The Soup That Shall Be Named

So spring is right around the corner. Just a few short weeks until winter is behind us and I don’t have to worry about things like polar bears or the wife slipping on ice. It’ll be sad to see the season go, but with spring comes a vast array of colors and flavors that I kind of miss.

But I’m not here to gush over spring like I embarrassingly did last year. The winds have been howling and the nip is in the air with the occasional snow storm still passing through. So that tells me I have time to post about one more hearty soup! Sucks for you if you don’t like soup because I freaking love them and this is one of my favorites.

If there’s anything familiar about this soup, it’s probably because you've seen or had it before in The Italian Chain Restaurant That Shall Not Be Named. It’s ok, don’t be ashamed, we used to go there more often than not before we vowed to never go back again. And those last few times, the only reason why we found ourselves in their parking lot, let alone sitting in their chairs, was for this soup. That’s all we went for and that’s all we wanted (besides those stupid bread sticks). Unfortunately, the high standards of quality and service that they swear they hold were, not surprisingly, still at the level of my dog’s food. With everything so disappointing, I honestly don’t know why we kept going back. “It’s just for the soup”, we kept telling ourselves. But even though all they have to do is probably defrost a frozen block of soup and serve it, every time we went they managed to mess that up. I’ll save the rest of the details for my mandatory and way too over hyped Italian Chain Restaurant That Shall Not Be Named post that I promise is coming soon.

My point is that we went through a lot of crap just for this soup. And the last few times when it was disgustingly cold, watery, or plastic looking due to a poor attempt at thickening it up, it was just a slap on the face when I was already on the ground, not to mention disrespectful to what this soup should be.

So what did I do? Next time we had an urge for it, we went out to the store instead and bought the ingredients for it (which totaled give or take $12 depending where you go), and then I made it. And guess what? It’s effing amazing. I get to have as much as I want, it’s freshly made, I know who made it, I know what’s in it and best of all, I never have to step foot into The Italian Chain Restaurant That Shall Not Be Named, again.

Thanks to Stephanie Manley for posting the original recipe over at CopyKat Recipes!

Chicken Gnocchi Soup (adapted)

1 tablespoon ~ Olive Oil
2 cups ~ Onions, diced
1 ½ tablespoons ~ Garlic, minced
4 tablespoons ~ Butter
4 tablespoons ~ Flour
1 quart ~ Half and Half
1 cup ~ Shredded Carrots
2 ½ cups ~ Chicken Breasts, cooked and diced
1 package ~ Gnocchi
1 32oz carton ~ Chicken Stock/Broth
1 ½ cups ~ Spinach, chopped
1 teaspoon ~ Dried Thyme
¼ teaspoons ~ Nutmeg, freshly grated (optional)
To Taste ~ Salt and Pepper

Notes:

• I’ve substituted heavy cream for the half and half before with no issues.
• You can get flexible with the chicken. If you have a couple of good sized breasts [holds in an immature giggle], you can go with those or if you want to just buy an already cooked, plain whole rotisserie chicken at your local supermarket then the ball is in your quart. You just need chicken; it doesn’t matter from what part of the chicken.
• I’ll talk about Gnocchi after the notes.
• I've made this a few times, but never with the nutmeg. But after reading comments from the original post, it seems like it’s worth a shot. Next time I make the soup I’ll definitely give it a go.

Alright, if you’re wondering what the heck a Ganockey is, listen up.

Gnocchi, pronounced noki, are basically small dumplings almost always made of potatoes along with flour and/or semolina. Made famous by Italian cuisine, they can be substituted for pasta if that tickles your fancy or they can be perfect little additions to a soup. If you've never had them, their consistency is like a very soft and chewy baked potato. They hold their shape nicely, just be careful not to overcook them. They’re fairly easy to make by hand, as I've seen them done in a matter of minutes by a cook I used to work with while he was busy making orders. But if you’re like me and just don’t have time for that, you can go to your local supermarket and pick up a package for around $5. I always find them in Target. They’re a great little ingredient and I use them far less than I should.

Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s get it goin’:

Before you even think about making the soup, you’re going to make the chicken and have it ready. I made the chicken as I was making the soup and it felt like my brain was going to explode. It’s not difficult to manage; I just hate waiting for something to finish in order to finish something else that I could’ve finished if I wasn’t waiting for the original thing to finish in the first place.

Go ahead, reread that, I’ll wait.

