Category Archives: recipes

Broccoli & Cheddar Chicken Soup #1

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This is a rich broccoli & cheddar soup based on a copycat recipe of a famous artisan bread restaurant chain.

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 large onions, diced, about ¾ cup
  • 1 large or two medium shallot, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
  • ½ cup sherry or dry vermouth
  • 4 cups milk, room temperature
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 5 oz garlic & herb cream cheese
  • 1 cooked boneless chicken breast, diced, about 12oz
  • 4 cups broccoli florets, about 1 head
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and junienned
  • 3 cups mild cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 tsp pepper, to taste
  • ½ tsp salt, to taste
  • ¼ cup fresh chives, divided
  • ¼ cup bacon bits, divided (optional)

Instructions

Melt butter over medium high heat, and sauté onions and shallots until translucent and tender, but not yet browned. Add carrots and garlic continuing to sauté until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add wine and reduce. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and whisk into a roux.

Slowly add milk stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Add chicken stock and cream cheese stirring to break up lumps.

When the soup is smooth and combined, add broccoli florets and chicken. Simmer until broccoli is softened and chicken is warmed through, about 15 minutes.

Add cheddar cheese in batches, stirring to incorporate. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve garnished with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits and fresh chives.

Pastrami rub #1

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Aromatic black pepper, coriander and garlic

Ingredients

  • 5 tablespoons fresh coarsely ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons ground coriander
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons mustard powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon white pepper
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • 6 to 8 oz Dijon mustard, reserved

Instructions

Combine dry spices in a bowl or shaker.

Coat brisket with mustard, enough to help the dry spices stick. Coat brisket liberally with dry rub, and allow to stand refrigerated up to 8 hours.

Chicken & Andouille Etouffé

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This stew is normally made with shrimp instead of chicken.

Serves 8.

Ingredients

  • 1½ to 2 lbs chicken breast, diced into 1″ chunks
  • 1 lb Andouille sausage, split and diced into ½” pieces
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 3 ribs celery, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
  • ½ cup vegetable or corn oil
  • ¾ cups flour
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 can tomato paste, 6 oz
  • 3 cups chicken stock, divided
  • ¼ cup cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig fresh sage, or 1 tsp dried, ground
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried, ground
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 2 dashes liquid smoke (optional)
  • 2 cups water, reserved

Directions

Prepare Andouille sausage, splitting lengthwise then cut into ½” pieces. Prepare chicken by chopping into 1″ pieces, bite-sized.

Prepare a bouquet of fresh herbs, if using.

Preheat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear Andouille sausage, leaving any browned bits behind. Remove to a bowl.

Add oil and butter to the pot. When butter has melted and foamed, sprinkle flour over top and whisk into a roux. Whisk roux continuously over medium-high heat until toast brown and aromatic, about 10 minutes.

Add chopped onion, pepper and celery to roux and sweat until onions are just translucent, but not browned. Add garlic and tomato paste, and sauté until aromatic, another 1-2 minutes. Add half of the chicken stock and deglaze any brown bits at the bottom of the pan. When the pot is clean, combine remaining ingredients, returning the sausage to the pot.

Stir to combine, and add water to desired consistency. Lower heat to a simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Adapted from Chicken and Andouille Etouffé by Saveur

Notes on Corned Beef Cures

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General ratios by weight for dry cure

  • 4.5% salt, 45g/kg
  • 1.5% sugar, 15g/kg
  • 0.25% PP#1. 2.5g/kg

General ratios for wet cure depend on how the meat will be cooked.

  • 5% to 10% brine, 50g/l to 100g/l
  • 1.5% to 3% sugar, 15g/l to 30g/l
  • 0.32% PP#1, 3.2g/l

Anywhere from a 5% to 10% curing brine is acceptable, 50 to 100g per liter. The meat will “finish” to the seasoning level of the cooking liquid. For a roasted product, use a 5% brine. Nitrite level for the brine should be 200ppm, 4.2oz per US gallon, 0.32% by mass or 3.2g per liter.

PP#1 in grams = 200ppm × product mass in grams ÷ ( 0.0625 × 1,000,000)

Tuscan Soup

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Rustic Italian soup in the Tuscan style with sausage, cannellini beans and kale. Serves 8.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Italian sweet sausage, casing removed
  • 1 lb Italian hot sausage, casing removed
  • 2 cans cannellini bean, 15 oz
  • 3 shallots or 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 ribs celery, diced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and diced
  • 1 large potato, peeled and diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 bunches kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp ground oregano
  • 1 tsp fennel seed
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • ½ cup sherry or dry white wine
  • 5 oz Boursin cheese (optional)
  • ½ cup milk or half & half
  • Ground black pepper and salt to taste

Instructions

Break up sausage and brown in medium dutch over over medium-high flame to form a strong fond. Sauté diced shallot, celery and carrot until tender, and shallot is fragrant and turning translucent. Add garlic and saute one additional minute, until fragrant. Add tomato paste and stir to combine, one to two minutes. Deglaze with sherry, scraping up the fond.

