Chicken Corn Chowder

Chicken Corn Chowder is one of my favorite soups and I've never met a person to whom I've served it who hasn't loved it, but I never posted the recipe to my blog because I’m trying to keep it simple and this soup takes a while to make.  In order to prepare the ingredients, I first have to make the chicken stock and debone the chicken.  But when I had almost a whole rotisserie chicken in the refrigerator, I thought I would try to make the soup with a few shortcuts, just to see how it came out.

If you have the time and want to make the original version of this soup, download the recipe for my homemade chicken broth from ”Mama Marko’s Chicken Noodle Matzo Ball Soup" and prepare the soup without the noodles or matzo balls.  In the original recipe I use homemade cooked chicken, homemade chicken stock and fresh corn.  In this shortcut, I used homemade stock because I had plenty in the freezer but you can use containers of prepared chicken stock.  I also substituted rotisserie chicken and canned corn (yes, I’m embarrassed but that’s all I had in the house).  The next time I promise to use frozen corn. This soup may not be as wonderful as my original recipe, but it surely didn’t taste like I threw this together in less than an hour.

Ingredients:

§     1 stick butter
§     1 tablespoon oil
§     1 large onion, diced
§     1/2 cup all-purpose flour
§     2 quart containers / 8 cups canned chicken stock, warmed
§     2 cups heavy cream, warmed
§     4 large potatoes peeled and diced
§     6 cups corn
§     4 cups cooked chicken, diced
§     Salt
§     1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon

Directions:

Heat the butter with one tablespoon of oil to keep the butter from burning over medium heat.  Add the onion and 1 teaspoon salt and cook for 5 – 7 minutes until tender and translucent soft. Add the flour and stir to make a roux.  Cook while stirring until roux is lightly brown to cook out the raw taste of the flour.

  

Slowly pour in the warm chicken stock while whisking briskly so it doesn’t lump. Slowly bring to a boil.  The mixture should become thick.

Add the diced potatoes and cook for about 10 – 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Add the warm cream, corn and cooked chicken and simmer for about 15 minutes.

 

Finish with fresh tarragon and salt to taste.

For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Chicken Corn Chowder. Enjoy!
 

Artichoke Dip Pinwheels

With a calendar full of events around the holidays, our local chapter of WPO (Women’s Presidents Organization) opted to hold our annual holiday party in January.  As business owners we are all wrapping up year-end details or scrambling to take time off to be with family. Sometimes parties around the holidays are burdensome, but a cocktail hour gathering of good friends and colleagues in the middle of January is a pleasant addition to a month light on commitments. The idea was brilliant. Rather than going to a small, private room in a restaurant, one of our members offered her newly remodeled loft, and everyone was asked to bring a “finger food” to the cocktail party and a Dirty Santa gift exchange. 

I knew I couldn’t show up without a plate of my Candy Bacon, but I wanted to make another dish as well.  My Artichoke Dip is always a hit, but I was reluctant to bring a casserole dish that requires baking immediately before serving. So after some culinary brainstorming, I created this recipe which combines the delicious taste of Artichoke Dip with the palette of a chip, bread or crostini. This easy to make and serve finger food will be your new "go to" for any event.

Ingredients:

§     3 (8 ounces) can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or crescent dough sheet

§     1 (14 ounces) can artichokes (very finely chopped)

§     3/4 cup Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise

§     3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

§     1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

§     1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

§     Pinch of salt

Note:

§     Each can of crescent dinner rolls will yield 12 pinwheels.  To make 24 pieces, half the mixture between 2 cans of rolls.  To make 36 pieces, divide the mixture equally among 3 cans of rolls.

§     Any time I use a recipe where one of the ingredients is mayonnaise and the dish requires baking, I always use Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise.  It is the only mayonnaise I have found will remain creamy and will not separate into an oily mess.

 

I use canned artichokes because they are convenient and can be found at my local market, but frozen artichokes would work well.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain artichokes and chop finely.

 

In a bowl, mix together artichokes, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt.  Unroll dough and firmly press perforations to seal. 

Thinly spread ½ or 1/3 of the artichoke mixture over the crescent dough, depending on how many pinwheels you want to make.