• Ok, are we back now? Good. Turn on your oven to 350°. If you’re working with an already made rotisserie, then just ignore anything I say about making the chicken and go straight to tearing it apart.

• Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic and a little oil, and put them on a tray in the oven for a about 20-25 minutes or so depending on the size. Whenever the timer goes off, take them out and make sure they’re done before you let them cool. Once ready, just start ripping them apart with your hands. Keep them in uniform bite sized chunks and set them aside.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get on to the soup.

• Oh! Put a 2 quart or so sized sauce pan filled with some salted water and set it to boil.

Alright, now the soup.

• Heat up the oil in your favorite soup pot and add the onions and garlic and cook until they’re sweated. Plop in the butter and wait until it melts before you add the flour. Give it a good stir and you’ll be able to call that clumpy mess a roux. Let the roux cook for a minute or two just to get the flour taste out.

If it starts burning the bottom of the pan then it was totally your fault because you had the heat up too high for the roux. See? This is why I talk you through things.

• No, don’t lower the heat now, it’s too late. As longs as it’s not too bad, go ahead and add the half and half and stir or (I recommend) whisk until the roux is incorporated. When you don’t see anymore roux floating around, add the carrots as well as the chicken that you didn’t have to worry about because you had it ready.

Geeze, could you imagine what you would’ve done to that roux if you were worrying about the chicken? I could almost hear the news report.

• Heat up what you have in the pot until it thickens up. Once it does, add the chicken broth, and give it a good stir.

• At this point, since the gnocchi only takes about 3 or 4 minutes to cook, go ahead and add the gnocchi to the boiling water that you probably already forgot why it was on the stove. I know, that roux really effed you up. When the gnocchi is done, just drain it and put it in something until it is needed.

• After you add the chicken broth to the soup, wait for it to thicken up once again. If it doesn’t magically happen just let it gently simmer while stirring and it should thicken up slowly. When it does, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, thyme, nutmeg if you’re using it, and some salt and pepper.

Give it a stir, give it a taste, does it need salt? Add salt. Does it need pepper? Add pepper. Seriously, do I have to hold your hand through everything? Rule of thumb: If you taste something and it doesn’t really taste the way you think it should taste, it’s probably because it’s bland. If something is bland, guess what? You have to add salt. Go a pinch at a time if you’re scared. Always remember you can add but you can never take away.

When the soup is heated through, that’s it, you’re done. Ladle it into some bowls, get a nice crusty loaf of bread or even some bread sticks if they don’t bring back too many suppressed memories, and enjoy the gnocchi out of this. If you were a fan of this soup before or if this is your first time making it, you’ll fall in love with how easy it is. You'll probably go into shock when you realize you can have this at home where you don’t have to worry about all the hassle and disappointment that comes with going to that place. Not to mention the fact that it tastes better because you just made it with your own two hands.

So enjoy.

Put de Curry in de Co-co-nut

Sorry. I know you guys have probably been snowed in and made prisoners in your own homes by the below freezing temperatures hitting most of the nation. Just sitting there bundled under mountains of blankets waiting for me to update my blog with another soul warming soup. But like always, I miss these opportunities that other bloggers write posts for months in advance.

It's not my fault this time! Yes, I could have written this a week ago, but I was distracted. See, season 3 of Game of Thrones premiers on March 31st and my amazing wife surprised me with the third book in the series, A Storm of Swords, as an early Valentines gift. So yes, while you've been freezing, waiting for blog updates, I've had my nose buried in a book. I know, I'm terrible, I'm sorry. I'll never do it again and I promise I'll give you more attention.

...After I finish the book. So let's hurry this up so I could get back on it.

I first had this soup in the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Walt Disney World in a restaurant called Boma. It's a great buffet style place if you're ever in the area. When we tried this soup, both the wife and I were blown away. The flavors, while not usually paired to anything we've had, went perfectly together. A couple of weeks later I found a recipe and recreated the magic. And now, for you, I've done it again:

Coconut Curried Chicken Soup:     (adapted from here)

                                  1 each ~ Chicken, whole, cut in 8

                            1 1/2 each ~ Onion, medium, roughly diced

                                  1 each ~ Red Bell Pepper, roughly diced

                        1 tablespoon ~ Garlic, chopped

                                     Roux ~ 4 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons flour

                                  1 each ~ Coconut Milk, 13 oz can

                      3 tablespoons ~ Curry Powder, toasted

                           1 teaspoon ~ Dried Rosemary

                                  1 quart ~ Chicken Stock

                               5 ounces ~ Honey

                                  1/2 cup ~ Cilantro, chopped

                                  to taste ~ Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Pepper

Notes:

• I understand you may not have the technical prowess to cut a whole chicken into its 8 equal pieces (2 each of breasts, wings, thighs and legs). So if you'd like, you can buy it already cut, Or just use 4 or 5 nicely sized chicken breasts. 
• If you scratched your head when you read the word Roux then relax. A roux (pronounced "ru") is one of the many ways you can thicken up a sauce or a soup. It's one of the more traditional thickening agents and when done right, will not add any wild flavors to what you're making (unless you want it to). It will just do it's job and magically thicken what you want to thicken. 
• Yes, toast the curry powder. No, it's not a waste of time. When you toast a spice, you're bringing out natural oils and enhancing not only the flavor but the fragrance of the spice. And when you enhance the fragrance, you're making the spice stand out more in the dish to not just your nose, but your taste buds as well. So to toast, just get a nice dry pan and put the curry powder in it and turn up the heat. Swirl it around and let it heat up to the point where the smell is filling the air. 
• I omitted jalapeno peppers, potatoes and tomatoes from the original recipe. While they'll give the end product more layers, I'm not a big enough fan of either in soups to have them in here.  
• We're going to do this all in one pot so get your favorite one out.

Now, let's put the curry in de co-co-nut and drink 'em bot' up:

• First, turn on the oven to 350. Then as always, make sure everything is ready to go. Cut all your veggies, get everything out of your pantry, just be prepared. In the industry we call this Mise-en-place (miz on plas). It's a French phrase meaning "everything in place". You'd hate to have your roux ready for the liquid and then no idea where your coconut milk is. Be ready!

• Part of your mise-en-place is preparing the chicken. So whether you cut it up yourself or are going the easy route, take salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of curry powder and season the chicken. I cooked skin on but took it off later, so be sure to get underneath the skin as much as you can with all the seasonings. 

• In your pot, heat up some oil and sear the chicken on all sides. Cook it about halfway if you can, then set the chicken on a sheet tray and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes (depending on how long you cooked it in the pan).

The recipe I got this from had you cooking the chicken 3/4 of the way and then letting it finish cooking in the soup. There are plenty of things I find wrong with this method, but most of all, I just don't have the time to sit there and wait for chicken to finish cooking inside of my soup. So I just finished cooking them in the oven. 

• Now that you have all the goodness in the pot from the chicken, add a little more oil and throw in the onion, pepper and garlic. Saute it until the onions are translucent.

• Usually, when you make a roux, you make it on the side and add it in while whisking. Well here we're twisting it a bit. So add the butter and the flour to the veggies and make your roux in the pot. 

• Once your roux is together, go ahead and add the chicken stock, coconut milk, rosemary and curry powder. Whisk it or turn it with a spoon until you feel all of the roux has been incorporated. Once it comes to a boil, it will thicken up. If it does thicken before you're ready to continue then set it aside. But while it's thickening, your chicken should have been out of the oven and should look something like this...

• Take the chicken and cut it up into bite sized chunks. This is the point where I took the skin off and may or may not have ate it. If you want to leave it in, be my guest. If you are using all breasts then chop it all up. If you're using a whole chicken, I cut up the breasts and the thighs and it gave me enough meat to work with. I saved the legs and wings as appetizers for the soup. 

• Once the soup is thickened and the chicken is cut, go ahead and add the chicken to the soup. Add the honey and then give it a taste. It will need salt and pepper so add it. If you're looking for a little more kick, add the cayenne pepper a pinch at a time.

• When it's all seasoned, add the cilantro and you are ready to bathe in it! 

It's a great soup to get cozy with especially if you have a nice, hot, crispy loaf of bread with it. Like I said, the flavors that work together here are phenomenal and are hard to put into words. So give it a go and see for yourself.

