Cheese & Soup
So I've had this cheese queued up for entry for several weeks now.
32. Prima Donna is essentially a mild Gouda. If you think Gouda is too sharp a taste, you might try this instead. Light and creamy. I liked it, but not as much as I like Gouda. 6/10.
Then my sister helped hand select two more while she was here. Kendra helped eat them.
33. Maple Jarlsberg. I didn't actually taste maple per se, but I did taste a pleasant "sweet but not so sweet as to be cloying" on top of the Jarlsberg. Firm, great texture, but I'm not sure I liked the sweetness. 5.5/10.
34. Some kind of gouda. Heck if I can remember the exact name of the cheese (I'll check next time I'm at the stand), but it was a nice standard gouda, which means I liked it a lot. 6.5/10.
Speaking of tigerlily_blue, she helped me crank out another tasty pot of soup for dinner the night Kendra joined us. This one was Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto. Like the Sweet Potato-Peanut Bisque I posted previously, this soup came from the October issue of Eating Well; in fact, the two soups were right next to each other, making page 75 of that issue pretty much the single best page of a cooking magazine I've ever read.
Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto
Olive Oil
1/2 cup chopped carrot or diced red bell pepper (we used the red pepper)
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast (about eight ounces), cut in quarters
1 large clove garlic, minced (or two or three of four, depending on how much you appreciate garlic)
5 cups chicken broth (my sister made stock the night before)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram
6 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 15 ounce can of cannellini beans or great northern beans, drained and rinsed (we used cannellini)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil, or an equivalent amount of dried basil
fresh ground pepper to taste
1. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add bell pepper and chicken. Cook, stirring frequently, until chicken begins to brown (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add garlic, stirring, for one minute more.
2. Stir in broth and marjoram then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
3. Use slotted spoon to remove chicken from soup. Set aside to let it cool.
4. Add spinach and beans to pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes to blend flavors.
5. Combine 1 teaspoon olive oil, basil and Parmesan in food processor. Process until a coarse paste forms.
6. At this point, I diverge from the recipe. It says to chop up the chicken into small pieces, but the first time I made the soup I figured that I already had the food processor set up, so why not process the chicken with the Parmesan/Basil/Oil mix? That was one of my better ideas; it works like a charm and makes the soup more interesting.
7. Stir the chicken pesto into the pot. Season with pepper. Heat until hot.
This soup is very tasty; xhollydayx and I have had it several times. Despite having pesto in the name, there's not actually any nuts. The texture is great, it tastes wonderful, and it's pretty darn easy to make. What's not to like?
Happy New Year!
32. Prima Donna is essentially a mild Gouda. If you think Gouda is too sharp a taste, you might try this instead. Light and creamy. I liked it, but not as much as I like Gouda. 6/10.
Then my sister helped hand select two more while she was here. Kendra helped eat them.
33. Maple Jarlsberg. I didn't actually taste maple per se, but I did taste a pleasant "sweet but not so sweet as to be cloying" on top of the Jarlsberg. Firm, great texture, but I'm not sure I liked the sweetness. 5.5/10.
34. Some kind of gouda. Heck if I can remember the exact name of the cheese (I'll check next time I'm at the stand), but it was a nice standard gouda, which means I liked it a lot. 6.5/10.
Speaking of tigerlily_blue, she helped me crank out another tasty pot of soup for dinner the night Kendra joined us. This one was Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto. Like the Sweet Potato-Peanut Bisque I posted previously, this soup came from the October issue of Eating Well; in fact, the two soups were right next to each other, making page 75 of that issue pretty much the single best page of a cooking magazine I've ever read.
Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto
Olive Oil
1/2 cup chopped carrot or diced red bell pepper (we used the red pepper)
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast (about eight ounces), cut in quarters
1 large clove garlic, minced (or two or three of four, depending on how much you appreciate garlic)
5 cups chicken broth (my sister made stock the night before)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram
6 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 15 ounce can of cannellini beans or great northern beans, drained and rinsed (we used cannellini)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil, or an equivalent amount of dried basil
fresh ground pepper to taste
1. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add bell pepper and chicken. Cook, stirring frequently, until chicken begins to brown (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add garlic, stirring, for one minute more.
2. Stir in broth and marjoram then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
3. Use slotted spoon to remove chicken from soup. Set aside to let it cool.
4. Add spinach and beans to pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes to blend flavors.
5. Combine 1 teaspoon olive oil, basil and Parmesan in food processor. Process until a coarse paste forms.
6. At this point, I diverge from the recipe. It says to chop up the chicken into small pieces, but the first time I made the soup I figured that I already had the food processor set up, so why not process the chicken with the Parmesan/Basil/Oil mix? That was one of my better ideas; it works like a charm and makes the soup more interesting.
7. Stir the chicken pesto into the pot. Season with pepper. Heat until hot.
This soup is very tasty; xhollydayx and I have had it several times. Despite having pesto in the name, there's not actually any nuts. The texture is great, it tastes wonderful, and it's pretty darn easy to make. What's not to like?
Happy New Year!