Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Adapted from Cooking Light September 2015.  Their recipe calls for a 32 ounce container of chicken stock and rotisserie chicken breast but I prefer to make my own.

A couple of pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (I use whatever is on sale or whatever I have on hand)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a Dutch oven on medium-high.  Brown the chicken, first the skin side then the other side.

Celery, chopped roughly
Carrots, chopped roughly
Onion, quartered
Sprig of thyme
Bay leaf

Add to the pot and cover with water.  Cover with a lid and cook over low-medium heat for at least an hour or so.  When the chicken is cooked well, remove from pot, remove the skin, shred the chicken and return the bones to the pot.  Cook uncovered for a while until reduced to 6 cups, strain.  Now, you have homemade stock and cooked chicken.  You can do this part a day ahead so you can skim the fat easily from the stock.

Time to make the soup...

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

Heat in a pot over medium/high heat.

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrot (I like to do it in long diagonal slices)
2/3 cups thinly sliced celery
1 cup finely chopped onion

Saute 5 minutes.  While this is going on, heat your stock.  Add to the veggies and bring to a boil.

1 teaspoon dried thyme or 3 fresh sprigs (I like the fresh best)
6 ounces whole grain rotini (about 2 cups), dry

Add to the pot, reduce heat to medium and cook 8 minutes.  Add the shredded chicken, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot.   Cook until everything is heated through and the pasta is tender.

Justin loves chicken noodle soup and I got tired of buying it canned.  He likes this even better!

Beef Stew

Looks like I got this recipe from Pinterest and when I tried to go back to find the original website it came from, the link was blocked.  Oh well.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

6 ounces thick sliced bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Saute in a large, oven-proof pot over medium heat.  Remove to a bowl (leave the grease in the bottom of the pot).

2 1/2 pounds boneless chuck, cut into 1 inch pieces (I cleaned it up quite a bit since neither of us enjoy chomping on a huge wad of fat)
flour, salt and pepper

Season and dredge the meat.  Brown in batches in bacon fat.  Transfer to the bowl with the bacon.

2 cups pinot noir 

Add to the pot, bring to a boil, scrape bits from the bottom.

1 pound mushrooms, sliced thick

Add to the pot and cook 10 minutes.  Return the meat and bacon to the pot.  While the mushrooms are cooking...

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped

In a large skillet, cook 4 minutes at medium/high heat.

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Add to skillet and cook 1 minute.  Add contents of skillet to the pot.

4 cups beef broth (I always use unsalted beef stock so I can add the amount of salt I want to taste)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dry thyme (leaves, not ground)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Add to pot and bring to a boil.

1 pound small potatoes, halved or quartered depending on their size

Add to the pot.  Cover and cook in the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes.  Serve with crusty bread.

Even Big Mac wanted in on the action.

Chili and Cornbread

Justin loves this stuff.  I made it once for him and a few friends and they inhaled it.  Also made it for some friends of mine and they (along with their kids) gobbled it all up.  I rarely have leftovers!

All American Chili

food.com

6 ounces hot Italian sausage (casings removed)

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped green bell peppers

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef (I use ground turkey often)

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add sausage through jalapeno, cook until sausage and beef begin to brown, stirring to crumble.

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons tomato paste (I like to use the tube of super-concentrated tomato paste)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 bay leaves

Add to the pot and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

1 1/4 cups merlot (I like cabernet too)

2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped (I hate dealing with the whole tomatoes, so I just get diced)

2 (15 ounce) kidney beans, drained (I added an extra can of beans and rinsed them)

Add to pot.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Uncover and cook for 30 more minutes stirring occasionally.

While the chili is cooking, make the cornbread.

Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread

allrecipes.com

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter.

1 1/4 cups coarsely ground cornmeal

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Whisk in a large bowl.  Set aside.  I like to push the baking powder and soda through a strainer to break up clumps.

1/3 cup whole milk (any milk works really)

1 cup buttermilk

2 egg, lightly beaten

8 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Whisk in a separate bowl.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients.

Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and coat with butter (not too much).  Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.  Pour the batter into the skillet and bake 20-25 minutes.  Allow to cool for a few before trying to cut.

Slow Roasted Birthday Bash September 19, 2015

My friend Jay prepared a wonderful meal for his wife, me and our long lost friend Mary (from high school).  It was great!

First course: "Soup and Such"

Chilled summer squash soup, chicken cracker, slow roasted cream cheese, Leslie's pepper jelly (yeah, that's me...I made pepper jelly from the jalapenos I grew in my garden and brought it along).

Most importantly, paired with Dibon brut.

Second course:  "Shrimp and Grits?"

Pot likker poached Carolina shrimp, collard pesto, cornbread puree.

Paired with Pine Ridge chenin blanc/voignier

Third course:  "BBQ from the Sea"

Sea scallop, smoked tomato sauce, spicy micro greens

Fourth course:  "It ain't Waffle House"

Seared duck breast, bourbon-sorghum demi.  Scattered and smothered.

Paired with St. Cosme Cote du Rhone

And now for dessert!!

Jelly donut ice cream with a pecan brittle cracker (missing the picture)

Paired with a super delicious five o'cocktail

Summer Seafood Stew

Got this one from feastingathome.com

This was a very tasty recipe, however, I recommend making this for a group and eating the whole pot on day one.  The leftovers weren't as good.

8 ounces chorizo, casings removed, crumbled

Brown in a Dutch oven, remove to a plate, wipe out pot with a paper towel.

2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat (in same pot) at medium/high.

2 cups finely diced fennel

Add to pot, stirring often, 3 minutes.

1 cup finely diced onion

Add to pot, turn down to medium, and cook 8-10 minutes.

4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

Add and cook 3 minutes.

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Add to pot, increase heat to high, cook 3 minutes.

1 cup dry white wine

Add to pot, reduce heat to medium/high, stir until wine evaporates, 1-2 minutes.

4 cups chicken stock (I always use unsalted)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon fish sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Add to pot along with chorizo.  Bring to a simmer.

8 ounces firm fish (halibut, tilapia, mahi mahi, salmon...I used tilapia)

Add and simmer a couple of minutes.

1 pound shrimp

Add and simmer a couple of minutes.

1 pound mussels (be sure to purge them well to get rid of sand otherwise they will be all kinds of gritty!!)

Add and simmer a couple of minutes.

1/2 lemon (juice)
1/3 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

Sprinkle over.

Serve with cannellini beans and/or crusty bread.

Oh Stingray's...how I've missed you

Another short trip this summer took us back the the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  Always great to see our old buds and eat at our favorite places.  Nothing fancy but that doesn't matter!!

A trip to ESVA is never complete without breakfast at Stingray's  AKA Chez Exxon.  The only place Justin will eat grits.

Oh, and a trip to Don Valerio.  It was a Sunday and our usual restaurant wasn't open so we had to travel a bit North.  So very yummy!

With our buddy and old neighbor, Renee

Then to Brown Dog ice cream in Cape Charles.  It's new (since we were there last) and oh so delicious!  Crazy flavors that are insanely good.

This is Brown Dog...we met a celebrity!

Justin and I at at Uno in Chicago July 2015

Justin and I took the trek to Chicago this summer to see the Fare Thee Well shows with the remaining guys from the Grateful Dead.  We had a great time and needless to say, we stopped for some deep dish pizza at Uno.

June 2015 Farmers' Market in Fredericksburg, VA