Tomato Cucumber Soup

The cold weather has rolled in to stay for the season and with that brings the excitement of my kitchen back to life. Since I live in a tiny, airconditionless apartment the summer is not prime cooking time for me. My most recent in depth home cooked meal was none other than my favorite soup: Tomato Cucumber. Its full of veggies, spices, and love :) I used to call it "Hot, wannabe gazpacho" because of the types of veggies used, namely the cucumber flavor that comes through, but over time it has evolved and therefore the name needed to evolve as well.

P.S. I used to make this recipe by pre-chopping all the veggies in a food processor, but I recently obtained an immersion blender which significantly lessens the work and improves the texture of the soup - if you don't have one of these and you like to make soup, please please please consider buying one. It is my new favorite kitchen toy and I'm constantly looking for excuses to use it!

Tomato Cucumber Soup
Ingredients (makes 4-6+ servings):
1.5 tbls Butter
1/2 medium sized Yellow Onion
3 cloves of Garlic
1/2 tsp of Thyme
3 tbls Flour
~3 cups Chicken Stock (can substitute with 3 cups water + 3 bullion cubes)
3 stalks of Celery
16 oz can Diced Tomatoes in Sauce
8 oz can Tomato Sauce
1 medium-large Cucumber
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Pinch or two of Sugar
2 tbls Parsley
2 heavy handed tbls Basil
Salt and Pepper
~1/4 cup Heavy Cream

*Note: for easier prep, pre-chop all veggies. They only need to be roughly chopped if you have an immersion blender or plan to blend the soup at the end. Otherwise, finely chop in a food processor and reduce cooking time in steps 3 on by approximately half.

1. In a medium pot on medium heat, drizzle a bit of oil (approx 2 tbls) and add 1 tbls butter. Once butter is mostly melted add roughly chopped onion and sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper over the onion to add flavor and draw out the juices. Cook until onion softens and starts to become translucent.

2. Add garlic (roughly chopped) and thyme and allow to cook for approximately 3-5 minutes. Your pot should become fragrant. Add flour to form a roux by constantly mixing flour into the oil &butter so that it is absorbed. Once roux begins to turn a light golden color, add chicken stock slowly while stirring or whisking continuously. If you do not stir continuously and pour in stock slowly you will get a lumpy texture - do not cheat here!

3. Add red pepper flakes, and roughly chopped celery. Increase heat slightly to allow to come to a simmer and then lower. You will want the soup to continue simmering for the rest of the cooking process. Allow celery to simmer in soup for approximately 8-10 minutes on medium-low heat.

4. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chopped cucumber. Allow to simmer for an additional 5-8 minutes.

5. (My favorite part) Get out your immersion blender and blend veggies (I use lowest setting... my immersion blender is powerful). If you don't have one, you can also transfer the soup in batches into a food processor or blender and then return it to the pot for the final cooking/addition of spices.

6. Add pinch of sugar, parsley and basil. Feel free to add a little more basil - this is a flavor that should be prominent at the end. Taste test for salt and pepper and add more if desired. (The saltiness of your rough product will depend on what type of broth/bullion cubes you use and how much you pre-salt your onions at the beginning). Allow to simmer an additional 5-10 minutes so the flavors can marry a bit more. Add the heavy cream - I say approximately 1/4 cup but I just drizzle in a bit to very slightly lighten the color and thicken the soup. You can even omit the cream all together. This is art not science, you can simmer or continue to cook on low heat for longer if you wish - it may even make the flavor profile richer... I just tend to be impatient at this point.

7. Serve with garnishing of your desire, I like to add some shredded cheddar. If you are not a soup-is-an-entree person, this goes very nicely with grilled cheese or, my personal choice, BLTs.

*Recipe disclaimer: I don't measure my spices at home! These are estimates to guide you based on quantity approximation. Always taste your food as you go and remember you can always add a spice but once its in you can't take it out.

Thoughts for food

I actually had every intention of sharing a recipe with you in this next post. I then forgot to take pictures of said recipe so I decided I would wait until the next day and share a different recipe. Alas, my work week started and so I became even more forgetful during my evenings and have no pictures. So you will all have to wait until I make something worth sharing again to get an actual recipe post.

