Spanish flavors for World Cup partying

I'm still bummed that the U.S. didn't make it into the World Cup final this weekend. But the big match-up between Spain and the Netherlands still promises to be fun spectating and has me craving Spanish flavors. Got me thinking that it might be time to make some more gazpacho and paella.



It's the perfect time of year to make the most of the fresh veggies at the farmers' market in this recipe for gazpacho from The French Laundry. I've blogged about it before, but thought this weekend would be a good time to make it again. It's really easy to make but requires a little planning — the secret to the big flavor here — you put all the veggies in a pot together overnight in the fridge and then blend them together the next day. It's amazing how much more flavorful the end result is after that time in the fridge. And be sure to make the balsamic glaze as well. It brings out all the sweetness and flavor in the gazpacho.



If you're having folks over to watch the World Cup this weekend, this grilled paella makes the perfect party food. We had it as part of an incredible feast put on by our friends, Joanne and Larry. The recipe they used first appeared in The New York Times, but I'll always think of it as their paella and remember making it in their backyard. They used chicken, chorizo, shrimp and clams, but you could use whatever meats you like. The recipe is actually fairly simple, it just takes a bit of prep a paella pan and a grill. But it's so worth the effort.

For more Spanish flavors, check chef José Andrés web site, Jose Made in Spain. These flavor combinations make my mouth water:

• Cabrales blue cheese with apples and olive oil
• Cauliflower with olives and dates
• Cold soup of Idiazábal cheese with wild mushrooms
• Galician-style chicken empanadas
• Manchego with tomato, thyme and walnuts
• Mahon cheese with quince paste
• Sautéed green beans with garlic and Spanish ham
• Seared piquillo peppers stuffed with roncal cheese
• Seared tuna belly with sesame seeds and piquillo peppers

Recipes for all of those can be found here.

Sweet and Sour Soup with Pineapple and Shrimp

It was 11 degrees overnight in Austin. On top of that, the cedar is plaguing most of us with allergies. This is my favorite soup when I have that sore throat, achey, runny nose kind of feeling. It has big, bright flavors that will wake up your taste buds and clear your head: lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, pineapple and lime juice, with shrimp and rice noodles.

The only downside to this soup is that it has to be made fresh and eaten immediately. It's not a good candidate for freezing and having on hand for later when you feel bad. The freshness is part of what makes it so good. So make it to keep yourself warm or to perk up a friend who's under the weather. It's just the thing.

I've been making and fine tuning this recipe for years. A long time ago, I had a sweet and sour soup at a Vietnamese restaurant that included tomatoes, which added a nice texture and tang. That got me started looking for a version I could make at home. The fresh pineapple is my favorite element. I think this is the version I'm sticking with. Wish I had a bowl tonight.

Sweet and sour soup with shrimp and pineapple

1 pound medium-sized shrimp, shells on
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons shallots, minced
8 cups of fish stock or chicken broth
3 stalks lemongrass
one bunch cilantro
2 kaffir lime leaves
4 slices of galangal
pineapple, peeled and cored, with core reserved; cut into bite-sized chunks
4 tablespoons fish sauce
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1/4 cup lime juice
16 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, cut into quarters
4 tablespoons sugar
orange, red or yellow bell pepper, stem and core removed, cut into slices
one pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
approximately 14 oz. package rice stick noodles, soaked in hot water according to package directions and strained

Make the broth:
Remove the shells from the shrimp. Reserve the shells. Devein the shrimp and set aside.

Place the shrimp shells in a stockpot with vegetable oil. Add shallots and cook together for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring.

Add the broth, lemongrass, the stems of your cilantro, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, the pineapple core and the fish sauce. Stir together. Bring up to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer at least 15 minutes. (Longer will mean more flavor, if you have the patience.) Strain the broth through a sieve and then put the broth back into the pan. Discard the lemongrass, etc. that you've strained out.

Grind together in a mortar and pestle into a paste: garlic, peppercorns, 2/3 of the cilantro leaves. Add to the broth and stir together.

Turn the heat back on under the broth to about medium. Add the lime juice, mushrooms, sugar, about half of the pineapple chunks and the bell pepper strips. When the broth is just below a boil, add the shrimp and simmer until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through. Watch carefully, this will only take a few minutes. You don't want your shrimp to be tough and overcooked. When shrimp are cooked through, remove from heat and add tomatoes.

