Roy Choi's French Onion Soup

I saw Roy Choi show Jon Favreau how to make this on "The Chef Show" on Netflix.

Be careful to cook the onions down slowly creating more of a jam than a pile of onions. It takes about an hour to do the onions right

Use a large stock pot or 5 qt sauce pan. Coat bottom of stock pot with a layer of 

• 3 Tbsp olive oil 

and heat to medium-low. 

• 5 large yellow onions - slice in half, peel and then thinly slice across grain

Toss in an onion slice and look for active bubbling but not frying. Dump all onions into pot and increase to medium heat. Stir occasionally not allowing onions to fry or brown too quickly. This part can take an hour. Do not stir too often, some fond should form on the bottom of the pot by the time the onions are cooked. 

During this time, when onions become translucent and begin to break down add a little

• Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper

Continue stirring occasionally until the onions break down even more, then add 

• pat of butter. 

If liquid fats (olive oil and butter) bubble too far above the surface layer of onions, drain some of the liquid and add back to broth later. Continue stirring occasionally until onions break down to become light to medium brown and slimy. Increase heat to high. Move onions to one side and add 

• 1/2 cup brandy

to deglaze. Scrape up fond with spatula and mix into onions. Apply a light coating of 

• 2 T flour

to onions, just enough to add structure. Add 

• 2 qts beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 thyme sprigs

bring to boil. Lower to a simmer for 30 minutes.

Crispy Bread

Sourdough bread

Olive Oil

Kosher salt

Preheat oven 400 F.

Place sliced bread on baking sheet and sprinkle generously with olive oil sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake until golden brown 12-15 minutes.

Serve Soup

Toppings

Emmenthaller or baby Swiss

Gruyere

Parmesan

Place two slices of crusty bread in an oven safe bowl or tiny cast iron skillet and cover with soup leaving room at the top. Cover generously with cheese and place in oven under broiler until brown and bubbly. It helps to have wide slices of cheese that will catch the rim of the bowl and not sink into the soup, then the melted cheese will drip down the sides of the bowl.

From https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/soup-chili-and-stew/757308-roy-choi-french-onion-soup

Potato Soup

Originally this came from my college roommate's wife who learned it growing up in Germany. Then I lost the recipe. One night I called my daughter and she showed me how to make it over AirTime:

45 min includes chopping. 

Sauté in a large pan on med low

• 4 oz bacon

When the bacon is brown but not crisp yet, add

• 1 leek without leaves. Sliced into coin sized bits
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1/2 medium carrot thin sliced
• 1 stalk of celery sliced
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper
• 1/8 tsp White pepper 

Continue sautéing until barely soft and add

• 4 med potatoes cut in 3/4 in cubes. You can peel or not. You can half peel. 

Continue sauté making sure the potatoes are coated in oil and maybe a little browned. Or not. 

Then cover with 

• chicken broth. You can use turkey or vegetable broth or water. 
• 1 tsp chicken base
• 1/3 tsp beef base

Bring to a boil on med high. Reduce to simmer about 15 minutes until potatoes are soft when stuck with a fork. 

Mash as with a potato masher. Maybe only partially. 

Optionally blend 1/3 to thicken broth or use an immersion blender some. 

Simmer on low for 5 more minutes to blend tastes. 

Add to taste:

• salt
• Black pepper 
• (Optional) Parsley

If you like, can be optionally served with

• sour cream OR
• Cream Or
• Cheddar cheese 

on top. 

Serves 4. 

Pasta I Fagioli

A family favorite

Sauté in olive oil in a large saucepan:

• Medium Onion chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic crushed and chopped
• 1 stalk Celery thinly sliced at an angle (1/8 inch slice)
• 1 large Carrot thinly sliced at an angle

Add and brown:

• 1 lb Hamburger meat
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper

Add

• Large can Crushed tomatoes 
• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 14 oz can of cooked Pinto beans (2 cups)

Simmer 15 min. Make sure the meat is done and then prepare according to package directions:

• 1 c pasta noodles a little underdone

Drain cooked pasta and add to the saucepan. Simmer a few minutes to meld the flavors.

Serve

My 2nd Posole - from scratch

I realized that I had a quick and easy Posole recipe on this blog, and a variation where you serve the pork/posole soup and chili sauce separately but not my original recipe.

