Cheeseburger Soup

This fall has been a tough one. I have worked and traveled a lot. And by "a lot" I mean 15-hour days for about two months straight in random cities that are not my home "a lot." To be fair, traveling for work isn't all bad. One benefit is you get to explore some pretty nice restaurants.

Now, while I had some fabulous meals, I can remember only one: Cheeseburger Soup. Yes, you read that correctly. A little diner in a small town in Kentucky served up my most memorable meal in quite some time. Every Tuesday my colleagues and I enjoyed this little gem, which was an all-you-can-eat, sold-out-by-noon, 1000-calories-per-bowl, guilty pleasure. Notice that I do not say it was my most refined, expensive, culinarily adventurous, or delicious meal. And part of me hated myself for enjoying it so much. But it was good.

Now that I am back home, I decided to try my hand at recreating this dish. Sans the government-issued cheese of the original. And it was perfect. Not exactly a replica, and likely not much healthier than the original. But well worth the effort. And, dare I admit, delicious.

Ingredients
-1 lb ground beef
-1 T. olive oil
-1 onion, diced
-2 carrots, diced
-2 stalks of celery, diced
-1 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
-2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
-1 T. Montreal steak seasoning
-1 tsp. dried parsley
-1 tsp. of garlic powder
-1/2 C. dry red wine
-4 T. butter
-1/4 C. flour
-4 C. chicken broth
-2 C. milk
-2-3 C. of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
-8 oz. sour cream
-plenty of Kosher salt and pepper
-1/2 box of macaroni noodles, cooked al dente

Brown the beef, and season with the Kitchen Bouquet, Worcestershire sauce, Montreal steak seasoning, dried parsley, and garlic powder. Deglaze the pan with the wine for about 1 minute. Set aside beef and juices.

In the same pot, sauté the veggies in olive oil until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the butter and, when melted, whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the meat (and juices) and milk, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add cheese, season to taste, and stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir until incorporated, and then add noodles.

It may look humble, but I devoured 3 bowls. Maybe 4. It is good to be home.

Beach Cooking: Saffron Seafood Chowder

We do not spend time at the beach without making seafood chowder. Over the years, I have experimented with various recipes, resulting in my very own recipe. Keep in mind that this, like all chowder recipes, is forgiving, so use what you have on hand. As long as you have fresh seafood, it will be delicious.


Ingredients
-5 pieces of bacon
-1 onion, minced
-3 carrots, chopped
-1 small red pepper
-1 large potato, diced
-4 ears of corn or a bag of frozen corn
-1 tomato, seeded and chopped
-1/2 C. cream
-1/2 C. flour
-1 tsp. saffron
-Kosher salt and pepper
-fresh parsley
-3 lbs of seafood (I used a combination of large clams, cod, shrimp, and scallops, but use whatever is freshest and wild caught), washed, cleaned, and cut into similar sized pieces
-homemade or store-bought seafood stock, 8-10 C.

To make the stock (if you are so inclined): Seafood stock is actually pretty pricey, considering it is just seafood scraps/bones/shells, water, and veg. And it really is not difficult to make. But buy it by all means (unless you are neurotic like me), as one will know the difference. I made the stock mainly because we froze all our shrimp shells from prior dinners. When I got up on the morning I planned to make the chowder, I dumped the shells (4-6 C.) into a stock pot on medium heat, added whatever leftover veggies were in the fridge (half a leek, half an onion, a carrot or two and an old tomato) and 1/2 C. white wine. Then, I just covered the lot with cold water and simmered (do not allow the stock to come to a boil), skimming off any froth as it emerged, for 1 1/2 hours. I left it to cool. And went to the beach. Later that day, I strained the broth and reserved.


To make chowder: cook the bacon and reserve. Sauté the onion in the bacon fat until translucent. Add carrot and potato. Once the veggies are tender, add red pepper and tomato and cook for one minute. Add flour and saffron and cook for 2 minutes. Add as much broth to cover the veggies by several inches and simmer until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, throw in seafood and simmer until the shrimp is pink and the fish flakes. Add parsley and cream, season to taste, and serve piping hot. I served with a simple salad of cucumber, tomato, and mozzarella.

