Soup, soup, soup!

I finally have found the inspiration to post another blog -- the perfect recipe!  While I've been making some new dishes since living in Dallas, I haven't found anything that I've particularly fallen in love with.  That all changed tonight. 

About two weeks ago I decided to try a new soup recipe.  The ingredients sat in my kitchen for weeks while I neglected the stove, this blog, and my own joy and satisfaction from cooking was a fond but distant memory.  As I drove home from work tonight, I chose to cook instead going for a run.... and boy, I'm glad I did!

I assume the butternut squash I used was still fresh even though it had been untouched since coming home from the grocery store weeks ago.  (oops).  This soup is EASY-PEASY.  I wasn't even sure I would like butternut squash, but since I know I enjoy eating other squash, I thought this recipe was something worth trying. 

Next time I make this, I'm going to try roasting the squash in the oven for 40 minutes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.  And I might add an extra 1/2 cup or so of chicken stock.  After adding in the cream cheese, it thickens up a bit, so the extra liquid might help it out.  I'm excited to try this soup tomorrow after the flavors have blended together overnight.  Yum!

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

6 cups peeled and cooked butternut squash (about a 2 lb squash)
3/4 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups chicken stock
8 ounces philadelphia cream cheese

1. Cut butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds.  Place cut side down on plate and microwave 8-10 minutes.

2. Let squash cool to touch and then peel away skin and cube.

3. In a large pot over medium heat, sautee onions with butter until tender.

4. Add in cubed squash, dried marjoram, cayenne, paprika, black pepper, and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 12-15 minutes.  Squash should be fully cooked and tender by now.

5. Puree squash soup and cream cheese in a blender or food processor. 

6. Return to pot to slightly warm again.  Do not let boil.

Bon appetit!!!!

Everything in the pot before I stirred it up.  Such pretty fall colors.

Butternut squash soup!

Best Brownies EVER

Having eaten a lot of homemade desserts at my friend Nicole's house, I know that making things from scratch is the way to go.  This brownie recipe is from scratch --- and let me tell you --- no more boxed brownie mixes for me!!!  This recipe is fantastic and a chocolate lovers delight.  Enjoy!

Brownies

8 tablespoons butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease and 8x8 baking pan. 

2. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate.  Stir constantly.

3. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and eggs (one at a time).  Blend in flour and walnuts.

4. Spread in pan and bake 18-20 minutes.  (Both times I've made this, they've been done at the 18 minute mark).


Frosting

6 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unweetened cocoa powder
3-4 tablespoons milk

1. In medium bown with an electric mixer, beat butter and vanilla until creamy.

2. At low speed, gradually add confectioners sugar and cocoa.  Alternate with milk, beating well after each addition until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

3. Apply frosting when brownies are cool. 

Bon appetit!!!!

Sushi

My newest obsession:  homemade sushi rolls. 

I have been missing this for years while living in Mexico!!  I finally bought a bamboo mat to roll my own sushi and I am so happy.  Below is the (modified) recipe that I chose for the sushi rice.  The bag of rice I bought suggested making at least 2 cups of rice for "best results".  I knew I would end up with a lot of cooked rice, but I wanted to make sure that my first time making it was good.  My friend said she usually makes 3/4 cup of uncooked rice when making 2 rolls.  The recipe below is for the 2 cups. 

Sushi Rice

2 cups uncooked sushi rice
3 cups water
1/3 - 1/2 cup rice vinegar (use the larger amount if you want a more vinegar taste, use the lesser amount if you don't)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1. Rinse rice in a colander or strainer under water.  Rinse until water runs clear. 

2. Combine rice and 3 cups water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook on very LOW for 20 minutes.  (I stirred mine occasionally even though the recipe didn't mention it to make sure it didn't burn on the bottom of the pan).

3. In another small saucepan, combine rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.  Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

4. Let both rice and vinegar mixture cool. 

5. Stir vinegar mixture over cooked rice.  When poured over the rice, the rice will seem very wet.  Keep stirring and the rice will dry as it continues to cool. 