Of course, for something I've been making since I was a wee lad, its more complicated than that. My original recipe I got from Stan after eating his Posole at his annual Christmas party (back when we had Christmas parties with people all in the same room). It was a quick crock pot recipe with meat and cans of stuff added together. Someday I might put that in here.

One year, though, (2004) I decided I would replace the cans of stuff with my own recipes for that stuff and this is what I came up with. I'm putting it in as written on the battered 3x5 card with notes about stuff I've learned since then.

What is the posole grain from which this chile based soup gets it name?

Posole is made from fresh corn kernels. This recipe calls for dried posole. You can buy it in any grocery store in New Mexico and can also buy it over the Internet. Just Google "dry posole." Either the white, yellow or blue corn varieties are acceptable. 

Dried posole is made with the nixtamal process from ordinary corn. The shell of the corn is chemically removed in this centuries old process. Then the result is dried and packaged. If they grind the result to a powder, it makes masa, the foundation for tamale dough or corn tortillas.

Look ahead by getting the posole ready. Wash it and start to soak together:

• 1/2 lb dried posole (about 1 1/2 cups)  
• 3-4 cups water

Set that aside to soak for quite a while as the crock pot does its magic.

Start with a crock pot and add:

• 1 lb fresh pork (you can use the pork chops that were underneath that beautiful one on the top of the package, or pork short ribs, or the end off a pork loin though something with a bone in it makes better soup) cut into 1" cubes
• water (to cover the pork just barely) or you can use chicken or vegetable broth

Note: Nowdays, I brown the port in a skillet with a bit of oil or under the oven broiler. That adds a bit of good flavor to the soup.

In a skillet at medium low, saute these until the onion turns translucent:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil (or some oil)
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic. crushed and finely chopped

When the onion has lost its color add these and cook the rawness out of the flour but not to the point of brownness. You will need to stir continuously:

• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin (comino)
• 1/8 tsp ground mexican oregano (regular oregano works too)

Once the rawness is out of the flour, add the contents of the skillet to the crock pot along with:

• 1/4 cup New Mexico powdered red chile (its available in mild, medium and hot) but you can use powdered Guajillo or Ancho if you want. Note that some powdered red chile is very hot, particularly if you get it in an Asian grocery. Note: DO NOT use standard "chili powder" as it includes the garlic and cumin and other spices that we want to control the amounts of.
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tst sugar
• 1 8 oz can green chile (or 2 4 oz cans)

Cook on high until the meat is falling to strings. Be sure to add water if it's cooking away so the meat remains covered. This could take quite a while, 5 hours to overnight, and if you can guess when it will be over you can add the posole (as described below about 3 hours before the meat is completely done).

Drain the posole. It should be almost doubled in size from absorbing water while soaking. Then add it to the crock pot. When you add it and as you are cooking it, you may also need to add:

• more water or chicken broth because the posole will absorb more water

Cook on crock pot high for about 3 hours. Your crock pot may be different than mine. You will know it is done when you see the posole kernals have "popped" open mostly on the end. Taste one and it should be easily chewed but with a bit of a bite. Sort of like the texture of perfect al dente pasta but not so creamy. 

The dried posole will expand while cooking to 4 times its original size.

Tomato Basil Soup

Creamy Tomato Soup

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/creamy-tomato-soup/amp

This recipe can easily be doubled to feed a larger group—and makes for great leftovers. For a lighter soup, omit the cream; or for a little decadence, add more cream or swirl in a little crème fraîche.

Alison Roman & Christina Holmes

October 01, 2012

Adapted by Lee 2 mar 2020

Total time: 90 min

Ingredients

• ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp each thyme, rosemary, and white pepper
• Pinch crushed red pepper
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 2 28-oz. cans whole tomatoes
• 2 cans of water
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 1/2 Tbsp chicken base
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp dried basil flakes
• 1–2 teaspoons sugar, divided
• ¼ cup (or more) heavy cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add thyme, rosemary, white pepper, crushed red pepper, onion, and garlic. Sauté medium low until onion is completely soft and translucent, 10–12 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add tomato paste. Continue cooking, stirring often, until paste has begun to caramelize in spots, 5–6 minutes.

Add tomatoes with juices, chicken base, lemon zest, basil, 1 tsp sugar, wine and 2 cans of water to pot. Increase heat to high; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until flavors meld and soup reduces to about 2 quarts (8 cups), 45–55 minutes. Remove soup from heat; let cool slightly. Use an immersion blender or working in small batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth. Or leave some chunks. Return to pot. 

