Not long ago I was talking with my cousin Neil, and he was telling me about how everyone in his house had come down with some sort of bug.  I know how that feels!  There is nothing worse when everyone is sick.  For one thing, nobody wants to cook. 🙂

Of course, there is nothing better when your sick than some home made chicken stew so I decided to make them up a batch so A. they would not have to cook, and B. the chance to make them feel a little better.

Neils’ wife Melissa has been asking me for the recipe every since, and I haven’t written it down because it is just one of those dishes I just make as I go along.  Well, the other day I made it again and tried to keep in my memory how I did it.  So Melissa, this one is for you, I hope I got it all right. 🙂

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds
1 large onion, roughly diced
3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed (or pressed)
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 large carrots chopped
1 can sweet corn
1 can green beans
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
water
salt and pepper
chicken stock/broth
1 stick of unsalted butter
about 1/4 cup of flour
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (not that dust from the green can)
1 1/2 cups of bow-tie pasta or cheese tortellini (uncooked)
About a cup of heavy cream
Canola oil

Preheat oven to 250.

In a large dutch oven or – (More…)

As said in some of my recent articles, it is all about Irish food these last 2-3 weeks. A friend once made a statement about me which still draws agreeing giggles from my family and friends. She said “Little kids have Christmas, and Jeff has St. Patty’s day.”

I suppose she is right because I look forward to it every year more than I do any other holiday. Spring is my favorite season and St. Patty’s day to me is just a celebration that winter is finally gone and better times are ahead. Of course, there is also the beer and food. 🙂

I began looking through my recipes and doing research on traditional authentic Irish foods. I find that there really are not many century old staples as one would think there would be from a country so ancient and steeped in history. Ireland cuisine seems to be very flexible and changes almost from century to century. What someones great grandmother used to cook in Dublin was much different compared to that same persons great great grandmother. Even today you find that current Irish food is changing almost decade to decade.

In preparation for our annual SPD party, I usually try to make up foods that can sit in a warmer or Crockpot for a few hours since the party is casual, and lasts most of the day. This unfortunately is not compatible – (More…)

So we send the kids out with their Aunt overnight and she takes them out to a place I won’t name other than to say the title could also mean, more than one owl.  The next day, one of them has a bad stomach ache, and all that goes with what you would expect if you ate something bad.

He couldn’t keep anything down that day so the next I decided to brew up some medicine.  You see, I have been there before and I know what my stomach needed then, so I decided to make my beef and noodle stew.

Most of your beef stews do not contain any type of pasta.  I have no idea why, because it really makes the dish for me.  I add all types to my recipe.

Yes, the stew was a hit and he ate two bowls of it and it would appear he is going to make it to school tomorrow.  Whether my stew can take credit for this or it was just a twenty four hour bug is uncertain, but here it is anyway:

2 lbs. cubed beef (chuck, etc.), cut into bitesize pieces.
1 small white onion, chopped.
1 small red onion, chopped.
5 stalks of celery, cleaned.
4 cloves of garlic, crushed, minced.
2 cups of chopped baby carrots.
About 8-9 small red baby potatoes, cut small (about 8 pieces each).
1 15 oz. can of sweet corn.
1 15 oz. can of green beans.
1 8 oz can of tomato paste.
1 – (More…)

Truly, winter is the domain of Chicken Soup. Although good any time of year, there really is nothing better on a cold miserable day than a bowl of hot, healthy chicken soup. Anyone who has cooked for pleasure for even a small amount of time has eventually made their way to this concoction.

My recipe is many years in the making and surely it will be different in a few more years. This recipe grows and changes as you do.

Here is my current recipe that I use to make about six quarts of soup:

5-6 chicken thighs.
1 large onion (any kind), chopped.
3 cloves of garlic, minced.
4-5 stalks of celery, cleaned, leaves removed, and chopped.
2 cups of baby carrots, chopped.
1 15 ounce can of sweet kernel corn, drained.
Assorted pasta (bow tie, noodles, egg noodles, macaroni, etc.) about three large handfuls.
3 stalks (sprigs) of thyme.
3 stalks (sprigs) of sage.
2 large bay leaves.
water.
kosher salt& fresh pepper.

Place the chopped onion on the bottom of your Crockpot. Add the carrots, celery, and then the garlic next. Place two of chicken thighs on top of the vegetables. We are not going to cook all the chicken in the Crockpot. This would create a very fatty soup. Although chicken soup needs some fat, you do not need quite that much and chicken thighs are very fatty.

Cover everything with the corn (make sure you drained it). Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper – (More…)

In my youth I worked in a restaurant called the Lobster Pound in Gardiner New York. The owner has since retired along with the business. Everything I ever learned about cooking seafood started there. Sole proprietor restaurants make the most interesting meals because they are not tied down to franchise recipes.

The winter is the slow time of the year for the seafood business and during those slow nights in the restaurant, we spent many hours just experimenting with recipes and making our own. The owner was from New England and had many old books on cooking. We would scour through them and find eclectic recipes from ages ago.

At the end of the week before the new lobster shipment would come in, we would have to do something with the old and tired lobsters from the previous week that did not sell. This is when the owner showed me how to make Lobster Bisque. This recipe ensured that no lobster went to waste because the soup could last almost another week, even though generally it was finished in a couple days.

My Lobster Bisque recipe is in part borrowed from Bernie, the owner of the Lobster Pound, but as with many of my recipes, adapted to the way that I enjoy it.

Many people just use lobster parts they find in the supermarket to make bisque, but that will always end in a so-so version of – (More…)