My Own Hearty Minestrone Soup

I consider myself a well established cook, having gotten involved with French cuisine in particular for over thirty years, however, my culinary skills aren't limited to French cooking, but a wide variety of nationalities, such as Italian, Mexican, and Oriental. During all these years I've always been a stickler for making any meal completely homemade and entirely from scratch, in other words, no "short-cuts". If for instance, I want to make biscuits, yes, I make homemade biscuits and have never used the Pillsbury biscuit dough in that pop-up can.

Among the many types of meals I've made over the years, I love making homemade soups, and now that the weather is starting to turn on the chilly side, what could be better than a nice piping hot bowl of soup? In the past I've made homemade Chicken, Lentil, Pea, Black Bean, Potato, Cream of Celery, Gazbacho, and French Onion soup Gratinée.

Recently, I came across a recipe called Harvest Minestrone with Quinoa & Kale Soup and looking at the photo, I have to admit my mouth began to drool, it looked delicious. I give the link for that recipe here, however, it inspired me to do my own version of the soup and I prepare it in a completely different way than the original recipe. The original recipe, for instance calls for a can of crushed tomatoes, kale and the quinoa, I omitted these three ingredients and substituted my own as you'll see if you compare recipes. Also most of the vegetable ingredients in the original recipe call for them to be diced; I instead cut most of the vegetables such as the zucchini in large cubes or slices.

My Own Hearty Minestrone Soup:

Ingredients:

2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 medium-sized onion diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 celery stalks sliced (not diced!)

2 or three large carrots, pared and sliced

1 large fresh zucchini, pared, thickly sliced and cut into cubes

1 cup of fresh green beans cut into about 1" pieces

1 green bell pepper, sliced and diced

1 large jar of pasta source~~I used a 24 oz. jar of Vito Marcello's Tomato and Basil Marinara Sauce

3 or 4 cups water

1 large plum tomato cut into cubes

1 15 oz. can chickpeas

1 15 oz. can either Cannellini or Red Kidney Beans ( I used the Red Kidney Beans)

1 cup cooked pasta (such as ditalini or elbow macaroni)

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with pre-grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

In a large stockpot add the olive oil, onions and garlic and sautée till tender (don't let burn!). Pour and add approximately one half of the pasta sauce into stockpot, then add the water. Stir to blend. Add all the vegetables to pot, omitting the beans. Let all the ingredients simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. While the soup is simmering, in a large saucepan, boil a quart of water and add about 3/4 cup pasta and cook until al-dente.

If necessary keep adding a little more of the pasta sauce and water to the soup as the liquid will have a tendency to evaporate. About ten minutes before the soup is done, add the chickpeas, Cannellini or Red Kidney Beans and the pasta and let simmer some more. Ladle in the soup into bowls and sprinkle some of the parmesan cheese on top.

Servings: about 8 to 10 servings

Enjoy!!

Image Source: ©Melanie Neer~my own photo of my Hearty Minestrone Soup

The Original Recipe Harvest Minestrone With Quinoa & Kale Soup as a comparison and what inspired me to do my own recipe:

www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11146/harvest-minestrone-with-quinoa-kale.html

(Originally published at bubblews~~October 16, 2013)

How I Got Interested In Cooking French Cuisine

(Article first appeared at Bubblews on April 19, 2013)

Article At Bubblews

It was sometime a little after I graduated college that I took an interest in French Cuisine however, my interest may have started sooner as I had taken a French language course the last term of my college life. The class was entirely conducted in French by the professor, who by the way, actually was from France. On occasion she would break that rule of hers and talk about life in France in English, and among things would give wonderful detailed talks about French food that made my mouth drool.

Then, on one occasion, I happen to tune into Julia Child's cooking show, it was a show I normally didn't watch since to be honest, I just didn't care for her; to me she always sounded as if she had been dipping into the cooking sherry a wee bit too much. However, on that day I happen to catch her show, she was introducing a then up and coming French chef, Jaques Pepin. O la la! Not only was he demonstrating his own techniques for cooking French foods, but hey, he wasn't bad to look at either. Now when I think of it, what then happened next was almost similar to that movie Julie & Julia, where the one character, Julie Powell decides to cook every single recipe in Julia Child's cookbook, but instead of cooking up recipes from Julia Child's cookbook, I began collecting not only Jaques Pepin's cookbooks, but other French recipe cookbooks and began cooking up a storm.

