Chicken Cacciatore

I made this at the beginning of November, but as I had my university exams around then, I decided to prioritise, and study for those instead of writing a blog post.  Wise choice, because I passed all my classes!

This recipe comes from a recipe book my family has had forever, and I decided I wanted to make this because I felt like pasta, and we had chicken leg pieces to use.  Sometimes it's a matter of finding a recipe that suits what you have in the pantry to use up, instead of going out to buy stuff new and fresh specifically for a recipe, which can end up quite expensive!!

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken leg portions (or 8 drums/thighs, or 4 thighs + 4 drums)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced into thin wedge
1 garlic clove
sprig of fresh thyme (I only had dried, so I used a tsp)
sprig of fresh rosemary
150ml dry white wine
200ml chicken stock
400g can chopped tomatoes
40g black olives, pitted (we didn't have any olives, so I just left them out)
15g capers, drained (again, we didn't have these either, so left them out)
salt and pepper
freshly cooked fettuccine, linguine or pasta shells

METHOD

• Heat 2 tsp oil and lightly brown the chicken pieces for 2 - 3 mins each side
• Remove from pan and set aside
• Add remaining 1 tsp oil to juices in the pan
• Add red onion and gently cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally
• Add garlic and cook for a further 5 mins until beginning to brown
• Return chicken to the pan
• Add herbs, then pour in wine and allow to bubble for 1 - 2 minutes
• Add stock and tomatoes, then gently simmer for 15 mins
• Stir in olives and capers (if you have them!)
• Cook uncovered  for a further 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened
• Remove (fresh) herbs and season with salt and pepper
• Serve over freshly cooked pasta (500g dry pasta)

This was WAY yummier than I expected and I really loved the chicken with the tomato!  It was a lot easier to make than I thought as well, so that was a bonus!  Definitely one I shall make again in the future, because you all know how much I love pasta.

Recipe Inspiration: Everyday Cookbook: Low Fat (2006), edited by Gina Steer, p114

Bacon, Leek and Potato Soup

Apologies dear food-blog followers for my slackness of posting.  It has been an incredibly hard year personally, and I kind of lost my mojo for a while there.  I have been busy with uni and other stressors, but I'm back to experimenting now!  I have another chicken and lentil recipe I'm going to try soon too, so keep an eye out for that!

Anyway, down to business.  We visited my mum's family last week, and my grandfather is a farmer by trade, who now lives in town.  This means he has a prolific vege garden, as he can't quite give up the land work!  He thus gave us a bag of leeks he'd grown, and I needed to do something with them.  

Insert genius idea here for leek and potato soup (which my parents incidentally also ate last night from the restaurant whose catering business I work for...).  I wanted to add in bacon too because we have some in the freezer and I love bacon (who doesn't!)... and here is the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp paprika
200g bacon
2 large leeks, white/light green parts, sliced thinly and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
4 cups chicken stock, plus 2 cups water
2 medium potatoes, diced small
pepper and salt
1/2 cup cream
1 & 1/2 cups frozen peas (don't worry about thawing them)
1 tsp onion salt

METHOD

• Cook bacon in a large pan, until beginning to brown, then remove bacon onto a plate lined with a paper towel
•  Add 1 tbsp oil to pan, and toss in leeks and garlic
• Cover and cook until soft (around 5 min)
• Add stock plus water, potatoes, onion salt, salt and pepper to taste
• Cover and bring to a boil over high heat
• Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are cooked, (around 10 min)
• (optional step) Puree half the soup in blender (leave out centre piece to allow steam to escape) then combine back in the pan
• Mash the soup gently (which I did because blending was a pain in the butt)
• Add cream and bring to a simmer
• Add peas and cook through, around 3 min
• Add bacon back in and serve

This was actually so easy to make!  It only took half an hour to cook (not counting prep).  The most time consuming part was cutting up the leek!!  And it turned out super delicious, so I'm really happy with it.  The peas and bacon just made it extra amazing!!!

Of course, you can alter it to make it vegetarian, just use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and no bacon! :)   

We had it with grainy bread and butter.  A good meal on a cold spring night (YES it's the second day of spring already!  CRAZY!)

