Split Pea Soup

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Last week we got a burst of cold weather after lots of unseasonably warm temps for weeks. In an attempt to soften the shock to our systems and use the leftover ham bone from our party I decided to make my first pot of split pea soup. Split pea soup was not something I ate growing up. Typically, leftover ham turned into ham and green beans, which is also yum! Eric and I love peas, they might be our favorite vegetable and I’ve been dying to try to make split pea soup for a few years.

I searched my cookbooks and online and came upon a recipe from Epicurious.com. Not only did the recipe get great reviews, but it started and ended with bacon. What could be better than that?!

To start the recipe, chop up your 8 slices of bacon and cook over medium heat until crispy.

While that’s cooking, prep the rest of your ingredients. There aren’t many, another reason I love this recipe, it’s really simple and easy.

Once the bacon is cooked, use a slotted spoon and remove it from the pot. Drain it on paper towels and set it aside for later. You’ll use it as a garnish for the soup.

Add the carrots and onions to the hot bacon fat and fry it up until soft.

Add in the rest of the ingredients, the ham bones, water, salt and pepper, bay leaf and split peas.

Simmer uncovered for about 2 hours until the soup thickens.

Take out the ham bone and remove the meat.

Add the ham back into the pot and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with crumbles of the crispy bacon.

Serve with a slice of country bread. This soup was filled with flavor and really warms you up on a cold day.

Here’s the recipe:

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Mrs. Schreiner’s Split Pea Soup
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 6
 

Ingredients
  • 8 slices bacon (about ¼ pound)
  • ½ onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, cut into ¼-inch dice
  • 1 pound dried split peas
  • 2½ quarts water plus additional if necessary
  • 1 smoked ham hock
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1 bay leaf

Instructions
  1. In a large heavy kettle cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and transfer to paper towels to drain.
  2. Pour off all but about ¼ cup bacon fat from kettle and cook onions and carrots, stirring, until softened. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally and adding 1 to 2 cups more water if soup becomes too thick, 2 hours.
  3. Remove kettle from heat and transfer ham hock with a slotted spoon to a cutting board. Discard fat and bones and chop meat. Return meat to kettle and simmer soup, stirring, until heated through. Discard bay leaf.
  4. Just before serving, crumble bacon and sprinkle over soup.

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Party Recap

January 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I’m sure you’re thinking, it’s Wednesday don’t we get to find out how that Christmas party went last week? I mean it was all that you posted about! The answer is, I have good news and bad. The good news is that the party was awesome! The bad news is that it was so awesome that I forgot to take pictures…epic blog fail. I know, I know! Things got rolling and people showed up and my mind kept saying, get your camera for the blog photos and then suddenly the food was gone and it was too late.

This party was, without a doubt the best planned one I’ve had yet. I was crazy organized and it paid off. I was able to get all the food made in advance and it was on the table as the first guests began to arrive and I could kick back and enjoy myself the entire evening.

I have to give it to Bon Appetit’s December issue for their stress free party planning guide. I followed most of it and was so glad I did.

Here are the recipes I used for the party along with pics from BonAppetite.com:

Punch: The Long Hello

Warning: This is not so much a punch as a full on cocktail. Make sure you let guests know not to drink it too fast or they will have a “better” time than they may have planned! It is pure alcohol, nothing waters it down, but in all fairness, it was delicious.

The Long Hello

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups Calvados or other apple brandy
  • 1 cup St-Germain (elderflower liqueur)
  • 10 dashes bitters, preferably Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters or Angostura
  • 1 750-ml bottle Champagne, chilled
  • Freshly grated nutmeg

  • Special Equipment:

    One 12-cup Bundt or tube pan; 1 punch bowl

Preparation

  • Make and freeze ring mold with pears and apples according to our ice mold directions. DO AHEAD: Ring mold can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and keep frozen.
  • Stir Calvados, St-Germain, bitters, and 1 cup water in a punch bowl. Add ice ring, then Champagne. Ladle punch into glasses and grate nutmeg over.
    Edamame Hummus

    Ingredients

    • 2 10-ounce packages frozen shelled edamame (soybeans)
    • Kosher salt
    • 2 10-ounce packages frozen peas
    • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
    • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
    • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
    • 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint plus more for garnish
    • Freshly ground black pepper
    • Endive spears

