Michael Symon's Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup 10.18.11

It was soup day!!!

I love soups.  And the whole day did not disappoint.  This was a close call, as there was a gulf shrimp and grits soup recipe that looked really good as well.  But, in the end I decided to go with what I had in stock.

BTW, just a couple of days earlier I was shopping at Sam's Club, the big Costco-like warehouse store.and spied a HUGE can of tomatoes for less than $3.  Serendipity.

Click the photo above to see my
review of Michael's other Tomato Soup

I did find this interesting that Michael would post a second tomato soup just a few days apart.  Interesting, but there is very little comparison.  The soup that he used as an accent for a fancy grilled cheese was a quicky (it really did come together in about 5 minutes).  Savory seasoned, with Cumin and thick, almost like a dip.

Whereas, this is a spicy soup, seasoned with Sriracha sauce (the hot "rooster" sauce).  The spice is cut a bit with cream and blue cheese, but it is spiced instead of savory.

I made a few changes...

I was all set to add the chicken stock to the soup as it was cooking.  But, since the juices from the big can of tomatoes was added, as the tomatoes cooked down, what was left was still a thick soup (as I like).  Adding stock would have thinned it out too much for my taste.  I added 1/4 cup of stock, but saw the beautiful thick luscious soup being thinned and stopped at that small amount.

The soup also calls for a tiny amount of fresh oregano.  First, I did not have any, second, I was using canned tomatoes at the height of tomato picking season and third, I have a pretty good dried spice mix that I use (combined with a little bit of lemon zest).  This way, I was able to make this a pantry soup, something I generally have all of the ingredients on hand.

BTW, I make my own Mediterranean spice mix I call, "Not Your Grandmother's Herbes de Provence".  You will be seeing this ALOT.  It's a fast way to add that special savory taste to any dish.  I make about 2 cups worth a month and bit by bit, it is gone!  Tastes great on everything from eggs to chicken and anything in between!

While Oregano spice on it's own is fine, It was so much easier to just add a couple of TBS of this...

Here's my formula...

• 1 part dried tarragon
• 1 part dried Oregano
• 1 part dried Dill
• 1 part dried Rosemary
• 1 part dries Thyme
• 1 part dried Garlic Flakes
• 1/2 part course grind Sea Salt
• 1/2 part fresh ground Peppercorns
• 1/2 part fresh Lemon Zest
  Note: if I know I am going to use this up in a week or two, I will go ahead and zest the lemon.  Sometimes I make enough to last a month or two with no real plans to use it.  On those occasions, I do not add lemon zest, instead I will add fresh zest as I make whatever recipe I am using the spice mix.

And I made a very simple grilled cheese (just provolone) to go with the soup!

You can see Michael's original recipe by clicking HERE.  I did simmer the tomatoes much longer than Michael implied, about 2 hours at a very low simmer.  In my opinion, it breaks the tomatoes down better, allowing the sweetness to come through... before we added to Sriracha sauce!!!

The recipe made a huge pot.  Easily a dozen servings.  Perfect for a cool fall weeknight and plenty of lunches afterwards.  And with the very inexpensive huge box store can of tomatoes, this comes in at less than a dollar a serving.  The budget buster is the blue cheese, but if you shop carefully, it is a great budget saving soup!

I mean WOW, great taste, a pantry soup and a budget dream!

Clinton Kelly's Beef Bourguignon 10.13.11

It's the stuff of legends.  The show did a wonderful tribute to Julia Child; leaving out a tribute to Julie Powell of the movie and blog, Julie and Julia fame.  I would be bold enough to say that since the movie came out and with the dish being featured so prominently, Boeuf Bourguignon has taken on near mythic proportions.

But, as Clinton pointed out, in reality, it's beef stew.  A really really good beef stew, but non the less, it's beef stew.

In France, the dish is considered a "peasant dish".  This means it is a dish made from the less desirable ingredients left after the land lords were paid their rent with the best.  So, easy to grow root vegetables, lesser fattier cuts of meat and what ever happens to be left becomes... Stew!

About the only luxury item would be the red wine that is used to braise the beef as it cooks.  Even that, in days of yore (in France) was a peasant drink as table wine was almost mandatory because of the condition of the drinking water.

