This is what we ate........................... This is where we ate it.
We just got back from a short vacation outside of Denver in the Arapahoe National Forest. The cabin was just down the road from Apex, a former mining community near Black Hawk, Colorado. I believe just before we arrived on Sunday, they had two days of heavy snow (heavy for Texas, anyway), so there was about 2 feet of snow on the ground. We have no snow gear, so we went for the ambience. But we will go back in warmer weather to enjoy more fully.
When we vacation, we don't eat Hamburger Helper (no offense to those that do). We rig what we like to eat according to the kitchen capability of our rental establishment. This place had raunchy knives, but we still managed to eat really well.
We stopped at a pretentious grocery store in Denver to gather supplies and pick up our wine (no alcohol sales on Sunday, so we phoned in an order on Saturday and paid for it in advance). Of the three wines: the Dolcetto was the least interesting and not worth repeating, the southern Italian red was awesome (60% Negroamaro, 40% Primitivo, 100% yum), and the Pinot Grigio was delightful (Santi Apostoli, 2006).
What better for cold weather than soup? Nothing, I say. We love this Lemon and Chicken Soup and usually double it for lots of leftovers. I don't think it offends any eating category, so it should be safe for kids if you cut things up small enough. We, of course, modify it, and I'll note the changes from the original recipe, which originates from Practical Cookery- Soups from Dempsey Parr. They call it a summer soup, but I think it deserves the whole calendar.
Note the pasta shape below. I like using mini pasta shapes instead of spaghetti, but the pasta really soaks up the broth, so you'll need more that the recipe calls for. Also if you reheat this, you'll need more broth since the pasta continues to absorb the liquid during storage. You can prepare the soup right up to the pasta addition in advance; just reheat it when you're ready and then add the pasta.
There is also a lemon zest option to the recipe. The original recipe says to thinly pare the lemon zest in strips, then blanch in boiling water, then chop finely. This is bogus and tedious. I use a microplane and zest it before juicing the lemons, skip the boiling altogether, and add it in the soup. If lemon scares you, just don't use all the zest. I'm so confident you need to avoid the original method that I won't even include it below.
Lemon and Chicken Soup
Servings: 4, Prep time: 10-15 min, Cook time: 1.25 hr
4 T butter
8 shallots, thinly sliced (I use 4, but Beth, feel free to use 8)
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
8 oz. boned chicken breasts, finely chopped
3 lemons
5 c. chicken stock (you really need more)
8 oz. dried spaghetti, broken in pieces, or other small shaped pasta
5/8 c heavy cream (I have never used the cream, ever, EVER)
parsley, for garnish
Get all your 'thinly sliced' action done first. Start with the shallots, then carrots and celery, and end with the chicken. Then get rid of that cutting board so you won't contaminate anything else.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add everything you just thinly sliced (veggies plus chicken) and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes or more until chicken is cooked through, and veggies are soft. Meanwhile, zest the lemons and then juice them.
Add the lemon zest and juice to the saucepan, as well as the chicken stock. Bring slowly to a boil over low heat, then simmer for 40 minutes. Find something useful or productive to do in the meantime, like open a nice Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc and start a movie.
Add the pasta to the pan and cook for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (freshly ground, of course) and add the cream (if using, although I suggest not to). Heat through but don't boil if you added cream; it will curdle, but serves you right for using the cream in the first place.
Pour into warmed serving bowls and garnish with parsley.
When we vacation, we don't eat Hamburger Helper (no offense to those that do). We rig what we like to eat according to the kitchen capability of our rental establishment. This place had raunchy knives, but we still managed to eat really well.
We stopped at a pretentious grocery store in Denver to gather supplies and pick up our wine (no alcohol sales on Sunday, so we phoned in an order on Saturday and paid for it in advance). Of the three wines: the Dolcetto was the least interesting and not worth repeating, the southern Italian red was awesome (60% Negroamaro, 40% Primitivo, 100% yum), and the Pinot Grigio was delightful (Santi Apostoli, 2006).
What better for cold weather than soup? Nothing, I say. We love this Lemon and Chicken Soup and usually double it for lots of leftovers. I don't think it offends any eating category, so it should be safe for kids if you cut things up small enough. We, of course, modify it, and I'll note the changes from the original recipe, which originates from Practical Cookery- Soups from Dempsey Parr. They call it a summer soup, but I think it deserves the whole calendar.
Note the pasta shape below. I like using mini pasta shapes instead of spaghetti, but the pasta really soaks up the broth, so you'll need more that the recipe calls for. Also if you reheat this, you'll need more broth since the pasta continues to absorb the liquid during storage. You can prepare the soup right up to the pasta addition in advance; just reheat it when you're ready and then add the pasta.
There is also a lemon zest option to the recipe. The original recipe says to thinly pare the lemon zest in strips, then blanch in boiling water, then chop finely. This is bogus and tedious. I use a microplane and zest it before juicing the lemons, skip the boiling altogether, and add it in the soup. If lemon scares you, just don't use all the zest. I'm so confident you need to avoid the original method that I won't even include it below.
Lemon and Chicken Soup
Servings: 4, Prep time: 10-15 min, Cook time: 1.25 hr
4 T butter
8 shallots, thinly sliced (I use 4, but Beth, feel free to use 8)
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
8 oz. boned chicken breasts, finely chopped
3 lemons
5 c. chicken stock (you really need more)
8 oz. dried spaghetti, broken in pieces, or other small shaped pasta
5/8 c heavy cream (I have never used the cream, ever, EVER)
parsley, for garnish
Get all your 'thinly sliced' action done first. Start with the shallots, then carrots and celery, and end with the chicken. Then get rid of that cutting board so you won't contaminate anything else.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add everything you just thinly sliced (veggies plus chicken) and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes or more until chicken is cooked through, and veggies are soft. Meanwhile, zest the lemons and then juice them.
Add the lemon zest and juice to the saucepan, as well as the chicken stock. Bring slowly to a boil over low heat, then simmer for 40 minutes. Find something useful or productive to do in the meantime, like open a nice Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc and start a movie.
Add the pasta to the pan and cook for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (freshly ground, of course) and add the cream (if using, although I suggest not to). Heat through but don't boil if you added cream; it will curdle, but serves you right for using the cream in the first place.
Pour into warmed serving bowls and garnish with parsley.
1 comment:
Glad you had snow and cold weather for a change. I really need to make some of that soup.
It is soup weather here bigtime (on Tuesday the low is forecast to be 0). In fact, I feel like the only thing I cook these days all comes in a pot. This week: Leek & Potato last night, Vegetarian Chili tonight. It's snowing yet again here. Mmmm, spicy smells...
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