To serve, place one serving of rice stick noodles into each bowl. Ladle soup into bowls and top with remaining pineapple chunks and sprinkle with cilantro.

Enjoy immediately!

Serves 3-4.

Adapted from Terrific Pacific by Anya von Bremzen.

Japanese Hot Pot with Chicken & Mushrooms

I have the best husband ever. In true Santa fashion, he gave me just the thing I really wanted for Christmas but hadn't even thought of putting on my list... a Japanese hot pot and the perfect hot pot handbook to go with it, Japanese Hot Pots by Japanese chef Tadashi Ono and writer Harris Salat. I have a favorite udon noodle hotpot I love to order when we go out for sushi in the winter. I've tried replicating the luxurious broth at home without much luck. But with my first try from this book, I found the flavors I was looking for. You know that feeling you get when you sit in a hot springs (or hot tub) outdoors in the cold or better yet, in the snow? You get warm and radiant all the way down to your core. You feel like a wet noodle afterwards, but in the best, most relaxed way. Eating a good hot pot can give you that same warm, comforted and nourished to your core feeling, with noodles!



First, about the pot. A Japanese clay hot pot is called a donabe (pronounced doh-nah-beh). These traditional earthenware vessels conduct heat evenly and retain that heat better than any other cooking material. They have a rounded unglazed bottom and a domed, glazed lid that allows heat to circulate. The lid has a small hole which acts as a steam vent and gives you a heads up when your soup is boiling. The towns of Iga and Shigaraki in central Japan (where my hot pot came from) are famous for making these pots in the traditional way. One important thing to note: you must temper your new hot pot before using it. This is easily done by cooking rice in it and then allowing it to cool in the pot, then clean it and allow it to dry completely before the first use. I'd advise doing this on a separate day from when you plan to cook your first hot pot. It makes the cooking process a little simpler and less time-consuming and you won't be in a rush for your pot to dry. The most important thing about hot pot cooking is to make sure that the pot is completely dry before you fire it up. If not, the water in the unglazed portion of the pot could expand when heated and crack it. Check out this video for step-by-step instructions on how to temper your new hot pot.

If you don't have a hot pot or want to try a few recipes before committing, you can use an enameled cast-iron pot like a Staub or Le Creuset.

In Japanese culture, sharing a meal from a single pot is thought to bring people closer together. We cooked ours on our gas stove and then brought it to the table to serve. But if you have a tabletop burner, you can cook it right there at the table. I was pleasantly surprised by how our donabe retained heat throughout the entire meal. The soup was steaming when we brought it to the table. But even after taking a few photos and leisurely eating our meal, the last bite was still quite hot at the bottom of the bowl.

I made a mushroom hot pot. The recipe in the book uses a variety of mushrooms, tofu, napa cabbage, tofu and spinach. I switched the tofu to chicken and the spinach and cabbage to boy choy. Feel free to use whatever you like. That's the fun of a hot pot.

The first thing you'll need, after your cooking pot, is the dashi, or broth. If you're wanting to make your hot pot quickly as a weeknight meal, I'd advise making the dashi ahead of time so it'll be ready to go. The recipe below is the base dashi recipe from the book. You make it with kombu (seaweed) and dried bonito flakes. You can find these at Whole Foods in the Asian aisle or at an Asian or Japanese market. You can also find kombu and bonito online at Amazon.

Dashi (Kombu-Katsuobushi Dashi)

8 cups + 2 tablespoons water
2 6-inch pieces of kombu
1 1/2 ounces (about 3 cups packed) dried, shaved bonito flakes

Pour 8 cups of water into a large stockpot. Add the kombu. (Do not heat yet.) Let steep for at least 30 minutes.

After steeping, bring the kombu and water to a boil over medium heat. When the water has begun to boil, carefully remove the kombu. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of water.

Now add the bonito flakes and give them a gentle stir to break up the clumps. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. If any foam or bubbles form on the top of the broth, remove them from the surface with a spoon.

Turn off heat and let steep for 15 minutes.

Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. (The book says not to squeeze or press on the bonito, just let it strain through.)

At this stage, you can use the broth immediately or let cool and then refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Makes about 6 cups.




