Eclectic Spring Dinner Party: Cioppino and more

It's been quite a few months since I've hosted a dinner party.  Maybe I was a tad burned out from the holiday hoopla or maybe it was the monotonous half-completed home projects or possibly the push to change careers or perhaps the impromptu road trip...hard to say!  What I do know is that it was long overdue.  While I haven't finished (not even close) to my mile long to-do list, I found this urge to have a girls dinner.  I wanted to expand my table to include not just my usual crew,  but a mix of new and old friends and their daughters.  To continue with 'mix it up' attitude, I decided to mix a few tried and true dishes with some fresh and new items.  The anticipation of hosting new people with some of my legacy loves meant it would be an evening of firsts and I was certainly feeling I had arrived at my happy place.  

I was feeling like celebrating and being a tad decedent.  I was thinking surf and turf with gorgeous wines.  I had received a lovely delivery of perfect tomatoes from Door to Door Organics as well as some fresh basil and mozzarella, so Tomato Stacks were a no-brainer.  While I love going to Whole Foods and chatting it up with the butcher and seafood masters, I decided to hit Coscto.  I found an amazing beef tenderloin...so the stand-by Jack Daniels Peppercorn sauce was a must. While contemplating splurging on crab legs, I stumbled upon a mix of various shellfish.  It was reasonably priced, looked amazing and was certainly a healthy quantity.  But what to make?  Cioppino?  Never made it - but was kind of missing San Francisco and as a California native, it seems like something I should know how to make.  After all, my guests were from NY, CT, KS, CA and we were hopeful to have a Canadian as well!  So taking all of this into consideration, the menu was set.  

With the ingredients in the refrigerator, the guest list confirmed all that was left was to set the table and get cooking!  Since we were to have 6 women and 6 kids using both the kitchen table and the dining room table was a must - but I didn't want to have a formal affair. I wanted it to feel as eclectic as my menu, my mood, my guests and our  Colorado spring weather.  With the help of my little chefs, we set out to use a mixture of colored vases, fresh cut mountain spring flowers,  special china and everyday porcelain, woven and stainless flatware, bamboo place mats and our semi shabby chic tables were set!   

Finally it was time to gather all our ingredients and create magic. My labor of love.  I typically select a menu that will allow me spend more time with my guests and less time at the stove.  This was a 90% do ahead meal - so essentially the last 10 minutes  I leveraged everyone to help plate and serve.   

The people most certainly made the night, but the prep work with food, flowers and my daughters nourished my soul before anyone arrived.

From my kitchen to yours...

Menu:

Appetizers

• Caviar Pie
• Artichoke

The Main Event

• Beef Tenderloin with Jack Daniels Peppercorn Sauce
• Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella and Pesto Stacks
• Cioppino (see below)

Dessert

• Patsy Teuton's homemade carrot cake (I'll try and get her recipe - it was DELISH)

Cioppino

Ingredients:

• 2 T EVOO
• 1T unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4-6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 1/4 C dry white wine (save 1/4 C for last minute)
• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 8-ounce bottles clam juice
• 1 large sprig rosemary
• 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 3-4 pounds any mix of shellfish: mussels (debearded), clams (scrubbed), shrimp (cleaned), scallops and squid (I bought a nice bag of mixed, cleaned shellfish at Costco - near the crab legs.  Many Cioppino recipes call for white fish or salmon as well - feel free to add what you like).

For serving:

• Flat-leaf parsley leaves 
• Toasted country bread, rubbed with garlic and olive oil 

Instructions:

• Heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. 
• Add onion, shallots and garlic, cook until softened, 8-10 minutes. 
• Add basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes; stir until fragrant, about 3 minutes. 
• Add 2 C wine and cook for around 4 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices, crushing with your hands as you add them.Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 15-20 minutes. 
• Add clam juice, parsley, bay leaves, rosemary sprig; season with salt and pepper. 
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until flavors meld, 10-15 minutes more. Discard parsley sprigs, rosemary and bay leaves. 
• DO AHEAD TIP: I did the above steps hours before my guests arrived.  You can then do the final steps 5-10 minutes before you're ready to serve.
• Bring broth to a simmer and add shellfish mixture and final 1/4 C of wine. 
• Turn broth to a medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until shells open (discard any that do not open), about 5- 8 minutes.
• Divide among bowls; top with roughly chopped parsley and place toasted, crusty bread in each bowl.  