Now you have to realize that in years prior, if and when I did cook something, it would be very basic, mainstream foods, you're typical meat and potatoes type of thing, nothing fancy schmancy. In my childhood and teen years, I relied on whatever food my mother or grandmother cooked up, and let's put it this way, cooks they weren't. If they could have burned water they would have, yes, their cooking was that bad. The only real cook of the family had been my great grandmother, and praise be, there is a God, I must have inherited her skills rather than either my mother or grandmother.

I have to admit I didn't cook every single French recipe in the cookbooks I had, as the idea of say preparing and fixing something like escargot or Tripes à la Niçoise (Tripe stew) just repulsed me. I did however start my journey into French cooking by preparing known classics, such as Crêpes, Boeuf Bourguignon, and yes, I even made the all elusive and difficult Soufflé.

When I realized I had a real knack for cooking French foods, it was like full steam ahead. After a little time had passed by and as I became more confident in my skills, and since Thanksgiving was fast approaching, I ditched the idea of the usual and more traditional Thanksgiving dinner and instead did a full French gourmand feast consisting of French Onion Soup Gratinée, Crêpes filled with chicken and mushroom with Sauce Mornay, Boeuf Bourguignon, and for dessert, Poires pochées au vin (Poached Pairs in Wine Sauce). How I didn’t gain a hundred pounds with that one dinner, I’ll never know.

As the years passed by I would later embark on cooking other types of cuisine as well, such as Oriental, Mexican, Italian, and so forth, but to this day, my first love is to cook French food and while I don’t knock myself out as much as I used to, as I did with that Thanksgiving dinner I had cooked so many years ago, I still love to make up something special from time to time, like my Boeuf Bourguignon which I serve on a bed of Couscous as seen in my photo of it when I made it as my birthday dinner.

If you would like my recipe version of Boeuf Bourguignon you can find it here:

Recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon

To coin a phrase Julia Child would say at the end of her show: Bon Appétit

The Most Delicious Cranberry Walnut Bread

{This recipe was first published at Ciao under my penname of pyewacket)

Also was published at Yahoo.Voices~12/08/2008)

Cranberry Walnut Bread

Now that the holidays are fast approaching, there is no better time to start thinking about what kind of gift to give loved ones and friends, than by making a very special bread, that is, Cranberry Walnut Bread.

I first came about this recipe more than twenty years ago, and ever since, it has become my holiday tradition to make large batches of this bread and hand out as gifts. In fact, I really started something here, as now, all my friends expect it!

I didn't know what I was in for, when word spread around about how delicious these breads were of mine. At first I had only made a grand total of about nine small loaves of the Cranberry Walnut Bread, but as the word of mouth about how good they were it wasn't unusual for me to be baking up close to sixty, yes sixty of these near Christmas time and giving out as gifts. Yes, it was a LOT of work, but the delight on people's faces as I gave them my bread was all the reward I needed and really put me in the true Christmas spirit of giving from the heart rather than some store bought item.

I usually go about it by buying those very small aluminum baking pans, that come in packages of five. If you find yourself making large batches of this bread, be prepared to spend a small fortune for the ingredients alone. I highly recommend using stainless steel mixing bowls for mixing the ingredients, and if making truly large batches the larger the mixing bowl the better. I happen to have one gigantic mixing bowl for instance that is large enough for enough of the mixed batter to make 5 large or 15 small loaves of this bread. Therefore I usually make batches of the 15 small breads per day.

Also while one CAN make a large loaf, I find it better to make the smaller sized loaves as there is less chance of them burning on the bottom.

