Eating Dinner With My Family

I wanted to use up the soda bread I made on St. Patrick's day, so when I saw this, I knew I would be making it but I wasn't sure about how it would taste. It was really good!  The toasty flavor of the bread, the sweetness of the onion and the light seasoning made for a yummy, filling soup.  Sweet Onion & Bread Soup 8 oz sourdough bread (or any other dense, dark bread) 3 large sweet onions 3 large garlic cloves (or 5 medium ones) 2 1/2 cups chicken broth 1 tsp dried thyme 1 cup milk 3 oz butter Cube the bread. I didn’t remove the crusts, but feel free to. Peel the onions. Cut them in half and slice them. Slices don't need be too thin. mince or press the garlic. Heat half the butter in a skillet, toss the bread cubes in there and cook until crispy and brown. At the same time heat the remaining butter in a different pan and cook the onions, garlic and a tsp fresh or dried thyme for 20 to 30 minutes. And as soon...

It was meatless Monday and St. Patrick's day and I thought this soup and bread combo would fit the bill for dinner.  I am not a bread maker, but this bread  was really easy to make and turned out a decent loaf of bread.  It is very heavy and filling and can totally see this sustaining a hardworking peasant. :)  The soup was great too.  It made me think of warm vichyssoise.   Irish Potato and Leek Soup 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 2 cups leeks, chopped 2 stalks celery, diced 1 small onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 medium potatoes, coarsely chopped 4 cups vegetable stock or 4 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 1/2 cups light cream 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped 2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped 2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, chopped 1 In large pan, heat the oil and add the leeks, celery, onion and garlic. 2 Saute over medium heat, until the vegetables are s...

I got a craving for beer cheese soup.  I know I have had it in the past, but can't for the life of my remember where.  (or much about the soup itself for that matter)  So to the internet (insert your own batman music here).  I found this recipe and thought I would give it a go.  I have put off the post for so long, my recollection of the dish is vague.  Perhaps that is the best way to judge a dish, does it stay with you?  Well I do remember liking it, and I believe the rest of the family did too. Beer Cheese Soup 3 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped 1 sweet onion, finely diced 1/2 red pepper, finely diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons flour 2 cups of your favorite beer (I find that lighter wheat beers work best) 1 cup half and half 4 ounces sharp white cheddar, freshly grated 4 ounces extra sharp yellow cheddar, freshly grated 4 ounces colby jack, freshly grated fresh herbs (I like ci...

I decided to try this soup because ti was cold out and my parents ere coming in town and I knew black beans are always a crowdpleaser.  I have made black beans many times, but never a black bean soup.  This was good and fast and liked by everyone.  I am really slacking on the blog and phoning it in when I actually work on it, but I have a plan.  I am deciding on new parameters on posting.  Until now, I was posting ever night.  (you know to keep on track with not repeating etc...)  I think now I will post only one or two a week.  So until I know just what the heck I'm doing and I have caught up with the unfinished posts, expect me to be a slacker and mostly just have a recipe:).  And I totally forgot to take a picture, but I think it doesn't tax the imagination too much to imagine a bowl of black bean soup ;). Black Bean Soup with Sherry 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped 1 medium green be...

So I am still cleaning out my food stores. I was looking through all the recipes I have in my to try file and this recipe sounded yummy and I had everything I needed for it.  It was outstanding!  I loved it.  It was fairly easy too.  I didn't bother with the croutons, instead, I just added all the garlic to the soup and then gave everybody hunks of baguette.  Easier, less oil and still really delicious!  This is going to be a favorite of mine!  It was pretty spicy with the 1/4 tsp of cayenne, next time, I will most likely reduce this amount a bit and let the everyone spice up the soup to the heat level they prefer.  The person who really couldn't take it was the 3 year old.  Really amazing.  I am full but I want more now! Spicy Onion-Garlic Soup With Poached Eggs 3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil 3 large garlic cloves minced 1 medium sweet onion cut into 1/8-inch dice 1/2 Tsp sweet paprika 6 Cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth 1/4 Ts...