Instead, let's talk about cooking. Let's talk about the joy and peace of mind that comes from designing a recipe, committing to it, and perfecting it. Even taking a dish that was passed down, or a recipe found online and tweaking it to meet your own tastes lends a certain satisfaction to an "everyday-chef" that is sometimes hard to find in the fast paced lives we lead. Its a mental release - the way reading is for some and music is for others. While effort is required, it is certainly worth the reward.

Learning to cook well demands a certain passion for food in general. Personally, it took me a long time to get to this point. I was an extremely picky eater as a child. I didn't start gaining an interest in food until college, which my friends started pushing me to try new and different things. My world expanded, and it was good.

Getting older and wiser has only allowed my interest in food to change and grow. Learning to create the type of cuisine you grew up with is one thing. But being able to expand and experiment with new styles of cooking is even more exciting.

Not only does creating a new meal provide a therapeutic escape into creativity, it actually poses a challenge to eat better, more well rounded meals. Or, rather, it dares you to eat better. Putting effort into making something productive drives you to make something you can feel good about in the end. Making a meal that tastes good is only enhanced when it also happens to be good for you. I feel significantly better about myself when I make a good meal, both inside and out. Any anyone who knows me knows a happy belly equals a happy Jessie (same way a Snickers makes Joe Pesci turn into a party bro). 

Apple Crisp!

Just as it wouldn't be fall without apple picking (even if it's in the rain), it wouldn't be fall without delicious fall treats. Everyone goes nuts for Starbucks Pumpkin Latte's, the Pumpkin and Oktoberfest beers start popping into the seasonal spots at the tap, and pies are back in style. But what about our apples we so lovingly pluck from their trees each year? Since I personally am not a pie aficionado, I went for the apple crisp recipes this season.

Apparently there are two ways to make apple crisp: with or without oats. I did not know this was such an issue, but as I was discussing it over the phone with my mother while Howie was in the room, I came to realize this must be some kind of a big deal. My mother was trying to tell me to just use bisquick, meanwhile the online recipe I found called for oats. Howie took no time jumping in: "You northerners and Bisquick, that's not how you make apple crisp! You need oats!" Needless to say I had no response for either of them other than, "I already bought the oats, so that's how I'll do it this time." And it came out great!

Apple Crisp
Courtesy of Betty Crocker, with my own twist
Ingredients:
4 Apples peeled and sliced (choose to use apples on the tart side)
1/3 cup Butter (or margarine)
1/2 cup Old fashioned Oats
1/2 cup All purpose Flour
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 tsp Nutmeg
Generous handful of chopped Pecans (eye ball it how you like, use whatever nut you like, or don't use any nuts at all if you like!)

1. Preheat the over to 375 degrees (I preheated mine to 350 because I know my oven bakes quickly) and grease an 8x8 pan. Now, I never remember to buy shortening or Crisco for greasing pans, so whenever I bake I do it the old fashioned way with butter... call me crazy, but that's what I usually have in the house and I don't bake often enough to change my ways.

2. Spread your peeled and sliced apples evenly in the pan.

3. Combine all other ingredients well and then spread over the top of the apples. Bake for 30 minutes or until  top is golden brown and apples are fork-tender.

4. Enjoy this deliciousness!!

 

Why I chose to add pecans: Howie is in love with them. End of story. However, these nuts are on the sweeter side. Being a sweet nut, it goes perfectly with the apple crisp. If I had to choose a second recommendation I'd say go with walnuts if you prefer those. Walnuts are also commonly used in snacks and desserts, so have at it :) 

Willkommen zum Oktoberfest

{Welcome to Oktoberfest}

Fall is back! Well, I supposed it has been unofficially fall for over a month now if you count fall as the start of the school year. You could say this is the 4th week of fall if you go by the NFL's calendar. However, you could be true to the solstice and only admit to it being the end of the first week of fall; nonetheless, its undoubtedly the time of year that indicates a select few things to celebrate. First: football, second: Oktoberfest style beer, third: football...

