It is cold in Ontario. So cold that the local beach looks like this!
This little inlet is where kids often wade in the summer months. I took this pic because of the formation of the ice. These ice disks form where there is a protected circular flow. As the waves come into the inlet they spin the ice around forming these round disks . . . interesting to look at but there is NO way I'm dipping my feet into that water!
Long time readers know I am not prone to hyperbolic statements. This is by far the best soup I have made lately. In fact, if you don't already own an Instant Pot I'd buy one just to make this soup.
This recipe (posted on the Dad Cooks Dinner blog) takes longer than most Instant Pot soup recipes because you're not making this soup with store bought broth or that bottled bouillon powder. There are two steps - in the first you make a super rich and flavourful bone broth from a store bought rotisserie chicken. The second step is quicker - you use the broth to make an amazing soup.
Because of the way the recipe is structured you can split it over two days. I made the broth on one day, refrigerated it and then the soup the following day.
There are only two tricks to this recipe:
So, are you ready for homemade chicken soup, in the Instant Pot, from scratch? Pick up a rotisserie chicken and you're ready to go.
Enjoy!
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Rotisserie Chicken Broth
1 (2- to 4-pound) rotisserie chicken, breast meat removed and saved for later
Juices from the rotisserie chicken container
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 carrot, scrubbed and cut in half
1 stalk celery, cut in half
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
8 cups water
Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced ½ inch thick
1 stalk celery, sliced ½ inch thick
½ teaspoon< dried thyme
½ teaspoon< fine sea salt
8 cups of Rotisserie Chicken Broth (from above)
4 ounces baby red potatoes, quartered
1 cup wide or extra-wide egg noodles
Breast meat from the rotisserie chicken, shredded
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Minced parsley for garnish
Pressure cook the broth for 60 minutes with a Natural Pressure Release:
Cut the chicken breast meat off of the rotisserie chicken and set aside for later. Add the rotisserie chicken carcass, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, and salt to the pressure cooker pot, then add the 8 cups of water. (It should just cover the rotisserie chicken - it’s OK if the knobs of the drumsticks are poking up.) Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 60 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC (Manual or Pressure Cook mode in an Instant Pot) or 50 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally – about 30 minutes. (It takes a long time for all that water to cool off. If you’re in a hurry, let the pressure come down for at least 20 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.) Scoop the chicken carcass and vegetables out of the pot with a slotted spoon and discard; they’ve given their all to the broth. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer, and set aside for later.
Wipe out the pressure cooker pot liner, then put it back in the pressure cooker base. Add the butter and melt over sauté mode (medium heat for a stovetop PC). Add the onion, celery, and carrot, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt and the dried thyme. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften and turn translucent about 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and the egg noodles.
Pressure cook the soup for 4 minutes: Pour the rotisserie chicken broth into the pot, lock the lid, and pressure cook for 4 minutes on high pressure (same timing for both Instant Pot, electric and stovetop PCs). Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure. (If the steam that is released starts to sputter and spit out starch, shut the valve and let the pressure come down for another 5 minutes before quick releasing again.)
Add the chicken and season the soup: Stir in the shredded chicken breast meat, fine sea salt, black pepper, and parsley. (Don’t be shy with the salt – this much broth needs it.) Let the soup rest for 5 minutes to reheat the chicken meat, and serve.
Lots of folks attempt 'Dry January'. If you dont know it is an attempt to make it through the month of January without consuming any alcohol. Presumably it is part of their urge to be more healthy after the indulgence of the Christmas season.
Me, I am not a fan. I'm more a fan of this:
January is challenging at the best of times but in the time of COVID. WOW
I don't drink a lot any more but I sure do enjoy a glass of wine with my dinner.
Perhaps this version of 'Dry January' is more my style:
It isn't difficult.
Last week I posted about the post Christmas my friend and I enjoyed in Amsterdam and Berlin. After a week in Amsterdam we hopped the train to Berlin. Note to self: don't take the train from Amsterdam to Berlin. While it looks to be a short distance on a map it is LONG. It didn't help that I was sick. We were in a train with private compartments - I slept in the corner and Nancy enjoyed herself talking to all of the folks who joined us for a part of the journey.
Here are some shots from our time in Berlin.
Oh Calvin . . .
