The Mighty Minestrone

Mike's all time favorite soup is minestrone. So yesterday, while we were experiencing torrential rains, he made a whole pot of soup for us to take to a cookout. (Cookout under a tent... they were inventive. =-) ) I had to leave said cookout early for work. Needless to say, I did not get a single bit of soup. It was a huge success. Mike tried to leave with the soup, but as he was waking away he was violently attacked and had the soup ripped from his grip. Ok, well, that is a little bit of an exaggeration. He politely handed the soup over when it was requested, but he was able to escape with some chicken in his pocket. The next day, since I wasn't in the mood for smuggled pocket chicken, I requested he make another pot of soup. We sent a bowl of it over to a sick neighbor (Crystal, physically sick not mentally) for confirmation of its healing abilities and she suggested we post it... so here it is.  By the way Jaime, please bring our soup pot back!!! =-)

1 medium onion
1 stalk celery chopped
3 medium carrots chopped
2 small bell peppers
1 handful chopped parsley
4 cloves garlic
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans (drained) 
1 zucchini cubed
12 oz pasta (we used gluten free pasta since Remy can't have gluten)
2 tbsp Italian seasoning 
3 vegetable bullion
1 chicken bullion (can sub for veggie if you would rather)
10 cups of water
1 tbsp olive oil


In large soup pot sautee in olive oil onion, bell pepper, and celery. When tender add tomatoes, garlic, carrots, beans, bullion, and water. Add Italian season (season to taste) and simmer 15 minutes. Bring back to boil and add pasta, parsley, and zucchini. Reduce heat and simmer 12 more minutes. 
Enjoy!!! 

Butternut Squash Soup

I was visiting my home away from home, Central Market, and noticed their huge pile and variety of winter squash. Butternut squash soup popped into my mind. It doesn't get more basic than butternut squash soup. It is rich and comforting, but this richness comes from the squash not cream. The most difficult part in making this soup was finding a blender, food processor, or emulsion blender since most of my kitchen is packed in boxes and in storage while our house is on the market. 

1 butternut squash cubed
1 medium onion diced
2 tbs butter
6 cups water
3 Knorr chicken bullion
(you can substitute water and bullion for chicken stock)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper


Sautee diced onion in butter until translucent. Add squash, water, and bullion. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until squash is tender. Remove squash and puree in blender or food processor, or use emulsion blender until soup is free of lumps. Add nutmeg and cayenne and serve. It is that simple. Try it and let me know what you think!

Mediterranean Style Fish Stew

So a few years ago Mike and I were visiting my Teta Katja and her husband Han in Holland, and Han made a fantastic fish stew. I have been craving it ever since. When I brought home some rockfish the other day I was not sure what to do with it until this stew popped into my mind.  Since I had no idea how to make it, I told Mike to make fish stew. LOL. He agreed, but made me look up a recipe. Here is the recipe that I found (From New York Times by Martha Rose Shulman), and the additions we made to the recipe to get it exactly like we wanted. 
I must say, when Mike finished the stew it was absolutely fabulous. It wasn't exactly Han's stew, but it was the closest I've had since then. We will definitely add this recipe to our recipe book to make again and again.

RECIPES FOR HEALTH

Easy Fish Stew With Mediterranean Flavors

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

This is a typical fisherman’s stew. No need to make a fish stock; water, aromatics and anchovies will suffice. Use anchovies even if you don’t like them, as they add great depth of flavor, not to mention omega-3 fats. And don’t worry: the dish won’t taste like anchovies.

4 large garlic cloves, cut in half, green shoots removed

4 anchovy fillets, soaked in water for 4 minutes, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste

1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with liquid

1 quart water (we used two quarts accidentally, so we added the bullion, but it was a great addition)

(we added 2 vegetable bullion)

1 pound small new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered or sliced

A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a strip of orange zest, a couple of sprigs each thyme and parsley, and a dried red chile if desired, tied together with a string (we also added dried marjoram and we used dried thyme instead of fresh-- we used more than the recipe call for, about 2 tsp, and since our red chile was not very spicy we added cayenne pepper.)

Freshly ground pepper

1 to 1 1/2 pounds firm white-fleshed fish such as halibut, tilapia, Pacific cod or black cod, cut in 2-inch pieces (we used rockfish and added clams)

1. Place the garlic cloves and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle, and mash to a paste. Add the anchovy fillets and mash with the garlic. Set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, and add the onion, celery and carrot with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the pureed garlic and anchovy. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is very fragrant, about one minute, and then add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down a bit and the mixture smells aromatic, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the water, potatoes, salt (to taste) and the bouquet garni. (We added the clams at this point.) Bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low, cover partially and simmer 30 minutes. Taste, adjust salt and add pepper to taste. Remove the bouquet garni.

3. Season the fish with salt and pepper, and stir into the soup. The soup should not be boiling. Simmer five to 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillets) or just until it flakes easily when poked. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley, taste once more, adjust seasonings and serve. (The addition of the fish really changed the flavor of the soup and brought it all together!!!) 

Yield: Serves four

Advance preparation: You can make this through step 2 up to three days ahead. Keep in the refrigerator, bring back to a simmer and proceed with the recipe.

Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

Steiner Ranch and Steakhouse -- Austin, Texas

Last night, once the meeting we were working on was over, Mike told me we were having dinner with Dave (his work partner) and a few of the guys from the crew. We were following them, and had no idea where we were going. This was a good thing, because we had no preconceived ideas about what we would eat. We drove down pitch black roads down twists and turns wondering what in the world we were doing. But out of the dark rose Steiner Ranch Steakhouse. The steak house is perched on a hill that overlooks part of the hill country. It is a large stone building with upscale ranch decor. They have a beautiful patio with a bar and a live band was playing, but since it was a little windy we chose to sit inside. We were all starving and as foodies, we were all excited to start our meal. We begin with an appetizer of calamari that is not on the menu, and Buffalo Quail legs which is on the menu. Now, for those of you who are not familiar with quail, their legs are not large, but the flavor was fabulous. The legs were a combination of sweet and spicy. It was a mild spice and they were served with a bleu cheese dressing. The calamari was tender and the breading was crispy-- all good on that front. 

Now, I know we were at a steakhouse, but we recently purchased a large side of beef for our family, so with a freezer full of beef at home I decided to go in a different direction. For my entree I ordered the Lamb Chop which was served with a mushroom-demi glaze. Mike waivered between the bone-in Ribeye and the Chicken Fried Elk, but really, how often do you see chicken fried elk on the menu? With me hoping out loud that he would order the elk, he ordered it. Now, all of us ordered a different entree, and there were 6 of us at the table. Also ordered was the Mahi Mahi, the bone-in Ribeye, pan seared Scallops, and the Filet Mignon. What is so significant about that you ask??? Well, everyone shared!! I love getting to taste a little bit of everything. My lamb was fabulous. The slightly sweet sauce completely complemented the perfectly cooked tender lamb. The scallops were absolutely fantastic, the steaks tender and flavorful, but my favorite of all was the elk. It was served with gravy and the elk was tender, the breading crispy, and it was perfectly seasoned. The vegetable we all were served was fresh green beans cooked with onions and bacon- so yummy. So I would have to say Steiner Ranch and Steakhouse receives two thumbs up. If you're looking for an upscale steakhouse, you can't go wrong with Steiner.

Now I'm Going to Feed You

I love this time of year. The weather cools down and my oven heats up. I especially love cooking with pumpkin. There is just nothing that says fall better than pumpkin and spices!!! 
I tested out this recipe this weekend. I created it last fall, but wanted to test it out with fresh pumpkin puree... and to maybe have a treat... =-) It is so good my neighbor told me she is kidnapping the rest of it this morning so it will not go to waste while we are in Austin. Try it out and let me know what you think!!
Here is my pumpkin bread with orange glaze.

Pumpkin Bread with Orange Glaze

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups pureed pumpkin

Glaze Ingredients

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp orange zest

1 tbs orange juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Sift together flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures adding the dry a little at a time. Fold in the pumpkin puree. Pour into a 13x9 cake pan that has been buttered and floured.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the middle. Cool for 5 minutes then pour on glaze.

Glaze:

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. If glaze is too thick add more juice or if too thin add more confectioners sugar.

Enjoy!!!

Birdfeeders Food and Travel

Mike and I are avid travelers and lovers of food. We also love to feed people... this is probably part of my Czech heritage. We love watching the Travel Channel and the Food Network and then experiencing it ourselves.
Recently, Mike and I were in Atlanta for work, but we absolutely had to make time to visit Gladys Knight and Ron Winan Chicken and Waffle restaurant. We heard about it on Man vs Food and wanted to try it out. I mean, what an interesting combination, and we love soul food. Fried chicken is so hard to perfect. You have to make sure you have the perfect seasonings and crispness, while all the time making sure it isn't too greasy or dry. So, hoping we wouldn't be disappointed, we set off. Just a little warning, the only parking area near the restaurant (in Midtown) cost $10 to park, and there are not many parking spots. Luckily, we squeezed into one and made our way inside.
We were STARVING when we arrived, and knowing we were going to over order we went ahead and started with the fried green tomatoes. They do not serve alcohol there, and we didn't bother to find out why, but we were happy with the unsweet iced tea. Mike ordered the Midnight Train which included wings and a waffle. I ordered something along the lines of Ron's plate. This was three pieces of fried chicken (I asked for it to include one breast), two sides (collard greens and the recommended mac n cheese), and corn bread. Yes, this is a lot of food. The wings are huge! We knew we wouldn't be able to finish, but we wanted a little taste of everything. The fried green tomatoes were served with a type of remoulade sauce seasoned with Texas Pete's hot sauce. They were delicious! The sauce really made the dish. We kept the Texas Pete's close by while we tackled the rest of the meal.
I started with the collard greens, since they are one of my favorite all time sides. They were good, not the best I've had, but good. I used some pepper sauce and I was happy. Next, the first bite of chicken. I chose to eat the breast, and I was in Heaven. Oh my goodness. They not only got it right, they perfected fried chicken. I ate and ate and ate. It was sooooo good. I should have stopped long before I did, but it was delicious! Mike's wings were massive. If they had been any bigger, I would have thought they were from a turkey. The mac and cheese was really good, but since I had so much chicken to eat, I passed it on to Mike. His waffle, which was the point of us coming here, was light and delicious. The combination of the sweet syrup and salty chicken really is delicious, but I was happy just eating the chicken.
We ended the meal with their Sweet Potato Cheesecake. It is served with caramel drizzled over it,  sprinkled with pecans, and a dollop of whipped cream. We were not disappointed.

All in all we both give it two thumbs up. It was worth the $10 parking fee, and we would totally visit again. Service was fabulous. We had a lovely server named Laura who was friendly and on top of everything.
Thank you to Gladys Knight and Ron Winan.
Next up, we are traveling to Austin-- stayed tuned.