Simple, Quick Chicken Tortilla Soup

Finally feeling like Fall. Professional and college football, golf and baseball....sweet. Actually I like having sports on TV during the weekend. I guess it reminds me of being a kid. Some sort of event was always in the background or someone was over to watch the big game. I find my house becoming the same way, which I love.

The basics of this recipe are from my good friend Patsy Teuton, a Long Beach native. Every time she makes this meal, it is a guaranteed good time. It's easy, fun, fast, festive and fantastic. It also looks great in a bowl - so colorful. I am putting two different versions below. When you are short on time, you can take 10 minutes to prepare the soup and then simmer for 30 min - 40 minutes - start to finish. However, if you like soup in homemade stock, feel free to boil your chicken and use the broth. Either way, yum.

Ingredients:
3 C chicken (shredded or cubed)
5 C chicken broth (Homemade or purchased)
3 green onions (chopped)
1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
1 can navy or cannellini beans
1 yellow and 1 red pepper (roasted and chopped)
1 jar of your favorite salsa
2 cloves garlic (pressed)
2 t cumin
Dash of S&P

Toppings:
5-7 flour tortillas (cut into strips)
Olive oil
Kosher salt
1 avocado (sliced)
2 tomatoes (diced)
1/2 C cilantro (chopped)
Dollop of sour cream
1 C Shredded cheddar

Directions:
#1 - Toss all ingredients into a pot...stir and simmer for 30 min –or toss in crock pot on low… Seriously.

#2 - However if you want to make your own stock and roast your own peppers…

Fill the pot with 5-6 cups water, add onion and raw chicken (either a whole chicken or bone in breasts). Boil for 30 min. Shred or cube chicken and add back into stock.

To roast bell peppers, simply cut them in half and toss the core/seeds. Rub them in olive oil and place on a cookie sheet (the skin should be facing up). Broil the peppers for about 10 min or until they start to bubble and turn dark. After you take the peppers out of the oven, you can then place them in a paper bag for 10 min. This will help you more easily remove the skin.

Then chop the peppers and add the remaining ingredients into the pot and simmer for another 30 min.

For the topping, turn the oven to broil. Take the flour tortilla strips and place on a cookie sheet. Spray the strips lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Broil for 5 min or until brown.

Ladle soup into the bowls and top with tortilla strips.

Serving Ideas:
Use a serving dish with various compartments to display the diced tomatoes, sliced avocados, cilantro, shredded cheese and sour cream. This looks beautiful in the center of the table and guests can add what they like to their bowl of soup.

Patsy also serves this with corn bread, which is a great accompaniment. Another thing I do is serve the soup with a tamale. Many local Mexican joints are now selling frozen packages to your grocery store or fresh at the farmer’s market.

Butternut Squash Bisque with Apple-Roasted Pork Chops

The grass is growing more slowly, football seems to be on every channel, mornings and evenings are cooler...Fall is definitely upon us. So let's get our Fall menu going with flavorful butternut squash, apples and pork chops. Squash always looks peculiar, never sure just what to do with it. The thing is, you kind of can't go wrong - bake, boil, chop or puree -regardless of your preparation of choice, the result is the perfect meal to warm your belly and kick-off your week.

From my table to yours!

Butternut Squash Bisque

Ingredients:

• 2 T butter
• 2 small onions, minced
• 3 C peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash
• 1 1/4 C chicken stock
• 1 1/2 C cubed potatoes
• 1 t paprika
• 1/2 C Whipping Cream (I use Fat Free Half and Half)
• 1/3 C sherry
• 3 T freshly grated Parmesan
• 4 T snipped, fresh chives, plus a few whole chives to garnish
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

• Melt the butter in large saucepan.
• Add onions and cook for 5 min
• Add the squash, stock, potatoes and paprika and bring to boil.
• Lower the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 35 min.
• Pour the soup into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
• Return the soup to the pan and stir in cream and sherry.
• Season with salt and pepper and reheat slowly.
• Stir in the chopped chives and parmesan just before serving.
• Garnish each serving with a few whole chives.