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Cooking at the Beach: Assembly Supper

Sunday night neither A nor I felt like cooking. We were too busy exploring the ocean and trying not to get burned.


So we assembled supper instead--leftover cocktail shrimp, cheese and crackers, olives, cherry tomatoes (from our CSA) with fresh basil (from my parents' garden), a plate of fruit we bought pre-cut at an exorbitant price, lovely tiny CSA raspberries, and some pastries from a local shop. I did get up from my seat on the porch for long enough to make deviled eggs. But only barely.


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Cooking at the Beach: Shrimp Cocktail and Sausage and Tomato Risotto

I have a confession to make. When I head to the beach, the first thing I pack is not my swimsuit but a chef's knife, sel de mer, a cast iron skillet, and my homemade chicken broth. I understand if you stop reading at this point, as I am clearly not very cool.

But if you do keep reading, we are at the beach this week, for some much needed R&R. As I am (a) naturally Canadian pale and prone to burn after 5 seconds in the sun, and (b) allergic to chlorine, I don't spend too much time on the beach or at the pool. But I do love to cook at the beach--something about the challenge of cooking in a strange, ill-equipped kitchen, I think.


For our first night, we picked up some wild-caught shrimp at our favorite seafood market. (Tip: Find out where the locals get their fish and follow suit. Also, as a general rule, I find that the surlier the purveyor, the fresher the seafood.) After cleaning and de-veining said crustaceans, I emerged them in an ice water brine, seasoned with 1 T. kosher salt, the juice of a lemon (and its rind), some course ground pepper, and 2 cloves of garlic, minced. When we were ready to eat, A. patted them dry and seared in a skillet on high heat for 4 minutes or so. We served with store-bought cocktail sauce. (Although, I contemplated making my own, it really was too much trouble and I can't honestly taste the difference. Rule 1 of beach cooking: Cook and buy on a 1:1 ratio.) The shrimp were lovely: slightly sweet and tasting of sand and sea.


For a main, I made sausage and fresh tomato risotto. I had hauled three rather garishly large tomatoes all the way from Kentucky (further evidence of my not-cool nature), but after the 10-hour journey they looked as if they had seen better days. What better than a risotto, I thought, for which to sacrifice these somewhat bruised beauties? As a concession to my meat-loving spouse, I picked up some sweet Italian sausage. The result--a gooey mess. But, was it ever delicious! The fresh tomatoes paired wonderfully with the sweet sausage and nutty Parmesan cheese. Here's how:

Ingredients:


-2 sweet Italian sausages, removed from their casings
-3 large tomatoes
-sel de mer or Kosher salt
-black pepper
-1/2 tsp of saffron (yes, I packed this too)
-11/4 C. Arborio rice
-3 C. chicken broth
-lots of fresh basil
-1 large spring onion, chopped
-2 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/2 C. dry white wine
-3/4 C. fresh Parmesan cheese, grated (beach houses often don't come equipped with graters, so I always pack my own)
-3 or 4 handfuls of spinach or arugula, or both, washed and died

Prepare tomatoes by scoring on the bottom and immersing in boiling water for 1 minute. Place in an ice bath and then peel and cut in half lengthwise. Place a colander over another bowl and squeeze each half over the colander. Salt and let the flesh sit in the colander while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Cook the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it browns. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, bring broth, saffron, and tomato juice to a bare simmer. Add the rice to the pot and stir for 1 minute. Add the wine and stir until absorbed.

Add 1/2 C. of the broth mixture at a time, stirring (I read one cookbook that swore that risotto must be stirred in one direction only, advice I now superstitiously follow) until incorporated before adding the next 1/2 C. The risotto is done when you think it is done--some prefer it more al dente, some less so (me). Start tasting around minute 15, and every minute after that until it suits your taste. When ready, remove from heat, add the cheese, greens, basil, and serve. While not the prettiest of dishes, this is by far my favorite risotto to date--warm, comforting, and definitely sleep inducing!


As we were both in a risotto-induced coma, we skipped dessert. Still, all in all, a truly perfect first vacation dinner.

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Location:St. Simon's Island

Fried Green Tomatoes

I have never been the model of patience, and this year my small garden has been testing it. Consequently, I have been waiting for my tomatoes to ripen for what feels like years. Finally, I gave up and ripped a few unsuspecting tomatoes from the vine for some fried green tomatoes.


