Recipes to Share With One Another

[Jill]

Since we are reading A Roux of Revenge: Soup Lover's Mystery Series, why not share some of our recipes with each other.

[Tina]

Not much of a cook, I'll copy some of your suggestions. Might even try the pumpkin soup recipe found in the book. ;-)

[Jill]

Here's one that my family loves. It freezes well if you don't put the cream in it. Then when you ready to have it, pull it out of the freezer, let it thaw and heat it up and then add the cream. When you taste it before you put the cream in, it seems a little bland, that's ok, once you add the cream, the flavor changes, and then you can adjust seasoning.



Poblano Chicken Chowder

1/4 cup olive oil
3 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 large onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice
5 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/8 cup minced garlic
2 to 3 small poblano peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or more to taste
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
3 quarts chicken broth
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, minced
3 cups diced (large pieces) grilled chicken
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, or more to taste
1 cup heavy cream

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano peppers, salt, white pepper, cumin, and thyme. Saute for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the chicken bouillon. Add the chicken broth and cilantro, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chowder is thick and the chicken is heated through. Shortly before the chowder is done, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the flour. Do not allow the mixture to brown! Ladle 1 cup of the hot liquid from the stockpot into the skillet, whisking constantly.

When the first cup of liquid is incorporated, add another 2 cups of liquid, 1 at a time. Pour the mixture in the skillet into the stockpot, whisking to blend. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the hot sauce, then the cream, and serve

Serves 12 - 16

[Allison]

Jill - That looks delicious! Thanks for sharing! I will try to get a recipe posted tonight.

Sad to say, the Dulin Village Cafe I mentioned in another post has apparently been bought out or changed to the Village Cafe so I am not sure if they still have the amazing mushroom soup. :( Bummed.

[Jill]

that stinks!!!!!!!!!! I don't like it when a favorite place is bought by another. They always change it and most of the time, it's not very good and then you quit going there.

[Tina]

Aww, boo, Allison! I hate when that happens. I agree, Jill. They usually do change things. Hopefully, not too much. Why tinker with favorites that put a place on the map.


Allison wrote: "Jill - That looks delicious! Thanks for sharing! I will try to get a recipe posted tonight.

Sad to say, the Dulin Village Cafe I mentioned in another post has apparently been bought out or change..."

[Tina]

Ooo, Jill, thanks for sharing that recipe. Sounds wonderful. Like something I might even be able to master. Bored with the same ol' chicken soup, this will make a nice change.



Jill wrote: "Here's one that my family loves. It freezes well if you don't put the cream in it. Then when you ready to have it, pull it out of the freezer, let it thaw and heat it up and then add the cream. Whe..."

[Allison]

As promised with all the Pumpkin talk on another thread:

Tina's Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies
1 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Heat over to 375 degrees. Dissolve baking soda and milk in small container and set aside.
In a large bowl, add pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg - mix well.
In a different bowl add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and the baking soda mixture. Now add all the ingredients together and mix well.
Add the vanilla and chocolate chips. Mix again.
Drop by the spoonful on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
These are quite soft cookies.

[Tina]

LOL, Allison, underscoring a previous recipe discussion we had. Is the pumpkin cooked, canned puree or raw? Bam! Across the miles! lol

[Allison]

Tina wrote: "LOL, Allison, underscoring a previous recipe discussion we had. Is the pumpkin cooked, canned puree or raw? Bam! Across the miles! lol"

Aaah, yes, that would be canned I believe. Good question as the recipe doesn't say. Which leads me to another question: what do you do with the rest of the pumpkin in the can? Even a small, 15 oz can holds more than 1 cup.

[Tina]

Hmm? Make another batch? Make a latte? Toss it in the pumpkin soup? :-)

[Jill]

You can save it for if you make Pumpkin muffins to give a little more pumpkiny flavor, if you have a dog (s) you can mix some in their food, it's good fiber for them, healthy, and fills them up. If you save the pumpkin, make sure you put it in a container, don't put the can in the fridge.

[Jill]

Allison the cookies sound wonderful, Austin will be here next weekend and her and I might just have to make these. I think she will love them. Ty for the recipe. if you do feed to dogs, make sure it is NOT the pumpkin pie pumpkin, it has to be the pumpkin puree.

[Mark Pghfan]

Be sure that you use pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie mix. And you can always save the rest of the pumpkin in a zip-loc bag in the freezer until you have another use for it. But not in the can as Jill points out!

[Mark Pghfan]

Here is something I made recently for the first time and got raves for from the folks at work. Not pumpkin, but seasonal, with all the zucchini being harvested now.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 c All-purpose flour
3 c Sugar
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons EACH baking powder and baking soda
1 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 c canola oil
2 T butter, melted
1 1/2 t EACH vanilla and almond extracts
3 c grated zucchini
1 c chopped pecans
1/2 c raisins

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Whisk the eggs, oil, butter and extracts. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, pecans and raisins. Pour into three greased and floured 8X4 in. loaf pans.
Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from the pans to wire racks to cool completely.


It was very good, if I say so myself (and I am quite critical of my own stuff!) I'd add a full cup of raisins to future batches, since I thought 1/2 c was a little skimpy.

[Allison]

Pghfan wrote: "Here is something I made recently for the first time and got raves for from the folks at work. Not pumpkin, but seasonal, with all the zucchini being harvested now.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 c ..."

This looks really good and a way to sneak in veggies too! The neighbors had their wagon out at the end of their road with a sign that says "free" - it's full of all kinds of veggies so i may have to meander down there and get some.

[Tina]

Love zucchini bread. When made right, it's great.

Wow, Free? Lots of great stuff on these boards, PI's. Thank you.

Happy vaca, Pghfan!

[Jill]

Squash Soup

Ingredients

3 to 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, approximately 2, seeded and quartered
Unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the quartered squash onto a half sheet pan, brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 tablespoon of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the white pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 30 to 35 minutes or until the flesh is soft and tender.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a 6-quart pot. Add the broth, honey and ginger. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree the mixture until smooth*. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with the remaining salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

[Mark Pghfan]

Looks wonderful, Jill! May I recommend the purchase of a stick blender? They are pretty cheap and work so much easier than a food processor or regular blender. Safer, too, since you blend right in your pot of soup!

[Jill]

I use my emerson blender a lot if you don't have one of these, I highly recommend getting one!!!!!!!!!!

I might add that if you want to freeze this recipe, don't add the cream. Add the cream when you thraw it and heat it up.

[Tina]

Mmm. This and pumpkin soup, oh my!

[Allison]

Pghfan wrote: "Looks wonderful, Jill! May I recommend the purchase of a stick blender? They are pretty cheap and work so much easier than a food processor or regular blender. Safer, too, since you blend right ..."

LOL - we call our stick blender the "boat motor". Makes the best tomato soup though...nice and creamy, no chunks.