For throwback Thursday, my son got to choose, and he choose a family favorite: Spicy Corn Chowder.  Other than getting the corn off 10 ears, the recipe isn't hard.  I suppose a slacker solution would be frozen, but cutting corn off the cob isn't that hard, and we even did it the day before.  We froze the cobs and are going to make corn broth with them later.  This soup is really amazing.  My family likes to add a few dashes of  Tabasco Chipotle Hot sauce.  It is smoky and with some heat that really makes the soup outstanding.  We don't bother with the cheese because it really doesn't need it. Spicy Corn Chowder 1/2 Lb thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon (6-slices), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces 1 medium yellow onion cut into 1/2-inch dice 3 scallions thinly sliced 2 celery ribs cut into 1/2-inch dice 1 red bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch d 1 Tsp fresh thyme 5 Cup fresh corn kernels (from 10 medium cobs) 1/2 Tsp pu...

Another recipe from pinterest and fellow blogger.  We hadn't had any seafood this week and I happened to have some potatoes left over so it was perfect.  I'm not a baker, but the biscuits were super easy, and I liked them even though they do violate my no processed foods as they are make from Bisquick. My son adored the soup and ate 2 huge bowls. My husband liked it too. I thought it was quite good despite the fact that I'm not the hugest fan of chowders. It really is that I'm not a fan of chunky soups, so I did alter the recipe a bit because of that and used the immersion blender and gave the soup a quick pulse or two before I added the shrimp.   Everything came together pretty quick and my only complaint was there was tons of leftovers.  The boy was happy but, I don't think shrimp reheat well.    New England Shrimp Chowder onions Olive oil fish or chicken stock potatoes salt pepper fresh shrimp milk cheddar cheese minced pars...

My daughter, looking over my shoulder as I try to decided tonight's dinner, sees green pea soup, and declares that's what she wants.  Ok then.   I really enjoyed it, and if you omit the optional creme fraiche, and cooked the leeks in oil, it would be vegan.   One thing to note, my beloved immersion blender failed me!  It didn't make the smooth purée I wanted and it flung a good portion all over the place.  Next time I will use the blender and make another dish to insure less soup flinging and a better consistency.  Also, I didn't read the recipe correctly at first and had dumped in the salt and 2 cups of low sodium broth before I realized that the store bought stuff needed to he diluted and as a result it was on the salty side. All in all a solid 4!  Maybe even a bit higher...  I'm not feeling great today and that might cloud my perception but I'm sticking with the 4, for now:) Green Pea Soup   1 Tbl unsalted butter 1 medium leek root ...

Let me start with it was a bit of work.  Mostly the work is getting corn off 10 cobs, and normally I would say if you want a short cut, try frozen, but the original recipe says that fresh is essential.  It was totally worth the work!  (click here for a fast way of getting all the silk off corn on the cob)  We all loved it.  I do have some recommendations if you make this.  First of all, the bacon topping was really enough for about half the soup because this makes quite a bit.  My husband shredded up some deli ham on his second bowl.  The chipotle powder only adds spice at the end of the bite, the soup doesn't taste very spicy, so I suggest you do what we did, and let everyone spice theirs up individually.  (my son turned his pink with sriracha!)  Also, have extra of the broth and half and half on hand.  It might just have been we had a fairly large potato that sucked up a lot of the liquid, or that it wasn't supposed to have much...

My family is in town this weekend because we have plans to head over to Orlando to iFly to do some indoor skydiving!   As such, I thought I would prepare a special dinner.  Now this dinner isn't special because it is extra fancy. (I wasn't even sure it would be all that great tasting). This dinner is special because it is based on the foods of Skyrim.  Now I totally hooked on the game, but my brother is SERIOUSLY hooked on the game and I thought he would get a kick out of the plan.  If you aren't familiar with the game, it is Nordic themed and you do cook dishes that help restore your life more than the raw ingredients do.   Now many of the dishes are either totally impossible ( like 'horker stew' with a horker being something like a walrus) or just sounded totally gross like apple cabbage stew, but I found a few that could be prepared.   On the menu tonight: "seared slaughter fish" (talapia), tomato soup, "eider ...

