Quick Chicken Soup, v2

John was feeling poorly and the leeks were on their last legs - time for chicken soup! Sauteeing the aromatics in a couple of tablespoons of butter gave the broth some richness, but not enough to roil an upset tummy. A squeeze of lemon juice at the end made for a nice contrasting sharpness. While this was pretty tasty for something made without broth and cooked so quickly, I'll be looking for ways to make it more flavorful without adding cooking time.

• 2 T butter
• 4 c leeks, chopped
• 1-1/2 c carrots, chopped
• 1-1/2 c celery, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2.5 lbs. chicken thighs
• bouquet garni (several sprigs of parsley, several sprigs of thyme, 2 t black peppercorns tied in cheesecloth)
• 6 c water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 oz. baby spinach
• scallions, chopped, for garnished
• lemon wedges

Saute the leeks, garlic, carrots and celery in the butter over medium heat till vegetables are softening, about 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken and brown it briefly on both sides, 5-6 minutes. Add some salt and pepper.

Add the water and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, till chicken is done, 20-30 minutes.

Add baby spinach to pot. Remove from heat, re-cover and let sit for five minutes.

Adjust seasoning if necessary. Garnish with scallions and serve with lemon wedges.

In Progress: Souse Soup

After discovering what a rich broth pig's ears make (a byproduct of this recipe), I wanted to try to make a soup. I started with this recipe, increased the amount of liquid (enough to cover the meat), seeded and removed the ribs from the Scotch bonnet and added whatever spare vegetables I had lying around. Though I had my reservations about midway through the process, it turned out quite good - the broth was rich, and the Scotch bonnet imparted flavor and a gentle, lingering heat. The real surprise was the meat I scraped off the tail bones: succulent, tender and tasty. Will definitely be making this one again.

For future iterations: While the broth is rich and turned pretty flavorful in the end, I'd like to bring some more depth to it - whether by sauteeing the aromatics first, or adding more/different seasoning. I'd also like to add more vegetables to it, besides wilting a handful or two of baby spinach as I reheat bowls of the soup.

• 3 lbs. pig's ears and tails, ears cut into smaller pieces (this iteration used 1 lb. ears, 2 lb. tails)
• 1 pork shoulder bone (byproduct of the bone-in butt we got for the black beans and pork)
• 8 c water, enough to cover
• 1/4 c cider vinegar
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and ribs removed
• 10 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 heaping T)
• 1 onion, minced (about 1 heaping c)
• 2/3 c celery, diced (about 4 small stalks)
• 2/3 c carrot, diced (about 4 small ones)
• 2/3 c green pepper, diced (1 large)
• 10 oz. mushrooms
• 2 T Goya adobo seasoning
• 1/4 c lime juice (about 2 fat limes)

Put the meat, water, vinegar, hot pepper, garlic and onions in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, till meat is soft and gelatinous, about 2-3 hours.

Chop vegetables and add them to the pot. Cook till they're tender, about 15-25 minutes.

Add adobo seasoning. Stir and wait about five minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in lime juice, and serve over white rice.

Catching Up: Slow-Cooker Navy Bean Stew II

Dinner, originally uploaded by essgee51.

Though we made this last weekend, the rest of this rich, savory stew also served well as soft food for this weekend's recuperation from dental surgery. Based on this variant, but still further simplified - we discovered that we could skip even the fast boil of the beans if we cooked on high for a few hours.

• 1 lb. navy beans
• 1 ham hock, scored
• 1 lb. kielbasa sausage, cut in 1 in. pieces
• 1-2 c carrots, cut in 1-2 in. pieces
• 1-2 c celery, cut in 1 in. slices
• 8 oz. mushrooms, stems removed and cut, if large
• 1 onion, sliced
• 5-8 cloves garlic, smashed
• bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)
• 6 c liquid (all water, this time)
• salt and pepper to taste

Put everything in the slow cooker (see below).

Cook on high for 3-4 hours, till hock meat is falling off the bone and beans are tender. Adjust seasoning and enjoy.

Quick Chicken Soup

Chicken Soup, originally uploaded by essgee51.

Was feeling poorly, so came home early on Wednesday afternoon. Thankfully, I had just enough energy to make a pot of this quick (about 40 minutes from start to finish, and I'm a very slow prepper) and surprisingly tasty soup. I think the bouquet garni (pictured here) made a big difference, and the parsnips helped as well. At any rate, I lived on this soup (augmented by buttered noodles and a can of potato sticks) through Thursday night, and am convinced it's part of the reason I was well enough to return to work on Friday.

• 5-6 large parsley stems
• 5-6 thyme stems
• 2 t. black peppercorns
• 1-2 T neutral oil (used grapeseed)
• 6-8 small garlic cloves, smashed
• 1-1/2 cup onion, chopped (one large one)
• 1 heaping cup celery, chopped (about 1/2 in.)
• 1 heaping cup carrots, chopped (about 1/2-1 in.)
• 3/4 cup parsnips, chopped (about 1/2-1 in.)
• 1.5 lb. chicken thighs (three huge ones)
• 1 quart chicken stock (store-bought, in this case)
• salt and pepper to taste

Put the parsley, thyme and peppercorn into a cheesecloth pouch and tie the ends together.

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the garlic, onions, celery and carrots till they begin to soften, 3-5 minutes. Add chicken, skin-side down, and cook till it begins to color (3-5 minutes), turning once.

Add the stock and the parsnips. Bring to a boil, then cover, lower the temperature and simmer till the chicken's done, about 30 minutes.

Adjust seasoning and serve.

Curried Split Peas and Carrots

Curried Split Peas and Carrots, originally uploaded by essgee51.

Alas, no ham hocks handy, but I still wanted some split pea goodness. Followed a base recipe for Kenyan curried split peas from Extending the Table, added standard mirepoix portions of celery and carrots (my fridge contains a softening surplus of both), and cooked till the peas were mushy. Very good with rice and sausage - sort-of roasting the spices gave it a wonderfully warm tang.

• 1 cup split peas
• 2 tbsp. oil (used olive)
• 2 medium onions, chopped (around 2 cups)
• 2 celery stalks, chopped (around 1 cup)
• 2 medium carrots, chopped (around 1 cup)
• 6-8 cloves garlic, chopped (about 2 tbsp.)
• 2 tbsp. curry powder
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. salt

Soak the peas or pre-heat if you're into that (I was lazy and didn't). Put the peas in a pot with 3-1/2 cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer. Cook till the peas are mushy (recipe claimed 45 minutes with pre-soaked peas, took me more like 1-1/2 hours with unsoaked ones), adding the celery and carrot about halfway through (I like to keep a bit of firmness in both).

Meanwhile, put oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook till they're translucent, about 3-5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook till it's aromatic, about 1-3 minutes.

Add the curry powder, cumin and salt and stir to coat thoroughly (the bottom of the pan was pretty dry by then, so the spices got semi-toasted, which added a nice pop to the flavors). Cook for another minute or two.

Combine the spice mixture with the peas and stir thoroughly. Adjust seasoning then serve over rice.

Mirepoix Tuna-Tomato Sauce

Mirepoix Tuna-Tomato Sauce, originally uploaded by essgee51.

Testing out Flickr's blogging functionality and documenting this variant of this tuna-tomato sauce staple. Basically added a mirepoix for more vegetal goodness, a dash of cayenne pepper for zing, and a can of tomato sauce for added liquidity.

• 8-10 oz. pasta (used whole wheat penne)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped (about 1 cup in picture)
• 1/4 cup celery, diced (about 1/2 cup in picture)
• 1/4 cup carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup in picture)
• 1 5 oz. can chunk tuna, drained
• 1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
• 1 6 oz. can tomato sauce, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne powder, to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh herbs for garnish

Prepare pasta according to instructions.

Meanwhile, saute onion, celery and carrot in oil over medium heat till onion begins to soften, 3-5 minutes.

Add tuna and stir to mix thoroughly. Add tomatoes, turn heat to medium-high, then cook till mixture begins to become saucy (10-15 minutes), or less if you're impatient. If it gets dry, add some tomato sauce.

Season with cayenne powder, salt and pepper. When sauce is at desired consistency, remove from heat, adjust seasoning, garnish and serve over pasta.

Mirepoix Tomato Sauce

Alright, not quite, since the proportions of onion, celery and carrot are equal. But it's a quick, simple sauce, straight out of Bittman, and its aromatic sweetness was the perfect counterpoint to the chicken breasts in ancho chile sauce that John made to go with it.

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup onions, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1 28 oz. can tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook till tender, 5-10 minutes.

Crush the tomatoes and add them to the pot, with salt and pepper to taste. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook till the tomatoes break down and the mixture is saucy, about 10-25 minutes.

Serve over pasta or meat.