Mushroom Hot Pot (Kinoko Nabe)

4 cups dashi (from the recipe above)
1 cup sake
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 heads of baby bok choy
1 pound chicken tenders
1/2 pound small shiitke mushrooms (about 16), stems removed
2-4 trumpet mushrooms
1/2 pound enoki mushrooms, trimmed and pulled apart into bunches
2-3 serving bundles of frozen udon noodles, defrosted
Shichimi togarashi (citrus, sesame, chile seasoning)

Combine the dashi, sake, mirin and soy sauce in a bowl. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.

Place your tempered hot pot or enameled cast iron pan on the stove or burner.

Cut your defrosted udon noodle bundles into quarters. Place them in the outside bottom edges of the hot pot. Leave space in the center for the chicken. Place chicken tenders into the center of the hot pot. Cover with dashi about 3/4 full - save some broth in reserve, if it gets too full. You don't want your pan to boil over. Place the lid over the pot.

Bring the hot pot with noodles and chicken up to a boil over high heat. When it reaches a boil, decrease heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the mushrooms and boy choy to the pot. Cover and simmer another 5 minutes. (If using spinach, add it in the last minute before serving.)

Turn off heat and take the hot pot to the table — place on a trivet or heat-safe surface. Serve sprinkled with Shichimi togarashi.

Serves 3-4.

Adapted from Japanese Hot Pots by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat.

To learn more about Japanese food, check out the Japanese Food Report blog by Harris Salat.

If you're in NYC, check out Tadashi Ono's restaurant, Matsuri.

Postscript: Listen to KCRW's Good Food (Jan. 9, 2010) for an interview with Harris Salat and Tadashi Ono about hot pots.

San Francisco Soup

This week is my friend Kelley's birthday. She and her husband used to live in San Francisco and I was lucky enough to visit them there frequently. Bless them for their generosity and hospitality. It was always a delight to get to spend time with them there and get to know the city with them as guides. I first made this soup for them there after a day of walking up and down those hills and foraging for fixin's at the neighborhood market in Pacific Heights. I always think of them and want to be back in San Francisco whenever I make it.

This is basically a minestrone with pesto. It's not so much a recipe as a guideline. You can make it with what you like. The thing that makes it is the dollop of pesto you add just before serving. I've been making this for years. I used to make it with chicken but now we use chicken Italian sausage for a little more flavor. I sometimes make it using (store-bought) veal stock mixed with chicken stock, sometimes just chicken. Sometimes I add beans, sometimes I don't. Do what you please. Experiment and make it your own. It's good to warm your bones on a cold, foggy day. It's best served immediately when it's made so the veggies and pasta keep their snap.

San Francisco Soup

1 pound chicken Italian sausage
olive oil
1 medium onion or 2 leeks or 2 shallots, peeled and chopped
veggies: 1 yellow squash, 2 zucchini, 2 carrots, 1 pound green beans, chopped into bite-sized pieces
herbs: thyme, rosemary, basil, parsley, as much as you like
1/2 - 1 cup white wine
32 ounces chicken stock
16 ounces veal stock
1 small can (approximately 15 ounces) cannellini beans
1/2 - 3/4 pound short pasta like penne or rigatoni
2 large tomatoes, chopped, or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half, to serve
1 cup basil pesto to serve
chopped parsley to serve
shredded parmesan to serve

Brown the sausage on both sides over medium heat in a little olive oil.

Remove from pan and cut into slices. Set aside.

If necessary, add a little more olive oil to the pan and cook the onion, leek or shallot until softened, several minutes.

Add your veggies and herbs and cook 2-3 minutes more.

Add your white wine and continue cooking 2-3 more minutes.

Add stock and sausage and bring heat up to high. Add your cannellini beans, if using. Bring up to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

Add pasta and simmer until pasta is ready. Serve immediately.

Ladle into individual bowls, then add a few chunks of tomato. Serve with a spoonful of pesto on top of each serving and spinkled with fresh parsley and parmesan.

Serves approximately 6.

Tomato Basil Soup

Happiness is receiving fresh bread in the mail. Not just any bread...a perfect light, whole wheat sourdough with just the right touch of sweetness. My husband's mom has been making this bread for years. I know, I know. The thing to do here would be to beg her for the recipe and share her techniques. But the problem is, you have to have the starter for sourdough. Without her starter, you don't have her bread.



