This week: Hunting down restaurant recipes; and Soup for a Cold Night!
I’ll be on vacation next week, and may not get around to posting a thread; but I’ll be back the week after.
(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread ping-list, please send a private message.)
-JT
The bargain grocery near us runs a truly epic sale for exactly 30 minutes per week, and when I went last week I found a five-pound bag of dried Shiitake mushrooms for fifteen dollars. I’m gonna have tasty soup for YEARS...
I adore mushrooms in duck soup, and it’s absurdly easy. Ditto lentil soup, and lentils are far easier for me to come by than duck. :)
Making BBQ’d lamb kofta with baba ganoush, and red onion tomato, shanklish salad, with flat bread and secret sauce. Did I ever give you the recipe for the lamb? Can’t remember.
I think I have the soup for a cold night.
We made this a couple weeks ago and liked it so much we made it again the next week. Full disclosure I used Andre Laurent Gourmet Sauerkraut which is mild and tangy.
Ground Beef and Sauerkraut Soup
(Makes about 8 servings)
Ingredients:
1 lb. very lean ground beef (less than 10% fat)
2-3 tsp. olive oil (depending on your pan)
2 cups homemade chicken stock or 1 can (14 oz. can) chicken broth
2 or 3 cans (14 oz. can) beef broth (depending on how thick you prefer the soup; start with 2 cans and add
more if desired)
1 can (14.5 oz. can) diced tomatoes with juice
1 can (14 oz. can) sauerkraut with juice (or use bottled sauerkraut)
1 T Worcestershire sauce (gluten-free if needed)
3-4 dried bay leaves
3 T minced parsley or 1-2 T dried parsley
1 tsp. dried rubbed sage
1 large onion, chopped small
1 T minced garlic (or less if you’re not that fond of garlic)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
In heavy frying pan, heat 1 tsp. olive oil, add ground beef and brown well, breaking into small pieces with
turner. This will take as much as ten minutes but don’t rush the browning step.
While ground beef browns, combine chicken stock, beef stock, canned tomatoes, sauerkraut, sweetener of
your choice, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, parsley and sage in large stock pot. Bring to a low simmer.
When beef is well browned, add to soup in pot. Deglaze pan with a bit of the soup liquid, scraping off any
browned bits, and add to soup.
Wipe out frying pan and add other 1-2 tsp. olive oil. Saute onions 2-3 minutes, until starting to soften, then
add garlic and saute 1-2 minutes more. Add to soup, reduce heat under soup pot and let soup simmer at low
heat about one hour.
After an hour, taste for seasoning and add water if soup seems too strong. Simmer 15 minutes more if
adding water. Season to taste with fresh-ground black pepper (and a little salt if desired) before serving.
Serve hot, with sour cream if desired.
Ok this isn’t exactly gourmet food, but I’d love to be able to replicate Dairy Queen’s buffalo chicken melt. I can’t find any copycat recipes out there.
Chicken and Gnocchi Soup - a lot like Olive Garden’s but with spices
1 T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
½ cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded carrots
2/3 lb cooked, cubed chicken
4 cups chicken broth
16 oz pkg mini gnocchi*
6 oz baby spinach leaves**
4 tsp cornstarch
2 Ts cold water
1¼ cup half-and-half cream
salt and black pepper
¾ tsp thyme
½ tsp marjoram and tarragon
*or cut regular-sized gnocchi in half
**or swiss chard, use stalks too
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion, celery, garlic, and carrots in the hot oil until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in cubed chicken and chicken broth; bring to a simmer. Stir gnocchi into the simmering soup and cook until they begin to float, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in spinach; cook until wilted, about 3 additional minutes. Whisk cornstarch into cold water until smooth. Stir cornstarch mixture and half-and-half into simmering soup, if needed. Cook until soup thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper.