Grandma Stimac's Chicken Soup

I don't get sick. It's the truth. I might get the occasional headache - which usually results from a lack of caffeine during the day - but it is rare for me to be sick at some point during the year. I like to credit working out, eating a balanced diet, and the yearly flu shot to that streak of being healthy. Earlier this month though, I was down for the count. 103.5 fever, chills, muscle aches, exhaustion, cough, etc. I was in bad shape. I was actually told that I looked like "death on a cracker". Wow - I must have been looking good. I know I'm sick when I wake up in the middle of the night absolutely craving a large Gatorade and being able to do nothing about it. I never crave Gatorade. The closest Gatorade would have been at the 7-11 - a block away - and there was no way I was leaving my apartment at 3am to get one.

I went to the doctor, convinced that I had either mono or leukemia (thanks MayoClinic.com), but they confirmed neither. Just a virus. "Are you sure it's just a virus because I never get sick like this", I proclaimed. "No, Emily - it's just a virus." And they were right.

The best part about being sick - if there is to be a best part? People that are willing to take care of you - and I mean that in the least "gag me" sort of way possible. So yes, I was sick. And what is the best way to cure a sickness? Homemade soup.

As I was laying on the couch, struggling to lift my head off the pillow, Andy proclaimed he had a family recipe for a chicken soup that I just had to try. If he was willing to make it for me, I was willing to eat it. Apparently, it's a famous family recipe - so I was definitely intrigued to see what it was all about. Not only was it a family recipe, but it is also the "go to" family recipe during the holidays. Wow. He put himself in charge of the whole thing. And that is why I love the soup.

Needless to say, I ate the entire pot - and that isn't a joke. I didn't eat it in one sitting necessarily - but over the course of 10 days, I ate the entire pot. My goal was to freeze a couple of bags of soup to have over the next couple of weeks, but that never happened. It's that good. The ingredients are simple - almost too simple - but that is what is so good about it. It tastes like a family recipe - and is exactly what I needed. So I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Grandma Stimac's Chicken Soup

adapted from Grandma Stimac

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Chicken, cut up into pieces - skin and bones on

2 carrots, roughly chopped

2 celery stalks, roughly chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 head of cabbage, chopped

1 turnip, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Egg noodles

Water

Put the chicken in a large soup pot. Cover with water. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until tender - at least an hour. Remove the chicken from the pot. Add all the vegetables to the broth/water. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper. Bring the pot back up to a boil. Simmer the vegetables for 1 hour. Remove the vegetables and bay leaf. Reserve the vegetables. (The vegetables are strictly used for flavoring the broth and do not get served with the soup. Eat the veggies as a side dish - they have so much flavor).

Meanwhile, remove the skin from the chicken and pull the meat from the bones. Make sure the chicken is in bite sized pieces. Add the chicken back to the pot along with the noodles. Cook until noodles are tender. Serve.

Chocolate Cake

9 days. Wow. One can do a lot in 9 days - blogging didn't seem to be one of them. Cooking? Yes. Blogging - no. I also didn't have time to watch Friday Night Lights, Glee, 30 Rock or Ellen this week - so I will use that as proof that I had a busy week.

We all had a favorite book while growing up. Mine was Matilda by Roald Dahl. I read it more times than I can count. This could possibly be the reason I have a limited list of books that I have actually read - as when I find one I really like - I seem to read it over and over again. Growing up, I also went through a weird phase of only reading Matt Christopher books. I probably checked every single one out of the library - twice - and would read them front to back in no time. If you aren't familiar with Matt Christopher, he writes sports books for kids - that were probably intended more for boys than girls - but I read them anyway. This was also the time when I owned at least 10 St. Louis Cardinals shirts and idolized Ozzie Smith.

I also enjoyed checking out the books that taught you how to draw using a step by step, one line at a time process. I have no idea why I liked those books - and they didn't teach me how to draw at all. I would actually skip the step by step process and just trace the final picture at the bottom of the page. Now that I think of it, the lack of patience that I have, obviously started at a young age.

I'm sure you are wondering how the book Matilda is going to fit in with this blog post? If you have read the book, Miss Trunchbull makes Bruce Bogtrotter eat the whole chocolate cake that she believed he stole from her. Dahl painfully describes Bruce mustering through the whole cake, on stage, in front of the entire school, at an assembly. It's painful really. This cake however, unlike the last time I attempted to make chocolate cake, is not painful. I would consider this a successful 2010 Valentine's Day Re-do.

I went tride and true this time around. I didn't use small, fru fru-type pans, and I stayed exactly on track with the recipe. I wasn't rushed, pressed for time, or under any sort of pressure. I take that back. I was under pressure. Andy was convinced that this chocolate cake would not turn out - and how could I call myself a foody and make a disaster out of a chocolate cake recipe 2 times in a row? That is pressure.

I only had one small minor panic attack. While I was making the batter, I found it to be extremely liquidy. It was to the point where you could have easily drank the batter through a straw. In my slight panic, I called Kristen - who I knew had made the cake once before. I had to leave a message. "Kristen. It's Emily. I'm making Ina's chocolate cake recipe - the one that you made. Was your batter extremely liquidy? Mine is and I'm nervous. Call me back. Actually, only call me back if your batter was liquidy. If it wasn't, I don't want to know."