Warning: Don't skimp on the ingredients and DO NOT use canned cranberries...the cranberries HAVE to be be whole fresh ones, that one starts seeing in grocery stores before Thanksgiving. Stock up on several bags of the fresh cranberries and freeze them as they freeze well.

Cranberry Walnut Bread

For One Large Loaf or Three Small Loaves

2 cups flour

1 cups sugar

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup baking soda

1 Egg

1 tsbp orange rind

3/4 cups orange juice

1-1/2 cup raisins

1-1/2 cup chopped cranberries

1 cup chopped walnuts

For chopping the cranberries and walnuts, I toss them in separately and chop them in a blender.

Add all dry ingredients together. In the largest mixing bowl..add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda. In another large bowl, add the raisins, chopped walnuts and cranberries and set these two bowls aside.

Add butter or margarine and crumble into the flour/sugar/baking powder, salt/baking soda mixture. Then add the egg, orange rind, orange juice and blend a bit. Then add the raisins, cranberries, and walnuts and mix. Pour batter into greased bread tin(s).

For large loaf bake about 45 minutes in 350-degree oven, or until done For small loaves bake about 30 minutes in 350-degree oven or until done. One can test for doneness by sticking a knife in the center of the bread...if it comes up dry, it's done.

Once they are cooled, and I recommend placing them in the refrigerator for further cooling, one can then wrap them up as gifts. First, by wrapping them up in plastic wrap, then with decorative gift paper.

Bon Appétit!

Butter Balls: a Great Holiday Treat A Favorite Cookie for the Holiday Season

{This recipe of mine first appeared at Ciao under my penname of pyewacket}

Also appears at Yahoo.voices

Butter Balls

With the holidays zooming up faster than the speed of light, it's time to start thinking what kind of yummy sweet goodies to make. One of my all time favorite cookies to make during the holiday season are "Butter Balls" They are rather simple to make and the taste divine as they seem to melt in your mouth.

Butter Balls

½ cup butter

¼ cup sugar

1 egg separated

½ teaspoon vanilla

rind of ½ lemon and orange

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup flour

½ cup walnuts ground fine

confectioners sugar

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar well. Add yolk and flavorings. Beat and blend. Add the flour, and ground walnuts and beat/blend until very light. Cover the bowl and chill overnight. The next day, shape the cookie dough into tiny balls. Place the cookie balls on greased cookie sheet i-inch apart. Bake 20 to 30 minutes at 350º F.

Let cool ever so slightly then dip each cookie and cover with confectioners sugar. A great holiday treat.

Scallops with White Wine and Mushrooms: An Elegant Way to Prepare Scallops

Also appears on Yahoo.voices

Scallops with White Wine and Mushrooms 


This is a simply elegant and divine way of preparing a tasty scallop dinner and different from the ordinary. I came upon this recipe over twenty years ago but did some changes with it. The original recipe called for red wine, however, I switched it to a light white wine, like a Chablis, as I found that when the red wine was mixed with the tomato sauce it reacted and the combined color nearly looked purple so therefore not very appitizing. I also added to the recipe mushrooms which I love adding to a lot of my meals. This is a time consuming meal to prepare but well worth it, as it's simply divine!

Scallops with White Wine and Mushrooms

1 lb. bay or sea scallops ( prefer the larger sea scallops )

¾ cups water

squeeze of lemon juice

3 tablespoons of butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup (¼ lb) mushrooms, washed, stem removed and sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons flour

¾ cup chicken stock

2 teaspoons tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

¾ cup white wine (Chablis works best)

2 small or medium sized tomatoes, cut into 8 equal pieces

¼ cup breadcrumbs

¼ melted butter

Mashed potatoes (for piping)

1 tablespoon chopped parsley (fresh is best rather than dried)

4 large scallop dishes (yes the real thing) or can in a pinch use individual heatproof dishes. **

It's best to prepare the mashed potatoes first. Clean and pare two or three rather large sized potatoes and boil until done. Mash the potatoes the method you prefer and set aside. In my experience it's best to have a bit too much of the mashed potatoes then wind up with too little. If you do wind up having leftovers one can make small potato pancakes out of the remainder.

