Soups Around the World!

Last week I had a cooking Event at one of our stores, my sponsor was College Inn Broth.

Plus I wanted to add some seasoning from a local company that is exclusive in our stores, Colonel De’s Seasonings.

So here are the soups that I did and the recipes, I hope you will enjoy and make them 🙂

Irish Garlic Potato Soup

Irish Garlic Potato Soup

• Servings: 6
• Time: 1hr
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

2.25 lb. Klondike Goldust Potatoes, sliced
.75 lb. sweet onion, sliced
3 – 14.5 oz. cans College Inn Chicken Broth
2 Tbsp. butter4 tsp. Colonel De’s Garlic Goodness
1 cup half and half
½ tsp. kosher salt or to taste

In stockpot add butter and onions, cook over med-high heat for about 5 minutes.
Add sliced potatoes, onions and chicken broth, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, add Garlic Goodness and cook until potatoes are tender.
Remove from heat, with an immersion blender blend until smooth or leave a little chunky.  If using a blender, blend in batches, just make sure the center of the blend lid is removed, place a towel over top of the lid.
Once blended add back to pot, add salt and add half and half, warm on low and serve.
Optional – Add onions straws and chives for a garnish.

Paired with Guiness Draught Beer

Mexican Pozole Soup

Mexican Pozole

• Servings: 6
• Time: 1hr
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

2 – 15.5 oz. cans hominy
3-4 – 14.5 oz. cans College Inn Beef Broth
3-4 cups shredded pork
3 tsp. Colonel De’s Chipotle Seasoning

Add to a large stock pot broth, hominy, pork and seasonings, bring to a boil and serve with garnishes below:

Shredded cabbage
Radish slices
Chopped onion
Chopped hot peppers
Avocado slices
Lime wedges
Tortilla chips
Chopped Cilantro

Paired with Negra Modelo Beer

 

Avgolemono (Greek Lemon & Chicken Soup)

Avgolemono

• Servings: 6
• Time: 45mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

64 oz. College Inn Chicken Broth
Shredded chicken breast from whole chicken
2 tsp. Colonel De’s Greek Seasonings
1 cup instant rice
4 eggs
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. water
¼ – ½ cup lemon juice, per your taste
salt to taste

In a large stock pot over med-high heat bring broth to a boil, covered, then add rice, chicken and seasonings, cover and reduce to low until rice is cooked.
In a medium bowl add water and cornstarch and whisk, then add eggs and beat until completely blended, whisk in lemon juice.  Take 4 cups of the hot soup and slowly add to the egg mixture while whisking constantly so that the mixture will not break.  Stir mixture into the rest of the soup.  Season to taste and serve immediately, garnish each bowl with a lemon slice and a few baby spinach leaves.

Paired with Leffe Beer

 

Pho Bo (Vietnamese Soup, this picture was taken before broth was added)

 

Pho Bo

• Servings: 6
• Time: 3hr
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

8-10 cups College Inn Beef broth
1 Colonel De’s Pho soup pouch
1 pkg. rice noodles
sirloin steak, trimmed and thinly sliced, kept raw

Green onions, tops thinly slice
fresh cilantro leaves

Add broth and pho pouch to a medium pot and bring to a boil, then let simmer for 3 hours.

Cook rice noodles as directed and drain.  Place portion of noodles in a large individual soup bowls, sprinkle of green onions and cilantro leaves.

Top that with a few thin slices of raw sirloin, set bowls aside.

Make each garnish plate with below

Bean sprouts, Thai basil leaves, hot sliced peppers, some sriracha and hoisin sauce.

Before serving bring broth up to almost a boil, ladle broth in to your bowls.  And add garnishes to your bowl as you wish. 

Paired with Kirin Ichiban Beer

Hope you Enjoy!!!  Cheers – Chef Amy!!

Roasted Garlic Bean Dip Recipe!!

Okay so I am trying to think of new ways to get my face out there in the world…yikes 😉

So I started to make videos, some will be product tests and some will be recipes.

This is just in the beginning stages, I only have a iPhone and my computer, but I am trying to make them better and better, sometimes I just laugh at myself when I watch them back :p LOL

But you have to start somewhere right, I will get better and its okay if you laugh I will not mind 😛

So here is the first one I did so check out I hope you enjoy it!!

