Beer.
Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
It also goes quite nicely in a big pot of cheese and cream to create the perfect blend of silkiness.
Oh, and it tastes like heaven.
I know most ladies aren't much into the beer variety. But my gals and I aren't most ladies. We do not discriminate against long necks. Or cans for that matter. And what better way to give tribute to the ales, wheats and lagers we know and love by putting it in edible form? This one's for the beer lover in all of us.
Wallis Cheddar Ale Soup
You'll need a few ingredients...
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
- 1 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (12 oz.) beer of choice (for this recipe I used one of my favorites, Newcastle Brown Ale)
- 7 oz. extra sharp cheddar, shredded
- 7 oz. swiss, shredded
- 2 cups half and half
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
- 1/2-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Gather ye ingredients and place hither on counter.
You'll need a large pot. Like ol' blue here.
Have you seen the Ninja? It is amazing. Ninja, you have my free sponsorship right now. This thing will chop just about any darn thing you put in it. This is a huge time saver when chopping the veggies, as I will demonstrate shortly.
Grab the vegetables. I used whole carrots, little nubby snack carrots simply can't compete with these boys. Peel off the outer layer, and get your Ninja on.
Orange glory. I did a really fine chop on all these so that they don't get in the way of our main ingredients. The veggies are more for texture and substance. They are the backbone of this soup but could never take the place of the slightly bitter, slightly sweet Newkie Brown.
If you're not familiar with the affectionate term Newkie Brown, take a trip to England and please for God's sake (because remember, He gave us beer to make us happy) ask for a Newkie Brown and pray that your English cousins don't catch on to your naivety on such things.
Your daddy would be so proud.
Carry on. (My wayward son).
Beer, classic rock. It kinda goes together, doesn't it?
Continue the same way with the celery and onion. If you're doing this manually, I drink for you. Get the pot heated to about medium, add the butter and vegetables and let them soften, about 5 minutes.
It'll begin to mush together. We like mooshy.
Next, gradually add the flour. Sprinkle in a little at a time and stir, stir, stir! You don't want any clumps. My first time making this it was a bit clumpy. The stirring is extremely important so that you thicken the soup throughout.
Whip that spoon! And whip it good.
It'll start to look like you're doing it wrong. But you're not. It's all in the wrist.
Next grab your beer.
Open it.
Take a sip pull.
Don't forget to be ladylike in the process.
Pinky out.
Theeerrrree you go.
Now take the rest of the brew and gradually stir into the pot until it becomes a porridge consistency.
One thing I forgot to mention.
There was a slight accident on the scene. We had a moment of silence for our bottle of wine that precariously stood atop my fridge and somehow landed in shatters in front of my very own eyes.
Watched the whole thing happen in slow motion. There was nothing I could do but continue to stir the soup. And I thought to myself, there'll be peace when you are done.
After watching your wine tragedy, continue as planned with incorporating the beer and chicken broth.
Add shredded cheddar and swiss until smooth.
Add in half n' half, salt, Worcestershire sauce and dry mustard. NOTE: make sure your dry mustard is clump-free. Clumpy dry mustard results in powder bombs in a spoonful of soup and trust me, powder bombs are not pleasant.
Reduce heat to low and let the soup thicken, about 15 minutes.
The smell and flavor of your beer will really come through in this stage. We meditate.
And then we plate.
Garnish with extra shredded cheese on top or a few green onions. Nothing says English pub like this cheddar ale soup! Cheers!
Sometimes the daily grind gets to be too much. When you get home from a long day at work you just want to put up your feet and ask the waiter for the dinner dejour.
And if you don't happen to have an in-home waiter, your second best option is this...
Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Pasta
You'll need....
1 bunch asparagus
4-6oz. smoked salmon (you can find this in the refrigerated section within the seafood aisle!)
1/2 cup half and half
3oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan
1 egg
1 tbsp. butter
Pepper to taste
This is an easy dish that also doubles as a vegetarian friendly meal too! If you're Catholic, this makes meatless Friday's a breeze during Lent.
One more Friday to go!
If anyone's counting.
Just a few key ingredients needed! When you buy packaged smoked salmon, make sure it's pink all around with no brown spots. Smoked salmon - for all my salmon newbies - is hardwood smoked and cured with salt. Most of the time, you'll see it on top of bagels with cream cheese.
My Jewish friends call it Lox.
I call it love at first bite.
We carry on.
Your egg should be out on the counter from the beginning of prep time. Let it sit out so it can naturally come up to room temp. This is important later.
Get a large pot of water on the stove, high heat to get the water boiling.
