... okay, I'm not sure if I'm even translating this correctly, because "fungi" combined with something you eat just sounds completely WRONG to me! Yet to a Dane "Mushroom soup" sounds totally wrong, because here mushrooms is a specific... eh... thingie ;) and not used in the broader sense. I'll be using "fungi" in the following, and hope that doesn't sound too much like I'm working with toadstools or organisms that should definitely not be found on your bathroom floor (or the floor of any other room in your house, for that matter!).
The Recipe (Makes 2 bowls)
250g mixed fungi (I used brown mushrooms, shit-take and oyster mushrooms)
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp flour
1/3 litre (1.5 cup) chicken or vegetable bouillon
3 tbsp white wine
3 tbsp cream
salt, pepper, oregano
75g bacon
Cook bacon on a pan until crisp. Transfer to plate and blot with paper towels.
Chop onion and garlic finely. Melt butter in a pot and cook onion and garlic until soft. Add flour and cook briefly, stirring frequently. Add bouillon a little at a time, stirring constantly. Add chopped fungi and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and let simmer under a lid for 15 minutes or until the fungi are done. Transfer to a blender or food processor to puree the soup (or do as I do and use a hand/immersion blender). Return soup to pot and add cream and wine. Add salt, pepper and oregano according to taste. Heat through until just below boiling.
The Verdict
I have to admit, I was VERY sceptical about this while cooking it. The simmering fungi... did not smell all that nice. However, I figured I might as well go through with it, and fortunately discovered that it tasted a LOT better than it smelled! Probably not something I'll be in a hurry to make again, as it was too much of a hassle when compared to the results, but it was definitely edible.
If I do ever make it again, I think I'll try with some other fungi. Chanterelles, perhaps.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Week 42: Maltese Chicken
The Recipe
300g chicken breast, cut in stripes
2 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper
1 tbsp oil
3dl dry red wine (just over 1 cup)
2 heaped tbsp honey
Salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat; add chicken and garlic. Cook until almost done. Add bell pepper for the last few minutes of cooking. Once tender, remove chicken and bell pepper from the skillet. Add the wine and honey; simmer until sauce is reduced, stirring frequently (about 5 minutes at high heat). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return chicken and bell pepper to skillet, and stir to coat.
Serve with roasted potatoes.
The Verdict
I'm usually not too fond of red-wine sauces, but this was YUMMY! I think it must have been the honey. It needed more salt than I added, but otherwise it was really, really good. I'll definitely be making this again!
300g chicken breast, cut in stripes
2 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper
1 tbsp oil
3dl dry red wine (just over 1 cup)
2 heaped tbsp honey
Salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat; add chicken and garlic. Cook until almost done. Add bell pepper for the last few minutes of cooking. Once tender, remove chicken and bell pepper from the skillet. Add the wine and honey; simmer until sauce is reduced, stirring frequently (about 5 minutes at high heat). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return chicken and bell pepper to skillet, and stir to coat.
Serve with roasted potatoes.
The Verdict
I'm usually not too fond of red-wine sauces, but this was YUMMY! I think it must have been the honey. It needed more salt than I added, but otherwise it was really, really good. I'll definitely be making this again!
Week 41: Chicken Stir-Fry
The Recipe
400g chicken breast
1 tsp ginger
1 tbsp dry sherry or red wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
chilli
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup oil
1 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper in bite-sized pieces
1 green bell pepper in bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp chilli sauce
2 tsp corn flour.
Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and marinate it in ginger, sherry and soy sauce for at least 30 minutes.
Roast chilli and peanuts in hot oil for about a minute. Remove from the wok. Stir-fry onion and bell peppers for 1 minute. Remove from wok or push to the side. Stir-fry the meat for 2 minutes or until it's done.
Add chicken stock, chilli sauce and corn flour. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens.
Return vegetables, peanuts and chilli to the wok and warm through. Serve with rice.
The Verdict
1/2 cup of oil? Are they nuts??? Even half that would be too much. The peanuts weren't roasted, they were deep-fried! And everything else started boiling rather than stir-frying.