FYI – I have already changed few things from this first video like I said it is a work in progress 🙂

Roasted Garlic Bean Dip

• Time: 10 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup roasted garlic
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1/4- 1/2 tsp. hot paprika
2-4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor add garlic and pulse a few times, then add beans and seasonings, pulse again and add oil and pulse until mixture is smooth.

Then serve with chips or veggies, you can also add spread on tortilla for a wrap.

 

Cooking Salmon & Scallops!!

This week I was at one of our store cooking up seafood in a “Seafood Market” Demonstration I had Salmon, Scallops & Mussels, showing people really how easy it is to cook seafood 🙂

Scallops with the Garlic, Dill & Lemon Marinade

As I started it was a little slow so I was able to take a couple of pictures 🙂

It was a great weekend Seafood and Wine sample can’t go wrong with that 🙂

First I must share my new duds 🙂 I am going “green” 😛

This picture is the Salmon with the Asian Marinade, you can see a great char on the salmon from the sugar, this added a great smokiness to the salmon, with the hint of soy sauce and ginger.  This salmon was melt in your mouth good!!! 🙂

 

Salmon with the Garlic, Dill & Lemon Marinade

Seafood Marinades

• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Asian Marinade

1 lb. salmon fillets
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp. fresh garlic, minced
2 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. lite soy sauce
1/3 cup light beer
zest of 2 limes

Combine juice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, lime zest and beer in zip-loc bag and shake to mix, then add salmon, refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours.  Drain liquid and pat dry salmon, brush salmon with a little oil and cook as desired.

Garlic, Dill & Lemon Marinade

1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup fresh dill, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 – 1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
zest of 2 lemons

Add all to a shallow container or zip-loc bag, add your seafood let marinade for 15 – 30 mins.  Then cook as desired, you could just roll your fillets, scallops or shrimp in the marinade then cook immediately.

I hope your try these recipes!!!  And of course in my Planking…blog I could not say enough about the Skuna Bay Salmon and that is what I used again this weekend and it is just so GOOD!!!!  So go buy it, find it!!!  Enjoy!!

Planking????

Do you “Plank”?

I am talking about cedar planking, using cedar planks for cooking on your grill 🙂

This was another part of my cooking class, using cedar planks and cedar papers.

Cooking on cedar planks is really a lot of fun, instead of me trying to explain this is a great website that will give you all information you will need.

http://www.cedargrilling.com/art.htm

The salmon that I used is Skuna Bay Salmon and if you have never had it you really need to try to find it in your area, we are the only store that carries it in our area.  It’s mild, buttery, fresh and tender, it really is the best salmon I have ever had, check out the website for Skuna Bay Salmon.

Home

Few more picture of the Class, grilling the salmon planks and the delicious out come 🙂

This marinade is so good, and really easy, you can double it and keep it in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.  It was great on the salmon, but also very good on the Cod, Shrimp and Scallops, very one just loved it.
This also would be great on grilled veggies and slice crusty bread, just brush over the bread then grill the slices…YUM!!!

Garlic, Lemon, Dill Seafood Marinade

• Time: 1hr
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

1/2 cup olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 pound seafood – Fish, Shrimp or Scallops work well

Mix together oil, garlic, dill, lemon zest, salt and pepper, place seafood in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over top and set aside for 15 – 30 minutes.

Cook as you desire.

Also I did cod with roasted red pepper strips and asparagus in the Cedar papers and grilled them.   This marinade would be great on that too, but what I did for the class is just tossed everything in olive oil, salt, pepper and grated fresh garlic…very good as well 🙂

Herb Crusted……Prime Rib

Do you like Prime Rib?!?!?

My family does, I fixed it for my Mom’s birthday dinner and it was delicious 🙂

I think some people are scared to make one but they really are easy to do, you can ask your butcher to help you out with the right size you need.  Our butchers in the Remke bigg’s stores are outstanding and will give you all the help you need.

They will also cut the bone off if you want and tie it up, I like the bone left on, I feel this will give you more flavor and it really is simple to remove the bone.