This bread is so good that we asked her to send it to us once every other month as a Christmas present last year. (We can't be trusted with it every month. Two loaves can disappear in less than a week around here. We aren't otherwise big bread eaters, but when that stuff is around...all bets are off. We're having cinnamon toast and grilled cheese and just plain toast with jam every night.) I've put off sharing our happiness over this bread because it doesn't seem fair not to have the recipe for you. But as I said, without the starter, what's the point?

Maybe next time I visit, I can get a step-by-step tutorial and then share some online sources for starters. But I'm not sure it would be the same.

So instead, I decided to share with you something we have with the bread. I got some Beecher's flagship cheddar and made tomato basil soup. A classic combo and for good reason. It all just works together.

Beecher's handmade cheese is from Seattle and it is really good stuff. I was excited to see it at Central Market. This soup recipe I clipped from the Austin American-Statesman long ago when La Madeleine restaurant was coming to town. La Madeleine is famous for their tomato basil soup. It's decadent with lots of cream and butter.

I'm usually not one for substitute or fake foods. But all that richness felt like too much with the grilled cheese on the side. In a cooking class with Lake Austin Spa's Terry Conlan, I got turned on to fat free half and half. It's not something I would ordinarily even consider, but he said he uses it because it has natural thickeners to sub for the fat. So I tried it. It takes some of the guilt out of this really fabulous soup. I think I initially changed the recipe from cream to half and half and then from half and half to whole milk. Now I think I'll stick with the fat free half and half. Use what you like. There's still enough butter in here to make you feel guilty and please your taste buds at the same time.

This soup is easily doubled and freezes well so I like to make double batches. It's fast, it's easy and it's very tasty, and of course, goes great with a grilled cheese.




Tomato Basil Soup

4 cups canned, roasted crushed tomatoes
4 cups tomato juice
12-15 fresh basil leaves
1 cup half & half (can sub fat free)
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine the tomatoes and juice in a large pan and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the basil one of two ways: add it to the pot and blend in with an immersion blender or remove 1-2 cups of the tomato mixture and whiz in a blender with the basil and return it to the pot.

Stir soup to incorporate basil mixture completely.

Stir in half & half and butter until butter is completely melted.

Simmer 10 more minutes, then serve.

Serves 6-8.

Adapted from La Madeleine's recipe in the Austin American-Statesman.

French Laundry Gazpacho

Here's the gazpacho we made and took to Joanne and Larry's paella party last weekend. It's the first time I've attempted any of the recipes from The French Laundry Cookbook. This is a good one to start with. It's easy to put together and the secret to its powerful flavor is "overnight maceration." You put all the ingredients in a container in the fridge and then purée the next day before serving.

You could serve this with or without the balsamic glaze or syrup, but I highly recommend it. The recipe for that follows. You just reduce the balsamic slowly until it thickens considerably. The taste contrast it offers really highlights the freshness and sweetness of the veggies in the gazpacho.

This is a recipe I'll make over and over in the summer. You could also strain it and make one heckuva bloody mary with it. It went really well as a starter for the paella.

Notes: The original recipe calls for green bell peppers and red onions. I have a very strong dislike for red onions. I find them overpowering. So I used a sweet onion (Vidalias or Texas 1015s would work) instead. Also, I happened to have a bunch of sweet Russian red peppers from the farmers' market so I used those with a red bell pepper. I doubled this recipe to make sure we'd have enough for the party. I ended up with leftovers but was pretty happy about that. We left some with Joanne and Larry and brought a bit home to have another shot of it the next day. The recipe states that it makes 2 quarts as prepared with the quantities below. But I doubled it and only got 3 quarts. So keep that in mind. The balsamic glaze will make more than you need, but it's really tasty stuff. Use it on berries or pears with cheese as a savory dessert.



French Laundry Gazpacho

1 cup onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 cup English cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon white wine or champagne vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh)
3 cups tomato juice
1 sprig of fresh thyme
balsamic glaze (recipe follows)

Mix all ingredients (except balsamic glaze) together in a large container with a cover. Refrigerate overnight with the cover on.

