Tonight I'm doing Melt in your Mouth Beef Ragout with garlic mashed potatoes. I don't think I've ever had Chianti before, and as I was pouring it into the measuring cup a few drops dribbled onto my finger and I licked it and it was surprisingly fruity. I'm not usually a huge fan of red wine but this may be pretty impressive.
Also I must say, the ragout smelled delicious even before it had started cooking. I am VERY much so looking forward to dinner tonight.
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Baked Potato Soup
Tonight I did Baked Potato Soup, and it was rather underwhelming. Not TERRIBLE, just pretty bland, and overly thick. I probably let it heat up a bit too far and caused the milk to boil too much. Also, even though I cooked the onion/garlic in bacon fat rather than butter, it still needed more flavor. Maybe more cheese, or something. Oh well.
Baked Potato Soup
2 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
3 medium russet potatoes (roughly 1.25 lb)
3 cups milk
2 tbsp sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes 45 minutes or until tender. Let cool, then peel and mash roughly.
In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Add onion and garlic to pot with bacon fat, cook until soft. Add flour, stir well. Gradually add milk and whisk to combine. Let sit on medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
Add mashed potatoes, cheddar, and plenty of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. Add sour cream. Heat slowly until heated through (mine was heated through instantaneously, which is another reason I think I heated/thickened it too far).
Serve garnished with bacon, extra shredded cheddar, and plenty of black pepper.
Serves 4.
Baked Potato Soup
2 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
3 medium russet potatoes (roughly 1.25 lb)
3 cups milk
2 tbsp sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes 45 minutes or until tender. Let cool, then peel and mash roughly.
In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Add onion and garlic to pot with bacon fat, cook until soft. Add flour, stir well. Gradually add milk and whisk to combine. Let sit on medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
Add mashed potatoes, cheddar, and plenty of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. Add sour cream. Heat slowly until heated through (mine was heated through instantaneously, which is another reason I think I heated/thickened it too far).
Serve garnished with bacon, extra shredded cheddar, and plenty of black pepper.
Serves 4.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Seven Onion Soup
We are very broke (or were, until we sold off my old computer parts for $100), so I took my last $20 and went to Hen House (love) and got a variety of onions. Also last night Alex picked up a take-and-bake loaf of ciabatta at Hyvee so I'll bake that too when the soup gets done simmering.
Seven Onion Soup
4 tbsp unsalted butter
3 slices thick-cut bacon
1.5 cups sliced white onion
1.5 cups sliced yellow onion
1.5 cups sliced red onion
1 cup sliced shallot
1 cup sliced leek
1 cup sliced scallions (bottoms only)
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
Chives and parmesan, for garnish
Slice up all your onions. Sob all over yourself. Melt butter over medium-high heat in large pot. Realize your large pot heated up in like 2 seconds, as butter melts rapidly the moment it touches the pot. Add bacon, saute for 7-10 minutes or until browned and crispy and fat has rendered. Remove bacon with slotted spoon, set aside. Add red onion, yellow onion, white onion, shallot, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and thyme. Stir until softened and beginning to caramelize, about 6-8 minutes. Add leek and scallion, cook 3-4 minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream, stir to combine and cook another 45 minutes. Puree (or don't; I won't be because Alex doesn't like pureed soups, and I just checked on it with 20 minutes of simmer until cream goes in and it's kind of pureeing itself anyway). Ladle into bowls and garnish with bacon, chives and parmesan.