While I clearly am a football fan, that is not the focus of this post. This last Friday we went to a mock Oktoberfest celebration at a quaint German restaurant which got me thinking about what my favorites are, especially since Howie goes crazy for Oktoberfest style beer annually at this time of year. For those of you who know me, you know at least one of two things: (a) I'm not a huge beer person, and/or (b) I'm a huge beer snob. Both are true. I don't always drink beer, but when I do I prefer the good stuff (props to who knows where that line comes from). I don't really do light beers (no Coors, Bud, Miller, etc) unless there is nothing else to drink and I'm not into very hoppy "man" beers. If I can taste the bitter aftertaste in my nose, it's a no-go. So here goes:

5. Blue Moon (by Coors - US of A)
Disclaimer: This beer is making it to the list only because it is my go-to bar beer.
I am well aware this is not an super high quality beer; its the generic "girl beer." With that noted, it was too difficult for me to confidently decide between the runner's up for this spot so Blue Moon is the pick because of the frequency with which I drink this beer. It is a wheat beer - my favorite style. In fact, almost all the beers on my list of acceptable beers to drink are wheat beers. This style is light and fruity in flavor with a smooth finish. Runner's up: Hoegaarden, Sam's Summer Ale, Pumpkin Wheat, Schneider Edel-Weisse.

4. Delirium Tremens (Belgium)
A new beer on my list, Delirium Tremens is quite a treat. Similar to a wheat beer (jury is out on the official classification) it's light in color and smooth in finish - but you don't need a lot of this as the alcohol content is pretty high for a beer.

3. Oktoberfest (by Sam Adams - US of A)
I didn't choose the title of this post without reason. Oktoberfest style is definitely my second favorite in every way. Crisp, full bodied flavor perfect for the season. I'd even accept other brands of oktoberfest. But I do wish it lasted longer than 2.5 months out of the year, as does my boy since its at the top of his list too (see below).

2. Hopfen Weisse (by Schneider - German)
I'll admit, I've only had this beer once - but it's that good. Since you've probably figured it out, Howie is the driving force behind my beer snobbism by exposing me to these fabulous finds. After hunting for a specialty beer store, we hit the jackpot only 5 miles from where we live. This is the type of store that you walk into where the walls are lined with over-sized bottles of specialty beers and you get to select as many or as few of exactly what you want. That is where we found this little gem. It's a wheat beer so its that golden honey color, on the fruity side, with the smoothest finish you can find in a beer. The flavor is so unique and the aroma is just as enticing. I might be drooling thinking about this one.

1. Franziskaner Weissbier (by Spaten - German)
This has been my favorite beer for a while now, though the Hopfen Weisse might take over after I try it a few more times. Howie introduced this as a surprise one time while visiting my family (he and my dad have a tradition of trying new beers and styles as often as they can). It is a wheat beer; I'm sure you are surprised by this. The flavor is full and on the sweeter side with a very smooth finish. If you like wheat beer, this is the best it gets.


Howie's Picks: 
5. Dos Equis Amber
4. Delirium Tremens
3. Guinness
2. Oktoberfest (Sam Adams specific)
1. Schneider Edel-Weisse 

A little country in the big city

I've been on a few adventures since being out of school and not yet at work. One of which was an excursion into the city to one our of favorite restaurants: Hill Country Barbeque. Since Howie is from Texas, he's always on the lookout for "home-comfort-foods," aka real barbecue and real mexican food (I'll leave the explanation of the italicized "reals" for Howie to explain in a guest post since these are two of his hot-button topics). I actually first heard of this restaurant through an old high school friend who attended college in the city. Though it took some convincing to get Howie to try it because he is highly skeptical of the quality of northern bbq, it has turned into one of our top choices of places to eat in the city.

When you first walk into Hill Country it's like walking into an entirely different time and place than the busy streets of New York. Located on 26th between 5th and 6th ave, right near Madison Square Park, Hill Country is a great place to indulge in the southern delicacy of barbecue. The art of barbecue varies from region to region in the south, but the premise remains the same: meats cooked over low heat for hours and hours basted in succulent sauce. With this barbecue comes additional treats for your belly: mac & cheese, potato salad, cucumber salad, mashed sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn bread, and more. The food is delicious and will send you directly into food coma if you aren't careful, which we usually aren't.