 

Beginning with the long edge of the rectangle, roll dough forming a tight log.

 

Using a sharp, thin knife, cut the log in half and then again into quarters.  Cut each quarter into thirds and place on a cookie sheet lined with Silpat or parchment paper for even baking. 

Be sure to leave enough room between each pinwheel, as they will spread a bit.  Bake at 350 degrees for 7 – 10 minutes or until warm and lightly browned. 

Artichoke Dip Pinwheels are best served warm from the oven, but can be served room temperature.  For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Artichoke Dip Pinwheels. Enjoy!

Stuffed Sausage Balls

When I moved to Nashville 25 years ago, I was introduced to many Southern specialties.  Sausage balls was one of the southern offerings I had never seen before.  I’m told these tasty appetizers have been around for decades, yet they never go out of style on any respectable southern party table.
  

Some may say they are old fashioned, but if you ever go to a party where these are served, they are often the first to go.  The sausage ball has evolved some over the years, but the basic recipe is almost always the same....Sausage, Bisquick and  Cheese. 

This particular recipe adds cream cheese to the mix to amp up the creaminess and flavor of the original Bisquick sausage ball recipe.  Last week I met my dear friend, Pat for breakfast.  When I told her I was going home to prepare sausage balls for my Christmas Eve family gathering, she shared with me her mother's twist on this classic.  Her mom would stuff the sausage balls with a surprise green olive in the center.  Whether you stuff them with an olive or serve them plain, these sausage balls are guaranteed to disappear quickly.

Ingredients:

§  1 lb of uncooked sausage

§  1 8oz block of cream cheese, room temperature

§  2 cups of Bisquick baking mix

§  1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Optional:

§  small green olives

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. 

In a bowl, mix together sausage and softened cream cheese.  You can use an electric mixer, but I prefer to use my hands.

 

Add Bisquick and cheese and stir until combined. 

For consistently sized sausage balls, I use a small ice cream scoop.  Scoop the meat mixture and form into small balls.  If you are going to stuff the sausage balls with an olive, create a small well in the center of the ball and bring the meat up to cover the olive.  Everyone loves sausage balls, but not everyone likes olives, so I make half stuffed sausage balls and half not.

Roll in the palms of your hands for a smooth finish.  Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes to firm the balls so they keep their shape when baked.  The sausage balls can be prepared and refrigerated day in advance.  Keep in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to bake.

 

Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, approximately 20 – 25 minutes depending on the size.  If baking frozen, be prepared to add a few minutes to the baking time.

  

For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Stuffed Sausage Balls. Enjoy!

Light and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes (No Buttermilk...No Problem)

I recently attended an industry trade show in Las Vegas where I connected with old friends and made new ones.  Although I’ve been in the Hospitality Industry for over 30 years, when I see old friends, it’s most often my blog they want to talk about.  On the second day of the show, I found myself in a debate with an old friend, Ola from Russkie Prostori in St. Petersburg, Russia, about pancakes.  He prefers the thin, silky and slightly dense European pancake.   

Although I agree with Ola that European pancakes are delicious, sometimes a girl just needs the light and fluffy American version.  The secret to light and fluffy is the buttermilk, but I rarely keep it in the house.  If you don’t have buttermilk, I will show you a quick and easy way to make a buttermilk mixture from two ingredients you probably always have in the kitchen that will work in any recipe.  No matter how you like to top your pancakes, this most requested recipe makes for the perfect canvas.

Ingredients:

§  3/4 cup milk
§  1 tablespoon white vinegar
§  1 cup all-purpose flour
§  2 tablespoons sugar
§  1 teaspoon baking powder
§  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
§  1/2 teaspoon salt
§  1 egg
§  2 tablespoons melted butter
§  cooking spray

For Serving:

§  Sweet butter
§  Maple Syrup

Directions:

To make a buttermilk mixture, in a small bowl, combine milk with vinegar and set aside for 5 – 10 minutes. 

The milk will become thick, resembling buttermilk.
 

In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients…flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients…egg, melted butter and milk mixture.
 