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/potato-leek-soup-with-bacon-recipe/index.html

Modified Minestrone

We won a hamper thing in a raffle, and in it were some things my family doesn't ordinarily keep in our pantry... including a can of pink salmon, and some cannelini beans.  I used up the pink salmon by mixing it with cream cheese and spreading it on crackers, which was nice for the first few mouthfuls but then go too creamy and sickly for me.

But the beans stumped me.  I didn't know what to do with them.  Then I saw Rachael Ray put them in a soup.  And I was like "hey, minestrone!"  So following Jamie Olivers basic minestrone recipe, I kind of altered it to include the random ingredients in our pantry.

Unfortunately I was slack on this one and didn't take photos (because I didn't intend to write about it really) so you'll just have to use your imagination... picture a tomatoey soup with lots of bits in it including potato, beans and pasta.... om nom nom...

INGREDIENTS
1 x400g can whole or chopped tomatoes
1 x400g can rinsed cannelini beans
4 cups chicken stock
diced ham (around 200g)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 capsicum (bell pepper), diced
1 potato, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup small pasta
1 small tsp crushed garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp onion salt (if you have it)
1 tbsp BBQ sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (more or less depending on your tolerance)
1/2 cup grated cheese (ideally parmesan, but I didn't have any, so used Edam & Tasty - just as yum!)

sliced fresh bread to mop up soupyness

METHOD

• Heat pan with oil, and add ham, onion, garlic, carrot, capsicum, bay leaf and oregano
• Cook until veges are soft
• Add everything else except the pasta
• Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes
• 10 minutes before serving, add in the pasta
• Test the pasta to make sure it's cooked before serving, and taste constantly to adjust seasoning
• If the soup is too thick after the pasta is cooked, it can be thinned out with some more stock, or water
• Serve immediately with fresh bread

Seriously, I know it seems like a lot of ingredients, but it's so delicious, and really quite easy because most things all go in together.  Was delicious on a cold autumn night! :)

Pumpkin Quinoa Patties

Well hello to you! (Miranda quote, of course!)  Sorry for having been so slack on the new recipe front!  Busy busy life, especially now that I'm back at uni!  I will try to do something on here at least once a month! :)  I did actually make this recipe in March (and was going to write it up asap... clearly that didn't happen) *virtual slap on the wrist* - lots of family drama and tragedy is my excuse :(

Patties, with chips and peas :D

Aaaaanyway, my Belgian friend Fien made them from a recipe book her dad sent her, we had them one night at her house when a friend of ours who was gluten free and vegetarian came over.  They were so good I wanted to make some for my parents to try too.  They sounded really bizarre when I first heard of them, they looked amazing, and the taste?  Well you'll just have to read on to find out!  *cheeky*


INGREDIENTS
1 average sized butternut pumpkin
1 tbsp olive oil
230g quinoa
470ml water
1 cube chicken stock (or vegetable if vegetarian) - use GF stock if you're GF

Pre-Grilling

170g rice (basmati or wild preferably)
110g spring onions

85g dried cranberries
1 tbsp basil 
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese (grated) - optional, but adds a real depth of flavour

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 200 deg C
• Slice pumpkin in half, remove pips
• Place pumpkin halves on oven dish, and brush with olive oil
• Bake for approx. 1 hour (until soft)
• Let cool, and scoop out pumpkin, discard peel, and mash
• Mix the 470ml water with the stock cube and add to a pot with the quinoa
• Cook quinoa 10 to 12 minutes, until the water is absorbed
• When cooked, let cool for 10 minutes
• Cook rice ( using whatever your usual method is)
• Mix quinoa and rice together
• Add to the pumpkin mash
• Add all the remaining ingredients, mixing well as you go
• Form patties (this is the messy bit, where you end up with orange hands!)
• Bake for a further 15-20 minutes in oven, pan, grill, barbecue, however you want really! 
  
  (Serve hot or cold)

Several things I want to say.  First of all, while this seems like a lot of effort, a lot of steps, and preparation, and being organised enough to begin making this with enough time to roast the pumpkin, IT IS WORTH IT.  There are the most amazing non-meat patties I have ever had.  Especially with aioli on them!  The cranberries give a touch of contrasting sweetness and juiciness, the quinoa is not even noticeable, yet it is so good for you!  The pumpkin is delicious, and I can't get enough of them!!