The recipe is easy. Slice your tomatoes. Mix equal parts cornmeal and flour in a small bowl. Season heavily with Kosher salt and pepper. Pour some milk in a bowl with a tsp. of fresh lemon juice and allow to stand for a few minutes. (Most recipes I read called for buttermilk, but this is an easy substitute. Who keeps buttermilk around the house anyways?) Add a tsp. of cayenne pepper to milk. Dip tomato slices in milk, then dredge with flour mixture. Heat 1/2 C. vegetable oil in a skillet (this is key--if you don't have one, get one immediately as it makes all the difference for frying). Fry the slices for 3 minutes or so per side, or until golden brown. Serve with a spicy mayo (1/4 C. mayo, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, a bit of lemon juice, a bit of hot sauce).


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In Memoriam:

“[A]nd when [she] shall die,
Take [her] and cut [her] out in little stars,
And [she] will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.”

--Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene 2

Friday Night Eats

Friday nights are fabulous. I have opined on my love of Friday nights before. There really nothing better than the whole weekend stretched before you. The other Friday, we had a simple but lovely CSA-inspired dinner: zucchini carpaccio, roast Cornish hens with cranberry bread salad, and St. Germain blackberry panna cotta.  Best of all, it came together in about 30 minutes of prep time.  (Recipes make enough for 2.)  Here's how:

The morning of: Wash and cut hen in half lengthwise.  (If you've never done this before, it is easy.  Watch this video.)   Rub skin with a slice or two of lemon. Chops some fresh oregano, parsley, and thyme (about a handful total).  Slather bird with said herbs. Put bird in a bag and cover with equal parts olive oil, white wine, and balsamic vinegar. Throw in lemon rind, and refrigerate until ready to roast.

When you get home:

1. Make zucchini carpaccio--Slice one zucchini on a mandolin as thinly as you can. Arrange on a plate. Mix 2 T. olive oil and 1 T. fresh lemon juice and add a few leaves of fresh mint, chopped.  Pour over veg. Season with fleur de sel and fresh cracked pepper. Allow to marinate at room temperature while you . . .

2. Prepare bread salad. Slice 1/2 a baguette or whatever bread you have into large chunks. (I usually keep leftover bread in the freezer for just this type of dish.)  Mix 3 T. olive oil and 2 T. white wine vinegar together. (Less vinegar if you like--I like my vinaigrettes very vinegar-y.)  Reserve. Cover a handful of cranberries in hot water and a bit of red wine vinegar. Let sit while you . . .

3. Make blackberry St. Germain panna cotta. These are so easy to make.  Follow David Lebovitz's recipe here to make the panna cotta.  (I adjusted to make only 2 servings, but feel free to make the whole recipe, as it keeps in the fridge and is so delicious you will inevitably want seconds . . . and thirds.)  I always serve my panna cotta in a wine glass or champagne flute--it eliminates the need to try to extract the panna cotta from the dish, which is needlessly fussy in my opinion.  Once the panna cotta is in the fridge, make the blackberry sauce. Place 6-8 blackberries in a saucepan with a splash of St. Germain (this elderflower liquor is a lovely addition, but omit if you don't have it, as it is pricey, or substitute with a bit of white wine), 1/4 C. water, 1/4 C. sugar, and a pinch of salt.  Simmer for about 5 minutes or until the blackberries have mostly disintegrated and the sauce has thickened to a jam-like consistency. Sieve if you want. I never have the patience for sieving, and I don't mind the seeds. Set aside and then . . .

4.  Roast the bird: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Pile the bread in the bottom of your roasting pan.  Set the hen pieces on top.  Roast for 25 minutes or until nicely browned.  Meanwhile . . .

5. Enjoy your carpaccio and a chilled glass of dry white wine.

6. After 25 minutes, cover hen with foil and roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until done.  Set the hen pieces aside and toss the bread (after removing any burnt bits) with the vinaigrette and drained cranberries. Season with salt and pepper.

7. All that is left to do is enjoy your dinner.  For dessert, just spoon sauce over panna cotta and serve. (This was so delicious I was not able to snap a shot of it--it was gone in about 30 seconds.)

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