With our bone my Mom took it and added it to her stock pot and made vegetable soup, the flavor from the bone and the meat made for some mighty tasty soup 🙂

For this Prime Rib I went to Penzeys Spices to get some enhancements 🙂  We have a store in our area and I pass it every week and just never go in, a co-worker of mine loves going in there and trying all kinds of their spices and seasonings, so I finally made in there 🙂  So check your local area for a store or you can shop them online too at http://www.penzeys.com/

I used the Fox Point Seasoning, this is a combination of salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion and green peppercorns , I also used the Horseradish Dip seasonings this had ground horseradish, salt, onion powder, lemon peel, dill weed, black pepper and chive.

Thought these would make a great crust for the prime rib 🙂

Mix seasoning with black pepper and kosher salt

add just enough olive oil to make a paste, I just eyeballed it
but start with 1 tablespoon and go from there

when it looks like this

I decide to lay the meat on a bed of baby carrots and sliced onions 🙂

lay with bone side down, and crust the top, and you can rub some on the sides too

Roast in oven and you have dinner 🙂

Recipe

2 tbsp. heaping, Penzeys Fox Point seasonings
2 tbsp. heaping, Penzeys Horseradish Dip seasonings
1 tbsp. heaping, Ground Black Pepper
1/2 – 1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 – 2 tbsp. olive oil

3.50 – 5 lb. prime rib (if you have a bigger piece just make another batch of seasonings to cover)

Ask your butcher  to tie your prime rib, you can also have them detach the bone for you, but still tie the bone up with the meat.  If you did not, you can tie it yourself with butcher string, this is a good idea, it just holds it all together as it cooks.

In a small bowl add seasoning, salt and pepper, drizzle in oil mixing with your hand as you drizzle, only drizzle enough to make a paste, take the paste and make a crust on top of the beef and rub some onto the sides.

You can put the meat on a roasting rack, or make a bed of veggies to set it on, then you have some nice roasted veggies for your meal.

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes then reduce oven to 325 degrees, cook until the internal temperature is *125(rare) – 130(med. rare)* degrees with a meat thermometer, this took about 45 mins. to an hour.  Remove from oven and place a tent of foil over top and let rest for at least 10 – 15 minutes.  

Take a pair of kitchen scissors or a sharp knife and cut the string off, if you kept the bone attached, take a very sharp knife and just follow the bone and slice it off, this is much easier with a smaller piece of meat (3-5 lb.), if you get a large piece I would have the butcher remove the bone and just tie up with the meat.

Slice and serve, your center pieces will be more rare to medium rare, as you move towards the outer edge the pieces will be medium, medium well and the outside piece being well done.  

***Note – even if you don’t like your meat rare or medium rare, remove from the oven once meat has reached 135 degrees, trust me!!
Your end pieces will still be tender, as for your center pieces, if you want them cook through a little more, just make an Au jus – take some of the beef juices from the roasting pan, add to a large skillet add a can or two of beef stock/broth, bring to a simmer, then add your slice of meat to the liquid cook 30 seconds to 1 minute each side.  You can serve some of this Au jus over the slices of meat as well.  

Some people like to serve a Horseradish sauce with this as well, just take some fresh prepared horseradish, add to a small bowl, add couple dollops of sour cream, mayo, a little cream or milk, stir and add until you get the flavor that you want.  (Consistency should be like a little looser than mayo)

ENJOY!!!

Simply Roasted…

Roasted vegetables are just simply divine!!  That is in my opinion, well anything roasted is divine, if its roasted right and not on the verge of charcoal!   I usually will roast my veggies in the oven, that is until spring hits or I should say mid 60’s and not raining outside, then its time to grill.  I roasted some veggies last week when it was still cold and maybe a little snow…and then that weekend it got up to upper 60’s, oh well I grilled out anyway but I can’t wait for the spring to kick in that’s for sure.

I guess really you can roast any veggies, some maybe not as long as others, but for this bunch I put them all together.  

I had some fennel bulbs, onion, carrots, along with some maroon carrots from Texas and a turnip…yup one little old lonely turnip.  All with some garlic cloves, fresh dill and rosemary.

