Simple soup for supper

It's official - this is my 4th soup post this winter (or 5th if you include the sidebar on chicken stock from this post).  What can I say? Soup is the perfect wintertime food because it's quick and easy to make with whatever ingredients you have on hand, it can be really healthful and filling, and it's comforting after a long day.


Egg drop soup, stracciatella, avgolemono - whatever you want to call it, I've bookmarked dozens of these recipes. The short ingredient list and stove-to-table time will appeal to anyone looking for a simply painless weeknight meal. When I opened the fridge yesterday and saw eggs and chicken stock staring up at me, I figured it was a sign from the universe to just make this soup already.

Egg-Lemon Soup
(makes 2 large servings)


3 c chicken stock
1/2 c pre-cooked rice (I had leftover wild rice, even leftover white rice from Chinese takeout would be great in this)
2 eggs
2 T grated parmesan cheese
1 T fresh chopped basil
1 c frozen chopped spinach (or 1 c packed fresh spinach)
1 T fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper & salt to taste


In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil and add the rice. While the rice boils, about 2 minutes, crack the 2 eggs in a bowl and beat with a fork to break up the yolks. Add the parmesan cheese, basil and some salt and fresh black pepper to the eggs and mix with the fork till combined. Lower the heat on the stock to medium-low, so it's no longer simmering, and using the fork, stir in a circular motion as you drizzle the egg mixture into the soup, continuously stirring. The eggs will cook immediately as they hit the hot liquid and create little rags. After you've added all the eggs, add the spinach and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Serve with a piece of crusty bread, and you've got yourself a light and delicious meal.

Indian at home = easy

Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines, but I don't go to Indian restaurants that often. When I got a gift card to The Spice House for Christmas from my lovely roommate J, I seized the opportunity to finish equipping my pantry for at-home Indian cooking, and picked up two fragrant flavorings - cumin seeds and garam masala. Combining those with pantry staples like curry powder, turmeric and coriander, now I'm covered to make Indian food at home whenever I get a craving! 


For my first foray into Indian territory, I used this recipe as a starting point. Chickpeas, tomatoes and yogurt turn into brilliantly golden and fragrant stew-like meal that's perfect over rice and served with some garlic naan (I tried out Trader Joe's brand and it's pretty good!).

Enjoying my meal with a nice cold glass of Riesling

Chickpeas in Tomato Yogurt
(adapted from Big Caprese Salads, original recipe here)



1 1/2 T vegetable oil
1 small onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 serrano chili, seeds and ribs removed, minced
1 1/2 t coriander
2 t cumin seeds
1 t turmeric
1 T garam masala
1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c stock or water (I used chicken stock, but you can make this vegetarian if you wish)
1 can chickpeas, drained
2/3 c plain yogurt
2 T heavy cream, half and half or whole milk


Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and minced garlic and chili, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions have begun to soften. Add all the spices to the pan, and stir frequently to coat the vegetables and toast the spices, about two minutes. Add the tomatoes, drained chickpeas and stock to the pan, and stir everything to combine. Simmer on medium heat, and allow the liquid to reduce and start to thicken. Remove the pan from the heat, and slowly stir in the yogurt and cream to incorporate. Important: When I did this last step, either I mixed it in too quickly or there was too much residual heat left in the pan, but either way - the yogurt curdled a little. What I'll do next time is mix in some of the liquid in the pan into the yogurt first, almost to 'temper' it like you would with egg yolks, and then add the yogurt to the pan. Done!

Everything's better with butter

I was making my shopping list last weekend and realized I was getting drastically low on delicious chunky peanut butter. In a rare stroke of genius, it dawned on me - why buy more when I could probably make my own using up some various nuts in the back of my pantry? 


A quick google search revealed that yes, it was as easy as I thought. Step 1: Roast nuts (any kind). Step 2: Process until you have butter. Simple enough, right?


I used a combo of sliced almonds and whole hazelnuts that I had in my pantry left over from another recipe. I popped in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until they were smelling great and nice and toasted, then dumped them in the food processor and went to town, occasionally wiping down the sides with a spatula. Stop when it looks like butter! You can also add oil and/or salt and other seasonings, however you like it. Also, I will note that roasting the nuts is optional (in case you're a 'raw food' person) - but roasting not only gives a great depth of flavor, it helps draw out the natural oils in the nuts and makes the blending/processing a LOT easier. If you use raw nuts, you might have to add oil to get a spreadable consistency (and not just meal).

Enjoy with a lovely apple, spread on a bagel or just with a spoon! :) Store in the pantry, no refrigeration needed. 


Anyone out there ever make their own nut butter? What's your favorite? I'd love to hear from you!

