Juliana's Butcher Block

Last night Andrew and I had a hankering for soup…big surprise! I decided to raid the cupboards and fridge to see what I had. I found curry paste, chile sauce, chicken broth, chicken, jalapeño, frozen peas, and soba noodles. With the addition of a few ingredients from the store, I decided to make a curry chicken and soba noodle soup. It was really easy to make and tasted fantastic.














Curry Chicken and Soba Noodle Soup
serves 6
*adapted from bon apetit.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalapeño, de-seeded and minced
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons red curry paste
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce
1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
6 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons sugar
3 cups frozen peas
1 red pepper chopped
1 pound soba noodles
3/4 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
juice of one lime

Garnish
sliced green onions
chopped fresh cilantro
red jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced with seeds

Directions
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add next 4 ingredients; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in curry paste, curry powder, and chili sauce. Add 1/2 cup coconut milk (scooped from thick liquid at top of can). Stir until thick and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, broth, and sugar; bring broth to boil. Add chicken; simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Add peas and red peppers, heat until warm. Add noodles, and cook until tender. Ladle into bowls, and garnish with green onions, cilantro, and chiles.

Do you know what spaghetti balls are? Cause we do.

I'm very sorry for the soup night delay. We took a two week break for my birthday and traveling. We are back now, and last night was jeff's turn. The meal was amazing. We also had a new soup night guest. It was a long time coming but we finally got him. My big bro Dan!











Menu
Pear, Walnut, and Blue Cheese Salad
Three Bean Soup

Spaghetti Rolls
Cannolis

Pear, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad

The salad consists of romaine lettuce, walnuts, blue cheese, and dressing

dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic minced
5 large basil leaves minced
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp. honey

whisk together briskly

Three Bean Soup
Serves 4
*adapted from Simply Cooking

Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
½ minced onion
2 tbsp. minced celery
2 tbsp. minced carrots
salt, pepper, paprika, sage, and cayenne to taste
½ pound Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup canned three-bean mixture (like kidney, pinto, and garbanzo)
1 bunch chopped kale
grated Parmesan to garnish

Directions
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium. Saute the onion, celery and carrots until soft. Season with salt, and pepper. Add the potatoes and stir. Add broth, tomatoes and beans. Add paprika, sage and cayenne to taste. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Add the kale. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the greens are cooked. Garnish with grated Parmesan.

Spaghetti Rolls
Serves 4
*adapted from Better Recipes

Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
vegetable oil
2 tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
2 tbsp. chopped green chilies
1 tbsp. red chili powder
Salt, according to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
White Sauce (see below)
1/2 cup cooked potatoes
1/4 cup cooked peas
1 cup cooked spaghetti
Bread crumbs

Directions
Put a little oil in a pan. Add onions & saute them. Add chopped ginger, chilies, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook them for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare White Sauce: Heat 1 Tbsp butter or oil in a saucepan; add 2 tbsp refined flour (maida flour). Saute for a couple of minutes. Gradually add 1 cup milk, stirring all the while to avoid lumps. Add salt, pepper and ground mustard to your taste; stir to mix well. Take pan off the heat & stir in desired amount of grated cheese. Ready to use. In a bowl, combine cooked potatoes, peas, the White Sauce, cooked spaghetti, and onion mixture. Mix them properly. Form it into a roll. Roll in bread crumbs. Fry till light brown. Serve hot.

We added the spaghetti balls directly into the soup.

Cannolis

Beer and Wine served

Juliana's Butcher Block

In the absence of Soup Night this week, I decided to have Juliana's Butcher Block. In the first installment of the season, Juliana's Butcher Block made Spinach and Orzo Soup with Turkey Parmesan Meatballs. It was great and very hearty.



















Spinach and Orzo Soup with Turkey Parmesan Meatballs
serves 4
*adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients
Meatballs
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
12 oz. lean ground turkey
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 ttsp ground black pepper

Soup
8 cups chicken broth
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped peeled carrots
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup orzo
4 cups chopped spinach

Directions
Whisk egg and 2 tablespoons water in medium bowl. Mix in breadcrumbs; let stand 5 minutes. Add turkey, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper; gently stir to blend. Shape turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet; cover and chill 30 minutes.

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, and sauté until browned. Add chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Add carrots and orzo; reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered 8 minutes. Add turkey meatballs and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in spinach and simmer until turkey meatballs, orzo, and escarole are tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season soup with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan.

Chowder and Troll 2

This week was my, Juliana's, turn to host soup night. I made a butternut squash and corn chowder with goat cheese croutons. It was great, however, the highlight of the evening was definitely Troll 2. It was so bad it was good. I am pretty sure we are all rethinking our halloween costumes.

Butternut Squash and Corn Chowder with Goat Cheese Croutons

*adapted from epicurious

Ingredients

Butternut Squash and Corn Chowder

4 oz. thick cut bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 2 1/4-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped

4 1/2 cups chicken broth 

2 tsp minced canned chipotle chilies

1 16-oz. canned corn

2 tsp minced fresh sage

Goat Cheese Croutons

4 oz chilled soft fresh goat cheese 

2 large eggs, beaten 

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tbs olive oil

Cut cheese into 8 rounds. Place eggs in small bowl; place cornmeal in another bowl. Dip cheese into eggs, then into cornmeal, turning to coat. Press cornmeal gently to adhere. Place on baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour.

Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels. Add onion and garlic to drippings in pan; sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Add butternut squash, broth and chilies; simmer until squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Using a potato masher, break up squash. Mix in corn. Add sage and season with salt and pepper. 

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add frozen cheese; brown well, about 1 minute per side. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with pancetta and cheese croutons.

Walnut Fig Salad

The salad consists of mixed greens, arugala, figs, toasted walnuts, shaved parmesan, and balsamic dressing.

Mini Turtle Cheesecakes

Ingredients

Jello cheesecake no bake

Store bought mini graham cracker crusts

1 egg white

pecans

chocolate chips

chocolate sauce

carmel sauce

Directions

Lay crusts on a baking sheet. Mix egg whites in a bowl; brush onto crusts. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake crusts for 5 minutes. Toast pecans on another baking sheet for 5 min. Make cheesecake as the box directs. Fill cups evenly with cheesecake mixture. Top with toasted pecans, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce. Chill for at least an hour.

Wine, Beer, and Faygo served

Kaitlin's soup night and pumpkin carving

That time has come again! Soup night is back and better than ever. We had a pumpkin themed soup night. We ate pumpkin soup, carved pumpkins, and had pumpkin bread pudding. It was great to be back with soup-minded people.

our amazing pumpkins

We also have some new soup night members. Welcome Jason and Sarah!

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup
Serves 8
(this recipe was adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup drained canned tomatoes, chopped

1 1/4 cups chopped onion

1/2 cup minced shallot

4 garlic cloves minced

1 tbs plus 2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup unsalted butter

4 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup dry Sherry

1/2 pound cooked ham, cut into 1/8-inch dice

3 to 4 tbs Sherry vinegar
Garnish: sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions
In a food processor coarsely mix beans and tomatoes. In a large stock pot sauté onion, shallot, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper in butter over medium heat, stirring until onion is softened and starts to brown. Stir in bean puree. Add broth, pumpkin, and Sherry. Stir until combined. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes, or until the soup thickens. Just before serving, add ham and vinegar and cook until heated. Season soup with salt and pepper and garnish with sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Kaitlin served this soup with a salad.

Roasted Beets

and Nick's homemade bread.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
(this recipe was adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 yolk

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground allspice

Pinch of ground cloves

2 tbs bourbon (Kaitlin used buffalo trace, which is the best)
5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Directions
While preheating oven to 350°, melt butter in the bottom of a 8-inch baking dish. Once it is melted, take it out of the oven and toss bread cubes with butter, coating thoroughly. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the remaining ingredients. Pour them over buttered bread cubes in baking dish, stirring to make sure all pieces are evenly coated. Bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.

Apples and Caramel 

Wine and Beer served

My Favorite Things

Here are some more of my favorite things

I bought this cutting board from Fishs Eddy.  http://www.fishseddy.com/  

Its perfect for Juliana's Butcher Block.

I know it is a weird thing to love, but i love this fly swatter.  

Soups Out for the SUMMER

The soup night crew got together to have a clambake.  This easy recipe shows how to do a stove top version of a clambake.  The recipe has been adapted from the queen of cooking Martha Stewart.  Needless to say it was CLAMTASTIC.   We missed you Anand!

Stove Top Clambake

Serves 6-8

It’s the best to start with great ingredients.  Go to your local fish market.

Ingredients

3 medium onions

7 garlic cloves

1 bottle of pale ale (I choose Sierra Nevada.)

1 cup water

wild chives

1 ½  lbs small new potatoes

1 lb hot dried chorizo, cut into ½ in. coins

coarse salt

40 little neck clams, scrubbed well

6 ears of corn, husked and halved

2 lb mussels, scrubbed and debearded

2 lb large shrimp, shell on

2 tbs butter

3 lemons halved

Directions

It is important that you have all your ingredients ready before you begin this recipe.  Cut all vegetables, and scrub all seafood.  If any of the  clams or mussels are open throw them away.  I like to put each ingredient in a different bowl.  It helps me stay organized.  The order of this is also very important.  Ingredients at the bottom take the longest to cook, while the ingredients on the top take the least amount of time.

Step 1.  Combine onions, garlic, pale ale, and water in a large stock pot (16 qt.)

Step 2.  Cover with wild chives. 

Step 3.  Add potatoes, chorizo, and 1 tbs. salt. Cook covered for 15 min.

Step 4.  Add corn

Step 5.  Add clams, and cook covered for 6 min.

Step 6.  Add mussels and shrimp, cook covered until clams and mussels open and shrimp is cooked  through, about 4-8 min.

Remove seafood, corn, potatoes, and chorizo using tongs, and transfer to a larger rimmed platter of baking sheet.  Discard chives and any unopened clams or mussels.  What remains in the pot is a really excellent spicy broth.  Strain the broth into a bowl and add butter for a great dipping sauce.  Garnish with lemons.

Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits

Makes 1 dozen biscuits

Ingredients

2 ½ cups bisquick baking mix

¾ cup cold whole milk

4 tbs cold butter

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 heaping cup of shredded cheddar cheese

To brush on top

2 tbs butter melted

½ tsp garlic powder

pinch of salt

fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl combine bisquick and butter.  Use your hands to mix.  You don’t want to overmix; there should be chunks of butter the size of peas.  Add cheese, milk, and garlic powder.  Continue to mix with hands.

Drop ¼ cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased baking sheet.  

Bake for 15-17 minutes, until lightly browned.  Remove from oven.  Melt butter in the microwave in a small bowl.  Add garlic and salt.  Brush mixture onto each biscuit.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley.