Cats, Sheep, & Penguins

I like thick, hearty soups to the extent that I don’t often make a proper stew; in the interest of full disclosure I’ve begun referring to these soup-stew concoctions as “stoup”. Knowing I have plenty of chicken and an open bottle of red wine, I decided to experiment with a cider & red wine chicken broth, only to discover, as I was heating the broth, that we are out of cider. Undismayed and too hungry to go shopping, I decided to improvise. Sharp readers will note that this was not a significant change from the original plan.

I decided to add barley, one of my favorite stoup ingredients, so I doubled the chicken broth from two to four cups; to this I added one 12oz bottle of lager beer, although next time I will likely add more beer or start with a bit less broth. With the mixture was reducing, I set aside a half cup each of barley and dried shiitake mushrooms.

In my indestructible skillet I sautéed chopped onion, sliced baby bella mushrooms, first in olive oil, then with a healthy splash of red wine; when the wine was mostly evaporated I added about a pound of chopped chicken cutlets.

When the chicken was evenly browned and the stock reduced to about four cups, I added mixed everything into the soup pot, covered, and simmered for about 45 minutes. The result is a hearty mushroom & barley chicken stoup, with a hint of hops and red wine flavors that add savory richness to an earthy body.

Today is my birthday and thanks to my sisters, Lynn & Carol, and my lovely wife, Lysa I have some really cool things to write about. Prominently featured in the photograph is a 100ml bottle of the best vinegar in the world . Minus 8 is ice wine vinegar made by a couple of Canadian foodies near Niagra Falls. Once only available to professional chefs, it’s probably still not available in your local market; the stuff isn’t cheap ($30 for a 100ml/3.38oz bottle) but it makes common vinegar taste like something mopped off a factory floor. I plan to acquire more quality vinegar but after reading about Minus 8 I decide to start with the best: as you can see I couldn’t wait to open the bottle, and I was not disappointed.

Just behind the vinegar is another example of superlative quality. Olvida nickel plated, cast iron cookware combines the cooking advantages of cast iron with the memory free durability of nickel sulfide. It doesn’t require seasoning, it’s dishwasher safe, it’s nonstick, and you can scrub it, scrape it, even hit it with a hammer and you won’t damage the nickel surface. Olvida doesn’t come cheap either, but I figure this will be the last 13” skillet and grill pan I ever own. More importantly, the nickel alloy is non reactive (but it will oxidize- dry it well) so it’s a healthier option than the average non-stick cookware.

Blocking off the background glare are a few bottles Lysa and I picked up last week at Applewood Winery in Warwick, NY. We’ll have more to say about these as we open them.