Shoyu-Miso Tare (ramen bowl flavor base)

I'll try to remember to take my OWN photo, but so far all I've done is mix up the Shoyu-Miso Tare itself, which is a concentrated flavor base for ramen bowls. Just add hot broth, ramen noodles and whatever veg or proteins you fancy! (...all pre-cooked, of course!)

Shoyu-Miso Tare

¼ C tamari/soy sauce

2 T mirin

2 T sake

2 T white miso

1 tsp Sriracha, or a pinch of red pepper flakes

Whisk it all together and get ready throw together a ramen bowl!

To add extra flavor, add a couple spoonfulls of this on top of your ramen bowl:

Scallion-Ginger Sauce

4 thinly sliced scallions

1-2 T minced fresh ginger*

1 tsp tamari/soy sauce

pinch of red pepper flakes

¼ C sesame oil

In a small bowl, combine scallions, ginger, soy sauce and red pepper flakes.

Heat sesame oil in a small sauce pan until is shimmers (about 1 minute, just before smoking). Pour hot oil over scallion-ginger mixture and let steep at least 10 minutes before serving.

* I buy this in pre-prepared squeeze tubes at the grocery store.

Creamed Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

2 T butter

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

¼ C flour

1 C whole milk

2-4 C chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely minced

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Optional: 1 C shredded white cheddar and ¼ C dry white wine (or 1 T sherry)

Directions

Melt butter in a stock pot or dutch oven; cook onion and garlic over medium heat until very soft and translucent (5-7 minutes). Add caulifower, salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower just begins to brown (another 5-7 minutes).

Sprinkle in flour, stirring to coat. Add milk, 2 C broth, bay leaf and rosemary; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender -- it may take a little longer if you chopped the cauliflower in large chunks.

Remove bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to purée mixture, adding additional broth to achieve desired consistency. (If you don't have an immersion blender, work in batches in a traditional blender; then return everything to the stock pot.)

If desired, add shredded cheddar and white wine. Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg just before serving.

Chili

Dry bean chili...a combination of a bunch of different recipes. Easy to add more or less of anything (herbs, spices, beans, ground beef, peppers....) that appeals to you!

Ingredients

1½ lb dry beans (kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans...or a combo)

2 cloves garlic, whole, lightly crushed

2 bay leaves

1 sprig each rosemary & thyme

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 sweet onion, diced

1-2 T olive oil

1 lb ground beef

½ lb ground sausage

1 bell pepper (red or green), diced

1 jalapeno, minced

2 t chili powder

2 t cumin

2 T brown sugar

2 t dried basil

1½ t smoked paprika

½ t dried oregano

¼ t black pepper

21 oz canned tomatoes (diced or crushed)

6 oz tomato paste

2 T Worcestershre

1 oz beef bouillion

6 oz beer

salt & pepper to taste

Optional: shredded cheddar, sour cream, sliced scallions...

Directions

Place dry beans in large pan or bowl and cover the beans with water 1-2 inches. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves and rosemary & thyme sprigs; soak overnight. Add additional water, as needed; soak overnight again. Drain; remove herbs, bay leaves and garlic cloves - discard. Place beans in a large stock pot or crock pot.

Brown the diced onion in olive oil in a large skillet until soft and translucent. Remove to large stock pot (or crock pot) with beans. Brown ground beef and sausage in same skillet until cooked through. Add to onions and beans in stock pot. Peppers can also be sauteéd first, if desire, or added directly to stock pot. Add canned tomatoes with juices, spices, tomato paste, Worcestershire, bouillion and beer.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Simmer, covered, 3-4 hours minimum, 6-8 hours or longer in crock pot...until beans are tender and flavors well blended. Salt & pepper to taste. Add additional water or beef stock for thinner chili; continue to simmer UNcovered if thicker chili is desired.

Serve with shredded cheddar, sour cream, sliced scallions...

Cornbread is always a nice side with chili!

Avgolemono (?) Greek lemon-egg soup...or Sauce

Hmmm...not sure how enthusiastic I am about lemon-egg soup. But...slightly thicker, as a sauce...it was good over broccoli! But I saw a avgolemono soup recipe presented as a sauce in a magazine (Cooking Light, if I remember correctly, but it was years ago), so I found a recipe, reduced it (I don't need a ton of it, used as a sauce), thickened it a bit and...here you go!

Ingredients
2/3 C chicken stock
1 egg
2 tsp lemon zest
2½ tsp lemon juice
pinch salt
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan to just simmering. Meanwhile, whisk together everything else except the olive oil until very light and frothy. Whisk, whisk, whisk!

Temper the egg mixture by slowly adding a little of the hot chicken broth at a time while continuing to whisk. Add about half the chicken broth this way, then slowly add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan, whisking continuously.

