Soup's On!

There is nothing better when the weather becomes chilly then a nice bowl of soup. At our house we eat soup, chili or stew at least once a week when the temperatures dip. Below are a few quick and easy soups to take the chill off. All these soups serve 4.

Jenn’s Tomato Soup Base
12 Roma tomatoes cut in half
1 medium onion sliced
6 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.
2 cup vegetable broth

1. In a large glass baking pan place tomatoes, onions and garlic add salt and pepper then drizzle with oil and mix. Roast in oven at 375 degrees for one hour stirring every fifteen minutes.
2. Remove from oven and add to blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a sauce pan and add the amount of broth until the soup is the consistency you desire. Let simmer for ten minutes. Top with cheesy croutons or serve with grilled cheese.

Modifications:
Three pepper soup
Jenn’s Tomato Soup Base Plus:
1 yellow pepper sliced
1 poblano pepper sliced
1-2 jalapenos sliced

Follow as above

Tomato Basil soup
Jenn’s Tomato Soup Base Plus:
Two bunches of fresh basil.

Roast tomatoes with 1 and half bunches of the basil before blending. The remaining basil can be chopped and added with the broth when simmering or placed on top when serving.

Quick and Easy Cream of Portabella Mushroom soup
1 pint sliced portabella mushrooms
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup half and half
3 tbsp flour
2 Tbsp olive oil

1. In a medium sauce pan on medium heat sauté mushrooms with garlic, onion power and olive oil add salt and pepper to taste
2. Once mushrooms are to the desire doneness pour in broth. Add flour to half and half and blend well before adding to the broth mixture. Stir until soup begins to thicken. Serve with crusty bread.

Rosemary Vegetable Soup
2 carrots chopped
4 stalks celery chopped
1 medium onion chopped
2 yellow skinned potatoes washed and chopped skins left on
1 pint grape tomatoes washed and cut in half
3 cups vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic minced
4 large sprigss of rosemary cleaned but left whole.
2 tbsp olive oil

1. In a large pot sauté garlic, onions and celery in olive oil on medium heat. Add carrots and potatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 10 minutes then add tomatoes.
2. Pour in stock and stir reduce heat to a simmer and add rosemary sprigs, I float them on top. Simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally check your seasoning level add salt and pepper if needed. Remove rosemary sprigs it’s okay if some of the leaves fall off. Serve with fresh bread.

Cooking with Beer - Beer Braised Chicken and Onions

People who know me know I like beer. Not only do I love to drink it but I love to cook and bake with it. And thanks to all the wonderful breweries out there these days there are more than a few beers that you can use to create wonderful dishes with.

One dish that I like to make in the fall and winter is a beer braised chicken with onions. This recipe is one that calls for a dark beer preferably a stout or a porter. If you are going with a store bought beer I would suggest Guinness which I have listed in the ingredients. For folks here in the Indianapolis area my top picks for local beers that I have made this with are Flat 12 Pogue’s Run Porter, Sinking’s Ring a Dingle (in March) and Fountain Square’s Backyard Porter to name a few. You can use a bourbon barrel aged stout for a bolder flavor, I HIGHLY recommend it when you can find these beers.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 chicken thighs, about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds
Salt
3 pounds yellow onions, sliced 1/4-inch thick, root to stem, about 6-8 cups slice
1 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 cups dark beer
1 cup chicken stock
Freshly ground black pepper

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high melt butter season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper then brown both sides well, do not cook through yet. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the rendered chicken fat from the pan no need to drain all the brown bits from the chicken this will add flavoring to the onions. Add in onions and brown sugar, cook on medium heat onions until they begin to brown. About 15 minutes.

Add in beer, bay leaves time and salt and pepper to taste to onions carefully stirring. Place chicken on top of the mixture and bring to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes. Uncover and let cook until the meat is tender and pulls easily from the bone, 45 – 60 minutes.

I serve my chicken over homemade dumpling noodle with bourbon brown sugared carrots.

Burger Worthy Jams and Jelly - Bacon Jam, Onion Jam and Jalapeno Jelly

I love burgers. I love finding new ways to make burgers better and more interesting. So I decided to make some toppings that defy tradition and will not only make your burgers better but these jams and jellies will add a kick to just about anything.

