Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Friday, February 7, 2014

My Best Chicken Stew Recipe

     Happy weekend, everybody!  A while back, I showed my Chicken Stew on Instagram, and a follower asked me to share my recipe.  I am so not a recipe-writer, so I can't promise anything, but I thought I'd give it a go!  I am an avid cook and love to entertain.  This stew is sure to warm your party of 6 or so.





6 Wilson Chicken Stew
Time: about and hour and 15 minutes
Ingredients:
6  white potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite size chunks
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 boxes of Swanson organic or Whole Foods 365 Chicken Broth (only kinds I use, prefer Swanson)
1 rotisserie chicken ( a good size one), meat off the bone and torn into bite size chunks
Frozen peas
Frozen corn
Kosher salt
pepper
dried or fresh thyme
chili powder
celery seed
2 fresh garlic cloves, chopped
1 stick butter
5 tablespoons butter
Crusty Bread to serve with your stew
You will need your soup pot, plus another pot for boiling the carrots and potatoes in broth




Add the potatoes, carrots, 3 tsp dried thyme (if using fresh thyme, add more), 1 clove chopped garlic, 1 tsp celery seed,  salt and pepper to your pot filled with one box of chicken broth or stock.  I also add a piece or two of the chicken skin from the cooked chicken for extra flavor, but be sure to remove it later.  Of course, you can use homemade stock if you have it.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium heat until potatoes and carrots are fork tender.

While the vegetables boil, melt a pat or two of butter in your soup pot and brown you onions and garlic clove over medium to medium high heat.  When the onions start to brown, turn the heat down to medium and add in 6 tablespoons of butter to begin the roux.  Whisk the butter when it melts, and allow it to brown (this will give your stew a nice golden tone).  Now add in 5 heaping spoonfuls (I use my everyday soup spoon, but you can use a tablespoon) to the butter and quickly whisk with the butter and onions until it forms a paste.

Slowly add the second carton of stock to the roux, being careful to continually whisk the butter and flour paste (roux) so that the stock and roux combine smoothly.  It will look like the consistency of frosting until all the broth is added.  (If you don't do it slowly and keep whisking, you will end up with lumps in your broth).  Add in another tsp of thyme, a dash of chili powder, and a dash of celery seed.  Salt and pepper to taste.  If you desire more garlic, you can add a dash of garlic powder.   Whisk occasionally over medium heat for 5 minutes to make sure the flour taste cooks out.

Now add the chicken to the soup pot, and then add the carrots, potatoes and broth from the first pot.  Mix all together.  Add in the frozen peas, corn, or whatever vegetables you have on hand, to your desired thickness of the stew.  Make sure to taste test.  Under salting can be bland.

Let simmer 10 minutes for the flavors to meld.

Serve with crusty bread and enjoy ;-)



While I'm an avid cook, I don't often use recipes, and I tend to make up my own, like this one.  I don't know how my recipe-writing will translate to the finished product, so my fingers are crossed!  If you have any questions, ask me in the comments and I will help out.

Hope you enjoy it!! 
Pin it to remember it...




Saturday, December 21, 2013

Super Simple Date and Brie Appetizer for Holiday Entertaining

  This simple combination of date, brie and almond is so delicious it has become my new secret weapon for impressive entertaining.  Full disclosure: I have no idea where this combination came from, so I apologize if I am talking about a well known recipe.  I had these tasty little treats at a champagne reception, and it was a wonderful pairing (with the champagne, I mean ;-).






Sometimes, simple flavors are the best. 


 


 This is simply brie chunks stuffed into pitted dates, and topped with  raw almonds.  So simple.  Delicious.  Somewhat healthy.  And amazing with champagne.  The buttery flavor of the brie, the sweetness of the dates and the subtle almond flavor just melts in your mouth with just the right amount of crunch.   Enjoy ;-)

Stay tuned in 2014 for more "Entertaining with 6 Wilson."

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Fish and Bruschetta. Because I Couldn't Grill Another Thing




Fish?  With Bruschetta?  Yup.  I did it.  It was delicious.  If I do say so myself.

