Wish Upon A Chef

Mother Nature is such a tease.

This time last week I was soaking up the sunshine vitamin and therapeutically weeding the garden.  We had temperatures in the mid-60's and the 'hood was buzzing with the sound of lawn mowers, roosters crowing and kids playing.  (Roosters??  And why has our ever-so-vigilant Home Moaners Association not yet called a meeting to discuss how foul running amuck will ruin our property value??)

Tonight the weatherman is using words like "windchill" and "Arctic blast" and the temperatures are nose-diving into the single digits.

So. Not. Cool. Mother Nature.

No, not cool - downright *BLEEPING* cold!

Chilly days and nights like this make me think of, you guessed it....chili.  I usually have everything on hand to pull this together and yes, I use this taco seasoning in my chili.  Tacos.  Chili.  It's all the same to me because I season both with pretty much the same spices.  Serve this topped with grated cheese, a dollop of sour cream and maybe some parsley, cilantro or chopped scallions and you've got yourself a warm, hearty meal in less than an hour.   

Snuggle up and stay warm where ever you are - if you are in the Northeast, heaven help you because I hear there is more snow coming your way. 
   

Chilly Nights Chili
Serves 4-6


1 medium onion, diced
1 pound ground beef
1 recipe make-your-own-taco-seasoning
4 ounces green chiles
15 ounces diced tomatoes
15 ounces kidney beans, rinsed and drained
15 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup water
for garnish: sour cream, grated cheese, chopped scallions

In a medium soup pot, brown onion and ground beef until beef is cooked through.  About 8-10 minutes.  Drain any grease.

Add seasoning mix, chiles, diced tomatoes, kidney beans and tomato sauce and stir until combined.  Add water to reach desired consistency (about 1 cup) and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer about thirty minutes, stirring occasionally.  

My momma always told me not to wish my life away.

When I was a kid, I can remember wishing for the days when I would be an adult.  Looking forward to having my own place to live, my own money to spend, my own rules to live by. Wanting NOW what would inevitably come. Wishing....

I think by now we've all realized that being an adult is a total rip-off.  Momma was right.

Another year has passed us by and I can't help but be a little melancholy. While everyone is oversharing on social media their enthusiasms and goals for the next 365 days, I feel sad about the passage of time. It all moves so fast. While I'm glad to finally have my family's hardships that lingered from 2013 into 2014 behind us and look forward to much healthier days ahead for everyone, I just wish it would all slow down so we can savor and enjoy the good parts more. It seems we blow through 365 days at lightening fast speed.  One day it's January 1 and in the blink of an eye we are already making resolutions for the next year.

My resolution for this year is to enjoy anything and everything as much as possible.  I resolve to see the silver lining in what might not be an ideal situation and learn from it.  I want to surround myself with those who matter and focus less on who and what doesn't.  We only have one audition for life and I want to make the most of it before the final curtain call.  I want to revel in the good times. 

We always seem to end a year with plenty of indulgences - Thanksgiving feasts, holiday parties, Christmas dinners and gifts, Champagne-laden toasts at New Year - so it stands to reason that a new year is marked with humbleness.  Black-eyed peas and collard greens are typically served as a meal for good luck and good fortune.  Most Eastern European countries serve split pea soup as a sign of prosperity in the form of money in the new year.

Since I had a nice meaty ham bone left over from Christmas dinner and since I've never eaten it, I figured it wouldn't hurt to test the split pea soup tradition.  And guess what??  I'm pleased to report that I was told today that I would be getting a 6.25% pay increase with my first 2015 paycheck.

I am a believer!!


Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham
Servings: 4 to 6

1 (16-ounce) package dried split peas, rinsed
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken broth
1 leftover meaty ham bone

Place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Remove the bay leaf from the soup and discard. Remove ham bone from soup and pull remaining meat from the bone and set meat aside. You can either remove a few cups of the soup, and puree the remaining with an immersion blender or use the immersion blender to puree all the soup slightly. Stir the reserved ham (and soup) back into the soup and serve warm.  (If the soup becomes too thick after blending, add water to thin.)

There's always some sort of soup coming out of my kitchen each week, whether it be freshly made or just thawed from having been squirreled away in my freezer from a previous batch.  I love that making soup requires such little effort and you can be so creative!  Use whatever you have on hand - most of my best batches come from having bits and pieces of leftover veggies and such in my frig that aren't enough to make something with on their own.  No two batches of my soup are ever the same.

I think most of the world's problems could be solved over a bowl of soup - there is something so satisfying and comforting about a collection of meat and veggies in rich warm broth. Chicken soup is definitely a cure-all, solve-all type of soup and it works for alot of my own problems.  Lord knows I lived on Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup when I was a kid but I've far outgrown any premade canned versions of soup now.  And besides, have you looked at the ingredients on the side of the can?


