I'm Dangling Carrots Here

Another soup, I know. But having just finished my diploma in snow blowing, it's no wonder that I was inspired to write about the heartiest of all dishes.

I like purée soups because they are easy, require less prep time than chowders or broths. And once you've got some practice with purée soups, then making them will become second nature. I don't bother with recipes usually, but especially more so with soups because the technique is usually the same: onion, principal ingredient, stock, purée and season.

For purée soups, you can use frozen or fresh (or dried, but, egh). When you can, use fresh. Easier to control the water levels, usually better tasting and it leaves you the option of roasting your principal ingredient. However, sometimes you have to use frozen (ever try making Corn Chowder for Christmas?) and utilize what you have available to you. That is a staple of cooking that is truly learned to deal with as you gain experience.

Some chefs like adding an extra potato or two to help thicken the soup. This is to help reduce food cost and thicken their soup with a cheap vegetable. Well, that is something I might have done when I was going through college along with collecting all my coupons to save 5 bucks.

This recipe was kind of an accident and I probably wouldn't bother keeping record of it because at first glance it is not very unique. But then again, this is exactly the type of soup where I would say, "That's different. I should try and remember that one." And then I'll forget it.

Purée of Carrot Soup With Goat's Cheese (Potage Crecy au Chevre)

20g Unsalted Butter
800g Carrots, chopped
1 Small Onion, chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
700ml Stock (chicken or veg)
200ml Orange Juice (no pulp if possible)
Pinch of Tumeric, Cayenne, Rosemary, Thyme, Clove
A Few Pinches of Dried Ginger (or fresh if you got it)
Salt and White Pepper to taste
40g Goat`s Cheese

In a medium size sauce pan on medium heat, melt a dab of butter and heat until frothy. Add onion and garlic and cook for one minute. Add dried spices and herbs and continue to cook. Add carrots. Add Orange Juice and reduce by half.

Add stock and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Add cheese. Purée soup with an immersion blender. Season properly and add stock for desired consistency.

Serves 6.

Variation: You can omit the OJ and use cranberry juice. It's a little bitter but that is easily solved with some sugar. However, the colour is truly unique.

Chef's Tip: If you aren't interested in peeling a whack of carrots then chopping them up, then don't do it. Go ahead and spend the extra 50 cents and buy ready baby carrots. When you're in a hurry, this is a major time saver.

Chocolate Cake Without the Bouquet of Flours

Valentine's. Sometimes I surprise my wife with a decadent treat for her to come home to. This is a relatively easy recipe that I've adapted and changed over the years.

Working with chocolate can be fun or a headache depending on the chocolate you buy and how much you eat during the process. I usually over measure my chocolate a gram or two to compensate for quality control. Because you never know when the chocolate you just bought could have, uh, gone rancid or something. Really.

When melting your chocolate avoid boiling the water. You don't want to burn the chocolate or get any moisture inside the chocolate.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Unsalted Butter and Flour, for preparing the pan
200g Semisweet Chocolate, chopped
110g of Unsalted Butter (1 stick is good)
4 Eggs, separated
Splash of Vanilla Extract
8g granulated sugar
Splash of Espresso

Preheat your oven at 375 degrees.

Butter a springform pan and lightly dust it with flour. Turn upside down to remove excess.

To melt chocolate, place a stainless steel bowl on top a pot of simmering water and add the chocolate and remainder of the butter. Taste it as you go and wash your hands before you handle the next stage of the recipe.

In a bowl, combine egg yolks, espresso and vanilla and briefly whisk. Pour into melted chocolate and vigorously fold in. Taste it. Wash your hands again. Ask your spouse to taste.

To make meringue first refer to a previous post. If you forget, quite simply start with sprinkle of sugar on the bottom of a pan. Add egg whites and whip like crazy. Slowly add sugar until egg whites are glossy and shiny and have stiff peaks (appropriate for Valentines). Do yourself a favour and use an electric mixer.

http://ahumblechefrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/08/forget-salsa-chicks-dig-meringue.html

Gently fold into chocolate mixture and taste one last time. Pour into springform pan. Bake fo 20-25 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. Let cool for 15 minutes. Pop out cake carefully and if you have a wire rack, go ahead and cool it down on that for an hour.

