Piquant Pumpkin Soup

These early December days seem to be zooming right on by. Memories of the past week's events replay in my mind like fast-forwarded scenes on a VHS tape.  Many times my only interaction with Joe has been in the car, commuting to and from opposite work shifts; as he completes night shifts, I begin day shifts.  Thankfully, the past few days of being cooped up in a stuffy office or convention center have coincided with the harshest winter weather slam that Denver has received this season. We received three nights of consecutive snowfall with temps dipping down into the negative digits! 

Today, however, all that I have on my itinerary is to spruce up the ol' apartment, enjoy a bit of sunshine, and blog. I can already check the first two items off my list. The AM hours were spent vacuuming, dusting, doing three loads of laundry, taking out trash, washing dishes, and scrubbing the bathroom, kitchen, and hardwood floors. I am always amazed at how quickly a small 1-bedroom apartment with two tidy residents can explode into messy chaos. How does anyone manage kids, pets, and more square feet, in addition to full-time employment? I stand flabbergasted!  

By mid-day, the temperatures have risen to a balmy 40 degrees. My running shoes were sloshing all the way around the snow-packed trails of Cheesman Park, but I sort of enjoyed the irregular acoustics. Crunch, crunch, splash. Crunch, splash, crunch!  Squirrels were all a buzz in the warm sunshine, scampering through the snow with bushy tails twitching. They seemed to be baiting every leased dog to a game of chase.  

Then for a slow lunch, some leftover, spicy pumpkin soup: 

As it turns out, I dined in my bedroom to escape the gritty banging taking place right outside my table window:

There I still remain, comfortably lounging in an old IKEA chair with feet propped up on the bed corner, completing the last thing on my list. Blogging. My digital escape. I can't describe what compels me to continue posting about the amateur happenings in my kitchen. There seems to be hundreds upon thousands upon millions of food bloggers out there.  Each with, what seems to be, well-planned signature themes or goals, and professionally edited photos.  The Curious Cook appears to be without rhyme or reason to the foods prepared, or the nature in which events are posted. Some entries capture detailed cooking processes step-by-step, while others only highlight the finished products. Some are recipe-oriented, others are life-oriented. I have no cooking merit, nor interest in becoming famous. But here I am!  Typing away during any free opportunity, because I simply find joy in it. Because I love to write. Because I hope to inspire others to play with food. Because it inspires me to continue inspiring myself. 

For those of you reading these posts, I want to say, "thank you."  You always make my kitchen feel warm and buzzing with company, even though we may be hundreds of miles apart.  

The sun is now low in the late afternoon sky, setting my beige walls ablaze with orange. A sort of spiced pumpkin color, I decide.  Supper is on the horizon. This is my signal to, once again, return to the kitchen... 

Turkey Again Soup

I went Black Friday shopping. For a bunch of kale...

Unfortunately, there weren't any big bargains to be had at the grocery store, except for frozen turkeys. Have enough of that thank you! After stuffing ourselves on Thanksgiving, there are the mountains of leftovers of turkey and other fixings to be eaten.  Again, and again, and well... I after a few monotonous meals, I made this:

I call this, Turkey Again Soup!  Instead of having turkey leftovers again, throw it all into a pot to make a wonderful bothy soup full of flavors and yummy winter vegetables.  My recipe is as follows below, but feel free to make this recipe your own.  I would even recommend throwing in some egg noodles or dumplings.  Joe and I paired with some herb-crusted focaccia. Delish. 

Heat up some oil in a large stock pot.
Saute onions, garlic, veggies, followed by
all of your leftover turkey (including the carcass)!

Add water to cover all ingredients and let
simmer up to 4 hours in order to produce
a beautiful golden broth.

Throw in some kale! Or turnip greens, collard, etc.

Let cook another 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper
and dish up some heart warming stew.

Turkey Again Soup

 Serves 8

2 Tbsp. olive oil
Leftover turkey, carcass and meat
2 carrots, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2-3 large kale leaves, stems removed, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large stockpot. Add turkey, veggies, garlic, parsley, and tomato paste. Saute for 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add a little water and scrape any bits from bottom. Fill pot with cold water, covering carcass, and bring to a boil, then simmer for 4 hours. Remove carcass and keep remaining ingredients in pot. Add leafy greens to pot and simmer 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Hearty Hunter Stew

What a bunch of brawny outdoorsmen the picture below portrays... mules snorting steam in the background, snow flakes falling, and three "trophies" proudly displayed in the foreground.  The handsome man on the right (with the red hat and cameo overalls) happens to be the man I married.  A month ago, he joined up with a group of men from Colorado and Wisconsin for an extended elk hunting trip in the heart of mountain country. 