Seven Onion Soup
4 tbsp unsalted butter
3 slices thick-cut bacon
1.5 cups sliced white onion
1.5 cups sliced yellow onion
1.5 cups sliced red onion
1 cup sliced shallot
1 cup sliced leek
1 cup sliced scallions (bottoms only)
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
Chives and parmesan, for garnish
Slice up all your onions. Sob all over yourself. Melt butter over medium-high heat in large pot. Realize your large pot heated up in like 2 seconds, as butter melts rapidly the moment it touches the pot. Add bacon, saute for 7-10 minutes or until browned and crispy and fat has rendered. Remove bacon with slotted spoon, set aside. Add red onion, yellow onion, white onion, shallot, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and thyme. Stir until softened and beginning to caramelize, about 6-8 minutes. Add leek and scallion, cook 3-4 minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream, stir to combine and cook another 45 minutes. Puree (or don't; I won't be because Alex doesn't like pureed soups, and I just checked on it with 20 minutes of simmer until cream goes in and it's kind of pureeing itself anyway). Ladle into bowls and garnish with bacon, chives and parmesan.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Restaurant Review - Cyprus Grille
Yesterday was our first wedding anniversary and we went to St. Louis and stayed at Embassy Suites for the occasion. As I am not a huge fan of St. Louis, we opted to eat at the hotel restaurant, Cyprus Grille, rather than try to find a nice restaurant elsewhere. We both dressed up and I was under the impression that it was going to be pretty fancy.
First off, the menu was small. The appetizer selection was acceptable but the entree list was tiny. They only had two steak options, one of which was KC strip (as part of a surf-and-turf with jumbo shrimp scampi), and the other was flat iron. No ribeye, no sirloin even. There was a "sandwiches and pasta" section of the menu, with exactly one pasta dish in it, which was inexplicably not available after 5 PM.
Alex ended up getting the surf-and-turf (come to think of it, isn't surf-and-turf generally steak and lobster?), which came with seasonal vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes, and I got grilled chicken in a sage cream sauce, with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I also ordered a glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle riesling (my favorite white wine), and a bowl of French onion soup, because I had actually never had it before.
Service was SLOW. It was a Saturday night at like 7 PM, and we were one of maybe 5 couples there (there were 20-25 tables it looked like). There is no reason it should have been that slow. It took nearly 30 minutes for my soup to even arrive. The first thing I noticed about the soup was that the green onion garnish had been chopped unevenly. This is not something I would previously have noticed, but I seem to have turned into a bit of a food snob. The soup itself was decent-tasting (though all the onions had sunk to the bottom, and the crouton was soggy... not sure if that's normal for French onion soup or not).
The rest of the meal arrived approximately 10 minutes after the soup. The chicken tasted okay but there were TWO breasts, pounded flat. I've never ordered anything in my life that came with two chicken breasts before (outside of like KFC). Also the asparagus, while cooked to an acceptable level of tenderness, had no seasoning at all on it. It could have at least done with some salt. It tasted boiled or steamed; roasting it would have helped tremendously. Also the stalks were very very thick, almost too thick.
Alex said his steak was overcooked (he ordered medium rare and it looked closer to medium or medium well to me) and chewy (owing to the cut of the steak). Also the scampi came lying on top of the steak, as opposed to in a saucer of garlic butter like all previous shrimp scampi I've seen. (He said they were good though.) Also his entire dish inexplicably had mint sprinkled all over everything. I have never seen that before, and I tried it for myself, it WAS mint. The only thing I can guess is that it was supposed to be parsley or cilantro and somebody in the kitchen got confused.
Final tab was $75. I threw in a 10% tip, because while the service wasn't HOSTILE, it was very very slow and unprofessional. (Also I was a bit perturbed coming into dinner because we had gone to the free alcohol reception, and I ordered a vodka-and-Sprite which tasted like a vodka-and-club-soda. Yuck.)
The next morning/noon we went to Denny's; I got a Super Bird and Alex got a BLT with extra bacon, and I must say, it was far more satisfying than Cyprus Grille. I was almost inclined to go back and tell them so, but we had already checked out by that point and I'm not really that evil.
First off, the menu was small. The appetizer selection was acceptable but the entree list was tiny. They only had two steak options, one of which was KC strip (as part of a surf-and-turf with jumbo shrimp scampi), and the other was flat iron. No ribeye, no sirloin even. There was a "sandwiches and pasta" section of the menu, with exactly one pasta dish in it, which was inexplicably not available after 5 PM.