A friend of mine gave me a “Bunch” of rosemary that he got off his huge rosemary bush.   I clean about half the stems off and placed them in water and have them sitting on my table and I have fresh rosemary whenever I need.  They are growing roots and new tops, this is a great way to keep fresh rosemary around.  I’m really hoping the roots will be enough for me to plant them myself.

So really you can use any veggies or fresh herbs or dried if you do not have fresh for roasting.

My peeled and chopped veggies

garlic (kept whole), mince the dill and the rosemary (too much rosemary can be over powering so be careful you can always add more if needed).

tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, spread out on a baking sheet

roast on 400 degrees till tender or how ever you like them, check them every 10 to 15 minutes and give them a quick turn.

serve them up

You can serve them with your choice of meat, or maybe with a salad, you can put them in a wrap,  on a burger or just by themselves are tasty.
This could be a great appetizer too, once roasted and cooled give another chop, slice a baguette, brush with olive oil, toast slices.
Serve on a platter with veggies, maybe goat cheese or feta crumbs, some pesto even some thinly sliced fresh mozzarella, let your guest make their own crostini’s.  Add bowl of mixed olives, a dish of Marcona Almonds and some wine you now have a party!!   Enjoy!!

Chinese 5 Spice Wings

So I have a jar of Chinese 5 spice, you say (or maybe not) what is Chinese 5 spice any way…well I’m here to tell you, it is made up of 5 spices, hence the name 🙂

Spices are Star Anise, Cloves, Chinese Cinnamon, Fennel and Sichuan Pepper…lets talk about this Sichuan Pepper…do you know its not a pepper (like black pepper or chili) it’s husks of a tiny fruit from an Ash tree.  Wikipedia it see for you self.

Okay enough chit chat, so I wanted to fix wings for the weekend and I wanted something different and so I opened up my pantry and there is was this Chinese 5 spice, what I know I only used once 🙂
So that is were I started and if you like Chinese 5 spice then you will like these wings…and if you never tried it well then give it a try.

Ingredients:

 add to baking dish or ziploc  
 whisk to combine

cut up your wings 

add to the marinade and refrigerator

When I’m ready to bake, I then add the chicken broth so the marinade does not dry up and burn
 After baking I like them a little crispy, so I bake them again on a sheet pan   

Recipe

6 whole chicken wings, which makes 12 wing pieces
1/2 tsp sirircha, now if like things a little more spicy then add more
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. chinese 5 spice
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup chicken broth

You can use a baking dish or a ziploc bag to marinate the wings in, I just used a baking dish and turned the wings every hour.  I would have used a bag if I was going to marinate overnight; place in refrigerator.

So in your baking dish or bag add all ingredients except chicken wings, whisk until well combined or shake your bag up, then set aside.

I like buying whole wings, but you can certainly buy them already cut into pieces. (I use the little wing tip to make stock, I’ll save those and anything from the a whole chicken I might not use and freeze them until I get enough to make so stock)

Toss the wings in the marinade  and refrigerate over night or for at least 3-4 hours, if you use a baking dish, just turn them around in the marinade a few times.

Place the wings and marinade in a baking dish, I then add the chicken broth so the marinade does not dry up and burn, heat oven to 400 degrees, and bake for 15 minutes, then flip the wings over and bake 15 more minutes at this point then are done.
But I like them a little crispy so I take them out of the baking dish and put them on a sheet pan place them back in the oven for a few minutes then I will take them back out, roll them around in the marinade again and then place them back on the sheet pan in the oven for a few more minutes.  This is up to you and how you like your wings.  These are also great on the grill, so fire that up when you can too 🙂

So grab a cold one, have some Chinese 5 Spice wings and enjoy!!!

Beer Cheese Dip

• Time: 10 mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

2 pk. 8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
.50 lb. Asiago cheese, shredded
1/2 cup light Beer
3/4 tsp. hot paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
1/4 tsp. onion powder

In a microwave safe dish, heat cream cheese 1 minute at a time stirring after each until smooth.  then add sour cream and Asiago cheese stir to combine.  Again heat in microwave until same as before until creamy and Asiago cheese has melted. Add beer a little at a time stirring until combined, then add spices mix to combine.  Serve warm or cold, good on crackers or with pretzels.