"Memories with Food At Gipsy House" by Felicity and Roald Dahl - Chicken Avocado Casserole

Date I made this recipe: May 17, 2010

Memories with Food At Gipsy House by Felicity & Roald Dahl
Published by: Viking
ISBN: 0-670-84142-0
Recipe: Chicken with Avocado Casserole – p. 70

Well, time flies when you’re having fun, right? I mean, in the blink of an eye, we shot right past Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day and shoot – now we’re cruising toward Memorial Day. And did I make anything in honor of these occasions? Nope! Oh well, nothing can be done except forge ahead from where I last left off.

Despite the hectic pace, my husband and I found time to watch a few movies, one of which was the animated Fantastic Mr. Fox with George Clooney as the voice of Mr. Fox (Even animated, Clooney is a total fox…and fantastic…and funny—one of the best lines he delivered was something about doing a fox trot!) and Meryl Streep as the voice of his wife.

British author, Roald Dahl, penned the story, Fantastic Mr. Fox, in 1970. He is also the author of James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Although I was a voracious reader as a kid, these books came out when I was on my way into junior high and never made the “to read” list. Of course, it’s never too late but given that many of these books were made into movies, perhaps I’ll just indulge my inner child that way.

Given that Roald is known for his children’s books, I was surprised to learn, many years ago, that he had written this cookbook. If memory serves, it is one of the first ones purchased for my collection and one that I ordered from Kitchen Arts & Letters in New York. I think it was on a list of “interesting” cookbooks that some magazine such as Gourmet or Bon Appetite printed and I checked in with Kitchen Arts to see if they had it. Back then, one small shelf was all I need – now I require several shelves and am still running out of room.

So I got this book and tucked it away on the (single) shelf to collect dust for years and years but then watched the movie and thought “I should make something.” But folks, finding a recipe was a little tricky—nothing seemed to really jump out at me and so I finally settled on this one. And as per usual, there were some recipe issues.

First and foremost, I am math challenged so didn’t know how to measure 3/8 of a cup of flour. (Somewhere in the heavens, Sister Rita Celeste is turning over in her grave wondering where she had failed me. In actuality, she failed me but we don’t have enough time to talk about the angst of being a Catholic school girl.) So thank goodness for Google because 1/8 of a cup = 2 tablespoons. (And not that I should assume anything but I figured 3/8 of a cup equal 6 tablespoons…and I was right. Whew!)

The recipe also called for 1 cup of light cream and so I went with half and half and yes, Jesus, that was correct as well (as verified by Google). But these days, cartons of cream and half and half post serving sizes by the tablespoon and that means nothing to me! I mean, who on earth runs around with tablespoon equivalents in their head! (No need for a show of hands.) So again I guessed that a small carton of half and half equaled one cup and it did.

Next up was the direction to use ½ cup grated strong cheese (as opposed to your weak cheeses?). What on earth did that mean??? “Strong cheese” could have been anything from gorgonzola to sharp cheddar but since I had sharp cheddar on hand, I went with that. (Waste not, want not!)

You wouldn’t think that herbs would necessarily pose a problem but you would be wrong. The recipe said “fresh chopped rosemary” and “fresh chopped basil” but didn’t say how much so I just threw in some dried herbs (my grocery was out of fresh basil and I was too lazy to go elsewhere) until it tasted good.

Finally, there’s the chicken itself. The recipe gives precise instructions for how to make your broth (and by the way, it makes a lot of broth) but never says what to do with the chicken once you put it in the casserole so I shredded it. Can’t go wrong with shredding.

As to the avocado, it was tasty but as always, when exposed to air, it started to turn brown and let me just say that this was not the most appetizing look of the day but it was edible, so there!

If you ask me, and you didn’t, I think you can shortcut this recipe by poaching the chicken separately and then using canned broth instead of going through the trouble to make it fresh. I only did that because I had time on my hands and wanted to stay true to the recipe.

By the way, long before I heard of Roald Dahl, I heard of his ex-wife, actress Patricia Neal. Baby boomers like me may remember that Patricia was the original Mama Walton in the TV movie, The Homecoming – the pilot for the TV series, The Waltons. Going further back, she also starred in, and won a Best Actress Oscar for, the movie, Hud, with Paul Newman. (Sigh—that man was gorgeous!).

Anyway…without further ado, Chicken and Avocado Casserole!

Chicken Avocado Casserole – serves 6
The chicken can be poached in advance and the stock reserved.