Here's the thing.  Every summer, I get to the point where I cannot eat another grilled anything.  Can't do it.  Seriously. Sooo sick of it.  Tonight, I hit the wall.  I had some gorgeous garden tomatoes that my mom and dad gave me, and my daughter wanted fish.  What's a tired, worked-all-day-on-other -people's-homes mom to do?  Combine two cravings and hope for the best.



It was totally fast to prepare and it was really good, even without the crositini I wanted so badly to make. (I'm in a bet over new shoes with a friend to lose 10 lbs, and I'm determined not to be the barefoot looser.)

So you know that bruschetta is (for me anyway), chopped tomatoes, fresh crushed garlic, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, finely chopped red onion, salt, pepper, and lots of fresh basil.  Simple and fresh.  The fish?  I just bake it with a tiny bit of melted butter and a kiss of seasoned breadcrumbs.  No Giada here, very basic.

Give it a try.  And if tomatoes over fish doesn't do it for you, go ahead and put them on the crositini.  I'll be thinking of you.

Mongia!

Carol

Friday, January 14, 2011

Feeling Like I'm in Slow Motion


"As you stand at the starting line of this new year, I hope for you a slow and steady race, 
one with a manageable pace, one with joys and blessings, one with love and lessons."


This is what I wrote in my new year's post.  High hopes for a slow and steady pace, with more balance in my life.  Family, work, blogging, projects, everything in moderation.  How's it going? I feel more like this...



from breadonthewaters.com


I did 20 minutes on the elliptical in the basement tonight to start getting more exercise.  Torture, I tell you.  Now mind you, this past fall, this was me (okay, minus the exercise)...



neimanlab.org

I was going at a ridiculous pace.  I should be stick skinny for the energy expended.  No such luck.  But when the holidays were passed and the new year begun, I thought I'd get right back on the wheel, albeit at a slower and steadier pace.  Not so much.  Except for work.  Sometimes, life just demands slowing down.  That's where I'm at right now, and I like it, I think.  So what have I been up to?

Obviously, not blogging every night, but I will pick up that pace shortly.  Instead, I've been doing more cooking, my twin passion to design.  Here are a couple of things that I've served up around here lately...



roasted boneless turkey breast stuffed and wrapped with proscutto and sage



kale and bean soup, with carrots, orzo, tomatoes and onions


Oh, and this box of fabric was served up to me by my friend Glen...




This is the drapery fabric for the dining room I've been working on for him.  Can I tell you this?...Never, if you value your life, hand a box of rumpled, crumpled fabric for drapery to your fabricator, unless you are sure beyond a doubt that she will not kill you on the spot for such a mess!  He is lucky.  I tell you, he is lucky.  So, I have been pressing 13 yards of fabric as I begin work on this soon-to-be installed window treatment project.  For the love of friends, the things we do!!

So, that's what I've been up to.  A slow and mellow start to 2011, for sure.  I know a faster pace is coming.  I'll be in the basement exercising and getting ready to take it on.  Hmm.  Maybe.  How about you?  Did you race out of the gate?

Talk to you soon,
Carol







Friday, December 31, 2010

Dinner on the Eve Before New Year's Eve

I had a great time last night.  Our friends, Ginny and Matt and Charlene (Cha Cha) and Larry, came to dinner to celebrate New Year's a bit early.  Lucky us!  I set the table for winter glam...




Lit some candles...




...and the laughter and cheer started.  The girls just wanted to have fun...





What's better than entertaining good friends in your home, and spending the day in the kitchen preparing dinner?  Almost nothing, in my book.  It's a great thing to see your friends having a good time at your table...






Matt said we had to put it on the blog that at the last minute, I put the tub of SmartBalance on the table (a Sofas & Sage no-no, he said!! lol).  Come on,  not everything can be perfect hahahaha....





Ginny, Matt's wife, leaned in for a picture with Larry and grabbed his thigh as though he were her husband.  She was horrified and earned the name Cougar for the night, but it had nothing to do with the champagne...






Then we got to dinner.  On the surf and turf menu?...

A Salad of Baby Lettuces
with grapes, pecans, cucumbers and goat cheese tossed in a poppy seed dressing

Lobster with Pan Seared Scallops tucked in Puff Pastry
and glazed with a Sherry Cream Sauce

Beef  Tenderloin with a Medley of Sauteed Wild Mushrooms

Baby Red Potatoes with Butter and Parsley

Sauteed Green Beans with Shallots and Bacon

Champagne and Red Wine

Chocolate Cake














This is a great $10 red wine...









