Monthly Archives: October 2021

Blog Post

The Monday Morning Bl-auh-s

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Yes, it’s Monday and many of us probably have a case of the Monday morning blahs. I used to get them a lot more when I was younger and would rather be home then going to school however now that I am older I greet Monday in a new way. I see it now an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to brighten someone’s day. That is exactly what I will be doing today. Brightening three people’s day with a bag of goo called friendship bread. It also a selfish reason because it makes me feel good trying to make someone else happy.

Oher then that it will be your typical rainy Monday. One where I have to work as no one has hit the lottery, including me (sigh). Which brings me to the second thing I will be doing today. That is buying a lottery ticket or two. It is, after all advertised at $670 million dollars. Even if I wind up with half of that money in my pocket, I think I could retired from my current job and start that culinary school/restaurant! I might even get me one of those electric powdered cars from that Tesla Guy.

Oh! That Picture above. Dinner last night. No big whoop. Steak, salad, potato. (Boring – been there did that). Shhh don’t tell anyone but the Sauerbraten is coming…

Until tomorrow wishing you a happy healthy Monday!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Blog Post

The Sunday Morning Post

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Good Morning. I have my coffee and my sanity so we are moving in the right direction. Today I think I will search out a new farmers markets for some vegetables and fresh apples.

Update: It is day 22 of the friendship bread original starter. I did a live baking demo on Instagram of this batch. I am posting some pictures (above) of the second batch. Jennifer wanted smaller loaves to take to her class. Three more lucky people will get a crack at this amazing breakfast treat, or is it dessert. If you make it let me know when you eat it and how or when you eat it.

I also went out to eat twice this weekend. Well once we went out and once we brought food in. On Friday, Scott, Ally, Jennifer and I went to the Babylon Carriage House. Babylon is the name of a town here on Long Island. It always creeps me out to be in a town named after a place in the bible. I don’t know why. It just does. Anyway, we started with the autumn salad pictured below. It was, what’s the word, yum-a-riffic.  I will be recreating this salad next week at home in my kitchen.

Talking about salad dressing. I have to make several versions of Greek salad dressing.  I will being trying to create a new tasty salad dressing. There are after-all hundreds, maybe thousands, of Greek Salad Dressing recipes out there. Some good and some not so good. I am bored with the salad dressings I currently make so it is time for something new. My ingredient list will be: oil-packed anchovy fillets, garlic, egg yolks, Dijon mustard, freshly squeezed lemon (or lime) juice, extra virgin olive oil, canola oil,  Parmesan cheese or feta cheese, freshly ground black pepper (or white pepper), salt and maybe some fresh herbs…Cilantro or parsley or watercress. Who knows what I will make but that’s cooking isn’t it?  You experiment or make a mistake and *poof* you have something new.

We went to one other restaurant this weekend. It was an Italian restaurant I used to love but the last two times it let me down by over cooking the pasta. That would be bad enough by itself but when said pasta is the main entrée, as in Fettuccine Alfred, it is unforgivable. This was the case BOTH times. Why do I order out anyhow? I’ll tell you. It’s because sometimes I just don’t feel like cooking but if you can’t find a restaurant that can cook as good as you it’s disappointing. At least there is still the Carriage house who has an amazing chef. There is also Emilio’s in Commack. They CAN cook Italian food properly. I will keep going there for now!!

I also had a steak at the Carriage House and Scout brought with him a marvelous wine.

Breakfast today was simple, a cheese omelet, hash browns and toast with butter.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. May it be filled with good wine, good food, good friends and good health to you and your family!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

How to Cook "American Style", Recipe

Beef Vegetable Soup

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Good Morning. Its a chilly morning here on Long Island New York. Thursday for dinner, I made one of my favorite soups, Beef Vegetable Soup. Just like always, it seems this recipe takes me back to my childhood. I remember how large my mother would cut up the carrots and celery. The reason of course was my brother and I, but mostly me. I remember not always liking the carrots in the soup so I would eat around them. That’s when she just stopped putting them in my bowl. I guess making them a nice large size helped her to avoid them. That’s a mom for ya! Always trying to make their children happy!! Thankfully tastes change and today I love carrots in soup and use them ALL the time. You can’t have a mirepoix without carrots and mom knew that. Today the only thing I have changed over the years is now I add baby bok choy to the soup in the last ten minutes of cooking. I am excited to share this recipe with you all and hope you enjoy it.

