For the last several months I've been the designated "soup kitchen" person at my son's deli. All his soups are made from scratch and most are delicious, or so I've been told. As the weather has warmed I've been wanting to make the transition from hot soups to cold pasta salads. It hasn't caught on yet since there are quite a few die hard soup lovers in the neighborhood!
To me, soup is very basic and not a science. Unfortunately, I don't have exact ingredients for you unless you're planning on serving an army. At the deli, a batch of soup is anywhere from 1 - 2 gallons, or so. I'll do my best to scale it down for you.
Turkey Corn Chowder
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder (or a Tbsp of fresh)
flour for roux (about 3-4 Tbsp)
1/3 jalapeno, diced
1 parboiled and peeled potato, cubed
1 cup milk
3 cups broth, chicken is good
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 cups, diced turkey
salt to taste
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Start by parboiling a potato. set aside to cool. In a large pot add the butter and oil. Heat on medium, add the onion, celery garlic and cook until soft. Add the flour and stir until a thick roux is formed. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes. It should thicken a bit from the roux and the addition of the potatoes.
This proved to be a "hit" at the deli. Another similar favorite was the addition of roasted poblanos.
I sadly gaze out my window at what was once a thriving garden filled with the Summer's finest producing zucchini plants this backyard has ever seen. After a rambunctious wind storm this past weekend that hammered our yard, downed tree branches and stripped them of their ever changing Fall colors, I can, at least, reminisce about a staple side dish of zucchini hash! I will surely miss my sweet fresh zucchini..
I think of the word hash and remember my mom combining potatoes, cubes of meat, onions and whatever else she could think of and calling it dinner. Somehow it worked quite nicely and is the inspiration for this meatless dish.
Zucchini Hash
2 cups chopped zucchini (bite size pieces)
5-6 small Yukon gold potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried or fresh rosemary
1-2 Tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup broth
Optional herbs: lemon balm, parsley, Thai basil (all fresh and chopped)
In a pan of water parboil the potatoes first leaving the skins on. Cool slightly and cut into bite size pieces.
In a large frying pan add the oil and butter, melt on medium heat. Add the zucchini, potatoes, onion, and garlic powder. Cook until zucchini starts to soften, stirring as you go. Add the rosemary and other herbs and broth. Keep stirring occasionally until done.
What, you may ask, is poutine? I didn't know there was such a thing until I started doing a bit of ancestry research. Evidently, it was a staple of Acadian food. And, Acadia, which is near Edmundston, Canada and the northern tip of Maine, was the area that French settlers migrated to. So much for a history lesson... On to the poutine!
Simply put, poutine is meat with gravy on top of french fries and cheese on top of that!. I made this with a "twist", baked sweet potato fries instead of plain, and no cheese! Did you know that In & Out burger has a version of poutine on their "secret" menu? Neither did I....French fries covered with grilled onions and cheese, called Animal Fries.
Chicken Poutine
Serves 2
3 boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
salt & pepper
1 tsp paprika
2-3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
4 large mushrooms, shopped
Handful of parsley
1/4 cup chicken broth or water
1/12 Tbsp additional flour (for thickening of the sauce)
1/8 cup water
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour/paprika mixture that you've placed into a pie plate. Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat, add the chicken to brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onion to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms, stirring while cooking another 6 or 7 minutes. Add the chicken back in, mix well and turn heat to low. Meanwhile in a small bowl add the 1/8 cup water and stir in the 1 1/2 Tbsp flour to make a thick paste. Scrape into the skillet. Stir well. At this point you can add the parsley and additional 1/4 cup water or broth. Turn the heat back up to medium and stir until the sauce thickens. About 10 minutes more.
The "poutine" can be served over pasta, rice or traditional french fries.
Sometimes you just have to have breakfast for dinner! To me it spells "comfort food". I'm sure most of you have made pancakes, eggs, french toast or something along those lines for a lazy Sunday evening meal. Or perhaps you've run out of money before you run out of month and for a few dollars you can feed your family by serving eggs or potatoes. If you want to shift into breakfast mode create these hash browns.
