Add noodles in last 10 minutes of cooking - OR cook noodles separately and serve the soup poured over the noodles. 

Add more strained broth as necessary and to your taste.

Don't waste any extra broth. Strain and reserve for other use or drink it!

Enjoy!

BLOT Sauce for Cheese Ravioli: Oscar Inspiration

Years ago I catered an Oscar party and one of the dishes I served was a Tomato, Escarole & Bacon pasta. I used lovely cherry tomatoes, cut in half and tossed into a hot pan where the bacon was crisping, some shallot and garlic were added creating an intoxicating aroma to entice the party guests. Fresh herbs as well a head of torn escarole, some white wine & chicken stock were added as well. It was finished off with luscious al dente cooked pasta which was all gently tossed together as the greens wilted and the flavors melded before it was quickly devoured by the hungry movie buffs.

Inspired by that dish and a large box of Pomi diced tomatoes in my pantry, I set out to create a more simple version which could be whipped up in 20 minutes. So I stripped the recipe in my memory down to the BLT ingredients, but added the O(lives) for texture and punch.

It's may not be Oscar worthy, but certainly does make a quick delicious dinner for the family.

Enjoy!

Bacon, escaroLe, Olive & Tomato - BLOT Sauce
for Cheese Ravioli or Tortellini

(Serves 4, more or less)

Ingredients:
6 oz. diced bacon
2 lb. can or box of Pomi diced tomatoes
1/3 Cup Kalmata olives
salt, pepper
dried Italian herb mix or Oregano to taste
1 head of Escarole
1 lb of cheese ravioli or tortellini


Method:
Fill a large pot with water and put it on to boil.* Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and continue to occasionally stir the bacon as it cooks for about 8 minutes until very crispy.
Meanwhile, thoroughly wash the head of escarole.  Cut out the core and trim off the coarse white ends. Tear or cut the leaves into 2" pieces. Set aside.
Pit and coarsely chop the olives. Set aside.
When the bacon is crispy remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Pour out 1/2 of the bacon drippings in the pan (if you are a whimp, I left them all in there.).
Return pan to the heat and pour in the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a slow simmer.
Add a little salt and pepper and a teaspoon or so of a favorite dried spice mix (I used a Greek blend because I really love Greek oregano, but use whatever is on hand.) to taste.
Add the escarole and olives. Stir to combine thoroughly.  Partially cover.
Cook the ravioli pasta al dente, don't over cook. Before you drain the pasta, add 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water to the tomato escarole sauce.
Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Stir gently to thoroughly coat the ravioli.
Don't forget to add back the bacon into the pan.**
Serve to hungry family.



*A very smart friend has passed on the advice of a wise chef & that is to always first put a pot of water on to boil, you will need it for something, surely.
**Honestly, I was taking the picture I shared on my blog of this dish & saw the bowl of bacon I had completely forgotten to put back into the dish.  Ha, mediocre dish avoided!

Sharing my cheesy knowledge over at the Lybations blog - LybationNation.

Quick little post about labeling the cheeses you are sharing this holiday season: Chalk it up to Great Taste

Happy Holidays!

Greek(ish) Baked Shrimp, for the sour lover!

Greek(ish) Baked Shrimp

When I have a craving for sour, I pull out the pepperoncini and eat a few, right out of the jar.  If that doesn’t satisfy my need for acid, I make this dish.  Each time I make it I’ve added a new component and now it’s a great way to clean out the refrigerator of a bunch of pickled jarred items.  Tastes great too!

