Matzo Ball Soup

The majority of my best friends growing up were Jewish (and are still some of my best friends) and I was so lucky to be exposed to so many wonderful traditions, foods, and families.  One of my best memories is having holiday dinners at my friends and having brisket and my favorite, matzo ball soup at Passover!

Matzo ball soup is something I miss terribly living in Texas.  You can't find it anywhere.  I mean ANYWHERE in Austin.  Its not like bagels, where they are just not very good, but you can get them.  I seriously can not find a place to get Matzo Ball Soup here, but I have been pretty intimidated to make my own.  I never made it at home, my friend's moms always made it and they set the bar really high.

But Chanel was sick this week, allergies just giving her sinus problems and a sore throat, but she wanted soup and she had never had Matzo Ball Soup and it had been on my list of things to tackle for a while - so we did it!

I reached out to my friends and their moms before diving in to make sure I did the right things and used the right seasoning and correct process.  Boy, am I glad I did!  These were the best!  So light, so fluffy, the right size, and so flavorful!

I have to admit, I didn't make chicken soup.  I made a broth with vegetables and seasoning and chicken broth, but no chicken.  As I say about chicken and dumplings, "I eat the dumplings because I want to, I eat the chicken because I have to."  That rule applies even more to Matzo Ball Soup.  I only want the Matzo balls, who needs chicken?  None of my Jewish mamas put chicken in the finished product.  They made a broth from scratch with chicken feet and vegetables, but served a matzo ball with the just broth (no veggies or chicken) poured over it and garnished with dill.  We went that route more or less, but kept the veggies because they are so tasty too!

However, the Matzo balls are not cooked in the soup, they are boiled separately and then you pour the soup over them.  So you can use whatever chicken soup recipe makes you the happiest!  I will include how we made our broth, which I think was perfection, but there are lots of wonderful chicken soup variations, so go with what you love.

Matzo ball soup

Makes 6-8 Matzo Balls

For the Matzo balls:

• 5 oz (2, 2.5 oz packets) of Matzo Ball Mix (we used Manischewitz)
• 4 eggs
• 4 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tbs. dill
• 1 tbs. parsley
• 1 tsp. salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper

for the broth:

• 4 cups chicken broth (we used Swanson's)
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 4 carrots, sliced or diced
• 1 small/medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1/2 purple top turnip (optional), diced into bite sized cubes
• 1 tsp. dill
• 1 tsp. basil
• Salt and Pepper

Prepare the Matzo Balls: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and the oil together.  Mix in the seasonings. Using a fork or a spatula, mix in the Matzo Ball mix, until just combined, but do not over-mix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or until ready to boil. They taste best fresh, so don't boil them until before you are ready to serve the soup.

Make the broth: Over medium high heat, saute your vegetables in the olive oil in a large dutch oven or stock pot.  Sprinkle with the seasoning, add the broth and bring to a boil.  Boil until the vegetables are tender and cooked through.

Boil the Matzo Balls: Fill a medium or large pot with water and bring to a boil.  When the water is boiling, remove the dough from the fridge and form the balls.  Using a large spoon, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into a smooth ball with your hands. 

I recommend a ball about the size of a golf ball (they will expand as they cook, nearly double in size).  This will yield balls about the size of a tennis ball; we served two in a bowl and it was plenty.  You can go larger or smaller depending on your preference.

Drop the formed balls into the boiling water.  We did four at a time, you don't want them to be too crowded since they will expand quite a bit.  We did two batches.

Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a low boil (not a simmer, but you don't want the water boiling over).  Boil for 30 minutes and do not remove the cover until they are done.  Thankfully we have clear pot tops and I could peek with excitement without taking the lid off.

Remove the balls with a slotted spoon directly into soup bowls.  Pour broth over the balls and serve immediately.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Way back when I lived in San Francisco, I was going to college at the University of San Francisco and working at Papyrus (so my love of paper shouldn't surprise anyone).  The store I worked at primarily was downtown in the Financial District at the Embarcadero Center. While the area had plenty to offer to tourists, it also catered specifically to a lunch crowd because of all the people working 9-5 in the office buildings. 