The next day, remove the sprig of thyme and purée until smooth. (I used an immersion blender.) Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve in small cups with a drizzle of balsamic glaze on top.



Balsamic Vinegar Glaze

2 cups balsamic vinegar

Heat in a heavy saucepan on medium heat until you see steam rising. If you have a heat diffuser, place that over the flame and lower the heat as low as it will go. You want it below a simmer. (I don't have a heat diffuser, but do have a burner that goes superlow.) The book says it should take 2-3 hours to reduce down to about 1/2 cup. It took longer for me (3-4 hours), but it does continue to thicken as it cools.

Place cooled glaze into a squeeze bottle for serving. (You can put the squeeze bottle in warm water if it's too thick to squeeze out.)

Recipes adapted from The French Laundry Cookbook.


Want to know about the experience of cooking from The French Laundry Cookbook? Check out The French Laundry at Home blog. She cooks her way through the book and tells you about it along the way.

Want to check out The French Laundry yourself in Yountville, CA? This is arguably the best restaurant in this country. Reservations are taken 2 monthes in advance. Good luck.

Jamaican Carrot Soup with Pear Relish

This soup is just the kind of thing for this almost-fall in between time we find ourselves in now. Temperatures are beginning to consider being more moderate – at least here in Austin – but it's not really cool yet. But that doesn't mean we're not craving everything fall. Dry leaves shaking in the breeze, chilly dark mornings, the sound of football on tv in the background and one day... sleeves! I don't know about you, but I could use some of that. It's like a big sigh of relief after the intensity of the summer sun.

This soup will feed your fall-starved appetite without weighing you down. The natural sweetness of the carrots is enhanced by tropical chiles and lots of spices...nutmeg, ginger and allspice. Top if off with a very quick pear relish and it rocks. Don't even think of making this soup without the relish. The relish is what takes it beyond. Beeeeeyond. I've been making this soup for years and it always still surprises me how really, really good it is.

I think this recipe actually appeared in a Food & Wine Thanksgiving issue and it would make the perfect Thanksgiving or fall meal starter. But it's also a great light lunch with hearty bread smeared with goat cheese or some plantain chips.

Make the relish and chill it before serving. The contrast of the cold, fresh, juicy pears with the sweet spicy heat of the soup is what you're going for.

Jamaican Carrot Soup with Pear Relish

For the soup:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds carrots, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
4 large scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 - 1/2 Habanero pepper (or jalapeño), seeds removed, diced
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock
1 small potato, peeled and sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

In a stockpot or deep soup pot, melt the butter and cook the carrots and onions until very soft, about 30 minutes.

Add the scallions, chiles, soy, thyme and spices and stir until you smell the spices, several minutes.

Add the chicken stock, potato and bay leaf. Bring up to a boil and then cover the pan and simmer for about half an hour until the potato is tender.

Remove the soup from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Using a stick blender (or in small batches in a regular blender), purée the soup.

Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.


For the pear relish:
4 firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Toss the pears with the lemon juice. Then add the other ingredients and toss together. Chill before serving.

Serve the soup hot with a generous scoop of the cold pear relish in the center.

Serves approximately 8 as an appetizer.

Adapted from Food & Wine, November 2000

Comfort Food

Well, we battened down the hatches and "hunkered down," as they like to keep saying on the news. But Ike brought us only a few breezy gusts of wind and not one drop of rain as it blew by just east of Austin.

Bless the hearts of all those folks in Galveston, Houston and all along the coast. I know it's unlikely, but I hope everyone finds their homes safe and sound upon return. Wish I could make them all something comforting to eat.

This is the kind of time you want some food to feed your soul. Chicken and dumplings is comfort food in the truest sense. Granted, it's not diet food. But this is not the kind of thing you eat regularly. It's something to reach for like a warm, soft blanket to pull around you like a hug. Chicken and dumplings can do that.

We made a big batch of these to take with us on vacation. Chicken and dumplings also make great cold weather cabin food. Happily, they hold up well to freezing. I might go so far as to say they were even better the second time around.

When I was growing up, my grandmother would make me chicken and dumplings. So they hold a place in my heart right up there along with her hugs, and the warm, soft quilts she made me. I still pull those quilts around me and they comfort me every time. Chicken and dumplings are like that. Like a hug in your tummy, and who doesn't need that sometimes?

