Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Soup is always on my mind when the cold winds blow.  We are expecting the first below freezing temperatures tonight.  To complicate our lives, our heating system is not working.  We are managing to keep warm with our gas fireplace and may even light a wood fire in out kitchen fireplace.  David is now down in the furnace room with the new parts.  Hopefully we will have heat again soon.  But soup restores all discomfort and warms the soul.  This goulash soup was adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen.  David is still avoiding carbs so this combination of Ground Beef, Cabbage and Roasted Red Peppers fits perfectly into a Keto diet.

The changes I made to the recipe were to increase the ground beef and cabbage.  I doubled the cabbage from two cups to four cups.  I increased the ground beef from 1 pound to 1 1/2 pounds.

We enjoyed the warming goodness of this soups flavored with paprika, beef stock and tomatoes.  The cornbread is a side dish that I enjoyed alone.  It is Rosa’s Cornbread which is very rich and indulged in only in small slices.

GOULASH SOUP WITH RED PEPPERS AND CABBAGE (Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen)

• 2 onions, diced
• 2 tsp. finely minced garlic
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T sweet Hungarian Paprika
• 1 T hot Hungarian Paprika
• 1/2 tsp. crushed caraway seed (optional)
• 4 cups homemade beef stock (or 3 cans, 14 oz. each)
• 3 cups roasted tomatoes or 2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
• 4 cups finely diced cabbage
• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef (ground chuck is best)
• 1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red peppers, diced into 1 inch pieces

1. Heat large heavy frying pan, add oil, and saute onions about 5 minutes, until barely starting to color. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes more, then add paprika (and caraway if using) and saute 1 minute more.
2. Put onion/spice mixture into large soup pot. Deglaze pan with 1 cup of beef stock, then add that and rest of beef stock to soup pot. Add roasted tomatoes or canned tomatoes, cabbage and 2 cups water to soup pot and start to simmer.
3. Brown ground beef in frying pan until quite brown, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. When browned add to soup pot. Let simmer on very low heat one hour. (Taste for seasoning and add more paprika if desired.
4. After one hour, add diced red peppers and simmer about one hour more. Serve hot, garnished with sour cream.  This freezes very well.

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The genesis of this Bulgogi recipe happened while traveling in the backseat of the car with my Grandson. We were playing a word game with tiles and a hangman.  Cameron, at age 8, does very well with spelling words and solving word games.  But Mimi (me) is very good too.  The challenge was on!  After many rounds, Cameron gave me a seven letter word for food.  Guessing letter after letter, I never came up with the answer.  I had never heard of Bulgogi.  Cameron’s Mom, in the driver’s seat, was impressed too.  It turns out he knew the word after reading a book about a Korean boy trying to fit in at his new school in America.  His Mother had packed his school lunch with this Korean beef dish.  But the boy would have preferred the same food his classmates had brought to school.  So Cameron remembered this passage, the word, and a desire to try Bulgogi.

Bulgogi is an addictively delicious beef dish.  The sauce is a blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, pear, garlic, ginger, crushed pepper flakes and sesame oil.  The results are a salty, slightly sweet and nutty dish. Although you could use a tougher cut of beef like, chuck, sirloin or flank steak, the preferred cut is  rib eye or strip steak.

Traditionally Bulgogi would be served over rice, but we served it in lettuce cups.  Thank you Cameron for the inspiration.  I love that my Grandchildren are interested in trying foods from all over the world.  As soon as you return from your European trip with your parents, I will make this for you Cameron and your sister Rachel.

BULGOGI ( Adapted from Bon Appétit)

INGREDIENTS

Summer calls out for sunny colorful food.  Red, orange, and green sweet peppers, plus plentiful zucchini are all wonderful stuffed with a meat mixture.  Topped with a marinara sauce and baked, this makes a satisfying meal with a crispy cool salad.  It is easy and would be so inviting doubled and served to guests on a huge platter.  There is something special about Provençal recipes.

I know I have posted this picture before,  but it reminds me of our friends in France and the wonderful meal that Carole (second from left) served us in her Loire Valley home.  Stuffed vegetables were the main course after our Prosciutto wrapped melon.

Carole stuffed peppers and tomatoes with a flavorful meat mixture.

This is Lulu Peyraud’s kitchen at the Domaine Tempier winery in the Mediterranean coastal village of Bandol, France.  While in France on that same trip, we stopped at the winery and learned more about  Mrs. Peyraud.  She is a great friend of Alice Waters and the late Richard Olney.  Alice Waters serves the winery’s Bandol Rosé in her Chez Panisse Restaurant.  Lulu has a cookbook of her recipes written by Richard Olney.  You can find it here.  Lulu’s kitchen is dominated by a huge fireplace, where most of her cooking is done.  She has a small gas stove in her pantry.  It is obvious where her priorities lay.  I can just imagine how well stuffed peppers would taste coming out of that fireplace oven.  We encountered both stuffed pepper dishes and versions of ratatouille all over Provence.

