Jim's Red Lentil Soup

I got a version of this from cook's illustrated and we love it. i
have experimented with it over the years and below is the version we
like the most. it takes about 30 minutes to prepare.

red lentil soup

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water (add more if the soups starts to get too thick)
2 cups split, rinsed red lentils (you can use any lentils, but red
lentils don't have a seed coat, so they take less time to cook - if
you use regular lentils, you may have to cook the soup a little longer
and use more water)
1 T olive oil
1 onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh grated ginger
1.5 t garam masala (an indian blend of coriander, cardamom, cumin,
cinnamon, and cloves - you can buy garam masala or just sprinkle in
some of each of these)
1 14oz can coconut milk - you can use the light variety if you want,
but we use just regular coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro - if you don't like cilantro (and our
son tony doesn't), then add fresh spinach near the end of the cooking
time (or it will get mushy). i add lots of spinach - like two cups.
fresh ground black pepper
3 roma tomatoes - cored, seeded and chopped coarse

bring broth, water, lentils and 1/2 t salt to a boil, covered, in a
large saucepan. reduce to simmer and cook covered until you are ready
to add them to the next pot.

heat the oil in another pan and saute the onion and a sprinkle of salt
until soft and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. then add the garlic,
ginger and garam masala - cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). then
add the lentils with the broth, scraping up any browned bits and
mixing the whole thing well. add the coconut milk and then bring to a
simmer and cook until the lentils are soft and the soup is thick. if
you need to, add more water so the soup doesn't get too thick.

once the lentils are soft, remove from heat and add the cilantro or
spinach and stir until the cilantro is incorporated or the spinach is
soft (a minute or so). season with salt and pepper to taste, then
serve with chopped tomatoes sprinked on top of individual servings.
of course, goes great with crusty bread and butter. delicious and
healthy!

St. Louis Bread Co. Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Jane loves Cheesy Broccoli Soup at Bread Co., but at $4 a bowl, it's a little steep for a frequent treat. I found this recipe in my ward's old cookbook. I've tweaked it a bit, and I believe it's every bit as good as the restaurant!

BTW, a food processor is a really handy tool when making this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb. bag of carrots, peeled and grated
5 Heads of Broccoli, cut into florets
1 Onion, finely chopped
4 Stalks of Celery, finely chopped
9 T. Butter
1/2 C Flour
4 C Chicken Broth
2 C Skim Milk
1 C Cream
2 C. Finely Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 C Velveeta (Yes, the secret to restaurant-like soup is pasteurized cheese product. Who knew?!?)

Put 1 T. butter in a large stockpot and melt over medium high heat. Add all vegetables. Toss vegetables in butter and cook for about a minute, until they intensify in color.

Then add 1/2 C water and cover the vegetables with a lid. Steam until vegetables are tender. Don't worry about overcooking, you're going to mush this all up anyway.



In a large saucepan, melt 1 cube butter (8 T) over medium heat. Add half cup of flour and whisk to make a roux. Add Chicken broth and stir until roux comes to a boil. Boil for one minute or until you have a gravy-like consistency.



Mash your vegetables with a potato masher, leaving some chunks of broccoli and celery. Add roux, shredded cheese, half and half, and Velveeta. Salt and Pepper to taste. Although I usually don't need to add anything.



This is delicious with Artisan bread. We had it tonight for Jane's birthday dinner and everyone had seconds!

Artisan Bread

My friend Rosalynde found this recipe in the New York Times. The secrets are a good sponge for your dough and a dutch oven with a lid. Crusty, chewy, air bubbly goodness. I like to serve it with Mozzarella Caprese, any soup, or slathered with Nutella!

First, here's the link to the article itself with the original recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I basically follow the recipe, but I skip a few steps. Here's what I do:
The night before you want to eat the bread, mix 3 cups of flour (all-purpose is fine, doesn't need to be bread flour), 1/4 tsp yeast (I use instant bread-machine yeast), 1 5/8 cup water, and 1 1/4 tsp salt. Mix it in a large bowl just until it comes together; it will be very sticky and very ugly, don't worry about it.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and leave it alone for at least 18 hours---it can go even longer, too. You should see bubbles at the surface when it's ready. About 3 hours before you want the bread to be done, dump out the dough onto a floured surface. It will be a wet, stringy, sticky, ugly mess; don't worry. Just fold it over itself once or twice until it's roughly in a round loaf shape (again, it will be ugly and shapeless---DON'T WORRY!). Leave it to rise again for 2 hours.

