Chicken in Garlic Basil Cream

A career is wonderful, but you can't curl up with it on a cold night. – Marilyn Monroe

So winter isn’t really done with us yet. It’s not as cold out as it could be, but it’s still cold. This morning found us sitting at -13°F. Brrrrr......

This month is shaping up to be a hectic one for me. So I’ll have to keep Marilyn’s words constantly in the forefront of my mind. All work and no fun makes our loved ones feel neglected. Not a good thing.

When there is a little down time to cook, and the weather outside is still frightful, there’s really not much that can compare to a garlic cream sauce. Couple that with basil and tender chicken, and all you’re really missing is a bottle of wine.

Oh, and someone to enjoy with with.

See, I almost forgot already. Not really... :-)

Chicken in Garlic Basil Cream

Time: about 20 minutes

6-8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

salt and pepper, to taste

4-6 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1 cup 32% whipping cream

penne, for 3 or 4

If serving 3 people, cook 6 thighs; if serving 4, cook 8. Cook enough penne, cutting the suggested time down by 1 minute, for either 3 or 4 people. Keep it warm in water while you cook the chicken.

Place the chicken skin side up in a dry, hot pan with a lid. Season with salt and pepper. Let cook until the chicken releases from the surface. Fat will render out as it cooks.

Turn the chicken and repeat the process, skin side down. Once the chicken releases easily, remove to a plate.

Discard all the chicken fat in the pan except for about 1 tablespoon. Add the chopped garlic and sauté until fragrant. Then add the cream and return the chicken. Sprinkle with half of the chopped basil, cover and cook on medium for about 5 minutes.

Then add the penne, and let cook until the sauce reduces enough to start to coat the pasta and chicken.

Serve with more fresh basil, salt and pepper as desired, sprinkled on top.

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Roasted Garlic Cream Chicken

I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship. – Louisa May Alcott

The cure for winter blahs? Maybe...

This recipe is the love child of the famous “40 cloves of garlic chicken.” That’s a recipe where you either stuff 40 cloves inside, or around, a chicken and then roast it. Tasty stuff.

If you like roasted garlic, you’ll love this recipe. It’s not quite the same but pretty close. They’re more “braised” than roasted, but make one heck of a delicious sauce.

With the crappy weather we’re having today, tons of garlic may just be what the doctor ordered. There’s something homey about a deep, rich, garlicky sauce that just cannot be beat. It’s heart-warming and spirits-lifting. Heavy garlic recipes are really meant for snowy days.

Don’t be afraid of the amount of garlic. Yes, it’s a lot, but it transforms as it cooks and makes the most amazing end result. Is there such a thing as too much garlic?

Garlic has to be one of my favourite, of not my most favourite, ingredient. We actually stuck some in the ground a year ago in the fall. Each individual clove will make a full head. They need to over-winter to grow best. But sadly the slugs, or something, found them. Disappointing.

As far as recipes go, this really can’t be easier. The only thing it does take is a little time, but most of that is baking. So it’s not like you’re watching a pot.

Although perfect for a family dinner I would hazard a guess this is “fancy” enough for company, too. That sauce is really something to die for.

Brandy, cream and garlic. Can’t argue with that!

Note: for a side dish I made snow peas and sweet onion. It was a great quick side dish. Slice a sweet onion and toss with frozen snow peas in a bowl. Microwave for 4 minutes, drain and toss with butter, salt and pepper. Mmmm...

Roasted Garlic Cream Chicken

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 1.75 h  |  Serves 4

7-8 chicken things, bone in skin on

2 heads garlic, cloves peeled

1/2 cup brandy

1 tsp oregano

salt, to taste

cracked black pepper, to taste

1 cup whipping cream

Peel all the cloves from two whole heads of garlic. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat an oven-proof skillet to medium high and fry the chicken until browned. Season it with salt and pepper as it cooks. Start bone side down. Fat will render out. Turn the chicken and brown the skin side.

Once the chicken is browned, pour off all the fat except for 2 tablespoons.

