Monday, November 30, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Butternut Squash Soup with Fresh Sage
I had purchased the butternut to go with the roasted chicken as an appetizer but I didn't get around to making the soup so that's what I did tonight. I had cooked a few butternut squashes recently since they are in season but I hadn't cooked them with sage yet. Sage is a pretty common herb for the fall and goes great with turkey and all things Thanksgiving.
To begin, I split the butternut squash which was bout 3-lbs in weight.
Once I split it, I prepped it for roasting which included lathering the flesh with unsalted butter and a few sage sprigs in the cavity.
After roasting for about an hour this was the end result (At left).
The sage had filled the kitchen with a nice fragrance. While the butternut was roasting, I prepped the remianing ingredients which consisted of an onion, some garlic, one white potato, leafs of about 10 sage sprigs, some ground nutmeg and 6 cups homemade chicken stock. The previous soups I've made called for butter and cream the smooth the final soup, however, PlumpJack's wanted you to retain the texture of the butternut and potato so there were no "smoothing" ingredients.
Once these were ready, I melted some butter in a soup pot then cook the onion and garlic, and sage. I say this again, the sage smelled amazing! Here's the pot before I added the butternut and chicken stock. Once the stock goes in, everything is brought to a boil then simmers until the squash was ready.
Time for the butternut! Once it was cool to handle, I scooped out the flesh and cut up the squash into managable chunks and tossed these into the pot and let this simmer for 15-20 minutes to soften them up a bit more.
This was then pulsed in a food processor in batches to make the soup. Again, it wasn't pulsed too much to retain a sort of meaty texture versus a creamy soup.
Here's the final product - ready to serve.
Rating: 80
Difficulty: Easy
Date Cooked: November 3, 2009
The reason for the rating is because I prefer a creamier soup. The saving grace was the sage which brought an awesome flavor to the dish. If I were to make this again, I'd modify it a bit to include some cream to soften it a bit.
To begin, I split the butternut squash which was bout 3-lbs in weight.
Once I split it, I prepped it for roasting which included lathering the flesh with unsalted butter and a few sage sprigs in the cavity.
After roasting for about an hour this was the end result (At left).
The sage had filled the kitchen with a nice fragrance. While the butternut was roasting, I prepped the remianing ingredients which consisted of an onion, some garlic, one white potato, leafs of about 10 sage sprigs, some ground nutmeg and 6 cups homemade chicken stock. The previous soups I've made called for butter and cream the smooth the final soup, however, PlumpJack's wanted you to retain the texture of the butternut and potato so there were no "smoothing" ingredients.
Once these were ready, I melted some butter in a soup pot then cook the onion and garlic, and sage. I say this again, the sage smelled amazing! Here's the pot before I added the butternut and chicken stock. Once the stock goes in, everything is brought to a boil then simmers until the squash was ready.
Time for the butternut! Once it was cool to handle, I scooped out the flesh and cut up the squash into managable chunks and tossed these into the pot and let this simmer for 15-20 minutes to soften them up a bit more.
This was then pulsed in a food processor in batches to make the soup. Again, it wasn't pulsed too much to retain a sort of meaty texture versus a creamy soup.
Here's the final product - ready to serve.
Rating: 80
Difficulty: Easy
Date Cooked: November 3, 2009
The reason for the rating is because I prefer a creamier soup. The saving grace was the sage which brought an awesome flavor to the dish. If I were to make this again, I'd modify it a bit to include some cream to soften it a bit.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Rosemary Roast Chicken with New Potatoes and Carrots
Today was a lazy day. No other way around it. I needed a lazy man's dinner and this roasted chicken sounded perfect. The prep was amazingly straight forward and easy. With the help of Erin, who wanted to get her hands dirty, we prepped the chicken with olive oil and chopped rosemary. For the sides, we cut up some carrots and red potatoes and tossed them with garlic gloves, olive oil and chopped fresh rosemary. We layed this carrots and potatoes in a roasting dish then placed the chicken on the roasting rack.
After the oven heated to 400 degrees, we cooked the chicken for about 1 1/2 hours. Once it was ready, we cut it up and served it was the carrots and potatoes. See? Wasn't that easy?
Rating: 90
Difficulty: Easy
Date Cooked: November 1, 2009
Like I said, this dish couldn't have been easier. The carrots and potatoes were perfectly cook. The chicken we super moist and the fragance of the rosemary was very refreshing.
I'd like to take this time to introduce another assistant in the kitchen: Maverick. His duties usually include keeping me company and taste testing.
Tortilla Soup
Being a native Texan, totilla soup is a pretty standard affair. It's a fairly simple dish that's loaded with flavor. I chose this dish because it utilized the chicken stock I had made today and I wouldn't have to spend a lengthy amount of time on dinner as we had a party to get to.
The prep work was simple. I sauteed some onion, garlic and cayenne pepper for a few minutes then tossed in some cut up corn tortilla's and let this cook for about a minute.
Next came some diced tomatoes, a good helping of cilantro and a few cups of that fresh homemade chicken stock.
After brining this to a boil, I let it simmer for about 45 minutes. While this was cooking, I fried some corn torilla's strips to use as a garnish. I didn't snap a picture of it because there was hot oil popping all over the place.
The soup had now cooked through so it was time to bring out the food processor to pulse the soup into a nice smooth texture.
I topped ths soup with the tortilla strips and it was ready to serve! I also topped mine with some shredded chicken from the chicken stock. A few avacado chunks and cilantro would have also topped this off nicely.