So that's how I spent my night last night.  Thank you to our friends -- I'm grateful to have you in our lives.

There really is some cooking to show on this blog once in a while!!   I'll be back with photos from my day today, New Year's Eve day, in the next day or so.  It's been the best of holidays this year.  What are you doing this New Year's Eve?

Talk to you soon,
Carol



Saturday, October 23, 2010

North Carolina's Farmer's Market

My friend Lisa and I did a little exploring during my visit to her new digs in Cary, North Carolina last week.  Of course, we went in search of a fabric store. That led to a chat with the salesperson, which led to a trip to the Farmer's Market in Raleigh.  Wow.

In New England, we have local farm stands.  We don't have this...


or this...



Row after row of farm fresh produce, and an entirely different section for plants of all kinds. 







We were totally in awe of the place.  It was fairly empty early on a Friday morning, both in visitors and in vendors.  We suspected it may have to do with the State Fair going on at the same time.  I was so overwhelmed by the thought of having this much fresh food available every day, year round!  Unheard of in New England.  I know a lot of you readers out there enjoy this kind of access to freshness all the time, especially you guys on the West Coast.  But for us?  Hello!  Slice of Heaven!




The Indoor Marketplace had every locally made and jarred item you can think of (and so many I'd never heard of).  I was completely charmed, and was regretting I didn't have a huge suitcase to lug home a bunch of things to try.











A flower vendor had the most exquisite bouquets for $12.  One went home with Lisa.




There was a German baker who was very patient while I drooled over keuchen (a yummy reminder of my childhood).



I didn't indulge, though, because we were saving our appetites for this little place, still within the Market...






I swear to you I have never had such light, non-greasy fish and chips in my life.  The thick french fries, surely made from fresh NC potatoes, were to die for -- slightly crunchy on the outside and a steamy mashed potato texture on the inside, and absolutely no fried taste.  We weren't surprised that within 10 minutes of opening for lunch, the place was filling up.

Now that I'm back and blogging again, I want to thank you for hanging in there and continuing to check in while I was away and having some technical difficulties.  I have become completely addicted to my near-daily blogging, and it was hard to do without!  Stay in touch for some upcoming new projects.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Party Prep Day Two...

So, my pal and I  were off again, ready to wrap up the food shopping...



His attention is on a squirrel!


After making the rounds at the fish market and the grocery store, we went home to start cooking and building the buffet table.  First on the list, making a floral arrangement.  I went outside and cut some tree branches for fall color, some fading fern, a few hosta leaves, and some coleus.  It's amazing what you can do on a budget -- think outside the box.  I'm sure everyone has a gorgeous arrangement waiting to grace a table, right from their own backyard.




I added the sunflowers I'd bought the day before.





Then it was time to start building some interesting height on the table.  Easy to do -- just grab some sturdy items from around the house, and make sure to put heat protectors on them if you'll be putting hot food there.





Now to add some fabric -- I often get fabric remnants, like this toile, and use them either layered over another tablecloth, or on their own.  This is a great budget-stretcher -- you get all kinds of table coverings for a lot less than a collection of finished tablecloths (and what people notice is the color and pattern, not the fact that it's a piece of fabric!)  Just be sure to have neat edges, or tuck them under.  Next, the flowers and some plates.




The table will end up with several heights of serving plates -- doing this makes your guests feel special, I think.  So much more interesting than a bunch of serving pieces spread out on a table with a small flower arrangement flanked with candles.  Then it was time to start on the dining table (oh, and do a lot of cooking in between all of this!)




Not super exciting,  I must confess I was running out of steam, with the cooking and of course, balancing family life on my day off.  I felt like Kipper at this point...


After following me around non-stop all day in the kitchen, the stress just got to be too much.


Wrapping up a day of prep, I put a pot of mums in the living room for a little fall color.




Ready for my dad's 80th birthday party!  Stay tuned for some photos of the food, and of course, the birthday boy!

Talk to you soon,
Carol