Nestle the garlic around the chicken, pour in the brandy and sprinkle the chicken with the oregano. Wrap the pan tightly with foil (or use a cover if it’s oven-proof).

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 1.5 hours. Then remove the pan and set the chicken aside, keeping it warm while you make the sauce.

Place the pan juices, garlic and cream in a blender or food processor. Pulse until the garlic is puréed. Take care to not “whip” the cream too much, but it will thicken. Don’t worry.

Pour the sauce back into the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer and let cook until reduced slightly and is a little thickened. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust.

Spoon some sauce onto individual plates, top with two thighs per person and then drizzle with some more of the sauce. Serve.

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Garlic & Olive Sausage with Penne

Autumn wins you best by this, its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay. – Robert Browning 

Garlicky sausage in a delicate cream tomato sauce.

I just realized I’ve published two garlic-inspired recipes in a row. It’s not that I’m medicating myself with garlic. It just worked out that way. The buffalo wings posted last time were actually barbecued a month ago.

That was during summer. It most definitely isn’t summer today. It’s 14°C outside, in late afternoon. I know it’s nothing to complain about, but when compared to the high 20s of the last several days it’s quite a difference.

You can feel fall in the air, and see it beside the roads as the maple leaves change from green to reds, oranges and yellows. It’s definitely coming. I guess my entreaties didn’t work in the least.

So what can you do? Well, in short, nothing – at least about the weather. But your food certainly can change, and should.

Fall opens up a whole host of bone- and soul-warming recipes for the kitchen. They’re the kind that were just too darned hot to make during the full heat of summer. Delicious, deep braises, or heady rich sauces, all screaming to be accompanied by starch-heavy sides like pasta, crusty bread and potatoes.

This one’s no exception. I was going to cheat today and only give you the sausage recipe. It’s the star of today's post. But that wouldn’t be very nice of me would it. So it follows.

When I say star, I actually mean despot, in a good way. There’s enough garlic in here to knock a vampire from the sky. I know I have used more in other recipes but that can be a really good thing. 

Perhaps because the substantial amount of garlic is finely minced as opposed to chopped. Less air pockets, more garlic.

This sausage recipe will perk up any dish you add it to. I didn’t even bother to stuff casings with this one. I opted to use it loose. Oft times you purchase sausages and then remove the casings, so I just skipped an unnecessary step.

If you purchase ground pork this recipe is a real breeze. At the most you will have to “grind” the fat. Use a food processor. It is fast and efficient.

“Serve with friends.” That way no one notices the garlic breath.

Garlic & Olive Sausage

Prep: 10 min  |  Yield: 1 kg sausage

2 lbs pork, ground or cubed meat

200g salted pork fat back, ground

1/4 cup black olive slices, finely chopped or ground

1 tbsp + 2 tsp finely minced garlic

1 tsp fennel seed

1 tsp oregano, dried

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp salt

If not purchased ground, grind the pork and pork fat. You can use a food processor to pulse both to a ground texture. It’s faster and easier than getting out the grinder attachment.

Mix all together and knead with your hands until everything is very well incorporated. Chill for at least 1 hour before use. 

The mixture can be stuffed into casings, flattened into patties or used loose. Can also be frozen.

Tomato Cream Sauce

Time: about 15 minutes  |  Serves 4

4 cups cooked penne

1 lb sausage meat, in chunks

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion

5 plum tomatoes, sliced into rings

3/4 cup 32% whipping cream

3 cups chopped Swiss chard

1 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

parmesan for at the table

Cook the pasta while you make the sauce.

Sauté the onion and tomatoes in the oil until the tomatoes break down. Then add the sausage and cook until no longer pink. (It won’t brown with the tomato already in the pot.)

Add the cream, chopped chard, oregano, pepper and salt. Cover, reduce heat and cook until the sauce is slightly reduced and the chard is wilted. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust.

Drain the pasta, toss with the sauce and serve. Grate fresh parmesan on top at the table.

