hunk-o hunk-o meltin' cheese

I've been having blogger's guilt about not cooking, so I stopped by the store on my way home from class to pick up something for dinner. I made this Tuscan bean & escarole soup a couple years ago and it turned out to be a big hit. But that was before we started this food blogging project, so I thought I'd make it again tonight and share it with you all...

I love this soup because a) there are very few ingredients and b) it includes a big ol' hunk o' cheese which, lets face it, is the bomb-diggety.

First, sauté a couple cloves of chopped garlic in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. I chopped a little too much, but it's okay. I have plans for that later...

After about 15-30 seconds of that, add about a pound of escarole. Once I couldn't find escarole and substituted something else (kale, maybe?) and it wasn't very good. I would definitely use escarole.

 Then, add 4c chicken stock (I used half canned-- half homemade), a can of drained, rinsed cannelini beans, and some salt and pepper.

Finally, toss in a big ol' hunk o' parmesan cheese and let simmer, covered for some minutes. Giada says 5, I probably let in sit a little longer while I grilled the bread.

Oh yeah, I grilled the bread. This weekend, I had this amazing salad that had all kinds of grilled seafood on top-- scallops, calamari, shrimp. But the best part was the grilled bread! I was thinking about it tonight at the grocery store, and decided it would go perfectly with my tuscan soup. So, I used the rest of the chopped garlic and, after smashing it with the side of my knife, sautéed it in some oil on my grill pan. Then, I just doused both sides of the bread with more olive oil and grilled for a few minutes on each side.

yummmm!

I had this for lunch the following day, and it was even better. As all day-old-soup is. Day old bread, not so much. Anyway, the escarole had turned it this funny color, and it ends up looking like that slop that Charlie Bucket's family eats for every meal ("...cabbage water again?!"). It aint fancy, but trust me, it's delicious.

It isn't very cold this winter, but I still have been craving soups lately. I keep thinking about this one, and a Minorcan clam chowder we used to order at the Lighthouse Restaurant in St. Augustine when we were little. Have any of you ever made that? What soups do you like to cook when the weather outside is frightful?

m

comfort and joy

Winter has finally decided to grace us with her presence, and we have snow of the ground! 

the view from my bedroom window

But busy girls like us can't just sit around all day waiting for a nice winter soup to cook, so Sanne decided there was no better time to test drive her brand new crock pot, a gift from friends Rita and Michael. We pulled together the winteriest ingredients we could think of and left the crock pot on low while we took a trip to Ikea.

Carrots and potatoes, of course...

Celery, which Sanne is finally warming up to...

...some garlic and onions...

swiss chard, a can of stewed tomatoes (+ juice), some homemade chicken stock, thyme, sage, s+p, drained and rinsed garbanzo beans cooked while we shopped.

When we got home, we added a package of Trader Joe's harvest grains and cooked for another 20 minutes.

THEN the real fun started. The other day on smitten kitchen, Deb made salted caramel sauce. I immediately sent the link to Sanne; she had made some of her brownies a few nights ago and we were talking about how great they would be with salted caramel in them. So tonight on the way home, we grabbed some chocolate ice cream on which to put this magical salted caramel sauce.

She followed SK's directions exactly...

SO EASY! I've copied and pasted SK's directions, but you should check out the link, too. Her pictures are gorgeous, and she makes crepes for her sauce.

You will need: 

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter (or, salted but ease up on the sea salt)Two pinches flaked or fine sea salt1/3 cup heavy cream

Make syrup: Melt the sugar over medium to moderately high heat in a larger pot than you think you’ll need–at least two quarts, whisking or stirring the sugar as it melts to ensure it heats evenly. Cook the liquefied sugar to a nice copper color. Add the sea salt and butter and stir until the butter melts. Lower the heat and slowly drizzle in the heavy cream, whisking the whole time. The sauce will foam and hiss; just ignore it and whisk until the sauce is smooth. Set aside until needed. Store in the fridge for up to a week. Rewarm gently to thin it out. 