Split Pea Soup

Time has leaped forward and spring is sproinging, but I was in the mood for split pea soup nonetheless. On the advice of one of the Canales butchers, I made sure to procure smoked ham hocks for it - and I think that's made a delicious difference, at least compared to the soup mixes I used to settle for. My recipe's mostly based on this one, albeit with less oil, less water and more aromatics; it also took far longer to cook on my finicky stove (I regret losing the bones for the last half hour, for example). It's a good, solidly-flavored soup, with a lovely smoky depth from the hock (though I only used water, not stock); next time I'll probably add some garlic, keep the bones in the entire time, and start experimenting with spices.

• 4 tbsp. olive oil (could probably make do with less)
• 1-1/2 c. onion, diced (one huge one)
• 3/4 c. celery, diced (about 3 thinnish stalks)
• 3/4 c. carrot, diced (about 1-1/2 medium ones)
• 1-1/2 lb. smoked ham hock
• 1 lb. split peas, rinsed and picked over
• 6-8 cups water or broth (used 6)
• salt and pepper to taste

Put the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onion till beginning to soften, about 2-5 minutes. Add the celery and carrot; saute till they grow aromatic - another 2-5 minutes.

Add the ham hock (recipe says to score it but I'm not sure why, except perhaps for ease of meat removal later - and it didn't seem to make that much of a difference, convenience-wise), peas and water. Bring to a boil then simmer, uncovered, till peas are almost but not quite disintegrated - recipe says about an hour, took nearly two on my stove.

(Note: Some like to puree some or all of the soup; I prefer as-is slight chunkiness.) Remove the ham hock and let it cool. Season the soup to your liking. Remove the meat from the ham hock, shred it, and use it as garnish for the soup.

NOTE (20 March): The above picture was taken maybe 30 minutes-1 hour before the soup was actually done the way I like it - almost thick enough to be a stew.

Spicy Lentil Soup

With the tinola gone and Snowpocalypse 2: Electric Boogalo imminent, my thoughts turned once again to soup. This is a hopped-up version of a Bittman recipe, with more than double the amount of ginger and garlic. It's also, thus far, a flavorful soup - earthy from the lentils and cumin, sharp from the ginger and cilantro, a bit hot from the cayenne - and, above all, comforting on this cold evenkng. When I started chopping the cilantro, the grassy tang that filled my nostrils was a welcome moment of spring in the winter evening.

• 1 cup lentils
• 1 medium carrot, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 stalk celery, chopped (didn't have this, so skipped it this time)
• 6 cups broth or water
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 heaping cup)
• 1-2 tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 tbsp. ginger, minced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup chopped tomato (I used canned and added the juices to the lentil cooking liquid)
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cumin

Put lentils, carrots and celery (if you have it) in a pot with the liquid. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer till the lentils are soft (about 30-40 minutes).

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low (or medium if you have my cantankerous stovetop) heat. Add the onion and ginger and saute till the onion's soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook till that softens too, about 2-3 minutes more.

Add the cilantro, tomatoes, cayenne pepper and cumin. Stir, then keep on low heat. When lentils are ready, add the tomato mixture to the lentils.

Chicken Soup with Baby Bok Choy

Strange to have the first chicken soup of the cold weather come this late - and without leeks, no less. I had originally wanted to do this with the baby bok choy that I'd bought last week, but a combination of circumstances - aging celery and ginger root at home, very reasonably-priced chicken thighs at the store near the school where we volunteered for MLK Day and the need for something that would see me through a few days of work lunches all conspired to create this riff off this recipe.

• 2.3 lbs. chicken thighs
• 1/2 head garlic, peeled and crushed
  
• 1 onion, quartered (would have used more, but I only had two; the scallions were added to help make up for this)
• 3 scallions, roughly chopped
  
• 2 small carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 small celery stalks, chopped
• 3 in. chunk ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme (didn't have any appropriate fresh herbs)
  
• 6 cups water

• 1 med. carrot, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 8 baby bok choys, roughly chopped, stems and leafy tops separated
• salt to taste
  

Put the first batch of ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium low, then simmer and cook for about 1 hour or till chicken is tender.

Remove chicken, shred the meat and set aside.

Strain broth, pressing to get all the lovely liquid out of the vegetables.

Add the carrots, onions, celery and bok choy stems to the broth. Bring to a boil and cook till the vegetables are tender but still slightly crunchy, 7-15 minutes. Season to taste.