6-lb chicken cut into four pieces (or chicken pieces of your choice weighing approximately 6 pounds – I used chicken breasts on the bone)
5 cups water (this may be too little; I suggest adding water to cover)
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
2-c stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 tbsp salt
Peppercorns
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
4 tbsp butter (you will likely need more)
3/8 cup flour (6 tablespoons)
1 cup light cream (Half and Half)
½ cup grated strong cheese (likely a sharp cheddar but your choice)
Fresh chopped rosemary
Fresh chopped basil
Salt
Hot pepper sauce, e.g. Tabasco
3 cups mushrooms
2 large ripe avocados
(Optional) ½ cup flakes almonds, roasted, for garnish

Put chicken pieces into a large pot with the water, onion, celery, salt, peppercorns, carrots and bay leaf. Bring up to the boil and simmer gently, skimming frequently. Simmer for about 2 hours or until the chicken is tender (the meat should fall off the bone easily).

After 2 hours, remove the pan from the stove and cool. Once the broth has cooled, remove the meat from the bones (except wings), put the bones, skin and wings back into the pan and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Strain stock (you should have about 3 cups) and cool.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a saucepan melt three tablespoons butter (I used about 4) and stir in the flour. Next, stir in the stock, cream, cheese, herbs, salt and hot pepper sauce. Stir until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil.

Clean and halve or quarter the mushrooms depending on the size. Saute them in the remaining butter.

Place mushrooms and chicken in the bottom of a casserole (I used a 9x13 pan), season and pour over the sauce. (Is it me, or does this sentence seem wonky?! I’m pretty sure he means to pour the sauce over the chicken…at least that’s what I did!). Cover and bake for 25 minutes or until the chicken is heated through.

Slice the avocados, place in the casserole, cook for about 10 minutes until the avocado is cooked through. (Note: I wasn’t sure whether or not to cover the avocados so I went with “covered” – final answer!).

Just before serving, sprinkle the roasted almonds on top.

"American Feasts - The Best of American Regional Cooking" - Kentucky Burgoo (Stew)

Date I made this recipe: May 1, 2010 (Kentucky Derby)

American Feasts – The Best of American Regional Cooking by Sallie Y. Williams
Published by: William Morrow and Company, Inc.
ISBN: 0-688-05707-1
Recipe: Kentucky Burgoo – p. 100

People, timing is everything. I purchased this cookbook at Arc’s Value Village for a big old buck ninety nine two weeks before the Kentucky Derby. As I was leafing through the book, I saw the recipe for Kentucky Burgoo and that was that!

Kentucky Burgoo is basically a meat stew – “meat” with a capital “M.” Pork, beef, veal and chicken all go into this dish. It’s like we went to sleep and woke up in a butcher shop. And just for good measure, vegetables are added at the last minute saving this dish from being a featured item on a South Beach diet plan!

And speaking of flavor, the only “spice” in this dish is Worcestershire sauce and a scant amount at that so be sure to salt and pepper accordingly.

As to the Derby, I didn’t watch it as I had things to do but did recall a hilarious moment from one of my favorite movies, My Fair Lady. In the movie, Audrey Hepburn, a grubby, Cockneyed-accented flower salesperson turned lady, goes to the horse races and momentarily forgets herself by yelling at the horse, Dover, to “Move your bloomin’ arse!” (“Arse” is how the English pronounced “ass.”). Her fellow race-goers were not amused.

After eating all this meat, you may not be able to move your bloomin’ arse, but it is a pretty good dish overall and one that is pretty easy to make. Enjoy!

Kentucky Burgoo – 12 servings (you will definitely want to cut this recipe in half if not quarters)
1 pound boneless pork
2 pounds boneless beef chuck
1 pound breast of veal (since veal can be hard to find, I doubled up on the pork)
1 small frying chicken (I used 3 boneless chicken breasts)
Water
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, scraped and chopped
½ green pepper, diced
¼ head of cabbage, chopped
3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 cup corn (fresh if possible)
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne

Place the meats in a heavy kettle and cover with water. Boil until tender (check after a half an hour to see if the meat is done). Drain and reserve the liquid (Or—do what I did and remove the meat, cut it into cubes and then return it to the liquid to which I had already added the vegetables). Add the vegetables, parsley, Worcestershire and seasonings to taste. Simmer the mixture until thick. Serve.

