Quick Tortilla Soup

There’s a plethora of recipes for Tortilla Soup that really look and taste like stew or chili. My twist on this ubiquitous recipe relies on a paste of powder spices cooked among onions and a jar of grilled peppers toasted to perfection before being bathed in broth. About 40 minutes to cook and serve.

The soup is thicken in a very traditional manner without corn starch or a roux by cooking diced potatoes and diced corn tortillas with the broth. After 30 minutes of brewing, this delicious potion is pulverized with an immersion blender. Before serving diced grilled chicken and white navy beans are added. 

This is a healthy, comfort food recipe utilizing spices to enhance a tasty experience either side of the border.

Ingredients (serves 6)

1 quart chicken broth

3 medium peeled diced potatoes

3 corn tortillas sliced into strips

1 medium diced onion or large leek

2 stalks celery diced

1 jar grilled red peppers including brine

Clear cooking oil such as grape seed or canola  

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon each: cumin, cinnamon, smoked paprika, garlic powder

1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

Optional: a few strands saffron to top before serving

3 grilled or baked boneless skinless chicken breast OR shredded chicken from store bought rotisserie whole chicken

1 can drained rinsed white navy beans

Method

Heat oil in large stock pot

Add onions, celery cook 3 minutes

Add spices and stir to toast with veges stir the whole time until spices stick to bottom but do not burn. Very important as we tend to want to add liquid before the spices are toasted.

Add broth and scrape bottom of pot to hydrate the toasted spices. The bottom should be free of any spices.  Add tortillas, jar of grilled peppers with brine, and potatoes, cover and cook 30 minutes until soft.

Remove lid and blend contents with immersion blender until smooth.

Add apple cider vinegar and whisk with spoon. Taste for your preferred heat level adding more chili powder and cumin if needed.

Add beans and diced or shredded chicken. I prefer diced when serving children as it can be cut up.

Sprinkle a few saffron threads on each bowl as a touch of elegance as seen in photo.

Limoncello Mousse Magic

Here’s a light summer delight that takes 10 minutes to assemble, chill over night, and enjoy every bite!

The touch of limoncello in this recipe adds a bit of sweetness and tartness. Limoncello originated in southern Italy near the Amalfi coast where lemons are grown abundantly. It is the second most popular Italian export liquor, with Campari being first. Limoncello is served after dinner throughout the country with most restaurants making their own. 

I remember my first sip of limoncello in a small restaurant in Florence served ice cold from a repurposed soda bottle. The good stuff! I have made my own, but prefer to stock up when I visit Italy, as shown in the photo below. It travels well. That’s amore!

Limoncello Mousse Pie (Serves 6 adults)

Ingredients

1 prepared graham cracker pie shell 

1 small package lemon instant pudding

1 1/4 cold milk

1 thawed carton 8 ounce Cool Whip

2 Tablespoons Limoncello

Method

In a large bowl mix milk with pudding mix. Let gel two minutes on the counter. Take 1/3 scoop of Cool Whip container and lightly blend into the pudding. Add the limoncello. Put this mixture into the pie shell. Top with the remaining Cool Whip. Chill overnight in the refrigerator. 

Serve with a smile!

Turkey Rouge Chili For All Seasons

The word chili comes from the Nahauti Aztec word for South American grown peppers. In fact, the word was so common that when Spain colonized South America, they named one state in its honor, Chile.

The “chili” meal we serve today comes in many varieties with or without beans. It originated in the southwest Texas, northern Mexico communities, and it was called “chili con carne” translated as peppers with meat.

My one hour prep to bowl version of Turkey Chili is healthy, delicious, and a popular meal to enjoy all year round! Some turkey chili recipes are made with a cream based broth. This tomato red base will fool even non turkey lovers into believing the chili is beef (con carne) not turkey! The use of complex spices especially smoked paprika creates amazing flavors.

Turkey Rouge Chili (serves 4 meal size)

1 pound lean ground turkey

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 chopped onion

1 chopped yellow pepper (or green)

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon each salt & pepper

2 cans 16 ounces stewed chopped tomatoes

8 ounces tomato sauce or passatta

2 cans 16 ounces white navy beans drained and rinsed

8 ounces water (or more)

Method

Brown turkey, onion, yellow pepper in olive oil. Add seasonings cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes. Chop down mixture using a potato masher as you don’t want chunks of tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes. Add drained beans and water. Bring to boil then lower to simmer 30 minutes stirring every few minutes to avoid burning. Add water if thickening too quickly.

Serve with toppings of chopped avocado, shredded cheese, oyster crackers, and elbow macaroni. Delish!

This spicy buffet is not just for cowboys or snowstorms!

Tamales: Italian Style a Fiesta Amore!

I took an all day tamale cooking class a couple of years ago. That experience truly made me appreciate the laborious effort these little pockets of joy require. Although I did venture to replicate the steps at home, I knew none of my friends or family would be interested in that particularly painful joy of cooking. 