Add the bok choy leaves and the reserved chicken. Cover, then remove from heat. Wait five minutes, then serve.

Today's Lunch: Tuna Mac and Cheese

Now that I'm home from the holidays, the staycation begins in earnest! Used a box of whole wheat Annie's Organics as a base. While the pasta was cooking, I diced 1/2 medium onion and 1 celery stalk, sauteed them with a bit of olive oil, then added a can of tuna. Nothing fancy, and not nearly as rich as the bacon mac my sister made on Christmas eve, but nonetheless nourishing (and a good excuse to pull out the camera again). The learning curve re: phoodtography is pretty steep, but at least I have a nicely-colored bowl that showcases my noms. Would have taken more photos, but the perfect is the enemy of the good -- and the hungry.

Pesang Manok (Boiled Chicken Soup)

Had a couple of inches of ginger and some softening celery to use up, so I figured I'd order a cabbage and some chicken thighs and make some boiled chicken soup, Filipino-style. Now, I've almost eaten all the soup, but I still have more cabbage than I know what to do with - this monster weighed over seven pounds! (See what can happen when you order produce, sight unseen, from Peapod?) This can result in a dish that's fairly bland on its own, but comforting and delicious when served with a dish of fish sauce on the side. Took Market Manila's suggestion and browned the chicken first, which helped deepen the broth a wee bit.

• 1 tbsp. or so peanut or vegetable oil
• 2"-3" in. ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2-3 lbs. chicken (I used thighs)
• 5 cups water
• 1 tsp. peppercorns (next time, I'll use more)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 3-4" lengths (used more as I had a bag to get rid of)
• 1 small cabbage, roughly chopped (about 1/4 of that monstrous head)

In a pot large enough to hold all the soup ingredients, saute the ginger and onion till they release their aromas, about 1-3 mins.

Add the chicken. Brown slightly on both sides, about 3-5 minutes/side.

Add the water, peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and cook till chicken's almost tender, 20 or so mins.

Add the celery, wait a few minutes, then add the cabbage. Cook till the veggies are tender - another 5-10 minutes.

Serve over white rice with patis and sriracha on the side.

Bolognese-Style Meat Sauce

Way too many of my recent recipes have been inspired partially by the need to use up a gigantic bunch of celery. This one (actually cooked last week, but I got lazy and didn't bother typing it up till now) is based on the one in the first edition of Bittman; my changes are in italics (note too that my stove seems to heat up more slowly than his - cooking times have been amended accordingly).

• 1 carrot, peeled and minced
• 1 large onion, peeled and minced
• 1 celery stalk, minced
• 3 oz. pancetta (alt. 1/4 cup), minced
• 1 lb. ground beef (alt. 1/2 lb. beef, 1/2 lb. veal)
• 1 28-oz. can tomatoes, juice reserved
• 3/4 cup juice from tomatoes (alt. white wine)
• 1 cup beef or chicken stock
  
• salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
• 1 cup milk
• grated Parmesan

Put olive oil in large pot. Turn heat to medium-low. After a minute, add the onion, carrot, celery and pancetta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender (about 10-15 minutes).

Add the ground meat. Cook, stirring and breaking up any clumps, till all traces of red are gone (about 5-10 minutes).

Raise the heat a little. Add the tomato juice and cook, stirring occasionally, till most of the liquid's evaporated (about 5-10 minutes).

Crush the tomatoes and add them to the pot; stir, then add the stock. Turn the heat to low and cook at a slow simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up clumps. After an hour or so, season with salt and pepper.

Cook for at least another hour (more like 1-1/2 or 2 hours more in my case), till much of the liquid has evaporated. At this point, you can take the sauce off the heat and freeze or refrigerate for a while. If you're doing this, reheat it before going to the next step.

Add the milk and cook for another 15-30 minutes (didn't actually do this, as the sauce was rich and milky enough without - and well, more to the point, as I wanted to maximize storage time), stirring occasionally. Correct seasoning. Serve with pasta (or rice!) and grated Parmesan to taste.

Chicken Soup - Or Is It Braised Veg?

Another one of those "let's clean out as much of the fridge as possible" meals. First step is making a stock based on Bittman's "Quickest Chicken Stock." Once that's done, I get to continue.

• about 6-1/2 cups chicken stock
• 6 large leeks, washed and chopped into 1" lengths (quarter the large ones, halve the smaller ones)
• half a cabbage, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• meat from 4 chicken thighs, removed from bone and shredded
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Normally, I'd saute the vegetables in 2 tbsp. butter for a few minutes or till soft, but I'm too lazy right now.