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Garlicky Buffalo Chicken Wings

You can never have enough garlic. With enough garlic, you can eat The New York Times. – Morley Safer 

It’s pretty bad when the only chicken that is affordable is wings... It’s not that bad, but it does hurt to pay through the nose for other cuts. Thank goodness for the $5/6 thighs deals they have occasionally at one of our local groceries. But this day it was wings. I actually love them if they're done right.

On a different yet related note, there was an interesting festival at Avondale Sky Winery outside Windsor yesterday. A garlic festival. All things garlic, all day. Demonstrations, cooking, biggest garlic, etc, plus wine from local wineries. Hopefully, it will be an annual occurrence.

For those of you not familiar with Nova Scotia (in Canada), the winery is on the edge of our beautiful Annapolis Valley – a rich and diverse tourist mecca. Plan a vacation here. You won’t regret it. The whole province is a wonder.

I believe at one point I could smell the garlic in town, where I am visiting. (We’re 1 hour+ away from the winery.) Or maybe it was a restaurant we walked past... Whatever the source, it made me hungry for garlic!

Regardless, garlic has to be one of my all-time favourite flavours. For those of you who think they shouldn’t eat garlic when having company, dismiss the thought. No one notices if everyone is eating it...

This recipe is a double whammy of garlic. Lots in the marinade and enough in the dipping sauce to keep vampires away for weeks.

You will have dipping sauce left over. Don’t worry about it. It’s great on a tossed spinach and tomato salad, or any other way you can dream up. It would be perfect as a sauce on thick, juicy steak.

So if you love garlic – or hate vampires – read on. Even though it is now fall, barbecue season is most definitely not over!

Garlicky Buffalo Chicken Wings

Prep: marinate 2 hours or overnight  |  Cook: 20 min

24 chicken wing pieces, chilled

Marinade:

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1-1/2 tsp chipotle pepper powder (or to taste)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce:

1 cup Danish blue cheese, crumbled

2/3 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3-4 garlic cloves

3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

milk (see recipe)

salt and pepper, to taste

Combine marinade ingredients together and mix well. Place chicken wings in a large resealable bag. Pour marinade over top. Rub the marinade into them well and marinate on the counter for 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator. Longer won’t hurt them in the ‘fridge, but 2 hours max (using chilled chicken) on the counter.

For the blue cheese sauce, combine the blue cheese, sour cream, mayo, garlic and Worcestershire in a small blender. Add enough milk to give the sauce the consistency of you want. Add salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the barbecue. Remove the wings from marinade, reserving the liquid to use to baste. Barbecue the wings on medium-low, basting occasionally until done (about 10 minutes per side). Move the smaller wings to a cooler part of the barbecue if they finish cooking before the thicker “drums.”

If you're reading this in winter, don't despair. You can easily "barbecue" in your oven using the broiler. The trick is to place the wings on a rack sitting in a rimmed pan so the heat circulates all the way around. Use this trick for all your barbecue favourites when the snow is swirling outside.

Serve with the blue cheese sauce for dipping.

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Easy Basil Pesto

If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life. – Bill Watterson 

The time is upon us for basil to start making appearances at local farmers markets, or if you’re like us, in your garden.

What does that mean? It’s pesto time!

Usually enough basil to make pesto will cost you an arm and a leg. But when it starts becoming plentiful in mid summer the price drops quite a lot. I haven’t found this true at chain grocery stores, but have at local sellers.

Our basil has about another week or so before I should really get in there and shear it, and I can’t wait. Pesto is unbelievably versatile.

We had a bit of a basil setback this year in our garden. In mid May we purchased basil plant sets. We intended to grow them as companions with the tomatoes. Apparently the basil somehow enhances their flavour.

Unfortunately the weather had other ideas in mind and a few cool evenings finished every last one of them off. Lesson learned.

So when mid June arrived we planted seed. They were a little slow to start, but have now taken off. I may very well have to make and freeze pesto for use later. Such is life...sigh.

Loosely speaking, pesto is basically ground up greens with nuts, cheese and olive oil. The most common, of course, is basil.