Oh, and I picked up this espresso maker for $20. And a milk frothier for $5. So along with our pure sugar dessert, we had lattes. Yep, we did.

And they were awesome.

So between tonight's meal + dessert, Friday's Chic-fil-a + movie, and yesterday's big breakfast and chicken quesadillas, it's been a pretty scrumptious weekend. 

How was yours?

m&a

a hug in a bowl

This past weekend I decided to dig out an old favorite. Those of you who have been around for a while may remember this soup that my mom used to make. I realized recently that I haven't made it in probably about a year. As I was looking over the ingredients, I quickly realized why: it's pretty unhealthy. But if your deep into soup season, or just feeling S.A.D. from the lack of sun warming your skin, you might need something a little comforting and indulgent. Like this soup, or a hug.

So here you go, my mom's Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder adapted from a 1980-ish Southern Living cookbook.

You will need:
1 1/2lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves minced garlic
3T butter
1/2c water
2t instant bouillon
1t cumin
2c half & half
8oz monterey jack cheese
1 (14oz)can cream corn
1 4oz can chopped green chilis
1t tobasco (I use about 8x that)
1 med. tomato, chopped

First, cook the first four ingredients in a large soup pot. I started my chicken and then added the next three. Then add water and bring to a boil. Dissolve your bouillon and reduce heat to medium-high. 

Add the rest of the half & half, cumin, tobasco, s+p, corn and chilies. But don't drain the corn or chilies. Let simmer for about 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally so that the bottom doesn't scorch.

Stir in cheese and adjust seasonings.

 Add tomatoes and serve.

For some reason, when I copied this down from my mom years ago, I copied down a doubled version. So when I'm looked at my book and saw "3lb chicken" I just shrugged and dumped it in the pot. So now Sanne and I have a couple containers of this soup in the freezer, waiting for another for a blustery day.

::hugz::

What's your favorite soup?
m

you guys want some cookies?

This weekend I was in Rhode Island, in back-to-back conferences and conversations about education. It was really awesome, and I made some great connections. But between the schedule and being sick this past week, I was totally drained.

I came home craving soup and a sandwich, and the best chocolate chip cookies. I stopped at the grocery store to grab some necessities, came home and whipped up a totally comforting dinner and desert.

Sage butter is my new favorite thing. A few fresh leaves chopped and sauteed in some butter makes such a delicious difference in those already soul-warming sandwiches. I'm thinking of using it on my turkey this year. For the sandwich, I used monterey jack and some whole wheat bread.

For the cookies, I literally googled "best chocolate chip cookies" and made the first recipe I found. The end.

Now here's some crappy pictures of everything.

m

Squash Sage Stew

So this post does not have any apples in it. But it does have acorn squash, so that's pretty good, right? Sanne found this recipe for Pumpkin, Barley and Sage Soup, but I suggested that we switch out the pumpkin for acorn squash, because. So she did, and it was good. She also made some corn muffins, featuring real corn. I believe it was a mix, but I could be wrong...

She just cooked a cob of corn...

"the Indians call it maize..."

...and mixed it into the batter

and baked it in a muffin tin. Perfection.

The soup wasn't much more complicated than that. She started by scooping the guts out of an acorn squash. She salted, peppered and olive oiled it, and roasted it in the oven for about half an hour.

 

Meanwhile, I chopped an onion, and it was sauteed with some chopped andouille sausage and a few torn sage leaves in some olive oil on high heat.

About 3 minutes or so, stirring continuously.

Then she added 1c barley, 4c water and 1t instant bouillon granules. Bring to boiling. Then reduce heat to a simmer, covered, 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the squash is tender, scoop out all of the flesh and puree it. Then stir it into the soup, add 1T cider vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Let it heat through.

Then try to make it look as pretty as this, by garnishing with apple slices and sage. Serve with corn muffins and fall beer. Smile.

I'm a fan. 

m&a