Soup and Stews

Christine’s Simple Party Soups – French Fridays with Dorie

January 17, 2014 by Renee

Even though this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe was for a trio of soups, Broccoli, Asparagus and Red Pepper, they were all extremely quick and easy to make- stock (or bouillon cube) based with the vegetables pureed with an immersion blender. Super simple! Just as the name implies. Because I didn’t need a quart of soup for each flavor, I cut the recipes down to one cup each. This was the perfect amount for us.

The broccoli was by far the favorite of the three. The red pepper soup was quite good too, but in my opinion it would have benefited from charring the peppers over the flame and peeling them before being added to the stock. Next time.

I am sure the asparagus soup would have been terrific too had the asparagus been somewhat decent. I, quite literally, bought the last sad looking bunch at the grocery store. They were so shriveled and the tips were already turning and just so pitiful that I actually think using frozen would have been a better option. But alas, I bought them and the soup had, well, a rather bitter aftertaste to it. Thankfully, it was only one cup so I didn’t feel so badly letting it go down the drain.

Overall though, these would make great dinner party or brunch appetizers as they don’t require much fussing, can be made in advance and served either warmed, chilled or at room temperature. Dollop a bit of fresh whipped cream and top with a spice of your choice and “Voila!”, an instant starter. I used pink salt for the red pepper, curry for the broccoli and black salt for the asparagus, but the combinations are endless.

While I cannot share the actual recipe, you can (and should!) buy the book and cook along with us. It’s great fun! Every Friday we make a new recipe. Looking forward to next weeks! For details and to see how others are recreating the dishes from this awesome book, check out the FFWD site.

Buy the book:

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

November 24, 2013 by Renee

It’s near 20 degrees in NYC today and the girls and I spent the day in the city at a blogging holiday party. We had tons of fun and afterwards, we wandered up Fifth Avenue to check out the holiday windows of the large department stores. They are always so lovely! But sadly, the cold was just too much for us and we had to call it quits before we turned into ice pops.

We made our way back to Penn Station and headed home shivering the entire time!

The best cure for cold weather is serious comfort food. Knowing that we are having roast turkey and mashed potatoes later in the week, we opted for a stew instead. But I didn’t want beef. Chicken and Dumplings seemed to be the perfect next choice and it was!

My aunt, in North Carolina, made the best Chicken and Dumplings growing up. She is a real down home, Southern kind of a lady and makes everyone feel welcome the moment they arrive, sweet tea in hand. Not only was her fried chicken the best, but the homemade bacon that they cured in their smokehouse was out of this world and I have never had better. But the real treat was her Chicken & Dumplings. I remember how she rolled out her dumplings thin and cut them like pasta rather than dropping balls of dough by spoonfuls into a boiling cauldron of chicken stock. The result was a hearty stew with bite fulls of dense, dough, creamy sauce and chunks of herbed chicken. A very filling and a very comforting bowl.

I don’t have her recipe but I’ve been making them this way for years and they are reminiscent of the ones she made. I may not remember or know if they are as good as hers, but my family loves them and a 6.3 quart French Oven yielded just enough tonight that there was only one small bowl left over. But next time, I’ll have to make more dumplings- because that’s the first thing to go as everyone spoons them out of the pot and it’s good to have some leftover because the dish is always better the next day!

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour 45 mins

Total time

2 hours 15 mins

Chicken and Dumplings

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

For the Stock:

1 3-4lb Whole Chicken ((You can use ¼'s or ⅛'s as well))
2 stalks Celery (Chopped in large chunks)
2 large Carrots (Chopped in large chunks)
1 medium Onion (Diced)
2 Bay Leaves
2 sprigs Thyme (Leave whole)
2 sprigs Rosemary (Leave whole)
2 sprigs Sage (Leave whole)
3 cloves Garlic (Finely chopped)
Salt and Pepper (To Taste)
Water (To Cover)

For the Dumplings:

3 cups Self Rising Flour
1½ cup Chicken Stock (Use the just made stock)

Method

For the Stock. In a large pot (I used a 6.3 French Oven) over high heat, add the chicken, herbs and chopped vegetables. Add enough water to cover and submerge the chicken. Bring to a boil and lower the flame to medium-low heat and simmer for an hour and a half or until the chicken is fork tender. At this point, remove the whole chicken from the broth and set it aside to cool. Leave the broth on the low flame to continue simmering.
Once you are able to touch the chicken, go ahead and remove the meat from the bones. Set aside the meat and discard the carcass.
From the broth, remove the stems and stalks of the herbs. If you want, you can now also skim the top of the broth to remove any impurities. Add salt and pepper to taste.
For the dumplings. Remove 1½ cups of stock from the pot and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, add the self-rising flour* and the stock. With a fork or your hands, knead the liquid into the flour to form a dough. Continue kneading until all the flour is incorporated. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it's about ¼" thick. Cut the dough into 2" squares with a knife.
Turn up the heat on the stock and once it is boiling, drop the squares of dumplings into the pot, stirring so they do not stick together.
Return the chicken pieces to the pot and stir to combine. Continue cooking for another 5-8 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through and the stock has thickened some.**
Serve in large bowls.

Notes

* Self Rising Flour- If you don't have, you can make your own. For every 1 cup of ap flour add 1½ teaspoons Baking Powder and ¼ teaspoon Salt and mix well.

** If your sauce is not as thick as you would like, in a separate bowl, make a slurry consisting of 2 teaspoons Corn Starch and a 2 tablespoons of Stock. Mix well to remove any lumps and add this mixture back to your stock which should continue boiling for another minute or so. Keep stirring to combine. Lower the flame back to a simmer and the sauce will become thicker as it continues to cook.

Enjoy and Stay Warm!

A Small Taste of Paris for the Rest of Us- French Onion Soup Recipe

January 21, 2012 by Renee

With Renee off living the good life in Paris for the month, the rest of the family is home braving the New York winter. My cooking while she has been gone has taken a much more kid friendly flavor, though I do try to slip in some more adult foods now and then. With the snow falling today, I figured it was a perfect day for a taste of France to warm us and at least be with Renee in spirit. On a cold snowy day like it is here in New York today nothing warms better then a hot bowl of soup and no soup says France to me more than a steaming crock of French Onion Soup.

Ingredients

5 Medium Onions sliced thin

½ stick of unsalted butter

1 clove of garlic chopped fine

3 tbsp dry white wine

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh thyme

4 cups beef stock

Salt and pepper

4 – 1/2inch thick slices French baguette

1 cup grated Gruyere Cheese (or Swiss)

Method

In a stock pot, melt the butter over low heat, then add the sliced onions and garlic and sauté till nicely browned (about 35-45 min). Don’t rush this step; keeping the heat low will let the onions caramelize slowly and evenly without getting crispy.

Add the wine, and using a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pot for any bits and pieces that have stuck.

Add the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.

After about a minute, add the stock. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Its best to leave it a bit under salted as the soup will reduce while it is cooking and the final flavor can be adjusted before serving.

Let the soup simmer for about an hour.

While the soup is simmering toast the baguettes slices.

When the soup is ready remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.

Ladle the soup into 4 oven safe bowls giving each a good helping of the onions at the bottom of the bowl.

Pre-heat the broiler in your oven. (If you don’t have an in-oven broiler, you could use a blow torch to melt the cheese.)

Place the bowls on a baking tray, and float a slice of the toasted bread in each bowl, then cover with the grated cheese.

Place the whole tray under the broiler till the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly.

Carefully remove the hot bowls from the oven, serve and enjoy a small taste of Paris!