Cream of Asparagus & Broccoli Soup

This is basically a "we're broke and gotta do something with leftovers" soup that came out fantastic!  Very rich, creamy soup and surprisingly, neither the asparagus nor the broccoli are overwhelming.  As Justin just said, it's a stick-to-your-ribs soup.  Now, I actually made this soup with some of Justin's homemade pork broth which gave it this great, smokey, ham or bacon flavour.  However, since I know most people don't have pork broth hanging around in their freezer, I'm going to post the recipe with chicken broth, which is perfectly acceptable.

I'm going to be honest here with the music - I was in a retro mood and listening to my Rosemary Clooney Pandora station (even my garnish got retro!), but this is a rock'n'roll blog and I just can't bring myself to post one of her songs.  So I'm going with a song that came across my ears yesterday that I hadn't heard in years!  T.S.O.L.'s "Black Magic"!  I remember loving this song the first time I heard it and then playing it over, and over, and over, and then over again!   Hard to find a video of this song at all!  -jen

CREAM OF ASPARAGUS & BROCCOLI SOUP
Time: 45-60 minutes total
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty: Easy 

• 1.5 pounds of asparagus
• 1 pound of broccoli
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 10 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2/3 cup flour
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on taste)
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove woody ends of asparagus and discard; chop the asparagus into 2" pieces.  Chop broccoli into about 2" pieces, including the stems.  Lay out on a baking sheet and drizzle generously with olive oil, then toss to coat all vegetables.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes.  Set aside.


Meanwhile, heat butter in stock pot over medium-high heat and saute onions until soft and transluscent, 5-10 minutes.  Add minced garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes.  Add flour and stir until combined, cook another 5 minutes.  Whisk in chicken broth and milk until all clumps have disappeared and sauce begins to thicken.  Add roasted asparagus and broccoli, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon, and cayenne pepper.  Taste soup to see if it needs additional salt and pepper.  Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.  (If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender or food processor, but do it in batches and be careful because the soup is hot!)  Stir in sherry and serve.

Creamy Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

I love making stuffed mushrooms all kinds of different ways!  Mushrooms rock!  Usually I do a crab-cheese-breadcrumb stuffing, but last night we had some leftover spinach in the freezer and I was thinking of going a little creamy with it.  I've tried doing creamy stuffed 'shrooms before using cream cheese, but I didn't really care for the way it came out... a little too rich and stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth. Thinking there must be a better way, I tried a bechamel and cheese sauce and I loved how these came out!  They might even be better than the crab stuffed 'shrooms!  Oh man... now I'll have to try making crab and spinach stuffed mushrooms using this recipe!!!

How about a little Face to Face doing a cover of Popeye!  Eats your spinach!  -jen

CREAMY SPINACH STUFFED MUSHROOMS
Time:  20 prep, 20 baking
Serves: 5-7
Difficulty: Easier than Pie!

• 12-15 large white mushrooms, cleaned
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1.5 cups shredded Fontina cheese
• 1.5 cups frozen spinach, thawed (squeeze all the juice out!  Do it!)
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh, chopped basil (love having the AeroGarden!)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs 
• non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Using your hands, gently tug the mushroom stems away from the caps, careful not to break the caps, and dice the stems finely.  Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over a medium-high heat and saute the mushroom stems, diced shallots and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the flour and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 3 minutes.  Quickly pour in the milk and whisk to remove all lumps.  Continue whisking until sauce becomes thick, another 3-5 minutes.  Add the cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste (I think I used about a teaspoon of salt and probably 1/2 a teaspoon of black pepper.)

Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat and add about 1/2 of the shredded Fontina, stirring until the cheese is entirely melted.  Stir in the spinach and the basil until entirely incorporated, then add the remainder of the cheese and set aside.

In a small bowl, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave.  Add the Panko to the melted butter and toss until entirely coated.


Spoon the spinach mixture into the mushroom caps.  Since the mixture is creamy, you don't want to go too far over the top of the cap or it will just ooze and melt when you bake it.  Top each mushroom with a generous portion of bread crumbs, gently pushing the crumbs into the spinach mixture.  Place mushrooms on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Accordion Potatoes

We started out the new year with a great brunch with new friends (new for me, anyway).  I'd been wanting to try my hand at some sliced baked potatoes because I had a ton of different ideas for them.  Our friend Mike had made some a while back, showing us pictures - they looked great!  Then we saw some made on television and decided we had to make them.  Today presented a perfect opportunity, as we were hosting brunch and needed something to go with the Greek frittata that Justin was making. 

