Mother’s Bistro and Bar, Portland

Light buttermilk biscuits topped with a rich creamy chicken gravy is serious comfort food. This recipe calls for Belle’s Chicken Soup as well as the chicken used to make the soup, so it’s like getting two meals for the price of one!

If you can’t make Belle’s Chicken Soup, you can use canned low-sodium chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken and still have a good meal. When you add the chicken, feel free to stir in any leftover vegetables you have lurking in the fridge, such as steamed broccoli or green beans or braised greens.

This recipe calls for a roux.

Ingredients to make Roux: Serves 6

• Roux is a mixture of equal parts butter (or other fat) and all-purpose flour. We use white or blond roux a lot in our cooking, usually to thicken soups, stews, sauces and gravies (as in this recipe). The longer the roux cooks, the less thickening power it has, but the more color and flavor it adds.

Instructions:

1. A “white” roux is cooked over low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes until it has a sandy consistency and a beige color. A “blond” roux is cooked a minute or two longer for a light gold color.
2. You only need a small amount of roux to thicken sauces or soups, usually 2 tablespoons for every cup of liquid.
3. A “brown” roux is often made with oil or lard instead of butter and cooked for nearly an hour over low heat until it achieves the consistency of clay and a specific shade of brown, from peanut butter to light coffee or even a dark mahogany color. This roux is used to add depth of flavor and color to gumbo and étouffées, but will hardly thicken the soup or sauce at all. That’s why recipes requiring a brown roux call for a lot more of it – at least a cup.
4. Roux should always be cooked over even, moderate heat so it doesn’t burn. If it’s going to be used as a thickener, as it is here, use a heavy-bottomed pan and medium heat, making sure to stir it frequently to keep it from scorching.

Chicken gravy:
Ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 cups chicken broth from Belle’s Chicken Soup
• 2 tsp. salt
• ½ freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups diced carrots (about 2 large)
• 2 cups diced celery (about 5 stalks)
• Meat from 1 (3-pound) cooked chicken (about 5 cups; you can use the ones from making Belle’s Chicken Soup. Remove the skin, and pick the meat off the bones, keeping the meat in large chunks)
• ¾ cup peas, fresh or frozen
• ¾ cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen

To serve:
12 buttermilk biscuits, warmed
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a heavy-bottomed large (8- to 10-quart) saucepan or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and mix well with a wooden spoon to make a roux. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles fine, wet sand, about 3 minutes.
2. Whisk the soup into the roux a little at a time, allowing the roux to absorb the liquid before adding more. (This will help avoid lumps.) Add the salt, pepper, carrots and celery. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, then lower the heat and gently simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally and skim any scum that rises to the surface and stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
3. Gently stir the cooked chicken (try not to break it up too much), peas, and corn into the gravy, return the liquid to a simmer, and cook five more minutes to heat the chicken and vegetables thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Cut the biscuits in half widthwise (so there is a top and bottom). Lay cut biscuits on a plate (two per person, four half biscuits) and ladle a generous cup of gravy over the biscuits making sure to cover them completely. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

See Related Video and recipes:

in the kitchen with Lisa Schroeder: Mother’s Chicken Soup and More

Mother’s Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Belle’s Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

]]> http://cookingupastory.com/chicken-and-biscuits-recipe/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/mothers-buttermilk-biscuits http://cookingupastory.com/mothers-buttermilk-biscuits#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 11:30:26 +0000 Lisa Schroeder http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27624

Mother’s Bistro and Bar, Portland, Oregon

Makes 18 biscuits

Ingredients:

• 6 cups self-rising flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 ¼ teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 2 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/3 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, for dredging

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with pan spray (use a smaller pan if you want to cook some biscuits now and freeze the rest for later).




2. In a large bowl, combine the self-rising flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender, two knives, or a whisk, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is the size of peas.

Alternatively, you can combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the butter pieces, and mix first on slow, then on medium-low speed until pieces are the size of peas, about 1 minute.

