athomechef, posts by tag: hearty - LiveJournal

I made this soup last night. We also didn't want something too heavy, but I wanted something inspired by korean and chinese cooking with a good deal of flavor. We also already had some meat earlier, before we went to the grocery stores, so we wanted something with only vegetables. So... what better than an asian inspired soup!!!

Here's the recipe.

4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 small onion, quartered and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, sliced
1 green korean pepper, thinly sliced (do not remove the seeds)
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, minced
4 large fresh white button mushrooms, sliced (type you find at most grocery stores)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 handful of dry Rice Flake Noodles (optional)
1 scallion (green onion), sliced into small pieces to garnish (optional)

Fill a 4 liter sauce pan half way with water. Place dried shiitake mushrooms into the water (dark insides facing down) and bring the water to a boil. Turn down the heat so the water boils lighly or is a strong simmer. (I prepped the other veggies while the mushrooms were rehydrating, to save time.) When the mushrooms are soft, take them out of the water to cool.

Put the onion into the mushroom broth. While the onion pieces are cooking, slice the shiitake mushrooms and put back into the soup. Stir. When the onions soften a little, add the carrot, korean pepper, ginger and garlic. Stir. Boil until the carrot pieces soften a little, and then add the white mushroom slices. Skim off any foam that might develop and discard.

After a minute or two, add the soy sauce and sugar. Stir again. Add Rice Flake Noodles. When the noodles are soft (to your preference), turn off the heat. Tranfer to soup bowls and garnish with scallion pieces.


Notes:
If you can't find green korean peppers, you may omit this ingredient (for a less spicy soup), add a different hot pepper that is mild to medium spiciness, or use a tiny amount of dried korean red pepper powder or small amount of dried red pepper flakes.

The ginger pieces can be a sharp flavor that some might not like. You may cut the ginger into chunks or slices and remove them before adding the noodles. This will keep the delicate flavor it adds without the sharp flavor that occurs when the pieces are eaten.

If you can't find Rice Flake Noodles, you may cook some rice vermicelli noodles and put them into the serving bowls before adding the soup. If you can't find either, I would have the soup without any noodles. It's pretty hearty as is.


Crossposted to frugalceliacand Be My Bento.

Hello chefs, my name is Kat Edge and I hail from South Central Louisiana, so I guess that would make my specialty Cajun cooking. As such, I guess I have to point out that I don't really measure normally, seeing as most of this stuff is just thrown together. But it's the best way to go, right? right.

So, for my introduction I'll share my specialty, my lazy bisque! A Bisque is a thicker soup, but the difference between this and a true bisque is the lack of a roux, which makes it much easier and much more accessible for those who don't know how to make one, or those who just don't want to (guilty). As a celebration to the beginning of crawfish season, this is a crawfish bisque, but it can be easily swapped out with shrimp or crab meat, a combination thereof, or simply as a corn bisque to still achieve a great soup.

So, on to the recipe:

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After posting about a simple and tasty meatloaf I made yesterday, people shared their meatloaf recipes and expressed surprise that I did not use an egg "as a binder" in mine. 

I've never used an egg, and I don't have any trouble with the meat loaf falling apart.   After some discussion, it turns out that most of them use only ground beef (I use a mixture of ground pork and ground beef)  and use less filler (bread crumbs for me) by volume for the amount of meat, and way less of other-than-egg liquid.  I'd be interested in a discussion of whether eggs are really necessary to "bind" a meatloaf and if so, why (and suggestions about what, in my version, is doing the binding.)  What conditions/recipes are likely to cause crumbly meatloaf that will need an egg to hold it together, and what is the ideal ratio of egg-to-bulk (e.g. when do you need to go to two eggs?)

Here's what I used:
2 pounds lean ground beef (from our calf, so it's grassfed and very lean)
1 pound commercial pork sausage (Owens Country Sausage brand, the "hot" type.)
1 large package Pepperidge Farm brand herbed bread crumbs
1 jar Classico brand pasta sauce with black olives and mushrooms
enough water to finish making the right consistency--1/4 to 1/2 cup

All mushed up by hand until  the bread crumbs were moistened and it was forming a somewhat soggy and cohensive mass, then baked at 350F until done.  This produced two meatloaves, and it did not crumble when sliced hot and laid on a plate. 

Greetings from Portland Oregon! My name is Cindi and while I have never worked in food service I grew up with a mother who loved to cook and passed that along to me. Over the years I have gone from the typical meal out of a box microwaved junk to really enjoying cooking from scratch and developing my skills. I have always been good with Italian fare as that was my mom's specialty and excelling at soups. My friends have called me the "Soup Queen" for years;) Originally hailing from Maine I am good with chowders and the traditional pot roast as well. Recently my fiance gave me Julia Child's classic "Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1" for the holidays and so I am eagerly reading up on traditional French cooking now.

Cassoulet is a traditional French dish that is typical of the hearty peasant fare of southwestern France. There are many variations but traditionally it would have pork, poultry (such as duck or goose more than likely), sausages and white beans. What makes it so rich and hearty is the cooking of the meats with the beans so they are full of flavor. In Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" it is suggested that while it can be made in one day often a 2-3 day leisurely process will result in the best flavors. As much as I would love to do this I opted first to try a much simpler and quicker variation. What I came up with is loosely based on 2 recipes I found on Epicurious.com; one for a "quick cassoulet" and one for a "white bean and tomato gratin".
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