Sadly, my grandmother is gone and I don't have her recipe. But my husband's family also makes chicken and dumplings – the closest I've ever tasted to my grandmother's, so we started with a recipe his mother provided. (Thanks, Phyllis!) I added a few more veggies, just trying to make them a little more of a well-rounded meal, and a few herbs. My husband is in charge of dumplings (being chief biscuit maker around here) and he has perfected these. These dumplings are worth marrying him for all by themselves.

We also noticed, after several experimental batches, that even though the dumpling dough is almost the same as biscuit dough, the texture is much improved – chewier – by using all purpose flour instead of the usual self-rising.

These also take some time. I used an already roasted chicken for some of the meat and to make the broth. You could certainly use an uncooked bird. This was just my shortcut. You could also add more veggies. Peas would be a nice addition. It's still an all day weekend kind of thing. But it's kind of Zen, actually. If you take your time and enjoy the process, the making of this dish can be as good for you as the eating of it.

This is a huge batch. But if you're going to go to all this trouble, is nice to be able to put some in the freezer for a rainy day or two.

Try them and see if you don't feel better.


Chicken and Dumplings


Before you start, put a stick of unsalted butter in the freezer.

Step 1: Make the broth.

one approximately 2 1/2 pound roasted chicken
1 onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic
2 carrots, peeled and cut in half
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut in half
2 stalks celery
5 sprigs fresh thyme
6 quarts of water

Remove the meat from the roasted chicken. Shred the meat and put it in a covered container in the fridge.

Note: I used the pasta insert that came with my stockpot to line the pan. Made it a lot easier to fish out the chicken bones and veggies after.

Toss the chicken bones and skin into a large stockpot. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, parsnip, celery, thyme, and water.

Bring up to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 60-90 minutes.

Remove chicken bones and veggies. You can strain the broth, if you like, but we didn't bother. Pour the broth into another container while you move on to the rest of the recipe.


2. Make the "stew" part of the chicken and dumplings.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into half moons
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped into half moons
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup pearl onions (frozen worked fine here)
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stalks
meat from the roast chicken
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast
broth (above)

Sauté the vegetables and thyme in olive oil in the stockpot until softened. (They will continue cooking.)

Add the chicken breasts and broth and simmer until the chicken breasts are cooked through. Take out the chicken breasts and shred them with forks (like pulled pork). Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Add the roasted chicken meat.


3. Make dumplings (helps to have someone else making these while you're fiddling with the stew part.)

6 cups all purpose flour (yes, really, 6 cups; more dumplings are better)
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 tablespoons frozen unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 1/2 - 3 cups of buttermilk (we used low-fat)

In the biggest bowl you've got, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

Using a microplan with large grate or a cheese grater, grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture. With your fingertips, mix the butter with the flour mixture (use a brushing motion with your thumb against your fingertips). You want the dough to have a pebblelike consistency. It's ok to have little pebbles of butter not completely mixed in.

Stir in (my husband likes to use his hands) 2 1/2 cups of the buttermilk. Set aside the extra half cup and see if you need it. Very gently, stir together the dough. If you still need it, add the extra 1/2 cup buttermilk (in little shots) until the dough comes together just a bit drier than biscuit dough.

Roll out the dough on a clean floured surface, half batch at a time with a floured pin. It should be about 1/4" thick. Cut into strips about 1" x 3/4" long.

Drop the dumplings into the simmering chicken stew. Note: we did the first half of the batch of dumplings, let them cook, and then sat down to eat. After we'd finished, we put the second batch of dumplings in and cooked them before letting the whole thing cool and putting into containers in the freezer. It's easier that way.

Once the dumplings are in, I used a Asian spider (or you could use a ladle or really big spoon) to move the dumplings around and turn them over so they cooked evenly in the broth. At first, they'll float. We found that the longer they cooked, even until they sunk, the better it all tasted. Even after refrigerating the whole thing overnight and reheating the next day, the dumplings were really good and the broth/stew was even better the second day after the dumplings had thickened the stew. Simmer the dumplings at least 30-40 minutes. When you first put them in the pot, you may need to raise the heat a bit.

Serves at least 8-10.

