Charleston's Chew: 12/01/2012

Monday, December 17, 2012

Homemade Italian Wedding Soup with Chicken Pancetta Meatballs

Chicken and pancetta meatballs

--------------INGREDIENTS------------

Ingredients:

3 slices Italian bread, torn into small bits (1 cup)

1/3 cup milk

3 ounces sliced pancetta, finely chopped (you can swap in Canadian Bacon if you can’t find pancetta)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, minced

3 tablespoons fresh red pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 large egg

1 pound ground chicken

2 tablespoons tomato paste,

3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

---------PREPARATION--------

Soak the bread in the milk for about 4 minutes. Drain the bread and cut in small pieces.

Cook the onion, garlic, and red pepper until softened in 1 Tbsp olive oil.

Whisk the egg and add chicken, 1 Tsbp of the tomato paste, and veggies together. Add salt and pepper and mold into 12 balls.

Take the other Tbsp of tomato paste and mix with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Brush this on top of the meatballs for color and added taste.

Cook @ 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes

italian wedding soup

--------------INGREDIENTS------------

Ingredients:

1 small onion

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 c dry white wine

5 cups Chicken Stock

1 c pasta of your choice

1-2 cups spinach

Salt

Pepper

Oregano to season

---------PREPARATION--------

Cook the onion, carrots, celery until softened in a large pot.

Add white wine and chicken stock until boiling.

Add 1 cup uncooked pasta. Season to taste.

Add your cooked meatballs and spinach. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving

...................

Hope you enjoy!!!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Friday, December 14, 2012

Who doesn't love a deviled egg? Deviled eggs are like grilled cheese in my mind, there is a simple way to make and eat them AND there are more intricate ways to make and eat them. You can add bacon jam and avocados to your grilled cheese, maybe Pear and Brie- either way it is delicious and one of my faovrite things to make and eat (especially with a nice hot soup to accompany it.) Deviled eggs are similiar in that sense, you can add salmon, wasabi, okra, or... pimento cheese!

Tonight I am going to make pimento cheese deviled eggs:

Heres How...

Ingredients:
A dozen eggs
2 tsp white vinegar
1/2 c shredded white or yellow cheddar cheese
3 oz cream cheese
1/4 c mayonaise
3 Tbsp diced pimientos
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Boil eggs in a large pot with your viengar and water for 8 minutes. Drain and place the eggs in a bowl with cold water for 20 minutes

Peels eggs and halve lengthwise, remove the yolks and place them in a seperate bowl. Fluff the yolks with a fork. Add cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayo, pimientos, dry mustard, salt & pepper.

Fill the eggs with the pimiento cheese mixute and refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

WaaaaLaaa- so easy- so delicious!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I really love Chicken Pot Pie but this is my first time making it. Since for Christmas I recieved a pressure cooker, I thought why not cook this in my new device.

CHICKEN POT PIE

--------------INGREDIENTS------------

3 Boneless Chicken Breasts

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

2 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 large Carrots; peeled and diced

1 potato, cut into cubes

2 cloves garlic, minced

........

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ cup sherry

¾ cup half and half or milk

1 can low-sodium chicken stock ( or enough to cover all ingredients)

Place all ingredients in your pressure cooker ( or slow cooker) For pressure cooker, this will take 12 minutes on the pressure setting, for your slow cooker this will take 4-5 hours.

Pull out the chicken and shred with 2 forks. Place chicken back in the pressure cooker.

Add the rest of the ingredients and place the top back on so the heat can soften the frozen vegetables for 5 minutes

I made my own crust- it was cheap and easy but you can always buy premade crust at the store.

{{ I mixed 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt, 8 Tbsp ice water, and 10 2/3 Tbsp softened butter together until it looked like dough. I floured my counter and separated my dough into two balls; one for the top crust and one for the bottom crust. I then, rolled it out and placed the crust on the bottom of the pan. }}

Place all of your ingredients from your pressure cooker in your pan with the crust.

Top with the remaining crust

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes depending on your oven.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Avocado

For some reason I never ventured to make home made tomato soup. I don't know if I thought it was difficult, timely, or just easier to buy it canned. After making it- I can't go back. This soup is so flavorful, so easy, so delish... Here is how I made my tomato soup:

Ingredients:
10 Roma tomatoes; halved
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
3 cups chicken broth
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup heavy cream or milk
1 cup basil; chopped
salt and pepper to tast
2 tbsp oregano
1 avocado for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast for about 45 minutes.

2. In a large stockpot, heat the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, fresh basil, and vegetable broth. Stir in the oven roasted tomatoes. Cook for about 30 minutes over medium-low heat.

3. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the stockpot, or transfer soup to a food processor or blender to blend. The soup should be smooth, with a few tomato chunks. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve warm.

Note-be careful when transferring the soup to a blender or food processor. You may want to wait until it is at room temperature to blend.