Alex ended up getting the surf-and-turf (come to think of it, isn't surf-and-turf generally steak and lobster?), which came with seasonal vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes, and I got grilled chicken in a sage cream sauce, with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I also ordered a glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle riesling (my favorite white wine), and a bowl of French onion soup, because I had actually never had it before.
Service was SLOW. It was a Saturday night at like 7 PM, and we were one of maybe 5 couples there (there were 20-25 tables it looked like). There is no reason it should have been that slow. It took nearly 30 minutes for my soup to even arrive. The first thing I noticed about the soup was that the green onion garnish had been chopped unevenly. This is not something I would previously have noticed, but I seem to have turned into a bit of a food snob. The soup itself was decent-tasting (though all the onions had sunk to the bottom, and the crouton was soggy... not sure if that's normal for French onion soup or not).
The rest of the meal arrived approximately 10 minutes after the soup. The chicken tasted okay but there were TWO breasts, pounded flat. I've never ordered anything in my life that came with two chicken breasts before (outside of like KFC). Also the asparagus, while cooked to an acceptable level of tenderness, had no seasoning at all on it. It could have at least done with some salt. It tasted boiled or steamed; roasting it would have helped tremendously. Also the stalks were very very thick, almost too thick.
Alex said his steak was overcooked (he ordered medium rare and it looked closer to medium or medium well to me) and chewy (owing to the cut of the steak). Also the scampi came lying on top of the steak, as opposed to in a saucer of garlic butter like all previous shrimp scampi I've seen. (He said they were good though.) Also his entire dish inexplicably had mint sprinkled all over everything. I have never seen that before, and I tried it for myself, it WAS mint. The only thing I can guess is that it was supposed to be parsley or cilantro and somebody in the kitchen got confused.
Final tab was $75. I threw in a 10% tip, because while the service wasn't HOSTILE, it was very very slow and unprofessional. (Also I was a bit perturbed coming into dinner because we had gone to the free alcohol reception, and I ordered a vodka-and-Sprite which tasted like a vodka-and-club-soda. Yuck.)
The next morning/noon we went to Denny's; I got a Super Bird and Alex got a BLT with extra bacon, and I must say, it was far more satisfying than Cyprus Grille. I was almost inclined to go back and tell them so, but we had already checked out by that point and I'm not really that evil.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Organic Soup and Brown Rice
For lunch today I poured a cup of the organic butternut squash soup I bought, and cooked some brown rice in the microwave. Both were crap. The end.
Nah. Well, the rice was annoying. I didn't want to make it stovetop because it would take too long, so I microwaved it, and our microwave is retarded when it comes to rice. Even at 50%, the water evaporates out long before the directions say the rice is done. So I had to keep constantly checking on it, and even had to add more water at one point.
And the soup... I'm sure it was fine, but this is the second butternut squash dish I've had (the first was a risotto, and coincidentally the first and only risotto I've ever made) and I have to say that so far, I am not incredibly thrilled with butternut squash. Too sweet.
For dinner we had Panda Express, which was satisfactory. I had chow mein (it had bean sprouts in it!), mushroom chicken, and broccoli beef. Would have gotten an egg roll too but they were out (and closing in like 30 minutes).
Dishes still aren't done, sigh.
Nah. Well, the rice was annoying. I didn't want to make it stovetop because it would take too long, so I microwaved it, and our microwave is retarded when it comes to rice. Even at 50%, the water evaporates out long before the directions say the rice is done. So I had to keep constantly checking on it, and even had to add more water at one point.
And the soup... I'm sure it was fine, but this is the second butternut squash dish I've had (the first was a risotto, and coincidentally the first and only risotto I've ever made) and I have to say that so far, I am not incredibly thrilled with butternut squash. Too sweet.
For dinner we had Panda Express, which was satisfactory. I had chow mein (it had bean sprouts in it!), mushroom chicken, and broccoli beef. Would have gotten an egg roll too but they were out (and closing in like 30 minutes).
