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roasted tomato basil soup

Posted by the Blind Cook in cuisine French, For the Cook, Soups & stews, VegetablesAug 13th, 2010 | 3 Comments

Since our wedding in May, our house has filled with nice things for cooking and dining. From now on, instead of agonizing over what gift to get, I’ve decided to utilize the new spiffy kitchenware and dinnerware and practice cooking at the same time by hosting dinner for friends in celebration of their birthdays.

The first two lucky friends were Jade and Uyen (and their husbands), who happened to make up 1/3 of my bridal party. I don’t really know what I got myself into because Jade and Patrick are both the biggest foodies I know, Uyen loves to eat, and her husband Brent is the chef in their kitchen. I was facing my most judgmental critics, and to make things worse, I woke up the night before from an anxiety dream in which I forgot to bake the dessert.

Nonetheless, I began preparing the food a day ahead by making the soup and mixing the custard for the dessert. On the day of the dinner, I planned to make the entree, bake the dessert, and reheat the soup right before guests arrive.

So here is the first of three courses. (Stay tuned for the others.) I got the recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. But because my culinary skills are intermediate, of course I botched things here and there. What I did to remedy the recipe and tweak it according to my taste buds are noted in the “variations” section of the recipe. (I won’t be afraid to admit my mistakes–after all, that’s why I’m the Blind Cook and not the Blind Chef. I will, however, note where I went wrong and offer what I tried in order to fix the recipe.)

Recipe: Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Summary: Original recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs. roma tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
  • 1/4 c. & 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. kosher salt
  • 1.5 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 4 cups basil leaves, packed
  • 1 tsp. fresh thyme
  • 1 (28 oz.) can roma tomatoes with juice
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • 4 c. water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss tomato halves with 1/4 c. olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a single layer on baking sheet, and roast for 45 minutes.
  2. In a 8-qt. stockpot, saute onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in 2 tbsp. olive oil and 2 tbsp. butter over low heat for 10 minutes or until onion is browned.
  3. Add basil, thyme, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, and water. Add roasted tomatoes with all the juices from the baking sheet. Bring to boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.
  4. Pass through a food mill and adjust seasoning. Serve hot or cold.

Variations

Since it was hard to find all 32 oz. of basil at the store, I ended up cutting the recipe in half except I used the same amount of canned tomatoes. I also forgot to tear the leaves off the basil stems, and so the soup smelled super herbal. This called for some major readjustment. I ended up resimmering the soup after pushing it through a food processor and adding the following:

  • 1/2 pint heavy cream
  • 1 & 1/2 sticks butter
  • more salt & pepper to taste
  • a splash of chicken stock

Cooking time (duration): 100

Diet type: Vegetarian

Meal type: supper

Culinary tradition: French

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And remember that if the Blind can Cook it, then so can you.

turkey sloppy joes

Posted by the Blind Cook in cuisine American, For the Cook, Poultry, Sandwiches & burgersAug 11th, 2010 | 5 Comments

Turkey sloppy joe

With all of our fancy feasts lately, I was craving something completely on the other end of the spectrum. I brought it back old school with a variation of the school lunch favorite: sloppy joes. Everyone has memories of their elementary school experience when the hefty, hair-netted cafeteria lady would slop the meat mixture onto their open-faced bun. (Pass on the white milk…chocolate milk, please.)

To make it a little healthier, I used ground turkey instead of the usual ground beef. The original recipe came from ChoppedOnions on All Recipes. It was very simple to make and ready to eat in a jiffy. We ended up leaving the sandwich open-faced and eating it with a fork because, like its name, it was incredibly sloppy.

Also, I’m trying out this recipe plugin John installed for me. Let me know what you think. Should I continue to use the recipe template plugin, or should I stick to my rudimentary HTML skills and just list ingredients and directions the way I did in the Vietnamese chicken curry recipe?

Recipe: Turkey Sloppy Joes

Summary: Original recipe from ChoppedOnions on All Recipes

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 tbsp. minced garlic
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 1 (8 oz.) can pureed tomatoes
  • 1/4 c. barbecue sauce
  • 2 tbsp. ketchup
  • 2 tbsp. white vinegar
  • 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp. brown mustard
  • 1 tbsp. chili garlic sauce (optional)
  • 4 burger buns

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook onion and bell pepper until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ground turkey, and cook until meat is well done, about another 5 to 7 minutes.
  2. Stir in the pureed tomatoes, barbecue sauce, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and chili garlic sauce. Simmer until heated through, about 7 to 10 minutes. Serve on burger buns.

Quick Notes

Try using Stubb’s barbecue sauce instead of, say, KC Masterpiece–it’s got a more robust flavor.

For the chili garlic sauce, use Sriracha brand. It comes with a green lid and has a rooster on the jar. You can find it in Asian supermarkets or in the international food aisle.

Serve with potato salad or chips, and slices of raw onion or pickles.

Variations

The sloppy joe mixture was very runny (hence the name “sloppy). I think I’d prefer a heartier meat filling in my sandwich, so next time, I’ll try using 1.5 to 2 lbs. ground turkey instead of just 1 lb.

Since I used spicy barbecue sauce and spicy brown mustard, I decided to omit the chili garlic sauce. It had enough of a kick as is.

Cooking time (duration): 30

Meal type: lunch

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

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Remember, if the Blind can Cook it, so can you.

vietnamese chicken curry

Posted by the Blind Cook in cuisine Vietnamese, For the Cook, Poultry, Soups & stewsJul 28th, 2010 | 5 Comments

Ca ri ga (chicken curry) is a stew-like dish eaten as a main course. It’s perfect for those cold winter days but because my husband and I have been on a French baguette kick ever since our honeymoon in June (more on that later), I decided to cook up the perfect accompaniment to the baguette.

France has a presence in Vietnamese culture due to the French colonization of the Indochine region during the 19th Century. This is why some of the vernacular transferred and why the baguette is used in several Vietnamese dishes. The beauty of this curry is its versatility in that it can, with a few tweaks, be made with beef instead of chicken. Rice sticks (banh pho), egg noodles (mi), or even rice (com) can also be substituted for the baguette slices.

I got this recipe from my Aunt Carol whose creations I used to scarf down when I lived under her roof back in high school. As with all great cooks, nothing was properly measured in her recipe so I had to cook it several times and modify it here and there before it tasted similar to hers. (The way I was originally cooking it made it super watery–it was missing that slightly thicker consistency of curry. Of course, the Vietnamese variety is not as thick as its Thai or Japanese and Korean counterparts, so don’t worry if it looks more like soup. You can just add more cornstarch to thicken it up.)

Made my house smell funky but oh-so delicious



Ingredients:

  • 2-3 lbs. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp. cooking oil
  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, cut 3 inches long
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp. curry powder
  • 1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk
  • 3 (13.5 oz.) can chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce
  • 2 tsp. cornstarch, diluted in equal parts water
  • cilantro for garnish

Directions:

  1. Combine chicken, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp. of the curry powder in a large bowl. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
  2. Heat oil in a large stockpot and saute garlic and onion until fragrant. Add remaining 1 tbsp. curry powder and stir for 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir until completely covered in curry mixture, about 3 minutes.
  3. Add carrots, potatoes, celery, lemongrass, fish sauce, coconut milk, and chicken broth to stockpot. Add enough water to cover ingredients. Bring to boil, then cover and reduce to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken, carrots, and potatoes are cooked through.
  4. Before serving, add cornstarch mixture. Add more for desired thickness. Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice sticks, egg noodles, rice, or with baguette slices.

Serves 6 to 8.

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