Winter ham and vegetable soup

Yesterday morning, I started out to make a big pot of pea soup using the ham bone from Christmas. I put the ham bone in the pot, and started adding ingredients, when I discovered I was almost out of peas. I thought I had a whole two pound bag of whole green peas, but all I had was about a cup of whole yellow peas. Oh boy, that’s not good. Then as I searched my cupboard, I found a little bag with about a cup of navy beans, and another with almost a pound of red lentils. Well, all together, that will work.

I also had lots of vegetables left from a Christmas veggie tray. The veggies were laying on a layer of Boston lettuce. I chopped up a bunch of the veggies including the lettuce, and added it all. The soup ended up real good, with lots of ham  pieces which fell off the bone and broke apart. Here’s how I put this together.

1 large ham bone, with meat, fat and some skin

Lots of water

1 cup whole peas

1 cup of navy beans

3/4 lb. of red lentils

1/2 cup of onion flakes

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 cup of chopped grape tomatoes

1/2 cup of chopped orange bell peppers

1 cup of chopped carrots

1 cup of chopped Boston lettuce

1 cup of chopped celery

1 tsp. thyme

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

Place the ham bone into a large soup pot. My ham bone had a section of skin on it, as well as some fatty portions. Leave it all on the bone, and just add it as is. Add plenty of water to cover it by a good margin. Let that start to come to a boil, and then add the beans, peas and lentils. Add about a half cup of onion flakes, the red pepper flakes and the bay leaves. Next add the chopped vegetables. Now if the pot gets too full, before all the vegetables are in, just let it simmer uncovered, so it evaporates enough to fit the rest of the veggies in.

Once the vegetables are in, add the thyme and cumin. Stir and let that simmer very gently, with the cover mostly or completely on the pot. Let this simmer for about four hours, but stir often. As the cooking progresses, chunks of ham, fat and skin will fall off the bone. Use your spoon to break up the skin and fat into smaller pieces as you stir. Even the skin will be tender and tasty by the time the soup is finished.

After about four hours, it should be nice and thick. Now you want to have one more half hour of simmering, where you taste and adjust the seasoning. I added the Worcestershire sauce, some more thyme, and I think about half a teaspoon of oregano. When it is adjusted, turn the heat off and you are ready to serve.

Serving

The number one rule with serving a soup like this, is you need to have homemade bread, still warm from the oven. I had a loaf in the oven when I turned the heat off the soup. When the bread was ready, I had thick slices of bread with melting butter, along with a couple bowls of soup. I had pickled herring for an appetizer. I didn’t bother with a salad, because the salad went into the soup pot. Just about any wine will go with this dinner.

Catfish broiled with mushrooms

I was in the mood for a lighter dinner Monday night, so I pulled a huge catfish filet out of the freezer. Now in my younger days, I loved fried fish, and cajun style fried catfish is amazing. But my tastes have changed to the point where I actually prefer broiled fish. I won’t turn down a good fish fry, but this is now my preferred way to serve it. What’s even nicer, is that you don’t have to thaw the fish before you cook it.

For broiled fish, I like to use Slap Ya Mama Hot, to season it. I have found that if you use a milder cajun seasoning, to get some 'hot', the finished fish gets a little too salty. A nice dusting of the Slap Ya Mama Hot, and you get just enough hot without too much salt. 

The mushrooms added a nice touch. Here’s how I put this together. You can cook several filets and it won’t change the recipe. Just add more mushrooms.

Frozen catfish filets

Cajun seasoning (Slap Ya Mama Hot)

Oregano

Olive oil

Butter

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

1 clove of garlic

Preparation

Make sure you choose a cast iron pan, that is big enough to hold the fish. If you don’t start with frozen fish, you’ll have to reduce the cooking time. Heat that and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Set the frozen fish in the pan, and sprinkle the top of the filet with a light dusting of the cajun seasoning, and then a spec of oregano. Drizzle olive oil over the fish, and place the pan under a hot broiler. Broil for about five minutes.

By now the fish should be thawed. Gently turn the fish over, sprinkle a little cajun seasoning on this side, and set two tablespoons of butter on top of the fish. Return to the broiler. After a few minutes, add the mushrooms and garlic around the fish, and continue broiling.

When the mushrooms have softened, shove them together in a line, and turn the fish over, so it sits on the mushrooms and garlic. Add one more tablespoon of butter, and broil until the top of the fish just starts browning. It should be perfect, moist and steamy inside. You are ready to serve.