Even in the city, this dish can be made with the table scraps left over from the rich folks tables.

Kind of de-mystifies the snooty way to say "Boeuf Bourguignon".  It's just beef stew.

The recipe Clinton uses is a classic.  Beef browned in bacon fat and the meat slow simmered (braised) in red wine.  You can see the recipe by following THIS LINK (click the blue letters)  I did make a few small changes...

First, the recipe calls for a "bouquet Garni".  That's kind of a tea bag filled with spices like bay leaves, thyme and parsley.  I used some fresh Rosemary and left out the Thyme.  As far as parsley, it is a very colorful garnish, but does not really add much to the taste.  So, these bigger spices could just be laid on top and you can easily skip the time consuming step of making the "bouquet Garni".  You just need to remember to pick these out of the dish before you serve it.

Next, the recipe calls for braising the meat on a bed of the vegetables.  This is fine and correct, but...

I think Daphne Oz missed a chance to make this a tad more healthy.  I simply doubled the amount of carrots, pearl onions and mushrooms... more veggies.  These veggies take on the flavors of the wine, the beef and the bacon and are delicious.  BUT, they also take on the color of the red wine broth.  By doubling the amount of veggies, I was able to make my bed for the beef to rest on, plus, as you can see in the photo above, I was able to add some of the veggies on the top to be steam cooked.  This adds a slightly different taste, but also allows for a more colorful presentation.  Makes the dish look more worthy of the mystique.

  
My next change was to used canned peas.  They were pre cooked, so adding them at the beginning of the 2-3 hour cook time would have made just liquid peas.  Again, that is actually fine, but you lose the unique taste of the peas and the color contrast of the peas and carrots for your presentation.  It's just prettier to add them during the last 10 minutes over the top (drain them).

BTW, in the last step of the recipe (follow THIS LINK (click the blue letters)), it is implied that you can and should stir the stew as it cooks.  Especially if you add half the veggies on the top, there is just no need and in fact you would lose the flavor, color and texture contrast that my method achieves.  Do not stir.

And finally, there is a HUGE hole in the recipe...

The broth left in the dutch oven you cook this in makes the most AMAZING gravy...

Gravy is easy... Remove the stew, leaving about 2 cups of liquid in the bottom of the dutch oven.  bring to a simmer, whisk in flour about a TBS at a time (I needed 4 TBS for my gravy) to thicken to your desired consistency

Serve with mashed potatoes (or butter noodles is good too).

AND DO NOT FORGET THE GRAVY!  Not as pretty, so you may want to serve in a gravy boat to be added individually, but the gravy is not to be missed!

Michael Symon’s Spinach and Feta Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup 10.11.11

This is one fancy toasted cheese sandwich!

It was part of an Iron Chef throwdown featuring Michael and Mario Batali (using guest judge, Marimoto).  While Mario's sandwich looked delicious (An Italian Ham and Cheese), it took some pretty exotic ingredients, fennel Salami, Fontina and pickled peppers.  Stuff I rarely if ever have in my pantry.  I hate the idea of shopping to make a sandwich.  And since I had just used up the last of my summer basil to make some pesto, I had a bit of pine nuts, the only luxury item I usually do not stock in Michael's sammy.

BTW, Marimoto whimped out and did not choose a winner of the "contest".  Sure, it's all in fun, but if the producers are going to go to the trouble of having a guest, doing the groundwork for a contest and teasing us with the tasting; just felt a little cheated.

Michael had a clever addition to his sandwich.  The assignment was to make a sandwich in 5 minutes (easy enough when you have all the ingredients mise en placed and pre-cut).  Michael, in true Iron Chef fashion, added a quickie tomato soup as a garnish for the sandwich.

I mean really, what's more "all-American" (the theme for the day) than grilled cheese and tomato soup?

I did need to fudge a bit with the ingredients to the soup.  I made mine extra thick, almost a dipping sauce for the sandwich.  Michael's recipe calls for a can of tomato puree.  I neither had any, nor have I ever seen this in the store.  So, I assumed and used a can of diced tomatoes and then used my wand mixer to puree them myself.

You can see Michael's recipe on The Chew website by clicking HERE.