In a saucepan, combine the scallops with water and lemon juice and poach for 3-4 minutes. Once cooked remove from heat and set aside.

Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, add the onion, mushrooms and garlic and cook until onions are transparent (not browned) and mushrooms are tender. Add flour to this mixture, blending in, then slowly add the chicken stock and blend by gently whisking mixture. Next add the tomato paste and also blend in and simmer for about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the wine and tomatoes and continue to simmer on low heat, while stirring mixture. Drain the scallops and add them to the tomato/wine mixture and stir and blend in.

Taking each scallop shell (or heatproof dish) using a pasty bag, place mashed potatoes into the bag and pipe the potatoes around near the edge of the shell, making a thick "border" and be sure to "seal" the ends of the potatoes to create a spill proof border that will hold the scallop mixture. Spoon in equal amounts of the scallop mixture in the center of each shell. Place the shells on a baking sheet.

Sprinkle on equal portions of the breadcrumbs on top of the scallop mixture and drizzle on some of the melted butter and bake in a 350º F oven for about 15 minutes.

When ready to serve, place equal amounts of the chopped parsley as a garnish on top of each scallop dish as a garnish

**While it's not absolutely necessary to have real scallop shells to serve this dish, it does look better. For as they say presentation is everything.

You may wish to serve another side dish of vegetables of your choice, such as green beans, but this is a surprisingly hearty and filling meal.

Bon appétit

How to Make a Great Boeuf Bourguignon Meal: A True French Culinary Feast

{This first appeared at Ciao.com under my pen-name of pyewacket}

Also appears on Yahoo.voices~December 4, 2008

Boeuf Bourguignon

This was one of the very first French cuisine meals I made some twenty-five years ago, and make it a point to fix it at least once a year. This can be a great alternative if you're looking for something truly different for a holiday meal, or any special affair. For the past few years, I've made it a point to make this as my special dinner for my birthday, which is coming up soon and I look forward to making it each and every year as my birthday dinner.

Boeuf Bourguignon can be looked at as a fancy way of making a beef stew, but instead of adding water or beef stock to simmer the meat, one uses red wine instead. And yes, this is one of those French meals that one uses brandy as well and ignites it. I have a confession too. The very first time I made this I was a bit skiddish about that igniting part, thinking I was going to contend with a really large flame of fire and contend with a potential fire hazard. The original recipe calls for only 2 or 3 tablespoons of brandy, yet I use about a ¼ of a cup--I really don't measure, I just pour it in.

Since you are using wine to cook this meal, be sure NOT to use an aluminum or iron stockpot, but instead use a stainless steel one.

For an added touch I also cook up Couscous to serve as a "bedding" for the Boeuf Bourguignon

Boeuf Bourguignon

4 ounces of bacon sliced chunky style (that is several sliced pieces of bacon but cut into chunks)

1 medium onion or 3 to 4 shallots, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 or 3 pounds of stewing beef cut in 1 ½ cubes

2 or 3 tablespoons brandy ( I use more about ¼ cup)

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons butter

¼ teaspoon thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon parsley

3 cups dry burgundy wine

½ pound mushrooms, washed, stem removed and sliced

1 beef bouillon cube

1 or 2 carrots, washed, pared and sliced

Cooked Plain Couscous

In a stainless steel stockpot, add the chunks of bacon and allow to cook awhile until done. Add the onion (or shallots) and garlic and sauté until done. With a slotted spoon take out the bacon and garlic and set aside on a plate. Add the cubes of beef and let beef brown awhile. Stir the meat as it browns.

When meat is brown, turn off heat from pot and pour in the brandy, blending it in with the meat. Using a match (one of those long wooden kitchen matches works best), ignite the "brandied" meat, and stir with a spoon until flame goes out naturally. Not only does the brandy add flavor to the meat, but by igniting it, will reduce the fat content of the bacon fat.

