Corn Chowder

This is my take on the Corn Chowder recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook which was my cooking go-to book in the 1980s.

INGREDIENTS

1 large onion chopped

4 strips of bacon, chopped
4 ribs of celery, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp rosemary, chopped
Dash of cayenne pepper
4 cups fresh corn (or use frozen which has been thawed)
1 large potato
8 cups chicken broth
1 can evaporated milk

PREPARATION

• In large Dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion and bacon until onion is soft and translucent.

• Add the celery, red pepper, corn and spices. Cook for about 5 minutes.

• Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Cook for about 1 hour.

• Remove approx. two cups soup - mostly the veggies - and puree in a food processor. Add back to the chowder. Also, you can use a hand mixer that will puree - just don't puree the entire soup!

• Add the evaporated milk and potato. Cook for another 30 minutes at a simmer until potato is soft.

• Remove from heat and serve.

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Chicken Stew

The cold weather is upon us here in Chicago and it is time for me to switch to the "winter menu" as I call it. Lots of soups and stews - items that can cook all day and fill the house up with wonderful smells. A great way to braise tough cuts of meat and make them tender.

While I like chicken soup, I never cared to make it since most recipes start with a raw chicken and have you skimming the broth for what seems like forever. My solution: start with a rotisserie chicken from your local supermarket.

A rotisserie chicken is already cooked and seasoned. Plus you can make a large batch of stock from one chicken. I usually turn my stock and the picked over meat into chicken stew and serve with dumplings or biscuits.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups chopped onions
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large rotisserie chicken, cooked
Water
4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup flour
1 14 oz can evaporated milk
8 oz mixed frozen vegetables

PREPARATION

1. In large stock pot, place onions and oil over medium heat. Cook for five minutes until onions are soft.

2. Meanwhile, remove large areas of meat from the chicken. Break carcass apart and place in stock pot when onions are soft. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

3. Boil chicken carcass for about one hour or until most bones are free of meat. Cool.

4. Strain stock using a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Pick over bones removing pieces of meat. Place meat in a separate bowl. Keep stock warm, at a simmer.

5. In a large dutch oven, melt butter over low heat and add flour. Cook for five minutes, stirring constantly, to make a roux. Add 2 cups of hot stock to roux and cook until thickened.

6. Add remaining stock and pieces of meat. Add can of evaporated milk. Bring to a boil.

7. Add frozen vegetables and season to taste.

8. Variations: Add chopped rosemary while cooking onions. Add more frozen vegetables or greens such as kale or swiss chard. Also add roasted garlic.

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Turkey Stock

I have recovered the carcass from yesterday's turkey feast at my brother and sister-in-law's house so I will be making turkey stock today. We ate like dingos in a maternity ward!

If you've ever made stock before, you know there are a variety of ways to do it - with aromatic vegetables (celery, onions, carrots) or without; with salt or without; condensed or uncondensed.

My method is to use my 13 qt Le Creuset stockpot, no vegetables, no salt. I don't add salt because I never know what the stock will be used for and that recipe may have other ingredients high in salt, etc.

And I make a very rich condensed broth that I refrigerate overnight in order to skim off the fat. If the broth is too rich, I can always add more water to it later when I use it.

Then it goes into 1 gallon freezer bags and into the freezer!

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Chinese Soup

Well, I've been sick with my first cold of the season and my mind is on soups. Last night I made Garlic Soup and it was just what El Doctor ordered! Thinking about when I've been sick, reminded me of how Mom would make soup. To me her best was pea soup and turkey rice soup using the Thanksgiving or Christmas leftovers.

I created this recipe out of my desire to have a soup similar to those we find in Chinese or Vietnamese restaurants: it had to have a thin consistency, be based on chicken broth, but be full of flavor and pack some heat as well. There are many variations with this base recipe: add pork or shrimp, other fresh vegetables, etc.

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken stock
1 bunch green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
4 fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced thin
2 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 pound uncooked peeled shrimp (or frozen calamari, scallops, etc.)

Instructions:

1. Place chicken stock in large saucepan over high heat.

2. Add oil, soy sauce, green onions, ginger, mushrooms and cilantro.

3. When simmering, add water and rice.

4. When soup returns to boil, add shrimp and remove from heat.

Serving:

For a complete dinner, I serve this with potstickers that have been fried in hot five pepper oil.

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Pea Soup

Well folks, I hate to say it but summer is over - the cold weather has hit Chicago. I finally had to turn the heat on yesterday. So cold weather means long, hot, slow-cooked meals like pea soup. I would usually hold this post until right after New Year's Day. Mom always made a ham for New Year's but it was the canned, boneless, pre-formed kind and thus, no bone for pea soup. However, after a few years and probably since Grandma Austin did this, Mom started making what we called "fresh ham." It was a large pork roast that was either fresh or smoked but not long cured like Smithfield ham. It had a nice smokey pork flavor and was great for making pea soup.

This recipe is an adaptation of one by Martha Stewart and I like it because it uses unpeeled potatoes. This is the magic ingredient because it seems to soak up all the salt and eliminates that over-salted pea soup experience we've all come to know.

Ingredients:

2 large onions, chopped
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter
Pinch ground cloves
Salt
Pepper
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1 lb ham scraps, chopped
1 ham bone
12 cups water
3 large russet potatoes, chopped into medium pieces
1 lb green split peas

Instructions:

1. Over medium heat, sauté onions and butter in a large (13 qt) dutch oven until translucent.

2. Add ham scraps and then add rosemary, cloves and salt and pepper to taste. Then deglaze with wine and cook for 1 minute.

3. Place ham bone in the middle of the dutch oven and add water. Bring to boil. Lower to a simmer and cook , covered, for 90 minutes to form a rich stock.

4. Remove ham bone and let cool. Remove any remaining ham meat, chop and add to stock.

5. Bring stock to a boil and add potatoes (with or without skins on) and peas.

6. Cook for 45 minutes until peas have formed a smooth puree.

Serving:

Serve with good bread and white or rose wine.

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Garlic Soup

If there was one "staple" dish that I start making in the fall when the cold weather arrives, it is this one. This recipe originates in Spain and it is considered "peasant food" meaning it is rustic and usually served only in rural areas. This dish is so simple to make and all that is needed to go with it is some bread, cheese and wine. From start to finish, I can make this dish in fifteen minutes.

Ingredients:

20 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup good olive oil (extra virgin, imported)
1 tbsp paprika (sweet or smoked but not hot)
Pinch of saffron
1 14 oz. can tomatoes or 1 1/2 cup chopped fresh
6 cups chicken stock
2 eggs, beaten
Stale bread

Instructions:

1. Place garlic and oil in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes but do not brown the garlic - browning the garlic will make for a bitter soup.

2. Add paprika and saffron and cook for another 2 minutes. The mixture may stick to the saucepan.

3. Add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

5. When soup is boiling, reduce heat, stir in eggs and return to simmer.

Serving:

Place a piece of stale bread in each bowl and ladle soup into bowl.

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