Finished Product!

Secondly, when it comes to the final cooking stage, it doesn't matter how you do them, just cook them kind of like you would with ordinary burger patties.  My only piece of advice is, the pumpkin can get quite sticky, and can cause your pattie to disintegrate, which, if you're anything like me, will make you incredibly angry and frustrated.  I HIGHLY recommend cooking them on the smooth plate of a BBQ, or in a George Foreman-type bench top grill that has non-stick plates.  You really don't want to miss this cooking step out, because it gives the patties a nice golden edge, and makes them taste EVEN better.

The patties we had for dinner, lined up in our George Foreman grill, with non-stick tinfoil (because the non-stick surface on our grill is wearing away now, it's so old and over-used ;P )

Thirdly - THIS MAKES A LOT OF PATTIES!!! Don't fret though, because if it is more than you or your family can eat, you can certainly freeze them!  I froze my extra patties (before the final cooking stage) with baking paper between each pattie (to stop them sticking together).  Now, I have a fast food, I can get 1 pattie out of the freezer, microwave for 1 min to defrost, and then do the last cooking step (in the grill, etc.).  Healthy fast lunch = WIN!

So there you have it, my new favourite vegetarian food!  I actually ended up making a lot patties out of it, so it's lasted a while (I made them in early March, it's now mid-April, and I've still got about 6 in the freezer :D ).  Enjoy!  And I would love you guys to comment back sometime about the recipes of mine you've tried!!

Satay Chicken

Most of the time, I follow the recipes I find.  But sometimes, I find several recipes, and then use bits from all of them!  This is what I did tonight, and it turned out well.  Felt like satay chicken but didn't have a jar of the sauce I normally use, so decided to try to make it from scratch. 

INGREDIENTS
500g chicken breast, sliced
1 onion, sliced
peas 
1 pack vermicelli
1 can of coconut milk (or cream)
3 tbsp peanut butter
sweet chilli sauce (to taste)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 or 3 tbsp of sugar
1/2 cup water
salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed ginger

METHOD

• Set some salted water to boil, for the vermicelli.  Once it boils, add the vermicelli then turn off the heat.
• Meanwhile, brown chicken and onion in oil, in a fry pan
• Add ginger and garlic, cook for 2 min
• Add coconut cream, peanut butter, chilli sauce, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar, and salt
• Stir and bring to a simmer
• Reduce heat and simmer until thickens
• Add peas and cook until tender
• Serve on drained vermicelli noodles, or rice

So this was kind of an ad-libbed recipe, but it tasted good, and photographed terribly.  I think I'll make it again in future, but on rice.

 

Crustless Quiche

Thought I'd better get a recipe in before October is over!  Gotta have at least one entry per month! ;) No, actually this month has been insane with uni work, haven't had time to try anything new (much) or write about it.

But now I'm on study leave, which gives me a little flexibility to do stuff like this, so here is today's lunch! 

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup self raising flour

Before being cooked

salt and pepper

1/2 cup cheese (grated)
1 fried onion
Ham or cooked bacon
Veges - I used grated carrot and seasonal asparagus

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C
• Whisk eggs, milk, flour and seasoning together
• Add everything else to the mix
• Spread in a silicone quiche/flan dish (silicone makes it so much easier to remove at the end)
• Bake for 45 mins, until gold on top and puffed up
• Let sit for a couple of minutes (to make it even easier to remove from silicone)
• Cut up and serve hot, or cold, with relish and sour cream (optional, but delicious)

So this was a super easy recipe to make, and my mum loved it.  I'm not a super egg fan myself (as I probably said when I wrote about the crustless broccoli quiches I made back when I began this blog!) but it was pretty nice.  Would be great for lunches too.

Shout out to Jeremy, one of my best friends, who I've known since we were 7.  This was his recipe/idea.


Recipe Inspiration: http://www.grownups.co.nz/read/lifestyle/food_and_wine/crustless-quiche-recipie

Apricot Chicken

Found via pinterest many moons ago, when I couldn't eat much, but was dreaming and researching and stalking photos of food, this is a recipe that has been sitting in my "to try" pile for a while (rhyme not intended).

