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This Photo by G'pa Joe...Enhancement by Moi 'n' PhotoShop |
Winter has sort of struck... we've had some freezing temps during which the "real" heat kicked in to help the infrareds along. Um, 7 degrees (not counting the wind chill) on race-day Sunday. And there was a light dusting. The ski area is covered enough to allow for gates and such. Snowmakers kick on as soon as temps plummet. But then, we seem to find the forties again, as shall be the case today. Clearly stuff for comment. Whatever. It's January, and in January we eat soup. There's an analogy here. Gran used to look at the clock, and if it was noon, it was lunchtime... didn't matter if she'd eaten breakfast an hour earlier... lunchtime was lunchtime, after all. Ooooh-kay, it's time for minestra, heatwave or not. The first vat of the year turned out so delicious. It's a derivative of a derivative, but here ya go:
Silken Butternut 'n' Chicken Soup
For soup, I like to leave the skin on the bird, guaranteeing depth of flavor and gelatinous results. Thing is, it has to be carefully skimmed to remove all fat in finished product. So, with all parts of a whole chicken, except for breasts (wings in pot), a mega-sized butternut squash, leftover mashed potatoes, a boatload of garlic, a hunk of ginger, onion, carrots and celery, I put up a vat of soup. The dark meat can never cook for too long. When it had simmered enough to blend flavors of all varieties, I put the breasts on top of the liquid and allowed them to gently poach. Then, I removed the solids to a plate and strained the liquid, ridding it of tiny bone fragments, and skimmed the top. Back in went all veggies, except for the celery (too stringy, so toss it). A good hit with the immersion blender turned everything creamy. I shredded the dark meat back into it.
While the soup bubbled away, I'd prepared jasmine rice and barley, together in the rice cooker. I'd also broken some angel hair and boiled to al dente. I tossed all three into the soup for some interesting taste and texture... finished with lots of pepper and parsley.
Ooh la la! A dollop of Chobani fat-free plain and we were ready to dine. White meat made awesome salad for another day.
Buon Appetito.