Beef Vegetable Soup  

Serves 6 – 8

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Large Pot

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. Beef Stew Meat (cut into large bite size pieces)

2 cups Celery (large cuts)

2 cup2 Onion (cut into 1 inch pieces)

2 cups Carrots (cut into 1 inch pieces)

4 medium Potatoes (peeled and cut into pieces)

8 cups of water

6-8 bouillon cubes (or 8 tsp of better then Bouillon)

¼ tsp pepper

 2 – 4 tablespoons of Olive oil

2 heads baby bok choy (optional)

1 package wide noodles (Optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot sauté beef in small batches in olive oil until is browned and there no juices in the bottom of the pot. Drain off excess fat and then add onion and celery. Sauté until onion are translucent.  Add back in all the beef. Add water, carrots and potatoes.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add baby bok choy if you like and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Serve Hot!

Serving suggestion:

Wide noodles; prepare wide noodles according to package directions and serve them in a separate bowl. Add a little olive oil or butter to keep the noodle from sticking together. This was your family members can then add as many or as few of the noodles as they like. Plus, when you refrigerate the leftover soup overnight. The noodles don’t get all soggy and absorb all that luscious beef broth.  

NOTES: Serve with crackers and butter.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Recipe

Chicken Stock

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Chicken Stock

INGREDIENTS:

6-7 pound whole chicken (remove neck and liver from cavity) or

2 Roasted Chicken carcasses

5 quarts water

½ tsp. dill

½ tsp. white pepper

¼ tsp. thyme

¼ tsp. marjoram

1 Bay leaf

½ tsp. rosemary

½ tsp. Savory

2 medium onions (quartered)

2 large carrots (peeled and quartered)

2 celery stalks (quartered tops included)

DIRECTIONS

Place the chicken in a large stock pot. Pour in 5 quarts of water and put on high heat. Add½ tsp. dill, ½ tsp. white pepper, ¼ tsp. thyme, ¼ tsp. marjoram, 1 bay leaf, ½ tsp. rosemary, ½ tsp. Savory, 2 medium onions (quartered), 2 large carrots (peeled and quartered), 2 celery stalks (quartered). Bring to a boil. Cover and turn to low and cook for 2 hours. Allow to cool for a few minutes and remove chicken to a platter. Pour broth through a large strainer lined with cheese cloth removing all the solids and discard to garbage.

Cool in refrigerator and remove Fat.

Recipe

Chicken Soup with Rice

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In October, I’ll be host to witches, goblins and a ghost. I’ll serve them chicken soup on toast. Whoopee once, whoopee twice, whoopee chicken soup with rice. – Maurice Sendak

I love Maurice Sendak’s work. In honor of him and a gentleman in my office, when asked their favorite soup…….it is chicken soup with rice. I made a small pot of chicken rice soup for lunch yesterday. Along with several grilled cheese sandwiches.

The chicken stock I had made from scratch just two days earlier. Therefore, I had the stock and the chicken. Some of the chicken I have been using for Jen’s chicken salad. The rest went into this small batch of soup.

I say it was a small batch because it was just enough for the eight of us. It is funny how at first no one was interested in soup (except mike) or the grilled cheese sandwiches until it started cooking. By the time it was done, not one person turned down a bowl of soup but not everyone had a grilled cheese sandwich. Maryanne, one of my coworkers, suggested that I make her grilled cheese sandwich with mayonnaise. I did as she requested because as a personal chef we cater to our “clients” as she tried to convince me it was the best way to make it.  She shared her sandwich with Eric who thought it was good but still prefers butter over mayo, as do I.  So, however you like it, with butter or mayo everyone agreed (who ate them) that grill cheese goes well with chicken soup with rice on a cool day in the fall.

If you would like to try my soup recipe I have attached it below and if you like grilled cheese I have posted that too (click the link below)!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Chicken Soup with Rice (ala Insta-Pot)      

Serves 6 – 8

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Insta-Pot

INGREDIENTS

8 Cups chicken stock

2 chicken breasts (from chicken stock) (cooked and cubed)

2 small carrots (diced)

2 celery stalks (diced)

2 teaspoons salt or chicken bouillon

1 bay leaf

Chopped fresh parsley

1 cup uncooked long-grain white or brown rice

1 head baby bok Choy (Diced) (Optional)

DIRECTIONS

Add all the ingredients into the Insta-pot. Set to the poultry setting for 0 minutes and make sure the keep warm button is lit. When the temperature and pressure hit there mark, the keep warm setting will start counting up. Wait for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes are up, let out any remaining steam. Stir and serve.

NOTES:

Use the Chicken Stock Recipe to make the stock.

You can also use boxed/canned stock; you can even cook the chicken in the canned stock if you do not have cooked chicken. I would use whole chicken breasts, on the bone for added flavor when using canned stock but you can use boneless breasts too. Serve with grill cheeses.  

The Drunken Chef (Russ)