Elk hunting trip,
Grand Mesa National Forest,
October 2011.

The sport of hunting is not a familiar one to me.  I'm not quite innocent myself from my research years, but killing for the sport of it is something I had to learn to appreciate from my gentle Joe. The fact is, hunting is in our human blood. As long as it is done with respect and dignity, what better way to know where your meat is coming from?  And so, thanks to his successful hunting adventure, our freezer is chalk-full of elk meat to sustain us through the upcoming winter season, and probably beyond! 

Joe brought home about 40 pounds of elk meat, which
we wrapped in freezer paper and distributed
among gallon sized freezer bags.

Thawing one portion of solid meat takes
a few days if done properly in the fridge.

Generous slabs of the most beautiful red meat I have ever seen: cold, clean, crimson, and delicately marbled.  Bravo, my brave hunter!  

Fresh elk loin.

The first question I asked after we had the meat safety packed away was, what do we do with it now? I decided a hearty stew, slowly cooked with rich with spices and root veggies would be a safe choice to begin with. After a bit of recipe research, I settled on substituting elk for The Pioneer Women's beef and beer stew. Her pictures alone made me salivate!  

The first step was to cube a few pounds of thawed "stew meat." Check!  I had plenty of that!  The recipe called for about 2-lbs of meat, but I cubed up 3.  

More admiration of this high quality elk meat.

Time to dust off a large stock pot to begin the cooking!  The meat cubes were blotted with paper towels to remove most of the moisture (if you don't do that, your meat will not brown). Small batch-by-small batch, I browned the elk cubes in a bit of hot oil and butter (again, if you don't give your meat enough room, your meat will not brown).  Set the cooked pieces aside for later.  

Dry, uncrowded meat is the key to successful browning.

Time to saute chopped onions and minced garlic in the delicious oiled meat juices, about 10 minutes over medium heat.  

Now add the following ingredients to create a tenderizing "broth." From past experience, light lager (beer-pong) beers provide the best results for cooking. So, pick out your favorite and try not to drink it before adding what is needed! 

Beer and beef broth. 

After the broth simmers for a smidgen, "kick it up a notch!" as Emeril would to say. Add the following ingredients according to the recipe below.  The paprika and tomato paste will make the broth blush an appetizing red. 

Add your browned elk or stew meat back to the pot, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. The key here is low heat. You want the meat juices to combine and mature with the spiced broth without over cooking the flesh. Tender and flavorful = a fine balance of temperature and time. 

While the meat and stock are cooking and reducing, prepare the vegetables. Wash and chop carrots, as well as quarter new potatoes. No peeling necessary, yay! 

After broth as reduced a bit, add the veggies and cook another 30 min to 1 hour, or until carrots and potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork. Dish up immediately or prepare the day before to allow flavors to mingle. This stew keeps very well up to 1 week after preparation. The flavors just get better and better with time.

Come and get it!

Plan ahead to get your hands on some crusty bread and fresh parsley.  They make for excellent additions! We happened to pair our pipping hot bowls with some sweet bread and a movie. Nothing like cozying up on the living room floor in wool socks and warm bellies while the bitter autumn air rattles jealously on your window panes... 

Some seriously delicious stew!
If you don't have elk meat, go hunt for some
stew beef at your local grocery store.

Hearty Hunter Stew

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman blog

Serves 8-10

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. butter

2 lbs. stew meat (beef or elk)

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (12 oz) lager beer

4 cups beef stock

2 cups water

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 Tbsp. salt

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

4 whole carrots, unpeeled, roughly sliced

4-5 new potatoes, unpeeled, quartered

Fresh parsley (optional garnish)

Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown meat in multiple small batches, setting aside in a large bowl when browned.  Add diced onions to the pot and cook 5 minutes until softened, then add garlic and cook another 1 minute. Pour in beer and beef stock, then add Worcestershire, tomato paste, sugar and spices. Add beef back to the pot and stir well. Cover and simmer 2 hours over low heat.  Liquid should cook down to a thicker state. Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook an additional 30 min to 1 hour. If stew gets too dry, just add more water to desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasons as necessary. Delicious if served with hot, crusty bread and garnished with fresh parsley.   Keeps fine in the fridge for up to 1 week. 

Italy Part 19

Badger football is currently on and being an alumnus, I must make this entry short!

