Broth

My favorite broth

It tastes great (ranked 2nd in a Cooks Illustrated taste test) and is super convenient for just making the exact amount of broth you need. (Its a concentrate that you mix with hot water.) One jar makes 38 cups of broth, just stick it in the fridge & its ready when you need it.

Garlic

I like lots of garlic & just throw in as much as I feel like. If you aren't into garlic, use less in any of the recipes. 1 clove is often sufficient even though I list 4-5 cloves.

Cooking with Wine

1. Don't use cooking wine, ever.

2. Buy some cheap white & red wine to cook with. Charles Shaw from Trader Joes works great. (I use the sauvignon blanc & any of the reds I happen to have)

3. Anytime you don't finish a bottle of wine, stick it in tupperware or a baggie & freeze it. To use, defrost it enough to get it out & then toss the chunk into your recipe.

4. Dry Vermouth can often be used in place of white wine in recipes and can sit on the shelf opened for months.

Pesto Shrimp Scampi

This has been one of my very favorite treats ever since I "stole" the recipe from the restaurant Pasta Bella (Seattle) and made it for my roommates in college. I actually just made the recipe up, based on theirs, so maybe I didn't really steal it. I made this recently for some friends and would you believe I accidentally grabbed a pint of egg nog instead of cream & dumped it in? I screamed so loud that Kyle thought I had chopped a finger off. Luckily it was still edible, just sort of sweet.

This cooks very fast, so have the ingredients ready and don't start until you are ready to eat.

Pesto Shrimp Scampi

Serves 2

1 lb prawns, peeled & deveined (no smaller than 26/30 per pound, the bigger the better)

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 14oz can of quartered artichoke hearts

1/2 c whipping cream (or to taste - 1/4 c is enough to make it creamy)
1/4 of a fresh lemon
1 c of dry white wine (open a bottle to drink with dinner!)

Pesto

1 large bag of basil (not the tiny plastic containers)

1 head of garlic

1/4 c olive oil

Parmesan

lots of crusty bread

First, prepare the "pesto". (You could also buy good quality prepared pesto and omit some garlic, oil & the basil) In a food processor, chop up 4-8 cloves of garlic. Remove 1/2 of it & save. Add basil leaves (not the stems) to the processor and enough oil to get it all pureed together. 1/4 cup oil should be enough, and you can add up to 2T water to help get it mixed together. You should have about 3/4 cup pesto when you are finished.

Heat 2 T olive oil over medium high heat. Add shrimp, garlic & about 1/4 tsp of salt. Stir to coat and cook for a minute or so until the shrimp start to turn pink but are NOT cooked through.

Dump in the white wine & turn the heat to high so it simmers quickly. Add tomatoes & artichoke hearts & let the wine reduce down for about 2-4 minutes, depending on how big your shrimp are. If you boil too long, the shrimp will overcook, so be careful! Large shrimp give you more time to boil down the wine.

Stir in the cream and let it heat till bubbling again. Turn heat to low. Stir in the pesto & squeeze the lemon wedge over it all. Remove from heat, sprinkle with parmesan & grind some fresh pepper over the top.

Serve in soup bowls with lots of bread on the side to mop up the sauce. You can also put this over pasta, but its not as fun.

Kari's "leftover" Italian Soup

Kari's Italian Soup

1 pkg ground Italian sausage

Chopped Garlic cloves (to taste, I use 3-5)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped onions

Leftover veggies you have on hand like fresh tomatoes, zuchinni, mushrooms, red bell peppers....

1 14oz can chopped tomatoes

1 can small white beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup jarred tomatoe sauce (if you have it handy)

3-5 cups chicken broth (depending on how many veggies you use)

Italian herbs like oregano, parsley, basil or thyme (dried or fresh)

1 cup macaroni

Kale or spinach (optional)

Shredded parmesan

Cook sausage in a medium saucepan until crumbly. If there is too much fat rendered, dump some out. (but fat does make tasty soup) Add carrots and onions and a dash of olive oil, cook until softened. Add any zuchinni, mushrooms or other leftover veggies that sound good to you and cook a couple minutes more. (do not add kale or spinach yet) Add chopped garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add chopped tomatoes, white beans and enough chicken broth to make it as soupy as you like it. If you have jarred tomato sauce, add enough to give it some color & extra flavor. Add herbs to taste, about 2-3 tsp total. (oregano is a must) Once soup is bubbling, add some macaroni.

When the macaroni is cooked, the soup is done. If you have kale or spinach, add some at the very end so that it wilts into the soup. Kale is really great because it doesn't get slimy like spinach.

Serve topped with parmesan and a little drizzle of olive oil.

Julie's Tortilla Soup

This is soooo easy and great for crowds. I have no idea where my friend Julie got it from, so I will attribute it to her. We both just eyeball it based on how many people are eating, so here's my attempt at turning it into a recipe. The proportion of cream soup to broth is pretty flexible, I just use whatever I have on hand.