Keep the two mixtures separate until ready to cook.  Heat a lightly oiled griddle or skillet over medium/high heat, or use cooking spray.
 

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined.  For light and fluffy pancakes, do not overbeat.
 

Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cups for each pancake, depending on the size you prefer. 

Cook until bubbles appear on the surface.  Flip with a spatula and cook until browned on the other side. 

Serve warm with butter and maple syrup.  For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Light and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes. Enjoy!

Corn Muffins

With Thanksgiving approaching I wanted to post a recipe to compliment your holiday menu.  As I reviewed my previous holiday selections, I noticed that I have never given you the recipe for my celebrated Corn Muffins, the perfect substitute or compliment for the dinner roll or biscuit staple at most tables. 

Although these corn muffins are lightly sweetened, even the diehard southerners who would never eat cornbread with sugar find themselves coming back for another.

For those of you who are new to my blog, there are several recipes I previously posted you may want to add to your Thanksgiving Menu.  If you typically serve soup at the beginning of the meal, try the “Pumpkin Soup“ or “Autumn Squash Soup.“  Instead of mashed potatoes or candied yams, try Mashed Sweet Potatoes or better yet Praline Sweet Potatoes which can be made a day in advance.  Actually, the Praline Sweet Potatoes taste even better as part of your Black Friday leftover lineup.  Corn is always on our Thanksgiving table and Corn Soufflé is the most requested.  Finally, Pumpkin Mousse is a light addition that fits well into my dessert table staples of pecan and fruit pies.

Ingredients:

§     3 cups flour

§     1 cup sugar

§     1 cup medium cornmeal

§     2 tablespoons baking powder

§     1 1/2 teaspoons salt

§     1 1/2 cups whole milk

§     2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted

§     2 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

 

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat together the milk, melted butter and eggs.

 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  With a wooden spoon, stir until the batter is just blended.   Do not overbeat.  The batter will look a little lumpy and may even have spots of flour.

Spray the muffin tin with non-stick spray.  I am using a mini muffin tin but this batter can be baked in a large muffin tin or flat pan.  To keep the muffins the same size, I use an ice cream scoop to spoon the batter into the muffin tin.

 

Bake until brown and crispy on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

 

The mini muffins took only 10 – 12 minutes.  Larger muffins will take about 30 minutes. 

Cool slightly and remove from the pan.

For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Corn Muffins. Enjoy!

Chocolate Boston Cream Cake

Please keep the emails coming. Not only do I get many click-throughs to access my recipes, but I feel honored to have so many of you email me to let me know how the recipe turned out. Since the Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake I posted several months ago got such an overwhelming response, I thought you might like another of my favorite easy, go-to cakes. 

 

I typically make this cake using a Yellow Cake Mix, which I personally prefer; but since I have so many chocolate lovers in my family, this version is one of the most requested.  I sometimes make the filling, without cake, as a substitute for a Vanilla Mousse. Whether you make it using Yellow Cake Mix or Chocolate Cake Mix, this cake is guaranteed to become one of your most requested too.

Ingredients:

§     1 box Devil’s Food or Yellow Cake Mix
§     4 eggs
§     1/3 cup vegetable oil
§     1/2 cup coffee (if using Devil’s Food Cake Mix
§      ½ cup whole milk
§     1 tablespoon pure vanilla
§     1/2 teaspoon salt
§     1 cup heavy cream, cold
§     1/2 cup half and half
§     3 ounces package instant vanilla pudding mix
§     1/2 cup prepared chocolate icing, softened in microwave

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare two 9 inch round or square baking pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, mix together eggs, coffee, milk, oil, vanilla and salt.  Add the cake mix and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

  

Remove from oven and cool.

Once the cake is completely cooled it is ready to frost.

On low speed, beat the heavy cream and half and half with the instant vanilla pudding mix until it is very thick.

 

Make sure the cake layer is very cold and spread the cream mixture over one of the cake layers.

 

Place the remaining cake layer on top of the cream.

 

In a microwave safe cup, soften 1/2 cup chocolate icing in the microwave and pour over the top cake layer.

For a printer friendly copy of this recipe, go to Chocolate Boston Cream Cake. Enjoy!