So I got to thinking about an old recipe my buddy Casper shared with me. His poppa (grandpa) used to make this every time they went hunting. In fact, it was the first thing he did after they unpacked the guns, and the pot stayed hot till they left! With the weather turning and many of us going outdoors to camp and hunt, I think this is the perfect choice for today...although I dont know if you can call it "chowdaah" as it has no potato.
The plan is super simple, and oh so yummy.
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Everglades Corn Chowder ala Casper Townsend:
3lbs slab bacon, get a slab that is smokey and fatty
1 #10 can cream corn (a number 10 can is the big guy, just under 1 gallon...13 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large onion, diced
1 large green pepper
1 large Jalapeno (seed it if you must...)
Dice your ingredients fine, but not a mince...leave some body. Hint: freeze the bacon overnight, this makes it easier to dice. Throw the bacon in a large pot and put the heat to it...we want to render as much fat as we can. When the bacon is cooked, reduce heat and add your diced onion and green pepper. When this has sweated to about 3/4 done, add your hot pepper.
When the sweat is finally done (onions are translucent, peppers are soft) add your can of cream corn. Lower the heat and stir often (corn sugar burns very easily...) till hot. Finish with the cream and season this with fresh cracked black pepper and salt. If you have it, a little Cavender's is nice too.
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This can stay on warm, or in a crock pot, for days if you want (above 140*F please...). As always, let me know how this turns out for you!
It's SOUP-er! Part 2: finally
Yesterday you learned to make a good stock. Today, you will learn how to make my 2 favorite soups...French Onion au crouton and Cream of Carrot, English style. No witty repose today, just right to the meat.
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French Onion soup, au crouton.
Every Tom's, Dave's and Red Robin has their own idea of what French Onion soup is. However, most of those are closer to a California Onion soup; the difference being stock choice and presentation. To end the confusion here is the classical method:
5lbs of sweet onion, cut in what is teasingly called a "French Onion cut" (I know, right?). As sarcastic as this name is, it means simply cut the onion in half top to bottom, and slice each half thinly. Remember the French cant get "Walla Walla Sweets" so call yourself "authentic" and choose a good ol' yellow one if you want to save some coins.
In a large pot, melt 2oz of unsalted butter in 2oz of veggie oil. To this, add your onions and cook until they look burnt. Yes, as close to black as you can get...even a little black doesn't hurt in the long run. When this brown, stringy mush is ready, add 2 cloves minced garlic (hint: save yourself some prep and get a garlic press.)
When the garlic is soft, add 2 Qts plus 2 cups of BROWN stock. No, not chicken. No, I dont care what you learned on the Food Network...use brown stock!
Ahem, sorry for that outburst. Bring this to a boil and viola', French Onion soup!
So what about the "au crouton" part? Get yourself a loaf of "french" bread from the bakery. You are looking for a thin hard crust, not thick and chewy. Ladle some soup into an oven safe bowl or pour the whole pot into an oven safe tureen. Slice the bread 3/4" thick, butter one side and float it on the soup good side up.
Put the bowl into the oven on medium broil. Watch closely as we are just trying to lightly toast the bread. When this is complete, so is your soup! Simple, right?
Cream of Carrot, English style (this soup will suprise you...)
Start with 5lbs of carrots (peeled), 2 cloves of garlic and 1 large onion. You want to get these into pieces as small as possible, so maybe a large dice and then a whirl in the food processor. In a large pot, melt 3oz unsalted butter and 3oz veggie oil. Add our three amigos and sweat until the carrot is about mush.
At this point, reduce the heat and add 6oz of flour. You might need a little more or less so look to make a medium consistency, somewhere between "ooz" and toothpaste. Stir this to combine and let it cook for about 5 minutes...dont go past a light hint of color!
Now, add 2qts of warm chicken stock 1 cup at a time. Use a wire whip and make sure the mixture is smooth before adding more stock. This mixture will finally break (lose it's thickness) so once it is all in, slowly bring back to a boil. This activates the roux and the soup will thicken...hopefully to just past where you want your finished product to be! Remove this from the heat...
