Yummy Chicken Noodle Soup

Now that's it's getting colder outside I'm going to start experimenting with soups. On Friday night I was craving chicken noodle soup. I found this recipe at foodnetwork.com and thought I'd give it a try.

This was the best chicken soup I've ever made. I used a rotisserie chicken and frozen egg noodles. That was pretty much the only alterations I made. The mushrooms sauteed in butter were the best part of the soup. And definitely don't skimp on the fresh lemon juice.

Ingredients
2 quarts canned low-salt chicken broth
1 (3 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
8 ounces dried egg noodles
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley


Directions
Combine chicken broth and chicken in heavy large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover partially, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large bowl. Cool chicken and broth slightly. Discard skin and bones from chicken. Cut chicken meat into bite-size pieces and reserve. Spoon fat off top of chicken broth.
Return broth to simmer. Add onion, carrots and celery. Simmer until vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover chicken meat and broth separately and refrigerate. Bring broth to boil before continuing.)

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Add mushrooms to broth; stir in noodles, parsley and reserved chicken. Simmer until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Cooking Class

Last night I went to a cooking class taught by Kelsey Nixon from The Next Food Network Star and Nicole Hill (A Little Sussy). We watched a grilling demonstration on the back patio of a beautiful house in Orem. It was fun watching the girls cook and hearing the dirt from The Next Food Network Star. I was expecting the class to be a little more hands on or to have more challenging recipes though.

I did gets some ideas for the next time I host a party. They made grilled pita with three different dipping sauces. The Pesto, White Bean Purée and Olive Tapenade was very tasty and looked so pretty. I'll definitely give that a try.

Grilling by the Pool - Meetup Group

Last night I went to the monthly meetup group party. I originally wanted to make grilled corn on the cob with lime butter, chili rub and queso fresco. I forgot to post my suggestion and someone else decided to bring the corn. Actually I think Rechelle's recipe was better than mine anyway.

I had a ton of queso fresco I needed to use. I decided to make my standard pasta salad replacing the Mozzarella with queso fresco. This salad is so simple. Yet the fresh herbs, especially the basil, add a nice touch to this traditional salad.

11 ounces small shell-shaped pasta
3 cloves garlic
18 ounces red cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 handful black olives, pitted
Mozzarella cheese (I used queso fresco)
2 tablespoons fresh chives
1 handful fresh basil
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and garlic, and simmer for about 5 minutes or until al dente, and drain.

Put the garlic to one side for the dressing. Put the pasta in a bowl.

Cut the tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, and black olives into small pieces, about half the size of the pasta, and place in the bowl. Roughly chop the herbs and place these in the bowl.

Using a fork mash the cooked garlic cloves on the board with a little salt, add to the salad.
Add the oil, vinegar, and seasoning.

Zucchini Muffins

I have so much zucchini from my garden and I can't keep up with eating it all. Last night I made these zucchini muffins to use a portion of the squash. I found the recipe on Foodnetwork.com and modified it just a bit.

When it comes to bread I love anything oaty, wheaty, or grainy. This recipe has oatmeal in it and I replaced the oil with applesauce. So overall I'd like to think these are a healthy little snack.


Zucchini Muffins

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3 large eggs
3/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
Crushed Pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Stir the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. When combined, mix in the oats. Make a well in the center of the ingredients. Whisk the eggs, oil, and vanilla together in a small bowl and pour the mixture into the well. Combine lightly, then stir in the zucchini. Do not over mix.

Put the batter into lined muffin tins . Sprinkle with the crushed pecan if you wish. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cooking Group Last Night

I went to the fourth cooking group activity last night. The theme was Japanese and Korean cuisine. I originally wanted to make Korean BBQ Short Ribs (Gal-Bi) but I wasn't sure how they'd turn out and I didn't have time to experiment. So I decided to make a salad with ginger dressing. Not very authentic but pretty tasty. Below is the recipe for the dressing, it's supposed to taste like Benihana's.

