a little of each

A family's cookbook

Avgolemono March 27, 2013

Filed under: Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 9:05 pm
Tags: , , , , ,


photo 2

Bright fresh lemon, clean parsley, bright bits of carrot, smooth broth, and hearty chicken and rice.  We may not be Greek in any way, shape, or form, but we make a mighty tasty, if nontraditional, Greek lemon chicken soup.

 

Ingredients

2 cups milk

2 Tbl cornstarch

6 egg yolks, beaten

2 quarts chicken broth

½ cup rice

1 cup grated carrots

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces

½ stick butter

fresh parsley

1 cup fresh lemon juice

lemon zest

salt and pepper

Directions

Stir milk and cornstarch together, then beat in the egg yolks. Set mixture aside. Bring broth to a boil and add rice and carrots. Cook covered, until the rice and carrots are tender. Remove soup from heat and carefully add milk and egg mixture. Return to heat and continue to cook until it thickens. Remove from the heat and add chicken, butter, parsley, lemon, and salt and pepper and serve.

 

photo 1

 

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Filed under: Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 8:53 pm
Tags: , , ,

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil

1 cup onion, chopped (Katie says this is optional!)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

1 cup frozen corn

¼ cup dry white wine

1 tsp jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped finely

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp chili powder

2 (14.25 oz) cans chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (10.75 oz) can condensed tomato soup

1 cup crushed tortilla chips (“Hint of Lime” flavored ones are the best)

½ cup sour cream

1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional)

1 lime, cut into wedges

 

Directions

Heat oil in a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté two minutes. Stir in chicken and next nine ingredients (corn through tomato soup); bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour. If soup reduces too much, add another can of chicken broth. Ladle soup into bowls; top with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream and shredded cheese. Squeeze the juice from one lime wedge into each bowl of soup before serving.

 

Easiest French Onion Soup

Filed under: Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 8:35 pm
Tags: , , ,

 

Ingredients

4 medium onions, chopped

1 package onion soup mix

1 package sharp cheddar cheese, grated

4 slices Italian bread, toasted

 

Directions

Boil onions in four cups of water over low heat with pot half-covered. When onions are cooked, add soup mix and half of the cheese. Cook for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, put soup in crocks and place toast on top of soup. Add shredded cheese on top of toast. Place soup crocks under broiler on medium heat. Remove when cheese starts to brown.

 

Easy French Onion Soup

Filed under: Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 8:34 pm
Tags: , , ,

From recipe-submitter Stephanie: I have a new and improved version of Easy French Onion Soup: instead of just sauteing Vidalias, use both a red and any sweet onions at the market. Chop and spread out onto a heavy cookie sheet. Toss the onions with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a hot oven (425-450) for about 25-30 minutes. Then simple make the soup as directed. Roasting the onions gives it an additional richness. Yum!

 

Ingredients

2 Tbl butter

2 Tbl oil

2 large Vidalia onions, peeled and chopped

2 Tbl flour

1 Tbl sugar

4 cans beef broth

1 cup dry white wine

1 bay leaf

freshly ground pepper

8 slices French bread, toasted

8 oz Swiss cheese, grated

Directions

In a large soup pot, heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until caramelized. Add flour to onions and mix well. Add sugar. Add the broth, wine, bay leaf and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Place sliced bread on a cookie sheet and sprinkle the cheese on top. Place under the broiler until cheese begins to bubble. Place bread in the bottom of a soup bowl and cover with soup. Serve immediately.

 

Potato Leek Soup (Potage Bonne Femme)

Filed under: Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 8:18 pm
Tags: , , , ,

Ingredients

2 Tbl butter

1 cup leek, cleaned white and light green parts, sliced

3 cups chopped onion

5 cups diced potatoes

2 quarts boiling water

1 lb shredded cabbage

1 clove garlic, minced

2 ½ cups light cream

¾ cup chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

Heat butter in a large soup pot. Add leek, onion and potatoes. Sauté about five minutes, stirring frequently. Add boiling water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add cabbage and garlic to simmering mixture. Return to boil and simmer 20 minutes. Add cream and parsley and heat to serving temperature. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

Mexican Tomato Lime Soup

Filed under: Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 8:06 pm
Tags: , , ,

Ingredients

3 gloves garlic minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbl vegetable oil

6 cups tomato juice

2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced

1 large lime, juiced

3 Tbl fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Tabasco, to taste

2 cups tortilla chips

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

 

Directions

In a soup pot on low heat, sauté the garlic and cumin in the oil for a minute. Stir in the tomato juice, fresh tomatoes, lime juice and cilantro. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for several minutes. Add Tabasco to taste. Place tortilla chips in soup bowls and ladle soup over them. Top with grated cheese and some more fresh cilantro.