Serving

I served my catfish, covered with the mushrooms, next to a big pile of steamed brown rice. Alongside that, I added a pile of steamed, buttered, mixed vegetables. You also want warmed homemade dinner rolls, and a nice German Riesling. This dinner really hit the spot.

Pinto bean soup

One of the things I love about fall and winter is making soups. I make big pots of it, and then let it sit outside over night to cool. I usually don’t have room for a huge pot of soup in the fridge, so the deck, at 30º works well. 

I actually started making this on Friday afternoon. I pulled a meaty bone out of the freezer, from the smokey pork roast my neighbor contributed to our Thanksgiving feast. I made a stock out of that, and then let it cool outside Friday night

Saturday, as soon as my newsletter was done, I strained the stock and started on the soup. That night, I had some neighbors and friends over for dinner. The soup was a big hit. Here’s how I put it together.

1 meaty pork roast bone, smokey if possible

Lots of water

1 lb. of pinto beans

1/2 cup of onion flakes

2 bay leaves

3 stalks of celery

1 large onion

1 thin red hot pepper

3 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. cumin

15 oz. can of RoTel tomatoes

Adobo seasoning

1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

Sometimes I make this without making stock first, and just add the bone to the soup, but this time, I made stock. On the day before, take the large smokey bone from a pork roast, and set it in a huge stock pot. Add plenty of water to cover, about a teaspoon of adobo seasoning, a quarter cup of onion flakes and the bay leaves. Bring that to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, and let it go for four hours. Set the stock in the fridge or out on the deck to cool over night.

Also the night before, sort the pinto beans and discard anything that isn’t a bean. Place them in a dutch oven, and add enough salted water, to cover them by at least two inches. Put the lid on, and let them soak until the next day. 

On soup day, place a colander over a big soup pot, and strain the stock into the pot. Start the stock boiling on the stove. Pick all the smokey pork off the bone and add that to the soup pot. Drain and rinse the beans and add them to the stock. Once the soup is boiling, add the chopped onion, and celery. Dice the hot pepper and add that as well. Add the oregano, one teaspoon of thyme, and the cumin. When this comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer.

This will need about four hours simmering. After about 2 hours, you’ll want to stir often. Taste it, and adjust the seasoning. I eventually added two more teaspoons of thyme. Also, at the two hour mark, add the can of RoTel tomatoes. 

After about four hours, the soup should be nice and thick. Taste it again for seasoning. I added a little more adobo and a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, which adds a feeling of depth to the flavor. When the seasoning is adjusted, you are ready to serve.

Serving

Saturday night we had roast chickens, mashed potatoes, cream gravy, mixed vegetables, a huge salad, and homemade bread with my soup. We all overate and had a great time.

Broiled rack of lamb served with pasta

I needed coffee the other day, for both home and the office. That led me into making a mistake. On my way home to let the dogs out at lunch time, I stopped into Trader Joe’s while I was hungry. That is never a wise thing to do. 

I picked up my coffee, and couldn’t pass up an eighteen dollar rack of lamb. I knew that was too expensive, but I was in the store unsupervised, and added it to my basket. Next I bought greek olives and some wine. While I was looking at the wine, an employee asked me if I needed help, and I replied, “Oh yeah, I need a lot of help … just not with the wine.”

That evening, I broiled the lamb, and made a pasta sauce in the lamb drippings. Even if I have no self control, I do have a way with lamb. Dinner was excellent. The lamb was perfectly medium rare, and the pasta had a cheesy garlicky lamb flavor. Here’s how I put this together.

1 frenched rack of lamb

Cajun seasoning

Olive oil

White pepper

3 cloves of garlic

1 cup of white wine

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. snipped fresh thyme

Couple of shakes of Worcestershire sauce

8 oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2 lb. seashell pasta, cooked and drained

1 cup grated Italian parmesan cheese

Preparation

Take the lamb out of the packaging and rinse it, then pat it dry with paper towels. Rub it with olive oil, and then set it in a oven proof skillet, meaty side up. Season it generously with cajun seasoning. Grind on some white pepper, and set it under the broiler. Make sure you have pasta water on to boil.