So I had my pick of pretty awesome lunch spots and my favorite, without question, was the San Francisco Soup Company.  They had a couple of locations around the city, but had started downtown and it was perfect.  With constant chilly, wet weather, soup and some bread was so often the quintessential lunch.  Two of their regular soups quickly became my favorites - the chicken and dumpling soup (I will get to that when the weather around here gets cooler) and the chicken tortilla soup.

It was the first time I had tortilla soup and it is the gold standard in my opinion.  The more I have learned about tortilla soup, in my quest for the perfect copy-cat recipe, I realized their version was less than traditional.  There is no corn (though I suppose you could add some), they did not deep-fry tortilla strips, and there weren't a ton of chilles, and not a tomato to be found.

The broth was super-rich in flavor and spice, the chicken was tender and shredded and it was always topped with broken blue corn tortilla chips, queso cheese, and cilantro.  I could eat it every day....I probably almost did most weeks to be honest.

After a few years of tweaking to get the flavor right, this is my favorite version of chicken tortilla soup that I've made.  It's pretty easy, and I bet it could be done in the crock pot (though I haven't tried).  Less than an hour though start to finish, I don't think the crock pot is really needed though.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs. butter
• 1 medium white onion, diced small (or grated)
• 2 Anaheim chiles, seeded and diced
• 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbs. adobo seasoning
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. chipotle powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Blue Corn Tortilla chips
• Shredded Queso-fresca cheese
• Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Avocado, sliced

In a soup pot or large dutch oven, melt the 2 tbs of butter over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, chiles, and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant.

Add the seasonings and salt and pepper. Stir until the veggies are evenly coated. 

Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Place the chicken breasts into the broth.  Cover and simmer until the chicken is fork tender.

Using two forks, pull the chicken apart into as small pieces as you can.  Allow the chicken to simmer longer until you can pull the chicken into fine shreds.  Once it is in fine shreds, allow the soup to simmer for just a few more minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat and serve immediately.  Top each bowl with tortilla chips, cheese and some cilantro and avocado.

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Soup

My first job in Austin was at a little church pre-school in Brentwood.  I loved that place, I loved those kids, I loved my Tiny Turtles, it was really the best.  One of added bonuses to my job there was The Little Deli.  It's this little neighborhood pizzeria and deli.  Not a New York Deli by any stretch, but a wonderful sandwich menu, great pizza and five soups that they rotate daily.  

Their Broccoli Cheese and Rice soup immediately topped my list.  They serve it with crisp garlic bread slices, almost like crackers, that crumble perfectly on top.  A bowl of that and half a sandwich was the perfect lunch. 

Since I stay at home with my boys now and we don't live in that neighborhood, weekly lunches there are a thing of the past.  We have taken the boys a handful of times in the last two years, but I crave that soup way more often. So when Aaron had a bunch of dental work done last week and was on strict orders to eat soft, but filling foods, this came to mind.  I also was super tired from taking care of him and the boys so I needed something quick and easy.  Check.  I needed something both boys and I could and would eat too. Check.  Dinner was planned.

I've never made it before and The Little Deli shockingly, wasn't handing out the recipe.  So this was my version and I think it was pretty darn close!

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Soup

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups, uncooked, white rice
• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. garlic powder
• A dash of ground sage
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. flour
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz block of sharp orange cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
• 3 cups frozen broccoli florets (about 1 bag)

Cook your rice according to the directions in a saucepan or rice cooker.  Fluff and set aside.

In a large dutch oven or soup pot, melt 1 tb. of the butter.  Saute the onion until translucent. 

Add the garlic powder, sage, salt and pepper then melt the remaining butter and saute together for a moment.  Sprinkle the flour and stir until it is a golden paste.  You do not want it to burn so keep it moving, this should just take a minute.

A half cup at a time, whisk in 3 cups of chicken broth, whisking the mixture smooth at each addition.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in the 1 cup of heavy cream. Lower the heat to a simmer.

Add the shredded cheese and slowly stir until its melted and combined smooth. 

Note About Cheese: I recommend when making a soup like this that you purchase a block of cheese and shred it freshly for two reasons:  1) You can shred it on the finest side of a box grater and it will melt and blend more smoothly without clumping and 2) bags of shredded cheese are often coated in a powder that dries the cheese a little to prevent the shreds from clumping together in the bag, however, this moisture is important because it seems to prevent the oil in cheese from separating when it melts into the soup.