Dishes still aren't done, sigh.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Sun-Dried Tomato Tortellini Soup - not!
I made the soup mentioned two posts ago for lunch today. Some of the reviews had mentioned "next time I make this I will add extra broth" and as I was ladling some into my plastic bowl for work it seemed fine to me. Got home, checked the pot, WAY too chunky. What happened to the broth?! I don't know.
So, as for the flavor/texture. Not very exciting. I was actually fairly disappointed. The bok choy was tasteless, the sun-dried tomatoes had an odd flavor/texture to them, the carrots and celery were a bit undercooked (which was probably my fault because I was rushing to get it done and didn't saute them as long as the recipe suggested), and for the first time I had the same sentiment my husband always has whenever I make vegetable soups: "Needs more meat." The tortellini was okay, though I don't think this was the right vehicle for them. The broth was the wrong flavor for it, and unfortunately I used 3/4 of the bag on this stupid soup, leaving me only a handful or two to thaw and pour spaghetti sauce on.
This made me wish I had instead made a soup I did well over a year ago. It had roasted red peppers rather than sun-dried tomatoes, as well as spinach, alfredo sauce, and some other things. Obviously I didn't, and can't really without major substitutions since I'm on a diet and alfredo sauce is no good for you, and I'm regretting it now.
So, rather than post the tortellini soup recipe, which I won't make again without major (fundamental) changes, I'll post the recipe for Florentine Chicken Soup, which is what I had hoped I was making a non-cream soup version of.
Florentine Chicken Soup (from Cooking for 2, fall 2005)
1 c uncooked penne or tube pasta
1 pkg ready-to-use chicken breast cuts
4 c chopped fresh spinach
1 jar (7.25 oz) roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
3 fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp butter
1.5 c reduced sodium chicken broth
3/4 c alfredo sauce
3 tbsp pesto
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 tbsp shredded Parmesan
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute chicken, spinach, red peppers, rosemary, garlic powder and peppers in butter until spinach is wilted.
Stir in broth, alfredo sauce, and pesto; cook for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Drain pasta and add to soup. Garnish with pine nuts and Parmesan.
Yield: 5 cups
So, as for the flavor/texture. Not very exciting. I was actually fairly disappointed. The bok choy was tasteless, the sun-dried tomatoes had an odd flavor/texture to them, the carrots and celery were a bit undercooked (which was probably my fault because I was rushing to get it done and didn't saute them as long as the recipe suggested), and for the first time I had the same sentiment my husband always has whenever I make vegetable soups: "Needs more meat." The tortellini was okay, though I don't think this was the right vehicle for them. The broth was the wrong flavor for it, and unfortunately I used 3/4 of the bag on this stupid soup, leaving me only a handful or two to thaw and pour spaghetti sauce on.
This made me wish I had instead made a soup I did well over a year ago. It had roasted red peppers rather than sun-dried tomatoes, as well as spinach, alfredo sauce, and some other things. Obviously I didn't, and can't really without major substitutions since I'm on a diet and alfredo sauce is no good for you, and I'm regretting it now.
So, rather than post the tortellini soup recipe, which I won't make again without major (fundamental) changes, I'll post the recipe for Florentine Chicken Soup, which is what I had hoped I was making a non-cream soup version of.
Florentine Chicken Soup (from Cooking for 2, fall 2005)
1 c uncooked penne or tube pasta
1 pkg ready-to-use chicken breast cuts
4 c chopped fresh spinach
1 jar (7.25 oz) roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
3 fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp butter
1.5 c reduced sodium chicken broth
3/4 c alfredo sauce
3 tbsp pesto
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 tbsp shredded Parmesan
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute chicken, spinach, red peppers, rosemary, garlic powder and peppers in butter until spinach is wilted.
Stir in broth, alfredo sauce, and pesto; cook for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Drain pasta and add to soup. Garnish with pine nuts and Parmesan.
Yield: 5 cups
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)