Now this part is hard to convey with specifics. You want to stop broiling when the inside is still rare, and let it slowly rise to medium rare. First broil the lamb so it just chars on the top. Turn the lamb over and sprinkle this side with cajun seasoning. Return and broil until that side chars. Add the wine to the pan, turn the lamb over and broil for a few more minutes. By now the skillet should be sizzling, with occasional spurts of flame. Turn it over one last time, give it one more minute in the broiler and remove it. 

Set the lamb on a plate, near the oven vent to keep hot. Set the pasta in the pasta water to cook. Place the skillet on the stove, and start the liquid simmering. Smash and mince the garlic, and add that to the skillet. Stir and let the wine reduce by half. Add the oregano, the Worcestershire sauce, and a few snips of fresh rosemary. Add the tomato sauce, and stir to blend in. Simmer gently for about five minutes, and then turn off the heat. When the pasta is done, drain it and place it in a bowl. Splash on some of your very best olive oil, and stir in the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and distributed throughout the pasta. You are ready to serve.

Serving

You can easily make this dinner for two. I opted to make it a single serving portion. Slice the lamb into three or four portions, and arrange them on a plate. Add a pile of the pasta, and then douse it with the sauce. Sprinkle on some grated cheese. Now add a bowl of olives, a crisp tossed salad, a wedge of Asiago cheese, and some homemade bread and butter. I opted for Chianti as the wine.

Turkey minestrone soup

I had such a big crowd for Thanksgiving, that I didn’t have much turkey left, from the twenty pound turkey I served. I had about enough left for one hearty turkey sandwich, and this soup. Although the turkey looked like it was sliced clean, there’s still a lot of meat on the bones, plenty for a soup like this.

This is a soup for when you can have it on the stove all day. I made it on Saturday, and finished it off yesterday. If you still have a turkey carcass left, you should make some soup. If you don’t have time until the weekend, put it in the freezer until then. 

I also had a bunch of carrots, celery and cherry tomatoes leftover from a vegetable tray. They all got used up here. This turned out great. Here’s how I made it.

Stock

1  turkey carcass

About two gallons of water

Adobo seasoning

1/2 cup of onion flakes

2 bay leaves

2 stalks of celery, broken

2 large onions, chopped

1-1/2 cups of chopped celery

1-1/2 cups of chopped carrots

1 cup of chopped cherry tomatoes

1 can of tomato paste (or 2 cups of leftover pasta sauce)

1/2 tsp. basil

1-1/2 tsp. thyme

1 chunk of cheese rind (from Italian Parmesan)

15 oz. can of great northern beans

2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1-/2 cups of seashell pasta

Lots of grated Italian Parmesan cheese

Preparation

The first step in making this soup, is to make the stock. I started mine at 8:00 in the morning. Place the turkey carcass into a very large stock pot. I broke mine in half, so it would fit. Add a lot of water. I didn’t measure, but it was at least two gallons. You want to cover the bones completely. Next add the onion flakes, celery stalks, a sprinkle of adobo seasoning, and the bay leaves. Bring that to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it simmer gently, for about four hours.

Now it’s time to make the soup. Grab a large soup pot, set it in the sink, and put a colander over it. Carefully pour the stock into the colander. You may have more stock than you need. Pour the extra into a bowl and freeze it. Once the bones have drained, set the colander over the empty stock pot to cool, and then set the soup pot ,with the broth, on the stove. Bring that to a boil.

Now, adding the vegetables may be difficult, because the soup pot might get full before they are all in. No worries. This is going to cook for another four or five hours. I added half of the chopped onions, celery and carrots, and then let that boil for an hour. While that is going on, pick all of the meat off the bones. Even little bones will still have some meat attached. I got about three cups of turkey meat. Add that to the soup, and eventually the rest of the onion, celery and carrots, along with the cherry tomatoes.

After another hour, stir in the tomato paste or pasta sauce, and then add the thyme, basil, and cheese rind. Add the can of beans as well. After about four hours, taste and adjust for salt and pepper. I added a good sprinkle of adobo seasoning. 

About an hour before serving, add the pasta and the Worcestershire sauce. Let that simmer for the final hour, taste and adjust for salt, and serve.

Serving

Add about a quarter cup of grated Italian Parmesan cheese on each bowl of soup and stir it in. Have plenty of Tabasco on the table. Saturday, this soup was served along with a pasta made from smoked pork. We also had plenty of homemade bread and lots of wine. It was a  great dinner!