Grandma Lillian's Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Last month I got the rare treat of a visit with my dear Aunt Sandy and cousin Tricia, when Tricia's husband Johnny was at a conference in Anaheim. Adam and I drove down to have dinner with Tricia and Sandy and it was delightful. As we chatted, I mentioned to Sandy that I hadn't had chicken and wild rice soup in forever and wondered if she could send me Grandma Lil's recipe, to which she readily agreed :) The recipe came this week, and today was the perfect day to try it: cold and rainy. As I typically do, I altered the recipe just slightly (love you Grandma!), but it's mostly OG. Oster-cousins: do you have any additions/alterations? Mom says Aunt Kay puts duck in her version and that sounds divine.

Alrighty, start with a rotisserie chicken for this soup, as it's my ultimate soup cheat. Skin, de-bone, and set aside. You'll need two cups of the chopped chicken. You should also start your wild rice at this point - the recipe calls for 2 cups of cooked wild rice, and it usually takes and hour, so get that going first. Slice six slices of bacon into lardons and fry in your stock pot with a one count of olive oil until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon then set aside, and pour out most of the bacon fat. Add one stick (yup!) of butter, then 1/2 cup of minced onions and cook over medium heat. As the onions are cooking, finely chop (or use your food processor if you don't like the texture of celery) 2 stalks of celery. Remove the leaves from the top of the stalks before you chop, slice those up and add to the onions. Add the minced celery, then chop up 1/2 pound of crimini mushrooms. Add the mushrooms to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Stir these veggies occasionally as you chop and be sure not to burn. Peel and slice up one cup of carrots and add to the pot. Add one teaspoon of dried dill and taste for seasonings, add s/p if needed. Deglaze with a few glugs of white wine (optional, I like the flavor it adds) and cook for a few minutes more to cook the wine out. Add 1/2 cup of flour and cook for a moment, stirring well to combine. Now pour in six cups of warmed chicken broth slowly, stirring constantly until the soup has thickened. Turn to medium low and bubble away for a few minutes. Taste again for seasoning, I added a few shakes of celery salt and more pepper at this point.

Now for some decadence: add 2 cups of half and half. Yum. I used whole milk that is lactose free because as we know, Adam does not tolerate lactose. Aunt Sandy also recommends whole milk, so use either. Simmer, stirring occasionally for a few minutes more. Be sure to taste for seasonings again before serving.

Ladle some of this thick, delicious amazingness into bowls, and crumble the crispy bacon on top. I served this soup with some crusty bread infused with rosemary on the side and it was heaven. Absolutely perfect for a rainy day, and I can't wait to have it for lunch tomorrow.

I'm so grateful to add this recipe to my repertoire, and it reminds me of sitting at Grandma's table. I still miss her every single day, so cooking her food makes me feel a little closer to her. Love you, Gram! Thanks Aunt Sandy for this precious food memory.

xoxo,

D

Sally Tomato Dinner Party

Hi friends! Sorry I've been absent lately, don't think it's because I don't love you.

Let's jump right in, it's the holiday season and I'm sure many of you will be involved in dinner parties. The below menu follows my love of slow cooking, but would also be really easy to make ahead with minimal effort. I had the lovely Sally Tomatoes over on Saturday night for a fancy cocktail/dinner party and the food seemed to go over well :) For those of you who don't know, I'm in an all girl (aw yeah) a cappella group (check out our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=216667725069213) and we felt the need for some fanciness. Give this party menu a try and you won't be sorry!