I don't know about you, but I don't often throw things like monosodium glutamate (MSG), ferrous sulfate, sodium phosphates (which is another name for salt, which explains why the sodium content for 1/2 cup of soup accounts for 35% of your RDA of sodium) or even soy protein isolate into my pot of soup. Who wants to eat that garbage?
Soup should be real and made with real ingredients. I love the perkiness that the lemon and fresh dill impart in this version of homemade chicken soup.  I use my own homemade broth and I've been slowly migrating to more whole wheat pasta during my real food lifestyle change, which I'll admit hasn't been easy.  There is just something about the taste and texture that hasn't quite won me over yet.  In the meantime, I've been doing a half/half combination of whole wheat and regular pastas.  It's better than nothing, I suppose, and who knows - maybe I'll eventually completely change pasta teams!

Lemony Chicken Soup
servings = 4

Inspired by bon appetit

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
12 ounces cooked organic free-range chicken
6 cups chicken broth (homemade or organic)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup whole wheat orzo
1/4 cup fresh dill
lemon wedges, for serving

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring often until vegetables are crisp-tender.  Add broth, season with salt and pepper,  Bring to a boil.  Add orzo and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes.  Reduce heat to simmer, stir in chicken and dill and heat through.
Portion soup into bowls and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over soup.

I'm convinced that cherry tomatoes are going to one day take over the world as they certainly took over my garden this year.  I even noticed rogue plants springing up in the flower containers where I've used my compost as fertilizer.

I've eaten a ton of them in salads. I've whizzed up countless ones for fresh salsa. My freezer is full of them to be used later for soups and stews.  Tomatoes were taking over my life and I was running out of ideas.  But even with the overrun, I'm sort of sad to see them dwindle away - my plants are still loaded with bright green orbs but I doubt they'll ripen much now that the weather is turning cooler. 

I found this little gem of a recipe in the August 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine and it was the perfect way to finish off my bounty of cherry tomatoes.  I'm too cheap to buy "real" lobster meat and I didn't want shrimp, so I used langostino for this recipe.  It's a lobster-like crustacean and very similar to crayfish (or crawdaddy, if you're from the South.)

This Seaside Tomato Gazpacho would be great for a light meal during the hotter months of summer or a fun party appetizer served in small shot glasses.


Seaside Tomato Gazpacho
Eating Well magazine, August 2013

serves 4 (1-1/2 cup each for entree) or 6 (1 cup each for appetizer)

printable recipe

3 cups low-sodium vegetable juice, such as V8 or R.W. Knudsen Very Veggie
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups diced fennel bulb or celery, plus 1/4 cup fennel fronds or celery leaves, divided
1 cup diced tomato
1/3 cup finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped cooked lobster from two 1- to 1 1/4-pound live lobsters or 2 cups chopped peeled cooked shrimp
1 avocado, chopped

1.  Combine vegetable juice, bell pepper, fennel (or celery), tomato, onion, vinegar, oil, Old Bay, pepper and salt in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

2.  Top each serving of gazpacho with 1/2 cup lobster (or shrimp) for an entree portion or 1/3 cup for an appetizer serving. Garnish with avocado and fennel fronds (or celery leaves).

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 1. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Finish with Step 2 just before serving.

   

If I were in charge of the world, soup would be declared its own food group and moved to the top of the food pyramid.  It would be mandatorily featured on menus year round.

Soups are filling, easy and affordable to prepare and most of them freeze exceptionally well.  My freezer is forever stocked with serving-size portions that can be pulled out, thawed overnight and eaten for a quick lunch or pair with a salad for an easy dinner on nights when I'm too tired to cook from scratch. 

This garlic tortellini soup is amazing - very few ingredients and it packs a ton of flavor!  It is super simple to prepare and would be great during the summer months since it's a lighter broth-based soup.  Don't skimp on the garlic - it seems like a lot but it works.

I found this recipe on Pinterest as part of a listing of 20 homemade soups, but it appears to have originated from a 2001 edition of Fine Cooking. 


Garlic Tortellini, Spinach and Tomato Soup

2 Tbs. unsalted butter
6 to 8 cloves garlic, chopped
8 cups low-salt chicken broth
6 oz. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
14 oz. canned diced tomatoes, with their liquid
10 oz. spinach, washed and stemmed; coarsely chopped if larger
8 to 10 leaves basil, coarsely chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook for half the amount of time that the package directions suggest.  Add the tomatoes and their liquid, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook just until the pasta is tender. Stir in the spinach and basil and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with the grated cheese.

After bashing Rachael Ray's magazine a few weeks ago for not having any recipes that I'd actually want to try, lo and behold here was this one beckoning me from the pages of another edition.  Years ago I took a summer cooking class at the community college and one of the dishes we made was lobster bisque.  It wasn't until then that I knew the answer to one of life's biggest mysteries: 

I've taken several vacation cruises in my life and there is always a "surf and turf" night on the menu.  I noticed that no sooner had I cracked my lobster tail out of its shell, the wait staff came around with shiny silver tongs and plucked the shell off of my plate.  Now you might think it was just a sign of excellent service and the fact that they don't want you sitting there having to look at a discarded crustacean body part while you dine, but if you notice that lobster bisque appears the next day on the menu and know that the shells are a vital part of preparing bisque, then you have the answer to the big mystery of why they snatch that shell up so quickly.