Aside from the southern comfort foods, this place is also unique because of its ambiance. With wood everywhere and mildly dim lighting, you feel as if you've walked into a southern hole-in-the-wall bbq joint. There are wood tables lined up cafeteria style, wooden chairs, a wooden bar, and stacks of fire wood along the back wall. When you enter, you are given a meal ticket that you bring with you up to the meat counter where you order your choice of beef, chicken, or sausage by weight as the meat is taken from the back where its likely just come out of the smoker. The meat is wrapped in paper, you are given a tray, and your meal ticket is marked before you move to the line for sides. At that station there is a minimum of 8 or so options to choose from in a variety of sizes along with an additional 5 or so desserts to choose. Your order is marked on your ticket and you are then free to sit anywhere you like. A waiter will come with options for drinks: water, iced tea, lemonade, soda, beer, the usual suspects. As you can imagine, its extremely easy to get carried away here.

My favorite: the 1/4 bbq chicken, with sides of mac & cheese or potato salad and cucumber salad. Howie usually goes for a multitude of things including sausage, brisket, and whatever else he finds himself drooling over... his eyes are always bigger than his stomach. This place has something for everyone and the food is excellent; its definitely somewhere you should try when you have time in NYC.

Ice Cream vs. Frozen Yogurt

I apologize for the hiatus, however, my posts will be fewer for at least another week or two for a multitude of reasons. With that said, here is a little treat to tie you over:

Frozen Yogurt Vs. Ice Cream

The debate on frozen yogurt vs. ice cream is catching on like wildfire! So which is better? This article dwells on the difference between frozen yogurt and ice cream. Read on...

How many ice cream lovers have shifted their loyalties to frozen yogurt, simply because they got weight conscious? Most people believe that frozen yogurt is a healthier choice as compared to ice cream. Today, frozen yogurt is being considered to be something like ice cream and is served in several flavors, with different toppings, etc. According to the USDA, 62.4% of US production was regular ice cream in 2007, with low-fat and non-fat ice cream at 25% and frozen yogurt at 4.4%. However, what's the truth? Which is better?

Ice cream

Ice creams are frozen desserts prepared from dairy products, such as milk, cream, fruits, flavors and other ingredients. Most ice cream varieties are made from sugar, however, there are some made with other sweeteners. Sometimes, instead of natural ingredients, artificial flavorings and colorings are also used. People with lactose intolerance symptoms have ice creams made from soy milk and rice milk as well.

Ice cream comprises milk fat (10-16 %), milk solids (9-12 %), sweeteners (12-16%), stabilizers and emulsifiers (0.2-0.5%), water (55-65 %), which comes from milk or other ingredients. All the ingredients are mixed and stirred slowly while cooling, thereby preventing formation of large crystals and conducing to smoothly textured ice cream. Today, ice creams are available in all parts of the globe and are sold in large cartons in grocery stores and supermarkets.

Frozen Yogurt

Frozen yogurt is a frozen dessert prepared from yogurt, rather than cream. In the 1970s, this dessert was introduced as a healthier alternative to ice cream, however, its yogurt like consistency and tart taste lead to complaining customers. In response to these complaints, manufacturers spearheaded the production of a frozen yogurt recipe that would pacify the palettes of the consumers. In 1980s, frozen yogurt made a comeback and reached sales of $25 million in 1986. By the early 1990s, frozen yogurt had captured 10% of the dessert market. In frozen yogurt, the cream of the ice cream is replaced by the yogurt, however, the other ingredients are more or less the same.

Frozen yogurt comprises yogurt culture, milk fat (comprises about 0.5-6% of yogurt), milk solids (form 8-14% of yogurt's volume), gelatin, sweetener, coloring, corn syrup and flavoring. The milk fat accounts for the yogurt's richness and the milk solids provide proteins for smoothness, increased resistance to melting and lactose for sweetness. Frozen yogurt can be prepared in an ice cream machine, however, major companies often use assembly lines, specifically designed for yogurt production. 

Ice Cream Vs. Frozen Yogurt

Today, frozen yogurt is available in several flavors and styles, just like ice cream. Both ice cream and frozen yogurt are known to be nutritious with large amounts of high quality protein, calcium, riboflavin and some other essential vitamins and minerals. While ice creams contain 10-18% of fat content by weight, frozen yogurt usually has lesser amounts of fat content. Fat-free yogurt also exist, however, they often have even more added sugar, as compared to other varieties.

