Chicken noodle soup

Is there anything cozier than chicken noodle soup when the weather gets crisp, the leaves turn orange and you break your fall and winter gear out?

This is the absolute best weekend project for the amateur cook and foodie. If you feel so inclined, you can even prepare your own chicken broth from scratch (recipe to come soon) in the morning, and this hearty comforting soup in the afternoon for a nice evening wrapped up in your throw, on the couch watching TV.

Sounds pretty good, yeah?

Let's get started!


INGREDIENTS (for 4 people)
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 3 sticks of celery, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced

Note: dice the veggies as small as you like to eat them in the soup because this will not be blended, it is a clear soup. I like mine relatively small
- about 2 cups of cooked chicken meat (I like my soup very chicken-y!)

Note: I used the meat of 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts used to make broth (recipe to come)
- 1 1/2 cup of noodles (I used whole wheat)

- about 6 cups chicken broth (for this recipe I complemented homemade broth with commercial bricks because I just did not have enough)
- olive oil

RECIPE:
- in a deep pot, saute the veggie holy trinity (onion, carrots and celery) in a splash of olive oil over medium heat until soft (do not brown)
- increase the heat to medium-high, add the broth and bring back to a boil
- add the noodles and cook until the noodles are done to your liking

- shred the chicken meat (or dice, if you prefer) and add to the pot, stir until the chicken is heated through

- serve in a bowl, decorated with fresh parsley -or not-

- enjoy!

Sage, sour cream and cremini mushrooms country-style pork ribs (Slow cooker recipe)

I was doubly excited yesterday to try this new recipe.

First, I was recently gifted a slow cooker by my friend F. who wasn't using it at all, and I was just dying to use it for a comforting stew.
Second, my other friend R. (who is friends with F. coincidentally) had been raving about the French dish "Porc au lait et a la sauge" (pork with milk and sage) for weeks, and since we are indeed in the midst of Autumn, crisper weather, leaves yellowing and all, I figured it would be the absolute perfect time to do this!

The original dish calls for a roast and whole milk, but I adapted to what I had available: country-style ribs and sour cream. I'd seen Chef John at Foodwishes use a mixture of creme fraiche and chicken broth for his version of the similar Italian dish "Maiale al latte", so I figured I could do the same. I also mixed in cremini mushrooms for an added veggie-dimension.

It was a first, like I said, and I will admit that although it was very good, I felt like something was missing. And after a few minutes analyzing my dish, I figured it out: BACON! I missed bacon. Not really surprising, since the original version also contains lardons (diced cured pork belly).

So here it is guys, my recipe for slow-cooked pork ribs, with sage and cream. I will be adding notes in italics with suggestions that I think will improve the final result.


Please excuse the horrid photography, but I started to cook at 8AM with little to no natural day light...

INGREDIENTS:
- 4 lbs bone-in country-style pork ribs
- one 8oz basket of cremini mushrooms
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 large onion, sliced thick
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1/4 cup chopped sage (I used flash frozen fresh sage, but would highly recommend using fresh for this dish - mine was a bit old and the flavor was a bit lost in the final dish).
- salt and pepper
- a splash of olive oil
- optional: 4 strips of bacon (thick cut, diced)


RECIPE:
- season the pork really well with salt and pepper to taste and brown in a skillet, with a splash of olive oil. You really want to sear the meat so that it develops a lot of flavor and a golden crust

- place the meat on a bed of sliced onions in your slow cooker, add the garlic cloves and chopped sage

Note: if you decide to go the bacon route, now would be the time to sprinkle the diced bacon on top of the meat
- pour the chicken stock over the meat and start the slow cooker, set on HIGH for 5:30 hours

- when you have about 1:30 hours to go, open the lid of the slow cooker and add the cream and quartered mushrooms

Note 1: you can spoon out some of the rendered fat at this moment, before adding the cream and mushrooms.
Note 2: I noticed at the end of the cooking that the sauce was more watery than I would have liked and I think that precooking the mushrooms in a little butter or olive oil and browning them would be better than adding them raw. That way, they would not release that much moisture in the final dish
- at the end of the cooking time, the meat should slide right off the bone and be the most tender you've ever had. Serve with a spoonful of sauce over a bed of creamy polenta, mashed potatoes, egg pasta or rice (I had polenta, and I think it really was a good choice of starch)

Note: if the sauce is too liquid still, you can transfer it into a pot and thicken it over high heat, using a splash of cornstarch diluted in a little water and stirring until you reach the consistency you want

- Enjoy!

On food styling and photography. Oh, and a little blogging update!

Color me excited, because I totally just splurged on a seminar about food styling and photography at Boston University next month.