Serves 1-12 (depending your fondness for chocolate)

Chef's tip: Garnish with something. You can use fresh berries, whipped cream, chocolate mousse (no, it isn't too much chocolate), mint oil or all the above. Your call. As you can see, I used Icing Sugar and Berries.

Made With Real Cocoa

So, you've tried my "Hunter-Style" braised chicken and you're ready for the next stage. Right? Yeah. So I like to think. Should I bother posting a Coq au Vin recipe that nobody will ever make? Well of course I should.

What's funny to me is how easy this dish is to make and the reluctance to make it. First you need to ask yourself one question? No, not "Do I feel lucky?" How about "Do I feel nervous about searing some chicken, adding some basic vegetables, adding wine and stock and slowly braising it"? If the answer is a "I dunno" or "What's braising?", well, then perhaps trying that french restaurant downtown might be next on your to-do list. Or maybe just getting the 14 pc. bucket of chicken instead.

It is a tasty little dish that can be made in advance and kept warm until you serve. The alcohol evaporates leaving you with the flavour of the wine so you can serve it to your kids or your pregnant sister-in-law.

There are no tricks. No secrets. No nifty techniques. You won't even need your crock pot that you never use. Just trust me.

Coq au Vin
2 Chicken Thighs
2 Chicken Drumsticks
2 Chicken Breasts, cut in half
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 White Onion, finely diced
250 g Mushrooms, sliced
200 ml Chicken Stock
50 g All Purpose Flour
400 ml Red Wine (not white! unless that's all you got)
2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme, chopped
A Few Whole Black Peppercorns
2 Bay Leaves
50g Butter

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

In a wide pot, on medium high heat, brown chicken in a bit of oil. Remove chicken and set aside. Add a little butter and add mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add flour and cook for one minute. Add chicken stock, bay leaves, peppercorns and wine and bring to a boil. Add chicken and cover.

Place pot into oven and cook for 30 - 40 minutes. Remove from oven, add thyme and remainder of the butter.

Reduce sauce for 10 minutes on stove top and serve.

Serves 4.


Variations: Classically, this dish might have been made with bacon (my God, bacon again) and pearl onions. Well, if you feel decadent this weekend then be my guest.

Chef's Common Sense Tip: Make sure the handle of your pot is not plastic and make sure it can withstand the heat of the oven. Sounds silly but I've had people ask me.

Bacon. Tomato. Cream. Enough Said.

It has been a while since I last posted anything but here I am, back from the grave. On my other blog perhaps I will go into detail why I haven't posted anything for a while but here I will stick to recipes.

I am starting a catering company and I made a soup recently that I served to a group of ladies who raved over it. Actually, it was an ideal soup to bring and offer samples because it is a little different but not so different that it would detract people to try the damn thing.

It is winter so here is a winter recipe that is quick, cheap and easy (my favourite kind). Just like Butternut Squash, you can roast the principal ingredient of the soup (in this case, plum or roma tomatoes) to caramelize the sugars. This is extra work of course so you can decide whether you want to bother or not. Me? Glad you asked. Well, of course I would. I'm a chef and strive to intensify the flavours as much as possible. Well, at least I would at work; at home is a completely different story.

Puree of Tomato and Bacon
8 Fresh Plum Tomatoes, quatered
3 Strips of Bacon, diced
1 White Onion, medium dice
1 Clove of Garlic, crushed
2 Sprigs of Fresh Basil
100ml of White Wine
750ml of Chicken or Vegetable Stock
200 ml of Whipping Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven on roast at 400. On a baking sheet, lay out tomatoes skin down. Drizzle some oil over top and sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 5-7 minutes or until golden crusted.

In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, cook bacon with touch of butter. Once fat is rendered (about 2 minutes) add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent.

