This month: Soup! and some inspiration for living a long and enjoyable life.
Happy New Year!
-JT
That recipe is a must try! Thank you.
Yummy——your soup recipe is a keeper. I was also inspired by the charming French painting.....and remembered I had this wonderful recipe by Julia Child who gave the world the art of French cookery. Demi-glace is a rich brown sauce in French cuisine traditionally made w/ equal parts veal stock and sauce espagnole, one of the five mother sauces of classical French cuisine; the mixture is then slowly reduced by half. Because this is a long process, Julia Child often referred to the shortened method as a “semi-demi-glace” (no espagnole sauce).
Semi-Demi-Glace
Directions: bring 2 qts homemade stock to a boil.Turn heat down to lowest setting; add 2 tbl red wine.
Simmer several hours; reduce to 1-2 cups (skim surface as it simmers). Done when coats back of spoon.
Chef: a good quality canned beef consommé can be used as a shortcut substitution.
"Pressure Cooker Chili Verde (Green Pork Chili) - DadCooksDinner"
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-chili-verde-green-pork-chili/
Longing for this thread. I am channeling you because tomorrow I am making my Italian mother in law’s sausage, lentil, & spinach soup. Very similar to yours.
Happy New Year to you & everyone on this thread. And JT, thanks for the delicious break from life!
The soup sounds delish, and the painting is lovely.
Easy potato soup for the slow cooker:
1 lb diced ham (just buy it ready to go)
1 package frozen mixed vegetables, 12-16 ozs
2 packages frozen O’Brien style potatoes
Large carton of chicken broth
1 8 oz brick of cream cheese, cubed
Put all in the slow cooker, cook on medium all day, stir well and increase to high heat for last 1/2 hour.
Soup is nice made fast with some chicken and rice.
Start with a pound or more of raw diced chicken in a pressure cooker. Add lots of onions and garlic, several bay leaves, and about a dozen peppercorns. Then add enough chicken stock to cover and a little bit more. Pressure cook for 15 minutes.
Slowly open cooker and add lots of sliced celery, carrots, mushrooms, a finely diced and seeded jalapeno, bell peppers, peas, green beans, green and yellow squash, Italian parsley and 1\2 the salt you anticipate using, and any other suitable vegetables you like (including canned diced or crushed tomatoes) or omit any you don’t have or don’t like. Add 3\4 cup of white rice, more stock, 1\2 cup (or more) of white wine and your preferred herbs and spices. Pressure cook for 20 minutes. Taste, but be careful not to burn your taste buds, the soup is going to be extra hot, gently correct the seasoning, and remember that tastes are highly individual, and too much salt spoils the pot. If you think it needs something but you don’t know what, it’s lemon juice.
We have been eating home made Italian wedding soup.
yours sounds great! I will try soon.
Last night I used 3 links of Italian sausage. Removed skin and browned meat chopping it into small bites. I added about 3/4 cup of chopped leeks and let them get soft. I added a few shakes of herbs de provence, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, s&p, then about 3 cups of baby spinach and let it wilt. Then I added a couple shakes of bottled parmesan cheese. Turn on low and add half and half enough for a couple of bowls. Let thicken and serve. It was easy and delicious and husband said to hurry and write down the recipe! I will try some mushrooms next time.
I see spinach in that recipe. Do you ever use mustard greens? I’ve only had them once and didn’t care for the texture but the flavor was outstanding. A friend from Tennessee cooked them.
There are some great soup recipes here. Hope everyone has a great New Year.
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes-menus/cozy-soups-for-your-warming-pleasure-gallery
8 medium onions, cut "apple-style" into eights
2 10oz cans of beef stock
10 oz apple cider
3 tbl butter
2c Fontina cheese (or your preference)
4 slices toasted French bread
Separate onion "wedges" into petals and add to large heavy skillet along with butter. Cook covered over low heat until caramelized. (It takes longer than you think, probably over 30 minutes.) Stir occasionally. Add the stock and cider to onions and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat. (My friend added apple cider vinegar...don't do that!) Portion into oven-proof bowls, float a slice of bread and cover with equal amounts of cheese. Broil until lightly browned and bubbly. Serve immediately. (Report back how many people say: "There's a subtle difference in this, but I like it!" The cider does make a difference!)
This has been popular at our house. I add some smoked bacon to sauté with the vegetables.
https://thebrookcook.wordpress.com/2015/11/21/red-lentil-butternut-squash-soup-shorabit-jarjir/
the garllic soup is a large quantity because I freeze smallwer containers. Great in the winter -
this is the best ever soup recipe I found in a magazine -
and of course this is old too. But I never use low fat milk. It's either full milk or cream.
Others I will have to type tomorrow. One from this past summer our daughter from Belarus taught me to make authentic borscht. It's amazing. Happy New Year to all!
Almost forgot here is a link hubby sent me. Great photography. He is suggesting the mushroom. I don’t know the vegan thing is kind of a turn off to me. Cashews instead of cream. Will have to think about that one.https://www.bonappetit.com/gallery/most-popular-soup-recipes-2020?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
I made a chicken soup the other day by taking a store bought rotisserie chicken , cutting off slices for sandwiches, breaking up the frame putting it in a big pot with water and some store bought chicken broth and boiling and simmering it for about 2 hrs.
I removed all the chicken meat and threw the carcass and bones away.
Then to the water and broth, I added carrots, a turnip , a red potatoe, a big onion, all chopped to smaller sizes plus a little ground up garlic, which I boiled and simmered for about 2 more hours until the carrots were soft.
I then put the chicken meat in , shut the heat off and let the meat warm up for about a half hour.
It tasted OK but I was surprised as much as I like potatoes , the turnip was just as good. And in my next try I will use more turnips.
What mistakes did I make?
Any suggestions for a very simple chiken soup recipe will be appreciated.
Remember I am going to boil it or fry it so please keep it simple. -Tom
Everything can be made in a 5 quart soup pot.
Cut up and brown 2 chicken breasts in 1 tsp olive oil
(or use 2 cups cooked diced chicken)
Heat 3 tbls. Olive Oil and butter add 6 or more crushed garlic cloves,
salt and pepper, 1/3 cup flour to make a light roux.
Add 32 oz carton of chicken broth, 1 tsp. Better than Boullion chicken.
1 ½ to 2 cups milk or heavy cream, chives.
Add cooked chicken and about ½ cup cooked white rice.
I almost always make this when I have leftover white rice and chicken.
Also sometimes add a shake or 2 of Vegeta chicken seasoning.
A very fast soup to make. Serve when the chicken and rice are hot.
5 qt. soup pot
2 tbls. Butter, 1 medium onion finely chopped
Brown the onion
Add 1 lb butternut squash, already cleaned and baked in chunks.
1 qt chicken broth
8 oz. raw cut up small potatoes
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
Salt, pepper, onion powder, I tsp. Vegeta seasoning
Cook on low covered for about 40 minutes,
Use a potato masher to break things down.
Cook a little more if there are big chunks and mash again.
Turn off heat, add 1 cup or more heavy cream and serve.