This is one of those recipes that comes along every now and again that wows with simplicity, ease, and amazing flavour. The chicken is moist and flavourful. The veggies perfectly roasted. Dinner will be on the table in just over an hour making this a perfect weeknight meal. The deliciousness factor also means it is a perfect meal for entertaining.
The potatoes, carrots and Brussels sprouts roast along with the chicken. This blend of vegetables bakes to perfection and every bite is supremely flavorful. The potatoes have a crisp salty skin with a creamy inside and these were some of the best tasting Brussels sprouts I’ve tried.
A whole roasted chicken can be tricky because the chicken breast can quickly dry out by the time the dark meat is cooked through, but when you butterfly a chicken (spatchcock), the chicken breast sits lower in the pan on the same level as the legs so it bakes more evenly and results in a juicy, moist and flavorful chicken. While it is easy to spatchcock a chicken yourself (there are tons of videos on YouTube) do yourself a favour and ask your butcher to do this for you.
The star of this show is a relatively simple flavoured butter. It tastes incredible and makes every bite memorable. I think the butter compound would be flexible and you could play around with the herbs used and even add some chill pepper flakes for a hint of heat.
Enjoy!
Lemon Herb Spatchcock Chicken
4 1/4 lb whole chicken, spatchcocked
1/2 tsp salt, (we used sea salt)
1/8 tsp black pepper
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more to drizzle
1 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt, plus more for vegetables
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 lbs medium red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
3 medium carrots, peeled and quartered
8 oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
Preheat oven to 425˚
Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the butter, olive oil, garlic, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mash with fork for a couple of minutes until lemon juice is mostly incorporated into butter.
Spread 2/3 of mixture under the chicken skin and and dot/spread remaining butter all over chicken.
Place prepared vegetables all around the chicken and drizzle everything with olive oil. Sprinkle chicken and vegetables generously with salt and some black pepper to taste.
Bake uncovered at 425˚F for 45 min or until instant read thermometer reads 160˚F when inserted into thickest part of chicken breast. Remove form oven and rest uncovered 10 minutes on a cutting board before serving.
The Facebook memory feature reminds me that I was in Amsterdam 8 years ago. It was the perfect post-Christmas gettaway.
With everyone having been damaged or sick over the Christmas period I've been playing catch up with some of our traditional meals. The other day I baked a ham - something we might enjoy on Boxing Day or New year's Day during a normal Christmas. Having enjoyed a ham dinner I was left determining a plan to use up the leftovers.
This delicious pasta dish helped with some. Pasta, ham, peas in a rich cream sauce . . . what is not to love?
If you're of those folks who resolves to lose weight after the calendar flips to January then this is not a dish for you. 2 cups whipping cream. . . 1.5 cups cheese . . . pasta . . . Nope, dieters move on. Don't even try to figure out a low fat or low carb version of this dish because you'll likely be disappointed. Bookmark this for when your resolution goes belly up (see what I did there?) and cooking returns to a happy normal.
When I made this I had to cobble things together a bit at the end. It turns out that what I thought was fresh linguine in the freezer was not. I didn't feel like racing out to buy some so I used the gianormous fusilli that I had purchased in Trader Joes during my one happy trip across the border before Omnicrom washed over us and things closed up again.
I think this may have been a better pasta choice because the ridges in the past caught all of that delicious sauce. MMM
The recipe called fro adding pasta water to thin the sauce. make sure to grab some with a measuring cup BEFORE you drain the pasta. In the end I thought the sauce was a perfect consistency so I never needed to add it. If the sauce is thick add a small amount and stir until you think it is a proper consistency. You want it think enough so that it sticks to the pasta with its luscious, rich, cheesy goodness.
All in all, this was a quick and easy weeknight meal.
Creamy Linguine with Peas, Ham, and Sage
12 oz. fresh linguine (or fettuccine)
1-1/2 cups shelled fresh peas or frozen peas, thawed
2 cups heavy cream
1 heaping Tbs. chopped fresh sage (or 1 scant tsp. crumbled dried sage leaves)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. ham, cut into bite-size pieces
1-1/2 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, more for serving
Cook the linguine in boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente, adding the peas about 2 minutes before the pasta is done. Reserve 1/2 cup of the water and drain the pasta.
Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet, simmer the cream, sage, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, add the drained pasta and peas, ham, and Parmigiano; toss to combine and heat through. Add some of the cooking water to loosen the pasta, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve topped with more Parmigiano.
Anyone else have days like this?