Cheesy Spinach Soup

INGREDIENTS
2    tablespoons butter or olive oil
1    medium white onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1    medium Yukon Gold or white potato, diced to ½ inch
3    cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
12  ounces chopped spinach greens (fresh or frozen)
¾   cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD

In a medium sauce pan, add the oil or butter and bring the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, broth and spinach. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the potato chunks are tender.

Working in batches if necessary, add to a food processor or a blender and process to a puree. Return to a clean sauce pan over medium heat and slowly stir in the cheese. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes to assure the cheese is melted and incorporated. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Beef Braised in Ginger

INGREDIENTS
¼    cup sherry wine
3     cloves garlic, minced
½    inch fresh ginger, grated
1     tablespoon granulated sugar
1     tablespoon olive oil
2     pounds sirloin steak, cubed to 1 ½ inches
½    cup low sodium beef broth

METHOD

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sherry, garlic, ginger and sugar. Set aside. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and add the beef cubes. Brown quickly on all sides then add the sherry mixture. Cook the beef, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the broth, cover, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until the beef is tender. Serve over rice.

Sangria Chicken

INGREDIENTS
1    cup dry red table wine
1    small orange, juiced
1    lemon, juiced
1    lime, juiced
2    tablespoons olive oil
1    small white onion, chopped
3    cloves garlic, minced
1    pound chicken breast meat, cut to ½ inch cubes
1    cup small red seedless grapes, halved
1    tablespoon butter
½   teaspoon honey
1    teaspoon all-purpose flour
2    cups cooked rice

METHOD

Retain the orange, lemon and lime peelings. Place the orange, lemon and lime juices and red wine into a medium sauce pan and add the peelings or skins from the fruit. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove and dispose of the peelings and skins and set the sangria aside.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over moderate heat and add the onions. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes until they are translucent and add the garlic. Cook for 1 more minute and remove to a bowl. Add the chicken to the skillet and, stirring occasionally; brown the chicken on all sides. Pour the sangria through a sieve into the skillet, add the onions and garlic and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to thoroughly cook the chicken.

Add the red grapes and cook for 4 minutes. Remove the chicken and grapes to a bowl and reserve. Add the butter and honey to the sauce. Slowly stir in the flour and cook until the sauce thickens. To serve, spoon some of the sauce onto each individual dish, add cooked rice on top of that and then place the chicken and grapes on top of the rice. Spoon a bit of the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Corn Chipotle Soup

INGREDIENTS
4    cups frozen corn kernels, thawed, divided
2    tablespoons olive oil or butter
1    medium white onion, chopped
½   cup chopped celery
6    cloves garlic, minced
1    small white potato, diced ½ inch
1    small can (8 ounce) tomato sauce
3    cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2-3 whole chipotle peppers (from a small 7 ounce can)
1    tablespoon dried thyme
1    tablespoon dried cilantro
2    teaspoons lime juice

METHOD

In a medium sauce pan, add the olive oil, the onions and celery. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, tomato sauce, broth, chipotle peppers, 2 cups of corn and the spices. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 to 17 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.

Working in batches if necessary, pour the soup into a blender or food processor and process to a puree. Return to a clean sauce pan and add the rest of the corn. Bring the heat to a simmer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice. Serve immediately.

Brunswick Stew

There are many different recipes for this old time favorite, named either for Brunswick, Georgia or Brunswick County, Virginia. What follows is a compilation of several recipes garnered from the Internet. After trials and errors, I left in what was good and took out what was not.

INGREDIENTS

2          tablespoons butter or butter substitute
1 ½      pounds skinless, boneless chicken cut to 1 inch pieces
½         cup low sodium chicken broth
2          medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
1          medium white onion, chopped (¾ to 1 cup)
2          ribs celery, chopped
2          cloves garlic, minced
½         can butter beans (7-8 ounces), drained and rinsed
1          cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed
1          can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes
2          bay leaves
½         teaspoon dried oregano
½         teaspoon dried thyme
            dash of cayenne pepper
2         teaspoons dry bread crumbs

METHOD

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the chicken pieces. Simmer until well browned, turning often. Add the broth, potatoes, onions, celery, garlic butter beans, corn and tomatoes.. Add the bay leaves and spices – oregano, thyme and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. Add the bread crumbs and season to taste. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Will serve 4 to 5.

Larrys Sunshine Cake

This makes a rather heavy cake but the mixture of orange and lemon tastes really great. Perhaps using orange juice instead of concentrate would bring about a lighter cake – but I’ll leave that up to you.

 INGREDIENTS

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2    teaspoons baking powder
1    teaspoon salt
1    cup granulated sugar
1    whole egg
2    egg yolks
½   cup olive or similar oil
¾   cup concentrated orange juice
      grated rind of 1 medium orange

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour two round layer cake pans, tapping out the excess flour.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a smaller bowl, combine the sugar, egg and egg yolks and add to the larger bowl. Add the oil, orange concentrate and grated rind and mix well.