Add wine and reduce by half. Add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add basil and cream.

Using a blender, puree the stock until desired consistency (how rustic are you?) then bring back to temp.

Season carefully to taste.

Remember: there is salt in the bacon, so taste the soup as you go.

Variation: Omit the cream, chop the tomatoes finer and leave as a broth. Then add some cooked pasta, then you have a version of Minestrone. A tasty version though. Unless you don't like bacon (ha!).

If You Can't Take The Cheat, Then Get Out Of The Kitchen

It's OK to cheat once in a while. All chefs do it somewhere in their kitchen. It's unavoidable. There are somethings where a corner can be cut and customers usually won't even notice. Muffins and cookies are usually made from frozen batters. Pastries are made in pastry shops and shipped in. Salad dressings are tricky: some restaurants insist on making all dressings in-house while others couldn't be bothered.

It boils down to money. Is it cheaper to have one of the cooks make the dressing from scratch or just order the damn stuff? Like Caesar. Thousand Island. Balsamic. Whatever.

Soups and stocks is another gray area where it may be easier and more cost effective to simply purchase soups either in a can or in the form of powder. Consumme for example is a pain in the ass to make and if made improperly, it can go cloudy. Or you can buy the can and the product may even better than something made in-house.

This is a recipe from my mother-in-law. It is extremely easy because you mostly put together canned items. She makes this soup every Thanksgiving and it is always a hit with the family. Truth is that it is the item that we finish off first. I like it for it's ease and simplicity and it's usually one less thing I have to cook on Thanksgiving.

So this is a first: a recipe that is not my own at all. In fact, I would even make it a little bit differently but that's OK. It is probable that I may get grief for posting a recipe from my mother-in-law first and not from somebody else. So, without any further ado . . .


The Port Carling Thanksgiving Special

350 ml Canned Cream of Corn
700 ml Cream of Mushroom Soup
350ml 2% Milk
1 Spanish Onion, medium dice
2 Stalks of Celery, medium dice
1 Red Bell Pepper, medium dice
100g Mushrooms, sliced
250g Bacon, roughly diced
Pinch of Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper to Taste

In a soup pot, on medium heat, saute bacon until most of the fat is rendered. Add onion, celery, pepper, mushroom and chili powder and cook for 2 minutes. Add milk, canned corn and canned mushroom and bring to a scald. Adjust to seasonings and let your spouse try it to confirm. Just this one time.

Makes 1.5 l.

Serves 8.

Variations: Naw. Why bother with this classic? I mean, you could add potatoes for some heartiness, or some canned clams for a nice twist, or perhaps even add Sage Oil for a garnish but . . . then you would be adding work. And for a recipe that designed to save on time and effort, it seems slightly incongruous to make work for yourself.

Roll Out The Roller

Here is a recipe for the food enthusiast: home made pasta. I don't make this too often anymore because I find that it doesn't really have a good pay-off. You don't save much money, it requires work and patience and the final product, though may be good, isn't always better than something you can buy. Let's face it; purchasing dried pasta is cheap and, unless you have difficulty boiling water, cooking pasta is the simplest thing to do in the kitchen. Besides, you can purchase fresh pasta and many major grocers (though it is usually way overpriced).

Pasta is flour, eggs, salt and olive oil. That's it. No magic. No secret. No Strega Nona required to cook the pasta. Just some adventurousness, enthusiasm and curiosity.

I would make fresh pasta if I was interested in experimenting with a filling for ravioli or agnolotti; perhaps I would make it for canelloni or manicotti but other than that, I would have to be in the mood. Fresh tagliatelle is quite good but someone would have to request it for me to make it.

So there it is; my take on fresh pasta. If you've always wanted to use your pasta machine you got as a gift for your wedding, try this very simple recipe and impress your spouse this weekend.