Pesto originated in Genoa in northern Italy. The name comes from the Genoese word pestâ, which means to pound or crush, in reference to the original method of preparation with a mortar and pestle. In fact our English word “pestle” has the same Latin root.

Basil was probably first grown for food in India, but it soon made its way to Italy and provence in the south of France.

The earliest written recipe for pesto as it is known today is in La Cuciniera Genovese from 1863. In Provence it dish evolved into the modern pistou. Pistou does not contain nuts, but does include parsley.

This is kale pesto. The kale has enough "bite" to work.

I have actually made several pestos that contain no basil at all. In the spring I made a dandelion pesto and in late winter a kale version. Both were exceptionally good.

Since basil prices will be affordable here very soon, the only other ingredient to stand in your way in making pesto is pine nuts. 

The best place to purchase them is at a bulk food store. They will still be expensive, but at least you’ll be purchasing only what you need. So if you can hold your gag reflex when you buy them you’re on your way.

You can substitute other nuts in basil pesto. I have used walnuts and almonds on some of my recipes that don’t have basil. 

But my favourite is still basil and pine nut pesto. Marcella Hazan has an amazing recipe using pesto that you won’t believe. It’s in her book The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Basically it’s spaghetti, potatoes and green beans tossed in pesto. Utterly jaw droppingly delicious.

So if you do run across arm loads of pesto when you’re out at a farmers market, pick some up. Homemade pesto is one of those recipes that I always try to make at least once to celebrate nature’s bounty. It's summer, in sauce form.

Easy Basil Pesto

Time: 5 min  |  Yield: 500 ml

1 cup pine nuts, slivered

6 garlic cloves

3 cups basil, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil, more or less

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

Place the pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until well ground.

Chop the basil and add to the bowl. Process until incorporated. While this is happening, with the motor running, slowly add the olive oil. 

You are looking for a firm mixture but one that moves easily in the bowl. This may take more than 1/2 cup olive oil.

Remove the mixture to a mixing bowl and add the parmesan, salt and pepper. Stir until incorporated.

You can add the parmesan in the processor bowl, but I like the consistency of the broken grated cheese when just stirred in.

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Chicken with Creamy Roasted Garlic Dressing

Dressing up is a bore. At a certain age, you decorate yourself to attract the opposite sex, and at a certain age, I did that. But I'm past that age. – Katharine Hepburn 

I love Katherine Hepburn. Apparently she didn’t love dressing up. I wonder how she felt about salad dressing?

In particular, warm creamy roasted garlic dressing. It sounds a little complicated to make at home, right? It isn’t. 

It’s as easy as throwing a bunch of stuff in a blender and watching it go round and round and round and round...

The main inspiration for this recipe came from extraneous romaine hearts lying on my counter. I guess not entirely extraneous, but at least partly...

A few nights ago we had fajitas. I usually buy one head of romaine for that recipe, but at the grocery they wanted almost $4 for one. $4!!!

Across the aisle were packaged romaine hears at 3 for $3.50. Still extortion, but a little better. And I could use the leftover hearts somehow, right?

I didn’t want to use the remaining lettuce the same way so I went looking on the inter-web. I found my muse in roasted romaine hearts with caper dressing. 

Bingo. Starting point.

That recipe had no garlic, and mine has no capers, but the idea of dressing roasted hearts was intriguing. Roasted lettuce, hmmm...

Next came the chicken. It, too, was casting me languid looks, but from my refrigerator, not the counter. It had to be used – soon. Who wants salmonella or e-coli, right?

If I roasted the chicken thighs – on top of garlic cloves – I could then use the cloves in a warm vinaigrette as a fantastic dressing for both. So that’s where this recipe originated.

There are sites on the web that allow you to type in what you have hanging around and give potential recipes. But I find them spotty at best, and often they only give you recipes for what you already know how to make. Not very exciting.

When you want something different you have to go out on a limb and try new things. Like roasted lettuce.