Apple-Roasted Pork Chops (4 hours for marinating)

• 6 loin pork chops, each 7-8 oz, trimmed of fat

For the Marinade:

• 2/3 C apple cider
• 1 t olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1T fresh thyme
• 1 t peppercorns

• salt and pepper
• 2 tart green apples
• 1 T butter
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 C dried apples
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1/4 C apple cider
• 1/4 C dry apple brandy (Calvados)

Directions:

• Marinate the pork chops: Place the chops in a large, heavy duty zip-lock bag. Add the cider, olive oil, onion, thyme, garlic and peppercorns to the bag.
• Press out air and sale bag securely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours - turning occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 400F. Remove chops from the marinade, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Ditch the marinade.
• Peel, core and slice the fresh apples. In a large saute pan, over high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. When the foam dissolves, add the chops and sear, turning once until browned (about 2 min/side)
• Meanwhile, scatter the fresh and dried apples and onion slices in a baking dish large enough to hold the chops in a single layer.
• Set the browned chops on top of the apple and onion, pour the apple cider around the chops and cover the dish.
• Cook for 10 min, then lower the heat to 350F. Then cook for 25 min longer.
• Uncover dish and baste with apple brandy. Cook another 10 min (or until juices run clear and chops are tender).
• Serve directly from dish to plate - YUM!

Chicken Orzo Soup (Mamma Adams)

My dear friend Liz Adams-Mohan is a giver. She gives of herself, her hopes, her thoughts and her fantastic outlook on life and love. She touches the souls of all she meets. And this is just the surface of this woman. As they say, the apple doesn't fall from the tree - and what a tree it is. Liz is part of a very large, Long Island family...yes, the Long Island Adams family!

I am lucky enough to have been accepted into the 'A-list' by Mr. and Mrs. Adams...which I am extraordinarily proud to share. I hear it's a pretty exclusive list. I love hearing stories of the Adams dinner table. The amazing meals that were cooked, lively conversation and the abundance of love and creativity. One of many Adams meals Liz shared with me was her mom's (or really Grandmother's) Chicken Orzo soup. We all know Chicken Soup is good for the soul ...and this one will knock your socks off! I have added a few little twists to this Adams classic, but the recipe and all its glory is attributed to the legendary Mrs. Adams.
From my table to yours....

Chicken Orzo Soup
Ingredients

• Whole chicken
• Onion, chopped
• 5 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 box orzo
• 1 lemon
• 1 cube butter (you can get away with 1/2 cube)
• 1/4 C creamed sherry

Directions

• Rinse whole chicken (remove any neck or nasty junk shoved inside the cavity...ewww)
• Place chicken in large pot, cover with water
• Add chopped onion, carrots and sage leaves
• Bring to a boil, reduce and cook 30 min (until chicken is cooked)
• Remove chicken from broth and cool a bit (so you don't burn your fingers as you try to remove all the meat from the bones)
• Pull meat from the bones, shred and add back to broth (I ditch all the fat, skin, random parts...again ewww)
• Bring broth and chicken to a boil
• Add orzo, juice from lemon, butter, salt and pepper
• Reduce to medium and cook until orzo is cooked (20 min)
• Add sherry
• Cook for another few minutes
• Remove bay leaves and serve!

Tim's Tomato Dill or Basil Soup

Two firsts hit Boulder County yesterday...Our first real snowfall and a brand new baby boy for Anne and Brandon Greenhaw! Fresh starts come to us everyday, just some are more obvious than others. New babies and snowfall...seems like a great time to bust out a belly warming recipe.

As I was thinking what to make my family, as well as the newly expanded Greenhaw crew, I was quickly reminded of a special gift we received almost four and a half years ago, after Miss Hailey was born. The day we came home from Avista Hospital, Tim Shove (one of our fantastic neighbors for those of you who don't know him) brought us a wonderful, large pot of fantastic tomato basil soup, homemade tortillas and aged white cheddar. The perfect meal for a sleep deprived, slightly nervous new family in the middle of winter. This was one of our first meals as a new family and joined by Nana...made for a memorable evening.

This recipe is simple, quick, fresh, healthy and most of all TASTY.
From our table to yours...enjoy!