The Greatest & Best Chili in the World ...Tribute

It was a long time ago, but yes, I did win first place in a Chili cook-off. It happened, and for a moment, something I made was considered to be best in the world. It's a great feeling and something that I hold dear to my heart since at the time, I was basically at the beginning of my cooking career. That young, I honestly had no idea what I was really doing. I walked in and just signed up for the competition because I wasn't doing anything that day. I still remember the words the Judge spoke before it started. As if no one else was there, he stood in the middle of the room, stared right at me, and he said: "...Make the best Chili in the world. Or I'll eat your soul." (it might have been "And I'll eat the bowl" but I could be wrong.) So I looked around, then back at him, and then I said: "...Okay.". And I made the first thing that came to my head, and it just so happened to be the best Chili in the world, it was the best Chili in the world. Considering how clueless I was with cooking, I knew putting stuff together was as easy as 1 and 1 making 2 and 2 and 1 making 3... It was destiny.

I just grabbed ingredients here, spices there, a dash of this, a splash of that,  I would taste it and then add and adjust with whatever I saw fit. I liked what I made but I didn't think it was good enough for anyone else. 

Needless to say, the Judge was stunned. A lip smack and an empty bowl, and the Judge was done. He asked me with the last spoonful in his mouth, "Be you Angel?". And I said, "Nay. I am but a Chef."

Unfortunately, because of my careless nature back then and not really keeping track of anything, I have no record of what I actually put in the pot. Which is terrible, especially now since I have this food blog and I could have shared the actual recipe with everyone so the story can ring true. 

Don't get me wrong, this is still a great, lick-your-bowl kinda Chili that you will want to make as often as you can. But I have to warn you.... 

This is not the greatest Chili in the world. No, this is just a tribute. I couldn't remember the greatest Chili in the world. No, this is a tribute to the greatest Chili in the world. 

The Greatest and Best Chili in the World ....Tribute

                                               1 package ~ Bacon
                                                 2 pounds ~ Stew Meat
                                                 2 pounds ~ Ground Beef
                                                     2 each ~ Onions, medium, diced
                                                     1 each ~ Green Bell Pepper, diced
           1 each, plus teaspoon of sauce ~ Chipolte Pepper in Adobo Sauce
                                         2 tablespoons ~ Garlic, chopped
                                   2 1/2 tablespoons ~ Chili Powder

                                           1 tablespoon ~ Cumin Powder
                                           1 tablespoon ~ Dried Thyme
                                           1 tablespoon ~ Garlic Powder
                                           1/4 teaspoon ~ Red Pepper Flakes
                                                     2 each ~ 14 oz cans Low Sodium Beef Broth
                                                     2 each ~ 28 oz cans Tomato Puree 
                                                     1 each ~ 4 oz can Tomato Paste
                                                 To Taste ~ Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Cumin Powder

Notes:

• By now you've probably noticed the lack of beans in my Chili. There's very complicated mathematical and scientific equations leading to answers as to why there are no beans, but the short form is that I just don't like them. Problem with that? You can begin filling out a complaint form by clicking on the "X" in the top right corner of the screen.
• Guess what? All you'll need is a nice big pot. Don't even have to turn the oven on. I love me some one pot cooking, it's cleanups BFF. 
• For 2 people, this is going to give you enough Chili for a few nights. And remember, it's always better the day after making it.
• I've happily used ground turkey instead of ground beef before.
• If you're wondering what in the blue hell a Chipolte Pepper in Adobo Sauce is, I don't blame you. It comes in a can that looks exactly like this and you can find it in the ethnic aisle of your favorite supermarket most likely next to the canned jalapeños. It's my secret ingredient (shhh, don't tell anyone) and basically what's going to kick up the heat in the Chili. Which is exactly why I tell you to only use one along with about a teaspoon of the adobo sauce. I buy the smallest can which contains about 5 or 6 peppers. What you do with the rest of the peppers is your business, but if you use more than one in the Chili, don't blame me if your garbage chute catches fire.
• I've made this Chili without the chipolte pepper, and while it did taste like something was missing for me, it didn't take away from how good it still was. So if you can't find it or just don't want to deal with it, feel free to skip the ethnic aisle and the scary canned pepper in the weird sauce.
• No, I still don't like beans.

You know, I'm always a little sad the first few weeks of January. Holidays come and go so fast I hardly have time to savor them anymore. And as if that's not enough, to throw salt in the wound, at some point I have to muster up the strength to take down all the Christmas decorations. Because I celebrate Three Kings Day (or Epiphany, January 6th), I get a couple of extra days to depress myself with a present-less tree and half-working yard decorations. But they have to come down eventually. Maybe next season I'll start putting stuff out around September like the retail stores do. 

But anyway, just because the merriness is over, doesn't mean it's automatically spring. If you live anywhere that is not Florida, the end of December brings a cold, bitter warning:

Winter is Coming...