3. Combine the buttermilk and heavy cream in a measuring cup. Pour it into the butter-flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until mostly incorporated. Then, using your hands, mix just until incorporated — no more than 3 or 4 little kneadings. Or briefly mix on low speed with the mixer, turning it on for a couple seconds then off to scrape the sides of the bowl. Repeat until just combined. (Don’t over mix, and don’t worry that the batter is wet, goopy and non-uniform. It is okay to have some pockets of flour and chunks of butter. That’s what will make the biscuits flaky and moist.)




4. Put the 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour in another shallow bowl. Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/3 cup capacity or a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop out a heaping portion of the batter and drop it into the flour. Sprinkle some of flour on top, pick up the dough and cup it in the palm of your hand. Gently jiggle the dough in your palm so the excess flour falls away leaving just a light coating (or lightly toss the dough between both hands).




5. Starting in the corner, arrange the biscuits in a row down the long side of the pan so you have a row of six (you must start the first one very close to the corner and the next one nearly on top of the first in order for all six biscuits to fit. After filling the row, place two biscuits across the short side (you should now have 3 across and 6 down). Continue scooping and arranging the remaining dough directly next to each other (they should be touching and just slightly squished) in rows until you have used all the dough. (If you used a different sized baking pan, or aren’t cooking all the biscuits at once, your baking pan may not be filled corner to corner with biscuits. In this case, crumple a piece of foil to fit into the blank spaces to help the biscuits keep their shape during baking.)




6. Bake for 10 minutes or until biscuits start to brown, then reduce the heat to 375°F and bake until the biscuits are light brown all over, being sure to rotate the pans now and then (so they bake evenly). That should take another 20 to 25 minutes. You’ll know when they’re done when the biscuits start to pull away from each other, they don’t have any bounce when poked, and a knife inserted between some of the biscuits in the middle of the pan comes out clean.




7. Remove from oven, brush the tops with the melted butter, and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into individual biscuits and serving (you could pull them apart, but I like to cut the biscuits along the obvious separations to make them a little straighter and prettier.

Notes:
To bake frozen biscuits, place the still-frozen biscuits on the prepared pan and bake at 450°F for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned, then reduce heat to 375 and bake about 25 more minutes until toasty brown all over.

If you can’t find self-rising flour, you can make your own by combining 2 tablespoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt for every 4 cups all-purpose flour.

See Related Video and recipes:

in the kitchen with Lisa Schroeder: Mother’s Chicken Soup and More

Chicken and Biscuits Recipe

Belle’s Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

]]> http://cookingupastory.com/mothers-buttermilk-biscuits/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/belles-chicken-noodle-soup http://cookingupastory.com/belles-chicken-noodle-soup#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 11:30:12 +0000 Lisa Schroeder http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27639

Mother’s Bistro and Bar, Portland, Oregon

My mother Belle always made this soup for the Jewish holidays, so there was no question about what would be the signature soup at Mother’s. We offer it with egg noodles or matzoh balls, and it can easily become Chicken and Dumplings with a few more steps.  

Sometimes called “Jewish penicillin,” this soup is simple to make and devotees know when it’s time for their fix – a sniffly nose, a rough day or just because. Whenever my daughter Stephanie got sick, we had our routine:  First stop was the doctor, then to the pharmacy to get the prescribed medicine, and finally to the supermarket to pick up the ingredients for this soup. Once home, the soup was simmering on the stove within 15 minutes.

Please note, this is a two-part process: first, you make the broth, then you make the soup. Some people think that soup and broth are the same, but they are not.

The longer a stock or broth cooks, the larger the vegetables used to flavor them can be.  For example, vegetables used to flavor a veal stock can be cut larger than those for a chicken stock, because veal stock cooks longer (ideally overnight), and there is more time to extract the vegetables’ flavors.  In the case of chicken soup, I don’t even cut the vegetables because that’s the way my mother did it, and it saves time, too. But if it makes it easier to fit everything in the pot, feel free to cut the veggies in half.

Here’s a tip — buy a thin, two-pronged fork. Working in a four-star restaurant can be very stressful because everything must be done to perfection. As entremetier at Le Cirque, my job was to cook the vegetables that went with most of the entrées served. It was imperative to know the exact moment something was done. I did this with my favorite tool: a thin, two-pronged fork. It had long, narrow tines that allowed me to pierce the cooking vegetables without leaving a trace. I still use it to this day.  When vegetables offer no resistance, I know they are cooked to perfection and stop the cooking immediately or they overcook.  If the tines of the fork don’t slide in and out easily, the vegetables are not done and need to be cooked some more.