Provencal Hash Browns
2 medium potatoes or 3 red potatoes, parboiled, skin removed and grated
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Herb de Provence
3-4 roasted garlic cloves, chopped
Prepare the potatoes first by parboiling in a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Peel and grate them. In a large (10-12 inch) non-stick skillet melt the butter and oil on medium-high heat. As soon as the butter begins to sizzle, add the herb, stir and add the grated potatoes, molding and pressing into a round disk shape in the pan. Cook for 10 minutes. You may need to reduce the heat to medium. Add the chopped garlic on top and lightly press into the potatoes.
It's time to turn the hash browns over. To do this use a large plate the approximate size of pan. Place the plate on top, flip the pan over, then slide the potatoes back into the pan and cook on the other side. Cook for another 10 minutes until done and slide off onto a serving plate. Enjoy!
NOTE: To add more flavor and crisp the edges, you can add a bit more oil around the edges or also use some vegetable or chicken stock.
When writing a blog, I learned recently how important SEO is. That is "search engine optimization". In a nutshell, watch what choice of words you put in the title or repeat in the body of the post. Mostly, it can work in favor of how many hits you get. However, I experienced a flurry of activity (hits) when my blog was definitely confused with a site that has (rhymes with corn and starts with P) no interest in food, travel or recipes, if you will. The title of my blog post just happened to be the title of this persons blog. Oops! So, with this "hash" title, who knows what kind of hits it will bring!!
I had a bit of prime rib left over from Christmas dinner. Steak, lamp or pork could also be used. Once again, my kitchen is like a "box of chocolates" You don't really know what you'll get! This was pretty good though, especially if you love sweet potatoes.
Prime Rib and Sweet Potato Hash
2-3 cups of cooked, cubed prime rib
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup of spinach
a handful of chopped fresh parsley
water or broth (if needed)
salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet or pot, on medium heat, start to cook the potatoes in a bit of oil, stirring as you go for about 10-12 minutes. Add the onions and cook until they are soft. Then add the prime rib or any cooked meat. Add a bit (maybe 1/3 cup) water or broth, spinach and parsley. Simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes or until the potatoes are done, adding extra liquid, if necessary. Salt and pepper to taste. This goes together very quickly, one of those mid-week meals. Hearty, yet quick!
I have to admit, I've never been much of a grill person. Even though fire is a necessary part of cooking, I still have a fear of singeing my eyebrows or hair when lighting the beast, the grill. I usually always leave that task to my hubby, the up and coming grill master! He's gone through the fire lighting steps numerous times but I still can't quite go there. It's kind of like teaching him how to start the washing machine, I suppose....must be a mental block!
We still work well together no matter what the project is. When grilling, I'll do all the prep and then he takes over. This weekend we grilled marinated pineapple and foil wrapped new potatoes. When roasting potatoes in the Winter, the oven method is the only way to go, but I love the results you get on the grill. If cooked right the potatoes have a nice crunch around the edges but still very moist. The pineapple was unbelievably juicy, and sweet with a hint of ginger and lime. So good!
For the pineapple marinade:
Place the following in a small bowl.
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced, with a bit of zest
knob of ginger (thumb size), minced or zested
1 1/2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
Place cut pineapple on the grill a few minutes on both sides to get those beautiful grill marks. Then baste with the marinade, turn and baste again. These don't need much cooking time, 10-15 minutes total.
For the foil wrapped new potatoes:
Spray a large rectangle (about 15 inches long) heavy duty foil with cooking spray. Arrange 3-4 potatoes (1/8 inch thick) slices on the foil. Sprinkle with a a Tbsp of fresh chopped chives and parsley, a bit of salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and dot with about 3 Tbsp of butter (optional) If you have chive blossoms on your plant, include some of those! Throw on 2 cut up garlic cloves and close the foil package. Cook on the grill (upper part) for about 35 minutes. Enjoy! And especially enjoy the fact that there aren't any dishes!!