The original recipe called for fresh apricots and vinegar and sugar, but I didn't have any fresh apricots - out of season, so it gave an alternative using apricot jam and dried apricots.  So that's how I'll write this recipe, with how I did it! :)

INGREDIENTS
12 dried, pitted apricots (I used a bakers dozen just in case), diced finely
1/2 cup apricot jam

1kg skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
Salt
Cooking oil
1 diced onion
2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sweet chilli sauce (or Tobasco sauce, or other hot sauce like the recipe suggests)
Black pepper

METHOD

• Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat
• Cook the chicken until browned, sprinkling salt over while it cooks
• Remove from pan and set aside
• Add more oil to pan if necessary
• Saute onions until brown
• Add chicken stock, chopped apricots and jam
• Lower the heat to medium
• Add cinnamon, rosemary, and chilli sauce
• Taste and season accordingly with salt
• Bring to a simmer then lower the heat
• Gently simmer for 10-20 minutes
• Return chicken to sauce
• Simmer gently for 5 minutes
• Serve while hot, with rice

I wasn't sure about this recipe.  It sounded nice, but once I started making it, the cinnamon just looked and smelled weird.  Cinnamon doesn't usually go in savoury things as far as I knew.

But you know what, it was AMAZING.  Well, so said my parents, my friend and my Dad's friend who were there.  It actually tasted way better than it smelled.  It was quite spicy, and not sweet like I expected.  I also really liked the fact that most of the stuff in the recipe are things you ordinarily have in a pantry.

One thing I would change would be the amount of vegetables.  Or lack thereof.  I'm just not sure which veges would go with it.  Maybe some capsicum (bell pepper).  I'll try that next time!


Recipe Inspiration: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apricot_chicken/?amp%3Butm_campaign=Feed%253A+elise%252Fsimplyrecipes+%2528Simply+Recipes%2529&amp%3Butm_medium=feed

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Ordinarily, when Sweet & Sour Chicken is on the menu, it's a la jar, or a la can.  A long time ago I found a recipe for Sweet & Sour Chicken made from scratch, and got the can of pineapple ready to make it, since it's one of my favourites!  I went through a phase of wanting to try and make from scratch that which we normally make from a ready made sauce.

However, the can of pineapple sat in the pantry unused until now.  Due to lack of time and motivation to make it.  Jars and cans are just way faster and easier right??  Laziness.

Well actually, in spite of all the steps, this recipe is really easy!!  And do you want to know a bonus??  ALL the other ingredients are ones that are usually in the pantry!  Super convenient.  Apart from the pineapple... obviously not something we ordinarily have. ;)

INGREDIENTS
450g boneless skinless chicken breast
1 egg white
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cornflour

1 400g can crushed pineapple (save the juice!)
1/4 cup juice from crushed pineapple
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup tomato sauce (aka ketchup)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp and 1 tsp cooking oil

2 small-medium onions (cut into chunks)
1 carrot (cut into small sticks)
1 tsp crushed ginger (or 1 tsp fresh grated)

METHOD

• Combine chicken with egg white, 1/4 tsp salt, and cornflour
• Stir to coat chicken evenly
• Let sit for 15 mins at room temp, or up to overnight in fridge
• Whisk together pineapple juice, vinegar, tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, and brown sugar
• Heat large frying pan over high heat
• Pour 1 tbsp oil into pan and swirl to coat
• Make sure the pan is very hot, and then put the chicken in in one layer to fry untouched for 1 min
• Flip and fry other side the same for 1 min.  Chicken should still be pink-ish in the middle
• Put chicken to the side on a clean plate
• Turn heat to medium
• Add remaining oil, and add the ginger, onion and carrots
• Cook 5 mins or until soft
• Add pineapple chunks and the sauce mixture
• Turn the heat to high until the sauce simmers
• Add the chicken back in when it does
• Cook until the chicken is cooked through.
• Taste the sauce and add some more brown sugar if you like
• Don't forget to season with salt, and if you feel like something is missing, toss in some sweet chilli sauce!