Broth  
Makes 4 1/2 quarts or 9 2-cup servings
Ingredients:

• 2 whole chickens, plus other carcasses if available
• 2 yellow onions, peeled
• 4 ribs celery (cut in half to fit the pot, if necessary)
• 4 carrots, peeled (cut in half to fit the pot, if necessary)
• 4 parsnips, peeled (cut in half to fit the pot, if necessary)
• 1 bunch Italian parsley, with stems (about 20 sprigs)
• 4 1/2 teaspoons salt (divided)
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (divided)

Instructions To make broth:

1. In a narrow, deep pot just large enough to hold the chickens (about 10 to 12-quart capacity), place chickens, onions, celery, carrots, parsnips and parsley. (Make sure you use a narrow pot rather than a wide one.  Otherwise, you may have to use too much water to cover the chickens). Add just enough cold water to barely cover the chickens (ideally, not more than 5 quarts or 20 cups). Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Reduce heat to a simmer (rapidly boiling soup or stock often makes it look cloudy instead of clear) and season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. (You’re seasoning here because you want the chicken to have some flavor when you use it later in other dishes. The soup will be seasoned again later.)
2. Simmer the broth, uncovered, for at least 3 hours. Season with 2 ½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Taste. If it tastes like chicken, it’s ready.  If not, let it cook a bit longer and taste again. It can cook for another hour as long as it is barely simmering, but no more than 4 hours or the chicken will dry out.
3. When soup is done, turn off the heat, lift chicken from the pot with slotted spoons or a spider, and set aside in a shallow bowl or baking sheet until cool enough to handle.
4. Strain the broth into a clean 6- to 8-quart pot; discard the solids. If not making the soup right away, cool and refrigerate so you can scrape off the solidified fat from the surface before continuing.  Otherwise, allow the stock to sit undisturbed for at least 10 minutes and spoon off the fat that rises to the surface.
5. Set pot over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

Soup:
Ingredients:

• 2 cups finely diced carrots
• 2 cups finely diced celery
• 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped, for garnish
• 2 cups cooked chicken (reserved from making broth)
• 1 pound cooked egg noodles

Instructions to make soup:

1. Add diced carrots and celery to the simmering broth, and cook until just tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
3. While the vegetables are cooking, pick the meat from the chicken, leaving the pieces as large as possible, and set aside. Discard the bones.

Instructions to Serve:

1. Add 2 cups of the cooked chicken to the soup.
2. Place cooked noodles in serving bowls. Ladle the broth, chicken and vegetables into bowls, sprinkle with fresh chopped dill, and serve.

Variation: Italian Straciatella

Instead of serving this soup with noodles, you can stir in beaten eggs, parmesan and spinach for an entirely different and classically Italian soup:

Omit the diced carrots and celery and bring the strained broth to a simmer.  Meanwhile, beat 3 eggs with ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Pour the egg mixture into the gently simmering soup in a slow steady stream, going from one side of the pot to the other and back again in a zigzag motion. Allow eggs to cook for 1 minute without stirring. Gently run a long handled spoon through the eggs to break them up a little. Stir in 1 cup baby spinach leaves, taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread.

See Related Video and recipes:

in the kitchen with Lisa Schroeder: Mother’s Chicken Soup and More

Chicken and Biscuits Recipe

Mother’s Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

]]> http://cookingupastory.com/belles-chicken-noodle-soup/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/braised-fennel-in-butter http://cookingupastory.com/braised-fennel-in-butter#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:02:28 +0000 Cooking Up a Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27426 Instead of braised lamb, this is another braised recipe from Melinda Casady, co-owner and culinary educator for the Portland Culinary Workshop.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fennel quartered and cored
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup Chicken stock
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• salt to taste
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated fine

Instructions:

1. Heat the butter in a sauté pan or pan with high sides (enough room that the fennel is in a single layer), add fennel and coat with butter.
2. Add stock and lemon juice bring to a simmer and then turn heat to low with a lid.
3. Cook until tender but still holds its shape.
4. Remove cover and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and place under broiler until parmesan is golden brown.