I dunno....maybe I'm the only one who ponders such things??  Either way, shrimp bisque is prepared in the same manner as lobster bisque and this recipe from RR is fairly easy and not so time-consuming.  Try it and free your mind of worrisome questions.

Shrimp Bisque
Serves 4
courtesy of Rachael Ray magazine

3 tablespoons EVOO 
1 pound medium shell-on raw shrimp
Salt 
4 large sprigs thyme 
1 onion, chopped 
1/2 cup chopped celery
Cayenne 
2 tablespoons tomato paste 
1 cup white wine 
2 tablespoons long-grain rice 
1/2 cup heavy cream 

In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp, EVOO over high heat. Add the shrimp, season with salt and cook, stirring, until pink and firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a medium bowl and let cool slightly. peel the shrimp and transfer to a clean bowl. Return the shells to the pot. Add 8 cups water and 3 sprigs thyme, bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 2- minutes. Strain the broth into a large glass measuring cup, pressing on the shells to extract any juices; discard the shells. 

Add the onion, celery and remaining 1 tbsp. EVOO to the pot; season with salt and a pinch of cayenne. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste then the wine. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid is almost evaporated. Add the shrimp, broth and rice. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat, skimming occasionally, until the rice is cooked, about 1 hour. 

Remove 6 of the shrimp and slice in half lengthwise; reserve. In a blender, puree the soup with the remaining shrimp in batches; return to the pot. Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Season with more salt and cayenne. Ladle the bisque into bowls; garnish with the reserve shrimp and the remaining thyme.

We've had record high temperatures here in the Queen City already ~ 80 degrees and it's only mid-March! This time of year we are typically wearing heavy sweaters and scarves instead of wearing sleeveless tops, capris and flip flops. It's unbelievable and I love it. My flower gardens are weeded (for at least a day or two), my vegetable garden is mostly planted and I've mowed the lawn twice now (that's a chore I could do without but it comes along with the joys of home ownership.)

I find myself spending as much time as I can outside these days, happily digging in the dirt until the last rays of daylight disappear and that leaves little time for prepping dinner. Who wants to be stuck in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove during beautiful weather anyway? Soups probably aren't on the top of your dinner list during the warmer temperatures, but I eat soups year round ~ hearty ones in the cold winter months and simple, lighter fare in the summer months. This Couscous Paella Soup from Eating Well magazine is a light broth-based soup, takes only 30 minutes to prepare and is reminiscent of the flavors and ingredients of Spanish paella. It contains chicken and chorizo (or pepperoni) but you could make it even more like paella by adding some small, pre-cooked shrimp along with the chicken.

Get out of the kitchen and enjoy this fabulous weather, my friends!

Couscous Paella Soup
Eating Well
Serves 4

Ingredients
•1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
•1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
•1/3 cup diced onion
•1/3 cup finely diced Spanish chorizo or pepperoni
•2 large cloves garlic, minced
•8 ounces chicken tenders, diced
•4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
•1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
•Large pinch of saffron
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
•1 cup water
•2/3 cup whole-wheat couscous
•1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Preparation
1.Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add bell pepper, onion, chorizo (or pepperoni) and garlic and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, broth, peas, saffron (if using), salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in couscous, cover and remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

3.To serve, mound about 1/2 cup couscous in each of 4 wide, shallow bowls. Ladle the soup around the couscous and sprinkle with cilantro, if using.

Nutrition
Per serving : 288 Calories; 9 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 39 mg Cholesterol; 31 g Carbohydrates; 23 g Protein; 6 g Fiber; 856 mg Sodium; 421 mg Potassium

Baked potatoes are probably one of the most common side dishes served in a restaurant. For me, it seems that even if you load up the foil clad vegetable with gobs and gobs of butter and sour cream, cheese, bacon and whatever else you can find to stuff in there, the potato is still sort of lacking. But take all of those same components and combine them in a simmering pot on the stove and you have one wicked good recipe for Loaded Baked Potato Soup. 

This soup is guaranteed to make you feel warm and fuzzy during these cold winter days and it's so delicious and filling that nothing else is really needed to make a full meal except for maybe a green salad.  Enjoy!



Loaded Baked Potato and Leek Soup

from Fine Cooking
Serves: 6

2 pounds russet potatoes
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2-1/2 cups leeks, sliced and rinsed well (or 1 large onion, diced)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken broth (may need more for thinning soup)
2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
4 thick slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated and divided
2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced

Heat oven to 375.  Scrub potatoes in water, pat dry, and pierce several times with a fork.  Set them directly on an oven rack and bake until very tender when pierced with a fork , about 1 hour.  Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat.  Add the leeks (or onion) and garlic, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.  Add the broth and water.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the leeks are tender, about 20 minutes. 