DO AHEAD: Soup can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool slightly, cover, and chill. Rewarm before continuing.

Stir in ¼ cup cream. Simmer soup until flavors meld, 10–15 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining 1 tsp. sugar. Add more cream, if desired.

Posole Variation with Chile Pods

I happened upon this recipe when I was feeling lazy. I'm adding it here for Scott to consider cooking in a hotel room with no prep time and a crock pot. If I was Scott, and if I were doing this, I'd ziploc up the spices. I would cut up the pork and freeze it together with onions. I'd probably buy frozen onions but chopping my own would be more economical. I'd need a can opener for the hominy and, maybe, the chicken broth.

Add the following to a crock pot:

• 1-2 lb pork (pork loin cut in 1" cubes OR cheap pork chops with the meat cut in bits and bones added OR ham hocks OR pork neck bones -- smoked or fresh)
• 3 dried New Mexico red chile pods (remove stem and seeds without being obsessive)
• 3 cloves garlic (peel but leave whole)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp whole cumin (a little less if powdered)
• 1/4 tsp mexican oregano (any oregano will do)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped onion (frozen is convenient, sauted is ok)
• 4 cups chicken broth (or chicken base/boullion with water)
• Additional water if needed to cover everything.
• Do Not Add Salt (pork may be salty. broth may be salty. taste and salt at the end)

Cook on high for 6 hours or until the meat falls apart. If the meat is frozen when you start it will take longer.

While cooking, depending on the pork, you may want to spoon off the accumulated oil off the top of the crock pot. Stir afterwards. This is not crucial but you may want less fat.

When done, add:

• 1 large can hominy (the hispanic brands are firmer. If not, yellow is better than white)

It just depends on your crock pot. Once the posole is hot, you can eat it. (For shorter cooking time, microwave the hominy before you put it in.

Here is another posole recipe that takes longer to cook and has a different vibe.

http://flatlandfood.blogspot.com/2011/11/posole-variation.html

Chicken Soup

I've got sick Sunday evening. Missed work Monday and really wanted some chicken soup. Does it make you feel better? Well, when your head is totally stuffed up and your throat hurts, yes.

Remember, its soup. So put anything you like in it. I left out potatoes and pasta since I'm not in the mood for carbs when I'm sick. I added spinach because I had it in the refrigerator. Experiment!

Put the following in a sauce pan:

• 3 T onion - slice angled across the grain very thin to get half round strips
• 2 garlic cloves - peel and cut in half
• 1 small carrot chopped
• 1 T olive oil

Saute over medium heat until about the onion is about ready to brown.

You can prepare the chicken either in a hot skillet or under a broiler (or even on the grill).

• 1 chicken breast - no bones, browned, cut into 1 cm cubes (1/2 inch)

Meanwhile, when the onion is ready, add these to the saucepan and turn to high:

• 2 c water
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon or chicken base
• 1/2 tsp beef base
• 1 bay leave
• 12 whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp celery flakes (unless you have fresh celery leaves for the bundle)
• pinch of ground black pepper
• pinch of sugar
• (optional) 4 sun-dried tomato halves, chopped
• a bundle of fresh herbs (see below)

Bring to a boil, add the chicken when browned but simmer for 15 minutes. You will probably need to reduce heat to medium to keep it simmering. You may need to add water or white wine.

Make the bundle of fresh herbs by tying some fresh herbs with a string into a little bundle just long enough to fit into the sauce pan. I used these but I'm nto sure it much matters. You can substitute dried spices but be careful not to overdo it. 

Tie these fresh spices into the bundle and submerse in the soup as shown in the photo:

• basil
• oregano
• sage
• tarragon
• fennil fronds
• mint

I'm not sure it much matters but you will have to experiment with whatever you like. I don't like it with rosemary.

After the soup has simmered for 15 minutes, taste it and add

• (optional) 1/2 c chopped spinach
• salt to taste

Remove the bundle of spices and serve.

Enough for 2 servings. Which is perfect for lunch and dinner when you are feeling sick.

Fennel and Swiss Chard Soup

It finally froze yesterday in the wee hours. In my garden remained two things that needed harvesting right away: Fennel and Swiss Chard

So, I picked the veggies from the back yard and got out the old Google to see what I could make with it. Food Network had a nice recipe for vegetable plate and another site had a soup. But the flavors were similar. I thought, "It's cold. Soup sounds good."

