Water Who?? Waterzooi!!!!

I know....it doesn't sound like something you'd want to eat, does it?  But it is!  It's a stew/soup (or "stoup", as Rachel Ray would say!) that originated in Ghent, Belgium and was originally made with fish.  Julia Child actually called it, "the most interesting recipe I've clipped" and featured it on one of her shows, so that was "French" enough for me.

I didn't get the chance to cook while in Paris....we stayed so busy sightseeing and came in too late in the evenings to have time to cook.  So, I haven't gotten the "French cooking" out of my system yet.  Oh well....it's a great excuse to go back, right?

I found the recipe while stalking some blogs on Friday and was pretty sure I had what I needed.....since today was cold and it was Sunday, it was the perfect day to try my hand at this "stoup"!

It may seem a little overwhelming at first, but it's really quite easy to make and you can have dinner ready in about 45 minutes or so....and it's all in one pot (of course, you'll need a crispy baguette to go along with it!).

You'll need a nice sized leek, 4 stalks of celery (I also use the very center leaves....I like it a little rustic and there's so much flavor there!), carrots, extra dry vermouth, butter, eggs, chicken stock/broth, onion, tarragon (fresh or dried) and heavy cream.

I started by cutting the onion, leek, celery and carrots into small 2 inch pieces, then diced about 2 tablespoons of fresh tarragon (1 tablespoon of dried). 

 

Heat a Dutch oven and melt 2 tablespoon of butter....then add the veggies and tarragon and cook on medium low until somewhat translucent. 

Take out 2/3s of the veggies.  I sliced my chicken breasts and laid half of them over the first layer of veggies....covered them with 1/3 of the veggies, then added the rest of the chicken and covered it with the remaining veggies. 

The next step is to combine 1 cup each of extra dry vermouth and chicken stock and pour over the chicken and veggies to cover.....add more (1/2 of each) if necessary.  Then simmer on medium low until the chicken is done....about 20 minutes.

Then drain the liquid from the chicken and veggies.  In one separate bowl, beat 6 egg yolks to combine.  In another bowl, mix together 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch (ooops....I didn't have cornstarch, so I used 2 1/2 teaspoons of flour...mix WELL and strain through a strainer so you won't have lumps).  Combine the two mixtures,

 then add the broth 1/2 cup at a time until you've added 1/2 of the broth.  Then pour the rest in and pour over the chicken and veggies. 

 Simmer on low (watch it here....if you cook it at too high or too long, the cream will curdle) until the sauce thickens.....the VOILA! 

Waterzooi!

It really is a delicious soup!  The flavor is amazing!  I think that the next time I make it, I think I will use cut chicken instead of the breasts.....and I think I will brown them off first....just for added flavor.  I'll let you know how it goes!  In the meantime, you have to try this recipe....it's wonderful!

Soups on.....again!

We have company.......in the form of a nor'easter! It's rainy and windy....and chilly! Seemed like a perfect day to make some clam chowder!
The only thing was that I'd wished I'd thought of it yesterday......when it wasn't raining.So, I headed up to Harris Teeter to get a few things that I didn't have.....which was most of what I needed. I bought:
3 cans of minced clams (believe it or not, the Chicken of the Sea brand is awesome!)
1 box of chicken stock (I use Wolfgang Puck's organic chicken stock....buttery and delicious!)
1 bottle clam juice
1 package low fat, center cut bacon
1 leek
3 ears of fresh corn (and it was sweet....in November?)
3 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes
1 pint heavy cream

So....that means that the only thing I had at home was the celery. How's that for a not-so-well-stocked pantry?

I rarely use a recipe for my soups.....I just dump it in. It's really hard to mess up soup, but I'll do my best to give you accurate measurements of what I did today.

First, I diced 1/2 of the package of bacon and fried it and set it aside.

I wiped out all of the bacon fat....just too heavy for this soup to me. Then I added 1 tablspoon butter and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.......add the leeks and celery and cook to soften.

While that was going on, I cut the corn off of the cob

and diced up the potatoes into rather small cubes. Once the leeks and celery are done, add everything.....the bacon, corn, potatoes, leeks, celery..

..and add the clam juice, clams, then chicken broth (just enough to cover). Simmer on low until the potatoes have softened. Then add the heavy cream and VOILA.......Clam and Corn Chowder!

NOTE: The bottom of my dutch oven is not dirty....promise. It is just well worn. That, my dears, is my most fave possession....my LeCrueset dutch oven. Dennis gave it to me several years ago for Christmas....it was all that I wanted. It has never left my stove since then. It stays on the stove and I use it all the time. They make versions now that are alot less expensive and are equally as good....I've bought Shelby one and as her girlfriends get married, they get one, too. I love it more than I love my knives.....and I love my knives!

Soups On.....again!

The last time we went up to the cabin, we noticed signs all along the road advertising "mountain cabbage".....curious, I looked it up on the internet and, according to urbandictionary.com, it is "Marijuana, weed, cannibis, et al". Hmmm......can't be! So, on the way back home we decided to stop and check it out......man, they are HUGE! I normally use a whole head of cabbage to make my cabbage soup.....with this stuff, I only used 1/4 of this thing!
I started off with the "holy trinity", otherwise known in French cooking as a mirepoix.....onions, carrots and celery, with a 2-1-1 ratio respectively. I allowed my dutch oven to get hot, added 1 tablespoon of olive oil, turned the heat down to medium to medium high and added the veggies. Allow them to "sweat" or get a bit translucent.

After that I added about 5 cloves of minced garlic (sorry...I love the stuff!) and the chopped cabbage and tossed until it became a bit limp. I then added my chicken stock. Lately I've been using Wolfgang Puck's Free Range Organic Chicken Broth....it's almost buttery and is so delicious!

After letting the soup simmer on low for quite some time, I decided to add some chopped ham and after letting that heat through, it was time to eat! I grabbed a stick of crusty bread and enjoyed my soup! Soup is only ONE of the reasons while I love the fall so much....and the first few pots of the season are always my favorite because it seems I've been waiting so long for them!

I also added some extra flavor by added a frozen chunk of chicken drippings from a chicken I had baked a few days earlier. I strained off the drippings into a container and put it in the fridge. Once it was cold, I scraped off the fat and put the remaining drippings into a freezer bag and put it in the freezer. I just can't let good flavor go to waste!

If you decide to make this soup and need some "mountain cabbage", let me know.....I still have 3/4 head in my fridge....that means 3 of you can enjoy a pot of this soup!

Low Carb Cream of Chicken Soup

Melin and I are working very hard to lose a little weight the low carb way, but it's winter and I just love soups!!! I was messing around on the internet and found a recipe for Cream of Chicken Soup....I "souped" it up a little to make it my own, but it was absolutely delicious!!

4 skinless chicken thighs, diced

1 bunch green onions, diced

1 tsp onion powder

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup diced mushrooms

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven, then add the chicken...don't move it around until it comes up fairly easily. You want it to brown well for extra flavor. After you turn it the first time, then add the remaining ingredients. While the chicken is browning and the green onions and mushrooms are cooking, add the following to a blender/processor and puree and set aside:

1 cup cooked cauliflower

2 egg yolks

3 ounces cream cheese

1 cup heavy cream

After the chicken is browned, add:

4 cups chicken stock/broth

After the stock is heated, add about 1/4 of the stock mixture to the pureed mixture, then add the whole thing to your stock pot and gently simmer until it thickens....then chow down!!!

This soup is fabulous!!!!!!