experiments of a "chef-for-fun"
I realized that I should share with you some of my own Super Soups for Super Bowl…
Guinness French Onion Soup
Loaded Baked Potato Beer Soup
Tomato Soup
Pasta Fagioli
Cilantro White Bean Soup
Reuben Soup
Habanero Tomato Soup
Mushroom Brie Soup
Jalapeno Soup
And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… what food have you changed your opinion on as you have aged?
My mother makes the best chicken soup! (I think all good Jewish Mothers need to make a good chicken soup, so I am working on that before having kids of my own.) Last week when Whole Oven Roasters were on sale I bought one for about $5. This made an amazing roast chicken (sorry, we were hungry and didn’t take photos). Then I cut all (as best as I could) the meat off of the carcass and left it in my Cast Iron pot (with all the juices), threw in the neck, added some water… and called my mom!
Mom told me that I was supposed to make her Chicken Soup using a whole *uncooked* chicken and that it wouldn’t be the same as hers! She wished me luck and told me to put in some more onion and garlic as well as carrots & celery.
Let me tell you – mom is right, this is not the same as hers, but it is a pretty gosh-darn good chicken soup (with perfect timing since I might be starting to come down with something!) So, look for those sales and then make a tasty roast chicken and turn the leftovers into an awesome soup!
Cut most of the meat off your bones. Leave the bones in the Pot, add in the rest of the ingredients and fill the pot to the top with water. Allow to boil for about an hour and taste (then adjust seasoning as needed). Divide it into containers and allow the fat to rise to the top & skim most of it off. ENJOY your fresh ‘leftover’ chicken
One Year Ago – delicious Apple Turnovers
And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… what does your mom (or dad) make the best that you always strive to make as best as they do?
We had an issue with hot peppers this year, and by “issue” I mean Rich grew habaneros & I evacuated the house while making hot sauce, burned my skin a few times, and also was overwhelmed with the amount of spice and had no idea what to even do with them anymore. Luckily, we did have some Jalapenos as well (from our Co-Op, although next year jalapenos are all we plan to grow in the hot-pepper-department). And with those Jalapeno Peppers I knew that this Jalapeno Bisque would be a big hit at home.
These photos actually represent take #2 of this soup because the first one I made for Rich one evening when he was out at school late and he ended up just bringing the whole container to work. He said that first version was almost too spicy to have a whole bowl of. This version was a lot more mild (I just used all sorts of green peppers). I think somewhere between the two would be perfect, so that is what I am posting.
Make sure to allow your peppers to get chopped enough in the food processor and use canned tomatoes that are finely chopped, not just chopped/diced. Besides that – feel free to play with the flavor/spice profile depending on what you and your loved ones like. Goes great with a big salad or as a starter soup or quesadillas or for lunch! And as I finish writing this post with the snow falling at the end of October I know that this soup would do wonders to warm us up!
1 T olive oil
6 to 8 jalapeños, chopped
1 cup chopped [red] onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups milk
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 can diced tomato (the medium sized can)
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
Throw your jalapenoes, onion, and garlic in a small food processor and get a fine chop/dice. Then in a medium pot/pan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the jalapeños, onions, & garlic until the vegetables are almost soft. Add the milk to the jalapeño mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients and gently heat to blend flavors. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with additional cilantro.
And I leave you with this, today’s Question of the Day… what is your go-to warm up dish on a cold days?