Well.  I thought it smelled a bit weird.  But OH MY GOODNESS does it taste amazing!!!!!!!!!!! The excessive use of exclamation marks is definitely justified.  Seriously the BEST Sweet & Sour Chicken sauce I've ever had.  Even better than bought ones!!!  I'm not even kidding.  We will never buy ready made jar/can sauces for it again.  And SO easy!!

A few adjustments I made were adding some Sweet Chilli Sauce, and about 1/4 cup water to just water down the sauce a little bit.  Also, the original recipe called for 2 capsicums as the vegetables (not onions and carrot) but we didn't have any of them so I improvised and it was still amazing.  I think in future, if we have capsicum, I will definitely use only one small onion, carrot, and capsicum.  A good balance of veges!!  Oh, and I also chucked in some peas towards the end.  Gotta have some green hehe :)

Another thing is that the step with the egg and cornflour on the chicken... seems like a bit of a waste of time and a bit messy.  Not sure what it's supposed to achieve so will skip it next time, but still pre-cook the chicken.   :)

Recipe Inspiration: www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sweet_and_sour_chicken/

Macaroni Cheese

Tonight was a lazy night.  I wanted macaroni cheese for some reason (perhaps because I almost had it for lunch the other day but ended up having sushi...thus my craving was left unsatisfied haha).  

I had never made it before, and I googled a recipe.  Generally when I do this, I open 3 or 4 of the top recipes that come up, pick one, then see what different ingredients the others include, and then put that in the recipe I've chosen as well.  If that makes sense.  So, for example, in this one, the original recipe did not call for salt or paprika, but I added both, since they were in fact common in the other mac and cheese recipes I opened.

I also didn't follow the instructions exactly (to my own detriment... I will explain in my evaluation!), trying to do a Rachael Ray and add "starchy cooking water" from the pasta to the sauce to make the sauce and pasta "marry" as Rachael says.  I shall tell you what happened after the recipe.  :)

INGREDIENTS

500g macaroni

50g butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

2 cups (250g) grated cheese

parsley

1/2 tsp salt

paprika

METHOD

• Put macaroni on to cook as per packet instructions
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan
• Cook, stirring, for 1 minute over medium-low heat
• Stir in flour, cooking until it has thickened a bit
• Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth
• Stir until mix comes to a boil
• Reduce heat
• Add salt, and a pinch of paprika and parsley (to taste!)
• Stir well
• Simmer for 2 min
• Add cheese slowly, stirring continuously over a low heat
• Turn off heat, and either mix drained pasta thru sauce, or sauce all over drained pasta (whichever dish is big enough!)

So yes, my minor indiscretion was the addition of "starchy cooking water".  Note to self, this makes the sauce go all granulated, gritty and curdled (as Mum said).  I will NOT be doing that in future haha!

Other than the funny texture, it was actually really delicious.  I can imagine it would be better with bacon (or ham) chopped up in it, and some fresh peas... but hey, I like my meals colourful, and I've never understood the whole mac and cheese thing - it seems too plain to me haha!  But I did like this, and will make it again!  So easy and quick! 

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/13955/classic+macaroni+cheese

Tuna Pasta Bake

Well hello lovely blog readers!  I'm ever so sorry it has been a while since I posted a new recipe!  What can I say, I've been incredibly busy with uni and work and trying to have a life :)  I've still been cooking and such, but not really any new recipes until tonight! 

I've had this little baby tucked away in the back of my recipe book, in the 'to try' pile, and finally tonight, I did!  It was very easy, and I felt like it was *almost* made from scratch so probably better for you?  But I think the cheese might ruin that theory haha!

INGREDIENTS

230g dry pasta shells (I used a mixture of different ones)

1 small red capsicum (not in season & too expensive right now, so I didn't put this in)

1 can (305g) condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 tsp dried parsley flakes (or fresh if you have it!)