 

Gazpacho

Filed under: Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 8:02 pm
Tags: , , ,

Ingredients

¼ lb day old French bread, cubed

Water

1 ½ cups cucumber, peeled and diced

1 green pepper, seeded and diced

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp salt

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup wine vinegar

2 lbs ripe tomatoes, cubed

Directions 

Soak bread in cold water, turning once.  Squeeze out excess water.  Combine cucumber, green pepper, garlic, salt oil and vinegar in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add half of the soaked bread and continue blending until smooth.  Add tomatoes to the blender with the remaining bread.  Blend.  Add salt and vinegar to taste.  Chill.  Serve garnished with croutons, chopped crisp bacon and/or sour cream

 

Favorite Vegetable Soup

Filed under: Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 7:53 pm
Tags: , , ,

The best thing about this soup recipe is anything goes.  Everyone has their own version depending on their own tastes. I don’t add the nutmeg. Robin and Adam add sweet potatoes. And everyone agrees that fresh corn really adds something.

 Ingredients

3 medium leeks (with 1 inch of green left on)

4 medium carrots

3 medium parsnips

2 Tbl minced garlic

2 Tbl unsalted butter

2 Tbl olive oil

4 cups vegetable broth

6 red new potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

8 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, or 1 (28 oz) can plum tomatoes drained

¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley

1 tsp dried tarragon or thyme

1 tsp ground nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

Trim, clean and finely dice leeks, carrots, and parsnips. Combine in a bowl with garlic. Melt the butter with the oil in a large, heavy pot over low heat. Add the diced vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and potatoes; cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Uncover and cook 15 minutes more to enrich the broth.

 

Lemon Souffle Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce January 9, 2013

Filed under: Breakfast — alittlemoreofeach @ 3:44 pm
Tags: , , , ,

These were a traditional Christmas Morning breakfast at the Yellen house. The sauce can be prepared the night before to speed things up.

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
grated zest of 5 lemons
¾ cup ricotta cheese
6 Tablespoons buttermilk
6 Tablespoons melted butter
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¾ tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, separated

In large bowl, stir flour, one Tbl of sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and lemon zest. In small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, buttermilk, melted butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract and egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Batter will be quite dense. In a bowl, use mixer on medium speed to beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add two Tbl sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Using spatula, fold about ¼ of egg whites into batter, then fold in remaining egg whites. Don’t attempt to make batter completely uniform; streaks of egg white are fine. Cover and refrigerate for up to one hour. Lightly coat griddle with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat for two to three minutes. For each pancake, spoon about ¾ cup of batter into pan to form pancakes about five inches in diameter. Cook until large bubbles form (three to four minutes), turn with spatula and cook on second side. Place on warmed individual serving dishes and top with raspberry sauce. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Enjoy.

Raspberry sauce:
1 ½ cups corn syrup
1 ½ cups raspberries
1 ½ Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

To make the raspberry sauce: combine raspberries, corn syrup and lemon juice in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring slowly to boil. Reduce heat and continue to simmer until light, crimson colored syrup forms, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through fine-mesh sieve into bowl. Press berry pulp with spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

 

Rhode Island Johnny Cakes

Filed under: Breakfast — alittlemoreofeach @ 3:43 pm
Tags: , , ,

Mix together one cup of corn meal, one tsp sugar and ½ tsp salt. Add 1 ½ cups boiling water. Mix well. Batter will be thick. Drop by tablespoonful on any well-greased fry pan or griddle. (Medium hot – 380 degrees for electric fry pans.) Do not touch or turn over for six minutes. After six minutes, turn over and cook for about five minutes. This will yield eight to ten golden brown Johnny Cakes every time. For thin crisp Johnny Cakes thin batter with milk or water – about ½ cup. Cook as above.

To order stone ground Johnny Cake meal write or call:
Kenyon’s Corn Meal Company
21 Glen Rock Road
Usquepaugh, RI 02892
401-783-4054
http://www.kenyonsgristmill.com