Add spices, cannellini beans with liquid, potato, kale, bay leaves and chicken stock. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, until carrots and potato are tender. If desired, add Boursin cheese and stir until well combined. Add milk and stir to combine.

Jambalaya #1

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Makes 4 quarts.

Ingredients

  • ¾ lb chopped bacon, tasso ham or andoullie sausage
  • ¾ lb chicken breast, chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 2 ribs celery stalk, diced
  • 1 can whole peeled tomato, 28oz, roughly chopped
  • 2 cups long grained white rice
  • 3 cups ham stock or chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste, about 2 oz
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp marjoram

Instructions

In a heavy cast iron pot over medium heat, sauté diced bacon until mostly browned and fat has rendered. Combine onion, green pepper and celery with bacon and saute until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent but not browned. Combine remaining ingredients until thoroughly incorporated.

Simmer covered over medium-low heat stirring occasionally until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Do not let rice char.

Serve with hot sauce.

Cook’s notes

Substitute proteins as preferred with andoullie sausage, tasso ham, shrimp, prawn, turkey or ham or pulled pork.

Substitute boneless, skinless chicken thigh for chicken breast, which may hold up better in longer, hotter braises.

If using tasso ham, reduce coriander, marjoram and thyme by up to a third.

Bolognese sauce #1

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Makes 6 quarts.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb 93% lean ground beef
  • 1 lb uncased Italian sausage
  • 2 tbsp olive oil or bacon fat
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 ribs celery, minced
  • 1 large carrot, minced
  • 2 cans whole peeled tomato, 28 oz each
  • 1 can crushed tomato, 28 oz
  • 1 can tomato paste, 6 oz
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • ¾ cup dry white wine, vermouth or dry sherry
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp fresh, cracked black pepper
  • 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
  • ½ tsp white pepper

Instructions

Heat a 7.5 quart dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown beef and sausage. Remove browned meat to a bowl and reserve 2 tbsp of fat in the pot.

Add olive oil or bacon fat to the pot, and allow to warm until shimmering. Add onions, carrots and celery, and sauté until soft, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper and tomato paste. Combine and sauté until fragrant taking care not to char the tomato, about 4 more minutes.

Add meat back to the pot and combine with soffritto. Add wine, vermouth or sherry and combine, scraping up the remaining fond. Maintain heat until bubbling. When bubbling subsides combine milk and maintain heat until bubbling. Combine remaining cans of tomato and spices and maintain heat until bubbling.

Reduce heat to maintain a simmer for approximately 3 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally. Add water by the ½ cup if the sauce gets appears too dry. Sauce is done when the fats separate.

Slow cooked method

As an alternative to simmering for 3 hours, preheat oven to 225°F. Follow instructions above up to the simmer, then place uncovered pot in the oven for up to 3 hours, or until fats separate.

Redheaded Stepchild Chili

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A combination of Rutgers Three Bean and Wendy’s Copycat chili recipes. Serves 12.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs ground beef 85%, browned and drained
  • 1 29 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 29 oz can diced tomato (or 4 large tomatoes, diced)
  • 2 15 oz cans small red beans, with liquid
  • 1 15 oz can black beans, with liquid
  • 1 15 oz can small white beans or navy beans, with liquid
  • 1 large white onion, diced (approximately 2 cups)
  • 3 poblano peppers, washed and diced (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
  • 3 stalks celery, diced (approximately 1 cup)
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced (approximately 1/4 cup)
  • 2 -3 teaspoons cumin powder or ground fresh cumin seed
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground oregano
  • 1½ teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons salt, reserved, to taste
  • 3 tablespoon corn starch, reserved
  • 3 tablespoons water, reserved

Instructions

Preheat oven to 225°F.

Brown ground beef in a large dutch oven, drain and set aside. Combine olive oil, onion, garlic, poblano pepper and celery in dutch oven. Sauté over medium heat until aromatic, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute an additional 1 to 2 minutes until garlic is tender and aromatic. Combine remaining ingredients and stir. Place dutch oven on oven, covered, for 2-4 hours, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld. Uncover and bake an additional 2 hours until liquid is reduced, or gradually add a slurry of equal parts corn starch and water until thickened. Add salt to taste.

Serve over tortillas, baked potato, rice or pasta.