Soup

            This month we start a session of postings on soup.  Soup is one of my favorite dishes.  I usually make some kind of soup on the weekend and eat one it during the week.  I like soup for a light late dinner.  And I also have soup for lunch with a sandwich or salad.  Soup has to have liquid, broth, water or cream.  Some soups are served hot, others are served cold. 

 

 

Broth based soups usually have a watery base of meat juices or vegetable.  Meat broths are made from simmering meat usually with the bones and trimmings of the meat to create a stock.  Broth made from the bones is called bouillon or consommé..  Bouillon is rich in gelatin and is solid when chilled.  Consommé is a concentrated bouillon.  Broths made from the meat often include some bones are called stock or broths.  To made the broth cook the meat several hours keeping the broth below the boiling point.  Strain the liquid to remove solid content and refrigerate.  The oils and fats will float on the top of the broth and can be removed easily.  Save the strained meat to be used later in the soup and discard chunks of fat, grizzle and bone.  If you have enough broth, remove the hardened fats and simmer the broth to reduce.  This will concentrate the flavor.  To make the soup the meat and vegetables are added to the broth and cooked until all the ingredients are tender.

 

Vegetable based soups are usually chucky full of vegetables.  Meat may or may not be added.  Usually the vegetables are cooked in water, but sometimes broths are used.  The center of the dish is a vegetable or several vegetables.  The vegetable can be cooked cut up and left as they are cooked.  Some vegetable soups are pureed, like pea soup or tomato soup. 

 

Cream based soups maybe cooked in broth, but they are finished with cream or milk.  Often these soups are pureed and serve smooth or lightly chunky.  These are often elegant and served as a course of a meal.  They tend to be lighter soups.

 

Thick and hardy soups are substantial enough to serve as a meal.  There are many kinds of stews, chowders and gumbos.  Other stews like curries also fall in this category.   Chowders are thick hardy soups with usually potatoes or corn included.  Gumbos are a regional favorite and must have sausage and okra included.

 

This Week’s Challenge – Try making a stock or bouillon.

 

            Choose a meat or your choice that you would like to make into a soup.  I often cook meat in a crockpot and reserve the remaining juices to make soup.  After you choose your meat, cook in slowly for hours, trying one to let the meat boil.

 

 

Tip for this Week – Cutting up a Chicken

 

            Here are some pictures for each step of cutting up a chicken.  The same method can be used for other poultry.  There should not be anything left over.  All the scraps can be cooking in water for stock.

Open the package and remove the gibblets
from the cavity

 

Remove the hear, liver and gizzard. 
Check the neck cavity as well.  Remove the 
neck and any other pieces.

wash the innards and place in small stock pot.



 



Wash the body and neck cavities by rinsing with
cool water and draining.


 



Place the chicken on the working surface.
You will need a boing knife or other
sharp knife and kitchen shears.


 

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
This is to prevent slipping.



 




Place the chicken on its front with the back up.
Take hold of the wing and cut the joint at the
shoulder.





 

Cut through the shoulder, then under
the wing to remove it.



I plan to fry the chicken so I placed the
pieces in a large bowl of cold brine.  If you are
making soup or stew the chicken can be placed
in Ziploc bag or soup pot with cool water.




 

Repeat with the other wing.



Thex remove the drumstick by cutting
through the knee joint.  Repeat with the
other leg.



 

Next remove the thighs, by cutting through
the hip joint.  Repeat with the other hip.




 



The body is remaining.  We need to remove the
back from the breast using the shears.


 

Using the kitchen shears cut along one side
of the chicken.  Cut through the ribs to the
shoulder socket.

The back can be cut in half and added
to the pot with the gibblets.



Cut along the other side removing the back
from the breast.

Cover the gibblts, back and any other pare pares
skin and fat.  Simmer on low heat for an
excellent stock.  The wings can be added
if you don't plan to use them.  I usually
add the tail to this pot.

 

Take the breast and cut it in half through
the breast bone.




 

The breasts can be left in half or cut horizontally
at the end of the ribs.




This method will give you four piece of breast.

 

 

 















































 

            If you need more help with this, research it online.  There are some great videos.



 

Also my mother would often take the whole breast and cut the tips off and then divide the breast in half leaving three pieces of breast.  So there are different methods and you may decide to use different method depending on how you plan to cook the chicken.  Also the basic method of cutting a chicken can be used for other poultry.




This Week in Punkin’s Kitchen

 

            Irish Split Pea Soup

Dried split peas.  I store dried beans, grains
and pasta in jar labeled with the contents. 

