Chicken Noodle Soup

I have had a horrible cold all week so was inspired to make myself some chicken noodle soup.  My mom makes amazing chicken noodle soup from scratch so I called her a few times during the cooking process for advice.  This recipe is similar to what she makes with a few additions of my own (I added kale and mushrooms and omitted peas).  I must say that it turned out quite well!  I ate mine while watching my new favorite show, Downton Abbey (have you seen it?!  I'm hooked!).  It made for a very relaxing evening.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 whole chicken (I think mine was about 3 lbs)
3 chicken bouillon cubes (to taste - if more flavor is needed, you may need more)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots (I used a handful of baby carrots, which I chopped - it really doesn't need to be exact)
3/4 cup chopped Kale
1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms
1 11 oz package frozen egg noodles
Kosher Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cilantro or parsley, about 1/2 cup chopped (I prefer cilantro)

Place chicken in large pot and fill pot with water, about 3/4 full.  Add a few large pinches of salt.  Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to let simmer, about 1 to 1.5 hours, skimming the surface periodically to remove the fat.  When very tender, place the chicken in a bowl and set aside to cool.

Add chopped vegetables, chicken bouillon cubes, and garlic to the broth.  Let simmer until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.  While the vegetables are simmering and when the chicken is cool enough, chop the chicken, discarding the skin, fat, at bones.  Add the chopped chicken to the broth and vegetables.  Simmer until the vegetables are soft.  Add more salt and pepper and bouillon cubes as needed.  You may also need to add more water or broth.  This is not an exact science.  Lastly, add the noodles and cilantro or parsley if desired.

Variations:  if you have chicken stock or broth on hand, you can use this instead of water and omit the bouillon cubes.  Add or omit vegetables to your liking!  This is also great with turkey, especially leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.  

Ludwig's

On Sunday Finn and I dined at Ludwig's, a restaurant in the Sonnenalp in Vail.  Sonnenalp is a beautiful resort, with Bavarian roots and a rich history that you can read about on their website (Mom, I know you'll find this interesting).  We had been here once before and had a wonderfully entertaining experience.  It was a very snowy night and the restaurant had been reserved for a large party that cancelled at the last minute so we had then entire restaurant to ourselves.  Our very attentive waiter (appropriately from Austria) wore a cute Bavarian costume and had a very thick accent.  I had a hard time understanding him and inappropriately got the giggles every time he came over to help us.  The traditional Bavarian food was good but quite not our style.

We were expecting a similar experience on Sunday when we went back to use a Travelzoo voucher for the meal (which was deceptively for 1 rather than 2, which is what we had expected), but were surprised to find that it has been updated  In addition to more modern waiter uniforms, the menu has been completely changed and the style has gone from traditional Bavarian to contemporary American.  Steve Topple is their new executive chef and has created a menu that highlights seafood and wild game.  He has a catch of the day that is flown in from as far as Hawaii and Maine and served within 24 hours of being caught.   While it wasn't quite as entertaining as our first meal there, the food was much more memorable.   The extensive wine list has stayed the same - we found it to be very expensive, but expected nothing less in Vail Village.  The Sommelier was very helpful to us as we chose a bottle for dinner.

I was especially impressed with the first course, Georges Bank Sea Scallops on a bed of white bean ragout with a bacon vinaigrette.

I had the grilled Hawaiian spearfish with coconut rice and pineapple reduction.  My only complaint of the meal was the rice.  It was undercooked and a little crunchy.  The flavors of the dish were good, however.

Finn had the Elk Wellington.  It was served with yellow squash gratin, brussel sprouts (which they were kind to substitute for the carrots), and huckleberry sauce.  I'm not usually a fan of wild game, but it was very good - the elk was surprisingly tender.






Dessert was AMAZING.  We shared Fig Carpaccio with Lemon Cheesecake.  The presentation was beautiful.  The lemon cheesecake was really the star of the dish - I would have called it lemon cheesecake with fig carpaccio, as it wasn't quite what I expected.  The cheesecake was light and creamy and the graham cracker crust was delicious.  As I'm writing this now, I'm wishing I was eating it again!

Cioppino

One of my attendings gave me a gallon bag full of frozen lobster stock a few weeks ago.  I made lobster risotto last week (amazing!) and still had 5 cups left.  Since then, I have been searching for another use for it. This cioppino was the perfect thing.  The original recipe is Giada's - I changed it a bit based on what I had (she used mussels, clams, shrimp, and fish in hers).  Lobster would be really good in this as well.  I think it was even better tonight when I reheated it on the stove, especially after it snowed all day!  