And I began my usual changing of what looked like a vegan recipe into one I thought I might prefer (and used what I had around the house).

This soup is hearty. It can be a whole meal by itself.

You will want to prepare the swiss chard ahead of time. Note that the quantities on all the vegetables are approximate. It's soup. It will be ok if the amounts vary.

• 2 bunches swiss chard (based on how my grocery store sizes the swiss chard)

Wash the chard if its not totally grit free. Reduce the amount of water on the leaves by drying or shaking or whatever.
Cut out the stems by slicing the leaf parts right where they attach to the main stem. The leaves go in one pile. The stems go in another pile.
Chop the leaves into 1 inch squares.
Slice the stems into 1/4 inch lengths.

Saute the following until the onion wilts thoroughly in a large pan. I use my dutch oven:

• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T butter
• 1/2 c chopped onion (I used yellow onion. The recipe called for the whites of scallions/green onions.)
• 1/2 c chopped fennel bulb (remove stems, cut the bulb in half and cut out the core before chopping)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• pinch of salt

Then add and continue to saute until some browning occurs:

• 2 c swiss chard stems, chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt

Remove and set aside. Saute until wilted:

• 2 T butter
• 4 c swiss chard leaves (chopped into 1 inch squares)

Add and simmer until the stems and leaves soften (about 20 minutes)

• 1/4 c white wine (or a Tbsp sugar)
• 6 cups broth (I had broth I made from recently roasted turkey's bones -- very little oil)

Remove from heat. Add

• 1 1/2 c baby spinich leaves

Blend the result. I use my tiny, little immersion blender. If you use a regular blender, do it a cup or two at a time to avoid sloshing all that hot liquid around the kitchen violently. Put it back in the pan with:

• 1/4 tsp anchovy paste (about 2 inches from a tube)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3 Tbsp fennel fronds, chopped

Adjust the taste as needed with salt, sugar and/or garlic powder.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and its ready.

Serve with a dash of heavy cream in the center of the bowl and a sprinkling of fennel fronds on top.

Options:

Add 8 oz cream to the soup after removing the soup from the heat instead of serving it in the bowl. (You could replace it with 1/4 c olive or coconut oil if you want to avoid the dairy.)

Use a vegetable broth if you want to avoid eating meat. (The butter can be replaced with additional olive oil, too.)

I suspect adding chopped bacon when sauting the onion would be tasty.

Cream of Green Bean Casserole Soup

I just woke up in the middle of the night one night. I was getting ready for the Christmas Party at my house and I suddenly knew I needed to make soup -- Cream of Green Bean Casserole soup.

The only problem is that I had never heard of it before. When the same thing happened with Cranberry Mustard, I went online and found hundreds of recipes.

The ingredients (my recipe) for Green Bean Casserole are basically Cream of Mushroom soup concentrate, French Fried Onions and Green Beans.

I had made some Cream of Mushroom soup a long time ago. But it was much better than the canned variety. I figured I could make some more and then blend in some green beans and be done with it.

So I started with Ina Garten's recipe for Mushroom Soup (Original: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cream-of-wild-mushroom-soup-recipe.html) and, of course changed it just a bit.

Start by making some mushroom broth. Prepare

• 16 oz mushrooms (the original has cremini, portobello and shitake and its very good)

Pop out the stems (break them where the stem meets the cap or cut them). Set the caps aside for the soup itself. Chop the stems and saute in the bottom of a stock pot or similar pan over medium-low heat until soft (perhaps 10 min) in:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter

Option 1: Add

• 1 large onion - cut in large pieces
• 1 large carrot - cut into a few pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 peppercorns
• pinch of thyme (a little more if its fresh)
• 6 cups of water

Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes

Option 2: Cover with

• 6 cups of vegetable broth

Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes

Whether you choose option 1 or 2, when the broth has simmered 30 minutes, strain out the veggies and reserve the liquid. If there is less than 4 cups, add some water. Set aside for use later

Now for the soup itself. Cook in a large pan or dutch oven over low heat for 15 - 20 minutes until beginning to brown

• 1/4 lb butter (1 stick)
• 2 cups leeks - chopped coarsely including the white and the more tender green parts. One or two leeks will provide you with 2 cups.