While considering the difference between frozen yogurt and ice cream, people often tend to halt at the fat and sugar content present in them. It's true that frozen yogurt contain less fat content than ice creams and that certain organic frozen yogurt are low-calorie and non-fat, however, one cannot just stop here and draw conclusions. The major health benefit of frozen yogurt goes beyond the horizons of fat and sugar content and stretches to its probiotic content.

Yogurt is actually fermented food, which is made by adding live bacterial cultures to milk. These bacteria spearhead fermentation in the milk and release lactic acid. The acid thickens the milk proteins and causes them to form a thick substance. Consumption of yogurt causes these live bacteria to enter the body and assist various beneficial bacteria in the body. These live bacterial cultures present in frozen yogurt promote better digestion. Probiotic content means good bacterial content, which helps boost the body's immune system, enhances digestion and is also believed to lower cholesterol levels.

Moreover, the amount of lactose present in frozen yogurt is more digestible, as compared to the lactose present in ice creams. This is because frozen yogurt contains enzymes which assist in breaking down dairy products, thereby enabling people with lactose intolerance to ingest frozen yogurt with minimal or no ill effects.

Frozen yogurt, with its additional benefits over ice cream, of greater digestibility, low-fat content and presence of probiotic cultures has caused it to be favored over regular ice creams. However, it is important to note that a great amount of sugar is added in frozen yogurt, which does not make it as healthy as regular yogurt. It is best to view frozen yogurt (health wise), midway between plain yogurt and ice cream. It is best to maintain a balanced consumption ratio. Each is known for its own benefits, so enjoy them proportionately. Hope this article was informative and helpful!

By Priya Johnson
Last Updated: 11/2/2011

*Taken from Buzzle.com, original article linked in the title

All-in-one cheese-steaks

Time for a one dish wonder: Cheese-steaks! These are great when you want something quick with VERY easy clean-up (a cutting board, knife, and one pan)

Cheese-steaks
Ingredients:
Rib-eye cut that's been shaved (I get mine at Stew Leonard's, a local specialty supermarket)
Rolls (I use grinder rolls)
Cheese (I use provolone from the deli, but you can use what you like)
Onions
Salt, pepper, oregano, garlic salt

On my favorite square flat pan, I start by spraying it with some butter flavored PAM and laying down the rolls to toast. While the rolls toast, chop the onions; I kind of eye-ball it based on how much we like on our sandwiches.

When the rolls are toasted, take them off the pan and IMMEDIATELY put the cheese on the rolls while they are still warmed.

Add a little olive oil to the pan if you need for the onions, then toss those on the pan with a little salt and pepper.

While the onions cook, season the beef with generous amounts of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a bit of oregano. Once the onions are to your liking, throw the beef on WITH the onions. I let my onions go until they are pretty translucent just when they start to caramelize before putting the beef on.

Babysit the beef a little making sure the shavings don't clump up into chunks of meat, use a fork to keep them shredded. The beef only takes another 5 or so minutes to cook. Drain off any excess drippings. Then scoop up the beef and onions onto your sandwich and there you go! Enjoy!

Now, I will usually make a vegetable, which depending on the veggie could be an additional one pan, but most of the time I just chop some lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots and have a little side salad keeping my mess small. 

The easiest home-made truffles ever...

I have no idea where I found this recipe originally, but it is so simple and so delicious. Now, I don't have a picture because I made them for my mom for mother's day and forgot to take one before giving them to her... but they are still delicious and worth trying!

Oreo Cheesecake Truffles

8 oreos

4 oz of cream cheese 

Your favorite type of chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet morsels)

In a food processor, process the cookies, add the cream cheese (softened/room temp) and pulse. Form the mixture in to little balls and place in the freezer x 1 hour. I usually just mix the cream cheese into the cookies after they've been processed because it lessens the clean up on the food processor from really having to clean off the cream cheese to just getting rid of crumbs. 

After 1 hour (I usually let them sit in the freezer for longer because I'll prep them then go get distracted with errands), Melt chocolate morsels according to package directions ... I melt them in the microwave for a minute or two stirring intermittently. Dip the oreo/cream cheese balls in the chocolate, place back in the freezer for 1 hour. Eat and ENJOY!