Large bag of Sushi rice from the local Asian store.

Cooked sushi rice with seaweed behind it.

Yummy avocado and rice sushi rolls!  It is so simple but it tastes great.

Living the new life.... and loving it!

I'm finally settled in my new apartment!  Most of the boxes are gone; I have lots of organizing to do still.  My horn studio got set up first, then the kitchen..... you can tell where my priorities lie!  I LOVE my new apartment.  Literally everything about it is exactly what I was looking for.  I thought I'd show some pictures of the kitchen.  Look back at one of my earliest posts about my kitchen in Mexico to compare. 
I would like to point out these AWESOME facts about my kitchen:

1. I have a dishwasher.  Never in my life have I had a dishwasher.  I even had to ask my friend how to operate it. 

2. I have a microwave. 

3. My freezer makes its' own ice.  How cool is that?!??  I didn't know a fridge/freezer could do that when it doesn't have the water/ice in the door. 

4. I have a double sink.  YAY. (although, with the dishwasher, I'll probably be using the sinks less....)

5. While my kitchen is still the galley-style, I do have much more storage and countertop space.  It feels very big to me.

6. I love the little bar area above the sink.  It opens up into the living room area. 

Rice and Grains, Part II

If you liked the rice pilaf recipe, then I bet you will like risotto.  Risotto is one of the most popular ways to prepare rice in Italy.  Normally, a special type of rice, called arborio rice, is used.  Arborio rice is a short-grain rice that becomes slightly creamy and chewy when cooked properly.  The slow addition of liquid during the cooking process and the constant stirring does something to the starches that makes it so creamy and delicious.  I don't know all the specifics so I'm not even going to try to explain. 

I had been wanting to make risotto in Mexico for a long time.  The only type of Arborio rice that I had found was one certain brand that I had many previous problems with (getting lots of bugs in the boxes of rice), so I never ended up buying the specific rice.  After waiting months and seeing more and more risotto recipes, I finally decided to try it using a standard long-grain rice.  It came out great!  I just made this recipe again for my parents; this time using Arborio rice.  Although it came out great the first time, I could tell a difference with the arborio rice.  Since I knew that I wanted to use arborio rice in other dishes, I didn't have a problem buying the box of it.  If you're not so sure about it, you can always try the dish like I did the first time.  (I hope that doesn't make me "less of a chef" ... saying that it's okay to not use the "right" type of rice... hmmmm). 

Mushroom Risotto

(This is the suggested recipe for 3 servings.  This makes 3 very large servings.  One serving of rice is said to be 1/4 cup, but that always seems like soooo much.  Just a warning note.) 

3 cups chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons EVOO
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms, such as a mixture of white (button), portobello, or cremini
1 shallot, diced
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
1-2 tablespoons butter

1. In a saucepan, heat all of the chicken broth over medium heat.  Start this once all vegetables are chopped and other ingredients are ready on counter.

2. In a large saucepan warm the EVOO over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.  Remove mushrooms and all their liquid; set aside for later. 

3. In the same saucepan that you cooked the mushrooms in, add another splash of EVOO and cook shallots a few minutes.  Add the arborio rice and stir to coat with oil and shallots.  When the rice has taken on a pale golden color (you will know!!), pour in the wine.  Stir constantly until all the wine is absorbed. 

4. Now starts the hard part. 

5. Once the wine has been fully absorbed, add 1/2 cup of the warmed chicken broth to the rice.  Stir until broth is completely absorbed.  Stir constantly.  Continue adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time to the rice, stirring continuously, until all liquid has been absorbed and rice is al dente.  This process can take about 15-20 minutes.  Your arm might start to get sore. 

6. Remove from heat and stir in the mushrooms and their liquid, the chives, and butter.  Mix together until butter melts.  Season with salt and pepper.

Bon appetit!