Surprisingly dull, considering I've made similar dishes with great success. If I'm ever to make this again (highly unlikely at this point) I'll definitely be using less oil and more chilli.
400g chicken breast
1 tsp ginger
1 tbsp dry sherry or red wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
chilli
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup oil
1 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper in bite-sized pieces
1 green bell pepper in bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp chilli sauce
2 tsp corn flour.
Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and marinate it in ginger, sherry and soy sauce for at least 30 minutes.
Roast chilli and peanuts in hot oil for about a minute. Remove from the wok. Stir-fry onion and bell peppers for 1 minute. Remove from wok or push to the side. Stir-fry the meat for 2 minutes or until it's done.
Add chicken stock, chilli sauce and corn flour. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens.
Return vegetables, peanuts and chilli to the wok and warm through. Serve with rice.
The Verdict
1/2 cup of oil? Are they nuts??? Even half that would be too much. The peanuts weren't roasted, they were deep-fried! And everything else started boiling rather than stir-frying.
Surprisingly dull, considering I've made similar dishes with great success. If I'm ever to make this again (highly unlikely at this point) I'll definitely be using less oil and more chilli.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Week 40: Loaded Potato Soup
The Recipe
2 large peeled, cubed potatoes
1 cup water
8 bacon strips
2 large chopped onions
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (400g)
1 3/4 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
Cook potatoes in water until tender. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet until crisp; remove to paper towels to drain. In the same skillet, saute onion in drippings until tender. Add to undrained potatoes. Stir in soup, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until heated through (do not boil). Sprinkle each bowl with crumbled bacon.
I couldn't find chicken soup so I used chicken-mushroom soup instead, but I doubt that made any huge difference.
The Verdict
I love potato soups and I love chicken soups, so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately I didn't care much for it at all. It tasted okay, but was much, much, MUCH too rich for me (foie gras rich). I think it may have been the chicken soup and it would probably have been fine if I'd used stock instead.
2 large peeled, cubed potatoes
1 cup water
8 bacon strips
2 large chopped onions
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (400g)
1 3/4 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
Cook potatoes in water until tender. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet until crisp; remove to paper towels to drain. In the same skillet, saute onion in drippings until tender. Add to undrained potatoes. Stir in soup, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until heated through (do not boil). Sprinkle each bowl with crumbled bacon.
I couldn't find chicken soup so I used chicken-mushroom soup instead, but I doubt that made any huge difference.
The Verdict
I love potato soups and I love chicken soups, so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately I didn't care much for it at all. It tasted okay, but was much, much, MUCH too rich for me (foie gras rich). I think it may have been the chicken soup and it would probably have been fine if I'd used stock instead.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Week 39: Tex-Mex Chicken Soup
The Recipe
4 cups water
2 drumsticks
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup canned sweet corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tablespoon chopped jalapeño peppers
1/2 tablespoon fajita seasoning mix
1 clove garlic, minced
chili powder
tortilla chips
In a medium pot boil water, drumsticks and salt for 1 hour. Remove drumsticks from stock (don't throw away the stock, you'll need it for later!) and peel the meat from the bones. Discard bones and skin.
In a medium pot sprayed with non-stick spray, onion, garlic, seasoning, and spices over medium heat until onions soften. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the corn and diced tomatoes, and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken and jalapeño. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes to thoroughly blend flavors.
Once ready to serve, top each serving with crushed chips and, if desired, cilantro, sour cream and/or cheese.
The Verdict
Very similar to my recipe for a Mexican soup (only with chicken rather than bacon), but that's not a bad thing, as I looove that soup. It's quite spicy, so if you don't like the heat you may want to leave out the jalapeños and substitute paprika for chilli. I like spicy food though, so thought it was great! :)
It wasn't all that chicken-y though. Either the stock ended up being too weak, or the tomatoes overpowered the taste (or both!). I wonder how it would have been if I'd added some bouillon.
4 cups water
2 drumsticks
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup canned sweet corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tablespoon chopped jalapeño peppers
1/2 tablespoon fajita seasoning mix
1 clove garlic, minced
chili powder
tortilla chips
In a medium pot boil water, drumsticks and salt for 1 hour. Remove drumsticks from stock (don't throw away the stock, you'll need it for later!) and peel the meat from the bones. Discard bones and skin.