Note: I'm really terrible at melting the chocolate chips so I usually use a spoon to help me apply the melty chocolate to the oreo balls as if it were like icing. In the end, still tastes just as good! 

Nanner Bread

How banana's got their nickname "nanner" in my household, I'm not quite sure. What I am sure is that this delicious banana bread rocks. I got the recipe here at AllRecipes.com and have barely changed a thing (usually I tweak recipes as I go, but this one I do the same every time).  The original recipe was designed for 32 servings divided in 4 loaf pans. For me and Howie that would be way too much, so I scaled it down to call for 2 bananas and took it from there. The nice thing about AllRecipes.com is that they will do the calculations for you! Just type in how many servings you want and it adjusts the measurements. For this recipe, 2 bananas = 10 servings... but of course being Americans I think we end up getting 8 good sized slices out of it. One slice is my breakfast.

Don't be shocked by the bananas... they were in the
fridge for a day which always darkens them

Nanner Bread
Courtesy of AllRecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 tbls sugar + 1/4 tsp cinnamon to coat the pan
4 tbls butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 over ripe bananas
4 oz sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
Sprinkle of salt
Nuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F, and grease a 9 x 5 in loaf pan (the original recipe uses 7x3 but the bake time is about the same either way). Dust the greased pan with the sugar and cinnamon indicated above. I use butter to grease my pan.

In a small bowl combine the butter (soft) and granulated sugar. Add the egg, bananas (mashed), sour cream,  vanilla, and cinnamon and combine. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix. Depending on your tastes add nuts and/or chocolate chips in at the end. I make it more complicated for myself because I prefer chocolate chips only and Howie prefers pecans only; so I put the batter in the pan and then work nuts into one half and chocolate chips into the other half.

 Pop that sucker in the over for 55 minutes, check with a toothpick (should come out clean) and if need be keep it in there another 5 minutes for a total 1 hour bake time. If it's done at 55 minutes that's okay! Mine usually is.

 Once its out of the oven, let it sit for ten minutes, then flip it over onto a paper towel and it should fall right out of the pan. I then flip it onto a second paper towel so it is facing upright. Slice and enjoy the yummy-ness!

I love lunch

Lunch is my absolute favorite meal of the day. I not only enjoy it the most, but its also the most satisfying for my belly. Why is lunch so great? I'm glad you asked.

1. You can eat whatever you want. You want pancakes? That's acceptable (brunch really is lunch, people just like to add the br- for a sense of security when ordering breakfast foods, but as you can see, I don't discriminate at lunchtime). You want an omelet? Have at it. You want a sandwich? Yum. You want a burger? Okay. You want a salad? Go for it. You can get away with eating any type of food at lunchtime. I don't think burgers for breakfast fly, and in order to eat breakfast for dinner you have to preemptively plan a brinner (however, brinner is totally enjoyable when in the proper mood, holla Scrubs).

2. It's in the middle of the day. The the part that lets you know you're halfway through your work and in a few short hours you'll be at home ready for dinner (hump-hour of the work day, as it were.... which makes Wednesday lunches the best lunches ever...)

3. You can eat (somewhat) guilt free! Unlike dinner, after lunch you still have 8 more hours of daytime to work off what you ate! Yay! Have that brownie for your lunch dessert... its only 1 pm.

4. Lunch is social. You still have enough energy to actually want and be able to talk to people while enjoying a good meal. Breakfast is always too rushed, and by the time dinner rolls around on most nights of the week you are already pooped. I guess it could be just me... but it takes a lot of energy for me to be social during dinner hour.

5. Lunch is just awesome. The world would be a sad place without lunch.  

A Food Adventure

It's time for a recipe!

