Best Simple Cookings: Juli 2010

Rabu, 28 Juli 2010

My Mother's Chicken and Rice Soup

So, the other day? I got my rent bill for August from my landlord. August. The last month of summer, is upon us. And although I'm pretty much done with the humidity and the heat and (I'm sorry to say) the summer tourists (don't worry, summer tourists, I don't hate you or anything), I'm not really ready to let summer go. Yet here I am with the kind of comfort food you might better expect in February. Except, I don't know. There's something really light about this soup, actually, something that makes is acceptable in summer (and winter, and fall and year-round) and not only because it's the chicken soup I grew up with.

It's a soup that just kind of tastes, well, clean. And unmuddled. I personally prefer the rice to noodles hands down. And there's not a lot of competing flavors to weigh it down. It's chicken breasts (or other parts) poached in water and swimming with rice and celery, and a little bouillon (which I use for pretty much nothing else, but it's perfect here) and salt and pepper. It sounds simple because it is. But in my experience, the simple ones are almost always the best. You can tell my mom gave me the recipe, because she always intersperses ingredients with instructions, which is exactly how the recipe is written on her old card. And of course, they always end with 'call mom with any questions.'

My Mother's Chicken and Rice Soup

Chicken Breasts with bones and skin (4-5)

water to fill a dutch oven and cover chicken - not to top, it does simmer

Salt and Pepper

2 onions, chopped

stalks of celery, chopped (6 or so or as many as you like)

cook above until chicken is tender about 1 hour - it will cook some more (below)

remove chicken from pot and remove chicken from bone into pieces

add chicken pieces to pot

add "better than chicken bouillon" about 3-4 tsp

add 1 cup of rice (i use minute rice)

simmer another 1/2 hour

this freezes well - put into smaller containers and take out of freezer as needed

call mom with any questions

Minggu, 25 Juli 2010

David Lebovitz's machine free ice cream with Thomas Keller's Truffled Honey

I wish I could tell this story in the first person, because then it would be all about how I managed to finagle a ticket to a gala dinner with Thomas Keller, prepared by Thomas Keller, filled with truffles flown into New York by Thomas Keller, and featuring Thomas Keller as the guest of honor. But alas. It wasn't me. My high school best friend, on the other hand, was actually in attendance at said gala dinner held in June at Keller's NYC restaurant Per Se.

Evidently, when Keller throws a party, he sprinkles magical truffles on pretty much everything. Then he sends his guests home with a pretty substantial wooden box, embossed with 'Per Se' over the top, and brimming with keepsakes from what must have been an incredibly memorable night. I have it on good authority that my friend's boyfriend has added it to a totally non-creepy shrine to the three-star chef that also features signed copies of two of Keller's books. Included in the box was a small jar of truffle honey and a recipe for vanilla bean ice cream made without a machine. Keller recommended that the truffle honey be used as a topping for an ice cream sundae which should also include shaved chocolate. So when I was at home in Denver, E and I decided to take his recommendation. But. E couldn't find her ice cream recipe, and by that I mean, she couldn't find the recipe Thomas Keller had included. I think you can imagine my face at the time.

Enter David Lebovitz. Now, maybe Keller's ice cream recipe is even better, somehow richer, smoother, silkier, even more redolent of vanilla. But I doubt it. This was my first experience with one of Lebovitz's recipes, since I still don't have an ice cream maker (I know, it's bad. I'm saving up credit card points as we speak). But you don't even need one with his method. And kissed with a bit of truffle honey and a sprinkling of shaved chocolate? Keller was right. And we have Lebovitz to thank.

I won't bother rewriting everything David Lebovitz has already explained (especially because I didn't actually make the ice cream. Great job, E!). I'll send you to his blog instead, where you can find instructions on making ice cream without a machine here, and his platonic ideal of vanilla ice cream here. I can't tell you where to get truffle honey like we had, with little flecks of black truffle floating around in the bottle. But if you ever find it, send me some, too.