Mom's "Italian Chili" and what's coming next

One of the reasons I wanted to make roast chicken was so I'd have plenty of homemade stock. One of the reasons I wanted plenty of homemade stock was so I could make this soup. My mom first made this a few months ago, and apparently it's been a runaway hit at home among my brothers and dad - so I asked her for the recipe. In all fairness, I changed it a fair amount based on what I had on hand and the fact that I'm only one person and she seemingly makes it for an army at a time (3 cans of cannelini beans? 3 cans of tomatoes? yikes!) - and though it'll never taste as good as Mom's, it's definitely inspired by her recipe.

Mama P's "Italian Chili"


1 T olive oil
1/2-3/4lb italian turkey sausage (about 3 sausages), casings removed
1 celery rib, small dice
1 small carrot, small dice
1 small onion, medium dice
1/2 large green bell pepper, medium dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t fennel seed, crushed (in your hand is fine)
1 T dried basil
1 T fresh oregano (or 1 t dried)
1 t cumin
1 T chili powder
1 bay leaf
1 19-oz can cannelini beans
1 24-oz can tomatoes (not diced; I used peeled whole and pureed them in my food processor, but you can use crushed or tomato puree/sauce)
4 cups chicken broth


In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, add the oil over medium-low heat and add the sausage to the pot, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage, stirring and breaking up, until fully cooked, about 5-7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage to a bowl and reserve. Pour off excess fat from the pan, leaving about 1 T left. Add the celery, carrot, onion, bell pepper and garlic, and season with salt. Let the veggies begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and all the spices and herbs from fennel to chili powder, and cook for another 2 minutes, allowing everything to coat the vegetables and begin to toast and release their oils. Add the bay leaf, cannelini beans, sausage*, tomatoes, and chicken broth, stirring it all to combine, and bring up to a boil over high heat. Once it boils, reduce heat and simmer on low for at least 10 minutes to let all the flavors meld. Taste, and stir in additional salt/chili pepper as necessary.


*Note: Instead of just dumping the sausage back in the pot, I make sure it's well-drained, and then like to finely crumble it with my hands as I add it back into the pot. I can never get it in that small of pieces using the spoon while I cook it, and this way there's more sausage throughout the soup, rather than just select spoonfuls.


Coming your way tomorrow: homemade nut butter and my first authentic (I think!) at-home Indian dish. Get excited! :)

Nog-alicious

That's the only word I have to describe this homemade egg nog. Or delicious. Or comforting. Or delicious. Anyway...when I was planning my annual holiday brunch (3rd year running, got 31 people crammed in my apartment this year!) a few weeks ago, I decided it would be really impressive cool if I made homemade egg nog that people could drink hot with coffee (Starbucks latte style) or spike with rum/bourboun if they wanted. Hilariously, one of my brunch attendees accidentally mistook the nog for gravy (?) and put some on her plate next to her bacon-egg casserole and french toast...but whatever! It turned out so well that I made it again a few days ago, this time just for myself.

This mug was a Christmas present from my mom. She has me pegged pretty well :)

Adjustments I made from her recipe over at Mommie Cooks! - I lessened the sugar to 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup, added a pinch of cloves, and used 1% milk instead of whole milk. Next time I think I could even sub 1/2 and 1/2 or light cream for the heavy cream, and I don't think the texture would suffer. This recipe is creamy and rich, but not too overwhelming.

Fun fact: Egg nog = crème anglaise. (More or less. Did I just blow your mind?)

Classic Roast Chicken

Holy 2011, Batman! It's been almost a month since my last post, but that's what happens when the holidays come around I suppose. Don't worry though, I've been cooking up a storm - when I wasn't catching up on 5 1/2 seasons of Bones (my new obsession) or cramming 11 cookies into the VCR my mouth, that is. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season; mine was awesome and I always come back from home feeling recharged and grateful for my wonderful family.


One of the first things I wanted to make when I returned to the city was a roast chicken. It's easy, there's plenty of leftovers, and I had a few upcoming recipes I wanted to try that needed chicken stock (which I'll post about after this).


I've made roast chicken before, but this time I was thinking about brining. I've read so much about it, and I know it's supposed to make all the difference - but I wasn't sure for how long, and whether I could possibly get the same effect with just salting the bird several hours in advance. After researching dozens of recipes, I settled on rubbing the rinsed, patted-dry 3.75lb bird with a tablespoon of kosher salt, setting it on a platter and letting it hang out/dry in the refrigerator for about 3 hours (and another hour out of the fridge coming up to room temperature). In my research I also found that loosening the skin from the meat all over the bird would help the skin crisp up and not get soggy while cooking.


The result? A delicious, well-seasoned bird with crispy skin. I think this will be my go-to method from now on.

You're used to my bad-picture disclaimers by now. This one was taken on my phone and I had already started carving before I remembered to take a snapshot!

