Team Wonton

Soup night is back! Sorry about the lack of entries, I was on vacation. Now begins the last round of soup nights. Soon the weather will be too hot for soup. We have decided to group up for the last rotation. This week Andrew and I went, and we also had a special helper…

Introducing Michelle

She's my boo. She lives in New York, but she is moving to chicago! She has definite soup night potential.














Menu
Cucumber salad with Roasted Peanuts
Swirled Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper Soup
Shrimp Wontons
Grilled Pineapple with Ice Cream



Cucumber Salad

Ingredients
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tbs. soy sauce
1 1/2 tbs. sugar
1 large jalapeno chili, minced and seeded
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cucumbers, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced
3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
3 tbs. chopped fresh mint
4 tbs. coarsely chopped roasted peanuts

Directions
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl, whisk. Place cucumbers, onion, and mint in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve. Serves 8.

Shrimp Wontons

Ingredients
Filling
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large egg white
1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
3 tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. sesame oil
canola oil
30 wonton wrappers

Directions
Put the shrimp, egg white, onions, cilantro, salt, cayenne, and sesame oil in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped; do not puree.

Place a spoonful of the shrimp filling onto each wonton wrapper.

Using your finger, dampen the edges with water. Fold the wrapper over the filling, to form a triangle. Press down on the edges to seal.

Pour a generous amount of oil into a medium skillet. Heat the oil on high until hot. Do a water test. Sprinkle water into the oil, if the oil spits, it is ready. Reduce heat to medium, and add wontons. Fry the wontons in batches until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Remove and drain on paper towels. Makes 30 wontons.

Swirled Roasted Red and Yellow Soup

Ingredients

For the Yellow Pepper Soup:
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves chopped garlic
6 medium-large yellow bell peppers, roasted, cleaned, seeded and chopped
6 cups vegetable broth

1 cup heavy cream

For the Red Pepper Soup:
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves chopped garlic
6 medium-large red bell peppers, roasted, cleaned, seeded and chopped
6 cups vegetable broth

For the Garnish:
fresh cilantro
avocado
green onions
sliced jalapenos
lime wedges

Directions
Roast peppers on the stove. Turn heat to high, and place peppers directly onto the flame. Blacken all sides. Place roasted peppers into a large bowl and cover. This will allow them to sweat, and the removal of the skin will be easier. Allow peppers to cool, and remove skin.

For the Yellow Pepper Soup: 
In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions, celery, and carrots, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and peppers. Continue to cook for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Using a hand-held blender, puree the soup until smooth. Place back over the heat, and stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper.


For the Red Pepper Soup:
Repeat the same steps as the yellow pepper soup, replacing the yellow peppers with red peppers. Do not add cream to this soup.

To serve this soup, it may take teamwork. Ladle a spoonful of each soup simultaneously into the bowls. The soup should appear to be half red pepper and half yellow pepper.

Garnish each soup with cilantro, lime, avocado, jalapeno and green onion. Serves 10.

Grilled Pineapple with Ice Cream

Ingredients
vegetable oil
1 pineapple, peeled and cored, cut crosswise into 10 slices
honey
cayenne pepper
coconut ice cream
avocado ice cream
mint leaves, for garnish

Directions
Heat a grill pan to medium; lightly oil pan. Lay pineapple out on a baking sheet. Drizzle honey and sprinkle cayenne onto each slice. In batches, place pineapple onto grill. Grill until light-brown grill marks appear. Serve pineapple with coconut or avocado ice cream (I know avocado ice cream sounds strange, but it was so good); garnish with mint. Serves 10.

Wine Served

Beer Served

My Favorite Things

Here are some of my favorite things from Kaitlin's kitchen.  She's got great taste.

 This timer is magnetic.  You can put it right on the fridge, and the colors are great.

I've never seen measuring spoons like these.  They are so cool.

kaitlin's turn

Irish eyes are smiling and so are our bellies. This week Kaitlin dazzled us with an Irish feast. Enjoy the pictures, because what fills the eyes fills the heart.

Menu
Irish cabbage and potato slaw
Irish colcannon soup
Irish soda bread with butter and cheese
Bailey’s cream puffs, tea cookies, and ice cream

Irish Cabbage and Potato Slaw

Ingredients
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into slices
1 small Savoy cabbage, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
4 scallions, green part only, chopped
2 tbs. distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tbs. canola oil
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

Directions
Place potatoes in a medium saucepan, and cover with cold water. Cook over medium-high heat. When the potatoes are almost cooked (they should have some resistance to a knife), drain them. Cut the potatoes into ½-inch slices and set aside.

Quarter the cabbage, cut out the core and shred into 1/2-inch strips. Place cabbage, carrots, and scallions in a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, combine vinegar, mustard powder, sugar, salt and pepper, mix until sugar dissolves. Mix in the oil. Pour dressing over vegetables. Using hands, mix to coat vegetables with dressing. Add potatoes and mix again. Cover slaw and set aside for 15 minutes to wilt cabbage. Pour in buttermilk and mix. Cover and refrigerate slaw until ready to serve.