Ah ha! I worked out a delicious, simplified solution by tweaking a couple of steps. By using my secret ingredient of Italian polenta in lieu of the lard ridden traditional masa, these rich, delicious tamales are easier to make and healthier! As an additional bonus, you will master cooking polenta you can serve in a traditional Milano Italian dish slathered with meat ragu and cheese. That’s Amore! 

By preparing the polenta and pork filling (or bean, chicken, or cheese) a day or two ahead, you can still invite grandchildren or friends to assemble the tamales and FIESTA. This  social experience is steeped in traditional Mexican families especially at Christmas. My version of this recipe, by using all precooked ingredients, reduces the assembled steamed-cooked time from 1 hour to only 30 minutes pot to plate! 

Ingredients for 24 Tamales 

Prepare Polenta this makes 16 cups, 1.5 hours cooking time plus cooling. Best to do a day ahead.

2 cups whole coarse ground polenta / corn meal the best is Bob’s Red Mill

11 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Add all of these 3 ingredients in oven ready pot and bring to a boil by stirring regularly. When this begins to vapor but not boil remove from heat and cover with lid. 

Place in oven and cook undisturbed one hour. Then remove from oven and whisk quite vigorously. Cool to room temp for tamale prep. (If serving as a dish, add grated cheese after whisking and serve in a bowl topped with favorite ragu and more cheese!)

Pork Filling for 24 Tamales

3 pound boneless pork roast cut into 2 inch chuncks.

Sprinkle with 1Tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper cover and bake in covered pot 2 hours at 350 degrees. The fat in the meat will create its own juice.  Remove from oven and from juice. Retain 1/4 cup of juice for adding back to meat. Shred meat with 2 forks, as it should be very tender. Add the small 1/4 cup juice. You can add more spices to taste but avoid adding liquid to the meat you want it pretty dry to place inside the tamale. Refrigerate until ready to assemble tamales. 

Assembling Tamales

Remove 25 corn husks from bag and soften by placing  them in a bowl then cover with boiling water for 30 minutes. Sometimes they tear so I added one for good measure.

The husks are triangle shaped place the narrowest point at the top of your work space shiny side down. Place cooled polenta in a square shape in the middle of husk as shown in photo. Take a heaping amount of cool pork in the middle. Taking one side of the husk fold the polenta to the middle like an envelope. Repeat on the other side by overlapping the first side to create the tamale. Last take the short end of the point and fold it over. This fold will keep the contents dry during steaming. You leave the top open. Stand up the tamale in an empty pot while assembling the rest as shown in photo.

The last step is to steam the straight up tamales in s basket steamer pot covered for 30 minutes. 

Tamales can be served or frozen for later consumption. 

To cook from frozen wrap in a wet paper towel and microwave for one minute. 

What a perfect melding of a Mexican tradition with a delicious Italian twist!

Fiesta Amore!!!

One pound bag corn husks ~ $7. Makes ~ 50-75. 

Soaked husks. Square of polenta. Pork filling. Ready to roll one side of husk to other. 

After rolling sides take tip end and fold up. Top of husk will remain open and pointing up for steaming. 

Standing up proud ready to steam for 30 minutes!

Hello Dumpling!

When we are able to travel again, day trips will become wonderful experiences. I cannot wait to venture north of my border to visit Milwaukee! My first stop will be picking up a carry out order from the very best German restaurant in the world, Mader’s. (Restaurant info)

With my meal in hand, I will drive to the shores of Lake Michigan to savor my meal. From the parking lot of The Milwaukee Art Museum, I will feast, and then I will visit the wonderful museum! What a great day trip! Click here to monitor times and dates, as well as their exhibits:  Milwaukee Art Museum

My Mader’s cookbook was published in 1965, and it contains many of their recipes including sauerbraten, spaetzle, cheesecake, and cookies. The only dumpling recipes call for baking powder for a fluffy drop dumpling like those served with chicken and dumplings. You really need to treat yourself to bread dumplings!

I had to scour the internet to find recipes for bread dumplings. The best are made with yeast, and they are the perfect texture to soak up the delicious sauces and gravy from most Slavic recipes. I have tweaked the following recipe for bread dumplings that you just cannot find in grocery stores! They are easy to make, and they can be frozen for future use.

Bread Dumplings (2 loaves of 10 slices)

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour

1 package instant dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar or honey

1 egg

1 cup luke warm water (98-105 degrees)

Method

Place all ingredients in the bowl of standing mixer with the dough hook. Beat very slowly until blended then slowly mix with the dough hook for 6 minutes.

Remove the hook from the machine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to allow the mixture to rise for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, remove the dough and cut into 2 logs. Rest logs on counter.

Boil large pot of water that has a lid.

Place one log at a time in boiling water, cover and boil for 20 minutes. They will expand. Don’t peek! If you have a large pot you can boil both at once. If not, use the same water to boil the second log. 

Remove the log, cool, and slice as shown below before serving. If you freeze some, return to refrigerator to thaw and steam them before serving. 

Boil in pot with a lid. You may fit two, allowing space to expand! These are done!

Final delicious sliced Dumplings!