In a medium pot sprayed with non-stick spray, onion, garlic, seasoning, and spices over medium heat until onions soften. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the corn and diced tomatoes, and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken and jalapeño. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes to thoroughly blend flavors.
Once ready to serve, top each serving with crushed chips and, if desired, cilantro, sour cream and/or cheese.
The Verdict
Very similar to my recipe for a Mexican soup (only with chicken rather than bacon), but that's not a bad thing, as I looove that soup. It's quite spicy, so if you don't like the heat you may want to leave out the jalapeños and substitute paprika for chilli. I like spicy food though, so thought it was great! :)
It wasn't all that chicken-y though. Either the stock ended up being too weak, or the tomatoes overpowered the taste (or both!). I wonder how it would have been if I'd added some bouillon.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Week 38: Spicy Chicken
The Recipe
1lb half-frozen chicken breasts
3 sausages
1 tbsp cajun spice (see mix below)
0.5 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1.24 dl flour
2 bell peppers
3 carrots
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
120g butter (divided)
3/4dl oil (divided)
1 can (425g) tomatoes w. chili
1 tsp sugar
2.5dl (1 cup) water
Cut chicken, sausages and vegetables into bite size pieces. Mix cajun spice, oregano, paprika and flour and pour all but 2tbsp over the chicken and sausage pieces. Heat half the oil and half the butter in a wok and cook the chicken until brown - it doesn't need to be done at this point. Remove chicken from heat and keep warm. Heat the rest of the oil and the butter and cook the carrots, bell pepper and onion for 5-6 minutes until they're soft. Add garlic and stir for another minute. Add tomatoes, sugar and chicken/sausage and let the sauce simmer (no lid) for 12 minutes. Add the rest of the flour and the water to the sauce. Stir until sauce thickens (happened immediately to me).
Serve with pasta.
The Verdict
Tasty! But surprisingly rich! I think it was all the flour actually. It's very, very filling. This could serve 5 easily - six if you add bread and a nice salad. It would have been even better with a bit of grated cheese on top. Definitely worth a repeat... although I think DH would have preferred if I'd used tomatoes without chilli.
Cajun spice
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp black pepper
1.5 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp thyme
0.5 tsp oregano
Mix and keep dry until use
1lb half-frozen chicken breasts
3 sausages
1 tbsp cajun spice (see mix below)
0.5 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1.24 dl flour
2 bell peppers
3 carrots
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
120g butter (divided)
3/4dl oil (divided)
1 can (425g) tomatoes w. chili
1 tsp sugar
2.5dl (1 cup) water
Cut chicken, sausages and vegetables into bite size pieces. Mix cajun spice, oregano, paprika and flour and pour all but 2tbsp over the chicken and sausage pieces. Heat half the oil and half the butter in a wok and cook the chicken until brown - it doesn't need to be done at this point. Remove chicken from heat and keep warm. Heat the rest of the oil and the butter and cook the carrots, bell pepper and onion for 5-6 minutes until they're soft. Add garlic and stir for another minute. Add tomatoes, sugar and chicken/sausage and let the sauce simmer (no lid) for 12 minutes. Add the rest of the flour and the water to the sauce. Stir until sauce thickens (happened immediately to me).
Serve with pasta.
The Verdict
Tasty! But surprisingly rich! I think it was all the flour actually. It's very, very filling. This could serve 5 easily - six if you add bread and a nice salad. It would have been even better with a bit of grated cheese on top. Definitely worth a repeat... although I think DH would have preferred if I'd used tomatoes without chilli.
Cajun spice
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp black pepper
1.5 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp thyme
0.5 tsp oregano
Mix and keep dry until use
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Week 37: Onion Soup
Be warned. This recipe takes FOREVER. It's a food of love thing. Worth it though.