You now have a choice: either you can add 1 cup of heavy cream and leave it kinda chunky (call it "rustic" maybe) or take the whole thing for a ride in your blender. I prefer the latter. Get it good and smooth...then add 1 cup heavy cream. Bring this back up to temp.
Just before service, add 2oz of good gin to the pot, and allow to mellow. Serve with some chewy bread.
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OK, I am drooling now! Let me know how it works for you...
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French Onion soup, au crouton.
Every Tom's, Dave's and Red Robin has their own idea of what French Onion soup is. However, most of those are closer to a California Onion soup; the difference being stock choice and presentation. To end the confusion here is the classical method:
5lbs of sweet onion, cut in what is teasingly called a "French Onion cut" (I know, right?). As sarcastic as this name is, it means simply cut the onion in half top to bottom, and slice each half thinly. Remember the French cant get "Walla Walla Sweets" so call yourself "authentic" and choose a good ol' yellow one if you want to save some coins.
In a large pot, melt 2oz of unsalted butter in 2oz of veggie oil. To this, add your onions and cook until they look burnt. Yes, as close to black as you can get...even a little black doesn't hurt in the long run. When this brown, stringy mush is ready, add 2 cloves minced garlic (hint: save yourself some prep and get a garlic press.)
When the garlic is soft, add 2 Qts plus 2 cups of BROWN stock. No, not chicken. No, I dont care what you learned on the Food Network...use brown stock!
Ahem, sorry for that outburst. Bring this to a boil and viola', French Onion soup!
So what about the "au crouton" part? Get yourself a loaf of "french" bread from the bakery. You are looking for a thin hard crust, not thick and chewy. Ladle some soup into an oven safe bowl or pour the whole pot into an oven safe tureen. Slice the bread 3/4" thick, butter one side and float it on the soup good side up.
Put the bowl into the oven on medium broil. Watch closely as we are just trying to lightly toast the bread. When this is complete, so is your soup! Simple, right?
Cream of Carrot, English style (this soup will suprise you...)
Start with 5lbs of carrots (peeled), 2 cloves of garlic and 1 large onion. You want to get these into pieces as small as possible, so maybe a large dice and then a whirl in the food processor. In a large pot, melt 3oz unsalted butter and 3oz veggie oil. Add our three amigos and sweat until the carrot is about mush.
At this point, reduce the heat and add 6oz of flour. You might need a little more or less so look to make a medium consistency, somewhere between "ooz" and toothpaste. Stir this to combine and let it cook for about 5 minutes...dont go past a light hint of color!
Now, add 2qts of warm chicken stock 1 cup at a time. Use a wire whip and make sure the mixture is smooth before adding more stock. This mixture will finally break (lose it's thickness) so once it is all in, slowly bring back to a boil. This activates the roux and the soup will thicken...hopefully to just past where you want your finished product to be! Remove this from the heat...
You now have a choice: either you can add 1 cup of heavy cream and leave it kinda chunky (call it "rustic" maybe) or take the whole thing for a ride in your blender. I prefer the latter. Get it good and smooth...then add 1 cup heavy cream. Bring this back up to temp.
Just before service, add 2oz of good gin to the pot, and allow to mellow. Serve with some chewy bread.
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OK, I am drooling now! Let me know how it works for you...
It's SOUP-er! Part 1: stocks
As the weather turns colder my thoughts turn to that wonderful winter friend, soup. I have been told that my ability to turn a pile of parts into a symphony of yum is best displayed in this area. Show me a good soup and I will show you a stock that was well though out and prepared.
Since the sum of a soup really is the equal of it's parts here are my rules of thumb for chicken, beef and fish.
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Chicken:
2 whole stewing hens to 6 quarts of water. Cut the girls into 4 pieces and add one onion, 5 carrots and 5 stalks of celery...all cut coarsely of course. Don't bother peeling that meripoix either...just remove the onion paper. Bring this to a boil over high, reduce heat to simmer/almost boil and walk away. No, really...walk away for 3 hours. When you come back, you will see a "raft" of brown foamy nastiness...skim this off. The water level will be substancially lower, but as long as you have the fire right you should not be dry. Taste this liquid and judge if you need more time/water or if you are ready for herbs.