I started with dessert first (duh). Now I'm not a huge sweets fan (gives me a tummy ache, natch) but I wanted the girls to be able to finish the meal off with something delectable. The result was a compromise: salted butterscotch pudding. A-freaking-mazing. I made it the night before so all I had to do the night of was whip some cream right before serving. Start with 2 1/4 cups of whole milk and one cup of heavy cream (yeah, this isn't fat free. deal). Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan, bring to a simmer, then set aside. In a large frying pan melt six tablespoons of butter then add 1 1/4 cups of dark brown sugar, cook -whisking frequently- over medium high heat. The recipe that I found for this on foodnetwork.com says that you should cook this 5 to 7 minutes until you smell a caramelized scent. I've found (making this recipe twice) that this happens in 2-3 minutes. You want to caramelize the sugar, not burn, so cook stirring frequently and sniff for that nutty delicious smell. When you get it, whisk the butter/sugar into the milk and cream mixture (use your hand blender if it's lumpy). Meanwhile, separate three egg yolks into a small bowl, then whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot milk/cream along with 1/4 cup of cornstarch and a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Now whisk the eggs/cornstarch into the milk/cream/sugar mix over medium heat until it gets good and thick. Turn off the heat and mix in 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla. Separate the puddin' into ramekins and refrigerate uncovered overnight. When ready to serve, top with fresh whipped cream and BOOM. Delicious town.

Okay now it's time for the main course. Brisket: let's do this. Sara Moulton has provided the most perfect recipe pretty much ever. Okay first thing - Sara wants you to peel a whole head of garlic. If you're not lazy, you break the bulb apart, boil the cloves for thirty seconds, drain, cool then peel. Orrrr you can buy them already peeled in the refrigerated section of your market. Your choice.

Ooh pre-heat the oven! 325 degrees! (I totally added this sentence when I was almost done with the blog. I'm terrible at remembering to pre-heat the oven).

Alrighty, so you need to coat a five pound brisket with seasoned (s/p) flour, shake off any excess. Heat three tablespoons of evoo in a dutch oven until almost smoking, then brown the brisket on all sides. Remove the brisket and set aside. Cook four sliced leeks (Sara says onions, I like leeks) with your garlic cloves (season with some s/p) for ten minutes or so until lightly browned. Pour in three cups of red wine (I went with a zinfandel) and scrape the yummy bits from the bottom of the pot. Add 1/4 cup of tomato paste, 2 bay leaves, and one teaspoon of dried thyme. Bring to a boil and cook out most of the liquid, stirring frequently. I got super impatient at this part of the recipe but I promise it's worth the wait. You are reducing the sauce and intensifying the flavor by like, I dunno, a million or something (math isn't my strong suit). Next pour in one quart of chicken stock (I actually used half chicken stock, half beef stock) and bring to a boil again. Add the brisket, cover the pot with aluminum foil and the lid, then roast for 3-4 hours. The brisket is ready when a fork comes out easily after piercing the meat.

Take a nice break whilst the meat is in the oven, put your feet up, and have a glass of wine. Take five minutes and make the amazingly delicious horseradish sauce: mix 1/2 cup of prepared horseradish with one cup of mayo, a handful of chopped chives and a few squeezes of lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

Okay when the brisket is ready, remove from the braising liquid and cover with foil, letting the meat rest for at least 15 minutes. Strain the liquid into a fat separator (I refuse to believe you don't have this amazing implement by now), then cook the liquid down until it's reduced by half. I mixed a little of the liquid with a few tablespoons of cornstarch, then added to the liquid to speed up the thickening (impatient!). Now you have an amazing gravy. Slice your gorgeous brisket against the grain and serve with the gravy and horseradish sauce.

Also! I made goat's cheese polenta (4 cups of liquid -chicken stock- to one cup of corn meal, whisk the corn meal into the boiling liquid. Add s/p, some cream and goat's cheese, perhaps some chives and you're donesies). Another delicious side: caramelized shallot brussels sprouts. Yeah that happened. Saute 1/2 pound of sliced shallots in 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat (add s/p) until golden brown. Then you'll add a pinch of sugar and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Stir for another three minutes or so, until the vinegar has cooked down, then set aside. Quarter 1 1/2 pounds of brussels sprouts and saute in 2 tablespoons of olive oil (s/p) until they begin to color. Add 3/4 cup of water and saute until most of the water has evaporated, then add 3 tablespoons of butter :). Cook that down and add the caramelized shallots and serve. Best. Brussels sprouts. Ever.

This was a relatively simple dinner party with fantastic results. I insist you try this at one of your upcoming holiday parties. You won't be sorry!

xo,

d