Place half of the batter into each cake pan and tip to level the batter. Cook in the middle of the oven for 12 to 14 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.

ICING

2    packages (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
1    cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered)
2    tablespoons lemon juice
½   teaspoon vanilla extract
      grated rind of one lemon

Thoroughly mix all ingredients.

Peel the orange used above and, using a mandolin, slice it into 8 or 9 thin slices. Ice the first layer of the cake, add the orange slices and set the second layer on top. Ice the top layer and place one (or more) orange slices on top.

Irish Potato Leek Soup

Although the French have a version of this soup, it is mostly cream and not so much potato and leek. And, they don’t use any of the green or light green parts of the leeks – a waste.

INGREDIENTS

2    tablespoons butter or butter substitute
1    pound white potatoes, peeled and diced
½   pound leeks, white and pale green parts, cleaned and chopped
1    small white onion, chopped
1    celery stalk, chopped
2 ½ cups chicken or vegetable broth
1    cup milk
2    bay leaves
1    tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or ½ tablespoon dried
½   cup half-and-half or heavy cream

METHOD

Melt the butter in a medium skillet and add the potatoes, leeks, onion and celery. Set the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the broth, milk, bay leaves and parsley. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves.

Working in batches if necessary, add the soup to a blender or food processor and process to a puree. Remove to a clean sauce pan, add salt and pepper to taste, add half-and-half or cream to taste and serve immediately. Sprinkle with chopped chives for garnish.

Irish Pork Chops & Potato Stuffing

I have cooked this dish three times, once without browning the pork chops before adding the stuffing, and the pork chops always come out a bit tough. They taste great, and the stuffing is great, but the toughness baffles me.

INGREDIENTS

4-6    boneless, lean pork chops
2    tablespoons olive oil
      Mustard of any kind (Dijon, yellow, grainy, sweet)
 
¼   cup butter or butter substitute
4    cups peeled Yukon Gold, red or Russet potatoes, in ½ inch cubes
2    large apples (Macintosh, Fuji, Gala, etc.), peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch cubes
1    medium onion, chopped
2    teaspoons each dried sage and thyme

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil and sear the pork chops on both sides. Set the skillet aside. Cover one side of each pork chop with mustard and line the edges of a deep dish baking dish with the pork chops, mustard side to the outside, forming a basket.

Add the butter to the skillet and place over medium heat. Add the potatoes, apples and onion and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and add the spices, mixing well. Place the vegetable mix into the middle of the baking dish, inside of the pork chop basket. Sprinkle with a little salt, loosely cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes.

Roasted Pepper Soup

This soup can be prepared with store-bought roasted red bell peppers or, if you wish, you can roast your own red, orange or yellow peppers and use them. Or, mix them as you wish if the color of the soup is important to the overall feeling of the event. This will require about three home-roasted peppers (see the note below about roasting peppers.)

INGREDIENTS

1          tablespoon olive oil
1          medium white onion, chopped
4          cloves garlic, minced
2          jars (7 ounce) roasted red bell peppers
1 ½      cups dry white table wine
1          teaspoon dried sage
½         can (15 ounce) cannellini beans (white kidney)
1          tablespoon butter or butter substitute

METHOD

In a large sauce pan, heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add the onions. Simmer until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Simmer for 1 minute and add the white wine, bell peppers and sage. Cook uncovered for about 5 minutes and add the beans.

Continue cooking for 5 more minutes and remove from the heat. Working in batches if necessary, place into a blender or food processor and process to a puree. Return to a clean sauce pan and reheat, adding the butter. Serve immediately accompanied by a dollop of goat cheese or ricotta.

Pairs well with TRE Chardonnay.

NOTE: To roast bell peppers, place them on a baking sheet and broil them on the top rack of the oven. Use tongs to turn them as each side becomes partially blackened. When thoroughly blacked on all sides, remove from the broiler and place them into a brown paper bag. Close the bag and let them sweat there for 10 to 15 minutes. Once cooled, remove the skin on the outside, remove the seeds and stem and cut to the desired size.

Potato Cabbage Hash

While I could not find any Irish connection for this recipe, it should be Irish because the main ingredients are cabbage and potato.

INGREDIENTS

½    head green cabbage, cored and sliced thin
1     medium white onion, sliced thin
2     medium Yukon Gold or white potatoes, grated with skin on
2     tablespoons butter
2     tablespoons Dijon mustard
1     tablespoon dried sage

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 325 F.In a baking dish with cover, mix the cabbage, onion and grated potatoes. Melt the butter and mix the mustard with it and pour over the vegetables. Sprinkle the sage over the whole thing and mix it in. Place into the oven and cook, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes.  Remove from the oven, toss slightly and serve immediately. Will serve 2 to 3.