Meanwhile, rinse the asparagus and break the asparagus using your hands. The asparagus will naturally break in 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces.
Did you know you can cook pasta and asparagus in the same pot of water? Cuts down your use of cookware and cooking time!
While the pasta and asparagus are cooking, mingling, swimming, take a saucepan and combine cream cheese, butter and half and half. Set burner to medium-low, continuously whisking until combined.
I've used this same sauce combo for a lot of different pasta dishes - use in chicken/broccoli, shrimp alfredo, whatever sounds good to you!
Gradually add the parmesan cheese, whisking until smooth. Like dis. Take it off the burner and now...
The egg!
Add the egg into the sauce. This is what makes the sauce sooo flippin' delicious. It's important to whisk your whiskers off so that the egg does not scramble in the sauce. If it does, we'll feel sorry for you and we'll all be sad.
See why you left the egg out on the counter? It helps in the transition to a hot pan. Voila.
Drain the pasta and asparagus and grab a large bowl. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss to coat.
I add the salmon right before I plate. In this case, since I was cooking just for me, I added the salmon to my individual bowl. Cut into small slivers, about a quarter to half inch.
Do not add the salmon into the entire bowl of pasta, unless you know it will all be served that night with no leftovers. You don't want the salmon to cook - it'll lose it's texture and saltiness.
Perfect blend of salty, creamy perfection. Less than 30 minutes to the table and sure to impress your guests.
My dad is one of those manly men.
Likes to hunt.
Likes to ride his Harley Davidson Road King Classic.
Likes to belch loudly.
And he likes to grill.
So it's not surprising that while his smoke n' fire skills on the Komodo Joe are top notch, the 20-year-old oven can be a bit daunting.
On nights where we had to fend for ourselves without my mother's kitchen expertise, Dad grew tiresome of the frozen and canned variety. It was time to venture into unknown stove territory.
Chicken scallipini happened a few years ago and has become a household favorite. Still to this day, my mom can't master it quite like my dad can, but maybe his daughter can! I've tried this recipe a few times and finally got it down to something the Italian gods would accept.
By the way, did I mention my dad took a genealogy test recently? We found out we're not only Puerto Rican, we're part Italian! And part Australian. Pretty neat, huh?
No matter your ancestral history - this recipe is sure to delight.
Dad's Chicken Scallipini
You'll need...
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Flour
Olive oil
1 lemon
4 cloves garlic
Butter
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp. capers
Thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta
Salt and pepper to taste
Make sure you get a lemon that feels soft to the touch. A trick I learned from Ina Garten, if the lemon smells like lemon when you pick it up at the grocery store, it's ripe!
Start by getting your pasta going - I used thin spaghetti but angel hair pasta is also amazing!
Butterfly the chicken breasts into 4 equal pieces. Place into a large plastic bag and grab a meat pounder.
Oh yes, there is a bit of violence in this recipe. Don't worry though, that chicken's already dead!
Beat the H-E double hockey sticks out of it until it's nice and flat. I'd say about 1/2 inch in thickness. The thinner the chicken, the quicker these will cook up in the pan.
Once it's been flattened, generously salt and pepper both sides of the chicken and dredge in flour and shake off the excess.
Get a large pan (preferably a little deep since we'll be creating the sauce in this pan) and heat medium/high. Add about 3-4 tbsp. of olive oil and get to fryin' the chicken. You'll want it slightly golden brown in color. Once the chicken is cooked, place on a paper towel and keep warm.
Do NOT clean out the pan. Leave it dirty. Because we like dirty.
Ahem.
It the same dirty, filthy, hot mess of a pan, turn the heat down to low/medium, add a bit more olive oil (about 2 tbsp.) and add 4 cloves of minced garlic.
Add one cup of chicken broth and a half stick of butter, stirring with medium heat. Let the chicken broth reduce and thicken.
Add the chicken into the pan, the sauce will thicken some more by adding in the chicken. Add the zest of one lemon and then cut the lemon in half, squeezing about 2 tbsp. of the lemon juice into the pan.
Careful, you're starting to drool.
Add in about 2 tbsp. of capers, or whatever amount your heart desires. There's no wrong in these pea-sized pickled goodness.
Drain your pasta and getting ready to plate...
It's all about presentation, right?
Pile the chicken on top of the pasta, grab some capers...
Take all the sauce from the pan and pour directly on top so you have one big bowl of lemony chicken.
Oh, and make a bowl for yourself!
Dad's, be sure to make this one for the family - it's the go-to stove recipe when all grills fail (or you're just wanting a dinner that doesn't require 8 hours smoke time).
Enjoy!