Rabu, 21 Juli 2010

Aromatherapy - Cloverleaf Rolls with Honey Lavender Shallot Butter Glaze

When it comes to baking under the broiler of the summer sun, timing is everything. As I groused in a recent post, I have not been terribly motivated to spend much time in the kitchen lately, but I did want to participate in Lisa and Jacqueline's Bread Edition of No Croutons Required. After endless research for breads which would leaven through grilling or frying on the stovetop (crumpets, bannocks, and poori among the rare few), I began scouring for recipes that required a very short duration in the oven. Fifteen minutes, I rationalized, was tolerable, but only on the condition that I bake very early in the day when the indoor temperature is at its lowest and least claustrophobic. And fifteen minutes wound up just enough time to fill the flat with the layered aromas of yeast, freshly harvested lavender, and minced shallots poached in butter. Now, if only they will last longer than fifteen minutes when served.

Cloverleaf Rolls with Honey Lavender Shallot Butter Glaze - From the Fleishmann's recipe, followed to the letter with the exception of my own glaze:

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1 large shallot, peeled and minced
2 generous teaspoons dried lavender flowers, crushed
2 tablespoons honey*
Sea salt

Method

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add minced shallot and poach in butter for no longer than 1 minute. Do not let it brown. Remove from heat. Whisk in lavender and honey. Brush on rolls right before baking. Scatter sea salt lightly on top of glaze. It will adhere well.

*(I used a beautiful New Zealand Manuka which dear Lisa had sent to me; I also have a French Alpine honey from Alex, another friend, which I will be posting about in the near future. Special honeys call for special recipes.)

Preparation Tips

- Start the dough the night before. This recipe is unique in that it rises unattended in the refrigerator for up to twenty-four hours and does not require kneading. In the morning, the dough is cut and rolled into balls before assembly and a final, warm rising. Cloverleaf rolls are miniature monkey breads.

- Grease your hands lightly with cooking spray before rolling the dough balls. They will shape more easily and smoothly.

Suggested Pairings with Soups (per Lisa's request)

- Chilled soups that do not already have bread in them (such as gazpacho); light cream soups or bisques (tomato, squash, celery, artichoke); clear broths with a few fresh fava beans, mushrooms, or garlic scapes.

Lisa, who is hosting for July, will be posting her round-up shortly. Do drop by to have a look and say hello. I thank her for permitting a late recipe from me.

I'm also sending this post over to:

YeastSpotting!, the weekly yeast-baking event created by Susan of Wild Yeast; and

Bake-Off, Champa's weekly all-baked-goods event, featured on Versatile Vegetarian Cooking.

Aromatherapy - Cloverleaf Rolls with Honey Lavender Shallot Butter Glaze

Cloverleaf Rolls with Honey Lavender Shallot Butter Glaze - From the Fleishmann's recipe, followed to the letter with the exception of my own glaze:

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1 large shallot, peeled and minced
2 generous teaspoons dried lavender flowers, crushed
2 tablespoons honey*
Sea salt

Method

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add minced shallot and poach in butter for no longer than 1 minute. Do not let it brown. Remove from heat. Whisk in lavender and honey. Brush on rolls right before baking. Scatter sea salt lightly on top of glaze. It will adhere well.

*(I used a beautiful New Zealand Manuka which dear Lisa had sent to me; I also have a French Alpine honey from Alex, another friend, which I will be posting about in the near future. Special honeys call for special recipes.)

Senin, 19 Juli 2010

Weekend Herb Blogging # 242 - The Round-Up

The classic, the creative, and the just plain quirky - they are all here. I've lost count of the number of times I have hosted Weekend Herb Blogging over the last three-plus years, but whether I am organizing, participating, or just plain oogling, this long-running event never fails to impress me with recipes that tempt the taste buds and inspire the imagination. Thanks to Haalo of Cook Almost Anything at Least Onc e for carrying the torch, and to all of you for fanning the flame.

I have arranged the recipes alphabetically by featured or dominant ingredient. If you've spotted any errors or omissions, please let me know, and I'll make the changes post-haste.

Huan of Eat.Read.Live is hosting the current WHB # 243. Have a wonderful week, everyone!

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AVOCADO