Month: September 2010 (Page 2 of 3)

Chef Gwen Walter’s Texas Style Tortilla Soup

September 18, 2010 / / 0 Comments

We met Gwen through Edible Phoenix – the local magazine about the slow food movement. The day we met, she introduced me to a great new secret restaurant. She is one of those fun, Texans who shares with you whether you put your fork in your mouth or not.  Try her hearty, spicy, and chunky with chicken and vegetables, this is not your typical tortilla soup, though it has many of the same flavors.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1-1/2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 cup seeded and chopped tomato
  • 1 jalapeño, minced (remove seeds for less heat)
  • 2 (4-ounce) cans chopped mild green chiles
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon ancho chile paste*
  • 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano**
  • 2 teaspoons chile powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 3/4 pound)
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons cold water

Garnish:

  • 2 cups fried thin tortilla strips
  • 3 large avocados, peeled and chopped
  • 6 tablespoons sour cream

 Method

  1. Melt butter in a stockpot over medium heat.  Stir in onions and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft, about 2 to 3 more minutes.
  2. Stir in corn, tomatoes, jalapeño, green chiles, and spices, cooking another minute or so. 
  3. Stir in chicken stock.  Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir in chicken and cilantro.  Bring to a boil. Whisk cornstarch and water together.  Whisk into boiling soup.  Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes.  Taste and season with salt if needed.
  4. Ladle into warm soup bowls.  Garnish with fried tortilla strips, avocado chunks, and a tablespoon of sour cream.

Serves 6

*To make ancho chile paste: Remove stems and seeds from 3 ancho chiles. It’s a good idea to wear disposable latex gloves to protect your hands from the heat of the chiles.  Toast chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about a minute or so.  Place chiles in a bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.  Rehydrate for 20 to 30 minutes.  Puree chiles in a blender with just enough of the soaking liquid to make a thick paste (think tomato paste consistency). Yields approximately ¼ cup of paste.

**Mexican oregano is not the same herb as the more common Mediterranean oregano.  Look for Mexican oregano on the Mexican food aisle of your grocery.

 

About Gwen

Born to journalist parents, it was only a matter of time before Gwen, a professionally trained chef and Certified Culinary Professional, settled into a rewarding food writing career. An honors graduate of the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, she honed her cooking skills in commercial kitchens such as the renowned Boulders Resort in Carefree before trading her chef’s knife for a pen. She is the author of three award-winning cookbooks featuring renowned U.S. resorts. She has taught cooking classes across the country and her recipes have been featured in various newspapers and magazines across the country. She currently writes restaurant reviews and two regular monthly food columns for PHOENIX Magazine and as well as feature stories for Edible Phoenix, two of which are featured in Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods, by Edible Communities, released in May of 2010. Gwen regularly dishes about food and travel on her blog, www.penandfork.com.

 

 Click Here for More Soups of the Week

Whisky 101: Hardly Hooch from Hills

September 16, 2010 / / 0 Comments

by Ray Pearson

Whether you call it moonshine, white lightnin’, mountain dew, corn likker, or any of a number of other gritty names; white spirits are as American as Apple Pie and are the stuff of legend. Now, they are becoming more popular than ever in mainstream liquor stores. I discovered well over a dozen brands, distilled in seven states on a recent trip down the whiskey aisle at a large wine & liquor store in Southern California.

The lore surrounding this most American of spirits is certainly as diverse as the aromas and tastes of the stuff itself.  Stereotypical of stories about this once heavily bootlegged spirit give life to ’shine’s brightest star, Junior Johnson. Junior honed his driving skills running illicit booze to customers, always outwitting and outrunning local sheriffs and the Feds. He’s credited with inventing the “bootleg turn”, reversing direction by zipping his fast-moving car 180-degrees, leaving his pursuers to their time consuming U-turns. Junior gave up his successful “delivery” business in 1955 and began a new career as a driver on the fledgling NASCAR circuit, winning races from the start and bringing much attention to the new sport.

The word “moonshine” is commonly believed to have been derived from Appalachian home distillers who often engaged in the illegal distillation and distribution of whiskey, clandestinely made by the light of the moon.  The term is, in fact, a catch all for untaxed liquor. Liquor was first taxed in the US in 1862 as a means for paying for the Civil War. Needless to say, Southern distillers were not interested in paying this tax likening it to the British tax on tea. Over the years following through to prohibition, the act of avoiding taxes on home made liquor became a kind of sport in the south.