1 cup milk

pinch of chilli powder (optional)

1 can (170g) tuna in springwater, drained and flaked

1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained

1 cup grated cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 onion, finely chopped

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 220 deg C (and butter an ovenproof casserole dish - I forgot to do this...  it didn't stick though, so it's ok)
• Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over high heat
• Add pasta, stir and cook until it's about 2 minutes before being done
• Drain pasta and set aside
• In the same pan, whisk mushroom soup and milk together
• Bring to a simmer over a low heat
• Stir in tuna, corn, onion, capsicum, parsley, chilli powder, and half of the cheese
• Add the cooked pasta and stir
• Season with salt and pepper
• Spread the mixture in the casserole dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese
• Bake for about 30 mins, or until the top is golden brown

I have an admission to make.  I *may* have burnt the top.  Kind of.  Well cooked.  It was very brown.  BUT still delicious!!  I don't normally like mushrooms, either as a vege or a flavour, but it worked, and it wasn't over powering.  The cheese and milk helped water down the flavour, and of course, pasta was nom nom nom as always.

Definitely will make it again!!!

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.ivillage.com/tuna-and-pasta-bake/3-r-63970#ixzz1oCUrJvwy

Couscous

Well, couscous is something I've wanted to try for a long time, and bought some a while ago, yet never got around to cooking it.  Tonight I decided to give it a go.  We were having lamb chops for dinner, and steamed veges, so I thought couscous would be nice instead of potato.  Here's what I did:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup couscous (dry)

1 & 1/4 cup vegetable stock (made up with boiling water)

1/2 tsp salt

couple of pinches of dried thyme

1/2 tsp onion salt (optional)

METHOD

• Put couscous, salt and thyme in a bowl that has a lid
• Make up the vegetable stock with boiling water
• Add the onion salt to the stock
• Pour the stock over the couscous, and stir with a fork briefly
• Place the lid over the couscous, and DO NOT remove! 
• Ignore and leave for 5 minutes
• Remove lid
• Fluff with a fork
• Serve immediately!

This was remarkably tasty, and not in the least as bland as I originally thought.  Thyme always goes beautifully with lamb, so it was a great compliment to the chops, and it wasn't heavy.  1 cup of dry couscous made enough for the three of us to have on the side, with plenty left over!  Certainly don't need to use 2 cups of dry couscous like the recipe I referred to said to (altho, I ended up experimenting and doing my own thing instead!)

I was worried it would be gluggy and unappetising, as I have heard couscous can go horribly wrong.  However, this came out well, fluffy and light.  Will definitely make this again!  (It's SO CHEAP too!!!  WIN!)

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I LOVE BROCCOLI.  There is absolutely nothing like fresh broccoli, steamed to perfection.  None of this frozen rubbish if I had my way!  However, I will not hold it against you if you have not got access to fresh broccoli, and choose to use frozen florets for this recipe - but I will not be held accountable for the soggy outcome!   

Imagine my delight when I saw that broccoli was majorly on special at the supermarket this week... combined with the 3 cheeses Mum and I had picked up (Gruyere, Edam and Tasty - also Parmesan, but I decided not to include Parmesan in this soup because I have other plans for it!)... It was SOUP time!  I've had this recipe up my sleeve for a while, and had just been waiting for the right time to use it.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups chicken broth

1 onion, diced

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup butter (I used about 250g, if that's an easier measurement!)

pepper to taste

4 cups milk

4 cups grated cheese (I used a mixture of gruyere, edam and tasty cheddar)

lightly steamed broccoli (quantity up to you!)

1 carrot, cut into thin sticks

crusty bread for dipping

METHOD

• In a small covered pan, simmer chopped onion and chicken broth for 15 - 20 min, stirring to prevent onion sticking to the bottom, until onions are soft

MEANWHILE...

• Heat milk in the microwave for 2 minutes
• In a medium sized stockpot, melt butter, then add flour and pepper
• After a few minutes, whisk in warmed milk
• Stir and heat together on medium0high heat until soup starts to thicken
• Add the chicken broth and onions, stirring well until blended
• Add carrot sticks (you may like to pre-steam/cook these, depending on how much crunch you like in your soup!) and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often
• Add cheeses, one handful at a time, allowing the cheese to melt between each handful, and stirring well!
• Add steamed broccoli
• Cook, stirring constantly until you are satisfied with the consistency of the broccoli (some like it soggy, some still like a bit of crunch - it comes down to personal preference!)
• Serve immediately, with crusty bread for dipping!