When the potatoes are cool, cut one of them in half lengthwise.  Use a large spoon to scoop the flesh out of each half.  Cut the flesh into 1/2" cubes and set aside.  Coarsely chop the potato skin and the rest of the remaining potatoes and add to the pot with the leeks.  Puree the contents of the pot in a blender until very smooth.  Return the pureed soup to a clean pot and reheat over medium low heat.  Whisk the milk and sour cream into the soup, along with 1/2 cup of the cheese.  Stir in the diced potato.  The soup should be fairly thick, but if it seems too thick, thin it with a little water or chicken broth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve garnished with remaining cheese, bacon bits, and scallions.

When I was a kid, if there was ever a time that my mother put something new and unfamiliar on the dinner table that looked even remotely unappealing (beets instantly come to mind), I would try my best to ignore the fact that it was there and the conversation would eventually go like this...

Mom: "Alison, eat a beet."

Me: "Ewwww. No."

Mom: "Try it. Have you ever eaten one before? How do you know you don't like it if you don't try it?"

Me: "I ate one at Mamaw's house."

Even though I'm well past the age of being sent to my room for outright lying to my mother, I still try to get by with that excuse. Not so much anymore because I'm a bit more adventurous than I was at age 12, but my mother still goads me into trying different things. Oysters, for instance.

I tried Oysters Rockefeller once and I won't tell you what I thought of it and I don't care that you can deep fry it in some grease and make it crunchy. Oysters just ain't for me.

Then I ran across this Shrimp and Smoked Oyster Chowder recipe from Food and Wine and normally I wouldn't have a problem substituting one ingredient for another in soup/stew or totally leaving one out, but the recipe verbage talked about how much flavor the smoked oysters added to the stew. So I bought the can of smoked oysters, popped the top, and based on the looks of what I saw, realized my feelings for oysters had not changed one bit since the Rockefeller days. Flavor I can deal with, an actual oyster I cannot. I figured I would add the little buggers for flavor then sift through and leave them at the bottom of my soup bowl. And then a thought struck me...if I chop them up really small, I won't know they're in there!

It doesn't matter that it was minced into the size of a grain of sand, what matters is I can now proudly say I've eaten an oyster!

Shrimp and Smoked Oyster Chowder
Food and Wine, March 2010
Serves 6

3 cups water
1 cup bottled clam broth
1/2 pound medium shrimp—shelled, deveined and quartered, shells reserved
6 garlic cloves—4 smashed, 2 minced
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 bay leaves
1 onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small fennel bulb, cored and finely diced (1/2 cup)
1 celery rib, finely diced
1 small green bell pepper, finely diced
One 14-ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes, finely chopped and juices reserved
1 medium baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces skinless grouper or cod fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
One 3-ounce can smoked oysters, drained and chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley


1.In a large saucepan, combine the water and clam broth with the shrimp shells, smashed garlic, sherry, crushed red pepper, bay leaves and one third of the onion. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, over low heat for 20 minutes. Strain the shrimp stock into a heatproof bowl and discard the solids.

2.In a soup pot, heat the oil. Add the fennel, celery, bell pepper, minced garlic and the remaining onion. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables are barely softened, 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until tender, 3minutes longer. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the shrimp stock; bring to a simmer. Add the potato, season with salt and pepper and simmer until just tender, 15 minutes. Add the shrimp, grouper, oysters and Worcestershire sauce; simmer until cooked through, 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the buttermilk and parsley. Serve in deep bowls.

As the temperatures continue to fall below freezing, all I can think about is warm and hearty meals. Casseroles, soups and stews, and anything laden with cream and fat to help put an extra layer of insulation on the old arthritic bones. I've gone into hibernation and as a result my kitchen is a non-stop flurry of heat producing activity.

Turkey Sausage and Bean Soup was a weekly request by one of my clients back in my days as a personal chef. It was common practice for me that, after I had cooked for a particular client for any length of time, my tastes in food became very similar to theirs and this very quickly became one of my favorites as well. I'm amazed at how much flavor the Italian turkey sausage provides ~ you'll notice there are no herbs or spices called for in the recipe. And as with any soup, it can be modified to accomodate whatever you do or do not have in your pantry at the time and it freezes exceptionally well. I've been known to saute a bit of cabbage along with the other veggies and I'll even go wild sometimes and vary the type of beans, crazy girl that I am. Like mushrooms? Throw some of those in as well. Whatever floats your boat, but rest assured it is excellent when prepared as written and served with a thick slice (or three) of butter-laden, freshly baked French bread. Yum Yum!

Sending you warm wishes and rising temperatures soon....




















Turkey Sausage & Bean Soup

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 stalks celery -- chopped
2 large carrots -- chopped
1 medium red bell pepper -- diced
1 medium onion -- diced
3 cloves garlic
16 ounces Italian-style turkey sausage -- casings removed
42 ounces chicken broth
16 ounces diced tomatoes
16 ounces navy beans -- rinsed and drained
15 ounces kidney beans -- rinsed and drained
salt and pepper -- to taste
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup white wine

In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add bell pepper, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and saute until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes. Crumble sausage into skillet. Break up chunks of sausage with spoon, and cook until vegetables are tender and lightly browned and sausage is cooked through, about 7 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add chicken broth, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, white beans, and white wine to saucepan and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes to blend flavors. Adjust salt and pepper, if needed. Serve soup sprinkled with Parmesan.