While the Dukes of Hazzard may have been cancelled nearly thirty years ago, moonshin’ continues in parts of the US and due to the poor economy, is becoming more popular. A recent BBC report says as many as a million Americans could be breaking the law by making moonshine while Time Magazine stated that moonshin’ denied the US Treasury of over seven billion dollars in liquor taxes over the past decade. Ironically, today it’s not the loss of revenue, but the health threat of the liquid that has taken center stage. The impurities and toxins, especially lead, usually found in home-made moonshine can be fatal.  

Today’s legal white spirits are promoted using many of the same words as their much older kin from across the pond, including “artisan,” “hand-crafted,” and being a product of the  “distiller’s art.” White spirits are grain distillates made from combinations of two or three grains, or one single grain. The most popular of these are corn, rye, barley, wheat, and oats.

In no particular order, here are some of the white spirits I came across:

High West Silver Whiskey, made with western oats in Park City, Utah (imagine a whiskey distillery in Utah).

Wasmund’s Single Malt Spirit and Wasmund’s Rye Spirit, by Copper Fox Distillery, Sperryville, VA. The Single Malt Spirit is from 100% malted barley, locally grown in Virginia. It’s bottled at barrel strength, about 62% ABV, or 134 proof. The Rye Spirit is a marriage of 2/3 Virginia rye and 1/3 Thoroughbred barley, developed exclusively for Copper Fox Distillery.

Death’s Door Whisky, Death’s Door Distillery, Door County, WI, and bottled at 40% ABV, or 80 proof. The elegantly simple double D logo on the clear bottle containing a clear spirit is a preview of what the liquid’s aroma and taste has in store – simple and unadorned. The aroma is fresh, and what one would expect from a new spirit. The taste is sweet and dry and the finish is short-lived. Several people have told me that adding a drop or two of simple syrup and a mint sprig compliment the spirit.

Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon – Carolina Moonshine, produced by Piedmont Distillers, Inc., Madison, NC is the eponymous expression of our bootlegging, U-turn inventing, NASCAR champion. Tasting notes, beyond “small batch” and “triple distilled” are hard to come by. Apparently Piedmont Distillers thinks we will be content with a label showing Junior and his 1940 Ford! Bottled at 50% ABV, or 100 proof.

Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey, Heaven Hill Distillery, Bardstown, KY. Heaven Hill produces some very fine whiskies, and this is not one of them. Admittedly (by Heaven Hill) this is a novelty product, to fulfill some of the public’s image of what rot-gut moonshine is like. It’s claim to fame (notoriety?) is the packaging – a Mason jar with screw cap!

And, so it goes, with even more whiskies on the shelf – Buffalo Trace, White Dog-Mash #1 and Corsair Wry Moon, from Kentucky; Monterey Rye Spirits from California; and others from Georgia and South Carolina.

So, while they may not be as romantic, they are infinitely safer and taste better than home brew. Check them out next time you visit your local liquor store and as always, drink responsibly you owe it to yourself, your family, and to the community.

High West’sOld Fashioned Old Fashioned (“the way they used to be made in the early 1800s”)

  • 1 tsp demerara sugar, a splash of water, 2 dashes orange bitters, orange peel (no pith).
  • Add ice, 2 ounces High West Silver, and stir.

For more Whisky 101 click here

About Ray

Ray is a nationally recognized single malt Scotch expert. He recently retired after 16 years within the spirits industry, including four as Glenfiddich U.S. Ambassador. Ray currently presents educational whisky seminars and tastings for corporate events, destination management companies, and national whisky shows. He is a photographer and member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association.

ABC’s of Healthy Eating: You Resemble What You Eat

September 14, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Have you ever looked at your food and noticed something? Some foods found in nature have a rather striking resemblance to our human body parts, and what is even more fascinating is the body parts the food resembles, is the part they are beneficial for! Coincidence? I’ll let you decide. 

Here are five foods that resemble the body parts they benefit when they are closest to their natural state and not processed, preserved, and plucked of their nutrients.

Tomato – Heart

Cut open a tomato and immediately the chambers can be noticed, much like the chambers and structure of our human heart.  The carotenoid lycopene found in tomatoes is considered effective in reducing heart disease.  According to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, lycopene may have a cholesterol synthesis inhibiting effect; along with enhance the breakdown of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Another important thing to note is the lycopene found within tomatoes is fat-soluble.  This means that when accompanied with a fat, the absorption can be dramatically increased.  Try coupling with olive oil or mix it in with avocado. 