Julie's Tortilla Soup

Dash of oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 small cans cream of chicken soup (or aprox 3 cups)

3 small cans of chicken broth (or aprox 5 cups)

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped

1 can of corn

1 can of black beans

1 jar of cheap salsa (like a medium sized jar of Pace Picante)

1/3 cup of rice (optional, especially if you are going to store it. If soup gets too thick, add more broth)

Toppings:

Shredded cheese

Sour cream

Tortilla chips

Guacamole

Lime wedges (my favorite)

Cilantro (Yuck! Come to think of it, I think Julie actually adds this to the soup, but I hate cilantro)

Fry up the onion in some oil. When onions are getting soft, add chicken & let it brown a bit. (3 minutes tops) Dump everything else into the pot except for the rice and toppings. When soup begins to bubble, add the rice. Stir occaisionally to keep rice from burning to bottom of pot. Soup is ready once the rice is soft.

Serve with toppings.

Hearty Lentil Soup

I usually double this and it freezes very well.

Hearty Lentil Soup

from Cook's Illustrated, February 2004

3 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 large onion chopped fine

2 medium carrots, chopped medium

3 garlic cloves minced

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

1 cup lentils of your choice (I like french green "Lentils du Puy" when I can find them)

1 t salt

black pepper

1/2 c dry white wine

4 1/2 c chicken broth

1 1/2 c water

1 1/2 t balsamic vinegar

3 T minced fresh parsley (optional I think personally)

Sour Cream (Kari's addition)

Fry bacon in a large stockpot over medium-high heat till bacon is crisp. Add onion and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic & cook 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf and thyme, cook 30 more seconds. Stir in lentils, salt and pepper to taste; cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until veggies are softened and lentils have darkened, 8 to 10 minutes.

Uncover, increase heat to high, add wine and bring to simmer. Add chicken broth and water, bring to boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, 30-35 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Puree 3 cups of the soup in blender (or use your hand blender!) until smooth, then return to pot; stir in vinegar and heat soup over medium-low until hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 T parsley and serve, garnishing each bowl with some remaining parsley.

Carrot Soup

Whenever I make this, people always ask for the recipe. It is really yummy, cheap to make, easy to double (or triple), freezes well and is good for you! What more could you ever ask for? I am putting it here so that next time someone asks, they can just come here to get it.

This soup is also in memory of my Aunt Deanna. If it weren't for her, I would never ever have tried it since carrots aren't really my favorite thing. But she gave me the cookbook for Christmas one year and also told me I had to try making the carrot soup because it looked so good to her and she loved carrot soup in general. Every time I make it, I think of her.

Carrot Soup
from the "Pike Place Market Cookbook" by Braiden Rex-Johnson
Makes 6 cups - 8 servings

1/2 cup butter
5 or 6 medium carrots, diced
1 cup chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium, very ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
4 peppercorns
3 or 4 sprigs parsley
1 slice finely ground toast (I usually skip this, just adds texture?)
1 cup boiling water
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomato juice
Salt to taste
Sour cream and chives or parsley for garnish (Sour cream is a must, the others I skip)

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven (or stockpot) over low heat, and add carrots, celery, onion and tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown. (mine never brown and I do it over medium heat)

Add peppercorns, parsley, toast crumbs and boiling water, cover Dutch oven, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and quickly reduce the remaining liquid, while stirring until it is almost absorbed.

Remove parsley sprigs and puree mixture in a blender, food mill or food processor, hand blender, etc. Return vegetable puree to Dutch oven and add chicken broth and tomato juice. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.

Heat soup slowly until mixture is nice and creamy, about 10 or 15 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives or parsley.

Kari's Black Bean Soup

(updated 1/22/07)

1-2 T Vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped

2 14 oz cans black beans (my favorite thing to use is Goya Black Bean Soup - in the hispanic section. If you use this, omit the chicken broth)

1 - 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (depends on how soupy you want it)

1 14oz can chopped tomatoes

1 small can chopped green chilis (by the salsa usually, use jalepenos if you like it spicy)

1 t Cumin or to taste

Sour Cream

Shredded cheddar

Optional:

Corn Tortillas (Do not buy Mission brand, they are awful!!)

Avocado (1/2 per person)

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil. Add chopped onion & bell peppers. Cook 3-5 minutes till soft & translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Dump in beans (don't rinse or drain), tomatoes, chilis and enough chicken broth to make it loose, but not too soupy. (should be like chili?). Add Cumin and any other fun spices that you happen to have like Chipotle Chili Pepper powder or Smoked Paprika.

Heat soup till warm & bubbling. Serve with sour cream and cheddar on top.

Optional: While the soup warms, heat a skillet on medium high. I like to add a tiny bit of oil, but skip this if you want. Add a corn tortilla and cook for about a minute per side until its just starting to brown but is still nice and soft. Remove & add about 3 slices of avocado to the center. Salt generously & roll up, serve as a side to the soup. We usually eat about 3 rolls per person which should take 1/2 an avocado per person.