Standing Over the Stove with a Spoon...

...eating straight out of the pot.

(see those beautiful little droplets of toasted sesame oil swimming around with the red pepper flakes? They look happy, don't they?)

That’s how good this soup is. For about the last two months, I have had a very insistent craving for Chinese food. Or Thai. Or Vietnamese. Pretty much anything spicy with noodles. So, when I was browsing around at the Market on the Square (fabulous new shop in Carlinville that stocks only Illinois-made products) and I ran across some adorable little egg noodles called Soup Buds (by a company called Pasta Alley), I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.

SOUP.

After all, that’s what they are for... and it has been an excruciatingly long, vicious winter around here. In that kind of situation, you can never have too much soup. These little gems look like egg noodles that someone took a hole punch to. Less than a half inch in diameter when fully cooked, they fill up with the broth from the soup, but stay slightly firm, giving you a wonderful mouthful of noodly goodness, without the treachery of the random noodle that inevitably flings itself over the edge of the spoon, scattering its juices on your chin (or shirt) in a last-ditch effort to escape.

Now, set on my path to a steaming pot of soup, I started searching for recipes. I go through this several times every winter. Looking for something new, something flavorful and earth shattering.... and without fail I seem to end up with....chicken soup. No matter how good the recipe claims to be, regardless of how enticing the ingredient list appears, it always just ends up as being some generic chicken soup.

I wanted more.

So when I ran across this recipe, suffice it to say I remained skeptical. Nevertheless, I trudged ahead, making a few minor tweaks here and there. And what did I end up with?

Sheer bliss.

The hubs came in from feeding the dogs and found me hunkered down over the stove with a spoon in hand, eating straight out of the pot. It started innocently enough, with a taste to check the seasoning....but you know, first tastes can be deceiving, so you should always check twice. But in the second bite I really didn’t get any chicken, so I tried again. And then I wanted to make sure it was seasoned consistently throughout.... and I might as well double check those noodles to make sure they were thoroughly cooked.... Well, it was shameful, really. I ate enough of it standing there at the stove that I didn’t need to actually fix myself a bowl. I was full. And gloriously so.

Sadly, I was so enthralled with my brothy discovery that I completely missed the recommended garnishes. Imagine how much more pleased I was when I dragged the pot back out again this morning (yes, at 5:00 am) and fixed myself a bowl, complete with savory garnish, and had another serving for breakfast. Yes, you heard me right. And then ladled up another generous serving to take to work with me for lunch. I see no reason to ever make another kind of chicken soup again. Ever.

Here is the recipe (originally from America’s Test Kitchen), with my changes. I strongly urge you to make this at home. And eat it standing over the strove with a spoon. And maybe for breakfast...

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
adapted from America's Test Kitchen

8-10 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Asian chili garlic sauce (this had a lovely amount of heat without being too spicy, but I LOVE spicy, so if you don’t, then cut back on this ingredient)
2 cups chicken (I picked the all meat off a rotisserie chicken)
1 cup Soup Buds or other egg noodle (or 2 packages of dried ramen noodles, seasoning packed discarded)
3 scallions, sliced thin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
pinch of red pepper flakes for garnish (optional)

Bring broth, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, and chili garlic sauce to a boil in a large saucepan.
Add the egg noodles (if using) and cook until almost done.
Add the cut up chicken to the pot and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until chicken is warmed through.
If using Ramen noodles, add the dried noodles into the broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until they're just about cooked.
Stir in the scallions and cilantro and serve in bowls.
Garnish each bowl additional fresh cilantro leaves and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and sprinkle with a few red pepper flakes, if you like.

I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights, the brainchild of Ruth at Once Upon a Feast. Be sure to check out this week's roundup tomorrow hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavors!

Grilled Pork Chops with Chili Maple Glaze

I originally found this recipe online as a stove top variation on a Bon Appetit recipe. I’d quote the source (if I could find it) but I’ve taken creative license and have adapted it even further. Since I received a new grill from the hubs for Mothers Day, I’ve wanted nothing more than to grill everything in sight. So, when I pulled this recipe out of my “must try” file, I just couldn’t bring myself to light the stove. I personally think it was much better this way (not that I tried it on the stove!) and the hubs agreed. He took all the leftovers with him to work for lunch yesterday.
The chili garlic sauce that I picked up at the asian market gave it a nice kick, and the maple syrup added an unexpected sweetness. I really wasn’t sold on the idea of combining the two, but in the end, it really worked!

Grilled Pork Chops with Chili Maple Glaze
6 boneless pork loin chops

1 tsp chinese five-spice powder

salt and pepper

1 cup chicken broth

3 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp chili garlic sauce

1. Season pork chops on both sides with salt, pepper, and five-spice powder.

2. Heat grill to high and cook the pork about three minutes on each side, giving it some lovely grill marks.3. Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, chili garlic sauce and maple syrup in a saucepan and reduce by half.