Walnut – Brain

When taking a look at a whole walnut, which body part to you see? If you answered: Brain, then I am assuming you’ve been sure to consume walnuts often due to your high intelligence, because you’re right!  The walnut is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which have been proven to aid in overall brain function. Science Daily confirms that, “Dietary deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in humans has been associated with increased risk of several mental disorders, including attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, dementia, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.” 

Sweet Potato – Pancreas

The deep orange color of a sweet potato indicates it is high in the powerful carotenoid beta-carotene.  This compound has high antioxidant properties that are vital to the health of all of your bodies’ cells, including those found in your pancreas.  Another intriguing bit about the sweet potato is that has a relatively low ranking on the glycemic index (GI) scale when compared to a white potato, and the lower the GI of the food, the lower the tax on the pancreas.  Less stress on the pancreas is necessary to keep our insulin levels functioning normally to help us maintain our sweet and kind demeanor. Too high or too low of blood sugar levels may make us a bit cranky and less tolerable to be around, right Heidi?

 

Carrot -Eye

If the vegetable is cut in half crosswise, you will notice that it very closely resembles a human eye.  Fascinating (eyebrow raised), as it is a vegetable highly nutritious for are overall eye health.  Again, the orange color in this vegetable is indicating that beta-carotene is present, which has been noted to reduce the likely hood of macular degeneration.  Sparkling eyes for you and yours, just a carrot dish away! 

Red Wine – Blood

Who doesn’t enjoy a nice glass of red wine every so often? Toss away any guilt and embrace the evidence of recent studies, suggesting that red wine has a component called resveratrol that may reduce LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.  Red wine is also noted to contain blood-thinning compounds, reducing risks of blood clots and strokes.  I’ll drink to that! Here’s to increased vascular health and reduced risk of stroke, cheers!

These are just a handful of foods that, in their natural state, have properties that are tailored to our bodies’ specific nutrient needs. Perhaps if we are choosing more fresh and less processed foods, choosing foods closer to nature, and are enlightened about the fact that food truly is fuel for our bodies, we can become healthier and truly enjoy sitting down to a nutrient filled meal. 

So next time out consider a meal that showcases baked sweet potato with a walnut-crunch topping; a salad laden with carrots, tomatoes; and a glass of red wine to get your little pump, pump, pumping heart going.

Here’s to eating intelligently, friends.  To you and yours, happy dining!

To read more of Katie’s Health & Wellness Advice on intotheSoup.comClick Here

About Katie

Kate Paige Haarala is a registered dietitian (R.D.) from Minnesota who has an undying passion for nutrition education and helping others incorporate healthy dishes into their daily menu.  She graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Food, Nutrition & Dietetics along with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Exercise Science. You can catch more of Katie on her blog by clicking here.

A Culinary Student in Lyon: Entry #10 – Au Revoir Lyon

September 11, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Hello Soupers!

I can’t believe what I am about to write, but it has come to an end. I have finished my internship in Lyon. Just a few short months ago, I started out new to the country barely knowing a word of French and without any idea of where I might work. Now, here I am saying goodbye to my co-workers and my chef after one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Chef was not happy to see me leave. That is a victory in a way. He asked me to stay and continue to work for him here in France, but I need to return to my school and finish my culinary program. So, he has written me a letter of recommendation and bid me adieu. I have learned so much from him, and I will always be grateful that he took a risk on an American student that he had never met.

I will be returning home with a great education. I have learned so much. Of course, there is the language. While Chef was on vacation, I had to operate in the kitchen almost entirely in French. I became so much better at the language while he was gone that he seemed confused when he got back and didn’t need to translate his orders.

I have learned much about Lyon and especially the food. Food like Lyon Sausage served with a demi-glace or red wine reduction sauce; Quenelle (a type of dumpling made from ground seafood, chicken or beef mixed with a binding mixture and then poached in stock) served with a béchamel or fish sauce and very tasty with mushrooms, carrots and radish in the sauce; and Brioche au Praline just to name a few. They are all available just about anywhere in the city. One particular recipe I will take back with me is a delicious Tarte aux Pralines made with cream and pralines. It is very rich, very sweet, and very wonderful.

I have been to restaurants all over the city, and of course, some are better than others, but overall, the quality of food in Lyon is incredible. The best way to describe it is to discuss a few restaurants that I have been to recently with my good friend Emelie.