Put broth in a large pot. Add vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes, till vegetables are tender but not mushy.

Add chicken meat. Correct seasoning.

11:03 pm: Barely enough broth for the leeks, let alone everything else. Added a cup of prefab stock, stuffed the poor Dutch oven to the brim with the cabbage, set it to a boil, turned the heat to med-low, and am curious to see how it will all turn out. Could this be a fail?

Apr. 15, 4:46 pm: Ended up turning off the heat after 20 minutes, covering the pot (a heavy Dutch oven) and letting it sit for half an hour more before cooling and storing. Turned out pretty well - if too light on the broth - but I'll probably put it on the stove for another 10 minutes or so tonight to get the cabbage and carrot just a bit more tender. And next time, I'll start working on some semblance of a solid-liquid ratio for my soups (something that, alas, Ruhlman does not cover in his new book Ratio).

Quick Chicken Stock

This recipe's based on Bittman and, in this particular case, modified to include some ginger that was getting soggy and to disinclude some parsley that I didn't have. We'll see how it turns out.

• 2 lbs. chicken thighs
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 small onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 small stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 3-4 in. knob of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 7 cups water

Throw everything in a large pot and bring just about to a boil.

Partially cover the pot, and reduce heat so the liquid's very gently bubbling. Cook for 30-40 minutes, till chicken is done.

Remove thighs; debone and reserve meat. (Actually, at 40 mins., the stock was still kind of meh, so I took the meat off the bones and reserved it, then threw the bones back in the pot for another 20 mins. Let's see how it goes.)

Strain the stock, pressing down hard with a wooden spoon or something similar to extract the maximum amount of juice from the veggie solids.

Freeze or use stock and chicken (will be doing the latter with both, presently).

You Say Puchero, I Say Pochero (Filipino Beef Stew)

This took quite a bit longer than I had anticipated, and was a bit more complicated than I wanted dinner to be, but turned out wonderfully. And, as it's a stew (albeit a very soupy one, as I used all the delicious broth), I expect it will taste even better tomorrow. It's based on two recipes - one from Filipino Cooking Here and Abroad, and the other from this website - and the usual impulse to use up the greatest number of perishables. Would have rather gotten shanks instead of supermarket-style stew beef cubes, but EM was closed, alas.

• 1.75 lbs. stew beef, cut into inch-square cubes
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 medium onions - 1 sliced,1 chopped
• 7 cloves garlic - 4 crushed, 3 minced
• 3 celery stems - 2 cut into 4 in. lengths, one chopped (will probably leave out the chopped portion next time)
  
• 2 chorizos or 4 oz. spicy pepperoni (used the latter since I didn't have any chorizo handy)
• 1 14-oz. can of tomatoes
• 1 14-oz. can of chickpeas
• 2 tbsp. peanut oil
• 1/2 head medium cabbage, quartered
• 1 medium potato, cut into 1-2 in. chunks
• 6 scallions, cut into 2-in. lengths

Place the beef, peppercorns, salt, sliced onion, crushed garlic and 2 celery stems in a large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water (about 4 cups in this case). Bring to a boil then simmer till the beef is tender - anywhere from 1-1/2 to 2 hours. (The recipe to this point makes a nice, tasty beef broth that I'll be using as a base in the future, especially for nilagang baka [beef soup].) Add the chorizo or pepperoni 30 min. before you finish cooking this part.

Place the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the chopped onion and garlic for a few minutes, till the onion turns translucent. Add the tomatoes - crushing or chopping them, as is your preference - and cook till the mixture turns saucy for about 5 minutes (if you're more patient than I was at this point, you can cook them for another 5-10 minutes or so, till they break down and turn saucy). Add the chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes.

Once the beef is tender and the chorizo/pepperoni has cooked, add the potatoes, chopped carrots and chopped celery. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the cabbage. Cook for about 10 minutes more or till the vegetables are tender but still have bite to them.

Add the tomato mixture to the large pot. Stir to combine and cook for another minute or two. Correct seasoning.

Remove from heat, add the scallions and cover. Wait 5 minutes, then serve over white rice.