"From the Earth to the Table" - "Five Lilies" (Onion) Chowder

Date I made this recipe: April 22, 2010 (Earth Day)

From the Earth to the Table – John Ash’s Wine Country Cuisine by John Ash with Sid Goldstein (winner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals Book of the Year – The Julia Child Cookbook Awards)
Published by: Penguin Books
ISBN: 0-525-94000-6
Recipe: “Five Lilies” Chowder – p. 62

Fear not Earth Day Aficionados! Despite the name, no actual lilies were harmed in the making of this recipe! (Can you imagine? Ew!!)

Many people do not know that onions, leeks, shallots, garlic and chives are part of the lily family. And all five of these items are in this soup which turned out to be incredibly tasty even if the name was suspect.

Since today is Earth Day, I yanked out this book, appropriately titled “From the Earth to the Table” that had been tucked away in the far recesses of my collection. A friend gave it to me a while ago and I have to say that awards or no, the recipes in this book didn’t quite send me flying. (Thus the “tucked away” comment) Some took a long time and had too many steps and dare I say that although not required, a vegetarian dish seemed in order for an Earth Day celebration and I just didn’t grove on the ones in this book.

But not to be outdone by a cookbook, I looked again and decided on the soup. I do feel the name “chowder,” though, is misleading as “chowder” usually means that milk or cream are added and neither of those two ingredients was present.

The author suggested adding wild rice and/or vegetables to this dish to make it a more substantial meal and I added both. The wild rice was good but seemed heavy in this dish. On the other hand, the peas I added seemed just right.

So happy post-Earth Day fellow earthlings!

“Five-Lilies” Chowder – serves 8
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups diced yellow onions
¼ cup sliced shallots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
6 cups mushroom stock (p. 57) or rich chicken stock, fat removed (I used Swanson’s and it was fine)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
½ cup minced celery
1 cup sliced leeks, both white and tender green parts
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons minced chives
Garnish: Gremolata (1 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons minced parsley, and 2 tablespoons minced lemon zest, combined in a bowl)
(Optional) cooked wild rice
(Optional) cooked vegetables (I used peas)

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, shallots, and garlic and sauté until they just begin to color. Transfer half the onion mixture to a blender or food processor. Puree and return to the pan. Add the wine, bay leaf and stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. The soup base may be prepared in advance to this point and stored and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen indefinitely and reheated before finishing.

Just before serving, add the thyme, oregano, celery, leeks, and sherry to the hot soup base. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 2 minutes. Do not overcook; the vegetables should retain their crunchy texture. Remove the bay leaf, stir in the chives, and garnish with a sprinkling of the gremolata.

"The Star Wars Cookbook - Wookie Cookies and other Galactic Recipes" - Crazy Cantina Chili

Date I made this recipe: April 18, 2010

The Star Wars Cookbook – Wookiee Cookies and other Galactic Recipes by Robin Davis
Published by: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 0-8118-2184-6
Recipe: Crazy Cantina Chili – p. 42

People, I’ve often maintained that there is a cookbook out there for everybody about everything and this one is no exception. Although this cookbook was intended for a young audience, there is so much to like about the movie Star Wars that this adult chef just had to have it.

Many things come to mind when I think of Star Wars. First, there’s Bill Murray’s hilarious rendition of the Star Wars theme from a sketch he did on the TV show, Saturday Night Live. In the sketch, Murray played a piano lounge singer who liked to sing movie themes, all with made up words and all of them hilarious. To listen to the Star Wars theme in all its glory, go to YouTube and enter “Bill Murray Sings Star Wars Theme” and you’ll get the link. Unfortunately, you’ll be unable to see Bill sing this song as apparently there is a copyright issue and that’s a shame because he completely nails the “too hip for words” lounge singer persona.

Second, I’ll always have the memory of going to see the movie when it first opened on a college date. The guy I was with was nice enough but he had one fatal flaw: having already seen the movie, he couldn’t wait to tell me about it and did so while the screen was rolling the “A long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away” spiel, otherwise known as THE PLOT!! Talk about being confused for the entire movie! Needless to say, we did not last long as a couple. I ended up going again, this time with other friends who knew how to keep quiet. Men, please file this under “bad date behavior!”

Third, I recall and have photo proof of going to a Halloween party that fall with my roommates dressed as Storm Troopers - the guys in the white outfits. Shopko (the MI/WI version of Target) had the masks on sale so we each purchased one, ripped some sheets to make the body costume and then (and this is soooo creative) wrapped some car snow brushes/scrappers with tin foil, turning them into our very own laser swords! (Hey—it was 1977 and we were poor college students. You try doing better!). We had a blast at the party although we stayed in costume the entire time and therefore had to drink beer from a straw. This is not recommended.

