I know There are Some Fabulous Cooks Here...

[kidsmoke]

I appeal to you, Via Chicago! I'm feeling so bored with my own cooking lately, and need inspiration.

 

What have you made recently that got rave reviews? I have an acorn squash and some sausages on hand. And potatoes. Those I have to dig up.

 

But, start anywhere. Make me hungry. 

[brownie]

Crab soup:

 

[kidsmoke]

17 minutes ago, brownie said:

Crab soup:

 

That looks so good!

[brownie]

3 hours ago, kidsmoke said:

That looks so good!

Thank you! 

 

I got the recipe off a postcard I picked up in Baltimore some years back.  It is a rare treat, though, because crab meat is so crazy expensive!

[tinnitus photography]

i gotta say that the $40 for a yearly subscription to the NYT Cooking app/site is well worth it.

 

i did a chorizo/lentil dish a few weeks ago that was really good, and changed it up a bit last night and also cooked chicken thighs.  the garlic noodle recipe is great, and i really liked the shrimp and mango tacos too.

this is a great cookbook too... the honey/hoisin chicken thighs are truly great, and be sure to cook extra because that soup... oh my god that soup.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Vietnamese-Food-Any-Day-Recipes/dp/0399580352

[Heart full of holes]

Your acorn squash would work well with this.  It looks like a bit of a mess, but it is fantastic! You could add crumbled sausage, too.

https://smittenkitchen.com/2021/10/winter-squash-and-spinach-pasta-bake/

 

[kidsmoke]

Wow, just the descriptions have me hungry...honey/hoisin chicken thighs! I can taste that in my mind. I just made my version of garlic noodles last night. Always good.

It's finally getting crispy-cold in southern California, so the soup and the spinach/squash bake both sound perfect. And for dessert I think I'd better finally pick those 2 last happy mini watermelons growing out there.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[tinnitus photography]

i accidentally posted this to my photog account on facebook and figured i would cut and paste for this thread. this soup is amazingly good.

 

 

i roasted the thighs in the oven (@425 for about 45-50 min, turning every 10 min. there are two keys: make a 50/50 mix of fine salt and 5 spice powder, and rub on the chicken under the skin... to make the glaze, do this: add some smashed ginger (1", cut in slices) and garlic (4 cloves) to 1/3 cup of honey, 2 tbsp of soy and some 5 spice. bring that to a boil, let cool, and strain the solids. this is what you brush on the chicken every 10 min... at 20 min, flip the thighs and brush the undersides).

once the chicken is done, take the meat off the bones but save the bones and skin (making the chicken this way for the soup is kind of overkill and it's quite good on its own; for the soup you can grab a rotisserie chicken and use that if you'd like).

 

ok, now let's make the soup. soak 4-6 dried shiitake mushrooms in a cup of hot water. once soft, take out, slice in quarters and reserve the liquid. heat a 1 or 2 tbsp of sesame oil in a large pot with bruised tails of scallions (save the sliced tips for garnish) and ginger slices for a min or two under med heat. add in the mushroom water, 6 cups of chicken stock, a tbsp of maple syrup, 1/2 tsp of 5 spice, a cup of water and all the bones and skin from the thighs. bring to a boil and the simmer for ~30 min.

 

strain the broth into a clean pot and discard the solids. add in a cup of water if you think you need to, there is plenty of flavor so don't worry about dilution. add in the chopped chicken and stir.

 

get another pot of water boiling and cook some soba or udon noodles until soft, and drain.

 

split 2-3 baby bok choy (ends trimmed) lengthwise and slice into 1" pieces diagonally. add those to the soup and cook for a couple of minutes.

put some noodles in a bowl, top with soup and garnish with the sliced scallions and sprinkle some togarashi on top.

 

[lizish]

Always in love with Marcella Hazen's Bolognese sauce. Best I have ever found - but gawd it takes forever. 

 

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015181-marcella-hazans-bolognese-sauce?action=click&module=Collection Page Recipe Card&region=Fall Pastas You’ll Want to Make All Season Long&pgType=collection&rank=6

 

[kidsmoke]

Lizish, I can't seem to access that without creating an account, which I don't want right now. But no matter; you've reminded me that I own Hazan's wonderful cookbook, "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking". Pages 203 to 205 is her Bolognese sauce, which makes me hungry just to read it. 

[lizish]

D - it is kinda neat how she kept tinkering with the recipe. The one in the book is slightly different I think.

 

Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce

 

Recipe from Marcella Hazan

Adapted by The New York Times

• YIELD2 heaping cups, for about 6 servings and 1 1/2 pounds pasta
• TIMEAt least 4 hours

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Jim Wilson/The New York Times

After the death in 2013 of Marcella Hazan, the cookbook author who changed the way Americans cook Italian food, The Times asked readers which of her recipes had become staples in their kitchens. Many people answered with one word: “Bolognese.” Ms. Hazan had a few recipes for the classic sauce, and they are all outstanding. This one appeared in her book “The Essentials of Classic Italian Cuisine,” and one reader called it “the gold standard.” Try it and see for yourself. —The New York Times

Featured in: Tell Us Your Favorite Marcella Hazan Recipe. 

Italian, Pastas, Ground Beef, Pasta, Tomato, Dinner, Main Course

 

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13,369 ratings 

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the pasta
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ⅔ cup chopped celery
• ⅔ cup chopped carrot
• ¾ pound ground beef chuck (or you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef)
•  Salt
•  Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
• 1 cup whole milk
•  Whole nutmeg
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 ½ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
• 1 ¼ to 1 ½ pounds pasta
•  Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table

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Ingredient Substitution Guide

 

PREPARATION

1. Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
2. Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
3. Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating -- about 1/8 teaspoon -- of nutmeg, and stir.
4. Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.
5. Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.

[kidsmoke]

I just finished making a big beautiful batch of Turkey Frame Soup with egg noodles. (Brownie's crab soup inspired me!)

I need to make the Bolognese sauce soon! 

I haven't made Tim's fabulous hoisin chicken thighs yet, but I did make Beth's Winter Squash and Spinach Pasta Bake. I had homegrown acorn squash and a tiny pumpkin, so I peeled & seeded & sliced those up together. Then I browned some sweet Italian sausage and added that in too. It made a sort of squash/spinach/sausage lasagna, and it got rave reviews from my kids, since it made plenty to share around! Really delicious.😋

[Heart full of holes]

Wow, Donna! You nailed it!