Thai Chicken Coconut Soup

There was a little Thai place in a city where I used to live that was pretty much the definition of a dive. It was just a few tables thrown into a small room, and the owner's little children just kind of wandered around the restaurant (and I'm pretty sure they stole my friend's chapstick once). However, I kept going back, and the soup was pretty much the reason why.

The first soup on the menu was listed as "sweet and intoxicating" (I think technically it was called tom kha gai, but I always just called it "sweet and intoxicating soup" and that was good enough for me.) It was a blend of coconut, vegetables, chicken, and other stuff that I'm not exactly sure of, but it was good. I know that there may be some out there who be offended at the decidedly American-looking list of ingredients: shouldn't it contain galangal and kaffir lime leaves and those little red chilies that will burn your eyebrows off and nam prik phao and lots of other stuff I can't pronounce? Well, it probably should, and if you're a Thai soup purist, I'm sorry. I don't believe in authenticity nearly as much as I believe in awesomeness. And this, my friends, is awesome.


Thai Chicken Coconut Soup

• 1 quart chicken broth
• 3-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced very thin
• 1 medium jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed
• 3 tablespoons lemongrass puree
• Zest of 1 lime (finely zested)
• 2 cans coconut milk
  
• 1 pound chicken breast
• 1/2 medium sweet onion
  
• 1 can pineapple tidbits in pineapple juice
• scant 1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
• 2 teaspoons cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon basil leaves
  
• Juice of 2-3 limes
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• about 1/2 cup enoki mushrooms, roughly chopped
• salt, to taste
  

Place the chicken broth in a large soup pot with the ginger, jalapeno, and lemongrass. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and let simmer for 10 minutes to flavor the broth, occasionally stirring vigorously with a whisk. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, discard what's left in the strainer, and place the broth back in the pan.

Add the coconut milk, chicken, onion, pineapple, sugar, and herbs. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the chicken is cooked (about 10 more minutes, or so). Shred the chicken, then add back to the pot.

Add the lime juice, pepper, tomato, and mushrooms. Stir until warmed throughout. Season with salt as needed.

Tortellini in Asparagus Cream Sauce

This recipe comes from my sister, who was trying to find a way to sneak a few more green vegetables into the diet (she being the domestic goddess that she is, keeping her lovely home with her adorable baby). I've edited just a little bit, and frankly, I quite like the result.


Honestly, this sauce would work just as well on any type of pasta (I think the aforementioned sister uses cheese ravioli). I know what some of you will say when you read the ingredient list and see half-and-half instead of heavy cream. Just hold on there, folks. Remember, this was an attempt to be more healthy and eat more vegetables. You can use heavy cream if you want (and I bet it would be good), but that would kind of defeat my purpose.



Tortellini in Asparagus Cream Sauce

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, hard stems discarded
• 1/2 large, sweet onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• A few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  
• 1.5 pounds dry tortellini
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 450-degrees. Cut off the tips of asparagus and set aside. Place the asparagus, onion (sections separated), and garlic in a roasting pan. Drizzle some olive oil over them, and toss to coat well. Season with plenty of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until slightly charred and well-cooked (the time may vary depending on the thickness of the asparagus: mine were very thin).

Bring a pot of salted water to boil on the stove for the pasta. When the vegetables are done, throw in the pasta to cook for the recommended time (usually about 10-12 minutes).

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the vegetables and saute for a few minutes, until soft. Add the half-and-half and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat. Using an immersion blender, puree the vegetable and cream mixture until very smooth (the asparagus can be kind of stringy, so make sure you've done a good job). Add the lemon juice and Parmesan cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste (it may take a lot).

Add in the asparagus tips and simmer for just a minute until slightly soft. Drain the pasta, and using the larger of the two pots you've used, mix the pasta and sauce together until heated. Serve with more Parmesan if needed.

New Toys

Williams and Sonoma was having a sale.

Hurray for me.

Grilled Peaches with Honey and Mascarpone

Summer seems to demand grilling for some reason, and to be honest, I'm not exactly sure why. If it's so blasted hot outside, why do we go and hover over a 500+ degree smoke machine? Who knows, but the tradition holds, and personally, I love it. Now, as much as I love myself a big ole' piece of meat grilled to perfection, I think there may just be other foods that say "summer" a little stronger than a slab of cow. Peaches are one of those things for me. Peaches scream hot summer days, so what better way to summer them up even more than to cook them on a grill, and serve them alongside your steak or burger. The flavors here work very well together, and are the perfect accompaniment to your outdoor meal by the pool or on the patio.


Grilled Peaches with Honey and Mascarpone

Ingredients

• Somewhat firm peaches, sliced in half with the pit removed
• About 1 tablespoon of honey for every peach half you'll be cooking
• About 1 tablespoon mascarpone (Italian cream cheese) for every peach half

In heating the grill, create a hotter side and a somewhat cooler section.

Place the peach halves, cut-side-down, on the hot part of the grill for about 3 minutes until char marks are visible and the peach is somewhat softer. Remove the peaches from the grill and turn them cut-side up.

Drizzle the honey over the cut sides of the peaches, and return them to the cooler section of the grill, cut-side-up for 4-5 minutes, until they're soft. Place some mascarpone in the hollow of each peach half, and serve while still warm.

Ginger Ale Scallops

This recipe was made in a hotel room with limited resources. We went to a grocery store, but it you're only going to be somewhere for one night, you don't really want to buy all these kitchen staples. So, we bought a few main ingredients, then tried to make do with what we had. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that we came up with something pretty dang good. Don't laugh when you see it. There probably is a way to do it with honey, fresh ginger, etc, but the crisp sweetness of the ginger ale really worked well with the scallops. And best of all, it was ready in just a few minutes.


Ginger Ale Scallops

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
  
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound small-to-medium sea scallops (you could do it with larger ones if you wanted, but the small ones worked really well)
• 1 medium shallot, finely diced
  
• Juice of 1 lemon
• About 1/2 cup ginger ale
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Remove the "feet" from the scallops, if necessary. Melt 2 tablespoons butter with the olive oil in a large, flat-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Make sure the bottom is covered well with the butter and oil. Add the scallops in a single layer, and let sear, undisturbed, for about 3 minutes. Gently dislodge them, if needed, and flip them to sear the other side, 2-3 minutes (or until gently colored). Remove from pan, retaining as much liquid in the pan as possible.

Add additional 2 tablespoons butter to the pan. Toss in the shallot, and saute until browned. Add the lemon juice and ginger ale, working the bottom of the pan to dissolve any browned bits of scallop into the sauce. Bring to a boil, and let the sauce reduce for a few minutes. Toss the scallops back into the pan to reheat and cover with the sauce. Serve over sauteed or roasted asparagus.

Goat Cheese and Summer Berry Salad

Summer is officially surrounding us, overheating us, and making us eat berries and fruit. This is a really quick, but really interesting salad that pairs well with other traditional, summer fare (grilled meat, corn on the cobb, etc.). The tangy goat cheese compliments the berries well, and the nuts add a great crunch. I don't really have any measurements here (use your judgment--I trust you), and you can really add whatever summer fruit or nuts suit your fancy. This is just the combination I used, but I'm sure others would work just as well.


Goat Cheese and Berry Salad

Ingredients

• Young lettuces or spring mix
• Sliced strawberries
• Whole blackberries
• Dried cranberries
• Toasted almonds
• Crumbled goat cheese
• Poppyseed dressing
  

Layer the lettuces, fruit, nuts, and cheese. Serve with the poppyseed dressing.

Happy birthday, America