Friday, September 26, 2014
Fall=Soup...Curried Chicken & Rice Soup
Ok sure, with me Spring, Summer and Winter also equals soup, but since Fall officially started this week I decided to use it as an excuse to make soup. Now if you have followed my blog for any period of time you know that I eat and make a lot of soup so it is becoming more and more challenging to find new and exciting soup recipes. Come on, there are only so many versions of lentil or minestrone, one girl can make. I am not saying I won't make those anymore, but, I was looking for something a little different...hence the Curried Chicken and Rice Soup.
Now lets start with the confessions..confession #1...I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of bone-in with skin. I know they have more flavor, but the thought of taking mushy, fatty chicken skin off a breast after it has been boiling for 30 minutes just brought up my gag reflex, and so, I took the easy way out.
Confession #2...this recipe has you blend the rice, but I tasted the rice before I blended it and I really liked the texture contrast and it had great flavor after being cooked in the curry. So, if I made it again, I would keep the rice whole. I have actually been eating the soup with a side of rice...yes, I am a carb fanatic!!
Confession #3...I did not own an immersion blender until my birthday last month. I don't know how I survived!! It is truly one of the coolest kitchen gadgets on the planet. Love it!!
To begin with, combine the chicken, carrots (I probably should have cut mine a little smaller), bay leaf and salt in a pot. Cover with 3 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn to low and cook covered for 20 minutes. There is something about the smell of boiling chicken that just grosses me out. I love chicken and once I can't smell it I am totally fine, but I have some childhood post traumatic stress over boiling chicken or something.
Next sautee the onions, sugar and salt in butter. Yum!! Add the curry powder and if possible truly follow the recipe and use Madras, it is less pungent and still has good flavor without being completely overpowering. Add the rice and 3 cups chicken broth and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Be advised that not all of the liquid is going to boil off like it does when you are just cooking regular rice.
Remove the chicken from the broth and shred the chicken. I just used 2 forks and shredded it that way. Word of caution...let it cool...unlike me...who just scorched the hell out of her hands. #smartgirl
Puree the rice mixture with the immersion blender. Then combine the rice mixture, the shredded chicken and the broth that the chicken was cooked in. Simmer.
Finally add the fresh mint and fresh dill. I know it sounds strange, but this really adds a nice flavor.
The soup tastes like it has coconut broth in it to me, but it doesn't. I think the rice gives it the creamy texture. Anyway, it has great flavor from the fresh herbs, curry powder and the salt of the chicken broth. It is a light and refreshing soup with a lot of depth. I also found that this soup is great leftover as the flavors do meld together well over time. Enjoy!
Here is the actual recipe:
Ingredients
1 bone-in chicken breast (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved
2 medium carrots, sliced diagonally into 2-inch pieces
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
1/3 cup jasmine rice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Directions
Combine the chicken, carrots, bay leaf and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Add 3 cups broth and bring to a boil; immediately reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is just firm, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in another saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until the onion is soft, 5 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the rice and the remaining 3 cups broth. Increase the heat to medium, cover and simmer until the rice falls apart, 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken from its broth; discard the skin and shred the meat into pieces. Return the shredded chicken to the same broth.
Puree the rice mixture with an immersion blender until smooth (or use a regular blender, then return to the pan). Pour in the shredded chicken and broth, stirring gently to combine; bring to a simmer. Toss in the chopped herbs and serve the soup with lemon wedges.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
My Ice Wine Education
Until last week, I went through life fully
expressing my distaste for "sweet wine". I was adamant that I did not like dessert
wines of any varietal and that they were syrupy and coated my mouth with sugar
and were just too sweet for my tastes. But, as I have discovered in just about
every area of my life, the minute I take a hard stance and declare that,"
I don't like something", I am
quickly proven wrong . Or, at the least, forced to question my belief system. This
sweet wine belief system was challenged last week while I was in Canada.