Minestrone with pesto (p. 104)

This hearty soup contains a long laundry list of ingredients that come together perfectly!
Borlotti beans (I substituted with pinto), olive oil, onion, garlic, pancetta,
celery, carrots, potato, tomatoes, basil, stock, zucchini, peas, green beans,
Swiss chard, parsley, and pasta! I prepared the homemade pesto
ahead of time and took it out of the freezer to thaw as the soup was simmering.

Panzanella (p. 103)

Saltimbocca (p. 124)

This tomato-bread salad is to die for!

Saltimbocca is a quick way to fix veal. Just slice the veal steaks thin,
rub each with salt, pepper, garlic, and top each with a slice of prosciutto and sage.
Marsala is added to its juices for reduction into a tasty sauce.

Go Red!

Italy Part 3

Yesterday, I spent nearly the entire day in the kitchen. Barefoot, hair pulled up in a high pony, red apron tied around my waist, NPR podcasts streaming from my laptop... this is my happy place. Let's start this story at the end with the table spread of Tuesday night's dinner for two. On the menu for the evening: 

Pappa al pomadoro (p. 105)

Parmesan & rosemary crusted veal chops (p. 130)

Salsa Rossa (p. 130)

Rocket and pecorino salad (p. 105)

Lemon granitas (p. 147)

The finished fruits of my labor! I love how beautifully balanced the colors, textures,
and tastes that this meal encompasses. For starters, we dished up a hearty bowl of the
tomato and bread soup, followed by the main entree of pan-fried veal chops with salsa rossa, and
finished with a plate of arugula and shaved parmesan (pecorino) to cleanse the palate
and settle the stomach before dessert. 

I began my dinner preparations with the last course: Lemon granitas! I had to make a quick run to the grocery store down the street to pick out a flat, wide metal dish for freezing the liquid lemonade. This is key, otherwise it can tense up into a thick, stubborn frozen mess that is difficult to manage for the final steps explained later. First, these granitas required a cooking step to liquify the sugar into the lemon juice. Then water is added and the liquid solution is stirred and cooled. Once cooled, the solution (much like lemonade) is poured into the metal pan, covered, and put into the freezer. There is now a series of ice crystal raking steps to get the desired slushy, flakey texture of an Italian granita! 

Preparing my lemon granita concentrate. To do this, heat lemon juice, fresh lemon zest, and caster sugar in small sauce pan until the sugar has melted.  A little word of advice... do not buy caster sugar at the store because it is priced at a ridiculous cost for what it is worth. Caster sugar is just a super fine granulated sugar. It is useful because it mixes with liquids faster than regular granulated sugar because of its higher surface area. To make your own, just pulse granulated sugar in your food processor a few times. Note: do NOT confuse caster sugar with powdered sugar. Powdered sugar is very, very finely ground sugar with added corn starch, usually, to keep the granules from sticking to each other. 

First rake! Still very viscous. Be careful moving yours in and out of the freezer in the early
steps because I almost had a few accidents that would have made for a very sticky cleanup. 

Pappa al pomadoro (Tomato and bread soup) came next. For this dish, head to your local market the day before a pick out a hearty loaf of Italian bread and then leave it out overnight to dry out a bit. I left mine out of the bag to accelerate this process since I purchased my bread fresh and the texture seemed extremely moist. If you want to prepare this recipe the same day, ask the store bakery if they have any day-old stuff and let it sit unwrapped until you add it into the soup. 

This is my share of fresh bread from the store, working very hard on becoming dry and crusty! I noticed after I got home that I had grabbed a French load instead of an Italian loaf. Oops. To be honest, I'm not sure if there is much difference between the two types anyways, except that Italian bread tends to be a bit more soft and spongy (from addition of a bit of olive oil or dairy to the dough). Any bread enthusiasts out there that can explain it to me?

The next steps of the soup involved ingredient preparation with a bit of love, such as for the tomatoes. The tomatoes needed to be bathed in boiling water for 10 seconds followed immediately by a dip in ice cold water. Their bottom sides were scored before the bath, allowing for an easy starting point to peel away the outer skins. Once they were properly bathed and naked, it was time to cut them in half and remove their insides (the gooey seed slime) with a small spoon. The final step, as if they had not been tortured enough, was to chop them roughly.  The following pictures go through this in more detail.

The hot-cold bathing process allowing for easy peeling
 (please excuse the cook's poorly groomed fingernails).