    Preparation

    • Cook edamame in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, 3–5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl of ice water. Return water in pot to a boil and add peas; cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Transfer peas to bowl with edamame; let cool. Drain well.
    • Working in batches, pulse edamame and peas in a food prcoessor until a coarse purée forms, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in juice and next 3 ingredients. Gradually stir in 3/4 cup oil; mix well. Stir in 1/4 cup cilantro and 1/4 cup mint. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.
  • Transfer to a serving bowl; drizzle with oil and garnish with more herbs. Serve with endive spears.
    This was my first time making rolls of any kind and they were awesome! A little time consuming because of letting the dough rise, but overall pretty easy.
    Potato Rolls with Caraway Salt

    Ingredients

    • 1 8-ounce russet potato, peeled, cut into 1″ pieces
    • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter plus more for the bowl and pan
    • 1 cup whole milk
    • 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
    • 1 1/4-ounce package (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
    • 3 3/4 cups (or more) all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for surface
    • 1 teaspoon toasted caraway seeds, lightly crushed
    • 1 teaspoon pretzel salt or sea salt
    • 1 large egg
    • 2 teaspoons heavy cream

    • Special Equipment:

      A 13x9x2” baking pan

    Preparation

    • Place the potato in a small saucepan and add water to cover by 1″. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid in a small microwave-safe bowl.
    • Meanwhile, melt 4 Tbsp. butter in another small saucepan. Add milk; stir until warm, about 1 minute, and set aside.
    • Transfer cooked potato to a large bowl. Mash with a fork, then stir in milk mixture, 1 tbsp. sugar, and 1/2 tsp. salt (mixture will be slightly lumpy).
    • Rewarm potato cooking liquid in microwave (or let cool) until an instant-read thermometer registers 105°–110°. Stir in remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, and yeast; let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add yeast mixture to potato mixture and stir to combine. Add 3 1/4 cups flour with a wooden spoon and stir until a sticky dough forms.
    • Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead, dusting surface, dough, and your hands often with remaining 1/2 cup flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky, 7–8 minutes. Form into a ball and transfer to a buttered bowl. Turn to coat dough with butter and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise, chilled, overnight.
    • Butter baking pan. Mix caraway seeds and pretzel salt in a small bowl; set aside. Punch down dough (do not knead). Cut dough in half, then roll each piece into a 12”-long log. Cut each log into 12 equal pieces, then roll each piece into a ball (for 24 total). Arrange in pan, evenly spaced, in 6 rows of 4. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour.
    • Arrange a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 375°. Whisk egg and cream in a small bowl; brush tops of rolls with some of egg wash. Sprinkle with caraway salt. Bake, rotating pan once, until rolls are cooked through and deep golden, 25–30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then run a sharp knife around edges to loosen from pan; do not separate rolls. Transfer to rack and let cool for 10 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Rewarm, wrapped in foil, in a 300° oven until heated through. Serve warm.
    This was the first time I’ve ever made a ham and I decided to only make 1/2 instead of a whole ham. It was incredible. Moist and delicious and people loved cutting small slices off all night. I never would have thought to make a ham for a party, but this was genius!
    Holiday Ham with Riesling and Mustard

    Ingredients

    • 1 14–16 lb. whole cured, smoked bone-in ham
    • 2 cups sweet (Auslese) Riesling, divided
    • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
    • 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
    • 3 sprigs thyme plus 2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
    • 1/2 cup whole grain mustard
    • 1 tablespoon honey
    • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • Small pinch of kosher salt

    Preparation

    • Arrange rack in lowest level of oven; preheat to 300°. Leaving fat in tact, remove outer rind from most of ham, leaving a band around the end of the shank bone. Score fat crosswise (do not cut into meat) on top of ham with parallel cuts spaced 1/2” apart. Place ham in a large roasting pan. Boil 1 cup Riesling and 7 cups water in a saucepan for 5 minutes. Pour into bottom of roasting pan. Bake ham, basting with pan juices occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the ham registers 110°, 2 1/2–3 hours.
    • Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and thyme sprigs; cook, stirring often, until shallots are very soft, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat; stir in the remaining 1 cup Riesling. Return to stove. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 8 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs and transfer mixture to a food processor. Add thyme leaves, mustard, honey, pepper, and salt. Process until well blended.
    • Remove pan from oven and increase heat to 350°. Using a pastry brush, spread Riesling mixture over ham. Return pan to oven and bake ham, tenting with foil if browning too quickly, until internal temperature registers 135° and crust is golden brown, 15-30 minutes.
    • transfer ham to a large platter. Let rest for 30 minutes before carving. Skim fat from pan juices, reheat, and pour juices into a medium pitcher; serve alongside.
      There you have it. My party recipes. I also couldn’t have done it without the help of Eric. He was cleaning away and did everything I asked of him, even staying up until all hours cleaning up the mess with me because I’m too neurotic to go to bed with a messy house. I’m already looking forward to next year!
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12 Days of Cocktails Wrap-up

December 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’m baaack! I’m sure you were all wondering what happened to me and the 12 days of cocktails. I have no excuses except to say that last week got really busy, really fast and I found myself in the middle of a cooking and baking marathon on top of all the rest of the last minute wrapping and shopping not to mention a work business trip and doing actual work for my steady and paying job. Somehow the blog was pushed back to place #25 in the midst of all that.