And finally, my community band, The Calhoun-Isles Community Band, frequently does music by composer and Star War movie music master John Williams and has performed the Star Wars music to the delight of audience members of all ages. This coming Tuesday, April 20, we are performing a concert of all movie themes and while we have a couple of John Williams’ medleys, we are not doing Star Wars this time around – drat it all!

So to console myself, I just pulled out this cookbook and found the Crazy Cantina recipe (the cantina scene in the original Star Wars movie is one of my favorites) and went to town.

Since this cookbook is for kids, the recipe was easy but also surprisingly good. Since I oftentimes pick garbanzo beans (chick peas) out of soups and salads, I wanted to make sure I ate them and so I whirled them around in my Cuisinart for a second or two until they were nicely chopped. It made such a difference to me that you might want to try this as well, especially if you have picky eaters at the table.

“May the force be with you” as you prepare this recipe!

Crazy Cantina Chili – makes 4 to 6 servings
1 can (16-ounces) kidney beans
1 can (16-ounces) black beans
1 can (16-ounces) garbanzo beans (also known as chick peas)
1 onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can (28-ounces) crushed tomatoes with juice
1 cup tomato juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Sour cream or plain yogurt

Open the can of beans and drain off the liquid from the cans into the sink. Set the beans aside.

Put the onion on a cutting board. Carefully slice off the root end and the stem end. Use your fingers to strip off the dry skin. Then cut the onion in half from the top to the bottom. Hold an onion half cut side down and thinly slice it crosswise. Be sure to keep your fingers clear of the knife blade. Set aside.

Put the oil in a large saucepan. Set the pan on the stove and switch on the heat to medium-high. When the oil it hot, add the chopped onion and stir with the wooden spoon until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the chili powder and cayenne pepper and stir for 30 seconds. Add the beans, the crushed tomatoes, and the tomato juice. Stir well. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the chili with the cheese and sour cream on the side.

"Miss Mary's Down-Home Cooking" - Ham Casserole

Date I made this recipe: April 11, 2010

Miss Mary’s Down-Home Cooking – Recipes from Small-Town America by Diana Dalsass
Published by: A Main Street Book
© 1984 (by Diana Dalsass); 2002 (by A Main Street Book)
Recipe: Ham Casserole – p. 42

It almost goes without saying, doesn’t it, that after Easter is over, one has to do something with the leftover ham. I must have had my recipe radar finely tuned the other day because I selected today’s book, Miss Mary’s Down-Home Cooking and found a ham casserole recipe in one fell swoop!

And it was a tasty recipe—not great, not award winning, but tasty and comforting. I wasn’t sure how the spaghetti would work out as it seemed like it would be hard to eat but I went with it and it was fine. I think I could have been satisfied with pasta and cheese sauce but alas, the reason I selected it was to rid myself of leftover ham and so I added the other ingredients. And it all worked.

I’m thinking about making a soup from the ham bone but it’s almost too hot for that. We’ll have to see how the next few days shake out.

In the meantime, enjoy!

By the way, "Miss Mary" is Miss Mary Bobo of Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House in Lynchburg, Tennessee. If you're in the area, you might want to give it a whirl!

Ham Casserole – serves 4
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 bunch broccoli (2 or 3 stalks—or use a package of frozen broccoli)
8 ounces spaghetti, cooked until tender and drained
2 cups diced cooked ham

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in the flour. Add the milk and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil. Add the cheese and pepper and cook, stirring, until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat.

Trim the tough ends off the broccoli. Cut the broccoli lengthwise into quarters. Cook in boiling water or steam until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and chop coarsely.

When spaghetti has cooked, stir in the cheese sauce. Add the ham and broccoli. Turn the mixture into a greased 2-quart casserole. Bake, covered, in a 350 oven 40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

"The Smithfield Cookbook" & "Mrs. Wilkes' Boardinghouse Cookbook" - Ham with Honey Orange Glaze and Cheese Grits

Date I made these recipes: April 4, 2010 (Easter Sunday)

The Smithfield Cookbook – 350 years of Dining Traditions from Smithfield and Isle of Wight County, Virginia by The Junior Woman’s Club of Smithfield – Smithfield, Virginia
Published by: The Junior Woman’s Club of Smithfield
© 1978
Recipe: Ham with Honey Orange Glaze – p. 8

Mrs. Wilkes’ Boardinghouse Cookbook with a history by John T. Edge
Published by: Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 1-58008-257-2
Recipe: Cheese Grits – p. 111

People, you know it’s going to be a good day when you wake up, turn on the TV, and the movie Easter Parade is on! I LOVE that movie/musical. It’s got Fred (Astaire) and Judy (Garland) and Ann (Miller) and lots of singing and dancing (“a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants”) and great fashion and more! That movie had me whistling and singing “Happy Easter” all day.