The hallowed tomato remains ready for chopping. Despite how red and ripe their flesh looks, their seeds were not easy to remove. This is a result of the supermarkets' desire to expedite the ripening process of many fresh produce (such as tomatoes and bananas to name a few). They commonly gas them with a chemical agent, known as ethylene, while they are shipped in crates from field to market. This is different than how a plant naturally ripens. For example, have you ever been allured to purchase a bright red tomato that appears to be juicy and sweet, but then you get home and cut it open and it is still bitter, pallid, and hard?  This is because of ethylene. The outside appears ripe but the inside has not had adequate time to naturally mature its texture and taste.

More ingredient prep, including adding the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste to the sauce pan to reduce while measuring out vegetable broth, and de-crusting and cubing of the dry bread.

Once the broth has simmered with the tomatoes for about half an hour, it is time to add the bread cubes! This almost reminding me of my younger years of adding small sponge capsules to hot water to wait to see them fatten into dinosaurs or animals. I didn't know what would happen to the dry bread crumbs but they devoured the broth and grew into large dumpling mush balls. I had to add about 2-3 extra cups of water to the pot maintain its integrity as soup. Final step was to add freshly torn basil leaves and olive oil drizzle.

As the tomato soup simmered on the stove, I prepared the Salsa rossa that would be served along with the Parmesan and rosemary crusted veal chops. This was an easy recipe to complete and required only a few ingredients: onion, red pepper, canned tomatoes, olive oil, chili pepper flakes and salt. There were equal parts onion and red pepper. The onion slices needed to be very thin while the red pepper slices could be about 1 cm thick. The onions were added to the hot oil first to soften but not brown, and then the red peppers were added and cooked to reduce to half the original size. This reducing step took the longest, requiring about about 30 minutes over low-medium heat to keep the vegetables cooking but not browning. 

The onions and red peppers cooking to half their size. Reminded me of my Alma Mater colors.
I wonder what Bucky Badger is eating for dinner tonight...

While the Salsa rossa and soup were on the stove, it was a good time to begin the preparation of the veal chops. It included a new verb, sinew, for which I had never heard of before. From the quick google search that I did, I took away that "sinew" means to get rid of all pieces of the chops that are difficult to chew or uneatable. The chops that I purchased came as T bones, so I carefully pulled the meat away from the bone center to get four pieces of meat. After cutting away excess fat, tendons, other small "sinews" and patting dry with a paper towel, I was left with some handsome, and fairly lean, veal!  After some smashing with a mallet (to 1 cm thickness) they were ready for a 2-step batter process. Step 1: dip in seasoned, slightly whipped eggs. Step 2: Press each side firmly into a breadcrumb, parmesan, and fresh rosemary mixture.

The chops from King Soopers! This was my first time purchasing veal,
and for some reason I was expecting something that the butcher keeps
 behind the glass case. I didn't have time (or a vehicle) to shop around
elsewhere so I took them at face value.

By this time, the Pappa al pomadoro was taken off the stove, the Salsa rossa was simmering on low with the tomatoes and spices, the table was set, and my wine glass was empty. Almost time to feast.... just needed to fry the veal chops. While the butter and olive oil were heating with garlic cloves in a large frying pan, I whisked together olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper for the Rocket and pecorino salad and set aside. When the garlic cloves started to brown, I quickly booted them out of the pan and added the battered veal chops, two at a time, into the hot fat bath. As they sizzled and cracked I tossed the washed and dried arugula leaves with the vinaigrette, divided between two salad plates and placed it onto the dinner table. A quick flip of the chops after 3-5 minutes and it was time to tend to the granitas one last time (pictured below), raking the zesty ice crystals away from the sides of the cold pan into a fine texture. With a deep breath of cold freezer air as I put the pan of granitas back, it was time for the final round of veal chop frying. The first came out beautifully and reminded me of Joe's mother's Slovak pork schnitzel.

The third rake before letting it freeze one more time while
 dinner is consumed. The flaky, solid texture has almost
been reached as you can see.  

Fast forward to the end of the meal. Plates are empty, bellies full, kitchen a mess. Time for a slow Italian stroll around the block to escape the heat of the apartment (made especially unbearable by me having at least two burners on at all times throughout the course of the afternoon). Before our return from a wonderful night in Italy, we decided on a night cap. Not another glass of wine, but a tall helping of sweet and sour lemon granita that was waiting behind freezer doors. This might just be a staple in our apartment for hot summer nights like this one.

Ice cold Italy.... the Lemon Granita!

Something Fishy

Tonight I am preparing Portuguese Fisherman's Stew. I cut it off of a White Northern Beans package years ago and kept it tacked on my refrigerator as a reminder to make. Well... that day has finally come! I am preparing it to be eaten tomorrow to give it a night of "rest" to allow the flavors to mingle and mature.


