Corn Chowder Worth Eating

OMG! OMG! OMG!

My Lunch Bunch colleagues found a Corn Chowder recipe worth making, and definitely, worth eating! Hallelujah! This soup is quite special, yet fairly easy to make with potatoes, roasted poblanos, and smoked Gouda.

Lynn Alley, author of 50 SIMPLE SOUPS FOR THE SLOW COOKER, has some mediocre looking recipes. This chowder is definitely not one of them.

A couple of key pieces of advice as you consider making this:

• Vanessa was good enough to do the roasting of the peppers and informed me, ” Yeah, I almost lit my oven on fire when I tried roasting them under the broiler!” So, I think you have to be really careful about carrying out the poblano portion of this operation.
• Don’t forget to add in the thyme at the beginning of the cooking.
• Don’t overcook the potatoes. Our potatoes were just perfect: four hours in the crockpot on high and they were perfect.
• Use smoked salt. I noticed that as Charlie, Curvy Mama and I ate the soup, we were reaching for the salt. I think if we’d had the smoked salt, we’d have been less inclined to add so much because of the pronounced flavor smoked salt imparts.

The Joy of Safeway's O Brand

I purchased my contributions at Safeway of all places! They have an O brand of organic products (that includes herbs, diary and other food items) that I think are just superb. They also have a fresh herbs hamper in our local store near the office that blows all other stores out of the water–fresh margoram? Check! fresh French tarragon? Check! Terrific in my book. I mean really, what food blogger gives props to Safeway!? I feel foolish telling you this, but they’ve really stepped it up a notch since all of the competition from whole food grocery chains began consuming the grocery store market.

Back to our author for a moment. Ms. Alley says, “Because corn chowder is usually made with smoked bacon, I like to add smoked salt and smoked Gouda to this soup instead. If the potatoes are organic (and I hope they are; you don’t want to know what kind of heinous fumigants are used on conventionally farmed potatoes) leave the skins on them for extra flavor and a more rustic feel.”

Well, she is 100% right. The smokey gouda replaces the bacon perfectly. I cannot believe I didn’t think to bring my smoked salt, having read this only after we polished off the several quarts of soup! At any rate, the recipe is a fairly simple one, and I encourage you to make it at work. It’s a cholesterol-rich treat  that everyone should allow themselves at one point this winter.

Corn Chowder with Potatoes, Poblanos, and Smoked Gouda

Ingredients

8 T butter or ghee

2 medium onions, chopped

2 lbs. small potatoes, sliced

2 bay leaves

8 sprigs of fresh thyme

10 c water

6 c fresh or frozen corn

4 POBLANO CHILES, ROASTED, PEELED, AND DICED

2 c half-and-half

2 c grated smoked cheddar or Gouda cheese, divided

salt (preferably smoked)

½ c grated smoked cheddar or Gouda cheese

Chopped chives, for garnishing

In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Transfer the onion to a slow cooker and add the potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and water. Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.

Mash some of the potatoes against the inside of the cooker or use a handheld immersion blender to puree a small amount of potato and thicken the soup slightly.

Add the corn, chiles, half-and-half, and 1 ½ cups of the cheddar or gouda. Add the salt to taste and continue cooking for 20 to 30 minutes, or just until all the ingredients are hot.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl with the remaining cheese and chopped chives.

Destemming the Thyme into the Crockpot for Cooking

- See more at: http://www.alunchboxblog.com/luncher-unite-corn-chowder-worth-eating/?preview=true&preview_id=1886&preview_nonce=f1682dbbbd#sthash.97OS38es.dpuf

Viennese Cuisine: the Next Foodie Craze

Viennese Cuisine: the Next Foodie Craze

 

 

Our Finished Plate

A special thanks to the good folks at WENNIESAFFAIRS.COM for the inspiration for this blog post

My friend Scoots found himself in need of a new apartment. After sending out an email announcing he’d be having a housewarming party on Feb 18th, I replied back, “Does this mean we won’t be seeing you until mid-February?”

No reply.

That’s because he is so busy running his own company that he basically only texts now. This modern technology thing has gotten waaaay out of hand. But after three days of texting back and forth, it became clear that he had moved into his new place ages ago, hadn’t really unpacked, and frankly, needed a hot meal and someone to help him put the giant, heavy top on the base of the dining room table and begin unpacking tons of shipping boxes. A cold January night seemed like the perfect opportunity to help out.

Friends Don't Let Friends Unpack Alone

So I texted that he should pick something he’d like to have me make and then we’d cook it on the new stove in his rental. Turned out he secured a unit with a gas stove, and it was a fine kitchen for making bread dumplings. I mean, really! Who asks for Austrian Goulash and Bread Dumplings!?

Scoots has a penchant for that sort of hearty meal, probably because he’s an amateur competitive swimmer, so he can really work up an appetite. I usually can only bring myself to walk to and from the car, so I was less than compelled to make such a huge meal, but onward and upward I always say. I never make Germanic cuisine, and frankly, with THE SUDDEN RISE OF THE SCANDINAVIAN RESTAURANTS AND CUISINE, I figure Germany/Austria/Hungary are next on the food writers’ “discovery” tour, so I decided to get a jump on the competition.