Smoked Chicken, Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

We're in the twilight zone of Austin weather where it can be reaching for 90 one day and hovering around freezing the next. I love Spring, especially in Austin, but I'll really miss those cold, but cozy days when a big bowl of hearty soup is the perfect comfort food. Some of you, who may not live in the tropics of Texas, may have a little more time to enjoy a soup like this.

I've been making the basic recipe for this chicken and mushroom soup for years. Since my husband was kind enough to smoke a chicken in his smoker last time he cranked it up, I decided to try this variation. And we liked it even better. I had also ordered some beautiful beans and wild rice from Rancho Gordo and thought the wild rice might add some nice texture. It was luscious. I'll be making it this way from now on. If you don't have smoked chicken, you can use leftover roasted chicken. The bacon adds a bit of smokiness too that's really nice with the mushrooms.


1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
4 slices smoked bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 pound porcini, shiitake or cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup flour
1 cup white wine
4-5 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup wild rice
3/4 - 1 lb. roasted or smoked and shredded chicken
1 cup whole milk/half&half/cream (your choice - I like 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup half&half)
handful of fresh parsley, chopped


Rehydrate the dried mushrooms in 1 cup of boiling water. Let soak, covered, for 30 minutes. Drain through a sieve, reserving the mushroom liquid. Chop the mushrooms. Set aside.

Sauté the bacon, remove from pan, and pour off excess bacon grease. Chop the bacon, return it to the pan and add the onion. Sauté the onions and bacon until the onions are translucent. (Your kitchen will start smelling pretty good at this point.)

Add the garlic, thyme, and fresh and rehydrated mushrooms and sauté another 8-10 minutes until mushrooms relax and absorb the flavors in the pan.

Spinkle flour over mushrooms and stir for a few more minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Stir in the wine and continue cooking another minute or two.

Stir in the chicken stock, mushroom liquid, tomato paste and bay leaf. Simmer until tomato paste dissolves. Add the wild rice and simmer until rice is cooked through (cooking time depends on the rice you're using). If you're using raw chicken, put it in now too to allow it to cook though. If you're using smoked or already roasted chicken, add it after the rice is cooked to avoid toughening it. If, as it's simmering, the broth cooks down too much, you can add a little more to get the consistency you like.

Stir in the milk/half&half/cream and raise heat slightly to bring temperature back up for serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve, garnished with parsley on top. It adds a real freshness to the soup.

Serves 4-6.

Sopa de Lima

I love tortilla-style soup. Rich chicken broth with a bright lime kick. Topped with avocado, it's so clean tasting. Problem? Tortilla soup also usually includes a shot of bright red chile powder. That just muddies up the whole thing for me. I've been looking for a bowl of clear broth with all the trimmmings, here in Austin. I've sampled tortilla soups all over town and usually been disappointed. My friend, Jen, who has traveled all over Mexico, said the soup I'm looking for reminds her of soup she's had in Mexico City. Very fresh, clear chicken broth with lots of lime, but no chile powder.

Heidi Swanson's mention of the Doña Tomás cookbook on her blog, 101Cookbooks, turned me onto a wonderful cookbook and the soup I've been looking for, Sopa de Lima.

Doña Tomás, a Mexican restaurant in Oakland, serves what they call "Cal-Mex" celebrating Oaxaca, Veracruz, and the Yucatan, but without the blandness of California Mexican and also its greasiness.

I got excited by their cookbook because its got all the flavors of Mexico but with more emphasis on freshness and produce than the usual grease and carb-fest you usually think of with Tex-Mex. It's big flavor, but not so heavy.

I did a version of this soup using stock made from our Thanksgiving turkey. But chicken stock will work just as well. I also added avocado on top and some mini sweet peppers for a little more color. When you slice them, their little rings make a tasty confetti.

This is great with their mushroom-asparagus quesadilla on the side. (Recipe soon.)

It turned out to be exactly what I've been looking for. And perfect to warm you on a cold, winter day.


1 1/2 quarts chicken (or turkey) stock
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 white onion, diced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 - 1 jalapeño, chopped, with or without seeds, depending on how hot you like it
2-3 ripe, heirloom or vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
6 mini or 1 regular-sized orange/yellow/red bell pepper, sliced or chopped
juice of 2 limes
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (I used the stems too)
1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
salt
corn tortilla chips
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks with a shot of lime juice
more lime wedges and chopped cilantro for garnish


Heat stock up to a simmer on the back of the stove.