I'm not a huge fan of potatoes - baked, mashed, scalloped.  It's not that I dislike them, they just don't do a whole lot for me.  Until... today.  These potatoes were so freaking bomb ass, I ate two servings at brunch, and went back for a half of a potato for a snack.  I want to make more right now... we just don't have any potatoes left.

C'mon.  Irish.  Accordion.  Potatoes.  This was a total no brainer for music.  Flogging Molly's "Drunken Lullabies".  I love these guys.  -jen

ACCORDION POTATOES

• 3 large baking potatoes
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 2 teaspoons dried dill
• 1-2 lemons, sliced super thin
• 1-2 shallots, sliced super thin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Scrub outside of potatoes clean.  Lay potato on cutting board and slice into 1/8-1/4" slices, not slicing through the bottom of the potato.  You can use two wooden spoons on either side of the potato as a bumper to stop you from cutting through it like in this photo.

Drizzle all but a teaspoon or two of the melted butter over entire top of potato, using your fingers to separate the pieces and get butter down into the crevices.  Sprinkle seasoning salt and dill over potatoes, separating pieces again to make sure seasoning gets into all the slots.

Squeeze sliced lemon and shallots, alternating, in between the potato slices.  Brush the tops of the potatoes with the remaining butter.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 60-80 minutes, until potato is tender.  (Timing depends on how large your potatoes are.  Test a middle piece with a fork - if it slides in easily, it's done.)


Remove and serve.  Don't forget to pull out the lemon wedges if you're not into eating lemon rind.

You could really season the potatoes with anything you wanted.  I actually used Penzey's Forward spice mix, some salt, and the dill.  Next time I'd like to use one of our chile-based spice rubs we make, and sprinkle some shredded cheese on during the last 10-15 minutes.

Hunter's Stew

I'm a guy who loves game meat.  My former father-in-law and myself used to raise chickens and rabbits for meat.  We had coveys of quail that nested and fed in his backyard.  Wild turkey roosted in the trees down by the river where the deer also bedded down during the heat of the day.  Wild pig rooted on the hillsides up the ridge.  Needless to say that I've had my fair share of game meat.  Pig roasts were common for weddings or graduations and when folks took a deer or a bear, there was often a cookout that followed.

A few months back, I'd picked up a couple of whole, trimmed rabbits from a local butcher who carries them and I finally decided to pull one out and do something with it.  It's been getting colder here of late and a nice hearty stew seemed like the perfect thing to do with a rabbit.  I figured the slow cooker would be a perfect way to break down the meat off the bones and impart a good savory flavor to the meat as Jen isn't too fond of the "gamey" taste of many wild meats.  Personally, I like it.  It also helped me clean up a few leftover veggies I had sitting around and I made up some barley to serve it over.  A great old-timey comfort dish.  Jen said it reminded her of some sort of hunter's stew so that's what I decided to call it.

Note:  If you have an aversion to eating Bambi, Thumper, or any other cute, cuddly woodland creatures, poultry may be substituted for rabbit but your cooking times will be much shorter.  Probably no more than 6 hours or so.

A little Jawbreaker "West Bay Invitational" seemed apropos as I would gladly have invited everyone to the West Bay, or Humboldt since I then wouldn't have to drive, to a kick-ass party where I would serve much cerveza and plenty of rabbit stew.  With kick-ass live music of course. - justin

Hunter's Stew

Time: 8-9 hours
Servings: 6-8
Difficulty: Easy

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup shallots, chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp seasoned salt
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp Chinese Five Spice
• 1 tsp Herbs De Provence
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup very dry sherry
• 1 whole 3lb rabbit, trimmed (paws, head, fur, skin, tail, and innards all removed)
• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 cup fresh scallions, chopped
• 1/3 cup of raisins

Thickening the Broth

• Liquid from the slow cooker
• 1 cup chicken stock 
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour

Get your oil, shallots, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, kosher and seasoned salts, black and cayenne peppers,  Chinese Five Spice, Herbs de Provence, basil, 2 cups chicken stock, water, and dry sherry in the slow cooker and set it to low for 8 hours.  Every 2 hours, turn the rabbit if the liquid doesn't cover the entire animal (we have a 7 qt slow cooker so my liquid left half my rabbit exposed).  After 6 hours stir in the rice, red wine, scallions and raisins.  After 7 hours, remove the rabbit and pull the meat from the bones.  Most of the meat is located in the hind legs but don't forget the back straps, the shoulders, and the breasts hold a good bit of meat as well.  I find the easiest way is to pull as much meat off with a fork as possible and use your hands for the rest, once the meat has cooled a little, that is.