   Serves 4-6 people.

   See Related recipe and in the Kitchen video: Braised Lamb with Hazelnut Brown Ale

   ]]> http://cookingupastory.com/braised-fennel-in-butter/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/favorite-family-recipe-apple-crisp http://cookingupastory.com/favorite-family-recipe-apple-crisp#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:00:54 +0000 Rebecca Gerendasy http://cookingupastory.com/?p=25221 Awhile back I lived in a house that had a very productive apple tree in the backyard. It was a beautiful tree; I enjoyed it most around this time of the year, second only to its aroma of Spring blossoms.

   The air became cooler, the days shorter, the apples sweeter— that was the time to pick!

   I miss my apple tree, but fortunately several of my friends and neighbors have some growing in their yards. And there is U-pick at the local farms, too. No shortage of apples at our house. The boys love whatever I make with them, but their favorite is a family recipe, Apple Crisp. My mother grew up on it, as did I, and now my kids follow. I guess you could say it’s been time tested.

   It’s really quite simple, both in the ingredients and the preparation. Serve it hot out of the oven, as is, or with some milk poured over. I guarantee it will be devoured in a short amount of time – at least it always is in our household.

   As my son says, “It’s like apple pie without the crust!”

   Apple Crisp

   Ingredients:

   • 4 cups apples, peeled, sliced
   • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
   • 1/3 cup flour
   • 1 cup rolled oats
   • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
   • 1/2 tsp. salt
   • 1 tsp. cinnamon
   • 1/3 cup butter, melted

   Instructions:
   Place sliced apples in a shallow baking dish, toss with lemon juice.
   Combine dry ingredients and add melted butter. Blend until crumbly. Spread over apples.
   Bake at 375º for 30 minutes.
   Serves 4-6 people.

   Recipe courtesy my grandmother.

   ]]> http://cookingupastory.com/favorite-family-recipe-apple-crisp/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/frikeh-and-albacore-salad http://cookingupastory.com/frikeh-and-albacore-salad#comments Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:00:49 +0000 admin http://cookingupastory.com/?p=24700

   Check out the related video: Frikeh, Freekeh, Fereek: Green Wheat Wonder

   Also related recipe: Frikeh Summer Salad

   Ingredients:

   • 3 cups cooked frikeh
   • 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
   • 1 cucumber, peeled seeded and chopped
   • 1 medium spring onion, chopped
   • Lemon juice
   • Olive oil
   • Salt
   • Aleppo pepper
   • Albacore canned in tomato

   Instructions:
   Combine first 8 ingredients, mix well and adjust seasonings. Mound in serving bowl and cover with flaked tuna.

   Recipe courtesy of Linda Cowell of An Urban Agrarian

   ]]> http://cookingupastory.com/frikeh-and-albacore-salad/feed 1 http://cookingupastory.com/frikeh-summer-salad http://cookingupastory.com/frikeh-summer-salad#comments Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:00:05 +0000 Rebecca Gerendasy http://cookingupastory.com/?p=24692

   Check out the related video: Frikeh, Freekeh, Fereek: Green Wheat Wonder

   Also related recipe: Frikeh and Albacore Salad

   Ingredients:

Instructions for Making the Frikeh:

1. Heat 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a large caste iron fry pan (or heavy saucepan) over medium high heat.
2. Add the frikeh and stir, coating the grains, and cook for about 4 minutes.
3. Add the water and salt, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the water is level with the frikeh, about 10 minutes.
4. Cover and simmer over low heat until all the water is absorbed, about another 10 minutes.
5. Transfer cooked frikeh into a large bowl and let cool.

Roasting the zucchini:

1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. Lightly oil the bottom of a large shallow cooking pan and sprinkle the rosemary over the oil.
3. Take the cut quarters of zucchini and gently roll each of the 3 sides in the olive oil/rosemary, leaving to rest on one side.
4. Roast each side for 8 minutes. Remove and cool.

Dressing:
In a bowl, whisk together remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil with vinegar and garlic.