And what a great day it was—no snow, high about 65 degrees and sunny. Between the weather and the movie, I was tempted to laze out all day but alas, I had some Easter food to make!

Although I toyed with not making a ham, it is Easter after all and given that I used The Smithfield Cookbook it became almost mandatory that I make a ham.

Long before Paula Deen became a spokesperson for the Smithfield (ham) company, Smithfield was synonymous for country ham—hams that are hung up and dry-cured in a ham house (and by dry-cured I mean “allowed to mold”—no worries, the mold is to be removed before cooking). Actually, make that southern country ham since I don’t know of anyone or any company in the northern clime that can pull off the process like a southern ham producer. (Likely because we are usually buried in snow for a good portion of the year.)

So ham it was and once that decision was made, I decided on a glaze. I actually leaned toward one that involved cinnamon candy pieces but my husband vetoed that so we went with a basic honey orange glaze. It was good but I thought it was rather dull. (By the way, I looked for a Smithfield ham but the only one I found cost $30—ouch! Well, Paula Deen’s picture on that package isn’t free, you know!).

Since I was making a southern ham, I felt the urge to conquer a dish that I have turned my nose up on for a long, long time—grits. I do not have a fond memory of grits the way southerners do and have to say the worst I ever tasted was at a Waffle House years ago. Just the very thought…

But I’m a big girl now and so it was time to just get a grip and get them made although I must confess that in order to eat them, they needed to be cheese grits or else forget the whole deal.

And so I turned to one of my southern cookbooks and found the recipe in Mrs. Wilkes’ Boarding House Cookbook.

I don’t remember when I learned about Mrs. Wilkes but she was a lady who ran a boarding house in Savannah, GA for years and years until she passed away in 2002 at the age of 95. Her place is still overrun by visitors who line up to get some (by all accounts) fantastic Southern home cooking. Mrs. Wilkes’ menu lists a lineup of meats and veggies and it just cracks me up to no end that macaroni and cheese as well as cheese grits end up in the “veggie” category. That is just so southern, isn’t it?!

Now one of the downfalls of being a northern gal living in a northern climate is that it was darned difficult to find “regular” (as opposed to quick-cooking) grits as called for in the recipe. After visiting three grocery stores, I finally found Bob’s Red Mill Corn Grits (bless his heart) and was off and running. (The label indicated that corn grits are also known as polenta and while that is probably true, I’m not envisioning a true-blue southerner claiming to love polenta. I’m just saying….).

And so I made my ham and had me some grits (and asparagus) and concluded Easter 2010. And in the process I think I might have been converted to liking grits (although the cheese probably didn’t hurt at all). In fact Mrs. Wilkes promises that these grits “can convert even a steadfast Yankee into a believer in this Southern staple.” Maybe a road trip is in order?

Ham with Honey Orange Glaze (submitted by The Smithfield Packing Co., Inc.)
¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon dry mustard

Cook your ham as directed. (Ours took 1.75 hours) During the last 15-30 minutes, combine ingredients and brush on the ham, basting several times.

Cheese Grits – serves 6 to 8
1 cup regular grits (do not use quick-cooking grits)
4 cups water
¼ cup butter
1 (6-ounce) package garlic cheese or sharp Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks, beaten well
2 egg whites, beaten stiff
Cracker or dry bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350. Cook the grits in the water according to the package directions. Slowly add the butter, cheese and salt. Add the egg yolks and fold in the egg whites. Pour into a greased 1 ½-quart casserole. Sprinkle cracker/bread crumbs on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

"Pasta - a passion" - Hot-and-sour shrimp pasta

Date I made this recipe: March 28, 2010

Pasta – a passion by Nina Dreyer Hensley, Jim Hensley and Paul Lowe
Published by: Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 0-28195-08106-2

Recipe: Hot-and-sour shrimp pasta – p. 28

“And now let’s turn to the weather….”

People, the weather in these parts has been unbelievable—no snow, no cold, just mostly sunny with highs in the 50’s—in March! And not to jinx it, but it appears we are set to cruise into April in the low 70’s—unbelievable.

But this unbelievable weather snap has wrecked havoc into my “spring” menu planning. Normally I’d be up to my eyeballs in soups and stew recipes as we have often had basketball tournament snowstorms to contend with but not this year. So a major rethink was in order.

