Antique cooking gadgets: struvor iron

I don't do a lot of cooking in hot oil, but my lust for cast iron got the better of me.  This is an iron used to make Swedish cookies called struvor, or rosettes.  Hot oil, here I come!

Chicken and potato soup

Don't let the simple ingredient list fool you...this soup is tasty, comforting, and deep-down warming!

Chicken and Potato Soup

Butter
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
2 c chicken breast, chopped
2 c potatoes, chopped
1 c carrots, chopped
Water or stock
White flour
2 -3 c milk
Sharp cheddar or Gruyere cheese for topping


Saute the garlic, onion, and peppers in butter till barely soft.  Add the chicken and cook until done.  Add the potatoes and carrots and a bit of water to deglaze the pan.  In a smaller saucepan, heat some butter and flour and add milk to make a white sauce.  Add the white sauce along with additional milk, water, or stock to the chicken mixture and simmer until the vegetables are tender.  Serve topped with grated cheese.

Southwest chicken and bean stew

The addition of so many beans to this stew make it really hearty.  You can substitute ground chicken or turkey if you'd like, but definitely do serve the steaming bowl with tortilla chips on the side!

Southwest Bean and Chicken Stew

Canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1-1/2 c picante sauce
3 cans (15 oz) beans: kidney, pinto, and black, drained
1 can hominey
1-1/2 c water or more if needed
2 lb pre-cooked chicken breast
Chili powder to taste
Salt and pepper
Ranch dressing for topping, optional
Tortilla chips

Saute the onion and both types of peppers in oil.  Add all the remaining ingredients through the chicken and simmer.  Add spices before serving, and serve with a dollop of ranch dressing and tortilla chips.

Cranberry sorbet...and Jägermeister!

I found a bottle of Jägermeister in our freezer after our daughter left to return home after Christmas.  She couldn't take it on the airplane since she was doing only carry-on.  Too bad.  Especially too bad if she thinks it's still going to here when she next visits!

I made a wonderful cranberry sorbet, and instead of actually "sorbetting" all of it, I froze some solid and cut it into cubes to serve with the Jägermeister.  We liked it this way, but now I'm looking forward to making the sorbet and trying it as a slush!

Anyway, here's the sorbet recipe.  You can either freeze it and cut it up or you can run it through an ice cream machine.

Cranberry Sorbet

3/4 c water
1-1/2 c fresh cranberries
1-1/2 c sugar
1-1/2 c orange juice

In a large saucepan, simmer the cranberries until the skins all pop.  Remove from the heat and puree the cranberries with an immersion blender.  Add the sugar and return to the heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Let the mixture cool and add the orange juice.  Chill thoroughly before processing.  Makes about a quart of sorbet.

Antique cooking gadgets: melon baller or grapefruit corer?

We still haven't completely figured this one out, but I thought that for $3 I could take a chance ;-)  It was creatively labeled as a "gadget".  We have found it listed as both a melon baller and as a grapefruit corer.  I doubt it is particularly good at either task, but I still think it's cool.

Salad with pomegranate seeds

This salad is a wonderful mixture of spinach and radicchio, which provides a strong background for the pomegranate seeds!

Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

Baby spinach
Radicchio
1/2 a pomegranate
Blue cheese, crumbled
Walnuts, chopped
Lemon vinaigrette

Cut the pomegranate in half and hold half of it upside down inside a large bowl.  Squeeze gently to loosen the seeds and then whack the back of it with a wooden spoon until they all let go.  Pick out the bits of membrane.  Mix with the other ingredients and dress before serving.

Poached chicken

Poaching a a great way to keep meat really moist.  The trick is to keep the temperature very low and put a barrier above the meat to keep the liquid from evaporating.

Poached Chicken

Canola oil
4 - 5 cloves of garlic
2 - 3 leeks, cut into 5 inch pieces
3 carrots, cut into 3 inch pieces
8 whole peppercorns
5 - 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 boneless half-breasts of chicken
Enough stock to just cover chicken
Salt

In your stockpot or dutch oven, gook the vegetables for a few minutes to soften.  Add the spices, chicken, and enough stock to just cover.  Bring the broth to a simmer and immediately reduce the heat to the lowest setting (avoid simmering again).  Cover the chicken with a circle of parchment paper and cover with the lid.  After about 10 minutes, turn the chicken over.  Poach for about 5 to 10 more minutes until chicken is done.