Rating: 90
Difficulty: Easy
Date Cooked: October 31, 2009
I wasn't blown away with this dish but it was delicious. Everyone really enjoyed and seconds were had by all. The cilantro really punched you in the mouth and I mean that in a good way. The crisp tortillas strips added a nice crunchy texture. The simplicity of this dish also lended itself a favorable view point in my mind.
The prep work was simple. I sauteed some onion, garlic and cayenne pepper for a few minutes then tossed in some cut up corn tortilla's and let this cook for about a minute.
Next came some diced tomatoes, a good helping of cilantro and a few cups of that fresh homemade chicken stock.
After brining this to a boil, I let it simmer for about 45 minutes. While this was cooking, I fried some corn torilla's strips to use as a garnish. I didn't snap a picture of it because there was hot oil popping all over the place.
The soup had now cooked through so it was time to bring out the food processor to pulse the soup into a nice smooth texture.
I topped ths soup with the tortilla strips and it was ready to serve! I also topped mine with some shredded chicken from the chicken stock. A few avacado chunks and cilantro would have also topped this off nicely.
Rating: 90
Difficulty: Easy
Date Cooked: October 31, 2009
I wasn't blown away with this dish but it was delicious. Everyone really enjoyed and seconds were had by all. The cilantro really punched you in the mouth and I mean that in a good way. The crisp tortillas strips added a nice crunchy texture. The simplicity of this dish also lended itself a favorable view point in my mind.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The Basics: Chicken Stock
As I read through the PJ Cookbook, I noticed chicken stock was a foundation for many recipes. The recipes noted "Chicke Stock (Page 194) or canned low-sodium chicken broth". Canned? Canned chicken broth? No thanks. Remember what I said about fresh homemade chicken stock? It's a must and it's SO easy. Water, chicken, carrots, onions, celery, thyme, bay leaf, and some peppercorns. That's it! It practically makes it self. Set a pot to boil and toss everything in then simmer for 2 hours or so. How much easier can it get? So get that canned crap out of your kitchen and make the real thing. It tastes so much better too. You can use the boiled chicken to make chicken salad or use it for tacos etc, etc.
First, I boiled the chicken for a few minutes then drained to rid of some of the excess fat. I then put cold water over the chicken (about 2-3 inches over) and brought it to a boil again.
Once boiling, I tossed in the onion, carrot, celery, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns and reduced the heat to a simmer. This cooked for about 2 hours. You want the stock to have a nice golden color and rich flavor.
Once it does, strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve into a container then let cool. I put mine in an ice bath to let it cool faster. As it cools, the fat will congeal at the top. Discard any and all fat. I'm left with my base for many ingredients.
I store my stock in ziplock sandwhich bags for ease of use. Just measure 1 cup into each bag. You can use the stock then and there for the most freshness or store it up to 3 days in the fridge or 2-3 months in the freezer.
The Beginning
I, like many home cooks, am in need of a challenge, a goal. I need something to keep my energy flowing and my eagerness to cook from falling to the wayside. No more Food Network and their celebrity "chefs". No more 30-minute meals. No more $10 dinners. You can kiss all things processed good-bye. No more store bought pre-packaged bland dinners. Bring on fresh produce. Bring on fresh poultry, meats and fish. Give me homemade chicken stock. Give me meals that take scores of patience and pampering. I need real food. That's what brings me here.
This will hopefully be the first of several cook-through blogs I am going to create. I am going to start with fairly simple challenge (Simple compared to Alinea At Home.) I had the good fortune to visit this restaurants winery a few years back. A good friend of ours had set up a tasting for us and we went knowing little about what to expect. We were greeted by a whimsical atmosphere and good vibes coming out of the stereo thanks to a little Dave Matthews Band. As we tasting the wonderful Cabernets, I picked up an unassuming cook book that was just sitting there staring back at me. I thought this would be a great gift for our friend who had set up this tasting as well as many others in the Napa Valley. We purchased the cookbook and 2 bottles of wine - a 2005 Estate Cabernet and a 2005 CADE Cuvee (CADE is a sister winery which opened in 2007 and is the epitome of green and sustainability.) One more thing, as we were paying, the gracious wine pourer took the estate cab and traded it out for one signed by the wine maker Tony Biagi (See Above). Very cool!
So this is where I am now, about to set out to cook through the PlumpJack Cookbook. There are over 70 recipes which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner; mains, sides and appetizers; and of course, desert. Since I wasn't able to dine at the PlumpJack Cafe, I will bring the PlumpJack Cafe to Texas.
This will hopefully be the first of several cook-through blogs I am going to create. I am going to start with fairly simple challenge (Simple compared to Alinea At Home.) I had the good fortune to visit this restaurants winery a few years back. A good friend of ours had set up a tasting for us and we went knowing little about what to expect. We were greeted by a whimsical atmosphere and good vibes coming out of the stereo thanks to a little Dave Matthews Band. As we tasting the wonderful Cabernets, I picked up an unassuming cook book that was just sitting there staring back at me. I thought this would be a great gift for our friend who had set up this tasting as well as many others in the Napa Valley. We purchased the cookbook and 2 bottles of wine - a 2005 Estate Cabernet and a 2005 CADE Cuvee (CADE is a sister winery which opened in 2007 and is the epitome of green and sustainability.) One more thing, as we were paying, the gracious wine pourer took the estate cab and traded it out for one signed by the wine maker Tony Biagi (See Above). Very cool!
So this is where I am now, about to set out to cook through the PlumpJack Cookbook. There are over 70 recipes which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner; mains, sides and appetizers; and of course, desert. Since I wasn't able to dine at the PlumpJack Cafe, I will bring the PlumpJack Cafe to Texas.
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