And so I toyed with lighter foods – maybe something Middle Eastern or even chicken but nah, too boring. And then I fixated, and I mean fixated on pasta. I don’t know why (except I had the TV commercial of old “Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day” on the brain). So then I pulled out my battery of Italian cookbooks and leafed through and contemplated and considered and then settled on an Asian pasta dish. So much for red sauce!

This cookbook had such yummy-sounding recipes that I almost felt guilty about going for something Asian but I tell you what, it was the right choice. This recipe is delicious and easy. In fact, I prepared it just after my husband and I got back from a walk around our neighborhood. It wasn’t the warmest walk we’ve ever taken (as evidence by my freezing cold ears) but the sun was out, the snow was gone and ahhhhh….

Hot-and-sour shrimp pasta – serves 6
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 tablespoons sake
1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 pound tagliatelle (or fettucini)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, cut into thin slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red pepper, crushed (or use red pepper flakes)

Hot-and-sour sauce
2 cups chicken broth
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Put the shrimp in a bowl with the sake, ginger, and sesame oil. Let sit for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente. Drain.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a saucepan. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. Transfer the shrimp to a plate. (Note: I purchased already-cooked shrimp and it didn’t seem to make much difference as to taste. Just make sure you don’t overcook the shrimp.)

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Add the red onion, garlic and red pepper. Saute until the onion is soft. Set aside. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and stir into the vegetables then stir constantly until the sauce boils. Cook the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, until it thickens. Gently mix in the shrimp and pasta. (Note: these instructions just didn’t make sense! Why set the vegetables aside then turn around and say add the sauce to the vegetables and then stir until the sauce boils? Am I right? So I added the sauce to the vegetables and then cooked as directed and then added the shrimp and pasta and all was well with the world and with my stomach!).

"The Complete Book of Soupds and Stews" - Green Split Pea Soup with Wine

Date I made this recipe: March 17, 2010 (St. Patrick’s Day)

The Complete Book of Soups and Stews by Bernard Clayton, Jr.
Published by: Simon & Schuster (A Fireside Book)
ISBN: 0-671-43864-6
Recipe: Green Split Pea Soup with Wine – p. 328-329

Well, here we are at St. Patrick’s Day and I thought I had a “regulation” corned beef and cabbage meal all set and ready to go until I talked to my husband.

Me: “So, what do you think of corned beef and cabbage for St. Paddy’s Day?”
Him: “Huh.” (In husband speak, this means “No.”)
Me: “Okay…hmmm… what about pea soup?”(Hey, it’s green, it works!)
Him: “I could get behind pea soup.”
Me: “And it has potatoes in it and potatoes make us think of Ireland so there it is!”

You have to admit, it was a pretty good save, right?

While my husband might have some Irish blood in him, I have not a drop – not one tiny little drop. And frankly, crowded beer halls are just not all that fun if you’re not Irish. But I can cook and I can distinguish colors (my husband is colorblind) and so I went with green soup with potatoes and so there we are – instant Irish!

The author notes that “a hint of mustard and sesame oil and a nip of wine (Me: it’s St. Paddy’s day—go for broke!) and vinegar give this hearty soup a special character that sets it apart from the dozens of other dishes made with this legume.” And sure and begorrah, this soup turned out to be pretty tasty indeed!

This concludes my salute to St. Patrick’s Day! Slainte ! (To your health!)

Green Split Pea Soup with Wine – serves 8
1 pound green split peas, washed and drained
5 or 6 cups water, depending on consistency desired
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup minced onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup minced celery
1 medium potato, thinly sliced
2 cups thinly sliced carrots
1 cup chopped tomatoes
¼ cup dry red wine
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon thyme
Several drops dark sesame oil (very potent)
3 tablespoons vinegar
¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Wash and pick over split peas. In a medium (4-quart) saucepan, cover the peas with 5 cups of water. Add the bay leaf and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook until tender, about 1 hour.

While the peas are simmering, cook the onions, garlic, celery, potato and carrots in a large covered skillet over low heat until the vegetables are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add the contents of the skillet to the soup and continue simmering for an additional hour, or a total of 2 hours.

Fifteen minutes before serving, add the tomatoes, red wine, mustard, thyme and a few drops of sesame oil. Stir to blend well. If the soup seems thick, add a cup or so of water.

Just before serving, add vinegar, parsley and freshly ground pepper to taste.

NOTE: You will likely have to add water way before you get to the final 15 minute mark.