Potato and Leek Soup

My tag cloud is making me want to vary my cooking habits somewhat, so I acquired a big bag of potatoes from Peapod this weekend and came home early tonight in order to get some cooking in. After taking an ingredient inventory, I figured the best way to use up the largest number of perishables would be to cook some chicken stock from scratch (4 cups water, 4 chicken wings, 1 large celery stalk, 1 medium carrot, 2 small onions, about 1 tsp of peppercorns plus salt and pepper to taste, brought to a boil then simmered for 30-40 minutes), then strain it into the recipe below to make a standard potato and leek soup.

• 3 medium-to-large leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
• 1 and 1/2 large potatoes, chopped into small cubes
• 2 tsbp. butter
• 4 cups chicken stock
• salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Put the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot on medium heat. When it's melted, add the leeks and potatoes. Stir for a few minutes; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add stock. Bring to a boil, then lower heat. Simmer till vegetables are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Puree if you like. Correct seasoning and serve.

NOTE: I overcooked the potatoes a bit - they're still solid, but soft and without the slight bite I like - and so will probably puree some of the soup instead of leaving it be.

Cheesy Catfish Chowder

So catfish was on sale at Peapod again. While I typically make catfish sinegang or Bittman's "Catfish Poached with Ginger and Soy Sauce," it was time to branch out. To the internet! And behold - this recipe (via Allrecipes.com) came to light. Did I have everything? Close enough. A search through the fridge produced a few stalks of limp celery and a half-bag of forlorn, drying carrots; an IM sent across the hall revealed both a baking potato and a large container of cow juice that I could borrow. Thus came about my first attempt at a milk-based soup - the version below incorporates my modifications.

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup; more is fine)
  
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
  
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 large baking potato, cut into 1/2-3/4 in. cubes
  
• 3 cups whole milk, divided
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp. celery salt
• 1 tsp. salt + more to taste (used maybe 1-1/4 tsp. total)
  
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper + more to taste (used maybe 3/4 tsp. total)
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1- 1/2 lbs. catfish fillets, cut into 1 inch pieces
• about 1 cup grated cheese (this time I used a mix of Parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano)
  

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter and saute onions, carrots and celery for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, till the vegetables soften a bit.

Add potatoes. Cook 10 or so minutes, so vegetables are soft but still firm.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour into 1-1/2 cups of milk. Add to Dutch oven and mix.

Add the rest of the milk, the salt, celery salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens - maybe 5-7 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning.

Add catfish. Cook another 5 or so minutes till fish flakes easily on a fork but isn't overdone.

Stir in cheese; cook another minute or so, then turn off heat. Serve with more grated cheese, if you like.

NOTE: This came out wonderfully - vegetables were cooked through but not mushy; the catfish was moist and soft and chewy. A bowl apiece is more than enough dinner for myself, John and Bradley; the rest is currently cooling on my counter.

Refrigerator Remix: Braised Endive

So there I was, determined to neither waste nor want (and on a mission to fill at least one of Mr. Bento's compartments with greenery goodness). Found in the back of the fridge: four endives, a fortnight old but still in good shape. To Bittman! (The original recipe, from How to Cook Everything, is below, with my tweaks in italics.) Alas, the pantry contained neither prosciutto nor decent broth, but I did have some aging carrots and celery. Why not hearken to both Ruhlman's and Bittman's disdain for pre-prepared stock, add an onion to the mix, and make a mirepoix of it? And, hey, how about some of that garlic? While we're at it, why not mince some of that kielbasa in the freezer as a substitute for the prosciutto?

Note: Bradley, John and I ended up making an impromptu dinner out of this and John's first-ever attempt at risotto while watching the No Reservations: Philippines episode - a rather greens-and-grains heavy meal to be eating while lusting after sisig and lechon.

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 endives, trimmed at the base
• 1/4 cup proscuitto or other minced ham (substituted equivalent amount of minced sausage)
• 1/2 cup chicken, beef or vegetable stock, or water (doubled to 1 cup of water, because of the added vegetables)
• 1 small carrot, chopped into 1 in. chunks (not in original recipe)
• 1 celery stalk, chopped into 1 in. chunks (not in original recipe)
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped (not in original recipe)
• 5-6 cloves garlic, unpeeled (not in original recipe)
  
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. lemon juice or white wine vinegar

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet that can be covered. Add the endives and cook, turning once or twice, until they begin to brown.

Add the meat, braising liquid, vegetables, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low or medium-low until very tender, about 45 mins. (took me about an hour).

Uncover and turn heat up to evaporate remaining liquid (I liked the resulting broth, so I skipped this step).

Drizzle with lemon juice or vinegar and serve.