Reheat the mixture just until it thickens (don't boil it!). Remove from heat and whisk in the olive oil.

not your traditional Ham & Bean Soup

I had a ham bone saved to make soup. Last time, I made split pea, which I love, but I wanted something else. Ham and White Bean soup. But I didn’t have everything for a traditional Ham & White Bean soup, and I wasn’t going out on a shopping run: It’s snowing like crazy outside. School was cancelled today (again!), and I'm cozy inside and soup sounds perfect. So I made soup with what I had.  Sweeter and with more tangy acidity than any traditional Ham & White Bean soup – but that works for me! As near as I can remember…

Ingredients

1 lb ham bone, with extra meat and fat attached

1 lb diced ham*

2 15-oz cans white or cannellini beans

            1 can I drained, the other I dumped in the pot with the juice

1 15-oz can light red kidney beans

            only because I didn’t have more white beans

½ onion, small diced & sautéed until caramelized

1-2 t minced garlic

            I threw this in at the end when sautéing the onion

¼ C tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2-3 T honey

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 t sriracha

water or broth

salt to taste

I had Himalayan pink salt, but that wouldn’t be necessary, little was needed at all…ham is pretty salty already

Directions

Sauté the diced onion to caramelize it, adding the garlic in at the end. (My onion also had thyme, but not much; I would have also thrown in some small diced carrot to sauté and caramelize with the onion, but I didn’t have any. Next time…)

Throw the onion and garlic in a stock pot with everything else and let it all simmer at least an hour. Add water (or broth) to adjust the consistency to your liking.

Remove the bone, pulling off any remaining chunks of meat (if large chunks of fat fall off into the soup, remove those as well). Fish out the bay leaves. Season to taste.

Enjoy!

* The ham originally had a honey and Dijon mustard glaze; also cloves. There was maybe ½ cup of the sauce and drippings with the leftover ham; those flavors came through in the finished soup as well, though I added a little extra honey. Without the sauce, I’d add 1 T each mustard and honey, a pinch of clove; taste it and adjust as desired.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

This is an approximate recipe...but soup is easy to make by tasting and adjusting along the way!

Ingredients
¼ C olive oil
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 yellow onions, rough chopped
50-60 oz canned, diced tomatoes (with juice)
2 C chicken broth
¼ C sugar
2 tsp dried oregano
12-15 large, fresh basil leaves
1-2 C cream
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan or stock pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic; heat until fragrant. Add chopped onions, cooking until soft and translucent (8-10 minutes), stirring frequently.

Add diced tomatoes, broth, sugar, oregano and basil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 30 minutes (more is fine, let those flavors blend). Using an immersion blender, purée until smooth.* Add cream as you purée, return to boil. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Serving suggestions: Serve with cheese lace (pictured), topped with shredded parmesan, a dollop of sour cream, a fresh basil leaf...

* If you don't have an immersion blender, simply work in batches to purée soup in a standard blender.

Beef & Vegetable Stew with Red Wine & Thyme

There's a lot of flexibility with this and any soup or stew recipe. I just kind of put in what I had available...trying to use up the end of a bottle of red wine, and half a green pepper. Add and adjust to suit your taste...or whatever you have on hand! These amounts made enough to feed about six.

Ingredients:
1 sweet onion, large diced
1 tsp thyme 
¼+ C butter
32 oz beef stock
1 lb beef stew meat
1½ C red wine (cabernet, or any red wine)
1 lb potatoes, large diced 
½ lb carrots, large diced 
½ green pepper, large diced 
¼ C heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
After dicing the vegetables, sauté and caramelize the onions in a couple tablespoons of butter. (I actually had the grease from bacon fried the previous day, but any fat would work.) Meanwhile, heat beef stock in a stock pot. When the onions are nearly ready, add the thyme and continue to sauté until fragrant; then add to stock pot. If you like (and I do!), brown the potatoes and carrots first; if not, add them directly to the stock pot.

Pat the beef dry with a paper towel; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown in a hot pan with  a couple tablespoons of butter (or bacon fat...); add to the stock pot. Use the red wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits left in the pan, then add to the stock pot.

If you like a thicker stew, melt some additional butter (or bacon fat) in the sauté pan, and use roughly an equal amount of flour to make a roux; add some of the beef stock and whisk to make a smooth gravy...then add it all to the stock pot to thicken the broth. I had about ¼ cup of heavy cream leftover from another recipe...so I added that too.

Simmer until potatoes and carrots are thoroughly cooked. Salt and pepper to taste.

Parsnip & Apple Soup

This soup is part of my ongoing effort to enlarge my vegetable recipe repertoire (and my personal vegetable palate!)...I thought the inclusion of apples in this parsnip soup would add a little sweetness and a spring-like freshness. Happy Spring!