I had never had roasted lettuce before. It’s not bad, actually. Even better with parmesan and garlic. But, honestly, what isn’t? A bonus is the anticipation. The smell from the garlic will fill your house with a very “homey” aroma.

This is really easy. All you do is stick stuff in the oven and then purée the garlic. The result is a heady, delicious dish. I can see many uses for this creamy, garlicky emulsion.

Chicken with Creamy Roasted Garlic Dressing

Prep: 10 min  |  Bake: 1 hour  |  Serves 4

8 chicken thighs

1 head garlic

1 small onion

3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

salt & pepper, to taste

2 romaine lettuce hearts

to finish dressing:

olive oil (3 parts)

white vinegar (1 part)

 2 tsp Dijon mustard

grated parmesan, optional

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Peel the cloves from a whole head of garlic. Peel and slice the onion into thin rings. Arrange both in the bottom of a 9x13 oven-proof pan. 

Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and add the white wine. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place the pan in the preheated oven and promptly turn the heat down to 375°F. Let the chicken bake for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, slice each of the romaine halves in two. Drizzle the remaining oil on a baking sheet. Place the hearts in the oil and rub gently to coat. If desired you can line the sheet with apiece of parchment paper. It makes clean-up easier.

Sprinkle the hearts with salt, pepper and some grated parmesan (if desired). Bake the hearts for the last half hour of the chicken’s baking time.

Remove both hearts and thighs from the oven at the end of the hour. Internal time for the chicken should be 180°F. Place the chicken on the pan with the hearts.

Scoop the garlic, onion and any collected liquid from the bottom of the pan and place in a small blender or food processor. Add the Dijon mustard and purée.

Next add some olive oil and vinegar (in a 3 oil / 1 vinegar relationship) until you get the consistency you desire. Process until light and creamy. This only takes a few seconds. The dressing can be very thick or thin, depending on your preference. 

To serve, drizzle the warm dressing on both the hearts and chicken. Grate fresh parmesan on top if desired.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Best Bistro-style French Onion Soup

It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards. – Lewis Carroll 

Ahh, Bistro Onion Soup, you've been away too long...

Here’s a recipe that I have been sitting on without making for a very long time. It’s actually one of my favourites. 

Low 'n slow. That's how to caramelize onions.

I’ve been making this from memory for probably about 20 years. I have no idea where the original recipe may have originated. Nor do I care. 

If memory works in this case like at any other time, this soup is probably not very much like its progenitor. At least now I have written it down so it won't change too much from this point on. And you can make it too!

This is a really good "meatless" soup. It does use beef stock. The cheese substitutes for meat a little, as does the bread.

So how do you ensure it is a satisfying meal on its own? You have to introduce a lot of flavour. That means using a few basic culinary techniques, plus some good quality ingredients.

Caramelizing the onions is the first. Caramelizing usually refers to heating sugar to the melting point and a little beyond. You can also do this with vegetables with high natural sugar content. Beets, carrots and onions are three that have a lot of natural sweetness. 

This is the soup all ready for toast and cheese.

Caramelizing their sugars adds depth of flavour. But just like caramelizing cane sugar, you don’t want to burn it. So caramelize on medium heat, slowly.

Next up is cooking a little flour with the onions until it takes on a bit of a nutty taste, like the start of a roux. This can be done in a short time (2-3 minutes), and really makes a difference. This adds body to the broth as well.

After that it’s really up to your ingredients – good beef stock, fresh herbs, and nice, flavourful cheese. And don’t forget the bread. Traditionally it's a crusty French baguette. I used my homemade whey bread. It was an excellent choice too. Nice and "sturdy."

Anyone else hungry? I am. If you combine all these simple ingredients together you really get something wondrous.

Really wondrous.

Bistro-style French Onion Soup

Fresh from under the broiler, and piping hot.

