Blue Cayenne

I just enjoyed two bowls of this soup for breakfast.

According to a Hatch Valley Chile Festival site: “Hot chile peppers burn calories by triggering a thermodynamic burn in the body, which speeds up metabolism.”

I’m not sure about the thermodynamic burn part. Sounds kinda wonky to me. Nevertheless, the quote eased my guilt as I ladled a second generous cup of this chowder into my breakfast bowl and watched a glistening gentle rain pelt the plants in my atrium. Life is good.

Recently, my Trader Joe’s started carrying frozen bags of Hatch chiles. On a try-a-new ingredient impulse (something that happens to me often), I bought a bag and tucked it away in my over-filled freezer. There is always room for one more frozen package, right?

But what to make with the chiles?

Then this recipe popped up in one of my nocturnal crawls through the recipe blogs. It’s wonderful–all the things a good chowder should be: thick, creamy, and flavorful with Just the right proportion of potatoes. As a welcome bonus, this chowder is gently spiced with a full cup of Hatch chiles.

I made it yesterday as the rains began and Juliet was contentedly napping. I find few things more pleasurable than cooking on a rainy day.

Don’t wait to try this recipe.

Who can’t use a good thermodynamic burn this time of year?

The link to the original recipe on the blog everydaysouthwest.com can be found at the end of this post.

Yields 6 to 8 servings

Caldo Con Queso

A gently-spiced potato, corn and tomato chowder.

15 minPrep Time

25 minCook Time

40 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion (diced)
• 1 carrot (diced)
• 1 stalk celery (diced)
• 1/2 T. oregano leaves
• 1 T. minced garlic
• 6 C. vegetable broth
• Kernels from one corn cob (about 1 cup)
• 2 medium red potatoes (diced but not peeled)
• 1 C. diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
• 1 C. roasted green chiles (I used Hatch chiles from Trader Joe's frozen section)
• 4 T. butter
• 4 T. flour
• 6 T. milk
• 8 ounces queso fresco (grated or finely diced)
• 8 ounces mild cheddar (grated or finely diced)
• Chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Sauté onion, carrot, garlic and celery in the olive oil until the onion begins to soften. Stir in the oregano leaves. Pour in vegetable broth. Add corn, red potatoes, diced tomatoes and green chiles. Bring soup to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes have softened but still hold their shape.
2. Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan, melt butter and stir in flour. Stir flour/butter mixture over the heat until the flour takes on a light brown color. Whisk in milk and continue whisking until mixture starts to thicken. Mine thickened pretty quickly, so watch your pan at this step. Add more milk if necessary.
3. Add flour/butter mixture to the soup, whisking it in and continuing to whisk until the soup thickens.
4. Add cheese to the hot soup by handfuls just before serving. Thin soup with additional milk or vegetable broth as necessary.
5. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Notes

This chowder will get very thick stored in your refrigerator. Thin with additional milk or vegetable broth.

Nutrition

Calories

713 cal

Fat

18 g

Carbs

113 g

Protein

25 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

7.8.1.2

19

https://bluecayenne.com/caldo-con-queso-spicy-cheese-and-chile-chowder

The link to the original recipe can be found here:

http://www.everydaysouthwest.com/first-courses/rustic-veggie-soup-with-cheese-cubes-or-carols-caldo-con-queso/

Composer Jacques Offenbach was so taken with Parker House rolls that be burst into spontaneous song when he and his friends enjoyed them. That song was later used as a theme is his unfinished opera The Tales of Hoffman. Those must have been some rolls!

To my delight, I learned to make Parker House rolls at a recent Sur La Table (Costa Mesa) cooking class taught by talented chef Kristin Leonard. The rolls were a hit with everyone in the class and I’ve since made them at home. They are pretty wonderful. Light. Tender. Ever-so-buttery!  Easy.

The Parker House Hotel where the rolls originated is an American institution, by the way. It was opened in the 1850s and is currently operated by the Omni chain. It has been in continuous operation as a hotel longer than any other hotel in America.

Emerson and Longfellow stayed (and ate) there. Charles Dickens reportedly recited A Christmas Carol to the literary Saturday Club that met at the Parker House. Ho Chi Minh claimed to have been a baker there during his brief sojourn in the United States. (I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of Minh being a baker.)  John Kennedy proposed to Jacqueline Bouvier at table 40 in the hotel’s dining room. (The hotel reports that romantics still book table 40 when they plan to propose. That’s a very nice romantic tradition, if you ask me.)