Hailey gave us a demonstration on rolling sushi. Everyone did a great job and it was sooo good.

Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing

10 min 10 min prep SERVES 12 , 1 3/4 cups
1/2 cup onions, minced
1/2 cup peanut oil (I used canola oil instead)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons celery, minced (I left this out)
2 tablespoons ketchup
4 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender.

Blend on high speed for about 30 seconds or until all of the ginger is well pureed.

Southern Cooking Party

Last night's meetup dinner turned out really nice. My friend Hailey offered to bring flowers. She is an amazing florist. She used purple artichokes and peonies in a bed a moss. Absolutely gorgeous. It was pure coincidence that her arrangements matched my place settings perfectly.

Cooking Group Tonight

I have another cooking group meeting tonight. I'm the lucky one who gets to host it tonight. The theme is Southern cooking. We originally wanted to do Cajun but thought we should broaden it. I originaly volunteered to make beignets. They are similar to a donut and are very popular in New Orleans. I couldn't get them to work. I think two factors contributed to this: 1. I've never had a beignet so wasn't sure what they should look like. 2. I'm terrible at using yeast. I think my yeast didn't activate. Because I know nothing about yeast I wasn't aware of this before I continued with my recipe.

What I did come up with was tasty just not pretty. It tasted like a deep fat fried sugar cookie dusted in powdered sugar. Not really what I was going for but Dave and I had no problem finishing the batch throughout the week.

So I decided to make Pralines. This was no cake walk either. I ruined my first two batches. I think the author of the recipe is from the south where it is a lot more humid. I had to adapt the cooking time for our dryer climate.

I'm a little anxious for the party tonight. I tried to limit it to 14 people. I think the final count is 17. Yikes. I hope everyone can fit comfortably in my little house.

Belle Notte

I went to our second meetup cooking group last night. Nick's friend Haliey hosted it at her beautiful house in North Salt Lake. The theme was Italian and was complete with Bruschetta Chicken, Polenta, Corn Salad, Caprese Pizza, Traditional Bruschetta, Italian Salad and Flourless Chocolate Cake with Ganache. I made butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage.

Here's the recipe if you are interested:

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage

INGREDIENTS
1 butternut squash, roasted and fork mashed
1 cup ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 orange, zested
Salt
Pepper
Grated nutmeg
1 pound spinach pasta sheets, recipe follows
1 egg, beaten
4 tablespoons butter
10 sage leaves

MIX butternut squash, ricotta, Parmesan, and orange zest. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Brush 2 pasta sheets with beaten egg. Spoon squash filling into 2 rows on the sheet. Place second pasta sheet over the original pasta sheet with squash. Gently press the sheets together around each squash ball. Using a ravioli cutter or pizza cutter cut out each ravioli into squares. Make sure there is a good seal on each ravioli. Place on floured tray.

PLACE ravioli in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and place on platter.

ADD butter and sage leaves to a medium sized sauté pan and place over medium high heat. Cook butter and sage until butter is golden brown. Spoon butter and sage over ravioli.

Spinach Pasta:

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup semolina flour
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup fresh spinach, pureed (can use frozen spinach but drain very well)

COMBINE dry ingredients in mixer. Combine eggs, egg yolk, and spinach puree, and mix well. Add spinach and egg mixture to dry ingredients on low speed until dough is formed. If dough is too dry add a little water. Remove dough from bowl and kneed by hand for 6 to 8 minutes. Let pasta rest covered for 30 minutes before using.

Salt Lake Foodies

I went to our first cooking and recipes meetup group last night. We all brought appetizers and discussed future meetings. The food was amazing and the conversation was interesting. I was very impressed with the potato samosas and spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce. I can't wait until everyone posts their recipes.

I made smoked salmon and cucumber bites. They were pretty but definitely not as intricate as the other recipes from the group. My appetizer wasn't really cooking more just assembling.