The rest of the ingredients

 

½ lb.    Dried split peas

5 C      Chicken or vegetable broth

2 T       Butter

2          Onion, finely chopped

1          Carrot, sliced

2          Celery stalks, sliced

1 t        Sugar

1 t        Dried mint

½ t       Salt

            Ground pepper

½ C     Heavy cream

 

1.    Wash the peas, place in a bowl and cover with cold water.  Soak for 8 hours.

Peas soaking.  When you are ready to cook them
drain the water off.  Add fresh water or broth and simmer slowly.

 

2.    Drain the peas and place in a soup kettle with a lid.  Add the broth and bring to a simmer over low heat.  Cover and cook one hour until the peas are tender. 

3.    Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté onions, carrots and celery for five minutes.

Suate until just beginning to get tender.

 

4.    Add to the peas.  Add the sugar, mint, salt and pepper and continue cooking for 20 more minutes. 

Stir to blend into the peas.

 

5.    Puree the soup in a blender and return to the soup kettle.

I like to use my stick blender for soups and
sauces, but a blender can be used.

Blend until smooth.

 

6.    Add the cream and heat to the boiling point, but do not allow to boil about two minutes. 

Add then cream and blend.  Do not allow the soup to boil after
the cream is added.  The cream is my favorite part of this recipe.

 

7.    Garnish with buttered croutons.

 

 

Irish Soda Bread

 

4 C      Flour

1 ½ t    Baking soda

1 t        Salt

1 T       Sugar

1 ¾ C  Buttermilk, well shaken

2 T       Butter, unsalted, melted

The ingredients

 

 

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.    Butter and flour a large baking sheet and knock off the excess flour.  I usually use Pam.

3.    Sift the flour, soda and salt into a large bowl.  Stir in the sugar. 

Stir to blend the dry ingredients.

 

4.    Add the buttermilk a little at a time and stir just until the dough is evenly moistened but still lumpy. 

Add  a little of the buttermilk and stir.

Add more buttermilk until the dough
is the right consistency.  It should be soft like
biscuit dough.  It will take more buttermilk
 than you would expect.

 

5.    Turn the dough on to a well-floured surface and gently knead about 8 times to form a soft less sticky dough. 

Well floured board.

Dough turn out n the floured board.

Knead a few times to bring it all together. 
Add a little more flour if it is too soft.

ivied the dough into tow pieces and
shape in to flattened balls.  Place
then on the prepared baking sheet.

 

6.    Divide the dough in half and form into large balls.  Pat each ball into a domed 6 inch round and place on the prepared baking sheet. 

7.    Cut an X in the top of each about ½ inch deep with a sharp knife.  Brush each loaf with the melted butter. 

Cut a cross in the top of each loaf and
brush well with melted butter



Ready for the oven.

 

8.    Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped, about 35 to 40 minutes.  Transfer to rack to cool.

It is ready to serve hot from the oven. 
I like the leftover soda a bread toasted in the toaster
oven with butter and marmalade for breakfast.

 

 

1 ½ T caraway seeds and or 1 C raisin may be added with the sugar.  Everyone seems to like this just plain.  I like to toast the leftovers for breakfast with butter and jam.

 

 

From: www.epicurious.com

 

 

Punkin’s Irish Coffee Cupcakes

 

 

1C             Boiling water

2T              Instant coffee

2T              Cocoa

¼ C           Irish whisky, optional

One          White cake mix

3                Large eggs

1C             Vegetable oil

1qt             Frosting Pride, thawed in the refrigerator over night

3 T             Bristol crème

                  Ground cinnamon

 

The ingredients

1.    In a two cup measuring cup added one cup boiling water.  Add the coffee and cocoa to the boiling water and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Instant coffee and cocoa dissolved in the boiling water.

 

2.    In a medium mixing bowl added the cake mix, eggs, oil and the cooled coffee mixture.

 



Beaten eggs added to the cake mix.



Add the oil and Irish whiskey to the coffee
mixture and add to the cake mix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blend well

 

3.    Prepare the pans by lining muffin tins with paper cupcake liners, two dozen cupcakes for regular sized muffin tin or one dozen Texas sized cupcakes.

Cupcakes ready for the oven.

Texas muffin tin with liners

 

4.    Measure the cake mixture into the prepared cupcake pans.  Measure 1/3 C for regular cupcakes and ½ C for Texas sized cupcakes.

5.    Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.   Test for doneness.

6.    Allow the cupcakes to cool.

Perfect cupcakes.  I bake them slightly cooler
than recommended and a little longer.

Cupcakes should not rise in the middle, like
this one.  Usually baking as 325 degrees
keeps this from happening.

