Recently in Soups and Stews Category

It doesn't take a foot of snow to get me in the mood for soup. To do it right, a great soup starts with a great stock, and I was lucky enough to have the carcass to the smoked turkey we had for Thanksgiving. Because it had so much flavor I was able to get a stock with a ton of flavor in 4 hours. The only seasoning I used was Survival Spice®, aside from a bit of Sriricha hot sauce at the table.

The rest was pretty straight ahead, and I used a few bolillo rolls to make some quick garlic bread, drizzled with Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva.

I got a gallon's worth of stock for my work, and used half of it for this soup. I guess I can make 2 batches of brocolli cheddar soup with the rest!

I suppose my "Irish Posole" was much closer to a stew than posole, with a tip of the hat to the Southwest. A nice hunk of beef, seasoned with Survival Spice®, then slow cooked in the oven on top of some carrots and onions. After about 90 minutes I added a bit of stock and braised it for another hour or so. I added some hominy and let it go for another hour.

During this time, I roasted some butternut squash, a head of garlic and a few jalapenos. Once the garlic and jalapenos were done, they were chopped and added to the rest of the ingredients, which were removed and chopped as they were tender. The squash was chopped and added to each bowl for service.

This was one of those smashed up techniques that very often result in something that's either really great, really bad, or a really good lesson. This was a pleasant surprise on the up side. I guess having a can of hominy on hand was the impetus for this in the first place- use what you have on hand, and develop the cooking chops to bring it to the table.

Have fun with cooking, and eat your mistakes!!!

I made some smoked turkey stock from our Thanksgiving turkey last week, and put together a veggie barley soup with some of the stock. We had eaten at Monti's Saturday night, and ate an absurd amount of their rosemary focaccia, so I decided to make some to have with the soup.

Good and good for ya.

The Gordon Biersch Marzen is a decent beer, especially on sale, but it would probably pair up better with a burger.

Here's a before and after shot of the chicken, sausage and shrimp gumbo I made yesterday, using some of the chicken stock I made recently. I've described my gumbo technique before, so the only thing I'll point out is how thick the roux is as it begins to cook. Dark rouxs use more flour because the starch cooks out over time, so don't panic and add more oil, it will loosen up as it cooks.

Lots of chopping and whatnot, but it was worth it!

(Photo: Mary)

There's nothing like homemade soups, sauces and gumbos, but a critical ingredient to all of these dishes is starting out with a great stock. I know- it's time intensive, it's a pain in the butt, etc., granted; but if you make a larger quantity and freeze it, you'll find yourself enjoying a great bowl of 'whatever it is' far more often this winter.

I actually had an afternoon last week to do a little cooking, so while I was getting other stuff done around the house, why not make stock?

I have no idea what I made last night, but it was good.

Another of those market basket days, where I had a bunch of ideas what to make with what I had on hand. Pork chops and a French style mushroom cream sauce, maybe a Southwest influence with the addition of pasilla chiles; a simple pork and sausage gumbo; hot Italian sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions- my head was filled with possibilities.

I think you know this, but this is my favorite way to cook- inventory what's on hand, then make something up. What could you make with these ingredients?

Here's a great looking stew "gruel" sent in by Dennis. Flavored with amazing Hatch green chiles and Survival Spice™, it's a simple way to give a fantastic southwestern flavor to a traditional dish. Thanks for the idea, Dennis!:

This "gruel" is almost too easy. I just put some beef stock, onions, garlic and loads of hatch green chiles (hot), then brown some pork cubes coated in SS, hamburger, then add whatever vegetables -- I like to add potato, a little corn and green beans, celery, carrots and if I have any some red or yellow peppers. Trying to think of anything else but that's it, other than adding Survival Spice to the whole thing until it achieves the perfect flavor!!

Have a dish you're proud of? Email me!

(Photo: TPC- not a bad pic, if I do say so myself...)

It's the end of the year drill at Desert Island Foods™.com, and one thing in the DIF test kitchen freezer was the ham from the Orange Survival Glaze photo shoot. End of the year- everything must go, so I took about half of it, plus the bone and made this bean soup I've been craving since it got cold here. Okay, cold in Phoenix is relative, but I saw a mini-icicle on a garden hose one morning a few days ago. Brrrrrr.....

Okay, back to the soup. This took about 3 1/2 hours start to finish, without presoaking or precooking the beans. With a soup like this, I really don't think it's necessary because the extra starch helps thicken the soup. If you were really pressed for time, I think you could just put the beans in with the ham bone and omit the first onion and carrot. Take the extra hour if you possibly can, though.

(Photo: Mary, of TPC's version of Matt and Jerry's Mississippi gumbo)

This is intended as a companion post to the Gumbo with chicken, sausage and shrimp I made for the last Food Fight. I made another pot this weekend, and had the time to snap a few pictures as I went, so hopefully you'll find them helpful if you ever want to try making one.

(Photo: Mary, of TPC's version of Matt and Jerry's Mississippi gumbo)

I'm submitting a recipe this time, not for judging, but as a tip of the hat to New Orleans and Mississippi, and I thought it would be fun for someone to make.

I love gumbo, and there at least as many ways to make it as there are cooks. This technique comes from my friends Matt and Jerry, both from the Biloxi/Ocean Springs part of Mississippi. Even they make it a million different ways, too, but this is my way of smashing their techniques together.

Every gumbo has a roux at its base, usually made from oil and flour. This roux is cooked together first, and the color can end up anywhere from a light golden to very nearly black. This acts as part of the thickener and is what differentiates a gumbo from a soup. Remember, a dark roux will not thicken as well as a light one, so you'll need more of it.

Gumbos also thicken by the addition of either okra or filé powder. I love okra, but left it out of this gumbo at the request of those who were going to eat it with me, sadly. Filé (feelay) powder is ground sassafras root and thickens a gumbo nicely, but used it properly. You add it at the very end of cooking, off the heat. Stir it in and wait 10 minutes. Warning: Don't add it to the pot if you're not going to eat it all in one sitting. If you boil filé, it can get stringy, you're better off just adding a bit to each bowl as you dish it up, stirring it in well.

In the spirit of Food Fight, I've made this with simple, inexpensive ingredients but this technique can be embellished with any type of seafood including fish, oysters, mussels, clams, crawfish and prawns. If you're making a seafood gumbo, I would substitute some of the chicken stock for fish stock or clam juice. Andouille sausage is great if you can find it.

Jerry and Matt serve this gumbo over rice with a scoop of potato salad in the bowl as well, which I'd never seen before.

The recipe is in the extended entry.