Before you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450, then put in a round, oven-proof pot with a lid. (I use an enamel stock pot.) When the pot and oven are at temperature, take out the pot and pour the dough into it. Say it with me now: it will be an ugly, sticky mess---don't worry! Shake the pot a little to even things out, then cover with the lid and put in the oven to bake. (Full disclosure: I sometimes skip the heated pot step, and it has always turned out fantastic anyway.) Bake covered for 1/2 hour, then uncovered for 15 more minutes. Prepare to be amazed by the gorgeous loaf that emerges and the incredible taste and texture. Enjoy!

Mom's Best Spinach Salad Ever

We served this at our most recent Family Reunion. It's hard to go wrong with Bacon, Eggs, Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheeses. This recipe makes enough dressing for 2 large bags of spinach, so you might want to halve it, or save half for another salad. It will last in the fridge for 2 weeks.


Dressing:

2 T Honey
2 T White Vinegar
1/4 C Vegetable Oil (I use Canola)
2 tsp Diced Onions
1 T Dijon Mustard
1/3 C Mayonaise

Combine ingredients in a shaker jar and allow to refrigerate at least an hour.

Salad:

1 large bag Baby Spinach
8 Slices of Crumbled Bacon (I use the pre-cooked bacon you can get at Costco. A large crumbled bag for $8. I keep it in my fridge and use it in salads and soups for several months.)
Grated Parmesan Cheese (Fresh is best, but the stuff from the green jar isn't too shabby for this recipe)
Grated Mozzarella Cheese (I also buy this at Costco in bulk. Mozzarella cheese freezes well (according to America's Test Kitchen AND me) and I save a lot of money by dividing it into separate bags instead of purchasing the smaller ones at the grocery store)
2-4 Sliced Hard Boiled Eggs.

Toss and Serve. People will want seconds.

Beef Stroganoff

Audrey invited my family for dinner a few years ago promising to serve Beef Stroganoff. Instantly an image of egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup and ground beef popped into my mind. Yummy enough, but not DELECTABLE. Instead she served the following, and I still salivate whenever I think about it!

She changed my previous impression of Shepherd's Pie also, but I'll post that at a later date.

Audrey's Beef Stroganoff

1 Chuck Roast
1 Onion, diced
Salt
Pepper
Minced Garlic
1/3-1/4 C White Wine
1 large package White Mushrooms (I get mine from Costco)
Chicken Broth
1/4-1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg (Audrey swears by freshly ground, but I haven't tried it yet)
Bayleaf
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 C White Flour
1/2-1 C Cream
1/2 Container Sour Cream

Instructions

Cut fat out of the roast. This is easier if the roast is at least partially frozen. Slice into fist sized portions, then cut into bite sized pieces, against the grain.

In a large dutch oven, soften diced onion in Canola oil. Add meat to onion and sear. Salt, pepper, and add minced garlic to taste. Add white wine and bring wine to a full boil.

Add washed mushrooms (stems removed and tops broken into 3-4 pieces).

Fill dutch oven with chicken broth (I usually use up using 3 quarts for my 5 quart dutch oven). Add cayenne, nutmeg, bay leaf and salt.

Bake at 300 degrees for 2-3 hours. Check meat at 2 hours for tenderness.

If needed, transfer meat and broth to a larger pot. Take 1 1/2 to 2 C of broth and whisk with 1/2 C of flour in a separate bowl. Look for a milkshake like consistency.

Bring meat barely to a boil and add slurry, cream, and sour cream. Taste. If it is too bland, add salt or cayenne pepper. If your sauce is not thick enough, remove broth again and mix with 2 T of Cornstarch. Add back to dish and allow to thicken over heat.

Serve over Butterfly Pasta.

This makes a large amount of stroganoff so I usually prepare at least 2 lb.s of pasta to go with it. Invite friends!

Introduction

Hello friends and family! I've been looking for a way to organize and share my best recipes and decided a blog was the easiest route. I'm going to post recipes gradually and add pictures (even more gradually) as I make the dishes. Hope you enjoy!