Tomato Dill or Basil Soup (large pot - serves 8)
Soup can be made a day in advance and freezes well

Ingredients ...I have added a few little twists from the original recipe

• 3 T olive oil


• 3 C chopped leeks (white and pale green parts)


• 4- 28 oz cans diced tomatoes with tomato juice


• 4 1/2 C low salt chicken stock


• 6 T packed, chopped basil or dill (depending on your preference)


• 2 pinches red pepper flakes (or 1/4 t cayenne if you prefer)


• 1 package prosciutto chopped


• 1/4 C fat free half and half


• 1/4 C creamed sherry


• 1 T kosher salt


• 1 T pepper


• Sour cream (dollops for serving)


• Sprinkle shredded Parmesan (or slices of aged white cheddar)


• Fresh dill or basil sprigs for garnish


• Baguette (or fresh tortillas)

Directions:

• In a large pot, heat olive oil


• Add chopped leeks and cook until tender (about 8 min)


• Add tomatoes including all tomato juice, chicken stock, chopped herb (basil or dill), re pepper, prosciutto, and bring to low boil.


• Reduce heat, stir and simmer uncovered for 30 min.


• Once tomatoes are fairly soft, puree soup in food processor or blender until smooth and then return to pot (probably need to do this in 3-4 batches).


• Bring soup to a simmer over low heat


• Add fat free half and half and creamed sherry


• Add salt and pepper


• Stir and simmer for another 10 min


• Ladle into bowls and top with shaved Parmesan and herb of choice (or a dollop of sour cream and aged cheddar)

This is really a bisque and matched with a great salad...you are ready to sit down and share your weekly adventures.

Zucchini, Potato and Parmesan Soup

As I said, I am lucky to live in a neighborhood with many fantastic gardeners. And even luckier that they share. But I must say, I feel a little pressure to produce something deserving of all their labor. So there I sat, looking at a 6 pound zucchini and a dozen small, tasty yellow onions. Hmmmm.

I love the 'Back to the Table' cookbook by Art Smith. It's full of great recipes, wonderful images and tips of what it means to share a home cooked meal. While flipping through the Family Meal: Soups chapter, a 'perfect, hearty summer soup' caught my eye. So I washed off all the garden soil, began chopping and sauteing and a new dish is added to my bag of tricks.

From our table to yours - enjoy

Zucchini, Potato and Parmesan Soup (serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 medium zucchini, scrubbed but unpeeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (4 cups)
• 1 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (1 cup)
• 3 cups veggie or chicken broth
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 C evaporated skimmed milk
• 3 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additonal for serving
• Salt and Pepper
• Chopped fresh thyme, for garnish

Directions:

• Heat oil in large pot over medium heat
• Add the onion and garlic, cover
• Cook stiring often until the onions are translucent (about 5 min)
• Stir n the zucchini and potato
• Add enough broth to barley cover the vegetables
• Add the thyme and bring to a boil over high heat
• Reduce heat to low, simmer, partially covered until the potato is tender (about 15 min)
• Stir in evaporated mile and cheese.
• Heat until very hot, but DO NOT boil, or the soup will curdle. Season to taste with sale an pepper
• Ladle into soup bowls, sprinkle with thyme and Parmesan.

Warms your belly!

Roasted Vegetables: Side Dish and then Soup

Man, I had such a lazy weekend and indulged in one of my guilty pleasures, watching the Food Network. Even though it's looking like we are going to get weather in the 70's this week, this recipe for roasted vegetables is fantastic. In fact the Barefoot Contessa first served the roasted vegetables as a side dish to roasted chicken and then made a soup from the leftovers - you know I love that - Two for one!

The kicker in serving the roasted vegetables is the display and finishing touches. For ingredients and directions, please visit the below link.

Roasted Vegetable Display:

• Display each roasted vegetable on a large platter.
• Keep like veggies together, don't mix.
• For garnish, place a large bunch of flat leaf parsley on the edge.
• Top carrots with a pinch of coarse pepper and kosher salt.
• Top sweet potatoes and butternut squash with a pinch of salt and pepper and finely chopped parsley.
• Top parsnips with a splash of real maple syrup.

Barefoot Contessa Roasted Vegetable Soup:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-vegetable-soup-recipe/index.html