Meanwhile prepare the mushroom caps (all that's left of the 16 ounces from above) by slicing them up.

Add the sliced mushrooms to the leeks and cook 10 more minutes. The mushrooms will become soft and maybe a little browned.

Add and stir without stopping for a minute or two:

• 3/4 c flour

When no longer raw or lumpy, add and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to get all that flavor into the soup:

• 1 c dry white wine

Add in:

• 4 c mushroom stock (prepared as described above)
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 14 oz cans of green beans - drain thoroughly first. Use a good quality of green beans that don't have stems, leaves or woody parts.

and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to make it into a smooth soup. An ordinary blender will do if you are very careful to blend about a cup at a time with the lid on. Keep it covered so the hot liquid stays in the blender and off of you.

Note: Some people like it better if you hold back half of the green beans and add them after blending, It makes a different texture and color but I prefer the whole thing to be smooth. Similarly, you could top with a few crumbles of french fried onion rings sprinkled on the surface once the soup is in a bowl.

Finally, stir in:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley (the finer the better)

If the blending and the cream have cooled it down, warm gently. Do not boil. Do not simmer. Just get back to being hot.

Then remove from the heat and top with

• 3 pats of butter - leave them floating on top to melt slowly with the lid on

Serve hot. Serves 5 or 6.

Green Chile, Pork and Potato Stew

One of the last times my Dad and I went to Santa Fe, we stopped at a little strip shopping center restaurant and had some stew similar to this. It was so good that I had to keep trying until I got something a lot like the original. That was 1999.

You will need to cook this 5 or 6 hours in a crock pot on high. If you cook on the stove, simmer until the pork is tender and the potatoes haven't fallen apart.

• 1 lb pork cut in 1" cubes. (Use discount pork chops if you don't mind the bones but cut them in pieces.)

Brown this meat (and bones, perhaps) in a skillet, over a gas grill or the broiler in your oven. Turn once to get some caramelization on both sides.

Add the meat and the following to a crock pot. Small is better.

• 2 large potatoes. 1" cubes. Peeling is optional. (About 2 cups)
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
• 1/2 tsp beef bouillon (1/2 cube)
• chicken broth and/or water to cover
• 1/2 c chopped green chile (This is about one 7oz can or two 3 oz cans. But try to get  frozen or fresh roasted.)

Cook together until done.

Serve with a sprinkling of

• white pepper
• oregano (preferably ground mexican oregano)

Note that to make this perfect, you would add the meat, spices, bouillon, and broth first. Simmer until the meat is tender. Add the potatoes and simmer until barely done. Add the green chiles and simmer 5 more minutes before serving. (But adding everything and cooking is really good too.)

Tomato Rosemary Lemon Soup

The other day, my wife suggested Tomato Soup might be good. It was a cold day and soup sounded good to me too. So, I did some recipe searching and found a recipe from Giada DeLaurentis from the Food Network. Of course, I had to change a few things. Mostly I didn't have all the ingredients for her recipe. In particular, her recipe has you sauteing a couple of chopped carrots. Also you add a can of cannelloni beans which are, I think, small white beans. If those were in this soup, and got blended with the other parts, it would change the taste and texture quite a bit.

• 1/2 large onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter

Saute until translucent in a non-small cook pan. (Not a skillet.)

• 2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes (stewed or simply canned tomatoes would work or you could use a large can of crushed tomatoes)
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (it might taste ok with less of this)
• 3 cups chicken broth (this shouldn't have too much salt)
• 1 tsp fresh Rosemary (You are going to need another 1/2 tsp down the page a bit so prepare it all at this point. Just keep the leaves. Discard the stems. Chop finely. I also put some olive oil on the rosemary when it was still on the stem and set fire to part of it. It smells wonderful and adds a bit of smokey flavor)
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Add the above and bring to a boil over med-high head. Reduce heat and simmer, covered 20 min. Remove from heat. Run through blender a ladle/cup at a time.You will need another pan or heatproof mixing bowl.

• Salt
• Pepper

Season to taste. Warm back up in the same pan after you wash it out.

• 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Zest of one lemon
• 1/2 tsp fresh Rosemary (prepared as described above)

Stir together vigorously. Try to get rid of lumps.

Serve hot soup with a generous dollop of the cream mixture. Diners should stir it up before eating

Jan 2011