Gastronomically, the hotel has left its mark. The Boston Cream pie originated in its kitchens. Scrod, too. And then, there were the glorious Parker House Rolls that were first served there in the 1870s.

The story of the rolls origins strikes me as a bit dubious but it is fun, so I’ll retell it here. As the tale goes, a baker at the hotel had a crush on one of the hotel’s chambermaids. The chambermaid was accused to stealing a diamond necklace owned by a wealthy guest who ran hysterically through the hotel shouting her accusation against the chambermaid. Hearing his true love falsely accused, the baker, in a fit of pique, grabbed handfuls of prepared dinner rolls and threw them into the oven where the rolls rested haphazardly and many folded over on themselves. By the time things settled down, it was too late to make more rolls for the dinner hour and the baker decided to serve the misshapen rolls to the hotel’s guests. They were a hit. (The diamonds were found and the chambermaid was exonerated. No word about whether the rich lady apologized.)

Tomorrow, November 17, is Homemade Bread Day. Why not give these rolls a try. If you like them as much as I do, you will probably want to add them to your Thanksgiving menu. Who knows? Your guests might just break out in song.

Yields 16

Parker House Rolls for Thanksgiving

Buttery Parker House Rolls for your table

2 hrPrep Time

25 minCook Time

2 hr, 25 Total Time

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Ingredients

• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 C. whole milk
• 3 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 t. instant yeast
• 1 1/2 t. sea salt
• 3 T. granulated sugar
• 3 T. unsalted butter (cut into 1/2 inch dice)
• 1 large egg (beaten)
• 4 T. melted unsalted butter (for brushing rolls)
• 1 t. flaky sea salt (we used Maldon salt)

Instructions

1. Grease a large bowl and a 13 by 9 inch baking pan. Set aside.
2. Heat milk to a warm 100 degrees F.
3. Using the paddle attachment, mix flour, yeast, salt, sugar and butter in a stand mixer (Kitchen Aid if you have one) until the butter is broken down into pea-sized pieces. This will only take a minute or so. Pour the warm milk into the mixer bowl with the flour mixture and then add the beaten egg. Mix to combine. Take off the paddle attachment and attach the dough hook to your mixer. Knead the dough for 7 or 8 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl you have already prepared. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise and double in size. This should take about 90 minutes
4. Once the dough has doubled, remove it from the bowl and put it on a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough in half. Roll one of your two dough balls into a 8 by 12 inch rectangle. Brush the rectangle with melted butter, saving the rest to be brushed on top of the rolls after they are baked.
5. Cut the 8 by 12 inch rectangle in half lengthwise. Working with one rectangle at a time, fold the long side of the dough over to about 1/2 inch of the other edge, so that the bottom edge sticks out about 1/2 inch beyond the top edge. Folded, your rectangle should now measure about 2 inches by 12 inches. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.
6. Cut each of your folded rectangles into four 3-inch pieces so that you have 16 rolls.
7. Place the rolls, smooth side up, in a lightly-greased 13 by 9 inch pan. You should place the rolls so that you have 4 rows of 4 rolls in the pan with the longer side of the rolls going down the longer side of the pan,
8. Gently flatten the rolls to spread them out a bit so that they cover the bottom of the pan.
9. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The rolls should be puffy but not doubled.
10. While the rolls are being allowed to rise, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
11. Bake rolls for 20 to 25 minutes. They are done when they are golden brown and feel set.
12. Remove rolls from oven, brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt.

Nutrition

Calories

616 cal

Fat

27 g

Carbs

77 g

Protein

14 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

7.8.1.2

14

https://bluecayenne.com/parker-house-rolls-for-thanksgiving-ho-chi-minh-and-the-tales-of-hoffman-really

I found this soup recipe on the Washington Post site and the ideas of pureeing some of the chickpeas as a technique to increase the creaminess of the soup broth and of adding farro to give the soup substance intrigued me. In the end, this recipe produced a flavorful minestrone-ish soup.