Put flame back on low and sift in the flour over the meat and stir to blend an even coating over the meat and remove any lumpiness from the flour. Return the bacon bits and onion and garlic to the stockpot, then slowly add the wine. Add the sliced mushrooms, carrot slices, beef bouillon cube, salt and pepper to taste, thyme, bay leaf and parsley. Cover and simmer for at least four hours or until meat is tender. Keep checking as the wine broth reduces and you may add even more wine to it...I do.

When done, to thicken the sauce a bit, add some cornstarch to water and slowly add and stir to a desired consistency as thick or thin as you wish and let simmer for a few more minutes.

While the Boeuf Bourguignon is still simmering, cook up couscous according to the package directions and for the amount you want depending how many people you are serving. I use the 5-minute type of Plain Couscous such as the Near East brand by boiling the correct amount of water with added butter. Once water is boiled turn off heat and add the couscous, cover and remove from heat. It will "cook" in five minutes.

Take a plate and spoon some of the Couscous on it, spreading it out a bit in a circle and making a centered well for the Boeuf Bourguignon. Spoon in a portion of the Boeuf Bourguignon in the center of the Couscous.

Instead of Couscous one can also use noodles or rice, but somehow I much prefer the Couscous as it gives the meal a bit of added elegance and finesse.

Bon Appetít

Image Source~~©Melanie Neer~My Own Photo

Recipe: Cranberry Pudding Cake: A Great and Easy Holiday Dessert

(Originally published Oct 9, 2008~Ciao under my pen-name of pyewacket)

Also published on Yahoo.voices

Cranberry Pudding Cake

Traditionally, I always make this dessert for New Year's Day dinner, yet this is one of those versitile desserts one can make for any holiday meal and is fairly simple and easy to make.

This recipe calls for fresh cranberries...do not use canned as it just won't work. Around Thanksgiving time, one can usually see bags of fresh cranberries being sold...stock up on a few bags, and freeze as they freeze extremely well.

CRANBERRY PUDDING CAKE

1 Cup sugar divided

1½ Cups fresh cranberries

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

1¾ Cups unsweetened orange juice

1 Cup flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoons salt

½ Cup skim milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine ½ cup sugar, cranberries, grated orange rind, and unsweetened orange juice in large saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes or until cranberry skins pops, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool a bit.

Combine remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and sitr well. Combine milk, and vanilla then add to the dry ingredients, stirring until the dry ingredients are just moistened.

Spoon the batter into a greased shallow 2-quart casserole baking dish...a soufflé dish is also ideal for this. Pour the cranberry mixture evenly over the batter. Bake at 350º for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

The Magnificent Quiche Lorraine

(©Oct 8, 2008~Ciao. This recipe first appeared at Ciao and under my pen-name of pyewacket)

Also published at Yahoo.voices

Quiche Lorraine

What could be more French than the classic Quiche Lorraine?

I was inspired to begin cooking up French cuisine during my last year in college over thirty years ago, when I took a French language class, and by the arrival of a new French chef that was just starting to become popular in America, none other than Jaques Pepin.

A quiche is fairly easy to make and provides a bit of elegance as a lunch or even dinner meal. While it may be "easier" to get pre-made flaky type of dough for the pie crust, nothing beats making homemade, and I'm a stickler for making everything from scratch.

Pastry:

1 ½ cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) sweet butter

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

¼ cup cold water

In a stainless steel mixing bowl, work the flour, salt, butter and shortening together until you have a course mixture. Add the water and mix into a ball. Line a 10½ inch flan ring or quiche pan and refrigerate for about an hour.

Quiche Filling:

¼ pound bacon

4 eggs

1½ cups milk

½ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

5 ounces of Gruyere or Emmenthal cheese, diced

Cut the bacon into small strips and blanch in boiling water for about 3 minutes.

Beat the eggs only until well mixed. Stir in the milk, cream, salt and pepper. Line the bottom of the flan or quiche pan with the bacon and sprinkle the cheese over it. Add the egg mixture into flan or quiche pan and bake for I hour in a 400-degree F oven.

Remove from the oven and let cool and rest for about 15 minutes.

Bon Appétit

Image Source: ©Melanie Neer~My own photo