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 Tomatoes, cored, cut into large dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 mild roasted red pepper (I used fresh, but jarred is fine), diced
• 10 Kalmata Olives, coarsely chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Capers, rinsed
• 3 Pepperoncini peppers, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons of Threbe (Wild Greek Oregano)*
• ½ Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb peeled, deveined raw shrimp
• 8 oz. Greek Sheep milk Feta cheese, diced
• 1 lemon, cut into supremes, broken into bits**

Method:

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, add 3 Tablespoons of the Olive Oil.  Use the remaining Tablespoon of Olive Oil to oil the inside of a 9 x 12 baking dish.  Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cook the onion in the oil until it becomes softened (5 minutes).  Keep the heat down low, you don’t want any browning.  Add the Tomatoes and garlic.  Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the red pepper, olives, capers, pepperoncini, Threbe and pepper.  Mix well.  Turn off the heat.  Fold in the shrimp, turning gently to coat the shrimp in the vegetable mix.  Pour this into your greased baking dish.

Sprinkle the diced feta over the top.  Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove when the shrimp are just turning pink, do not overcook your shrimp!  For a little more browning on top and to char the tips of the Feta, heat it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle the lemon bits over the whole dish.

Serve with potatoes or over rice or with bread for dipping into the amazing sauce at the bottom of the dish!

Enjoy!

*Wild Greek Oregano is a different plant than Mexican or European oregano.  It has a light herbaceous scent that is a secret ingredient to making things taste VERY GREEK!

**Citrus Supremes: A fancy chef way of cutting up a piece of citrus so you only have the citrus segments, without  peel, seeds, or membrane.  Cut the top and bottom off of the fruit.  Stand it on one of the flat ends.  Using downward slices around the fruit to carve away, not only the peel off the fruit, but the membrane as well; exposing just meat of each segment all the way around.  Trim it up a bit, removing ALL pith.  Now use your knife to remove each juicy segment.  Remove the seeds.  Those are citrus supremes that are left.  Takes practice. J

Fall Classic: Chile Verde

Assorted chiles, roasted, peeled, deseeded and ready to be chopped for the chile.

A favorite recipe for this time of year, now with pics: Cuilnary Vixen's Chile Verde.

Thanksgiving Ideas

Have you played with pinterest?  It's perfect for people like me who don't do scrapbooking, but do love to look at pretty things.  Electronic scrapbooking is so much easier than the real thing... no scissors, glue guns or stickers needed. 

I'm collecting ideas for our Thanksgiving Feast right now. I'm also looking at pictures from past holiday gatherings and deciding what to do differently.  Time to get a head count and order that turkey!

Let the holidays begin!

Mulled Wine: Our Family's Holloween Treat

As far back as I can remember our house filled with the scent of cinnamon and cloves on Holloween evening. On our block mulled wine was the number one treat for the adults. My mother credits our next-door neighbors, the Reis family for starting the tradition. She has a copy of their recipe dated 1971.  I was five years old that year and I believe the recipe was passed down as the Reis' moved away.  My mom certainly did her best to uphold the tradition.  Each year she would make up a big batch and keep it warm in a Corningware percolator sitting atop a lit jack-o-lantern.  She passed out styrofoam cups to the adults who were chaperoning their kids through the flat suburbs of Lakewood Gardens.

As soon as we became homeowners I began making mulled wine on Halloween night and did my best to pass it around to weary trick-o-treaters.  It's not easy to come into a new neighborhood and pass out hot wine.  People get suspicious.  It has taken years for the locals here in Manhattan Beach to take me seriously about the offer of a hot spiced toddy to fortify them for the candy trail.  One day, I'll have the steady stream of friends, neighbors & locals, as my mother did. Perhaps you will too.


Enjoy!

Mulled Wine from the Reis Family

Ingredients:

1 C sugar

4 C water

Zest 1/2 lemon        

18 whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

12" square of cheese cloth

2 bottles (750ml) dry red, cheap wine

Method:

Put sugar and water in a large sauce pan. Tie the lemon zest and spices into a large square of cheese cloth.  Add the spice bundle to the sugar water.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the wine.  Heat until steaming but not boiling.  Remove the spice bundle.  Keep warm.  Serve to weary travellers, family members at holiday gatherings, holiday revellers, anemic enemies & friendly strangers.