Subject: Basic Chicken Stock and Chicken Noodle Soup
From: Unicorn (unicorn@indenial.com)
Date: Mon Nov 11 2002 - 02:43:18 EST
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FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks to reader Beth Lepinski for this true multicultural food funny:
When my daughter and her fiance were backpacking in New
Zealand--working and staying on organic farms, they decided to prepare
a meal for themselves. After visiting the grocery store to get the
materials for a fine spaghetti dinner, her fiance, who is a talented
chef began preparing the sauce for the meal. Other visitors and the
farm residents came and went in the kitchen, but no one said anything
when he opened the can of tomato sauce and poured it into the sauteed
garlic, herbs, and other ingredients he had prepared. It simmered
long and tasted very strange when finally served: having the flavor of
barbecued spaghetti, if you can imagine such a thing. It turns out
that what we in the U.S. call catsup or ketchup is sold in cans in
New Zealand under the title of "tomato sauce." The New Zealanders
said they had thought it was a strange ingredient for spaghetti sauce
but made allowances for cultural differences and so did not say
anything. It was a good laugh, if not a good meal.
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TODAY'S RECIPE
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It's time for soup. I just felt like doing a week of soup recipes,
and it turns out that I had the same notion at this time several years
ago because the "Bonus Recipes" in this week's PLUS edition (see
http://www.worldwiderecipes.com/plus.htm for details) include Basic
Brown Stock, Senate Bean Soup, Soto Ayam Kuning (Indonesian Chicken
Soup), Mulligatawny Soup, and Cherry Soup.
It's also time to feature one of my favorite cookbooks. This time my
choice is "The Best Recipe: Soups & Stews" by the Editors of Cook's
Illustrated Magazine. Who else would test 23 chicken noodle soups, 40
corn chowders, and 54 beef burgundy recipes so that we home cooks
could avoid the trial and error process and go directly to the best
recipe of the bunch? The editors at Cook's Illustrated Magazine,
that's who. Here are the recipes we will be sampling:
Monday's Starter
Basic Chicken Stock and Chicken Noodle Soup
Tuesday's Soup or Salad
Oxtail Soup
Wednesday's Side Dish
Cheddar Cheese Soup
Thursday's Entree
Straciatella
Friday's Dessert
Scotch Broth
All recipes this week are adapted from "The Best Recipe: Soups &
Stews" by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine, available from
Amazon.com at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0936184531/worldwiderecipes
Any good chicken noodle soup must be made with the best chicken stock.
Although some canned preparations are good enough to substitute in a
pinch, I strongly recommend making your own stock for any recipe in
which the broth is the star, as in this one:
Basic Chicken Stock
1 Tbs (15 ml) vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 lbs (900 g) chicken legs, chopped with a cleaver
into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces
8 cups (2 L) boiling water
Salt to taste
8 - 12 whole black peppercorns
2 bay (laurel) leaves
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over moderate heat and saute the
onion until it is tender but not browned, about 5 minutes. Using a
slotted spoon, transfer the onion to a large bowl. Brown the chicken
pieces a few at a time on all sides in the oil remaining in the pot
and transfer them to the bowl containing the onion as the rest of the
chicken pieces are browned. Return the chicken pieces and onion to
the pot. Reduce the heat to low and cook tightly covered for 20
minutes. Add the boiling water, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
Return to a simmer, cover, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
Strain the stock and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, until the fat
has risen to the surface and congealed. Skim off and discard the fat.
Reheat before using. Makes about 2 quarts (2 L).
Chicken Noodle Soup
2 Tbs (30 ml) vegetable oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 large carrot, cut into 1/4-inch (5 mm) slices
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch (5 mm) slices
8 cups (2 L) chicken stock
1/2 tsp (2 ml) dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 - 4 oz (75 - 100 g) egg noodles
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over moderate heat and saute the
chicken breast halves until light golden brown on both sides. Remove
the chicken breasts and set aside. Add the onion, carrot, and celery
to the same pot and saute for five minutes. Meanwhile, slice, shred,
or coarsely chop the chicken meat. Add the stock, thyme, salt,
pepper, and chicken meat to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat,
reduce the heat, and simmer covered until the vegetables are tender,
10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the noodles and simmer just until they are
tender, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with chopped
parsley if desired. Serves 6 to 8.
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