I went to Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. As a
side note, let me just say, if you get an opportunity to go- you must!! It is
truly one of the most powerful and yet peaceful natural wonders of the world. The
pictures do not do it justice. Seriously, I could have stood and watched the Falls,
for hours, completely content with myself and the world. They are majestic, the
water is a turquoise color, that is out of this world, and to watch the mist
rise from the Falls is mesmerizing!
However, what I didn't know about this area, being
a California wine snob, was that it has a HUGE wine industry! I have to admit I
went into this adventure a little cocky, and, I truly thought I would not be
impressed with the wine, and yet again I was wrong. I fell in love with Wayne
Gretzky's Reserve Chardonnay (on a side note) and I got to explore ice wine,
which is what completely changed my perception of dessert wine.
We were in a little town called Niagara on the Lake
and we went to a winery called Trius. Trius looks like a Napa winery with
sprawling grounds, well manicured gardens and immaculate properties. They have
been making wine for over 30 years, and they have a VQA rating, which in
Ontario is a quality rating only given to wineries that basically make the
region proud and meet the standards of wine making for that area. The VQA is
also Ontario's Wine Authority, it has regulatory powers and it enforces
winemaking and labeling standards. It reminds me of the DOC stamp found
on Italian wines. They have an Australian winemaker, Craig McDonald, who was
named the Ontario Winemaker of the Year in 2008.
So, as we are tasting their flight of red wines,
which were also good, we start looking around the tasting room, and you can
tell their holy grail is ice wine. We had talked earlier in the day about our
mutual distaste for dessert wine. As we were finishing our first tasting, I turned to my companion and asked him if he
wanted to share an ice wine tasting. He looked at me in the way that only men
can when they are humoring someone of the female gender and
said,"sure." And the rest is history...our ice wine education
started.
So this is what I learned about ice wine:
•
75% of ice wine is produced in Canada.
•
The grapes are frozen on the vine and then
harvested.
•
They are pressed only once and each grape only
produces a drop of wine.
•
The sugars do not freeze, but the water does which
results in a sweeter more concentrated juice.
•
Ice wine production is a risky business as it is
completely in Mother Nature's hands.
•
Because of the small yield, ice wine is generally
at a higher price point.
•
Legend has it that ice wine has been around since
the Roman times, but it did not become popular until around 1794 when the
Germans ,(the other large ice wine producer outside of Canada), started to make
it.
•
The grapes must become ripe on the vine and then
must have a "hard freeze", which is under 17 degree. If the freeze
does not come quickly enough the grapes may rot and the crop will be lost. If
the freeze is too severe the juice is lost.
•
Ice wine grapes are normally harvested at night or
very early in the morning and must be harvested within a few hours of the
freeze.
•
The fruit must be pressed while still frozen.
•
In Australia, Germany, US and Canada, the grapes
must be frozen naturally to be called ice wine.
•
Since there is a high sugar level the fermentation
process is slower and longer, months for ice wine compared to days or weeks for
other varietals
We tried three different types of ice wine -Vidal,
Riesling and Cab Franc. They are sweet but they are delicate. We were taught to
taste not with the front of your tongue, but, with the back of your palette .That
truly changed the flavor and the experience for me. They have a much lighter
viscosity than other dessert wines I have tasted, there is truly nothing syrupy
about the texture. They are light, but they also have a depth of flavors, and
unlike port, they are pure wine so there
isn't that alcohol aftertaste.. It was like nothing I had ever tasted
before.
So I must say, I was wrong, and I am now an ice wine believer. Cheers!
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Men Are What They Eat & Tomato Artichoke Bruschetta
After two marriages and years of dating, I now
realize that everything you need to know about a man you can learn from his eating
habits. So let me share a few simple lessons with you that could save you years
of anguish, help you avoid horrific nights and allow you to find Mr. Wonderful.
1. If they think their salad looks like
"weeds," just say no. The first time I went out to eat with my
ex-husband he said this...I could have saved 8 years of my life and my house if
I would have just said "no." If he is critical of his salad, believe
me honey, he is critical of EVERYTHING!!