When you get this far, you can remove the hen. The meat is perfect for soup so you can either freeze it or use it in the next few days. The flavors I invite are usually a small bay leaf, black pepper, chicken base (not that salty crap they sell at Slaveway...get some good "meat first" base) and rosemary (go light on rosemary...she is a killer). Let this go on a simmer for an hour and then strain the whole mess. Get this cooled below 40*f as soon as you can...unless you like getting sick?
I usually let this sit overnight, and in the morning I can literally degrease the stock by removing the hard layer of fat from the gelatinous yum. You can throw this away, or it will refrigerate indefinitely. Oh, the virtues of chicken fat...but that is for another post...
Brown (usually beef, sometimes venison or veal) stock:
This one is a killer! Get 8 pounds of beef bones and 5 pounds of veal bones from your macellaio (butcher). You can do straight beef but this mix give some real subtle flavor curves. Cut 2 onions, 5 carrots and 5 stalks of celery coarsely. Throw this into a brazier pan (or on a sheet pan) and put into a "stinkin' hot" oven (as high as you can get it.) the idea is to brown/almost burn the bones without burning the meripoix. Some people will tell you to oil the bones...wimps.
Once this is done, transfer this to a large pot and add 4 gallons of water, a medium can of tomato puree, a small bunch of parsley, small hand of black peppercorns and a few bay leaves. Put this on very low and forget about it. Really, at least 3 days.
Check it a couple times a day and see if you need to replace some water. I like to turn the oven to warm (150*f on mine) and leave it in there but ymmv. At the end of 3 days taste it...if it is good, make it great with some beef base...if it needs more time, don't rush it. Strain and cool as with chicken above. This also degreases as easy as chicken but the fat should be chucked away (unless you are very old skool and feel like frying potatoes in it...)
Fish:
Fish stock is the easiest to make and the easiest to muck up. It is usually strong and well, makes the house pretty fishy. Because of this, and my opinion weak chicken actually tastes better in seafood soups, I usually don't make my own. It is made just like chicken, just half the onion and add parsley and a lemon. For the love of Febreeze don't use a super fatty fish like salmon or tuna. Also, don't be tempted to use whole fish...all you need is the bones. Your fish monger should be ably to fill your quota easily...and cheap.
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Now get out there, make some stocks and get ready for tomorrow when I show you how to make 2 of my favorite soups: French Onion au crouton and Cream of Carrot, English style.
Since the sum of a soup really is the equal of it's parts here are my rules of thumb for chicken, beef and fish.
---
Chicken:
2 whole stewing hens to 6 quarts of water. Cut the girls into 4 pieces and add one onion, 5 carrots and 5 stalks of celery...all cut coarsely of course. Don't bother peeling that meripoix either...just remove the onion paper. Bring this to a boil over high, reduce heat to simmer/almost boil and walk away. No, really...walk away for 3 hours. When you come back, you will see a "raft" of brown foamy nastiness...skim this off. The water level will be substancially lower, but as long as you have the fire right you should not be dry. Taste this liquid and judge if you need more time/water or if you are ready for herbs.
When you get this far, you can remove the hen. The meat is perfect for soup so you can either freeze it or use it in the next few days. The flavors I invite are usually a small bay leaf, black pepper, chicken base (not that salty crap they sell at Slaveway...get some good "meat first" base) and rosemary (go light on rosemary...she is a killer). Let this go on a simmer for an hour and then strain the whole mess. Get this cooled below 40*f as soon as you can...unless you like getting sick?
I usually let this sit overnight, and in the morning I can literally degrease the stock by removing the hard layer of fat from the gelatinous yum. You can throw this away, or it will refrigerate indefinitely. Oh, the virtues of chicken fat...but that is for another post...