Salad:

1. In a large bowl combine cooked Frikeh, roasted zucchini, chopped broccoli, and salad dressing.
2. Place into a serving bowl, place cherry tomatoes on top, sprinkle almonds over all.

Serves 6-8.

It was December 1965 when I married Harvey in Illinois. He was originally from a small town in Texas, called Crockett (yes, Davy Crockett once spent the night there – as the rumor goes – but that’s another story). For our first Christmas together, we received from Texas a fruitcake that his sister, Bernice, made. She had access to the fresh pecans growing on their ranch. This fruitcake did not consist of any flour; it was almost like eating candied fruit. Being very fond of baking, I asked her if she would share her recipe with me, and she sent it along in time for me to try it myself for Christmas 1968, and I’ve been doing it ever since. The new pecan and date crop is in by November 1st, so that is the time I start making my mini date loaf Christmas cakes for my dear ones for the Holidays. I hope you enjoy it too!

Christmas Date Loaf

Heat oven to 300º

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups pecan halves
2. 1 can coconut
3. 1 lb. Medjool dates (they are my favorite!)
4. ¼ cup red candied cherries cut in half
5. 1 can sweetened condensed milk
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mom's Fruicake contains no flour; requires close scrutiny to insure maximum number of available servings!

Instructions:

1. Cut up dates, add coconut and fold in pecan halves.
2. Add vanilla to the milk and fold into the fruit.
3. Grease and flour 3 mini foil loaf pans (or 1 loaf pan).
4. Place several red cherry halves in bottom of greased/floured pans and divide fruit into the 3 pans and top with several red cherries.
5. After baking 1 hour, check with toothpick. When it comes out clean, remove. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from foil pans then place on a rack until it reaches room temperature (about 2 hours).
6. Wrap and freeze until needed. Will keep up to 6 months.

Ingredients

• 2 heads garlic, peeled and smashed
• 2 oranges, juiced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 Tbs. dried Mexican oregano
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 2 tsp. freshly ground cumin seed
• 3 cups salt
• 1 large bottle (1 pt. 6 oz.) mocha or chocolate stout
• 5 qts. water

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Strain the brine and  inject the pig with large BBQ syringe. (Available at Safeway and many other grocery stores.)
3. Marinate the pig overnight.
4. Prepare according to Caja China cooking directions.

Yield from a 60 lb. whole pig:

• Food for 18 adults the day of the party plus another two 2 person meals (about ½ of the pig)
• 6 lb. shredded pork
• 3 ½ lbs. sliced ham and pork loin
• 3 gal. pork stock
• 1 gal. demi glace (highly concentrated meat juices from the BBQ drip pan)
• 4 smoked ham hocks
• 2 qts. rendered pork fat
• 2 cups chicarrones or pork  cracklings from rendering the fat
• 6 cups prepped pork skin strips for pork rinds at a later date
• 3 qts. scraps for the dog (My dog will not eat eyeballs, fyi.)
• 2 cups meat from the head for a pork terrine

Ice Cream Ingredients

• 1 can (14 oz.) evaporated milk
• 1 3/4 cups very cold buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 2 egg whites

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients except egg whites and chill 30 minutes.
2. Just before you get ready to make ice cream, beat the egg whites to soft peaks.
3. Fold whites into chilled peach puree. (If you are cautious about raw egg whites, you can reconstitute pasteurized dried egg white. JustWhites is a good brand, usually in the baking section of the supermarket. Very rarely, it is also possible to find pasteurized raw whites in a carton in the dairy section.)
4. Process according to ice cream maker directions.

Yield: Makes 1 quart of ice cream.

Cherries Jubilee Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 3 cups fresh dark, sweet cherries, pitted
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1/8 tsp. ground allspice
• Grating of fresh nutmeg
• 1 Tbs. Kirsch or other cherry liqueur

Instructions:

1. Add cherries, sugar, spices and almond extract.
2. Cook until sugar dissolves and cherries release juice, 2-3 minutes.
3. Drizzle Kirsch over top of cherries.
4. Remove from heat and light with match to flambe. Serve sauce over ice cream.

Yield: Makes 2 cups sauce.

Recipes courtesy of TwoJunes, Lisa Bell and Nicole Rees