This is a recipe everyone should know.  It is a perfect recipe because: it's economical, easy, doesn't make a mess and can be tailored to any diet, taste preference or ingredients on hand. (for example: I have left out mushrooms out of the boy's packet or no meat and vegetable broth for a vegetarian friend)  I have made this before with a variety if ingredients, but this is how I made it tonight.   If you click on the title and to to the original Alton Brown recipe, you will see the way I made it the first time I cooked it.  I personally really like the addition of the cabbage and would include it always.  We had a pound of shrimp and there were 7 or 8 in each packet, so we ended up with a more than the recipe calls for, but even with the extra, the meal, for 4, was less than $10.  I have made it with just veggies and its really good that way too.  I don't use the "flavor" packets that come in the ramen for the broth, but ...

Well I am not a fan of Guy Fieri, but I do sometimes watch Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.  I enjoy seeing the, sometimes bizarre, dishes from little places around the country.  This dish was one of those oddities that I had to try.  I happen to love pickles!  I was the only one in the family that was expecting to like this.  My husband's first comment was. "make that on a night I'm not home for dinner."  Well he was home tonight, and he decided to alter his comment to, "I'm not excited but I am intrigued."    To make a long story short,  it was alright.  The more we ate it, the better it became, but in the end I think the best recommendation I can give is that my husband liked it a lot better than he expected.  I don't plan on keeping the recipe, but I will look around for another pickle soup recipe as It think it has possibilities.  I wish I had read the reviews for the soup before I made it.  I was thinking that a res...

Well, it is freezing here in Florida tonight, and by freezing, I mean "Florida Freezing" and that is mid forties.  Since there is a chill in the air, I thought of soup, and I decided to try my hand at french onion soup.  I like that this recipe called for toasting the crouton instead of broiling the entire bowl of soup with the cheese over it.  Now I love a bubbling cauldron of cheese, but I simply don't have the crocks.  It wasn't a fast dinner, (25 minutes for caramelizing onions alone!) but it was a tasty dinner.  Next time I would make homemade broth; I felt that the cartons I used took a bit a way from the end result.  However, we all enjoyed it.  Even the three year old ate heartily.  French Onion Soup   1/2 Cup unsalted butter 4 onions sliced 2 garlic cloves chopped 2 bay leaves 2 fresh thyme sprigs Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 Cup red wine about 1/2 bottle 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 Qt bee...

It is cold out, so I opt for a soup tonight.  Other than the chopping (which was minimal), this dish was a breeze! I know I have said it before in the blog, but when a recipe calls for a small bit of tomato paste, I use a 1 tablespoon scoop to portion out the rest of the can on to a plate and freeze.  Then I pop those frozen portions off and put them in a plastic bag.  Easy and give you a simple way to store all that extra paste.  I wasn't expecting the dish to be anything less than good, but I was also not expecting an OMG moment.  It was an OMG dish!  I used a baguette instead of chibatta because I didn't read the recipe well before my trip to the store, (blush) but I it is a mistake I will make again.  The  whole dish was wonderful, but I think that bread was what took it from good to great.  If you make this, I would suggest you do what I did, use 4 cups of stock.  I think that if I hadn't used that last cup in the carton (just to cl...

This recipe was full of snafus.  Lets start with the fact my husband thought it sounded awful and kept suggesting we go out to eat on the evenings I planned to make it.  I of course took him up on those offers;).  Well he is working tonight and I have the stuff to make it, so here it is.  I had some problems when cooking this.  Lets start with the fact that the leftover feta I was planning on using up in this recipe was off.  It smelled pretty bad, so in to the garbage with it.  Now this is me: Me: "its late, and I'm not going out just for feta." ME: "it won't be right" Me: "surely one of the many cheeses in the fridge will work!" ME:  "Probably only the goat cheese you have for another recipe" Me: "I can get more tomorrow" ME: "go to the store, if it's not right (read good) you can't tell your husband I told you so!" Me: (thinking) That's a good point! (out loud) "let's have a glass of  win...