Brown (usually beef, sometimes venison or veal) stock:
This one is a killer! Get 8 pounds of beef bones and 5 pounds of veal bones from your macellaio (butcher). You can do straight beef but this mix give some real subtle flavor curves. Cut 2 onions, 5 carrots and 5 stalks of celery coarsely. Throw this into a brazier pan (or on a sheet pan) and put into a "stinkin' hot" oven (as high as you can get it.) the idea is to brown/almost burn the bones without burning the meripoix. Some people will tell you to oil the bones...wimps.
Once this is done, transfer this to a large pot and add 4 gallons of water, a medium can of tomato puree, a small bunch of parsley, small hand of black peppercorns and a few bay leaves. Put this on very low and forget about it. Really, at least 3 days.
Check it a couple times a day and see if you need to replace some water. I like to turn the oven to warm (150*f on mine) and leave it in there but ymmv. At the end of 3 days taste it...if it is good, make it great with some beef base...if it needs more time, don't rush it. Strain and cool as with chicken above. This also degreases as easy as chicken but the fat should be chucked away (unless you are very old skool and feel like frying potatoes in it...)
Fish:
Fish stock is the easiest to make and the easiest to muck up. It is usually strong and well, makes the house pretty fishy. Because of this, and my opinion weak chicken actually tastes better in seafood soups, I usually don't make my own. It is made just like chicken, just half the onion and add parsley and a lemon. For the love of Febreeze don't use a super fatty fish like salmon or tuna. Also, don't be tempted to use whole fish...all you need is the bones. Your fish monger should be ably to fill your quota easily...and cheap.
---
Now get out there, make some stocks and get ready for tomorrow when I show you how to make 2 of my favorite soups: French Onion au crouton and Cream of Carrot, English style.
virginal entry (you have a dirty mind ;-D )
Konbanwa! I'm Matt, and I will be your host through this adventure of taste. First, a little about me...
I am a retired chef with a background in Classical French. My chef de formation was Ricardo Saenz, CIA class of '67 (if I recall correctly...lots of drugs back then)
My style is a mixture, a mutt of flavors. I love Southern French and Italian as they play so well together. Other times I love the rich heartiness of Germany and Northern France. Often I find myself dreaming of Asian cuisine. I have even dabbled in Creole and the foods of Southern Florida. I was also trained in a bit of dietary and nutritional study so you might even find something healthy!
I shared this recipe with my friend Lorraine today, she was looking for a quick fix meal. If I had to classify the style, I couldn't! it has the rich heartiness of Germany and the flavor if Sicily...
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Morceaux de boeuf Marsala (Pieces of beef with a Marsalla sauce)
Start with beef stew meat (cut small if you want), salt and pepper to taste. Toss in flour to coat and then sear in a little oil. Remove the meat and deglaze the pan with Marsalla wine and some beef stock. Add some onion and garlic and finish with a touch of cream. Add the meat back in for less than a minute (don't want it to get tough), tossing to cover. Serve over buttered noodles
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Let me know if you try this, and how it was.
I am a retired chef with a background in Classical French. My chef de formation was Ricardo Saenz, CIA class of '67 (if I recall correctly...lots of drugs back then)
My style is a mixture, a mutt of flavors. I love Southern French and Italian as they play so well together. Other times I love the rich heartiness of Germany and Northern France. Often I find myself dreaming of Asian cuisine. I have even dabbled in Creole and the foods of Southern Florida. I was also trained in a bit of dietary and nutritional study so you might even find something healthy!
I shared this recipe with my friend Lorraine today, she was looking for a quick fix meal. If I had to classify the style, I couldn't! it has the rich heartiness of Germany and the flavor if Sicily...
---
Morceaux de boeuf Marsala (Pieces of beef with a Marsalla sauce)
Start with beef stew meat (cut small if you want), salt and pepper to taste. Toss in flour to coat and then sear in a little oil. Remove the meat and deglaze the pan with Marsalla wine and some beef stock. Add some onion and garlic and finish with a touch of cream. Add the meat back in for less than a minute (don't want it to get tough), tossing to cover. Serve over buttered noodles
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Let me know if you try this, and how it was.