Farro, if you are unfamiliar with it,  is the Italian name for emmer, one of the oldest cultivated grains. Farro has been enjoying a bit of a renaissance in popularity since the 1990s when “foodies” rediscovered the distinctive grain as an alternative to pasta and rice. Thereafter, farro imports to the United States from Italy increased dramatically. Today, it is pretty easy to find farro at your local Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.

So what is farro, exactly?

Food historian Harold McGee writes that “somewhat” less than a million years ago a chance mating of a wild wheat and a wild goatgrass produced emmer and durum wheat–the two most important wheats of the Mediterranean world.  McGee’s description sounds kinda “Fifty Shades” of farro to me, but I digress.

Further, The University of Florence’s Department of Plant Genetics identifies farro as an ancient, unhybridized grain that was used as an important food source for thousands of years in North Africa and the Middle East. Farro grains, according to their research, have been recovered from ancient Egyptian tombs and the use of farro as a primary food (and even as currency) during the height of the Roman Empire is well- documented.

Fast forward to modern times. Modern Farro cultivation is concentrated in central and northern Italy where many credit the longevity of Italians who live in those regions with their consumption of the grain. then again, maybe this is just another indication of the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.

How to prepare farro?

Uncooked farro looks a bit like a kernel of brown rice. Cooked, it looks like a small piece of popcorn and, importantly, in the cooked state, farro retains its shape. It is rich in vitamins A,B,C and E and is high in fiber, so it is good for you. Incorporated into your favorite dishes, farro imparts a nutty flavor and a chewy texture to your salads and soups. Because farro is most successfully grown in Italy’s arid high altitudes without a lot of fuss, you can usually count upon it to be pesticide and fertilizer free.

Tuscans are renowned for combining farro and beans into a delicious winter soup, zuppa di farro. For that reason, I’m thinking that this soup, although it does not call for white beans,  is a bit Italian. Farro flour is used to prepare ravioli and other pasta dishes. Farro also is used in risotto-like dishes. Apparently, farro has a place on your dessert table, too. I’ve found a  maple syrup-flavored farro pudding recipe, budino con acero, that sounds amazing.  I promise to give that pudding recipe a try and, if it is as good as it sounds, I will post the recipe here.

Blue Cayenne has visited the expanding world of farro before. You will find recipes for Farro and Bean Soup and a wonderful farro salad, Farro with Pistachios, Mixed Herbs, Golden Raisins and Dried Cherries. Just take a look using the search box on the right side of this page this page under the bold-face heading “Categories”.

The link to the original Washington Post recipe from which this recipe was adapted appears at the end of this post.

Yields 6 Cups

Serves 4

Vegetable Soup with Spinach and Farro

A simple and delicious vegetable soup with farro.

20 minPrep Time

45 minCook Time

1 hr, 5 Total Time

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Ingredients

• 3 C. cooked (and drained) chickpeas (from two 15-ounce cans or home-cooked)
• 3 1/2 C. vegetable broth
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 1 medium carrot (diced)
• 1 rib celery (diced)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 pinch rosemary (or a small sprig of fresh rosemary)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. freshly-ground black pepper
• 1/2 C. pearled farro
• 2 C. lightly-packed baby spinach (coarsely chopped, stems removed)
• 1/3 C. freshly grated Asiago cheese (or more)
• 1/2 15-ounce can tomato sauce

Instructions

1. Puree 1 cup chickpeas and 1/2 cup broth in a blender until smooth. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and sauté onion, carrot and celery for 6-8 minutes until vegetables are softened by not browned. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. Add the remaining 2 cups of chickpeas, remaining 3 cups of broth, tomatoes (and their juices), tomato sauce, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 15 minutes.
3. Add farro. Increase heat and bring mixture to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat and simmer soup (covered) until the farro is tender. This will take about 20 minutes.
4. Discard the rosemary sprig if you used fresh rosemary. Add the chickpea puree and stir in the spinach. Cook for 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted but still bright green.
5. Serve with a sprinkling of grated Asiago cheese.

7.8.1.2

5

https://bluecayenne.com/vegetable-soup-with-spinach-and-farro

Here is the link to the original Washington Post recipe:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/the-one-pot-stew-that-does-pasta-fazool-one-better/2016/11/03/d8008642-9f9a-11e6-8d63-3e0a660f1f04_story.html