And if you're smart, you'll heed that warning. Because when you're at home and you have below freezing temperatures knocking down your doors, you're going to wish you had some of this stuff in your freezer:

• First thing you're going to want to do is chop up the onions, pepper, garlic, and the one lone chipolte pepper (a decent sized one, don't be chicken). I don't like the onions and peppers cut too small. Medium is good for me. You're going to add all of that at the same time so if you want to put them in the same bowl, go nuts. Next, dice the bacon and check the stew meat to make sure there are no gigantic chunks in there. Try and have all the pieces of stew meat uniform, so if some pieces are bigger than others, cut them in half. 

The way we're going to have to do the meat is in stages. You can't just throw it all in there and expect it to magically cook. There's going to be a lot of adding and then draining and then removing and then adding. So have a big bowl ready to hold all the cooked meat in until we're done. 

• Turn on the heat to your pot and when it's hot, put the bacon in. Cook the bacon until it's crispy, draining the drippings into a bowl as you need to. You want to save the bacon fat because 1) I always find it hard to throw away bacon fat, and mainly 2) Because you're going to be using that to saute everything else. Once the bacon is done, remove it from the pot and set it aside. And now the obligatory picture of cooked bacon:

• Next, add some of the bacon drippings and sear the stew meat. If you notice a lot of liquid in the pan, drain as much as you can in the sink. The meat isn't going to brown with all that stuff in there. Once the stew meat is done, remove it from the pot and set it aside.

• Now, add more of the bacon goodness, and cook the ground beef. Same thing with the liquid, just drain it. Once it's done and you don't see anymore red, remove it from the pot and set it aside. You should now have a huge bowl or plate filled with glorious meat.

If you notice not so much bacon as the picture above it, it's because I may have had some. Quality Control. It's all about quality control.

• It's all downhill from here. add a splash of bacon juice and saute the vegetables including the chipolte pepper. Something I like to do is add the chili and cumin powder, thyme, garlic and red pepper flakes to the vegetables as they're cooking. This really brings out the flavors and helps to make a better base for the Chili.

• The fun part! Once the vegetables are soft, add all of the meat back into the pot. Add the 2 cans of beef broth and stir it around. You want to let it heat up, and once it boils, add the tomato puree and paste then stir it up again. 

• And the fun is over. Now you wait. Put the temperature down to a light simmer for a whole hour and a half! Check it out once in a while and stir it around. I leave mine uncovered, but if you find it splashing around everywhere just take a piece of aluminum foil and place it on top of the pot. Don't crumple it around, just lay it on top. 

• After an hour and a half taste it. I'm telling you right now, without a doubt or hesitation, you're going to have to put salt in it. No lie, I put more than a tablespoon in there sometimes. It depends on the beef stock and the tomatoes. but before you put the salt, crack some pepper in there and add about 2 teaspoons more of each the chili and cumin powders. Add the salt by the teaspoon, stir it and then taste it. I have faith that you'll be able to tell when you've seasoned it well enough. Once you're done seasoning, put it back on the burner and simmer it for another hour and a half! If you're keeping count at home that's a total of 3 hours! Wow!!

Oh, relax, it's only 3 hours. Some chili's have you simmering it for upwards of 6 or 8 hours. So I don't want to hear it. 

Once the total of 3 hours is done, it's ready to go! Bowl it up and go to town. Like I said though, a rule of thumb for most all soups but especially Chili... It's always better the next day. After it's sat there in the fridge and all the flavors get all happy-nice with each other, it's freaking great. I love to enjoy a bowl with some shredded cheddar cheese and saltine crackers. Add whatever toppings you enjoy. Heck, you can even find a way to add beans in there, just don't go asking me how to do it. And don't bother telling me you added them either because I probably won't like you afterwards. Matter of fact, you're lucky I'm not deleting this entire post before it's even published because of the possibility that you may use my recipe to harbor your beans. Yes, I'm serious. 

Beans aside, this Chili is awesome and I hope you enjoy it. I've been making this recipe for quite a few years now and it is loved by all who try it. I won't hesitate to say that it's award worthy even. And that's peculiar.

Why? Well, the peculiar thing is this my friends:

That Chili I made on that fateful day, it didn't actually taste anything like this Chili!

*♫*  This is just a tribute! You gotta believe me! And I wish you were there, it's just a matter of opinion! ..Good God ..gotta love it!.. *♫*