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 30 min  |  6 servings

1/2 cup butter

8 medium onions (good sized medium)

5 garlic cloves

1/4 cup flour

5 cups good beef broth

1/2 cup sherry
2 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)

1-1/2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped (1-1/2 tsp dried)

1 tsp cracked black pepper

salt to taste

1 French baguette, sliced and toasted*

2-1/2 cups gruyere cheese, grated (or Swiss)

Heat 1/4 cup of the butter in a Dutch oven or other oven-safe pot.

Slice the onions, thin but not too thin, and add to the pot. Then chop and add the garlic. Sauté the onions and garlic over medium heat, stirring often. Sauté until they begin to caramelize (turn golden), but are not burnt. While the onions caramelize, toast the baguette slices and set aside.

Add the second 1/4 cup of butter to the pot. After it is melted, sprinkle the onions with 1/4 cup of flour. Mix together well and let the onions cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the flour starts to colour slightly.

Add the beef broth, sherry, Dijon (if using), tarragon and black pepper. Let the soup come to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. Make sure to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pot as it simmers.

Taste the soup for salt. You may not need any depending on the saltiness of your stock. Adjust the pepper and tarragon at this time as well, if desired. Keep the soup hot.

Grate the cheese and set aside. Layer enough toasted baguette to cover the surface of the soup. Sprinkle the toast with 1/2 of the cheese. Add another layer of toast and finally the remaining cheese. If desired, sprinkle the top with a little pepper.

Broil the soup until the cheese bubbles. Serve immediately.

* You need to have enough toast slices to cover the top of the soup in two layers.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Aromatic Baking: Roasted Garlic Loaf

You can never have enough garlic. With enough garlic, you can eat The New York Times. – Morley Safer 

Mmmm, garlicky...

Whew. What a day. I spent Saturday morning and afternoon with my sister and brother-in-law cleaning out the house we move in to in two weeks. Arrrgh!! Two weeks!

If it wasn't for them I would be in full-on panic mode. Crouched in a corner shivering and sobbing. Not only did they take several pieces of furniture but they hung around and helped clean out a lot of stuff. A lot. They even found a home for a sofa.

Can you smell these?

Thank you, from the bottom of my sanity.

Has anyone else scheduled a move into a house that was already full of furniture? If you have, you'll know how I feel. 

You'll note I haven't said "we." It's not that my husband hasn't been doing (way more) than his fair share. He works weekends. AND he's been dealing with packing up and getting rid of stuff from the house in the city. I can't say how much I love and appreciate him for all he does.

So we all were busy. Thank goodness I made a recipe that did most of then work while I was asleep. I was overnight rising bread again.

This one is an olfactory delight from the start when you roast the garlic, to well after it comes out of the oven.

Before bedtime.

This is not a large loaf, but it packs a punch. I made it flat, but it could be done in a regular bread pan. The result will be taller. This loaf has two whole heads of garlic in it. Buttery, rich, roasted garlic.

People often say to me they don't have time to make bread. To them I say "pooh pooh." If you have time to sleep you have time for bread to rise on the counter. The only hitch with thisloaf  is you have to roast the garlic beforehand. No big deal.

Then you just mix everything together and go sit in front of the Tv before toddling off to bed. In the morning you're ready to flop it into a pan and slap it in the oven.

This loaf tastes great. If I want a snack tonight I think I may try it as a grilled cheese. Can you imagine? I can.

Roasted Garlic Loaf

Prep: overnight  |  Bake: 40-45 min  |  1 loaf

What you'll find in the morning.

2 garlic bulbs, previously roasted and mashed well

1 tbsp olive oil

4 cups unbleached flour

1 tbsp active dry yeast

2 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1-3/4 cup warm water (110°-115°F)

1/2 cup butter, melted 

Place the whole heads of garlic on some tin foil. If you want you can trim the tops. It makes squeezing out flesh out a little easier.

Drizzle the tops with olive oil, wrap tightly and bake at 400°F for one hour. Let cool before handling.

Melt the butter while the garlic are cooling.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well and then add the water. Mix together until ragged. Then squeeze the garlic cloves into the bowl and then pour in the butter.

Just flop it in an oiled pan...

Mix with your hands until you can't see any large pieces of garlic. It may take 2 minutes.

Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise overnight on the counter.

In the morning grease whatever pan you will be using. Put the dough in the pan and let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake the loaf for 40-45 minutes until it is well browned on top and sounds hollow when tapped on top.

Let cool, if you can. Gild the lily by slathering with butter while still slightly warm.

Mmmmmmmmm…….

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer as best I can. If you like this post feel free to share it using any of the links. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site. 

Recipe: Chicken Soup with Cheddar and Garlic

Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience. – Masaru Ibuka 

There's just enough garlic in this to practically kill most any virus.
Or at least keep people far enough away you won't infect them!

Cheddar cheese soup, broccoli cheese soup, and fiesta nacho cheese soup. Those are the products in the Campbell’s Soup “cheese” soup lineup.

I know I’ve looked at them several times and thought... Well, I won't say exactly what I thought, but it wasn't good.  They sort of turned me off.

Many people don't like kale. That's a pity because it has been
called the "Queen of Greens" and "a nutritional powerhouse."

Don’t get me wrong, I love cheese sauce on vegetables. I just can’t picture it in a canned soup. At least I couldn’t picture it in a soup until now. This was a completely unexpected result.

There actually are some interesting cheese soups, but none are made by Campbell’s. How about celeriac, pear and blue cheese or maybe porter beer and balderson soups?

French onion soup has cheese "on" it and I thoroughly enjoy that. In fact I have an excellent recipe. The spouse doesn’t like onion soup so I haven’t made it for quite some time. The cheese is gruyere, and it’s on toasted bread.

I don’t know how “cheddary” the Campbell’s soups are, but this soup has just enough cheddar to taste. No more. 

It’s certainly not a cheese “sauce.” But you can tell it’s there, once you’re told. Before then it just seems like an incredibly tasty, complex broth.

There is a lot going on in this soup, and most of the action is in the liquid. Other than the broth there’s chicken and kale. Kale is full of iron and very healthy for you.

The chicken is poached right in the garlic. This helps flavour
the chicken itself.

So what exactly is in this “cheddar” soup. A lot of garlic. At least 10 cloves. And celery, carrot and onion. Once cooked they are puréed into an amazingly deep and delicious creamy base for this soup.

A little evaporated milk and cheddar are stirred in and that’s about it. I love evaporated milk in soup and chowder far more than cream. I think it has something to do with mouth feel. 

Whatever happens in this soup, it certainly is good. It’s a bit strange because for something so wonderful there’s not a long list of ingredients, and no complex preparation.

If you want a bowl of chicken soup to drive away the winer blues look no further. You’ve found it.

Chicken Soup with Cheddar and Garlic

Shredding the chicken breasts with a fork leaves long
pieces. Far nicer than chopped in this soup.

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 40 min  |  Serves 4-6

2 tbsp butter

2 chicken breasts

4 cups chopped kale

1 head garlic, cloves peeled and chopped

1 medium onion

1/2 cup carrot, diced

1/2 cup celery, diced

4 cups chicken broth

2 cans evaporated milk

1/2 tsp thyme

cracked black pepper

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Wash and chop the kale. Set aside. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Dice the onion, carrot and celery.

Melt the butter in a stock pot. Add the chicken breasts and sear until brown on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper while they sear. Remove to a dish.

Add the kale to the pot and let "fry" for 3-4 minutes, until slightly wilted. Remove to the dish with the chicken.

If necessary, add a little more butter to the pan. Add the garlic and vegetables and sauté for 3-4 minutes until very fragrant. Pour the chicken broth over the top, add the pepper and thyme, and bring to a boil. Add the chicken breasts to the pot, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes.

Remove the breasts and purée the vegetable/broth mixer until smooth. Shred the chicken with two forks.

Add the evaporated milk and taste for salt and pepper. Adjust if desired.

Chop the kale finely and add back to the pot. Then add the chicken and cheddar to the soup. Stir until just to a boil. Remove from the heat.

Serve with crusty bread. Grate a little more cheese on top, if you wish.

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