In another pot, heat the oil over high heat, add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and sauté another 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add jalapeño, tomatoes and peppers and sauté another few minutes.

Stir in lime juice and half the cilantro. Remove from heat.

Pour the heated broth into the pot of vegetables. Put over high heat until it boils. Add salt to taste, reduce heat to medium and simmer gently for 20-30 minutes, until flavors come together.

Add the shredded chicken and simmer until chicken is warmed through.

Serve topped with cilantro and avocado, with chips on the side.

Serves approximately 4.

Adapted from the Doña Tomás cookbook.


Postscript from Jen:
After reading this post, Jennifer followed up to say that in Mexico City, tortilla soup was often served alongside a collection of dishes filled with toppings so you could add what you wanted. The broth was in a bowl with the chicken and maybe some garlic and onion. But you decide how much of the crispy tortilla strips, cilantro, crema, lime, more onion, avocado and sometimes, bits of dried chile you want. She said you could "call upon your inner soup artiste" to put it together. Fun.

"The soup there was pure and clean... and clear. When you threw your chunks of avocado in, it was like throwing stones in a stream. You could see them. You could also really, really taste them. You could taste everything both separately, and together - that's what they get wrong most of the time here in Texas."

Food for tummyaches

My husband had a tummyache this week. I wanted to make him something comforting so off I went to the store for applesauce and bananas and ginger and Gatorade and squooshy bread. (And, of course, the pink stuff.) Yesterday, he had recovered enough to adventure back into the world real food. And since we’ve just returned from backpacking in the Tetons, I was ready to get back into the kitchen. Boiling water for freeze-dried pouches is not cooking.

I started with udon noodles. The fat, pillowy noodles appeal to all tummies, especially recovering ones. (I use frozen udon from a local Japanese market. They're fatter and fluffier than the dried ones you cook in boiling water. You can defrost these in the microwave briefly and then pour your broth right over them. Almost instant.)

Add a little chicken, a lot of ginger, some onion, garlic and a splash of fish sauce for body. And finally, some bok choy, to make it interesting. He said he was up to it. On a normal day, this might benefit from a pinch of hot pepper flakes to give it a little kick. But this way it’s very smooth and soothing with just enough structure.

As a little bonus treat and to continue our ginger theme, I made pear and ginger crisp from Eric Gower’s The Breakaway Cook. It’s the ultimate in comfort food. Soft, smooth pears with ginger and little maple syrup. “It’s good on a lot of different levels,” the hubby said. So true. It’s so good you want to crawl in the pan and roll around in it. As it bakes in the oven, you’re drawn to the kitchen, standing at the oven window, wanting it to be ready now. “Do we have to wait for it to cool?” he said as soon as it came out of the oven. Then there’s the juice in the bottom of the pan. It’s pure pear heaven. I have a few ingredient crushes and pears are high on the list. This is one of the reasons why. (David Lebovitz pear caramel ice cream and King’s Cupboard’s pear caramel sauce are two of the other reasons.)

So if you’re tummy needs some soothing or if you’ve just had a bumpy day, this is your meal.



Ginger Chicken Udon Soup

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled, sliced into coins
splash of Asian fish sauce
2 chicken breasts, (I used boneless/skinless), about 1.5 pounds
2 quarts (reduced sodium) chicken broth
half of a bunch of cilantro, particularly the stems, finely chopped
4 heads of baby bok choy, cleaned, sliced
frozen udon noodles, defrosted, however much you want per bowl


Sweat the onions, garlic and ginger in a little olive oil until softened. I added the chicken before the broth so it could take in these flavors before being bathed in the broth. Brown chicken lightly on both sides. Add broth. Bring it up to a low boil. Lower heat. Add fish sauce and cilantro. Simmer until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to cutting board and shred with forks, removing those chewy bits. Toss the chicken back in. Just before serving, drop in the bok choy, to preserve it’s crunch and color. Serve over a bed of udon noodles. (If you’re going to have leftovers, save some of the bok choy to put in after reheating the next day.) Garnish with cilantro.

Serves 4-6.