Cioppino

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 large shallots, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
• 1/4 cup tomato paste (I used one small can - I'm not sure if this was 1/4 cup or not)
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 5 cups lobster stock (fish stock would work too)
• 1 pound calamari
• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 pounds assorted firm-fleshed fish fillets such as halibut or salmon, cut into 2-inch chunks

Directions

Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, and stock. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Add the shrimp , calamari, and shrimp. Simmer gently until everything is cooked through.  Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Tag

Last night Finn and I had a great dinner in Denver at Tag. It's a restaurant in Larimer square that opened in 2009; this was my first time to try it. Chef Troy Guard's menu is a fusion of his Hawaiian roots, pan-Asian inspiration, and local ingredients. It works.

Earlier in the day yesterday I had completed a random survey about the 100 things you must eat before you die. One of the items I hadn't had on the list was kangaroo. I had never even considered having kangaroo before, but it was on the menu at Tag so of course we had to try it. We had it for our first course, served on a bed of parsnip puree with a few roasted brussel sprouts (a few meaning very few - approximately one and a half) sprinkled with Japanese crisps. It was a unique combination of flavors - the little crisps had sort of a nutty quality and to me, parsnips always have an overpowering flavor. To be honest, it was a little weird and I would definitely not order it again but it was fun to try.

The salads we had for the second course were great (sorry no photos).  Mine was arugula with pumpkin infused olive oil, prosciutto, pomegranate seeds, and dusted with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  Finn's was a mixed green salad with pecans, goat cheese, pear, and  a vinaigrette dressing.  They were both simple salads that would be easy to make at home.  I'll let you know when I try them.

For the main course I had the Miso Cod.  This was a perfectly flaky fish on a bed of artichoke edamame salsa (although I think they may have ran out of artichokes, as I didn't find one in my salsa), topped with local pea sprout salad and a yuzu kabayaki sauce.  This was my favorite thing I had.

Finn was adventurous and tried the Ostrich, which was served medium-rare on a bed of roasted root vegetables.  It was our first time to try Ostrich, which I actually found to be quite tasty (however, I still preferred my cod!).  It's a very lean meat, kind of like buffalo.

Dessert was a sticky toffee cake (!) with raspberry sauce, hot toffee sauce, and burnt sugar ice cream.  Incredible.  

Cocktails and Pizza

Last night Finn and I took his brother Luke and our good friend Eric, both visiting from out of town, out to dinner in Denver. We had a great time at two places I recommend that you try:

Cocktails and appy's at my favorite bar in town, Colt & Gray. I love they're cozy atmosphere and vintage-style cocktails. All of their ingredients are house made and watching the bartenders at work is entertainment in itself. Their cocktail menu is constantly changing. I had the Whimpering Barback - hibiscus infused gin, lime, almond syrup, ginger beer. Delish. If you are here you MUST try the blue cheese dusted gougeres - they are incredible. The bacon cashew caramel corn was great as well, although beware that the small serving you get with your order won't last long at a table of four.

We then walked down to Proto's pizza, a great brick-oven pizza place that serves up a thin, perfectly crispy crust with fun topping choices. I like the Low Rider, a blend of house made honey tomato chipotle sauce topped with mozzarella, Polidori bacon, fresh pineapple, and cilantro.

Happy New Year!

Fruitcake

Look what my family made for Christmas this year (via my sister Emily's lovely blog - how cute is her blog btw?!).

Raisin Bran Muffins

My mom made these muffins while I have been home for Christmas and they are amazing!

Raisin Bran Muffins

(makes about 20 to 24 muffins)

1/2 of a 15 oz box of raisin bran cereal

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups buttermilk

In a large bowl, mix together Raisin Bran, flour, salt, sugars and baking soda.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, vanilla extract and buttermilk

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. If you plan on baking the muffins right away, allow to sit on the counter for 45 minutes before baking. This will allow the cereal to soften.

If you'd like to bake the muffins throughout the week, place the batter in an airtight container and store in the fridge. Add some milk as needed if the batter becomes too dry. Scoop into lined muffin pans when ready to bake. Sprinkle with a spoonful of granulated sugar if desired.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.