Goulash & Bread Dumplings Tableside with a barley/carrot side

So, let me be the first to announce: German/Austrian/Hungarian cuisine is the next big thing. You read it here first.

At any rate, a few texts later, and I was off to the store to purchase what I needed for…

Viennese Beef Goulash/Wiener Rindsgulasch

Ingredients for the Goulash

3 T Olive Oil

1 ¾-2 lbs. shoulder or shank (beef cubed for stew, basically)

1 c finely chopped onions

1 T fresh chopped garlic

2 T tomato purée

2 T Hungarian paprika

1 t freshly ground caraway seeds (use a mortar and pestle for the best results)

1 t marjoram

2 bay leafs

2 c stock (I used chicken, but you could probably use beef as well)

freshly ground salt and pepper

zest of ½ lemon

Heat the oil, brown the beef. With a slotted spoon, remove the beef, brown the onions. At the end of the browning, toss in the garlic. Grind the caraway seed and marjoram. Add the ground spices, paprika, and tomato purée directly into the pot with all of the stock. Stir well, add salt and pepper to taste, grate in the zested lemon as the stock comes to a boil. Turn down to a simmer once it reaches a boil. Let the goulash simmer slowly until the meat is soft (approximately 1-2 hours, depending on the meat/fat content ratio).

At the end of the cooking, you will have a liquidy soup. This liquid may have boiled off a bit, so you can feel free to add in more stock, if you need to in order to make the dumplings, and in so doing, thickening the goulash.

Scoots can attest that it was a real wintery treat. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have been out hunting rabbit in the Tyrolian hillsides, opening the cabin door, dusting off the powdered snow from our boots, and sitting down to a piping hot bowl of this treat.

Oddly, this meaty bowl serves really nicely with crisp, fresh greens.

Dressing the Salad

Since I’m accused of making blog posts that are faaaaar toooooo long, I’m going to save the bread dumpling recipe for tomorrow, so see you again back here. Same bat time; same bat channel.

- See more at: http://www.alunchboxblog.com/germanaustrianhungarian-cuisine-the-next-big-thing/?preview=true&preview_id=1736&preview_nonce=6cd79a19d7#sthash.cYsdae6o.dpuf

Radish Greens Pesto

Radish Greens? Yech! I just couldn’t imagine. I’d come home from the Farmers’ market and just shoved the radishes in the drawer in the fridge. A couple of days later, I knew it was time…run to the Google and search.

Up comes a recipe for RADISH GREENS PESTO. Thank goodness. It was cold and rainy out, and I just couldn’t bring myself to drag myself to the supermarket for greens to eat with dinner. This discovery set me on a journey to make the most of what was left in my fridge:

• A bit of parm more than ready for grating,
• Unsalted and unroasted nuts sitting in a bag in the cupboard,
• Some olive oil,
• Some salt and pepper
  …I had the base of a meal. Some pasta and it’d all be alright.

Two Zests of Lemon

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Radish Leaf Pesto

Ingredients

2 large handfuls of good-looking radish leaves, stems removed

1 oz. pecorino or Parmesan, grated or shaved

1 oz. walnuts chopped

1 clove garlic, germ removed, cut in four

1 short ribbon of lemon zest

2 T olive oil, plus more to get the consistency you like

salt, pepper, ground chili pepper

In a food processor blend all ingredients. The greens may make it so you have to process in short pulses until smooth. You will likely have to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Processing produces a thick pesto; add more oil and pulse again to get the consistency you prefer.

Taste, adjust the seasoning, and pack into Tupperware. Use within a few days (it will keep longer if you pour a thin layer of oil on the surface) or freeze.

If I may make a suggestion: be certain to serve as a side dish only. The radish greens are pungent and the flavor striking. It could turn a dinner into a one-note meal. I serve this pesto as a side pasta dish later this week; so be sure to tune in this Friday for details on how to make this work for you and your guests.

- See more at: http://www.alunchboxblog.com/radish-greens-pesto/?preview=true&preview_id=2097&preview_nonce=9e2ae6ff68#sthash.ntsFCAj9.dpuf

Butternut Squash, Ginger & Apple Soup

Always Give Your Guests Accoutrement to Dress Their Soup

Sheesh! It was an enormous butternut squash.

I felt I had no choice. I have to cut this thing open and do something with it soon. I really didn't love squash, so perhaps a soup would work. Was there anything easy and fairly quick to do? Next morning, I get into the office and emailed the Lunch Bunch the news:

"LunchBunchers! I arrived at the house at about 8 p.m. last night and saw this huge butternut squash sitting on my table. Thinking, urgh, better do something with that; I went online. Last night I made a really simple and terrifically (surprisingly) flavorful soup. The recipe has so few steps, I figured I’d share with you guys. (Maybe we should try making here, but I’ll leave that vote to you guys) I didn’t have the pecans, so I just drizzled olive oil over walnuts, popped in the toaster oven, chopped with a chef knife, and sat down to enjoy a lush, memorable dinner."