Classic Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables


1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs (if you use a kosher chicken, which is already salted/brined to remove impurities, DO NOT salt the bird in advance and follow the recipe after that)
1 T kosher salt
2 T butter, softened
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1/2 one lemon
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 sprig fresh oregano (or 1 t if dry)
4 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 2 t if dry)
1 small potato
1 sweet potato
1 large carrot
1 large parsnip


If salting the bird, shoot to do this in the afternoon before you cook that evening (ideally at least 4 hours in advance). Remove remove giblets and discard, then rinse all over and pat inside and out with paper towels till very dry. Use your fingers to loosen the skin in between the meat all over - the breasts, thighs, back, legs. Liberally rub kosher salt all over the inside and outside of the bird and under the skin, using about 1 T of salt (if your bird is smaller, you may use less). Place on a plate, uncovered, in the fridge for 3 hours. Remove from the fridge about half hour to an hour before you want to cook it to allow to come to room temperature.


While the chicken is coming to room temperature and you're preheating your oven to 350 degrees, chop the root vegetables into 1-inch pieces along with 2 cloves of the garlic. Distribute evenly on the bottom of a roasting pan - since I don't have a roasting rack, these veggies act as my roasting rack (I couldn't just say 'rack' there, lol) - but even if you have one, you could still do the veggies underneath. 


Using paper towels, wipe all visible salt off the chicken. Stuff the half of a lemon, the fresh herbs, and the remaining 3 garlic cloves inside the cavity of the chicken. Using your hands, rub the entire chicken - on the skin and underneath the skin - with the softened butter. Season with black pepper. IMHO trussing = a waste of time, not to mention I never have kitchen twine, so I didn't truss - and I actually think it helps crisp the skin better this way anyway. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, and roast in the oven for approximately 20 minutes per pound, plus 20 minutes, flipping the veggies/rotating the pan once, until skin is golden brown and the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh is around 160 degrees. Remove from oven transfer chicken to a cutting board/platter and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before you DIG IN!


Note: Don't you dare throw away your leftover chicken bones and bits! Make soup, people! Throw the chicken parts into a pot with celery, onion, carrot, bay leaf, some peppercorns, cover with water, and simmer for a few hours!

Jumping on the bandwagon: Sausage, Lentil and Kale Soup

Every winter, a flurry of warm, delicious-looking soup recipes start popping up all over the blogosphere. It must be universal; everyone loves to tuck into a steaming bowl of comforting soup when it's cold outside. After seeing several recipes for this type of soup, it was all I could think about. This batch, which I whipped up on Sunday (a particularly blustery day here in the Windy City), turned out to be DELICIOUS! I've been eating it for lunch and dinner this week, and when it runs out I'll have to find another soup to recreate.


(As you've probably noticed with my recipes, I'm all about customizing to fit your preferences and what you have on hand. Feel free to make substitutions, etc - but I'll post it how I made it).

Sausage, Lentil and Kale Soup
(yields enough to feed one person for a late lunch and bedtime snack on Sunday, lunch and dinner on Monday, lunch on Tuesday, and lunch and dinner on Wednesday...so 8 servings?)


3/4 lb mild italian sausage, removed from casings/bulk
1 T olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped fine (I don't like eating big chunks of onion in my soup)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large carrot, chopped into 1/4" pieces
1 celery stalk, chopped into 1/4" pieces
2 T tomato paste
10 cremini mushrooms, quartered
1/4 t dried thyme
1 c French green lentils, rinsed and drained
2 lightly packed cups chopped kale
2 14-oz cans of low-sodium, 98% fat-free chicken stock
1 c water
1 previously saved, frozen rind of parmesan cheese (this adds a nice silky richness to soup)


Place a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-low heat and add the olive oil and the italian sausage. Breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, let the sausage brown until fully cooked, about 10 minutes. While the sausage is browning, you can prep all your vegetables - onion, garlic, carrot, celery, mushrooms, kale - on a large cutting board so when you're ready you can just drop them in. Remove the browned sausage with a slotted spoon to a bowl, and drain any excess fat (you just want to keep about 2 teaspoons in the pot). Still over medium-low heat, add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery to the pot and saute, stirring frequently, until just they start to sweat and soften, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables for about 1 minute. Add in the quartered mushrooms and the dried thyme, and continue to saute everything for another 3-5 minutes until the vegetables have taken on some color and the mushrooms have started to wilt and give off moisture. Add some fresh-cracked black pepper at this point, but only a little salt (the chicken broth will add salt too).


Add the lentils and kale to the pot, then pour in the chicken broth and water. Raise the heat to high to bring to a boil, while stirring the bottom of the pot to get all the brown bits off the bottom. When the soup reaches a boil, turn the heat back down so it just simmers. Add your parmesan rind at this point, if you're lucky enough to have one in your freezer :) Cover, and simmer the soup until the lentils are tender but not mushy - about 20-25 minutes. Remove the rind, and season to taste. Enjoy!