One was George Blanc’s restaurant which actually started as a brewery in 1836. I tried a main course of boneless rib steak served in a pan sauce, some crispy parsley on top and bone marrow along side. It came with macaroni and cheese and veggies. Emelie had a fish dish served in a pan. The waiter took the fish apart at the table and made a pan sauce right there. We both then ordered the crunch caramel butter surprise for desert. Despite its name, this is not the kind of treat you get a movie theater. The desert was a dome of chocolate mousse with a crunch caramel center and ganache covering it.

A few days later, we visited Grand Café des Negociants established in 1864. I was happy when Emelie chose it because I wanted to try it since I first saw the menu months ago, but it is not the kind of place you visit on your own. This is a place with some history, and you can see it in the details of the decor. I was inspired to perhaps design my future restaurant in the same manner.

 

With lots to choose from, I took on their Menu Lyonnais which comes with four courses. My first course was Pâté en Croûte Maison au Foie Gras et au Ris d’Agneau which translates as Pate of the House with Foie Gras and Sweetbreads. My second course was Quenelle de Brochet Artisanale, Sauce Nantua, Timbale de Riz which is Quenelle served with a Nantua sauce and rice. This delectable sauce had both button and oyster mushrooms, carrots, radish and zucchini. My third course was some delicious cheese Crevelle de Canut which is a really creamy cheese the texture of yogurt with fresh herbs mixed in. Finally, for my dessert I went the simple route, a traditional crème brulée with some berries.

I will also remember the people I have met and the personal experience that I have shared. For example, my friend Mathilde invited me to her family’s house over a weekend. Her home is in the town of Perouge and her house is over 200 years old. Her mom prepared a delicious meal. Her father enjoyed having another guy in the house as he has three daughters. We had a typical French dinner that lasted several hours then I took a walk around the town with her father. He showed me the history of the town down to the wells where they used to wash clothes and an old wine presser that they used to crush grapes. When we returned, we stayed up late into the night talking about the differences in culture between Americans and French. I worked with Mathilde for a while at the restaurant, and we were good friends from that experience, but meeting her family and sharing a meal with them in their home was one of my most special evenings in Lyon.

So now I am done with my internship, but this is not my last entry. I plan to do a bit of traveling for the next month. I hope you will indulge me as I relate my experiences as I visit different parts of Europe and describe the food I eat and the people I meet along the way. Who knows, I may just stop and see some of my fellow students – Julie Fiedler and Emily King (the DOD girls from Into the Soup – compete in a culinary competition in Austria.

Au revoir,

Coty

Read all of Coty’s experiences in Lyon by clicking here

Chef Lee Hillson’s Lobster Fennel Bisque

September 11, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Ok, big time now folks. Lee Hillson is not only one of the top Chefs in America but, most of all, a really great guy! Talk about funny. He serves it up at T-Cooks in the Royal Palms Resort & Spa in Scottsdale and we had the opportunity to shoot a TV segment with him in September 2010.  Now he has provided us this wonderful soup. Try it out check out Heidi and Lee cooking together next week on AZTV7/Cable 13 at 9am (or the next day on our website).

Lobster Stock

Ingredients:

  • 4 each 1# Lobster
  • 1/2 cup Brandy
  • 2 cup Mirepoix (diced celery carrot and onion)
  • 4 tbls. Tomato paste
  • 2 tbls. Olive oil
  • 4 qt. Chicken broth

Remove the heads (Split) and claws off of the lobster. Boil the tails for six minutes. Remove the meat from the shell and reserve. Crush the shells, heads and claws (by hand or in a food processor). Start by sautéing the shells in oil. Add your mirepoix and tomato paste. Cook until the vegetables start to soften. Deglaze with brandy and reduce (Be careful of the flames whenever you deglaze with alcohol). Add the chicken broth; bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes.  Strain through a sieve.

Ingredients:

  • 4 qt. Lobster stock
  • 2 pt. Heavy cream
  • 2 cup Fennel
  • 1/4 cup Brandy
  • 1/4 cup Pernod
  • 2 head Fennel
  • 2 each Carrot        
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 1 each Onion      
  • 2 sprig Tarragon
  • 2 each Star anise and bay leaf

Sauté the chopped onion, garlic, carrot and fennel until soft. Add one star anise, bay leaf and tarragon. Deglaze with the brandy and Pernod. Add the lobster stock and reduce by half. Strain.