Copyright:
"Wish Upon A Chef Catering & Gourmet Market, 2006"
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After California, the state of South Carolina is the second largest producer of peaches and so consequently peaches can claim their rightful place as the state fruit. And if you've driven down Interstate 85 near Gaffney, SC you've most likely seen this water tank that often gets mistaken for my a huge butt.

In 2006, the SC Department of Agriculture reported that the peach industry brought in an estimated $40 million to the state and I'm quite sure the figures have soared even higher in more recent years. Just a few weeks ago, I forked over 6 of my hard earned dollars for a small basket of nearly ripe peaches from McLeod Farms in McBee, SC.
I figured since the town Constable was nice enough to not pull me over for speeding this time and make me pay a hefty fine, it was the least I could do.

There was a mad rush of people in the store and if I'd had more time, I would have enjoyed perusing the aisle of all things peaches ~ jams and jellies, salsas, freshly baked breads ~ but I was pressed for time and it's probably a good thing or else they'd have gotten more of my money. When I bought the peaches, they still needed a few days to ripen so I left them out on the counter until I decided exactly what to do with them. If you need them to ripen sooner, place them in a brown paper bag, close the bag, and lay it on the counter. They will ripen almost overnight because of the gases they emit.

And then it hit me....why not make something totally South Carolinian with my South Carolinian peaches? I rummaged through my recipe collection and finally found exactly what I was looking for ~ a recipe written by my friend Peggy Waller, the Inn at Merridun bed and breakfast owner from Union, South Carolina.

Carolina Peach Soup is quick, easy, and perfect on these hot and humid summer days. It's perfect as a first course as part of a brunch or light lunch and I also enjoy it for breakfast with a slice of freshly baked quick bread. And what the heck...have some for dessert too because it's just so good! Enjoy the recipe and, Peggy if you're reading, drop me a line because I want to come visit you very soon!



* Exported from MasterCook *

Carolina Peach Soup

Recipe By :Peggy Waller
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Soups

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
5 large peaches -- peeled and quartered
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon orange juice
peach slices and mint for garnish (I also added a sprinkle of ground cinnamon)

Puree peaches, sugar, lemon juice, and wine. Add sour cream and orange juice concentrate; blend until smooth. Refrigerate until well chilled.

Serve in a pretty bowl or cup with peach slices and fresh mint.

Source:
"Culinary Memories of Merridun"

It was painful to watch the Carolina Panthers get whipped like egg whites destined for meringue during the NFL playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals a few weeks ago. As loyal as I know I should be to my home team, I was torn that night between Jake Delhomme and Kurt Warner {I mean, seriously, could there be any two hunkier NFL quarterbacks?} so it's no surprise who I was cheering for during Super Bowl XLIII.

My week started out with no firm plans on what to do for Super Bowl weekend. I knew all of the sports bars would be loaded with screaming, smoking, drinking fans so I resigned myself to staying home and watching the game on my brand new 46" flat screen Samsung TV that I just indulged myself with. But as it seems to be lately, my social schedule is subject to change at a moments notice. My friend Mary called on Friday to invite me over. Standard Super Bowl party attendance rules applied....bring food and beer. So, with a cheeseball and my drink of choice in tow, I headed to Mary's late Sunday evening.

In order to make a whole celebratory weekend out of this who the heck would pay $3 million for 30 seconds event, I invited my friend J. over for dinner on Saturday. We were introduced by my realtor and J. has been super nice to me - dinners, movies, flowers, basketball games and I felt it was high time that I returned the favor. My offering to him wasn't nearly as fancy as the steak and lobster dinner he prepared for me all by himself a few weekends ago but my theory is to start simple and then there's no place to go but up. Since the weather has been sort of chilly, I felt a pot of simmering Santa Fe soup was just the thing. I paired it with Dorie Greenspans's Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins. These muffins were a recent feature on TWD and the perfect accompaniment to the soup because the combination of chili powder, cilantro, and jalapeno perfectly mimicked the zesty flavors of the soup. Visit Ezra Pound Cake blog for the recipe and decide which camp you're in when it comes to opinions on cornbread.

And speaking of meringues, do these pillowy clouds look good enough to eat or what? I love the way meringues look just before they go into the oven. I was a little extravagant with dessert, but isn't that the way it's supposed to be? While my photo isn't as pretty as the one that Food & Wine used to showcase these Cranberry and Orange Pavlovas, my dessert was just as tasty. The recipe as written makes 12 servings, but I made extra large meringue bases so we could share one dessert.

Super food, super friends, but so sorry you won't be going to Disney World Kurt :( Maybe a bowl of soup and dessert will make you feel better?