2. If a man invites you over for dinner and he
opens a nice bottle of wine...only to make you bacon and eggs...do not sleep
with him because he will just try to serve you bacon and eggs for breakfast as
well. Boring, immature and so not classy...Not hot!
3. If the guy lets you pick the restaurant for
dinner and you pick a Persian restaurant and he doesn't tell you until after
dinner (yes, he ate too) that he hates Persian food, give him an opportunity
for a second date. But let him pick the restaurant the second time. At least he has an open mind and he is willing to make sacrifices for you.
4. If a man is super picky about what he will and
won't eat, he is not the man for you. What a boring existence! Your life will
be devoid of passion and adventure and you will end up barefoot, pregnant, in
the kitchen making tuna casserole because that is all he will eat. Lame!
5. If he is excited because you can make
quesadillas in the microwave, can make pancakes from scratch, not a mix, poach
an egg without an egg pan and thinks you are a domestic goddess because you can
make bruschetta...he is a keeper...do not let him get away!!
Last week I was in Michigan and I realize that I
had a slightly more adventurous food childhood compared to most. However, there
are some things that I just take for granted...like the fact that everyone has
had diverse food experiences with things such as....microwave quesadillas or
cheese and wine, or artichokes. So when I made Tomato Artichoke Bruschetta and
the man almost fainted out of pure delight I knew that not only was he a
winner, but, so was my appetizer.
This appetizer is really incredibly easy and it has
great flavor and it is perfect for entertaining. The tomato and artichoke
mixture can be made ahead and can sit in the fridge for several hours. It never
hurts to let the flavors meld, just don't put it on the bread until you are
ready to serve it, because seriously, no one likes soggy bruschetta.
To begin, slice a baguette and place on a baking
sheet. Toast in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, just so it has a slight
color.
Next combine the tomatoes, artichokes, red onion
and garlic. The first time I made this I used canned artichokes and the second
time I used marinated artichoke hearts. I actually liked the marinated
artichoke hearts better, as sometimes, canned artichoke just kind of tastes a
bit like the can. The extra flavor from the marinated artichoke hearts
definitely doesn't hurt anything, either.
A quick word of caution. This recipe calls for 3
cloves of garlic and the first time I made the recipe I used three cloves.
However, after waking up the next morning feeling like I was a garlic breathing
dragon (not hot), the second time I used 1 clove and I thought it was better
and a little more sexy.
The recipe also calls for champagne vinegar, but I
used balsamic vinegar and I really liked the flavor, but I am sure either would
work. The recipe also has you mix the olive oil and vinegar in a separate bowl,
but I just poured it over the artichoke tomato mixture and that worked just
fine.
Add the salt and pepper to taste.
Top the bread with the artichoke tomato
mixture.
And yet again I deviated from the recipe....the
recipe says to sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, which I did, however I put the
bruschetta back in the oven for 2 minutes just to get the cheese to melt
slightly and to warm the artichoke mixture. Sure I am biased, but I really
liked this added touch.
Here is the original recipe:
Ingredients:
Servings: 10
1 baguette, sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
1 (14 ounce) can water-packed artichoke hearts,
drained and chopped
1 cup seeded chopped tomato
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese
flat leaf parsley, minced
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Place sliced bread on ungreased baking sheet.
3. Bake in oven 10 minutes or until slightly
toasted.
4. In medium bowl combine artichokes tomatoes onion
garlic.
5. In another small bowl put in vinegar and add oil
in a small stream whisking while adding to make a vinaigrette.
6.Then add vinaigrette to arichoke mixture mixing
well.
7.Add salt and pepper to taste.
8.Top toasted bread with artichoke mixture to
cover.
9. Sprinkle with cheese.
10. Top with some parsley.
Overall, this recipe had a lot of really great flavors and textures. I
truly just think you can't go wrong with an olive oil and vinegar combination,
but the red onion added a nice bite to it and the artichokes and tomatoes just
can't make a better union. This appetizer can be served with either red or
white wine...yes, I tried both...and they worked equally as well. Cheers!
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