Stir in the rice and frozen broccoli and cook until the broccoli is warmed through.  While the broccoli cooks, taste your soup and re-season as needed. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Storage Note: This soup is enjoyed best fresh.  When it is refrigerated and stored the rice will absorb the broth over time and will become more of a casserole and less of a soup.  It is still very tasty, and actually serves better to kids this way - less loose broth = less spills.

New England Clam Chower

We just got back from the most magical, wonderful, fulfilling (I could go on and on) trip to Cape Cod that I could have imagined.  Having grown up spending every summer there with my family, and my grandmother being born and raised there, it is a place with such a deep meaning and permanent place in my heart.  Chanel grew up just a few hours from there and frequented the beaches on the bay in the summer.  Aaron even spent his summers on the Cape, sent up all the way from Houston to spend time with his grandparents.  We could not have been more excited to share this place with the boys for the first time.

So we embarked on a two-day long road trip in the Suburban to drive up to my mom's in New York, then on to the Cape.  All five of us piled into the car, drove to Nashville as our halfway point, and then pushed on to NY.  It went surprisingly well, perhaps another post another time on surviving road trips with babies and toddlers.

We could not have been happier to make it to the Cape on day 4 of the journey.  Everything was perfect.  I felt completely at peace, my heart was happy and full, and so was my stomach.  The food was incredible.  I will often talk about missing food from NY, but missing the fresh seafood from Massachusetts is a whole different ball-game.

Pretty much my first meal once we got there was some amazing Clam Chowder.  And then it turns out, it was pretty much part of my lunch every day we were there.  So naturally, as soon as we got back to Texas I was doing two things: 1) Searching for real estate on the Cape so we can move back immediately and 2) craving chowder with a passion.

As with any craving I have, I gave in immediately and started cooking. This was my first foray into making my own Clam Chowder and it was totally worth it.  I added a bit of a Texas flair to the classic soup by flavoring it heavily with smoked bacon fat.  If you want a flavor that is more true to a classic New England Chowder - leave out the bacon entirely, skip the first step, and start your soup with butter instead.  Either way, don't forget to get some oyster crackers to crumble on top, its just not the same without it.  I also suggest setting the mood by staring at these photos while you are eating.

New England Clam Chowder

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bacon, diced
• 2 tbs. butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 tsp. ground sage
• 1 tsp. ground thyme
• 1/2 tsp. celery salt
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. flour
• 2-3 cups half and half*
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 (6.5 oz) cans of chopped clams, juices separated and reserved
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• Chopped fresh parsley or dried, for garnish
• Oyster crackers, for garnish

Dice your entire 1-lb package of bacon.  Heat a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add bacon to the pot and cook until the bacon is crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pot, onto a plate lined with paper towels.  Pour the bacon fat from the pot into a bowl and set aside (you don't need it for this recipe, but it can be useful for pie crust making or other recipes, so hang on to it in a covered container in your fridge if you might use it).  DO NOT SCRAPE THE REMAINING FAT FROM THE POT.  Leave all those drippings and bacon crumbs in the pot.

Add 1 tbs. of butter to your pot, melt, add garlic and onion and cook until onions are translucent.  Stir in seasonings (sage, thyme, celery salt, and some salt and pepper). 

With you half and half, vegetable broth, and clam juice ready and on hand, whisk in the flour until lightly brown. Immediately whisk in 1 cup of broth, 1 cup of half and half, and the clam juice.

Using and immersion blender, blend the mixture carefully so that the onions and garlic cloves are blended smoothly into the broth.

Bring to a boil, and stir in the potatoes and add the bay leaf.  Reduce the heat and let it simmer as it begins to thicken and the potatoes are tender and cooked.

Once the potatoes are cooked, stir in the clams and another 1 cup of half and half (or however much you prefer to achieve a consistency you like - you can even add heavy cream instead for a very thick soup, or vegetable broth for a thinner soup).

Simmer until your desired consistency is reached, remove the bay leaf and serve immediately.  Garnish with bacon, parsley and oyster crackers.