Irish Colcannon Soup

Ingredients
2 tbs. butter
4 cups vegetable broth
4 medium potatoes
2 ribs celery, cut in pieces
4 parsley sprigs
1 cup light cream
1 medium onion, sliced
4 cups chopped cabbage
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh dill
1 tbs. chopped chives
1 tbs. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. pepper sauce

1/16 tsp. nutmeg
bacon for garnish

Directions
In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add vegetable broth, celery, parsley, and 2 potatoes, which have been pared and sliced. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, purée ingredients. Pare remaining 2 potatoes and dice. Add to pot along with remaining ingredients. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Serves 6, garnish with bacon.

serve with Irish soda bread

Bailey’s cream puffs, tea cookies, and ice cream

beer and wine served

Oatmeal Stout from Revolution Brewing

My Favorite Things

Here are some of my favorite things…. well my mom’s things.  She better watch out; I may steal them someday.

This skillet is huge.  It is great for risotto and paella.

This grill pan is the best.  I use this when I can’t use a real grill.  It works just as well, and is very convenient.

These glasses are depression glass, or made to look that way.  I love the light pink color.

Jeff and I got these for my mom at the store willow on Damen.  However I believe its closed now.

Juliana's Butcher Block

This week, I made Italian sausage and tortellini soup.  My accomplices were Andrew and my mom.  They were a great help.  We paired the soup with an Asian shrimp salad.  A little strange of a combination, but delicious none the less.  My mom also made eggplant parmesan and grilled asparagus.  Lots of food and lots of fun.

meet my mom

She’s the best chef I know. She inspires me both inside and out of the kitchen.

Shrimp Salad

Dressing
2 tbs. fresh lime juice
2 tbs. fish sauce
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. sugar
½ cup thinly sliced shallots
1 small jalapeño thinly sliced
3 tbs. fresh mint lives, chopped

Salad
Romaine lettuce
16 large, peeled, de-veined, and

cooked shrimp with tails on
1 pineapple cut into spears
3 avocados cut into cubes
salted peanuts and lime wedges for garnish.

Directions
Combine all ingredients for dressing in a small bowl, set aside. Lay out six plates. Place 1 cup of romaine lettuce on each plate. Add the avocado and pineapple spears to the plates. In a mixing bowl combine shrimp and dressing. Add the shrimp to the plates. Garnish with peanuts and lime wedges.

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Ingredients
1lb. Italian sausage
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups beef broth
½ cup red wine
½ cup water
2 cups drained canned tomatoes
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
½ tsp. fresh basil
½ tsp. oregano
8 oz. canned tomato sauce
11/2 cups sliced zucchini
8 oz. tortellini
3 tbs. chopped parsley
1 green pepper cut into chunks
Parmesan for garnish.

Directions
Remove the casing from the sausage links; brown sausage in a medium skillet. Reserve 1 tbs. of the drippings. Transfer drippings to a large pot. Add onion and garlic; sauté until tender. Add broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce and sausage.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 min.  Skim fat from soup. Stir in zucchini, peppers, parsley, and tortellini.

Cook until tortellini is tender, about 5 minutes. Garnish with Parmesan; serves 6.

Eggplant Parmesan and Grilled Asaparagus

Holly's turn

To say Holly's soup was souperb would be an an understatement. It was soupendous. Holly used some of my favorite ingredients and flavor combinations. Bravo Holly.

Menu
Arugala Salad
Caramelized Onion and Portobello Mushroom Soup with Goat Cheese Croutons
Homemade Blackberry Sorbet

Arugala Salad

Ingredients
Roasted beets
Arugala
Goat cheese
Balsamic vinegar

Directions
Beet preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover beets in oil and salt, and wrap in tin foil. Roast until tender, about an hour. Allow the beets to cool, then peel and cut into thin slices.

Place a portion of arugala on each place. Top with beets, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar.

Caramelized Onion and Portobello Mushroom Soup with Goat Cheese Croutons

Ingredients

3 tbs butter

5 cups onions, halved and thinly sliced 

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms, stemmed, caps halved and cut into 1/4-inch strips

3 tbs brandy

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 cups vegetable broth

1 cup dry white wine

18 slices French-bread, cut 1 inch thick and toasted

8 ounces soft fresh goat cheese

Directions
Melt 1 tbs butter in a large pot, at high heat. Add onions and thyme; cook until onions begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook until onions are caramelized, stirring occasionally. This may take awhile, about 20 minutes. The onions should be a rich brown color. Transfer onions to a medium bowl.

In the same large pot, melt the remaining 2 tbs butter, over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook about 12 minutes.

Add brandy and garlic; stir to combine. Add onions, broth and wine. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer until onions are very tender, about 45 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs, and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat broiler. Place bread slices on a large baking sheet. Spread an equal amount of goat cheese on each slice. Broil goat cheese croutons until cheese begins to brown, about 1 minute. Divide soup among 6 bowls, and serve with croutons.

Homemade Blackberry Sorbet

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 1/2 pounds frozen unsweetened blackberries, thawed, juices reserved

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

fresh blackberries and raspberries for garnish

Directions

In a small saucepan combine sugar and water. Over high heat, bring mixture to a bowl, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil 1 minute. Transfer the simple syrup to a bowl. Chill for about 3 hours.

In a blender puree blackberries with juices and cold syrup, until smooth. Pour mixture through a strainer and into a large bowl. Discard seeds, and stir in lemon juice.

Using an ice cream maker, process berry mixture, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer sorbet to a container; cover and freeze until firm, about 6 hours. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Keep frozen.)

Scoop sorbet into bowls. Garnish with fresh blackberries, raspberries, and waffers. 

Beer and Wine Served