If your concept of beef stock comes out of a box or can…we need to talk. Box and canned beef stocks are lacking in flavor and taste dreadful, many of which with an awful aftertaste. This is because the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires a ratio of 135 parts water to only 1 part beef. Do you really believe if the FDA doesn’t require beef in beef stock that cost conscious food manufacturers are actually going to use beef? They don’t. As such, the beef flavor in beef stock doesn’t come from beef. It comes from advances in food chemistry. Manufacturers of beef stock use beef powder, technically called “dried pulverized beef tissue” and beef fat technically referred to as a “beef byproduct.” Another product used to give beef stock that “umami” character is MSG. Yum. Don’t you really want to feed your family canned or boxed stock? Continue reading Hearty Beef Stock→
Some of my fondest memories are from when I lived and worked in Louisiana. The people of Louisiana and their food mesmerized me and when I think of Louisiana I think of gumbo.
OK. I’m on a soup posting kick right now. I love soups. This is a fabulous New England Style Clam Chowder you should definitely try (unless you don’t like clams). Continue reading New England Clam Chowder→
It has been a beautiful winter throughout the country this year. I had almost forgotten about winter. Almost, then I came to Chicago. It was 81 F when I left Dallas at 5:00 pm. When I arrived in Chicago it was 38 F. As I sit in O’Hare waiting on my flight home, the thermometer is steadily dropping, it’s dreary outside and snow is on the way. I am ready for a nice bowl of soup instead of this rubberized chicken salad at Macaroni Grill. Food on the plane would have been better. Blech! 😦 Continue reading Cream of Eggplant Soup→
Cioppino is an Italian American classic. While many people believe the dish originated in Italy, it actually originated in San Francisco and was made famous in the 1850s by Genoese immigrant Giuseppe Bazzuro and his abandoned ship turned Italian restaurant bearing his name. Originally, the dish was a purée of cooked vegetables and leftover fish scraps. Over the years, it has transformed into a luscious stew using local delectable shell fish such as dungeness crab, briny prawns, and sweet small shrimp, along with heaps of clams, mussels, and chunks of flaky fish. All of this is simmered with lots of tomatoes and wine. Continue reading Cioppino→
One of the food magazines Baby Lady & I read is Saveur. I have a Zinio subscription which is delivered directly to my PC, my MacBook and my iPad. It’s great on the iPad because if I ever want to cook a recipe from it the iPad is so Portable and takes up so little counter space. When I received the November 2011 Saveur magazine, in an article, The Art of Soup, Baby Lady noticed the recipe for Karfiolleves (Paprika Spiced Cauliflower Soup with Dumplings), a traditional Hungarian soup. As it should be, soup making is serious business in Hungary. Most meals in Hungary begin with a soup and cauliflower is a common soup ingredient. Continue reading Spicy Paprika Cauliflower Soup with Dumplings→
REMCooks 