The Recipe
1.5 tbsp butter
0.5 tbsp olive oil
About 350g thinly sliced yellow onions (that's about 3-4 decent sized)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1.5 tbsp flour
1 liter beef stock
1/2 c red or white wine (optional)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp sage (optional)
Salt & pepper
Melt the butter with the oil in your casserole oven and add the sliced onions. Stir the onions to coat with butter. Cover the pan and cook over med. high heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and translucent. Then, uncover the pan, raise the heat closer to high, and stir in the salt and sugar. The sugar helps the onions to caramalize. Cook about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are deep golden brown. Watch out that they don't get too dark brown/black though - burnt onion isn't nice. Don't worry about the brown gunk building up on the bottom of the pan; it's called fond and it adds serious flavor to the soup. Heat up the bouillon in a separate pan.
Lower the head to medium/moderate and add the flour. Stir in the flour well. Add a bit more butter if the flour isn't all absorbed into a paste with the onions. Cook slowly, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, to brown the flour. Remove from heat and pour about a cup of hot broth in and stir the heck out of it with a whisk, to blend the flour and broth together (you'll also scrape that marvelous fond off the bottom of the pan).
Put back on heat. Add the rest of the bouillon, the wine, bay, and sage, and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer slowly for 30 to 40 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper.
The fancy way it's served in restaurants is to put a crusty slice of french bread in the bottom of a soup bowl or crock, cover with soup, then with slices of mozzarella cheese. Broil it for just long enough to melt and brown the cheese.
The Verdict
I wasn't completely sure about this recipe as I already have a very delicious and MUCH easier/quicker recipe for an onion soup that I'm absolutely crazy about. I was intrigued by the "love of food" thing though. I cut the recipe in half, and it was perfect for one, however I do think I ought to have adjusted some of the cooking times as well - I only left the onions to caramelize for 15-20 minutes, and they were almost turning black! I may not have been stirring often enough though, so that might have something to do with it as well.
Despite taking forever, the recipe is really easy and worth the effort. I'd say it's as good as my other recipe, but tastes more "high cuisine" somehow (the other is pretty much just onions with bouillon). I'll be making this again, but will be careful with ventilation next time - the entire flat smells like cooked onions now!
The Recipe
1.5 tbsp butter
0.5 tbsp olive oil
About 350g thinly sliced yellow onions (that's about 3-4 decent sized)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1.5 tbsp flour
1 liter beef stock
1/2 c red or white wine (optional)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp sage (optional)
Salt & pepper
Melt the butter with the oil in your casserole oven and add the sliced onions. Stir the onions to coat with butter. Cover the pan and cook over med. high heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and translucent. Then, uncover the pan, raise the heat closer to high, and stir in the salt and sugar. The sugar helps the onions to caramalize. Cook about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are deep golden brown. Watch out that they don't get too dark brown/black though - burnt onion isn't nice. Don't worry about the brown gunk building up on the bottom of the pan; it's called fond and it adds serious flavor to the soup. Heat up the bouillon in a separate pan.
Lower the head to medium/moderate and add the flour. Stir in the flour well. Add a bit more butter if the flour isn't all absorbed into a paste with the onions. Cook slowly, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, to brown the flour. Remove from heat and pour about a cup of hot broth in and stir the heck out of it with a whisk, to blend the flour and broth together (you'll also scrape that marvelous fond off the bottom of the pan).
Put back on heat. Add the rest of the bouillon, the wine, bay, and sage, and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer slowly for 30 to 40 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper.
The fancy way it's served in restaurants is to put a crusty slice of french bread in the bottom of a soup bowl or crock, cover with soup, then with slices of mozzarella cheese. Broil it for just long enough to melt and brown the cheese.
The Verdict
I wasn't completely sure about this recipe as I already have a very delicious and MUCH easier/quicker recipe for an onion soup that I'm absolutely crazy about. I was intrigued by the "love of food" thing though. I cut the recipe in half, and it was perfect for one, however I do think I ought to have adjusted some of the cooking times as well - I only left the onions to caramelize for 15-20 minutes, and they were almost turning black! I may not have been stirring often enough though, so that might have something to do with it as well.
Despite taking forever, the recipe is really easy and worth the effort. I'd say it's as good as my other recipe, but tastes more "high cuisine" somehow (the other is pretty much just onions with bouillon). I'll be making this again, but will be careful with ventilation next time - the entire flat smells like cooked onions now!
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