4. Brush over pork chops and let the grill do its job by turning it into a caramelly (is that a word?) glaze.

This one was so fast and easy, not to mention flavorful. Throw a few slabs of zucchini on the grill at the last minute and you have a full meal!

A Man in My Kitchen

It is no secret that I do the vast majority of the cooking in my house. However, ever since I started this blog, my husband has been joking about posting a recipe. Now, bear in mind that follow-through is not the hubs' strong suit. That being said, the Big Man does love browsing the food sections of whatever newspaper he happens to be reading. Of course, he claims that it is for my benefit, but with a recent issue, he came out of his culinary shell and invaded my kitchen. Here is how it went:

*at work, my cell phone rings*
Hubs: Hey, did you say you were going to the grocery after work?
Me: Yep, why? Need me to pick something up for you?
Hubs: Yeah, if you would. Got a pen?
Me: *ignores the request and rolls eyes*
Me: Go ahead...
Hubs: Ok, a can of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of blackeyed peas, the kind with jalapenos if they have them, a can of beef broth....
Me: *scrambles to find the pen I didn't think I needed*
Hubs: what are tomatoes with chiles?
Me: Ro-tel.
Hubs: Ro-what?
Me: never mind, I know what it is....
Hubs: four ounces of green chiles, 2 fresh jalapeños....
Me: Good lord, honey, what are we making?

He proceeds to tell me that he found this recipe in the newspaper the day before and it sounded good. So, after determining that most of the ingredients he needed were already in the pantry, I wrote down what was left and headed for the store.

While I was in the checkout lane, my phone rings again.

Me: Yes, dear?
Hubs: Do you have a dutch oven?
Me: Ummm yes, why?
*the grocery clerk gives me an odd look*
Hubs: Where is it?
Me: its the black enamel pot on the cabinet by the laundry room...why?
Hubs: The recipe says to use a dutch oven.
Me: *smirking a little* Ok, but its not a very big one, we'll probably use my regular stockpot.
Hubs: *silence*
Me: Do you need me to get anything else?
Hubs: Nope, just hurry up.

At this point, I am getting suspicious. Sure enough, I get home and open the front door to the sound and smell of onions cooking and see my dear husband hunched over the cutting board, hacking away at the fresh jalapeños. Apparently I was just in time for the main event. He was impatiently waiting for me to arrive with the remaining ingredients. We teamed up to put together the remaining ingredients in the pot and brought it up to a boil.

I have got to say, this soup is a real keeper. We discovered (since we've made it about three more times in the last three weeks) that you have to make a double batch to fill your average crock pot all the way. This made it on the menu for the hubs' birthday party at the local watering hole and the recipe was requested by about a dozen of the regulars. It was also the first item to disappear from the buffet.

If you know anyone who likes a good, hearty and spicy soup/stew, this is for them. One tip I can give you is to make sure you drain all the grease thoroughly after cooking the meats. You can adjust the heat by using canned green chiles OR canned diced jalapeños, you can use mild, original, or hot Ro-tel, and you can use as few or as many fresh jalapeños as you like. In our house, we used canned jalapenos, original Ro-tel, and 2 fresh jalapeños in each batch. When we doubled it, we used 3 fresh jalapeños instead of 4, so that we wouldn't hurt any of our friends who were eating it. Use your own judgement based on how tough your taste buds are! It turned our very flavorful with a pretty good kick, without being overly hot. Keep in mind though, that we are lovers of the chile, so you may want to tone your version down if you are a little more cautious around the spicier foods. Also, it may look pretty thin at first, but this soup with thicken up like crazy in the fridge, so don't worry if it seems a bit watery, as it does in my pictures. I like mine that way, but the hubs is one of those people that likes everything better the next day.

So! Congratulate my honey, this is his first recipe posted on my blog (or anywhere else, for that matter) and I'm pretty proud of him for coming up with such a good one, and for doing a damned fine job in the kitchen.


Blackeyed Pea Soup with Polish Sausage
1 pound ground beef
1 pound polish sausage or kielbasa, cut in bite size pieces
1 onion, chopped
1-2 jalapeños, seeded and deveined, finely diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Ro-tel
1 can beef broth
2 cans blackeyed peas
1 4-ounce can green chiles

In a stock pot, brown the ground beef and set aside. Then toss in the sausage and brown gently (this adds great flavor to the soup). Add in the onion and jalapeño and cook until vegetables are soft. Put beef back in the pot and add all the canned items.Simmer until reduced slightly. Add 2-3 cups of water if you want a thinner soup. Serve with crusty bread.