Santa Fe Soup

2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 (.5 oz) pkgs. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
2 (1-1/4 oz) pkgs. taco seasoning mix
1 ( 16 oz) can black beans, undrained
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, undrained
1 (16 oz) can pinto beans, undrained
1 (16 oz) can Rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (16 oz) cans white corn, undrained
2 cups water
Garnish: sour cream, shredded Cheddar cheese, sliced green onions, cilantro

Cook meat and onion together until meat is browned and then drain. Stir ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning mix into meat. Add remaining ingredients with juices from all. Add water. Simmer for 2 hours (if mixture is too thick, add additional water.) Use garnishes if desired and serve with tortilla chips.
Makes 4 quarts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cranberry and Orange Pavlova
Food & Wine, December 2008

MERINGUE:
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

TOPPING:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
2 large navel oranges
1 1/2 pounds cranberries (6 cups)
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Mint sprigs, for garnish

Make the meringues: Preheat the oven to 250°. Arrange racks in the lower and middle thirds of the oven. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt at medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat in the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the meringue is stiff and glossy, about 6 minutes.
Using a large spoon, dollop 6 mounds of meringue onto each baking sheet; spread the mounds into 5-inch squares and make an impression in the center of each. Bake the meringues for 1 hour and 45 minutes, until the outsides are firm but the insides are still slightly soft; shift the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the meringues cool completely. (Alison's note: this time seemed sort of lengthy to me so I took mine out after an hour and I really think I should have taken them out after 45 minutes).

Meanwhile, make the topping: In a large saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Scrape the vanilla seeds onto a small plate and add the pod to the saucepan. Using a vegetable peeler, remove 2 long strips of zest from one of the oranges and add them to the pan. Halve the orange and squeeze the juice into the saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cranberries and cook over low heat just until the berries are softened but still intact, about 8 minutes. Let cool completely. Discard the vanilla bean and orange zest and refrigerate until chilled.
Finely grate the zest of the remaining orange and transfer it to a food processor. Using a sharp knife, peel the orange, removing all of the bitter white pith. Working over the food processor, cut in between the membranes to release the orange sections into the food processor. Pulse until chopped.
In a clean bowl, using clean beaters, whip the cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla seeds until firm. Add the chopped orange and its juice and beat just until combined.
Arrange the meringues on plates and spoon the orange whipped cream into each one. Using a slotted spoon, top with the cranberries. Drizzle with some of the juices, garnish with mint and serve right away.

Make Ahead
The cooked cranberries can be refrigerated overnight. The meringues can be made up to 8 hours ahead (on a dry day) and kept at room temperature

We've had drought conditions here in Nowhere Land for so long that I really hate to begrudge the rain but enough is enough!! On top of being hit by these last two hurricanes, we had 7 days of solid rain just prior to that. So much rain that I thought I was starting to mold.

Eeewwww...is that a mushroom growing in my....well, never mind.

I've said before that I always equate rain with cold temperatures, no matter how warm it actually is outside. Several of our rainy days were coupled with stifling, 100% pure humidity - the kind where the windows in the house are completely fogged up because of the difference in temperatures inside and outside. But after Hurricane Ike, the temperatures have cooled off quite nicely and the humidity has all but disappeared. Perfect weather for soup!

If you're tired of your same old soup routine, then give this White Turkey Chili a try. It's different, delicious, and pretty economical to prepare. It freezes well too, so I like to keep some in my freezer for nights when there's no time to prepare dinner. I love the addition of cinnamon in this soup - the flavor combination is subtle but distinct.

I coupled this soup with a colorful, crunchy coleslaw. I'm not a huge fan of mayo based coleslaws and I like this one because it is vinegar based and also uses apples and pears. It's also perfect to take to a summer picnic since there is no mayonnaise. Make this early in the day because the longer it sits, the better it tastes. It's also good the next day but the fruit starts to turn a bit and may not be as fresh looking.

* Exported from MasterCook *

White Chili with Ground Turkey

Recipe By : Allrecipes.com
Serving Size : 8
Categories : Soups Turkey

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 each onion -- chopped
3 cloves garlic -- minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
8 ounces green chilies
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pinch ground white pepper
3 (15 ounce) cans cannelini beans
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (I used the shredded combination cheddar/Monterrey Jack)

Directions:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic and ground turkey and saute for 10 minutes, or until turkey is well browned. Add the chili peppers, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne pepper to taste and white pepper to taste and saute for 5 more minutes.
2. Add two cans of the beans and the chicken broth to the pot. Take the third can of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor. Add this to the pot along with the cheese. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.

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* Exported from MasterCook *

Apple and Pear Slaw

Serving Size : 6
Categories : Salads/Salad Dressings

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups granny Smith apple -- thinly sliced
2 cups pear -- thinly sliced
12 ounces cabbage & carrot coleslaw mix

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

Combine apple, pear, and coleslaw in a large bowl; stir in dressing. Chill up to 2 hours.