Bacon. Bacon has been the new black for the past couple of years. People find new ways to use bacon every day so why not make it into a jam to top just about anything you can think of. I use bacon jam for burgers, sandwiches, waffles, toast, eggs and grits, the uses are endless. So below is my recipe.

Bacon Jam:

1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon cut into 1 inch pieces, I use apple wood smoked bacon
2 medium Vidalia onions cut in half and sliced
3 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup bourbon
1/2 cup cider vinegar

In a large skillet cook bacon until lightly brown and fat is rendered over medium heat, about 20 minutes. With a slated spoon remove bacon from drippings and place onto a plate covered in a paper towel to drain. Pour all but 1 tablespoon of drippings from the pan and return to heat. Place the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent. Add in all ingredients except the bacon until combined then add bacon. Cover pan, reduce heat to low and let simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally the liquid should become the constancy of maple syrup. When this happens remove from heat pour into a food processor and pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped.
You can place into airtight containers for about 4 weeks in the refrigerator.

Onion jam is just as versatile as bacon jam. It is great for sandwiches and you can even use it to top grilled meat.

Onion Jam

1/4 cup canola oil
4 large Vidalia onions peeled and cup on 1/4 inch slices
2 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
sea salt and pepper
2 cups red dry wine
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar

In a medium sauce pan heat oil and then add onions, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for about ten minutes then add wine. Cook onions until the wine reduced almost completely. Leave on low heat and add brown sugar and vinegar. Let simmer until the mixture is a jam like consistency about 15 minutes, do not let burn.
You can use immediately and store left overs in an airtight container for about a week.

Jalapeno Jelly can be used in more ways then you may think. It is great on burgers, it can add some kick to breakfast sandwiches and grilled cheese sandwiches. It can also be used for multiple appetizers options

Jalapeno Jelly
1 large yellow pepper
12 jalapenos
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
4 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces pectin
sea salt
4 seeded jalapenos seeded and finely chopped
1/2 yellow pepper seeded and finely chopped

Combine the seeded bell pepper and jalapenos in the container of a food processor and process until finely chopped. This can be done in batches. Place process peppers into a large sauce pan with cider vinegar. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and leave for about 20 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine strainer and at least two layers of cheese cloth. You should have about 1 cup of liquid. Return this to the sauce pan with the sugar and stir until all sugar is dissolved over medium heat. Bring to th a boil and let boil for one minute then add pectin. Stir in remaining peppers. remove from heat and ladle into sterile canning jars leaving about 1/ inch of space at the top, remove any bubbles the top. Place tops and rings on jars and seal in a hot water bath. Let cool completely. Jelly should be good from one year of canning as long as seals are intact. Refrigerate after the seal is broken.

And there you have it, three new items to make your burgers the best on the block.

Homemade Ginger Beer and Moscow Muletini Recipe

I really love ginger beer. I do not however love the price of ginger beer in many stores. It averages out at $7.99 for a four pack and many times the store bought ginger beer can be hit or miss on that ginger kick and citrus goodness I like. So I decided to make my own.

I tried several different recipes until I finally I came up with my own that has just the right amount of kick for me.

What you will need:

1/4 lb ginger root peeled
1 lemon and 1 lime juiced and strained (should be about 1/4 cup juice, you can add up to 1/2 cup of juice if you like no more then that)
1 cup sugar
2 quarts of room temperature water
1/4 tsp dry active yeast

Tools:

Fine wire strainer and/or cheese cloth
small food processor or grater to grate the ginger
A wooden spoon
a funnel
measuring utensils
a 2 liter soda bottle and 4 small dark plastic bottles with caps. PLASTIC ONLY. Glass can shatter if the mixture over carbonates.

The first thing you want to do is prepare your ginger. Make sure when you buy it is fresh. You can test it with your finger nail and make sure that the root beneath the peel is nice and damp, fragrant and the root is firm, not rubbery. When you peel it the texture should be consistent throughout, you do not want to use if any part of it feels woody and dry.