The cake was really, really good. It was moist, full of chocolate flavor, and it had the perfect hint of coffee in the frosting. A successful dessert to go with a scoop of homemade coffee ice cream.

Chocolate Cake

adapted from Ina Garten

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Cake:

Butter, for greasing the pans

1 3/4 cup flour, plus more for pans

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Frosting:

6 oz. semi sweet chocolate

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line the pans with parchment paper. Butter and flour the parchment paper, shaking out the excess flour. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, slowly add the coffee and mix just to combine - scraping the bowl with a spatula. (Don't worry - the batter will be very liquidy). Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate. With a knife or flat pedestal - spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top. Spread the frosting evenly on the tops and sides of the cake.

For the frosting:

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat proof bowl that is set over a pot of simmering water. Stir until just melted. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue mixing - another 3 minutes. Turn the mixer speed to low, slowly add the powdered sugar to the mixture - scraping down the bowl until smooth and creamy.

Dissolve the coffee powder into 2 teaspoons of hot water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Guacamole with Basil and Shallots, Parmesan Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Don't mess with the classics - that's what most people will tell you. Take Thanksgiving dinner for example. Our family is extremely traditional when it comes to the yearly holiday meal - too traditional in my mind. Yes, the classics are good, but they beg to be updated. You can't make roasted turkey the same way for 85 years of your life - that would be boring.

But, I'll also admit, you can't go wrong with the classics. Audrey Hepburn movies will never go out of style and I will continue to be in awe of her sense of fashion, even in the 21st century. I long to be eating a danish, wearing incredibly trendy sunglasses, standing outside of Tiffany's, while window shopping - just like Audrey did in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Most of the things that were a good idea back in the 1950's are still a good idea today - which says something about tradition. Some things really do stand the test of time.

If you are having people over for a very important dinner - you can't go wrong with cooking a beef roast, carrots and potatoes. It's classic. It's traditional. It's going to work for you. As a birthday dinner, you can't beat grilling a steak, making homemade scalloped potatoes and roasting some asparagus in the oven. It makes for the perfect homemade meal. And when it comes to homemade marinara sauce, you can only make it so many ways. No matter what you try and do, the basic ingredients stay the same, and your final product turns out delicious every single time.

For the dinner party, we took the liberty of updating some of the classics for appetizers. How many times have you had guacamole and bacon wrapped dates? Too many times to count I'm sure. I actually just ate half of a large container of Whole Foods guacamole - yes it was pre-made- and yes I went ahead and bought it anyway - even though I said I wouldn't. For being 8 o'clock on a Thursday night, and having eaten nothing all day, purchased guacamole is exactly what I needed.

In order to accommodate for Nicole's dislike for cilantro and my love for guacamole, I needed to find a happy medium for the dinner party. I didn't even know there were recipes out there for guacamole made with basil and shallots and not cilantro and red onion. Who would ever think to put that combination of flavors and ingredients together? Well - just so you know - it definitely works. When eating the guacamole, I proclaimed that I just might make this recipe for guacamole with basil and shallots as my new standard guacamole recipe. The basil doesn't throw you off and adds a completely different flavor than you might be expecting.

For the second appetizer recipe, we made bacon wrapped dates. Again, your basic, standard appetizer recipe. To kick it up a notch, I found a recipe that stuffs a piece of Parmesan inside the date before wrapping it in bacon. As you roast the dates in the oven, the Parmesan starts to melt and gives the date the perfect salty bite that you would be looking for. It is a slight enough of a change to make you realize you aren't eating your basic bacon wrapped date. Both appetizers will definitely be made again in my kitchen.

It just goes to show you that while you can't mess with tradition, it is also ok to make some updates to the classics when the occasion asks for it. This meal turns out as good as Audrey Hepburn looks in sunglasses.

Guacamole with Basil and Shallots

adapted from Epicurious.com

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6 avocados: halved, pitted, peeled and flesh scooped out

3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/2 cup shallots, minced

Place avocados in a large bowl. Add lime juice. Use a potato masher to smooth out the avocado. Add the tomatoes, basil and shallots. Stir to combine. Serve with tortilla chips.

Parmesan Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates

adapted from Epicurious.com

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16 1 x 1/4 inch sticks Parmesan

16 pitted dates

1 package bacon, each piece sliced into thirds

Preheat the oven to 450.

Take the parmesan sticks and stuff it into the center of each date. Wrap each date with 1/3 strip of bacon - securing it with a toothpick - making sure the bacon goes around the entire date. Place on a baking sheet. Bake until dates are golden brown and carmelized - about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Serve.

Goat Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts

adapted from Nicole Vallier

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4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

4oz goat cheese - flavored with herbs

2 cups spinach, stemmed and washed

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons canola oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Saute the spinach and garlic in the olive oil until the spinach is wilted. Put the spinach in a fine mesh colandar. Using the back of your spoon, press against the spinach to drain out the excess water. After cooling completely, mix the spinach with the goat cheese and toasted pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper.