Over the winter my good friend shared a new food blog with me entitled Food Wishes (see link in Blogs I Love). It so happened that the post for that day was for a creole crab and corn chowder. I had just started getting into seafood over the past year or so and Howie had been trying to convince me to like crab for some time by having me try it every chance he got (note: if you don't already know, I used to be the pickiest eater on the planet growing up, hence why I'm just expanding my diet now). This site is primarily a video blog of the chef narrating the preparation of the meal. So I watched the video for this chowder and thought, hmm, that looks interesting. I printed out the ingredients list for safe keeping. About 2 weeks ago Howie bought lump crab meat from Costco to bring to my parents for a dip he wanted to make while we watched Master's. Sadly, we left the crab at home. I knew I had this recipe in my back pocket, but was truthfully nervous about making this chowder. It's completely out of my realm of comfortable food styles and I was still questioning how much I really actually like crab. When the weather turned back to cold and rainy, with it came my itch for soup. It was time, and it was very successful!

Creole Crab and Corn Chowder
Courtesy of Food Wishes with Chef John
Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced pepper (bell, jalapeno, or any you like)
1/2 cup diced celery
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp old bay
1 1/2 tbsp flour
3 1/2 cups water or stock, divided 2 1/2 cup, 1 cup
1 lb sweet corn, divided in halves
2 cloves garlic peeled
8 oz fresh crab meat, divided 2 oz, 6 oz
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp sweet spanish paprika
green onion to garnish (optional)

Please see the video from the original link if you want to make this for the best directions from the chef, but here is a brief description of the instructions:

In a medium pot on medium heat: melt butter, add onions, peppers, celery and a healthy sprinkle of salt. Sweat for 5-ish minutes until the veggies are tender to your liking (note: total cook time will about an hour, so don't over cook them at the beginning). Add old bay and cayenne seasoning, mix.

Add flour to make a roux, add 2 1/2 cups of the chicken stock slowly while stirring the roux continuously. Add half of the corn and 2 oz of the crab. Increase heat to bring to a simmer. In a blender, blend the other half of the corn, the last 1 cup of chicken stock and the 3 cloves of garlic. Add to the simmering pot and lower head to med-low and continue simmering. Let this simmer for 35 minutes.

After 35 minutes, add the cream, paprika and the rest of the crab. Mix it all together and let it cook for 5 more minutes to warm through the crab and cream.

My notes: I ended up only using jalapenos with the seeds removed (I had a green bell on the side in case I got nervous about the kick from the jalapenos). I used low sodium chicken stock. I used 3 small-medium sized cloves of garlic. I ended up adding A LOT of salt and pepper at the end... so make sure you taste test to see if you have enough before serving... corn needs a lot of salt and pepper. I didn't garnish with green onion, but I did add a small sprinkle of nutmeg at the end. Had I known what to expect with the flavors I would have served it with a french baguette on the side for dipping... next time!

Serve and ENJOY!! This was a delicious adventure and I will definitely be adding this to my repertoire!

Droppin' knowledge on homemade dressings

Howie and I love food. We LOVE food. If you met me in high school, you wouldn't think I could possess a domestic side. I hated indoor chores, I hated outdoor chores, I didn't cook (my mom was a stay-at-home-mom and did all of the cooking), and I could only bake goods that came in a box (still my preferred method for brownies: holla Ghirardelli). However, once we became juniors in college, we graduated to the apartment life. Goodbye food plan, hello kitchen. Howie's upbringing was totally different. Both his parents worked so he had to learn to cook and get along on his own. At one point during the beginning of our junior year, Howie decided to make me a dinner. I was shocked and impressed. He seemed to have so much fun doing it and just whipped it up from memory. He taught me some of his tricks and I began watching the food network religiously. I love cooking, finding new recipes, and I've even started coming up with my own. Howie also has his repertoire so we split the cooking responsibilities about 60/40 depending on who is the most stressed  with school. 

Which brings me to the point of this post. Howie recently made a delicious meal which included a salad and lime-cilantro vinegarette. The recipe he used for the dressing made a large amount, so I saved it as left overs. If you know me, you know I'm not super germaphobic and I usually go by my nose when deciding if something is still good. This dressing I knew was super acidic (lots of lime juice and lots of vinegar) so I figured it would last awhile. Recently, I decided to make myself dinner with left over chicken and I decide to use the dressing to make a salad. Its been over a week now since it was originally made, but it still looks and smells good. So I'm chugging along and I'm wondering how long do homemade dressings actually last? To Google I went. 