Add the pulled meat back to the slow cooker for the last hour.  When the 8 hours is up, place the butter in a skillet over medium high heat and melt.  Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes or until the roux is a light brown color.  Strain the liquid from the slow cooker into the skillet, add the last cup of chicken stock and whisk quickly until thickened.  Add the thickened sauce/gravy back to the veggies and meat in the slow cooker and serve over rice or barley.

Smokey Squash Soup

So we have all of these autumnal veggies sitting around the house and in an effort to use them before they start to go bad, I decided to make some squash soup.  I'd already been on a mission one day to make soup stock out of a chicken carcass and ended up going the extra mile to make a pork stock as well.  It seemed like the perfect base for a squash soup.  I went the smokey pork rout for the stock and tossed in a smoked pork femur, some trimmings off of a ham steak, and a healthy dose of bacon.  The result was awesome.  Some crumbled bacon and fresh chopped scallions made this an amazing comfort dish, perfect for a cold day or for the morning after a long night of debauchery when your body needs nutrients other than hard drugs and alcohol.  Hearty and filling, healthy veggies, smooth and silky texture.  Warms you from the inside!


Since it's a healthy and hearty soup it would naturally pair with some Supersuckers which is more like country/punk with a side order of "kick me in the teeth".  A little "Born With a Tail" makes this good soup seem a little more edgy so here ya go.  You can feel a little more rock-n-roll-devil-child while you eat your healthy squash soup. - justin

Smokey Squash Soup

Time: 1 hr
Serves: 6
Difficulty: Easy

• 2 cups butternut squash
• 2 cups sweet baking pumpkin
• 1 lb bacon, chopped
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp minced garlic (about 3 medium cloves)
• 1/4 cup dry vermouth or dry sherry
• 6 cups pork or chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cups scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano, grated 

I was working with a whole squash and a whole pumpkin so I simply cut them in half, seeded them, and roasted half of each, cut side down, on an cookie sheet covered in oiled aluminum foil in a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes.  They came out perfectly.  If you are working with diced veggies, use the 4 cups and toss them in a little olive oil and roast in a 425 degree oven and check them after 25 minutes.  Pull when they are fork tender.

Brown the bacon in a large stock pot over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp.  Remove bacon and dump all but 3 tbsp of the bacon fat.  Add the chopped onion and sweat until translucent and starting to brown.  Add the salt, black and white peppers, paprika, chili powder, ginger and garlic and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the vermouth or sherry and cook for 2 minutes or so to deglaze.  Don't forget to scrape the pot with a wooden spoon or silicon whisk get all those yummy bits off the bottom.  Those are called flavor.

Add the stock to the pot along with the squash and pumpkin and add 1/2 of the crisped bacon.  Didn't think I'd forgotten that did you?  Puree with whatever method you have available.  We have a stick blender and that makes it easy but a food processor or blender would work as well.  Just work in batches.  After a smooth consistency has been achieved, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes or so.  When the desired consistency has been achieved (continue simmering if you like a thicker soup) stir in the cream and butter.  Once they have been fully incorporated, serve with rest of the crumbled bacon, chopped scallions, and Pecorino Romano as a topping.

I also thought that a dollop of sour cream would be good on this.  Or maybe some roasted apples or something.