Ingredients:
1 C apple cider 
½ C half-and-half
3 C chicken broth
1 lb parsnips (3-5 depending on size)
2 leeks
2 shallots
3 Fuji (or similar) apples 
½ tsp salt 
¼ tsp white pepper
optional garnish: crème fraîche and chopped chives

Directions:
Peel and roughly chop parsnips and shallots. Roughly chop the white parts of the leeks. Peel, core and roughly chop apples.

Pour cider, half-and-half and broth into large saucepan; cover and bring to boil. Add vegetables and apples. Cook until tender (about 20-25 minutes--parsnips take the longest, so test a large chunk of parsnip for tenderness).

Purée soup with salt and pepper until very smooth. (Black pepper will flavor the soup fine, but it won't preserve the pure color of the parsnip-apple-shallot base.) Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche and chopped chives.

Pomegranate Chutney

Creamy vegetable soup* garnished with Pomegranate Chutney and candied nuts.

Ingredients:

½ C jellied cranberry

¹/₃ C scallions, finely chopped (including about ½ the greens)

1 C pomegranate arils

1 Tbls  fresh minced ginger

1 Tbls  fresh minced jalapeño

½ tsp  ground coriander

1 Tbls  lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Place jellied cranberry in a microwave-able bowl; heat until softened (about 20 seconds). Gently mash with a fork or whisk until smooth and creamy. Stir in scallions, pomegranate arils, ginger, chili, coriander and lemon juice; add salt and pepper to taste. Let stand 15 minutes before serving to allow flavors to blend.

David & Amber

Serving suggestion: Try serving appetizer sized "soup shooters"...

* Many creamy vegetable soups would be complimented well with pomegranate chutney and/or candied nuts...such as creamy sweet potato soup, pumpkin, butternut squash, carrot...

Potato-Leek Soup with Bacon

This soup tasted good -- especially with the bacon -- but the Culinary Arts students thought it was a little thin...and I agree! We're adding extra potatoes (a few more blended and some extra diced chunks as well) to thicken it up before serving it again. :)

Ingredients

2 Tbls butter

8 slices bacon, chopped

3 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

8 C chicken broth

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and ½” diced

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 C heavy cream

3 C frozen peas (do not thaw in advance)

½ C chopped scallions

Directions

Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp (about 8 minutes). Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, reserving about 2 tablespoons fat in the pan.

Add 2 tablespoons butter to pan, then add leeks and garlic; cover and cook until tender (about 5 minutes).

Add broth, 4 cups water, potatoes and salt and pepper; cover and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring just occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes).

Purée half the soup in a blender (remove the filler-cap to let steam escape), then return to the pot. Add cream and bring to simmer.

5 minutes before serving, add peas. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with crumbled bacon and chopped scallions to garnish.

Another twist on Potato-Leek Soup: Potato-Leek Soup with Mini Pierogi.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

6 C chicken stock
2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
4 Tbls butter
3 Tbls minced shallot
1½ lb. white button mushrooms
¼ C Madeira wine (optional; or chicken stock)
2 Tbls flour
½ C heavy cream
salt
pepper
optional garnish: sage leaves

Coarsely chop white button mushrooms.

In a small saucepan, warm 2 cups stock. Add dried porcini; let stand about 20 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove porcini; chop and set aside. Strain using cheese-cloth or a fine-mesh strainer; save liquid for later.

In a stockpot over medium heat, melt butter. Sauté shallot until soft (5 minutes). Add mushrooms; cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated (5-7 minutes). Add Madeira; cook until liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and stir to coat. Stir in 4 cups stock and liquid strained off porcini. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Purée soup in blender, working in batches (or use a hand-held immersion blender) until smooth. Stir in cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Obviously, you could have fun using different varieties of mushrooms and create different blends of mushroom soup.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

MHS: This recipe was part of the Culinary Arts course (Spring 2012)  -- We also made our own stock for this recipe. :) 

 

INGREDIENTS:

9 Tbls butter

1 lrg    onion, chopped

1/3 C   flour

3 C      half & half

4½ C  broth (vegetable or chicken)

3          bay leaves

½ tsp  grated nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

6 C      broccoli florets

2 med carrots, diced

3½ C  (about 12 oz) grated sharp cheddar (white or yellow); plus extra for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven (stock pot or other large pot) over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in flour and cook until golden, about 3-4 minutes; then gradually whisk in half & half until smooth. Add broth, bay leaves and nutmeg. Season with salt & pepper as desired.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli (reserve some for garnish if desired) and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

Discard bay leaves. Puree the soup in batches in a blender, or in the pot with an immersion blender. There will still be flecks of carrot and broccoli.

Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Add up to ¾ C additional broth if soup is too thick.

Serve garnished with additional shredded cheese and/or broccoli florets.