Author: Heidi Lee (Page 51 of 96)

Once a Chef, Always a Chef. Although I do not currently make a living as a chef, I was born into the industry via my family’s Greek restaurant. It was really an “I-had-no-other-choice” type of thing! I worked the Arabian Horse Show this past Saturday and made 14 gallons of Roast Vegetable Cream Soup. It was the perfect comfort food for a chilly February night. Most guests dunked crusty bread into the soup and made a meal of the combo.

~Basil~

P.S. All of us here at into the Soup suggest that you do the same! 🙂

Yield: ONE GALLON (16-8 ounce servings)

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces roasted zucchini, sliced
• 5 ounces roasted yellow squash, sliced
• 5 ounces roasted tomatoes (Roma or red/round), sliced
• 5 ounces roasted mushrooms (domestic) sliced
• 3 ounces roasted cauliflower florets
• 3 ounces roasted broccoli florets
• 3 ounces roasted onion (yellow, unpeeled), very thinly sliced
• 2 ounces roasted garlic cloves (unpeeled), smashed with blunt side knife
• 1/2-gallon heavy whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 quart of chicken stock/broth
• 8 – 1 ounce slices real American cheese (NOT cheese “food”!!)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Prepare veggies and roast in preheated 375-degree oven for 40 minutes.
2. Combine heavy cream, flour, lemon juice, bay leaves, chicken stock; mix well with whisk. Bring to boil while stirring; once at full boil, reduce to simmer for at least a 30 minutes.
3. Add roasted veggies to cream/stock mixture. Simmer for 30 more minutes and then remove the bay leaves.
4. Using a hand-stick type blender, puree the mixture. Please make sure that the pot/ pan is large enough to do this! If your pot is not LARGE, the procedure can become dangerous and messy!!!
5. Add cheese, salt and pepper.
6. Stir, serve and enjoy!

Note: Serve with crunchy French bread or lavosh crackers with white wine or cold beer.

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Spicy Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 chicken (3 pounds) boned, skinned

• Creole Seasoning

• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions

• 1 cup chopped celery

• 1 cup diced carrots

• ½ cup chopped green onions

• 2 tablespoons chopped minced garlic

• ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

• 4 bay leaves

• 2 cups assorted chopped fresh vegetables: beans, zucchini, yellow squash, cabbage-small dice

• 1 ½ cups spinach leaves

• Pinch crushed red pepper

• 2 quarts chicken stock

• 1 can Sprouts Fire Roasted Tomatoes

• 1-2 can Sprouts Salsa Style Tomatoes

1. In a large sauce pot, heat the olive oil.  Season the chicken with Creole seasoning.  When the oil is hot, add the chicken, sauté for 5 minutes, or until the meat is brown.   

2. Add the onions, celery, carrots, green onions, garlic, parsley, basil and bay leaves.  Season with Creole seasoning.  Saute the vegetables for 4 minutes.   

3. Add the chopped vegetables, spinach, and crushed red pepper and sauté for 1 minute.   

4. Add the stock and canned tomatoes and bring the liquid to a boil. (If you want more snap…add 2 cans Salsa Style Tomatoes.)  Reduce the heat to a simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

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Chef Eric Gitenstein is a doll! He kind of reminds me of a young Richard Dreyfuss (my secret crush) AND he can cook! Geez, if this guy could hunt for sharks AND owned a boat…well, never mind. Seriously, Eric is a great guy, great chef and has a great thing going with his MF Tasty underground restaurant movement. I’ll be first in line for his next party – shark fin soup, perhaps?

Cream of 3 Mushroom Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups crimini mushrooms, quartered
• 2 cups maitake mushrooms, base removed
• 2 cups enoki mushrooms, base removed

*If you cannot find these particular mushrooms, substitute with whatever you can find, same amounts apply

• 1/4 cup minced yellow onion
• 1/4 cup minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped thyme, fresh
• 1/4 teaspoon salt & black pepper
• Chopped parsley (for garnish)

1. In a sauce pot, over medium high heat, melt the butter and sauté the mushrooms, onions and garlic. Add the salt, pepper, and thyme. Allow the mushrooms to slightly caramelize and deglaze the pot with white wine. Stir occasionally and allow the wine to reduce almost completely. Pour in the cream, stir and simmer until cream has slightly reduced and mushrooms are cooked completely.
2. Serve in your favorite soup bowl and garnish with chopped parsley.

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The topic of this week’s into the Soup Radio is, well, the most interesting ever!?!? For those who can, cook with cannabis for (medicinal purposes). Give this soup (and butter) a try–it may just lift you up and make you feel allll better!

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds red potatoes
• 2 sweet yellow onions
• 1/2 pint heavy cream
• 1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese- shredded
• 1/4 pound asiago or fontina
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3-4 tablespoons sweet dairy butter
• 3-4 tablespoons Canna Butter* (recipe below)
• 1/2 pound bacon
• 3 tablespoons tawny Port
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil then simmer. Add the sprigs of fresh thyme. Wash, peel, and rough chop the potatoes. Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft. Caramelize (slow sauté) the onions (chopped) in the butter with salt and pepper. Add the onions and bud butter to the stock. Rinse the potatoes in cold water and add them to the stock. Slow simmer for at least two hours.
2. Add the tawny port, then the cream. Using a hand mixer, blend the ingredients and simmer for another thirty minutes. DO NOT let the soup boil after the cream has been added! Add the and blend once again.
3. Serve with crispy bacon and parsley as garnish.

Canna Butter

• 1 pound butter
• 1/2 ounze Marijuana Shake or Flour

Heat butter and marijuana flour together in the crockpot on the lowest setting for 24 hours. When cool enough to handle, pour through the double layer of cheesecloth lined strainer into the large bowl. Twist pulp in the double layer of cheesecloth to get out all the liquid butter you can. Yummie….. pour into ceramic or glass dish for cooling. Refrigerate to quicken cooling. When cool cut into large pieces, place green butter in large ziploc bag for freezing.

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