Now, I would never claim to be any sort of advanced or even experienced cook. But I was in for a real surprise that definitely brought me back down to a feeling of "novice" status. I found this great post that asked the question "How long do home made dressings keep in the fridge." The first response explained very well how different ingredients in the homemade dressing make for different shelf lives. This made sense. The part that caught my attention was this one little sentence, however: 

"The classic is the homemade garlic oil: you can keep pure garlic and pure oil for months in the pantry, but once you combine them, you get a botulism risk."

At first I just re-read it and tried to wrack my brain to see if I could figure out what this meant. I've seen on the food network that some of the chefs make garlic infused oil and that it is a popular commodity among Italians. I also knew garlic was one component of this dressing, in addition to the oil. So I typed in a new search: "Garlic in Oil." As I read through a couple of the hits I became more and more nervous. Keep in mind, I'm still eating and am already about half way finished with my salad. Apparently, garlic in oil stored at room temperature is a breeding ground for the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that causes botulism. Botulism is a scary, progressive, and often deadly reaction to the botulinum toxin released by these bacteria. The toxin is a paralytic and in high enough concentrations gradually paralyzes the muscles of the victim eventually leading to paralysis of the muscles that keep you breathing. It may start with abdominal cramping, fatigue, droopy eyes, and weakness in the arms and legs. Over time symptoms progress, reflexes are lost, and if the diagnosis is not made, it becomes deadly. The problem is, its a hard diagnosis to make. In this day and age, botulism is uncommon enough that it is probably not at the top of a doc's list and the initial symptoms can mimic a variety of diseases. Once this diagnosis is correctly made, anti-toxin is given.

So, as I'm reading these articles about the risks of garlic in oil, I'm becoming increasingly nervous. I start researching botulism itself (like I said, its not a common condition and its not the top culprit of food poisoning). Symptoms may come on in 18-36 hours. I promptly tell Howie if I start acting weird and become weak, bring me to the ER and tell them to look for botulism. He thinks I'm crazy. And then the rationalization starts. Well, its not garlic alone in oil. Its got lots of acid to kill bacteria, and it was kept in the fridge. So, that's okay, right? As you can tell, I'm still living today so clearly I did not get botulism. But its an important point to take home since homemade dressings are delicious - once you start making them, you'll want to make more. Here are the tidbits I found out during my research. {I apologize for not remember what sources I got this stuff from to properly give them credit, but the general tips are ones I found repeated in several of the sites I visited}

1. Clostridium botulinum is a bacteria often found in dirt. Its spores can adhere to any vegetables grown in the ground, such as garlic. Botulism is often associated with canned vegetables. This type of bacteria can only grow in an environment without oxygen (something called anaerobic). Once ground vegetables are sealed into a liquid with no oxygen available and are not properly preserved, the spores "hatch" to life and the bacteria begin growing and producing toxin.

2. Don't ever store garlic in oil at room temperature, EVER. The oil seals in the bacteria and seals out the oxygen.

3. Some sites say garlic in oil stored in the fridge can last up to 7 days max. Attempt at your own risk.

4. There are a few ways to reduce risk if you want to store it, such as drying out your garlic completely before infusing it into the oil, or heating it up to a specific temperature for a specific amount of time before putting it in the oil, or pickling it in vinegar, or acidifying the concoction. None of these are sure-fire ways of eliminating all bacteria and their spores (the dormant form that only starts growing in the right conditions). My dressing contained large amounts of vinegar and lime juice, which is probably what made it safe enough.

5. Likewise, some sites say that it can be stored in the freezer to keep for longer.

6. VERY IMPORTANT: There is no way to tell if your dressing or garlic oil has gone bad because this bacteria and its toxins are colorless and odorless! 


So, best way to avoid the risk: make a small quantity of dressing you can finish fresh that day or that you will only have a small amount leftover to finish in the next couple of days.Always store it in the fridge, never on the counter. Based on the information I read, I would highly recommend against keeping any homemade dressing containing garlic and oil for more than one week, regardless of the other ingredients. Most importantly, if you don't make homemade dressings yet, don't be afraid to. They are 100% better than store bought dressing and I plan to continue testing them out. Note: everything I had to say was about STORING the dressing. Eating it fresh is absolutely safe!

For more information about botulism in general, the CDC has a great variety of information. Click here to go to their page on botulism.