What can I say.  You KNOW my obsession with the dark green vegetable, and who doesn't LOVE cheese.  Srsly.  To put this simply, without using expletives that my mind keeps urging me  to use, it was like A GIANT BOWL OF STEAMED BROCCOLI WITH COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF THE MOST AMAZING CHEESE SAUCE EVER.  Did caps lock make my point?  I am SUPER in love with this soup.  So SMOOTH (the soupy bit, not counting the veges) with crunchy-ish carrots and broccoli, accompanied by amazing baguette (insert French stereotype here).  

WOW.

Go make it.  Now.  I don't care if it's summer where you live.  You need this soup. 

Although as a side note in tiny tiny writing, possibly not the healthiest soup?  I mean yes, it has vegetables, but honestly... all that cheese and half a cup of butter?!  It's definitely a "special occasion" recipe, not a weekly one!

Recipe Inspiration:
http://www.food.com/recipe/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup-150384
http://www.acooksquest.blogspot.co.nz/2010/11/87-broccoli-cheese-soup.html#more

Tender Beef Brisket

I've been putting off writing about the brisket I made, and I'm not entirely sure why.  I think I'm getting a bit tired of writing.  Not tired of cooking, just the writing bit.  It takes me about half an hour to do each post, and I've been too busy cooking to sit down and write about it! ;)  Plus, I often write when the TV is on in the background etc. and I've been finding that way too hard... so I need to make time to sit down without TV, just with some good music playing softly so I can concentrate on what I'm saying.  Otherwise it's all jumbled and can easily not make sense!!

Anyway, back to the food.  Brisket is a cut of beef (from the neck, I believe) where there is a lot of marbling in the meat, so you have to cook it looong and sloooow so that it melts the marbling stuff and the meat falls apart.  I've mostly associated brisket with Jewish cooking in the past, and I've never cooked it before and had no idea where to start.  I think this Jewish stereotype comes from The Big Bang Theory possibly, where Howard's mom is legendary for her brisket.

I searched on Pinterest for brisket recipes, and came up with two possibilities I could use.  First was one that used an entire bottle of ketchup mixed with a packet of onion soup, and baked slowly for 4 hours.  The second one is the one I used.  I chose it because I liked that it used a range of ingredients (while still being simple), and I didn't trust the simplicity of the first one.

INGREDIENTS

1 brisket (we used 1.1kg, which is smaller than the original recipe suggested, but it was still good - lots of sauce!  They said around 1.8kg)

2 large onions

2 medium carrots

10 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole

2 cups tomato juice

1 cup red wine

1 cup beef stock

salt and pepper

baking paper and tin foil

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
• Season the brisket with salt and pepper and place in a LARGE glass/ceramic oven proof dish (9x13 size, the original recipe suggests)
• Top with diced onion, carrots, and garlic cloves, and sprinkle with some more salt and pepper
• Pour over tomato juice, beef stock and wine, making sure it comes up at least halfway on the brisket; if not, add some more broth(the size we used was small, the sauce covered the whole thing! LOL)
• Cover with a rectangle of baking paper that sits just inside the edges of the pan
• Cover the dish tightly with tin foil
• Put in the oven and leave for 3 & 1/2 to 4 hours
• Remove from the oven and take off the covers carefully (watch out - the sauce bubbles madly!)
• Use tongs/fork to make sure the meat is tender (it will come apart easily along the grain of the meat if it is!), and cut into 4 or 5 manageable chunks (if brisket was whole to begin with) and let cool slightly
• Pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook at a high simmer for 5 - 10 mins over medium-high heat, to cook off any remaining alcohol, and to reduce and thicken the sauce for more concentrated flavours, stirring occasionally
• Mix 3 tablespoons cornflour with 3 tablespoons cold water, and add to the sauce to thicken more if necessary
• Put the sauce and brisket back together, and serve!

So this turned out like a casserole, and it was delicious.  We ate it with potato bake and steamed green vegetables - broccoli and peas.  In the sauce, the wine wasn't overpowering or anything, and the garlic cloves were like little nuggets of gold hidden among the meat!  The onion and carrot was a nice change in texture, and the meat itself melted in my mouth.  Delicious!  Going to make this again if we ever get another cheap cut of brisket!!

Recipe Inspiration: http://tummyrumblr.tumblr.com/post/4988668577/pimpin-aint-easy