Cold Cucumber Buttermilk Soup

A little over a month ago, I took a cooking class entitled "Summer Picnic with Lucia's" which was taught by local restaurant Lucia's head chef.  It was me a two dear friends, and we had a blast!  The menu was amazing, and the atmosphere even better. 

I made their Cold Cucumber Buttermilk Soup yesterday, and it was just as I remembered it that night.  It has just the right amount of tang, is crisp and fresh - and perfect for any hot, summer day!

Now, I just have to share it with you - since I can't really have you in my kitchen :-)  I cut the recipe in half since I basically made it just for myself!  My family is not really into the idea of "chilled" soups, so I have to slowly introduce the idea to them . . . mwuah haha!  They will be loving cold soups before they know what hit them!

Cold Cucumber Buttermilk Soup
Original Recipe by Lori Valenziano
Serves 8

2 lbs. cucumbers
Kosher Salt
1/4 bunch Italian Parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/4 C olive oil
2 C plain yogurt
1 C half and half
3 C buttermilk
White pepper, to taste
8 sprigs of mint (optional garnish)

1. Peel, seed and coarsely chop the cucumbers.  Sprinkle with salt, place in a strainer and drain for 1 hour.  Pat dry and set aside.
2. Pick parsley leaves and chop.  Crush garlic cloves with 1 tsp. of salt (or use a microplane). 
3. Place garlic in a large glass bowl, beat in olive oil.  Stir in the yogurt, half and half and buttermilk.  Mix well.
4. Add the cucumbers and chopped parsley.  Puree (I used an immersion blender).  Taste for seasoning; adjust with salt and white pepper.  Chill well before serving - a few hours.  Garnish with mint.

This was my lunch today.

Please click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy

Enjoy and live with gusto!

Italian Wedding Soup

Just because it's spring doesn't mean we will always have the best weather.  It's always a mixed bag of beautiful sunny days, cold, damp rain, or a good heavy dumping of snow.  I'm glad that what we have dealt with for the last two days was just cold and windy versus a heavy dumping of snow.  I think we're past that - but I suppose Mother Nature is not to be tested!

I think this soup was absolutely perfect for a cold, windy day - it was hearty and just right for taking the chill out of the ole' bones. 

A couple of thoughts swirling around my head - I used a whole box of pasta rather than just 1 cup.  There was so much left over - a great thing for our family since we rarely have enough to actually make it to a second day.  But I noticed there wasn't much broth left over to accomodate another day's worth of soup.  Being that it was pasta, meatballs and spinach leftover and not much broth - I thought it would be delicious to make a creamy, gooey cheese sauce to mix it in for leftovers, then bake it similar to a mac n cheese dish.  Sound yummy?  Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a wimp in cold weather, and I never made it to the store to pick up what I needed to create this.  So, I just added more chicken stock and we had soup again.  No complaints - it was still delish.  SO, there you have it.  If you're feeling adventurous, you should try it and report back to me!

Italian Wedding Soup
Original Recipe by Ina Garten "Back to Basics" cookbook, pg. 72-73

FOR THE MEATBALLS:
3/4 lb. ground chicken
1/2 lb. chicken sausage, casings removed
2/3 C fresh white bread crumbs
2 tsp. minced garlic (2 cloves)
3 T chopped fresh parsley
1/4 C freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
3 T milk
1 extra large egg, lighly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SOUP:
2 T good olive oil
1 C minced yellow onion
1 C 1/4" diced carrots (3 carrots)
1 C 1/4" diced celery (2 stalks)
10 C Chicken Stock (Ina calls for homemade chicken stock)
1/2 C dry white wine
1 C small pasta such as tubetini or stars
1/4 C minced fresh dill
12 oz. baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork.  With a teaspoon, drop 1 - 1 1/2" meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper (you should have about 40 meatballs.  They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned.  Set aside. 

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large, heavy bottomed soup pot.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6-8 minutes, until the pasta is tender.  Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute.  Taste for salt and pepper.  Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until spinach is just wilted.  Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

I used a fork to mix together all the meatball ingredients, and also a small ice cream scoop to form the meatballs and transfer to the pan - I didn't even get my hands dirty!!  BONUS!

Soup in a pot!

The End Result: a soup with so much oomph - it will have you wanting more.

Please click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy

Enjoy and live with gusto!
Carina

Lobster Corn Chowder and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I have been searching for a good soup recipe for quite some time now and this one leaped out at me.  Not jumped, leaped.  Yup. 

Actually, I watched Robert Irvine make this (actually, it was his protege) on the Food Network channel, and it looked so good.  I made it last night, and it was good.  Two out of my three kids loved it - can you guess which one did not?  Ha! 