Baba Ghanoush Hummus

Having just survived through Thanksgiving, I've been in the mood for stuff on the healthier side.  I decided to make some baba ghanoush, but ended up kind of crossing it with hummus.  Came out way tasty!  Makes me think of the show MXC, which is only the best show that's ever been on television, because Vic and Kenny always name one of the contestants Baba Ghanoush.  But Justin also came up in an instant with the best song EVER for this dish!  Nerf Herder's "Nose Ring Girl".  This is an awesome live version!  "...and rice cakes! Rice Cakes! Rice Cakes! Rice Cakes!"  Admit it... Nerf Herder and MXC are a beautiful union.  Just like baba ghanoush and hummus.  -jen

BABA GHANOUSH HUMMUS
So awesome!
Time:  1 hr roasting/10 minutes prep
Level:  E-Z 

Roasted Veggies

• 1 large eggplant
• 1 large zucchini
• 1/2 of a large onion
• 1 head of garlic
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil (this helps clean up!)  Cut eggplant and zucchini in half lengthwise.  Score the flesh of each in a diamond pattern, cutting all the way through the flesh, but not through the skin.  Drizzle olive oil over each, salt and pepper.  Place both vegetables scored-side down on baking sheet.  Chop onion into large chunks, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on baking sheet.  Cut the top off of the head of garlic to expose some of the heads.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on baking sheet.  Roast all of the veggies at 400 degrees F for 1 hour.  Set aside to cooled enough to handle.

Dip

• roasted veggies listed above
• 1 can (15.5oz) garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup tahini
• juice of 1 large lemon
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro (depending on taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic (or 1 fresh clove)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Accent or MSG (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon (or a few cranks) of black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

In a food processor, combine the scooped out flesh of the eggplant (discard the skin), the zucchini, and the onions.  Squeeze out the roasted flesh of the garlic head (discard the paper/skin) and add to processor.  Then add the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, vinegar, cilantro, minced garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, Accent, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.  Process at high speed, slowly drizzling in the olive oil.  1/4 cup makes a thick dip, but you may want to add as much as 1/2 cup olive oil to your dip to thin it out more.  Blend at high speed until garbanzo beans are completely broken up and dip is smooth and creamy.

Serve as a dip with toasted pita chips, tortilla chips, crackers, or fresh vegetables like carrots, bell peppers and cucumbers.  Or use as a condiment for lettuce and tortilla wraps, burgers, or sandwiches! 

Olive oil drizzled in the center

Coffee Toffee

I'm not much of a candy fan, but I do love English toffee.  Started making it when Justin and I first lived together, but that was about 6 years ago and I haven't made much since.  Until yesterday.  We had picked up some coffee toffee made locally and it was black, which was awesome!  Tasted great too, but it was expensive!  Like $2.50 for three tiny little pieces.  Knowing I could make toffee, I decided to try my hand at my own coffee toffee.  It came out great (though not black).  I'm still going to experiment; I don't know why I need it to be black, but I so want it to be black!  This recipe only has ground beans in it, which like I said, is delicious... but I'm thinking if I put a tablespoon or two of espresso in it when cooking... it might come out black.

This song is a little throw back and I had to be cheesy and use it.  More new wave than punk, I suppose.  They used to play the video on MTV all the time in the early/mid 80s, and I was like six or seven years old when I decided I wanted Annabella Lwin's shaved hair style!  Actually, I think I have had that hair style, only with dreads!  Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy".  -jen

COFFEE TOFFEE 
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 5-7 minutes
Level: Super easy!
Special Tools:  Candy/Oil thermometer
Note:  Be very careful making this.  The melted butter/sugar can burn you badly and it sticks like a mofo!

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter + some for pan
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (though I've made it without this too)
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons finely ground coffee beans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  (If you don't have parchment paper, you can just generously butter the baking sheet.  The bottom of your toffee will be a little buttery but it'll still be tasty!)

In a large 2-quart saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, sugar, corn syrup, salt and ground coffee beans.  Using a wooden spoon, stir over medium-high heat, bringing candy temperature to 300 degrees F (hard crack stage).  Immediately remove pan from heat, quickly stir in vanilla, and spread onto parchment paper lined pan.  Sprinkle pecans over the top quickly while toffee is still hot and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.  Flex the pan a little and candy should release. 

If you're not a fan of coffee, you can leave it out and just make plain English toffee!  Sometimes I sprinkle a little course salt over the top of the toffee for that "salted caramel" flavour.  Another option is chocolate.  Instead of sprinkling pecans on it immediately after pouring it out, you could sprinkle chocolate chips or shaved chocolate across the top.  The residual heat will melt it after a few minutes and you can spread it smooth across the top.

Made this one with pecans, salt and milk chocolate drizzle.  Left the coffee beans out.