Avgolemono – Greek Soup (Easy and So Good)

Avgolemono (Greek Lemon and Rice Soup)

 Ingredients:  8 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade, if not, low sodium) (yeah, right!), 1 cup orzo pasta (or rice), 4 eggs (separated), juice of 3 lemons (I added their zest, too), freshly ground black pepper

Directions:  Bring stock to a boil and add orzo or rice.  Simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.  Season stock to taste with salt, if necessary.

When the orzo or rice is nearing tenderness, whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until medium peaks.  Add egg yolks and lemon juice, whisking continuously.  (Here’s where I added the zest.)  When the orzo or rice is finished, transfer 2 cups of the hot stock to the egg/lemon mixture, adding very slowly in a constant stream and beating vigorously to prevent the eggs from solidifying.  (i.e. making scrambled eggs.) 

Frothy and Thick

Take the soup off the heat and add the beaten mixture back into the pot, whisking to incorporate.  Serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper.

This is really easy, and so good.  My 1 yr old (Eva) and 2 yr old (Cheyanne) grand-daughters loved it so much they couldn’t get enough!

Easy Hamburger Stroganoff

Ingredients:  1 pound ground beef (I use sirloin), 1/4 cup chopped onion (or whatever I have left in the frig),  1 minced garlic clove (or more – we really like garlic at my house), 1 (10 1/2 ounce can) condensed beef consommé or beef stock, 1 (4 ounce) can of mushrooms (or container of fresh mushrooms*), olive oil for sautéing,  3 TBS lemon juice, pepper, cooked pasta** (2 cups if freezing half or 4 cups if preparing full recipe – whatever kind you like), 1/2 cup or more of sour cream, 2 TBS water.

Directions:  In a skillet over medium heat, sauté onion in olive oil.  Add garlic and meat.  Brown and break up until done.  Drain.  Stir in consommé/broth, canned mushrooms, lemon juice and pepper.  (Place half the mixture in a freezer container; cover and freeze for up to 3 months.)  To the remaining meat mixture, add pasta, sour cream and water; heat through (do not boil).  To use frozen meat mixture:  Thaw in a saucepan or skillet and prepare as directed.

*If using fresh mushrooms, I usually brown in olive oil prior to cooking onion/meat/garlic mixture.

** Can add more broth and cook pasta in sauce before adding sour cream.

Festival Foods

Grandchildren:  Garrett (7) and Gracie (4) accompanied us to the Richardson Wild Flower Festival.  Here’s a few of their favorite foods!  No big surprises here.

Garrett posing as Santa

Gracie and Me

Corn Dogs are the BEST!

Salt Roasted Whole Fish

Salt-covered Fish

This recipe is so fun make.  I think it’s like, “eye candy!”  This recipe is from Anne Burrell.  I did make a few changes to it.  That’s the fun of cooking.

Ingredients:  2 lemons (1 zested and juiced and 1 sliced into thin rounds), 1 bunch fresh thyme (half picked and half left whole), 4 fresh bay leaves (coarsely snipped using scissors), 3 cloves garlic (smashed), 9 egg whites, 8 cups kosher salt, Two 1-pound whole fish (such as branzino or orate, fins and gills removed), high-quality olive oil, for finishing.

I used black bass.  Use any herbs you like (i.e. parsley, cilantro, tarragon, etc.)  You could also fill the fish cavity with whatever you like (i.e. kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.)  I like pepper, so I used very fine ground pepper since the fish is so delicate.  Make it your own!

Directions:  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  In a food processor, combine the lemon zest and juice, the picked thyme, bay leaves and garlic, then pulse until it becomes a coarse paste.  Add the egg whites and puree until very frothy and foamy.  (I actually used my mixer to puree the egg whites.) 

In a large bowl combine the herb-egg white mixture with the salt and mix until it becomes a moist paste.

Place half of the lemon slices and whole thyme in the cavity of each of the fish.  On a baking sheet, place a little less than half of the salt mixture in two rows.  Lay the fish on top of each row.  Pack the remaining salt mixture around the fish to completely encase them, pressing the mixture firmly on the fish to create a crust.  (I lined my pan with parchment paper.)

Roast the fish for 25 minutes.  Remove and let rest for 10 minutes.

 Crack open the salt crust and brush the excess salt from the fish.  Remove the top fillet, pull the spine out and remove the bottom fillet.  Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Becca’s Cupcakes – with a Twist

Becca’s Kitchen

Rebecca is my 8-year-old grand-daughter.  She was spending the night, so we decided to make pizza and cupcakes.  Always fun cooking with the kids.  When my son-in-law, Matt, came to pick her up; he was greeted with a cupcake.  As we all do, he smiled and told her how wonderful it was.  Later, he came to me and asked what kind of cupcake it was.  I couldn’t figure out why he asked until I saw what she was decorating with.  Instead of green colored sugar sprinkles, she had used oregano!  It was so funny.  Mario Batalli would be proud, Italian flavored cupcakes!  ha

Kobe Steaks

One of my favorite places to eat is in Addison, called Kobe Steaks.  It’s always to fun to go there.  This restaurant seats family style, so if you’re not with a large group, you will be seated with other smaller parties.  Usually,  about 8 to a table.  You never know who you’re going to eat with, usually very interesting.  The food is excellent.  You are first served a bowl of soup, then a salad with wonderful garlic dressing.  Then the chef comes in with “the food.”

It’s always a good show.  The chef’s are very talented and accommodating.  Good place to take kids (not babies).  It’s kind of pricey, but enough for at least two meals!  Yum, yum

Orange Chicken Thighs

 Gary loves this.  I adapted from Clinton Kelly’s recipe on the “Chew”

Ingredients:  Chicken thighs (4-6 bone-in/skin on), fresh ginger (peeled and grated) about an inch, 3 TBS olive oil, 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, 1 cup white wine, 1/2 cup orange marmalade, salt and pepper to taste, chopped scallions for garnish, peanuts toasted and chopped for garnish.

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.  In a medium bowl, combine the orange marmalade and freshly grated ginger.  Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven.  Place chicken skin side down and sear for 3 to 4 minutes or until skin is crispy.  Flip the chicken.  Dollop the marmalade mixture on the skin side of each piece of chicken.  Pour in the orange juice and wine.  The liquid should not cover the chicken.  Remove excess liquid if necessary.  Place the pot in the preheated oven and cook uncovered for 40 minutes or until chicken is caramelized and cooked through to 165 degrees.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.  If the sauce is loose, remove the chicken from the pot and reduce over medium heat.  Simmer until desired consistency.  Garnish with a drizzle of pan drippings, peanuts and sliced scallions.

Brunch Galette – Good and Easy

 I love to make this when we go to the lake, or have overnight guests.  It’s so versatile and easy.  You can serve warm or room temperature.  The kids call it a breakfast pizza, since they can grab a piece and go.  This can be made of ingredients you have on hand (HoH)!

Ingredients:  I use Pillsbury pie crust.  They come two to a box, located in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.  (You could make your own, if you prefer.)  Eggs, vegetables (your choice; I used green onions, broccoli, asparagus and tomato), cheese (whatever you HoH, I used cheddar and provolone), spices/herbs (whatever you prefer … crushed red pepper-optional, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, paprika, etc.) and meat (again, whatever you like, I used Canadian bacon and ground sirloin–from the hamburgers we had for supper last night!)  I use parchment paper on a cookie sheet for no cleanup!

Directions:  Remove pie crust from box and let come to room temperature.  Beat 3 eggs in a medium size bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Lightly sauté the onions, vegetables and spices.  Cool, add to egg mixture and combine.  Add shredded cheese and mix together.

Put parchment paper on cookie sheet, unroll pastry dough onto parchment paper.  Pour fixings onto the center of the dough.  Spread to about 2 inches of edge.  Fold edges up over the filling.  Garnish with more cheese or tomato.  I brush a light egg wash over the pastry to brown.  Bake at 450 degrees (or whatever dough directions suggest.)  It takes about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven a let set up about 5-10 minutes.  Cut and enjoy!  I usually serve with sliced tomatoes or fruit.

 Options:  There are so many variations to a galette.  I’ve made with ham, broccoli and cheese – sausage, onion, bell peppers and cheese – leftover lunch meat – all veggies – not to mention fruit (of course you have to add cornstarch and sugar for the sweet versions) – BBQ chicken – even hot dogs.  This is one you can really go crazy with.  Also fun to get the kids involved, let them pick the ingredients!  Enjoy.

Coq Au Vin – “Co-Co Van” (that’s really how you say it)

 This is an amazing dish.  I took Hubert Keller’s recipe and modified it.  (I really love him, just from TV, but you can tell he’s amazing!)  You can go online and get his really awesome recipe.  I don’t seem to be able to follow anyone’s recipe (to the letter, I mean); so, here’s how I did it.  BTW (by the way), Gary gave it a 9.9!  Never in 21 years has he done that!  So maybe you should try this one!  A really good dish, and not that difficult.  Just need to plan ahead.  Here goes:

Ingredients:  1 whole chicken (cut into 8 pieces, skin on), 3 carrots (peeled and roughly chopped), 3 stalks of celery (roughly chopped), 5 cloves of garlic (peeled), 2 bay leaves (fresh, if possible), 2 sprigs of thyme (I used what I have in the garden … lemon thyme), 2 sprigs of parsley, 1 bottle of Pinot Noir (I used a cab that was on sale at Kroger’s), 1 tsp salt (right….), 1/2 tsp pepper (ditto), 5 pieces of bacon ( cut into 1/2 inch pieces), 1 cup flour, extra grape seed oil ( as needed), 1/2 pound (or so) of button mushrooms, 1 TBS olive oil, 3 TBS tomato paste (I used the entire can, and it worked awesome), 2 cups chicken stock (I make chicken stock from the back of the chicken used in this recipe, use amount you need to make it work), 2 TBS butter, salt/pepper to taste, cornstarch as necessary to thicken, chives or chopped scallions for garnish. — sounds like a lot, but man is it worth it!

Directions:  Chop your chicken, carrots, celery, onion and garlic.  Put in a large bowl.  Tie the bay leaves, thyme and parsley together with twine, and add to bowl.  Pour the wine over the chicken and vegetables so that they are completely covered, and refrigerate for 24 hours.  Time passes …

 Place the bacon in a large casserole dish (I used a dutch oven) and cook over medium high heat until crisp.  Remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain, and reserve.  Add the mushrooms to the pan, and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until just slightly ender.  Remove from fat and set aside.  Time to get the bowl of chicken and veggie’s from the frig.

 Remove the chicken pieces from the wine, and pat dry.  Dredge lightly in flour and place in pan with bacon fat, skin side down, until well-browned (I needed to add more oil).  Strain the vegetables from the wine, reserving the liquid.  Sear in bacon fat for about 5 minutes.  Add tomato paste (I used the entire can).  Add the chicken back to the pot and pour the marinating liquid over the chicken and vegetables.  Add the chicken stock, making sure that all meat and vegetables are completely submerged in liquid.  Bring to a simmer and cook 45 minutes to an hour.

 Remove the chicken from the pan, and set aside.  Strain out the vegetables from the liquid, and set aside.  Return the cooking liquid to the pan and reduce by half, 5-10 minutes (or until thickened).

Meanwhile, place the butter, pearl onions, brown sugar, 1/2 cup water, salt and pepper in a 10″ skillet and bring to a simmer.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes, or until tender.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water.  When the sauce has finished reducing, whisk in the cornstarch mixture 1 TBS at a time until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (I skipped these steps and just added the butter to pot.) 

 Place the chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, bacon and pearl onions back in the sauce and serve.  Top with chopped chives (I used chopped green onions.)  I served with egg noodles.  Best chicken ever!

Julie’s White Chili

Sooooo Gooooood!

Ingredients:  1 pound white beans (rinsed and soaked overnight), 6 cups chicken broth, 1 tsp chicken bouillon, 2 chopped onions, 1 TBS oil, 6 to 8 cloves of garlic (minced), 7 ounces diced green chilies, 4 tsp cumin, 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp cayenne pepper, 4 cups cooked diced chicken breast*, 1 cup sour cream, 3 cups Monterrey Jack cheese.  Tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chips, jalapenos, chips, cornbread – whatever you want for toppings.

Directions:  Original recipe for stovetop:  combine beans, broth and chicken bouillon in large pot.  Simmer covered for about 2 hours.  Sauté onions in oil.  Add onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, green chilies and chicken to beans.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Add sour cream and cheese.  Heat until cheese melts.  May be frozen before adding sour cream and cheese.  Top with sour cream, grated cheese, etc.

Crock Pot version:  combine everything but sour cream, chicken and cheese in crock pot first thing in the morning on high (don’t worry about sautéing the onions.)  Keep an eye on the broth level, as you may need to add more during the day, and you may be able to turn it down to low, depending on how fast your beans are cooking.  Once the beans are cooked, you can add the chicken about 30-45 minutes prior to serving, then go ahead and add the cheese.  Once the cheese melts, you can add the sour cream.  (If you turned your crock pot to low during the day, be sure to turn it up when you add the chicken so it will be nice and hot when you add the cheese.)

*Chicken:  A rotisserie chicken will give you just about the right amount of chicken, but not much flavor.  My friend who gave me this recipe said that she likes to grill her chicken.  What I did for the chili cook off was to cook the chicken in a separate crock pot, which kicked up the flavor.  I put 6 thawed chicken breasts in a crock pot with 2 1/2 cups of salsa and turned it on high.  Didn’t keep track of how long it cooked, but it was maybe half the day; it’s ready when you can shred it easily with a fork.  It should be falling apart!  What we like about cooking it this way, was that the salsa seemed to give the chicken more flavor, and it gets so tender that it just shreds apart, so it really incorporates well into the chili.