In a separate pan bring the one-cup of fennel and cream to boil. Reduce by half. Add this to the reduced lobster stock, puree and season to taste. Strain through a sieve and serve with the lobster meat that has been diced and a little whipped cream.

Serves Six.

 

About Lee Hillson

Lee Hillson has gained both local and national notoriety with this elegant and rustic interpretation of Mediterranean cuisine as well as his generous donation of both time and talent to countless charitable organizations. Lee began his career at 16 when enrolling in culinary school at Bournemouth and Poole College in England. He joined Hyatt in Austin, Texas then returned to London to be the Chef de Partie at the Roux Patisserie then to Hintlesham Hall in Suffolk, England as the Pastry Chef and later Sous Chef at this European award-winning, fine dining restaurant. In 1998, Lee became Executive Sous Chef at Alva Restaurant, Vanderbilt Hall in Newport, Rhode Island. Within a few short months, he was appointed Executive Chef at what was ranked as one of the country’s top five restaurants by Country Inn Magazine. Lee came to Arizona as Sous Chef at T-Cooks in 2000 and became Executive Chef of T. Cooks at the Royal Palms in August 2005. In 2008, he was invited to battle Chef Cat Cora on Iron Chef America. With Hillson at the helm, T. Cook’s was voted the most popular Phoenix/Scottsdale restaurant by Zagat’s: America’s Top Restaurants in both 2006 and 2007.

 Click Here for More Soups of the Week

Chef Robert Danhi’s Thai Hot and Sour Soup

September 4, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Southeast Asian food holds a special place our hearts (especially the soups). We are lucky enough this week to have discovered a Chef who enjoys SE Asian food even more than we do, Robert Danhi.  Robert is an expert SE Asian cuisine  having written an award winning cookbook and leading culinary tours to the region. Try his Thai Hot & Sour Soup (Tom Yum Goong) and learn more about his adventures on his website.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. medium shrimp – head on
  • 1 T. Vegetable oil
  • 2 t. Thai Chili Jam (nahm prik pow)
  • 1 t. minced cilantro roots
  • 4-6 thai bird chilies, stems removed, split in half lengthwise
  • 8 cups water or broth (seafood or chicken)
  • 6 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, slice on diagonal into 3 inch lengths and lightly bruised with a blunt object
  • 3 slices galangal, sliced 1/8 in. thick
  • 10 Kaffir lime leaves, bruised
  • 2 plum or roma tomatoes, cut into 1 in. chunks
  • ½ can straw mushrooms, drained, halved
  • ¼ c. fish sauce
  • 1/3 cup lime juice
  • ¼ cup cilantro leaves 

Click here to download Robert’s guide on cutting lemongrass

Peel shrimp, reserving and quickly rinsing the heads and shells, leaving tail attached; de-vein the shrimp and refrigerate. Heat oil in 4 qt. saucepan or wok over high heat; add shrimp heads and shells. Cook, stirring constantly, cook for 1 minute.  Add chili paste, chilies, cilantro stems and water; bring to a boil, and then lower to simmer for 10 minutes.  Stain into a new pot. Add lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves; simmer 5 minutes. Add shrimp, tomatoes, mushrooms, and fish sauce.  Bring back to a simmer; cook 30 seconds, until shrimp are just ocoked.  Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning with fish sauce and lime juice.  Place cilantro leeves into bowls, and then ladle soup over them; serve immediately.

For more fanstastic Soup of the Week recipes, click here.

 

About Chef Robert Danhi

Robert Danhi’s culinary career ignited when he met his wife while taking cooking classes at El Camino Community College. After taking a trip to her homeland in Malaysia, Robert’s passion for all things Southeast Asian exploded. Inspired to expand his gastronomic foundation, Robert entered the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York. By 1995, Robert was the manager of the Bristol Farms Cooking School and then  moved into the position as Executive Chef Instructor and Director of Education at the Southern California School of Culinary Arts. In 1999, Robert returned as a faculty member at the CIA. Robert founded Chef Danhi & Co in 2005, a consulting firm that works with food manufacturers, restaurants, educational organizations, and professional associations. Three years later, he founded Mortar & Press, a multimedia group that produces culinary infused content including Robert’s James Beard Nominated cookbook, Southeast Asian Flavors—Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, & Singapore. When Robert is not busy in the kitchen, he enjoys traveling Southeast Asia, riding his bike along the Pacific Coast, surfing, listening to music, and spending time with his wife, Esther. Check out Robert’s website here.

 Click Here for More Soups of the Week

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2025 Into the Soup

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