For those of you who checked back each day only to be disappointed with the same old blog post, I’m sorry but thanks for checking back! I can’t express how grateful I am for dedicated readers. Today, I’ll give you 3 last cocktail recipes that hopefully you can use this weekend for New Years! And give you a small update on our Christmas party which is scheduled for Friday. Yup, 4 days away and getting less each second.

Let’s start with cocktails. I saw this one in the paper this weekend and thought it sounded great! I have not made this one before but am considering making it for the party. It comes from Sweden and is made annually when they celebrate St. Lucia. It is similar to the German Gluhwein but packs more punch with the addition of stronger spirits, probably because it is so much colder there in the winter. This recipe feeds a lot of people and I found it on Epicurious.com:

Cocktail # 10: Glögg

Ingredients:

  • 1 bottle tawny port
  • 1 bottle Madeira
  • 1 bottle medium dry sherry
  • 1/2 bottle dry red wine
  • 15 cloves
  • 15 cardamom seeds
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1/2 pound lump sugar
  • 1/2 cup brandy
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup blanched almonds

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients except the sugar, brandy, raisins and nuts in a heavy saucepan and heat slowly. When the wine mixture is hot, place a rack on top of the saucepan so that it covers half of it. Arrange the sugar cubes on the rack, warm the brandy, pour it over the sugar and set it aflame. Ladle the wine mixture over the flaming sugar until sugar is dissolved. Serve in 8-ounce mugs, garnished with the almonds and raisins.

Cocktail number 11 is a nod to all things Mad Men. I’m loving the resurgence of all things from the 1950s & 1960s. Here is a classic Manhattan cocktail recipe from Bon Appetit.com, this recipe makes 1:

Cocktail # 10: Manhattan
Makes 1
Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons rye whiskey
  • 3 tablespoons sweet vermouth
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 1 maraschino cherry or an orange peel

Preparation

  • Mix rye, vermouth, and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add 2 large ice cubes. Stir to blend, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a cherry or an orange peel.

The 12th and final cocktail recipe is the punch that I will be making for our party this Friday. I got it from December’s Bon Appetit Magazine, The Long Hello. It looks like great flavors and I’m even going to attempt to make the ice ring that sits in it.

The Long Hello

I hope this will last us all night.

Cocktail #12: The Long Hello

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups Calvados or other apple brandy
  • 1 cup St-Germain (elderflower liqueur)
  • 10 dashes bitters, preferably Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters or Angostura
  • 1 750-ml bottle Champagne, chilled
  • Freshly grated nutmeg

  • Special Equipment:

    One 12-cup Bundt or tube pan; 1 punch bowl

Preparation

  • Make and freeze ring mold with pears and apples according to our ice mold directions. DO AHEAD: Ring mold can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and keep frozen.
  • Stir Calvados, St-Germain, bitters, and 1 cup water in a punch bowl. Add ice ring, then Champagne. Ladle punch into glasses and grate nutmeg over.

There you have it 12 new cocktail recipes, just in time for New Years! I hope you can find one or two new ones to try. You don’t have to go out to get a good cocktail!

Speaking of going out or…staying in…I’m in full party planning mode. With 4 days till our big bash, I’m feeling the heat. Last night, I was making lists and pulling recipes and trying to eliminate complicated recipes. I tend to bite off more than I can chew with parties so I’m making an effort not to go overboard and kill myself this week.

Here’s my party planning schedule:

Tuesday – Grocery Shop
Make Punch Ice Ring

Wednesday – Make Cream puffs
Make 2 dips

Thursday – Make dough for rolls
Assemble Cream puff tower

Friday – Assemble Veggie plates
Assemble All Appetizers
Bake Ham
Fix Punch

Party, Party, Party!!

Tomorrow I’ll fill you in on my menu choices. Oh and cleaning of the house has to be worked into the schedule, too but I think Eric will be helping a lot with that one. I’m sure he can’t wait.

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