Source:
"Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2000, pg. 288"
Yield:
"1 cup"
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When the weather turns cold and rainy, I love to put a pot of soup on the stove, build a fire and snuggle up on the couch with a blanket and a good book. Or maybe some groovy tunes on my new iPod. And that's exactly what I did not so long ago - I ran across this recipe for Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup while cleaning out some of my recipe archives and I thought it would be the perfect way to use up the rest of my frozen Thanksgiving turkey leftovers. I'm normally not a huge fan of cream-based soups and sauces (and aren't my hips glad of that!) but since I had all the ingredients on hand, I thought I'd give it a try anyway. The recipe as originally written called for stewing a whole bird and then using shredding the meat and using the stock but since my poultry was already cooked, I didn't have that option so I just substituted with an appropriate amount of canned chicken broth. I also used half white rice and half wild rice because I didn't have a full package of the wild on hand.

The soup was a bit rich for me, but I did enjoy it, albeit in small quantities. I packaged the rest of it up and stored it in the freezer, which is another favorite thing of mine to do. There are nights when I come home from the kitchen and have absolutely no idea what I want to eat, let alone the desire to actually prepare something, so I just grab a container of soup from the freezer, nuke it for just a few minutes while throwing together a salad and some crusty bread or crackers, and after just a few minutes I'm enjoying a hearty, comforting dinner.

I'm submitting this to Cyndi's Thursday Soup Night over at Ruminations, so hop on over there later in the week and see what comforting soup or stew Cyndi is cooking up!


CREAMY CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP
Serves 8

1 1/3 cups (8 oz) uncooked wild rice (I used a combo of white and wild)
1 - 3 pound broiler-fryer chicken, cut up (I used leftover turkey)
7 cups water
1 cup carrots, diced
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
3/4 teaspoons white pepper (black is OK)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
4 cups milk (or use 2 cups Half & Half and 2 cups milk for extra richness)
3/4 cup dry white wine

Partially cook wild rice according to package directions; drain off liquid and rinse. Set the partially cooked rice aside.

In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, combine the chicken and water and bring to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from broth and let stand until cool enough to handle. Skim fat from broth. Strain and reserve broth. Remove chicken meat from bones. Cut into bite-size pieces.

In the same pot, cook onion and celery in hot oil until translucent and soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Add carrots, stir and cook for 4 more minutes.

Remove from heat. Return broth to the stock pot.

Add partially cooked wild rice to the chicken broth. Stir in the granules, white pepper and salt. Bring to boiling and then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter; stir in the flour until smooth. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until bubbly. Stir into soup mixture. Stir in the chicken pieces and the dry white wine; heat through.

I'm sure that you are aware of the noticeable absence from my blog these past couple of months. Some of my readers already know the reasons for my spotty and nonexistent posts, but for those of you who don't, let me just say that a few months ago the earth tilted on its axis and wreaked havoc on my personal life. In an effort to reposition the world as I know it, I'm returning to the blog world. After all, my main reasons for starting this blog in the first place were to help find my seemingly lost inspirations. Inspiration is a funny thing....one day it's here and the next day it can't be found anywhere so I do appreciate your dedication in hanging with Someone's In The Kitchen during these dust-gathering months.

Earlier this week, I was listening to my favorite radio talk show hosts, Bob and Sheri, when they started talking about this compelling video that aired on ABC's Good Morning America where people summarize their lives in three words.



Bob and Sheri started taking calls from listeners who wanted to summarize their lives in three words and it got me to thinking...what would my three words be? I thought about it long and hard over the next couple of days and came up with several different choices, each one reflecting the various moods I've seemed to experience this week. When all was said and done this week, the three words that I would use to summarize my life as it stands now would be....."I Won't Settle."

But some of us are prone to change our mind as often as the wind blows, and so this morning I decided that I should change my summation to "Cooking Is Life." Why? Just think about it..... There I stood staring into the crowded abyss that is my refrigerator and I realized that each morning I wake up wondering, "What's the plan for the day?" much like I stood there wondering what was on the menu for dinner. A quick glance of the fridge contents revealed left overs from last week's meals nestled beside new additions from this week's grocery shopping. Subconsciously, I was thinking about how cleaning out the fridge is like cleaning up your life. You salvage what you can of the old and combine it with the new and cook up something fresh and exciting.

I pulled out an almost forgotten piece of left over roast and commenced to turning it into Tarragon Beef Stew with Vermouth, a recipe that I snagged from Allrecipes earlier today. When cooking, as in life, you have to roll with the flow, use that you've got on hand, and spice things up with a few additions that weren't expected. Even though I followed the suggestions of other reviewers and decreased the amount of liquid called for in the original recipe, it turned out more like soup than stew, albeit a good soup. I have a feeling it will be better tomorrow after the flavors have a chance to meld. I had dry vermouth on hand instead of sweet, dried tarragon instead of fresh, and regular potatoes were substituted for new potatoes. Click here for the original recipe or try my version below. After you've put your stew on to simmer, I'd love to hear how you'd summarize your life in three words.....Enjoy!



