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

Juliana's Butcher Block

This week I went with a classic, chicken and dumpling soup. It's comfort food at its best.























Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Ingredients
5 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds chicken, diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbs butter
12 large white mushrooms, sliced
1 cup carrots, chopped
4 ribs celery, very thinly sliced
1 to 2 fresh bay leaves
3 tbs all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup basil leaves
1 clove garlic
A generous handful parsley leaves
A handful pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 lemon, zested
24 oz. fresh gnocchi

Directions
On a back burner, start a pot of water for the gnocchi. You will want to bring it to a boil.

Heat another pot with 1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil, over medium-high heat. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and lightly brown. Remove when finished; place on a plate. Add another tbs of olive oil and 2 tbs of butter, heat for 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, carrots, celery, and bay leaf, season with salt and pepper. Let cook for 5 minutes, add flour and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add 3 1/2 cups broth, return the chicken to the pot and simmer to allow the sauce to thicken.

In a food processor add basil, parsley, garlic and pine nuts. Turn food processor on to combine. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup broth and add cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse to mix.

Salt water for gnocchi. The water should be at a boil now. Add gnocchi, cook until they float, drain and set aside.

Melt 2 tbs butter in a skillet over medium heat with the zest of 1 lemon. Add gnocchi and cook until golden brown.

Turn heat off chicken and stir in pesto sauce. Serve the chicken in bowls and top with lemon butter dumplings. serves 6.

My Favorite Things

In the first installment of "my favorite things," I have some great items for you.  Things that make me happy, both for the way they work, and the way they look.

classic red and white ceramic colanders

I found this at a rummage sale.  it currently houses my sugar, but it could be
used for anything.  I love the green and white.

This is my favorite pot.  It is my roomate kim's.  It is huge and the color is great.

Pyrex is the best, perfect for measuring broth.

These adorable measuring cups are from anthropologie.

Andrew's turn

This week Andrew dazzled us with his soup skills. He took a Middle Eastern approach, and it was fantastic. Afterwards we watched Taking Woodstock, I wish I could say the movie was as good as the meal. I fell asleep, but I also blame the wine.

Menu
Cucumber Salad
Shrimp and Vegetable Kabobs
Creamy Chickpea Soup with Chorizo and Pita Bread
Baklava with Whip Cream and Pistachios.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients
2 cup cucumber, diced
2 cup tomato, diced
1 cup vidalia onion, diced
1 cup mint, finely chopped
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
3 tbs. lemon juice
3 tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions
Combine diced cucumber, tomato, and onion with chopped mint and parsley in a large bowl. Add lemon juice and olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

Shrimp and Vegetable Kabobs

Ingredients
1 lb shrimp
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 red onion
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions
cut zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion into large chunks. Combine in a bowl with shrimp and tomatoes. Add a generous amount of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, in equal parts. Season with salt and pepper. Let the ingredients marinate, the longer the better, but no more than 12 hours. Depending on whether you bought cooked or raw shrimp, skewer the shrimp separately. Because cooked shrimp will need less time on the grill, skewer them apart from the vegetables. Otherwise skewer everything together.

Heat a grill pan, or an outdoor grill if you have the energy, and place skewers onto it. The vegetables should take about 3 minutes to cook, raw shrimp takes about the same, and cooked shrimp takes just about a minute.

Creamy Chickpea Soup (serves 8)

Ingredients
3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 yellow onions, diced
4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 celery stalks, cleaned and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
5 cups vegetable broth
2 tbs. red wine vinegar
½ cup heaving whipping cream
1 tbs. thyme
salt and pepper
½ cup chives
½ lb chorizo

Directions
Heat oil in a large pot at medium-high heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, and jalapeno. Cook for about 8 minutes, just until the vegetables begin to brown. Stir occasionally. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add chickpeas, thyme and broth, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes the chickpeas should be very soft. Using an immersion blender, blend soup until creamy. Add cream, vinegar, chives, and a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Cut the chorizo into coins. Heat a grill pan, and place chorizo onto it. Cook chorizo until no longer raw, about 5 minutes.

Ladle soup into bowls, add chorizo if wanted. Serve with pita bread

Baklava with whip cream and pistachios

Beer and Wine served