Some Like it HOT!

And I'm one of them! I don't honestly know what the requirements are to be able to consider yourself a "chilihead", but I know its hard for me to find something that is "too hot" for my tastebuds. So, naturally, when I planted my garden this spread, it included a wider variety of peppers, one being the red habañero. Finally last week, I started seeing some red on the plants. There are quite a few green ones on there yet, so I figured I had better do something with the ones that were ripe before I had a mountain of them to deal with. I found a recipe for Habañero Hot Pepper Sauce and decided it was worth a try.

One thing I need to remember is not to EVER make this during the winter, or any other time that the house cannot be opened up for ventilation. While the chiles were simmering away downstairs, we were upstairs watching Wow Wow Wubzy with Ty (yes, we really were) and nearly lost our nose hairs! The fumes drifting up the stairs were enough to peel the paint off the walls.

And I loved it.

I just kept thinking about how great that was going to taste when it was done. Matt was worried that it was going to be too hot to eat, but I assured him that although it was highly unlikely (for me, anyway), if it DID turn out to be too spicy, we could always mix it in with barbecue sauce to mellow it out.

Yeah, he is soooo not touching my habañero hot sauce!!! When Matt made ribs this weekend, I dabbed a little of the meat in the sauce....mmmmm....heavenly!!! Or hellish....not sure which applies, but I was loving it. Matt's friend Rex joined us that night and he mixed it in with his rice and said it was great. I couldn't resist adding some to my grilled chicken last night. I'm going to have to make a bunch more and freeze it or can it or something so I have it all year. Because I'm telling you right now, there is not way the one little bottle it made is going to last me long!

***WARNING!!! Not for the weak of heart...or taste buds*** Habanero Pepper Sauce Recipe
Habanero peppers

Jalapeno peppers

Cayenne peppers

Hot chili peppers

(Approximately 2 cups, total of the peppers)
1 head unpeeled garlic

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 T. sugar
Directions:The exact proportions of the various types of peppers above can be varied depending on your personal tastes and what you have available. For a milder sauce, milder varieties such as Hot Wax, Banana, Pimento, or Bell peppers can be substituted for a portion of the hot varieties listed above.
Using rubber gloves, clean and de-seed approximately 2 cups of peppers. In a saucepan, combine the peppers, garlic, and vinegar and cook, covered, over low heat for approximately one hour. Keep an eye on the liquid and reduce heat and add more vinegar if it seems to be boiling away quickly. Press through a sieve or a food mill, add the sugar, and return to low heat for approximately 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. Pour into a jar or bottle which can be sealed and refrigerate. Will keep in refrigerator for several months.

Chicken Poppers

Chicken Poppers

12-15 good sized jalapeno peppers

2-3 marinated chicken breasts (recipe below)

bacon

toothpicks

Chicken Marinade
1/2 cup fresh orange juice or 1/4 orange juice concentrate (I keep a can of this in the freezer at all times and use a spoonful or two at a time for marinades, etc.)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or a couple of tablespoons of Real Lemon)
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard (I had spicy brown mustard this time, so that's what I used)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or whatever you have on hand. I guess my point is, don't let the lack of one ingredient keep you from trying a recipe!)
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed (a couple of teaspoons of minced garlic from the fridge)
1 TB Italian seasoning
Salt and fresh cracked black peppercorns to taste
Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces that are the right size to fit in a half a pepper. Mix all marinade ingredients together in a large, lidded container and toss with chicken to cook. Refrigerate at least a couple of hours.

Marinate chicken several hours or overnight (see the marinade recipe above). Halve the peppers lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and the membranes. (I bought the cutest little spoon a the Asian market in Baltimore that turned out to be the perfect size and shape for doing this!)

Fit a piece of marinated chicken into a pepper half and wrap with a slice of bacon, securing in with a toothpick. The trouble with having such an imprecise recipe is that it almost never works out that you have a proportional amount of all your ingredients, so you generally end up with some miscellaneous leftovers. But hey! Its okay! You know why? Because that little piece of bacon is going to be a tasty snack while I'm cooking the poppers, the leftover chicken will taste great on my salad for lunch tomorrow, and the jalapeños will get diced up and put some kick into my Spicy Sloppy Joes tomorrow night! Its all good, just find something to do with the leftovers. I do!

Now, if I had a functional grill at the moment, I would grill these, low and slow until the chicken is done and the bacon is nice and browned. However, in the winter, and now that my grill is basically a planter, I precook the chicken about halfway in a skillet before stuffing it into the peppers, then cook the poppers on a stovetop griddle. The sides of the bacon doesn't get as done as the rest this way, but the hubs doesn't mind.

Spicy and savory at the same time, these little snackers just fly off the grill and you never have enough, so make a bunch!