I have family coming in town.  I don't like to make guinea pigs of them on special occasions, so I made the ever popular chicken and 40 cloves, but I did make a new recipe, this cheese soup.  It was wonderful!  Everyone really liked it, including the most picky eater I know, my nephew!  Since I have family here, that's it for the post, but I will say it was tasty as it is not photogenic;! Cheese Soup 2 T  unsalted butter 5    ounces small diced onion (approximately 1 cup) 5    ounces small diced carrot (approximately 1 cup) 5    ounces small diced celery (approximately 1 cup) 1/2 t  salt for sweating vegetables,plus more if needed at end of cooking 3 T  all-purpose flour 1 qt chicken broth,heated to a simmer 1 T  minced garlic 1    bay leaf 1 c  heavy cream 10    ounces Fontina,shredded 1 t  Marsala wine 1 t  Worcestershire sauce 1/2 t...

My darling husband had a wisdom tooth extracted this morning, so I planned on making soup for him for dinner.  Turns out, he can't have any hot foods today, so he had to eat it room temp.   Luckily, the instructions said that it could be served cold.  Now, I hated this soup.  I am not a fan of carrot and it was very carrot-y.  I ate it, but I deleted the recipe.  My husband thought it ok, but the boy liked it and told me to keep the recipe.  (shhh don't tell him that I didn't;)  It was easy to make, I will give it that.  If you adore carrots, then you will like this. Curried Carrot Soup 1 T  canola oil 2 t  curry powder 1    medium garlic clove,smashed 1    (1/2-inch) piece ginger peeled and smashed 1/2    medium onion,coarsely chopped 1 lb carrots,peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds 1    medium bay leaf 2 1/2 c  low-sodium vegetable broth...

I am finding yet another advantage to this blog.  If I write it down here I seem to stick to it better.  I guess a public declaration keeps me honest;).  I was sorely tempted to just pick a recipe from the to try file and forget my war on the kitchen clutter, but I said to myself, you said you would do this so do it and don't give up yet.  (hey if this works, maybe I should write that I am getting a supermodel figure, write a best selling novel, open a successful restaurant and will make a million dollars!:)  So, I hit the pantry and the fridge with a serious blow.  I started with the pantry.  I have some corn husks in there from the last tamales I made.  Half a bag of something, a specialty something, has to go.  I remember the collards from my Front Porch Pickings Thanksgiving basket.  The tamale  we loved had kale; why not make that recipe but with the collards.  Oh and it will almost finish off that bag of masa in the pant...

I went out with the ladies tonight, and there is a chill in the air, so I made this soup I heard about on NPR's The Splendid Table.  I loved what they were doing on the show; they asked chefs to give them three must know recipes.  This one caught my attention for a couple of reasons.  The chef recommended that, since you need a lot of tomatoes for this, buy all the brands at the supermarket and do a taste test and see which product is the best tasting.  I did this tonight and was very surprised to find that the expensive can was my least favorite!  I also liked his reasons for having this dish as a top three, was his mom would often give him tomato soup with a grilled cheese (canned soup, wonder bread), and he took that nostalgic dish and added to it by making it this way, and he hopes his kids will add to it too.  I was also intrigued by how fast it seemed to come together!  I made it in about 25 minutes, but 20 of it, I spent getting ready to go...

I got my Front Porch Pickings basket today, and the ingredients make me think of broccoli cheese soup.  This week's basket is particularly exciting as we can now customize our baskets with extra of a particular produce or remove something we don't use.  This week's basket included: broccoli, carrots and onions;  all three of these are in this broccoli cheese soup.  I loved this soup.  Yes the half and half makes it a bit decadent, but milk breaks down if it boils and this soup tried to often:).  I think this soup would also be super tasty as a sauce on a baked potato.  The only alterations I made to the recipe were that I used beef stock instead of chicken.  (I had like 3 beef cartons in the pantry thanks to bogo sales and obviously I don't use beef as much as the chicken)  I also didn't move the soup to a blender; instead I used an immersion blender.  It was tasty and fairly easy.  It requires making a roux and a lot of stirring i...