This dish is obviously summer and Provence on a plate.

STUFFED VEGETABLES PROVENÇAL

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, grated
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
  
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano
  
• 1/4 cup dried plain bread crumbs
  
• 1 pound ground beef, preferably lean
• 2 zucchini, ends removed, halved lengthwise and crosswise
• 1 orange bell pepper, halved and seeded
• 1 red bell pepper, halved and seeded
• 1 green bell pepper, halved and seeded
• 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
  
  Lightly drizzle the olive oil into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish.Whisk the onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the ground beef. Cover and refrigerate the beef mixture. 
  
  Using a melon baller or spoon, carefully scrape out the seeds and inner flesh from the zucchini, leaving 1/8-inch-thick shells. Be careful not to pierce through the skin. Fill the zucchini and pepper halves with the turkey mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Arrange the stuffed vegetables in the baking dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the stuffed vegetables. 
  
  Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown and a thermometer inserted into the filling registers 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes. Transfer the stuffed vegetables to a platter and serve.

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Time in Florida is winding down.  We leave for North Carolina at the end of the week.  I have been looking for recipes to use up food items in the freezer and the pantry.  This Country Captain Chicken recipe fit the bill.  I have blogged about this chicken curry casserole before here.  And here.  You can tell I am fond of the ingredients.  The difference with this recipe is the hands-off use of the slow-cooker.

According to legend, curry powder and the recipe for Country Captain were brought to Charleston in the early 1800s by a British sea captain.  The dish includes chicken, curry, raisins, tomatoes and almonds.  It is perfect to serve to a crowd accompanied by rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Enjoy. Let’s welcome Spring.  Looking forward to seeing the blooms on the trees in the mountains.

SLOW-COOKER COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN (Taste of Home)

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup golden raisins or raisins
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• Hot cooked rice
• Chopped fresh parsley, optional

• Place onion, pepper and garlic in a 6-qt. slow cooker. Arrange chicken pieces over vegetables.
• Whisk the next 5 ingredients with the chicken broth. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Add raisins and tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and cook until chicken reaches 165°, 2-1/2 hours. Serve over rice; if desired, sprinkle with parsley.

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Porch meals are important to us.  Summers at the lake are spent on the screened in porch for meals, reading, games and sleeping.  That is why I am so glad that the house we are renting in Florida for the Winter has a very comfortable porch.

We have had a few cool days, but for the most part eating on the porch has been a part of our days.  I have even been able to grow pots of sage, basil and rosemary.  Simple meals have been the rule.  The Almond Chicken Tenderloins came from Joanna Gaines new cookbook, Magnolia Table.  It is basically chicken fingers but with a flavorful difference.  We have been using a lot of almond flour because David is on a low carb diet.  Joanna uses a mixture of almond flour and regular flour in her recipe.  I tweeked it to include mostly almond flour.  The other difference is the sliced almond sauce drizzled over the top of the tenders.  It is buttery and lemony; a perfect combination.

I served the chicken with my Zoodle Mixed Salad.  Publix Supermarkets now sells Zucchini ribbons in the produce aisle.  We will return to Lake Lure the first of April.  It may be too early then for porch meals, but I could also enjoy this simple fare in front of the fireplace.

ALMOND CHICKEN TENDERLOINS

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pound chicken tenders
1 1/2 tsps. kosher salt
8 Tbls. butter
4 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbls. Chopped parsley or spring onions for garnish

On a plate, stir together both flours, the garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning and pepper.

Season the tenders with the salt, then coat evenly in the flour mixture, pressing to help adhere.  Set aside in a single layer.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat.  When sizzling, add half of the tenders in a single layer, taking car to not crowd them in the pan. Cook until golden brown on the bottom, flip once with tongs, and cook the other side until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.  Watch them carefully because they can scorch easily.  Transfer to a serving platter and tent with foil to deep them warm.

Wipe out the skillet if any of the flour mixture has scorched.

Repeat with 2 tablespoons butter, the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and the remaining chicken.  Transfer to the platter.  Wipe out the skillet.

Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in the skillet over medium heat.  When the butter is foaming, stir in the almonds and cook until golden, stirring often, about 30 seconds.  Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.  Pour over the chicken.

Sprinkle the parsley or spring onions over the top and serve warm.

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