Make a small, lengthwise incision in all of the chicken breasts. Put approximately 1oz of filling into each breast. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat the canola oil in a pan until smoking. Sear the chicken breasts on both sides until lightly browned, approximately 2 minutes per side. Transfer the breasts to a large Pyrex baking dish. Sprinkle with rosemary and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until completely cooked.

Apple Crisp with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

It is dinner party time once again. The list of people that Andy and I want to have over for dinner seems to be growing and growing. If only there were more 3 day weekends throughout the year, I think we could really start making some progress on this list. The weather is getting nicer though, which makes getting out at night or doing some entertaining more enticing. All this apartment needs is a back deck, a grill, and I would be set. Last Saturday, or I guess we are looking at 2 Saturdays ago at this point, Nicole and Mike came over for dinner.

There wasn't necessarily a theme to the meal, but more the idea that everyone would contribute something to the meal. I would say that everyone brought their A game on Saturday night. There were no dishes in the bathtub disasters, there were no burnt chocolate cakes, and there were no red wine spills on the carpet. I was slightly hesitant as to what people would think about the small blogging photo area setup on the cedar chest, but it didn't seem to phase anyone one bit. Nor did the multiple trips to the photo area to capture everything that was being made throughout the night.

The lineup of dinner guests and what they brought to the table:

Host #1: Me

As far as meal preparation goes, I was really given quite the easy task of providing the location, appetizers and preparing one side dish. We decided to go with appetizer favorites, whether or not they went with one another or with the food that was being served as the main dish.

For the appetizers, I made an updated version of both bacon wrapped dates and guacamole. The bacon wrapped dates were stuffed with chunks of Parmesan cheese and the guacamole was made with basil and shallots. Green bag tortilla chips definitely made the list as well. For the side, I went with your basic mashed sweet potato. Simple and a perfect side dish with chicken. Both recipes will be featured in an upcoming blog.

Host #2: Andrew

The first time Andy had me over for dinner at his apartment, he not only made me grilled tuna steak but he also made homemade lemon ice cream with strawberries for dessert. I know what you are thinking - he definitely didn't know my big ticket food items were, right? From that moment on, he's put himself in charge of all ice cream preparation in the kitchen and I'm all for it.

To contribute to the meal, Andy made homemade vanilla bean ice cream a la David Lebovitz. Since his portion of the meal was done early in the afternoon, he was able to stand around the kitchen all evening, drinking wine, eating appetizers and watching the rest of us work.

And as a side note, when it came to separating the eggs, it only took Andy 7 tries to get 5 successful egg yolks. Good thing we bought a whole dozen of them. It's official though, that Andy knows how to successfully separate eggs now. Future batches of ice cream in the kitchen thank you.

Guest #1: Nicole

I think out of the 4 of us, Nicole did most of the work. She not only prepared the main dish for the meal but also provided everything for dessert. Goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach stuffed chicken breasts with homemade apple crisp.

Nicole used to play for the Mundelein Thunder travel softball team. I was a Crystal Lake TidalWave. If you know anything about girls travel softball teams - which you probably don't - and shouldn't - you would know that our teams teams were rivals. I'm pretty sure our team brought home the W more often than not - or that is how I like to remember it. I sported my old Tidal Waves jacket towards the end of the night to bring back the memories.

Guest #2: Michael

Last, but definitely not least. Mike provided the wine for the night. He went big and brought a different wine pairing for each course of the meal - a definite plus with such a highly sophisticated group and dinner party. My favorite might have been the Yalumba Viognier - a great white to go with the chicken.

Mike also stepped up and helped peel the 10# of apples for the apple crisp. Since peeling apples is not one of my specialties, as I don't seem to have the patience to take 100% of the skin off, I was thrilled that he wanted to help out.

For ease of reading, I decided to break-up the recipes into 2 different posts. Here you will find the recipe for the homemade vanilla ice cream and the apple crisp. I'll admit, both Nicole and I had second helpings of dessert. The apple crisp is amazing, especially warm right out of the oven and I can't think of a better topping than a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.

Awesome recipes that will definitely be made in the kitchen again.

Andrew's Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

adapted from David Lebovitz

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1 cup of milk

pinch of salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean

5 egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the milk, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk mixture. Add the bean to the pan as well.

Stir the egg yolks in a bowl. Add some of the warmed milk mixture to the eggs to temper the mixture. Stir constantly as you pour. Add the egg mixture to the pan with the warmed milk mixture.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken. You know the mixture is thick enough when it can coat the back of a spoon or spatula. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Chill thoroughly. Churn ice cream according to the machine directions.

Nicole's Apple Crisp

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10 cups apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup water

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. We used a 9 x 9 because the only 9 x 13 dish in the kitchen was being used to bake the chicken.

In a large bowl, combine the apples, white sugar, flour, cinnamon, and water. Stir to combine. Add the apple mixture to your baking dish.

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Crumble the mixture over the apples.

Bake for 45 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the crust is browned on top.