Once the root is peeled you can grate it with a hand grater or place it in smaller pieces into a a food processor and chop into fine pieces. You should get about 1 cup of grated ginger. At this point you can choose what method you want to use to extract the juice from the ginger. You can place the grated ginger into the strainer or into the cheese cloth and squeeze out all the juice. You should get at least 1/4 cup or more. My preferred method is to take the grated ginger place it in a sauce pan with about 3/4 to a 1 cup of water, cover and let simmer on low heat until the ginger is tender about an hour. Remove from heat and let cool then strain the liquid. It is about a cup of ginger you will only need 1/2 cup of this potent mixture.

Once the ginger juice is extracted and cooled to room temperature you can start your mixture. In the 2 litre bottle I funnel in the sugar, citrus juice, ginger juice, the yeast and about 1 cup of the water. Put the cap on the bottle and shake until the sugar begins to dissolve and the yeast is well mixed. Then I add the rest of the water, you can fill the bottle to the bottom of the neck so you have room to shake it some more to mix. I can cap then shake again.

At this point you can leave the ginger beer in the larger plastic bottle if you would like. If you do so know that it will not stay carbonated very long after it is opened. I prefer to divide mine into smaller bottles. I purchased 24 bottles and caps from Great Fermentations with two locations in the Indianapolis area and an on line store. The price was great and the staff very helpful.

I funnel in liquid up to the bottom of the neck of each bottle making sure that each bottle is even. Then I tightly cap them and place the bottles in a warm dark place which just happens to be the cupboard beside my fridge. It will take anywhere from 24 - 48 hours for your ginger beer to be ready. You will want to check the bottles every 12 hours or so and do the squeeze test. If you push on the bottle and it feels very tight the ginger beer is carbonated enough. There will also be foamy little bubbles at the neck of the bottle. With the warmer summer weather the process usually only takes 24 hours. As soon as your bottles feel tight with no give you will want to put them in the fridge to stop the fermentation process. The ginger beer lasts for up to 1 week in the fridge.

And now the cocktail recipe!

Moscow Muletini:

8 oz ginger beer
1 1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz lime
Ice
1 lime wedge for garnish

In a martini shaker add ice, 2 oz of ginger beer, lime juice and vodka. Shake, strain into martini glass, top with remaining ginger beer and garnish with lime wedge. You can substitute bourbon for the vodka, I highly recommend that.

Ginger beer is also great over vanilla ice cream as a float and my youngest enjoys it chilled right out of the bottle on a sunny day.


Enjoy!

Asparagus Tomato Pasta Salad

I posted a picture of this in a few places over the weekend and had multiple requests for the recipe.
What you will need:


1 bunch of asparagus with the bottom of the stalk cut off
2 Roma tomatoes chopped
1 cup feta cheese or blue cheese
1/2 cup bacon bits (optional)
1 box colored rotini 1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsalmic vinegar
1 tbsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

So I started by cooking my pasta in salted water with 2 tbsp olive oil. For pasta salad I like it a little firm so that as it sits it will absorb the fluid from added veggies and the salad will not be to runny. After its strained I let it cool.

I then steam the asparagus in the microwave. After I cut the bottom of the stalks off I rinse them in water and place them on a damp paper towel then sprinkle with sea salt, fold in the damp paper towel over it then loosely wrap in a dry paper towel. I place it in the microwave and cook for about 2 minutes and check. You want it tender but not too tender, you do not want to use over cooked aspargus. Once cooked I run cold water over them to set in that nice bight green color then cut into large pieces and place in my bowl with the chopped tomatoes.

I then add my seasonings, oil and vinegar and mix. You may need to add more vinegar or oil, it is up to you. Then I mix in the bacon and feta. I usually let it sit for an hour at least so all the flavors can blend.

The great thing about this salad is you can play with it. I made it last year for myself several times with no pasta, added fresh spinach and added left over grilled chicken or steak for a perfect early summer lunch. I have also just used the veggie mixture and topped with a poach egg, it is amazing.

Another twist: you can use white asparagus and substitute the tomatoes for white nectarine or white flesh peaches. The fruit and balsalmic is like magic.

Enjoy!