It will be held by none other than Sheryl Julian, food editor at the Boston Globe.

Although I've had this blog open since 2007 and active since 2009 (with a high resurgence in 2012), I have decided to take things to another level and try to make it into the food blogosphere.

I am very motivated and think that this would be a perfect first step in the right direction. Once I know what I'm talking about, I will invest in proper equipment (such as lighting, a softbox, perhaps an umbrella...) and might even ask Santa for a new camera.

I've also been contemplating attending a conference for food bloggers. Has anyone ever been to one of those? If so, please let me know if you have any advice such as which one to attend, what to expect, etc...

Finally, I want to apologize for the sluggish output of recipes this past month. I'm currently busy with revamping the blog and organizing recipes in pages so as to allow for more practical browsing. I really hope you'll like the new pages. They should be ready in a couple of weeks!

Talk to you all very soon!
Steph

Oven-dried tomatoes

There is literally nothing simpler than making oven-dried tomatoes. And the good thing is that for about 5 bucks, you'll have a ton more than a can of store-bought sun-dried tomatoes :)
Those tomatoes are so versatile! You can use them in salads, as a base for a tomato sauce, chopped up in pasta, on a pizza, or if you're like me just as a snack...

The only drawback is the cooking time: it will take about 5 hours in the oven and a few more to cool down, but you do this once and you're set for a couple of months!

Here's a golden tip for you: set up your tomatoes in the morning and forget about them while you clean your house, vacuum, laundry, etc... Kill two birds with one stone ;)


INGREDIENTS:
- tomatoes (however many you want, of whatever species you want: I used about 2 lbs of Roma)
- salt, pepper
- extra virgin olive oil


RECIPE:
- turn on your oven on the lowest setting (about 200F on mine)
- line a cooking sheet with aluminum foil (parchment paper would be fine too), place the tomatoes on the sheet, spaced evenly (try not to pack them too close to one another, they need to dry), cut side up

- sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil

- put the tomatoes in the oven and forget about them for about 5 hours (but do check on them every once in a while to make sure things are going well, but do not turn them)
- after 5 hours, turn off your oven and leave another 3 hours in the closed oven; the tomatoes are now shrivelled and packed with concentrated tomato-flavor!

- when the tomatoes are at room temperature, put them in a jar and cover with extra virgin olive oil

- store in the fridge and use at your convenience :)
- enjoy!

Zucchini, chevre and spicy cured sausage quiche

This recipe is a tweaked recreation of a quiche my sister made and told me about yesterday. It sounded so good that I just had to try and make it for myself.

She used real spanish chorizo, a spicy cured sausage, but unfortunately it is very difficult to procure this kind of chorizo where I live. Same thing goes for the goat cheese that she used: she used an aged french chevre, but that is not readily available here either... *insert sad face*

Oh, one more thing... You'll notice that in the ingredients picture, there is a roll of pie crust. Ahem... ok, well I failed Like A Boss at blind baking mine, so I adapted my regular quiche-to-be into a crust-less one. As annoyed as I was at the time, it also shows you how I actually proceed in the kitchen and how it is important to be able to adapt when things don't go as planned :)

Hope you'll like!



INGREDIENTS (for 4 people as a side dish, 2 people as a light dinner):
- 1 large zucchini, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 small brie-like goat cheese, or any aged goat cheese you like (or can find), cubed
- about 1/2 cup hot dry sausage of your choice (spanish chorizo or sopressata would be best, but I used hot italian sausage that was available at my supermarket), diced
- 2 large eggs (i know only 1 is pictured, but I ended up adding another one, mid-recipe)
- 1 cup of light cream (only 1/2 cup is pictured, but I added another 1/2 cup mid-recipe)
- optionnal: 1 pie crust (i was planning on using it, but failed miserably... you'll get the details further down)
- salt, pepper to taste
- a sprinkle of smoked paprika (not pictured, but added mid-recipe)


RECIPE:
- preheat your oven at 350F
- crisp up the diced sausage in a dry pan on high heat, until it has rendered a little fat and is golden, reserve on the side

- saute the onion and zucchini in the drippings and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, cook for a few minutes on medium heat and let cool on the side

- in a bowl, mix the eggs and cream

- add the cheese, sausage cubes and zucchini, pour in a dish sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkle with a little smoked paprika

Note: this is where you would have used your pie crust, pre-cooked for 15 minutes at 350F, but as you can see in the picture below, my pie crust was a super-fail! so I improvised and did without!
oopsies!!
- bake in the oven at 350F for 35 minutes, or until firm

- let cool for 10 minutes before serving with a side salad (I used fresh spinach, lemon juice and olive oil)

- enjoy!