Also, I LOVE to have soup paired with grilled cheese sandwiches.  I love a grilled cheese sandwich old school - with cheap white bread and American cheese.  But, that seems most appropriate with tomato soup, don't you think?  This time, I was craving something a bit different.  With this chowder, I decided to use a roasted garlic artisan bread that I had leftover from Costco (gotta love that place!) and some leftover Gruyere cheese.  It was a perfect accompaniment to chowder!

For the chowder itself, I tweaked a few things to make it an easier weeknight meal. 

Lobster Corn Chowder
Original Recipe by Robert Irvine
Adapted Recipe by Kitchen Groovy

Lobster:

• 2 lobster tails, split in half
• Generous squeeze lemon juice
• Pinch cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• Salt

Chowder:

• 4 C frozen corn kernels
• Canola oil
• Salt
• 1 cup chopped bacon
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into small dice
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, cut into small dice
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
• 2 cups heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

For the chowder:

In a deep pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over low heat and add the bacon. Cook until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel and pour most of the bacon fat out of the pan.

Return the bacon to the pan, add the onion and celery, and cook over medium heat until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the red and orange pepper, garlic, and corn, and cook 5 more minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken stock and stir to scrape up any brown bits from bottom of the pan. Stir in the diced potatoes and raise the heat a little to bring the mixture to a simmer.

Simmer the chowder until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid burning the bottom of the chowder.

Taste the potatoes. When the potatoes are fork tender, turn the heat down to low and slowly stir in the cream. Add another pinch of cayenne if you want to give it a kick.  Keep warm on low heat.

For the lobster: (do this while the chowder is simmering)

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove the lobster tails from the shells and put into the boiling water. Poach for 2 minutes. Remove the lobster and set aside to cool.

Once cooled, chop the lobster and mix with the lemon juice, cayenne, seafood seasoning, and mascarpone. Taste and add salt, if needed.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich:

- 1 loaf of your favorite artisan bread, sliced

- Gruyere Cheese, sliced

- Olive oil

Assemble sandwiches and brush with olive oil.  Place on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  Serve with soup and enjoy!

Instead of slicing the sandwich in half, slice them a few times, so you end up having a grilled cheese "stick" - it's fun and makes it easier to dip and eat!

Please click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy

Enjoy and live with gusto!
Carina

Broccoli and Cheese Soup with Croutons

A few nights ago, I had a bit of a mis-hap in the kitchen and made something that no one liked.  It was bad.  I was sorry I made it.  Miss Sunshine had really wanted Broccoli and Cheese Soup and insisted that she loved it, even though she's never had it before.  Sound like a 5 year old, anyone?  So, last night, I decided to make Broccoli and Cheese soup.  I found this one online from Emeril Lagasse, and it looked like a decent recipe.  It actually turned out to be a really great soup.  I don't make soup very often, but I'm now a fan as I see how really easy it is!  Miss Sunshine was a little thrown off the by its color of being green, but she did move past that and enjoyed it. 

I also had some left over Roasted Garlic Artisan bread from Costco that we had for grilled cheese sandwiches, so I just cut it up, tossed it in some olive oil and sprinkled it with paprika.  Yummy!

Broccoli and Cheese Soup with Croutons
Original recipe by Emeril Lagasse
Adapted recipe by Kitchen Groovy

3 T unsalted butter, plus 2 T cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 small white onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (you can use fresh, I just didn't have any on hand)
3 T all-purpose flour
3 C chicken stock
1 (16 oz) package frozed broccoli, thawed and separated
1/2 heavy cream
1 1/4 C shredded medium Cheddar
Croutons, for garnish, recipe follows

1. In a medium pot, melt the 3 T butter over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and thyme and cook, stirring, until fragrant, for 20 seconds.  Add the flour and cook, stirring until the mixture is well blended and smells fragrant, 2 minutes.  Slowly add the chicken stock, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Add the broccoli and cook, stirring, until tender, for 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and puree with a hand-held immersion blender.  (Alternatively, in batches, puree in a blendor or food processor and return to the pot.)

Add the cream and bring to bare simmer to heat through.  Add the cheese and cook over low heat, stirring, until melted.  Add the remaining 2 T cold butter, stirring to blend.

Remove from the heat and ladle the soup into the bowls.  Sprinkle croutons over the top of the soup and serve immediately.

Croutons:
1 C - 1/2" to 3/4" cubed Artisan bread - I think you can use any kind
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss all ingredients together and spread evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake, stirring twice, for about 6 minutes, until light golden brown on top.  Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving. 

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - Kitchen Groovy

Enjoy and live with gusto!
Carina