Portuguese Fisherman's Stew
Serves 4-6


2 cups Great Northern Beans, pre-cooked
1 lb. filleted firm white fish
1/4 cups lemon juice
2 quarts water
2 tbsp. margarine
3 small onions, sliced
1/8 cup minced garlic (fresh)
2 bay leaves

1 can (16 oz) chicken broth
 1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
 1 1/2 tsp. thyme
 Salt and pepper to taste

In large pot brown onions and garlic in margarine. Add cooked  beans, water, bay leaves, broth, stewed tomatoes, and thyme and  simmer for 45 minutes. In separate skillet add lemon juice, fish and 1/2 cup water. Simmer slowly until fish flakes with a fork. Drain liquid and add fish to stew. Season to taste with salt pepper. 

 

A peek from start to finish.

I made a few modifications to this recipe. For one, I used a olive oil and butter combo instead of margarine for cooking the onions and garlic. I also used concentrated natural chicken bouillon paste instead of broth. For the tomatoes, all I had on hand was the canned, diced variety so I used those instead of stewed. I'm not sure if there is a real difference if adding to soup or stew but I increased the simmer time anyways. The butcher at Copps helped me pick out a nice "firm white fish" to use. We decided on Flounder. He said it was more fishy than Tilapia or Roughy. I thought fishy would be good flavor for a rich broth (and it also happened to be a cheaper choice). Let me tell you something though, it really smells fishy too! My apartment is going to stink like fish for days...


I seem to be on the roll with fishy things since I just finished off some homemade pasta sauce that included canned sardines. It was one of those nights where you are scavenging your bare refrigerator shelves after a long weekend away trying to find something dinner-worthy. My choice ended up producing very potent breath that lingers until morning (even after brushing and Listerine-ing). It's funny how something so terribly smelly can taste so good!


So the stew is now finished and sitting on my counter to cool before putting it into the refrigerator for the night. I just realized I forgot to drain the cooked fish before adding. I think I will serve with some of my sauteed sourdough bread, that I talked about in a previous blog, and perhaps some white wine.

Homecoming Eve

Its Friday night and I've filled my apartment with the smell of browned beef and onions. Next to fresh bread in the oven, this is one of my favorite scents (food-nerd alert)! Tomorrow morning when I wake up it will be a nice reminder of the wonderful chili to come. My parents, Tony and Connie, are driving down for a visit and will be arriving around noon, aka the middle of Badger football! It also just so happens to be the homecoming game versus Minnesota. I told my dad that if he chooses to wear his Gopher sweatshirt I won't be speaking to him for the entirety of the weekend. Actually I think the heckling he would get from the swarms of Badgers on campus would wear down any opponent's pride, driving anyone to switch into red camouflage! I've seen it happen.

But what better way to enjoy football festivities than hot chili and cold beer? My fridge is currently stocked with Capital Brewery Octoberfest, New Glarus Moon Man, O'so Brewery Hopdinger (new from Milwaukee), and a few cans of Hamm's for nostalgia. In the morning I will turn on my trusty crock pot and let the chili simmer during the time my parents are traveling. I think I will also toast up some sourdough bread and shred some swiss cheese for garnishing (why swiss? its all I have at the moment next to processed orange-something but I think it might work out nicely). And the best part, we don't have to worry about paying out the nose for a parking spot downtown.  The worst part, however, is that the game isn't available on my basic cable package and the weather is forecasted to be in the upper 70's! I think I'll just make sure the beer is extra cold and may even turn on my air conditioning. Chili is only good with a side of chill! It is probably how it got its name (and partly due to the capsicum plant). 

The recipe I used is called "Spicy Chili" out of the Joy of Cooking cookbook. The beef that I had on hand was so lean I added some olive oil. I also misread the recipe last night and scribbled down on my grocery list only half of what was needed for tomato products (sauce and stewed tomatoes) so I compensated by adding a can of tomato paste and extra water. I may add some beef bouillon at some point tomorrow. The amount of spices the recipe called for was a bit much, in my opinion, of the wrong flavors. It asked for heavy helpings of Italian seasoning, basil, and oregano. Although it called for chili spices, I added some dried chili pepper flakes, cumin, and molasses instead of brown sugar.  I feel like a chili should be less like an Italian tomato sauce and more like a hardy, spicy stew. Next time I would like to try using cubed steak and real minced peppers (serrano or chili piquin perhaps).  

Go Red!