Here's what I did...

1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cream

Heat the diced tomatoes in a sauce pan (do not drain, water and all) until the juices begin to simmer.
Add the tomato paste and mix well
Add the seasonings and continue to simmer
Add the cream to desired consistency and creaminess

The soup really did come together in just 5 minutes.  This is a gem of a recipe.  Uses ingredients I always have in stock, the cumin really shines and the thick dipping sauce I made can easily be thinned by leaving out the tomato paste.  5 minute tomato soup... I love it!!!

As to the sandwich, equally a winner!  Kind of a Greek toasted cheese.  I made the sandwich exactly as Michael recommends on the website (and in the show), click HERE.  He does saute his spinach in butter.  While indeed tasty, I think i would just use a nice extra virgin olive oil next time.

Also, pine nuts... HATE EM.  Not for the taste, but for the outrageous price.  I happened to have a small handful left from a pesto I had made a couple of days ago.  Ordinarily I never have these in stock.  Just a matter of timing that I had this luxury budget busting ingredient on hand.

Next time I make this with walnuts or pecans.  You would lose the total Greek-ness of the recipe, but move this to a lunch sandwich made with ingredients in your pantry.

And the Feta was AMAZING!

Adam Richman's Roasted Chicken Soup 10.3.11

I was very much looking forward to today's episode.  Adam Richman of Man vs Food fame was the guest.  Man vs Food is one of those guilty pleasures.  The show features Adam visiting a town and attempting to eat up to 7 pounds of a restaurant's specialty food (or painfully spicy hot food).  If he eats the challenge, Man wins!  If he can not, food wins.  Guilty pleasure indeed, considering the chefs are insulted by watching their work go unappreciated for it's quality, and society in general is insulted by the vulgar amounts of food wasted.  Since food styling and food shows are now commonly referred as "Food Porn", Man vs Food must be considered the Hustler Magazine of options.

But, I can't help myself.  It's the train wreck I love to watch.

Adam's segment was fun to watch.  He actually cooked.  The recipe published on the website (click HERE) is more Asian chicken stock soup.  It was fun to have Adam's mother in the audience to help add banter.  I do wish there was a segment added to allow more of Adam to be shown (his show, his stories must be entertaining about the last three years).  Would have been interesting to have Daphne Oz (the health expert) discuss the show with Adam,  BUT, 2 segments, a great recipe and enough to get to know the guest just a bit more than I had before.

As to the recipe, I made a few changes.

First, I have a homemade chicken stock.  The recipe calls for simmering the chicken stock for an hour... why???  There was mention of adding carrots, celery, trinity, etc. on the show, but I had done all that when I made the stock.  Just not sure what the purpose of a slow simmer is to my stock... So I didn't do that.

Click the Photo to see
ChiliDawg's website

Next, I have a limit as to how many extra ingredients I will buy for a recipe.  I bought the Sriracha the recipe (and Adam strongly) recommended.  I did not have any Duck sauce.  But I researched a bit and decided I could substitute a bit of ChiliDawg's PEACHbanero pepper sauce in place of the Duck sauce.

Go ahead, check up on what exactly Duck sauce is and this is a suitable substitute (which adds lots of interesting ways to use the sauce... but I digress).

I also had no Miso paste.  Again, a bit of research I decided I could use a thick Worcestershire sauce.  That's why if you look at my soup and compare to the shot from the show, mine is darker.

And finally, I used remains from a store bought rotisserie chicken.  I love my rotisserie chickens.  So cheap, so easy to find and so perfectly cooked!

I did make a paste of the PEACHbanero and Sriracha sauce. I then mixed the chicken bits with the new sauce and baked in a covered casserole dish for about 30 minutes to heat thoroughly.

With these changes in mind, I made the recipe as instructed on the site (and in the show).  It was very very easy to make and quite delicious.  Loved the glass noodles, the oriental taste and of course, Sriracha sauce is legendary for it;s unique spiced taste.  Mother's milk to many!

It was a terrific episode for the view.  I am wondering if the View episodes will be rerun during vacation times (or if the guests rotate time off so that the show is fresh each day).  If it is, I will want to give Michael Symon's Lola Burger a try.