 

7.    Make the Frosting Pride according to the directions.

Frosting Pride comes frozen.
I thaw it over night I  the refrigerator.


 

Pour the Frosting Pride in a large bowl
and whip just like cream

Whip until it holds it shape.

 

8.    To make the filling, measure about 2 cups of the frosting into a smaller bowl.  Add the Bristol Crème a table spoon at a time, whipping it to mix thoroughly.  Taste after each addition.  The third tablespoon may not be needed.

Separate about 2 cups of the Frosting Pride
for the filling.

Add  the Bailey's Irish Cream.

Add the Kahlua.  This time I used 2 T Irish Cream
and 2T Kahlua.  Then Blend well.

You will need two tips and two pastry bags.
One the left is star tip used to frost the cupcakes
and on the right is the filling tip.

Place the filling tip in a pastry bag and
add the filling to the bag.  Twist the end close
and make sure you keep it tightly twisted.

 

Press the tip into the center of the cupcake
and squeeze about a tablespoon of filling.
Stop squeezing and remove the tip.


 

Since these are Texas sized, the filling is added
three times around the center of the cupcake.

9.    Put the filling mixture into a pastry bag.  Use a #230 tip to fill the cupcakes.  Press the tip into the center of the cupcake and press a tablespoon of so of filling into the cupcake.  Stop pressure and remove the tip.  It is fine if some the filling pops up.

Prepare another pastry bag with the star
tip and fill with the plain Frosting Pride.

Place the tip over the center of the cupcake and
press a large amount of Frosting Pride to cover
most of the top of the cupcake.

Sprinkle with a little ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

A finished Irish Coffee cupcake.

 

10. Ice the cupcakes with the rest of the Frosting Pride.  I like to pile it high to simulate the whipped cream on top of an Irish coffee.  Sprinkle a little ground cinnamon on top for garnish.

Original recipe by Grace Barnes.

 

           

Vegetable of the Week

 

Artichokes

Artichokes are actual a thistle bud.  If left on the plant they will bloom into a purple flower.  Choose tight buds green buds.  Do not put any part of the artichoke in the garbage disposal.  Artichokes are very fibrous and will damage the disposal.

 

2-4      Artichokes, large globe, cleaned and trimmed

2          Lemons

            Garlic clove per artichoke

            Salt and pepper

½ C     Melted butter

The ingredients

 
 

1.    Wash the artichoke thoroughly and trim the pints of each leaf.

Cut the stem off first.  Make sure to cut
straight and as close to the flower.



 

Remove some of the outside, small petals at the base.


 







Next cut the top off.

Using shears, cut the points off each
petal of the artichoke. 

Wash the artichoke by placing it under
running water.

Turn the artichoke over on its top to drain.





 

2.    In a large pot with a lid, add a steam tray and about one inch of water.

3.    Place the artichoke in the pot.  The stem end of the artichoke can sit in the water.

4.    Put one clove of garlic in the garlic press. Crush the clove over the top of one artichoke, scrapping the minced garlic into the artichoke.  Repeat for each artichoke.

Add the minced garlic.

Add the salt and pepper




 

5.    Add the salt and pepper over each artichoke.

6.    Slice one lemon and top each artichoke with a slice of lemon.

Slice the lemon and save the ends for serving.

Top each artichoke with a slice of lemon.

 










 

7.    Place the lit on the pot and bring to a rolling boil.

8.    Steam the artichokes for 35-90 minutes depending of the size of the artichokes.  Check every 20 minutes or so to make sure that the water does not dry up.  Add more water as needed.

9.    The artichokes are done when the leaves (actually the petals) can be pulled out easily.

 

10. Melt the butter, removing as much of the white part as you can.  Divide the butter in to small dishes, one for each person.

Squeeze a little lemon juice into the melted butter.

 

11. Squeeze the other lemon and add a little juice to each butter dish.

12. Place each artichoke on a platter.  Place abutter dish for each person.  Place an empty platter or dish to receive the scrapped leaves.

 

If you are serving very large artichokes, two people can share the artichoke, but serve with individual butter dishes.  Some people prefer to serve the artichoke with mayonnaise for dipping instead of the butter.   Seasonings can also be added to the butter.

The artichoke heart

            At the end of the artichoke is the very best part.  It is hidden by the choke which is inedible.  Using a spoon, remove the choke and the hart is revealed.



The choke of the artichoke.

Remove the choke by pulling or scraping the
fibers from the heart with a spoon.

The heart of the artichoke.  Dip it and eat it.

 

 

 Happy Cooking!