One last paragraph on cooking pasta. When cooking dried pasta, use a tall pot, lots of water and enough salt in the water to give the water a slight (not overpowering) salty taste. With fresh pasta you can add a little oil to the water if you want; when cooking fresh pasta the starch from the pasta bleeds fairly easily. A little oil hinders the water reaching a rapid boil and prevents the starch from boiling over the sides of the pot.

Fresh Pasta

350 g All Purpose Flour
5 Eggs
10 ml Olive Oil
Pinch Of Salt

Make a mound with flour and create a well in the centre of the mound. Add all ingredients in to the well and stir with a fork. Once eggs are beaten, use hands to knead the dough. If flour is sticky, add more flour a little at a time. Knead thoroughly. Exercise your arms for fifteen more minutes then cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Give arms a rest.

Now the tricky part. Rolling out the dough flat enough to cut and use. If you have a pasta roller, then it's easy. Use the machine following manufacturer's directions (sounds like a cop out, but it's not really, believe me) and cut into desired shapes. If you rolling out with a rolling pin, keep flouring your surface and flatten to desired thickness or until frustrated.

Makes 600 g.

Variation: So you've done it! You've made fresh pasta for your loved ones. I hope they appreciated the work you've put in it. Now, you've done it and you want to make it different to show how creative you are. Well, change the colour of the pasta with either spinach or red pepper puree and really impress your guests. I would be surprised if anybody were to actually try making this so I won't be expecting any comments. I would like to be proven wrong.

Why Did The Chicken Cross the Road? To Catch A Tory

By popular demand, I have been asked to post a recipe that requires little time to prep and can be cooked in a slow cooker (or crock pot or whatever you call it). When I say "popular demand", I mean my sister-in-law who is a mother and likes to cook simple meals that has no dairy and can be enjoyed by her kids.

This is a "Hunter Style" recipe for the people who love their hearty comfort food. There are numerous ways to cook Chicken Chasseur (or Cacciatore) and it frequently involves what's left in the fridge or whatever herbs are grown in the backyard.

There are a few things that are required of course, and the technique is usually the same, but if you prefer shallots over red onion, yellow peppers over red, or cremini mushrooms over button, go ahead and use up whatever you have in the fridge.

You can use chicken legs or breasts, whatever you prefer. Personally, I prefer both so I typically purchase whole chickens and portion it myself and make a stock with the carcass and the trimmings from the vegetables. If you are like my wife and abhor the idea of touching dead, lifeless poultry, purchase just breasts and legs and you will ready to go.

"Hunter-Style" Braised Chicken

1 Whole Chicken, 1 kg, portioned into 8 or 2 Chicken Breats and 2 Chicken Thighs and 2 Drumsticks
1 Large Red Onion, finely diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
100 g Mushrooms, thinly sliced
150 ml Wine, red or white
125 g tomatoes, canned and crushed
200 ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 Red Pepper, medium diced
1 Green Zucchini, medium diced
2 Sprigs of Fresh Basil, thinly chiffonade
1 Sprig of Oregano, finely chopped
1 Sprig of Parsley, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Season chickens with salt and pepper.

On medium high heat, brown all sides of the chicken portions. Remove from heat. Add a little oil and saute onion, pepper, mushroom for 1 minute. Add zucchini and garlic and cook for one minute. Deglaze with wine and reduce by half. Add crushed tomatoes and stock. Add salt and pepper.

Add chickens to pot and cover. If you are using a crock pot, use same method and cook for 45 minutes on low heat. If you are cooking in a stock pot, place into a preheated oven at 300 degrees and cook for half an hour.

Add fresh herbs and stir well. Adjust to seasonings. If the sauce is too thin, remove chicken and keep hot. Reduce the sauce on high heat until desired thickness.

Serves 4.

Variation: You can go nuts on this one. Serve this with pasta and it Chicken Cacciatore, serve it with rice, add some cream and it's Chicken Hongroise, omit the herbs and use paprika and sour cream and you have Chicken Paprika. Or go nuts and add some bacon, use red wine only and use up the pearl onions you've in your cupboard for the past year and wow your friends and family with Coq au Vin. Pretty easy and impressive stuff.