Alison's Version of Tarragon Beef Stew with Vermouth

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 pound beef stew meat
5 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups dry vermouth
2 cups potatoes, cut into large chunks
2 large carrots, quartered
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Melt butter In a large dutch over medium-high heat. Combine meat and flour in a large ziplock bag and shake until meat is coated with flour. Add the meat to the dutch oven, and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until evenly browned on the outside. (Since my roast had already been cooked, I completely skipped this step.) Pour the chicken broth and vermouth into the stock pot. Add the potatoes, carrots, and garlic. Season with tarragon, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, honey, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover. Cook 2 1/2 hours to blend the flavors.

Remove cover and continue cooking 20 minutes, or long enough to evaporate enough liquid to reach your desired thickness. If stew does not thicken to your likening, combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and bring stew to a boil. Stir in cornstarch mixture and continue cooking until desired thickness is achieved. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

When I was a kid, my grandfather built the most awesome playhouse for me. It looked very similar to the yard barns that you see nowadays with the dome shaped roof line and it sat across the driveway in our side yard. There was a small flower bed on each side of it, curtains on the windows and door, and it was filled with furniture that was also handmade by my grandfather. There was a couch, a chair, a coffee table, a stove, and the neatest thing of all was the sink. He made two cutouts in the wooden frame and inserted two plastic wash tubs. There was a hole in the bottom of each one of the tubs and a hose ran through the bottom of the frame and down through the floor. I could pour water into the sink to wash my dishes after a play dinner party and when I was finished, I could pull the plug and the water drained out just like a real sink. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world to have a "real" sink! My kitchen shelf and refrigerator were stocked with miniature boxes of play food and I would spend hours and hours playing house and hostess to imaginary and real friends who stopped by for some freshly baked playdough biscuits or just-cooled mud pies. Evidence shows that having a good imagination as a child translates into more creativity as an adult and while I can't say that I'm extremely creative, I think all of those hours spent pretending in the kitchen can't have done me any harm in my catering career :)

I woke up this morning to a rainy, dreary day. You know, one of those days where you have all the lights on in the house in the middle of the day and it's still too dark to see. It was the first drops of rain we've had in probably two months and our temperatures have hovered in the high nineties for weeks and the humidity has been so high that I feel like I'm living in the tropical rain forest. For some strange reason, I equate rainy, dreary days to also being cold. This was a day made for staying in your jammies all day, curled up by the fire with a really good book while a pot of soup simmers on the stove. The kind of day where the ingredients for a big pot of creamy clam chowder are beckoning you from the pantry. Since the thermometer was confirming 85 degree temps, I knew I was going to have to drag out my old imagination and dust it off. Time to turn the AC down, put on my flannel jammies, and pretend it was cold outside.

Clam chowder isn't something that I crave. I can't even say that I really enjoy it but for some reason it was calling my name today. Maybe it was because just the other day one of my friends was telling me how much he enjoyed a bowl of good clam chowder and I was bragging about my recipe. I got this recipe from a message forum that I frequent and it claims to be a copycat of the "world famous" clam chowder from a restaurant located in Depoe Bay, Oregon called Gracie's Sea Hag. How close it is to Gracie's, I don't know, but coming from someone who doesn't even like clam chowder to begin with, this recipe is definitely worth trying. It is a little time consuming and you have all the stove eyes going at once, but it's rich, creamy and satisfying - exactly what you need on a pretend cold, rainy, dreary day. Enjoy!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Sea Hag Restaurant's Clam Chowder

Serving Size : 8
Categories : Soups

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 cans chopped clams -- 6-1/2 ounce cans
4 bottles clam juice -- 8 ounce bottles
1 tablespoon Minor's clam base
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 pound bacon
3/4 cups celery -- chopped
3/4 cups onion -- chopped
3 cups potato -- peeled, chopped and cooked
4 cups half and half -- or milk
salt and pepper -- to taste
chopped fresh parsley -- for garnish

Drain clams, reserving juice. Combine reserved juice and clam juice in a large soup pot. Stir in clam base, basil and thyme. Set aside.

Melt 1 cup butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Stir in flour to make a roux. Continue to cook on low for about 10 minutes, stirring fairly often.

In a separate skillet, cook bacon until limp and slightly brown on the edges. Rough chop bacon and set aside. Drain off excess fat, (but save some to saute veggies). Add celery and onion. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, or until tender-crisp.

In the meantime, bring clam juice to a boil. Stir roux into boiling clam juice, using a wire whisk to blend thoroughly. Stir in clams, bacon, celery, onion and potatoes. Bring mixture back to a boil, then reduce heat. Stir in milk or half-and-half. Do not let soup boil. Top each serving with chopped fresh parsley.

Description:
"Our often copied but never duplicated recipe has been selected as the "Very Best" in the New York Times Heritage Cook Book, by Jean Hewitt. It is a creamy treat, swimming with chunks of chopped ocean clams."
Source:
"Contessa's Kitchen msg board"
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