ASIAN INSPIRED GINGER CHICKEN SOUP

Since it is a blizzard out, I am enjoying staying inside and cooking.  Today my house smelled so fantastic as this Ginger Chicken Soup was cooking.  I decided to make it with noodles and add chopped green onions, cilantro, and a wedge of lime.  This is very different from the chicken soup my mother made.

SNOW STORM IN JANUARY

On days like this where you literally can't get out of your house the best thing to do is:  cook, eat, read, watch movies (or luckily the Australian Open is going on).  My husband recorded last night's Nadal vs. Berdych match so we watched that while drinking a stemming cup of french roast.  Now my house smells absolutely fantastic because I have started a pot of "Cleansing Ginger-Chicken Soup".   Stay tuned for the recipe but until then just imagine the smell of ginger and homemade chicken broth.

 I'm enjoying a cookbook that a girlfriend gave me, MA GASTRONOMIE FERNAND POINT with a lovely introduction by Thomas Keller.  What a character Fernand Point, the owner and head chef of Restaurant de la Pyramide was.  One of my favorite quotes of his is, "To receive a guest is to take charge of his happiness during the entire time he is under your roof."  I whole heartedly believe that and live by that in my own home when I'm entertaining.
I'll be entertaining friends this weekend and may tempt some french dishes after being inspired by this book although coming from Hoboken, NJ that's a stretch for me.

I've been conducting some cooking classes based on a Valentine's theme with menus comprised heavily of aphrodisiacs along with a playlist of love songs to listen to during the evening.  I'll post the recipes we made in February.

But for now I'm going to enjoy reading my book by the fire, with the smell of ginger in the air, seeing my yard wrapped in a snowy white blanket and just generally being lazy.

CITRUS SALAD WITH MINT SUGAR

For a recent dinner party I served Veal Osso Buco, a Caesar Salad, and this light dessert.  Do you ever find that during the holiday season you gain some weight?  Ah, yea!  Since I served the Veal Osso Buco over polenta and with crusty Italian bread I decided to go light on dessert.  My guests appreciated it!  Enjoy - this dish dances in your mouth.

CITRUS SALD WITH MINT SUGAR

Serves 6

2 White grapefruits

2 Pink grapefruits

6 large navel oranges

½ cup fresh mint leaves

¼ cup sugar

Peel all the skin and flesh off of your fruit.

Cut up segments and place in a bowl.  (This can be done 1 day ahead).

Place mint and sugar in food processor – blend until finely chopped.

Sprinkle mint and sugar mixture over fruit.

Serve in individual bowls.

VEAL OSSO BUCO

For this holiday party I bought festive napkin holders at Pier 1 Imports and told the guests they could take them home.  I have also in the past bought either tree ornaments and wrapped them around napkins with nice ribbon or if you can find (or make) letters you can use those as place card holders.

Serves 6

Served this for a winter dinner party and it was a huge hit.  This recipe is fantastic for entertaining because you make it 1 or even 2 days in advance then just gently reheat it for your guests.  I also make soup the next day with the leftovers.  I just add some barley and gently heat for about 20 minutes.

6 -12 ounce veal shanks*

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup vegetable oil or olive oil

1 cup flour

4 carrots, peeled and sliced**

2 celery stalks (including leaves on top), sliced**

½ - 1 onion (depending on size), diced**

6 garlic cloves, sliced

2 cups red wine

4 cups veal or chicken stock

1 box (26 oz.) Pomi chopped tomatoes or can chopped tomatoes

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (for serving)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (for serving)

*Sometimes grocery stores don’t have 12 ounces – don’t worry you can use smaller pieces if necessary.

**I cut up more carrots, celery, and onion and add later in the recipe (I’ll explain during the instructions).

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Season your veal shanks liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.  Leave out on counter for 30 minutes

Heat a large ovenproof pot over high heat.  Put the oil in.

Meanwhile shake your veal shanks in a zip lock bag with flour.

Brown the veal shanks a few at a time in the oil for about 5 minutes on each side.  Remove from pan and set aside adding more oil if necessary.  Don’t crowd your veal shanks.  Keep shanks on a dish covered with foil.

Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the pan and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. 

Add wine, bring to a boil and cook for about 2-3 more minutes.

Add stock, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves to the pot.

Return veal shanks to the pot, cover and put in your oven for 2 ½ hours until the meat is really tender.

Let your dish cool out of the oven (don’t forget to turn your oven off!).

Strain your whole pot through a fine mesh strainer in the sink with a large pot underneath.

Remove herbs and place shanks on a dish.

There are 2 ways of doing this next step – I like to push the veggies through the strainer as I believe it adds lots of flavor and thickness to the broth.  It is time consuming though.  When I do it this way I then cut up 4-5 more carrots and ½ onion then add those again the next day when I am warming up the dish before serving.

Otherwise, you can add the veggies to the broth, add the veal shanks to it and refrigerate overnight.

Take pot out of refrigerator 1 hour before.

Check to see if there is any fat on surface that you may want to skim off.

Reheat your Osso Buco gently before serving – approximately 30 minutes.

I make polenta and put some in individual bowls before poring Osso Buco on top.

Serve individual dishes with chopped parsley and lemon zest over each.

Serve with crusty Italian bread for dipping!

With the broth that’s left over add some barley to it and make a hearty soup  for the next day.

WHITE BEAN AND SWISS CHARD SOUP

It's that time of year where I start to crave hearty soups.  This soup is really easy to make and very healthy.  Please try to make it!

WHITE BEAN AND SWISS CHARD SOUP

Serves 8

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, cut in half length wise and sliced

2 celery , but in half lengthwise and sliced

1 shallot, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

½ cup white wine

2 cans navy beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups veggie or chicken broth, more if needed

1 cup chopped tomatoes (I like Pomi box)

3-4 leaves swiss chard, cut stem away, chop

3 fresh thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Optional:  freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large soup pot.

Add carrots, celery, shallots – sauté until golden approximately 5 minutes.

Add garlic sauté another 1-2 minutes.

Add white wine and cook until reduced a bit – approximately 5 minutes.

Add beans, broth, tomatoes, swiss chard, thyme, bay leaf, sherry, and some fresh pepper– bring to gentle boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 – 20 minutes.

Remove thyme and bay leaf.

Add more broth if necessary.

Taste for seasoning – if it needs salt add but sometimes broth is salty.  Add pepper to taste.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RAVIOLI IN BUTTER AND FRESH SAGE

A nice Sunday lunch while watching football.  Our local Italian delicatessen had fresh butternut squash ravioli so I decided to make with a super simple butter sauce and fresh sage leaves.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil then gently slip your ravioli into the pot.
Lower heat a little and cook ravioli for approximately 10 minutes until cooked but not too soft.
Meanwhile sauté 1/2 stick of salted butter in a sauté pan with fresh sage leaves (I use one per ravioli).
When ravioli are done gently slide them into the butter sauce and cook for another 5 minutes.
That is it!  Serve with freshly grated parmesan reggiano cheese.

MOLASSES COOKIES

Makes 2 ½ dozen

I love the smell of my kitchen when I am baking these cookies.  Once the Fall comes I’m driven to baking them.  My 3 sons took an art class when they were toddlers and part of the class included baking cookies.  This was a recipe that the teacher shared with us.  It’s a classic Molasses Cookie that has a soft chewy center.  Some people call them ginger snaps but I prefer to call these Molasses as they come out a dark brown color. 

350 degree oven

Lightly butter cookie sheets

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon each ginger, ground cloves, cinnamon*

1 ½ sticks of sweet unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar  (plus extra for rolling)

1 beaten egg

In one bowl add your flour, baking soda, spices.  (Put them through a sifter).

In a larger bowl cream your sugar and butter.  Add molasses and beaten egg.

Add your dry ingredients to your butter mixture.

Roll into small balls, about a large tablespoon full at a time.

Shake the balls into a zip lock bag with granulated sugar.

Place 2” apart on lightly buttered cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

*If you really like the taste of ginger – just add a little more.  Make these the way your family likes them.  Some kids like more cinnamon and less ginger.  Experiment!