Well, what a terrific surprise. It worked perfectly as a lunch at work the next day

A Lunchtime Treat: Butternut Squash Soup with Salad

And then, as you can see from the picture that leads this blogpost, it was a fun starter for a terrific beef tenderloin meal I made and will share with you in these pages this Friday. My guests loved how they get to sprinkle the red hot pepper over the top, and place chopped, toasted, seasoned walnuts over the top. It just looks so damned good when you bring it to the table. And really, truth be told, it's boiled veg, puréed into a soup.

Here’s how you can do it in less than an hour: BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Ingredients
1 onion (chopped)
1 lb butternut squash (peeled and chopped)
2 apples (peeled and chopped)
1 potatoes (peeled and chopped)
1 t ginger root (grated fresh)
4 c water or stock
2 T butter (I used olive oil instead)
1 pinch white pepper

½ c apple cider
1 t brown sugar (packed)
1 c plain yogurt
1 T toasted pecans (finely chopped)

In a large saucepan melt butter or pour olive oil into a medium heat pan; brown the onion, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until softened. Add squash, apples, potato, ginger, and white pepper; stir in water or stock. Cover and bring to boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. In actual fact, I went, took a shower, and that mixture simmered for a good 40 minutes.

In food processor or blender, purée the soup until smooth (in batches if necessary). Return to the saucepan and stir in apple cider and the teensiest amount of brown sugar; heat to nearly boiling. Garnish with dollop of yogurt and sprinkle with pecans. Now, I did something different here and whisked in about one full cup of Fage brand 2% yoghourt. I think it makes all the difference. More supple, more lush, as I said in the email above.

Make this while it’s still cold out. It’ll warm you and your guests through. Or better yet, serve as an amuse-bouche in tiny cappuccino cups at the start of your meal, when the guests arrive. If it’s a particularly cold night out this winter, perhaps forego the drinks at the start of their visit, and hand them a cappuccino cup of orangey-goodness.

With the toppings they get to add, it’ll feel so chic, when in fact, it’ll be little more than boiled and mashed veg.

Butternut Squash Ginger and Apple Soup

Ah, the joy you can get from simplicity. These cooking moments tend to be rare.

Flawlessly Friday

MATTHEW0 COMMENTSFROM THE LUNCH BOX, RECIPES

Feb 17

Alice Revisited Looking Through the Glass

Grilled Beef Tenderloin in chopped Herbs de Provence? Now, to make this interesting could be much more challenging than it sounds.

The steak was a no-brainer, a new store had opened up in town that specialized in Amish meats from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and our meat came from an Amish farm cooperative in Bird-in-Hand, PA. Truly beautiful piece of meat.

Next the herbs: I couldn’t get my hands on fresh lavender flowers, but I had lavender salt with dried blossoms in it, so mixing 1 teaspoon of that with 1 t of Danish smoked salt, then rolling with a mixture of fresh herbs that I could get my hands on:

• Chives,
• Margoram,
• Rosemary,
• Thyme.
• I added in about 1/2 t powdered fennel and sprinkled the beast with it
• Finishing it off with about 1 teaspoon of dried basil for good measure.

Coat Your Loin and Let Come to Room Temp

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You’re supposed to use savory, fennel, basil, thyme, and lavender flowers, in order to successfully replicate the famous herb blend. So while this didn’t quite work as intended, the resulting flavor was “off the chi-zang” as Chris Rock would say (When he played MARTY THE ZEBRA in the animated film “Madagascar 2.”)

Here’s all you do:

Ingredients

Salsa:

2 red bell peppers

2 yellow bell peppers

1 T water

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

3 T balsamic vinegar

1/4 c capers, rinsed and drained

3 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steak:

1 1-lb. boneless beef tenderloin

2 t smoked salt or kosher salt

2 t herbs de Provence (again, I used fresh chopped chives, margoram, rosemary, and thyme; about 1 T of each or enough to adequately cover the entire loin)

Sprinkle about 1 t of dry fennel over the loin

Drizzle 2-4 T olive oil

Directions

Salsa: Put a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Grill the peppers on all sides until charred, about 10 minutes. Put them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon water. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap for 30 minutes.

Lift plastic wrap, remove the charred skin, and then proceed to core and seeds from the peppers. Cut the flesh into 1/4-inch thick strips and put them in a small bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, capers, and parsley until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the mixture over the peppers and toss until coated. Refrigerate for at least two hours, (This salsa can be made one day in advance).

Ah Lovely!

Steaks: Put a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Season the steaks on both sides with the smoked salt and herbs de Provence. Drizzle with olive oil and grill for 4 to 6 minutes each side for medium-rare.

Again, fire up the gas or charcoal grill and place wood chunks directly on the lava rocks or coals. Cooking took no more than about 5 minutes each side.

Remove the steaks from the grill, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Thinly slice the steaks and arrange on serving plates. Place salsa in nifty little bowls for self-service on each plate.

- See more at: http://www.alunchboxblog.com/grilled-beef-tenderloin-flawlessly/?preview=true&preview_id=2066&preview_nonce=b1bc2c38da#sthash.e6gTpIBm.dpuf