March 18th, 2012
The "Day After" Tara's birthday...
It's a cold and rainy here in the desert; a perfect day to make chicken soup. If your Mom made chicken soup, there's a good chance you think her's was the best and after all, the view is always in the eye of the beholder. I order chicken soup everywhere I travel and a good Jewish deli with a well crafted matzo ball soup is one of my favorite indulgences on the road. I took Cherie to the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan many years ago for her first Matzo Ball soup and let's just say she's never quite recovered. There's magic in chicken soup whether its home made or out of a can. I have found over the years, not only does chicken soup soothe the soul and help a cold, it may be the best way to re-enter the world of eating normally after a bout with the flu. Truth be told, our youngest daughter celebrated her birthday last night, only to be stricken by the dreaded stomach flu in the middle of the night. In lieu of the normal family dinner birthday celebration combo tonight, we will hope she awakens ready for a little chicken soup to help her recover.
Like most soups, the basic ingredients are the same, the cooking process is easy and relatively similar and the aroma that fills the house for the hours preceding dinner help your appetite build. My Mom made some kind of soup every Saturday when I was a kid. My favorites were her barley soup and her chicken soup. So, like most of my recipes, I learned the basics from Mom and added a little twist or turn here and there. If you are adept with a pressure pot, this whole drill can be reduced to 90 minutes or less.
I begin just about every soup the same way: cover the bottom of a large stock pot with a little bit of olive oil, add chopped veggies seasoning them well, then add your meat along with any beans, lentils split peas etc. and cover with water, bring to a boil reduce heat, cover with a lid and cook until done.
Murph's Chicken Soup
Ingredients
One Whole Chicken(4-5 pounds) quartered
2 Cloves Garlic, finely minced
2 Onions peeled and roughly chopped
4-6 Large Carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into one inch chunks
4 Celery ribs cut into 1/2 inch chunks plus celery leaves from one bunch
2 Bay Leaves
6-10 whole black peppercorns
2 tsp kosher Salt
Olive Oil
One pound of egg noodles or you favorite pasta
Heat your favorite 6-8 quart stock up to medium and cover the bottom of the pot with olive oil.
Add chopped onions, minced garlic, celery and carrots.
Stir frequently for a few minutes and season well with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. The point here is not to cook the veggies but just to get the headed in the right direction and well seasoned.
Add Chicken, including internal parts if included along with Bay Leaves, Salt and Whole Peppercorns.
Give it all a good stir, increase heat to medium high and cover completely with water.
Bring to a vigorous boil and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for at least 2 hours.
While cooking it's a good idea to skim some of the fat off the top every half hour or so.
Test chicken for doneness with a fork at about the 2 hour point. If chicken is cooked completely and falling off the bone remove parts and set aside.
I like to use a mesh wok ladle for this task removing chicken, bay leaves and returning veggies to the pot.
Allow chicken to cool completely.
Once it's cooled, remove skin, set aside and shred chicken returning bite size pieces to the stock pot.
Increase heat to medium and return to a boil.
Add egg noodles or pasta and cook until tender.
On a final note you can use this recipe as a basic stock recipe by simply omitting the noodles or pasta. If your really want to delve into variations of chicken soup I would highly recommend Molly O'Neill's "New York Cookbook" It is one of my favorite cookbooks for everything from soups to Italian dishes, fresh seafood recipes, barbecue and everything in between. It's also a great reference for New York eateries and includes many of the places my parents and grandfather took me I was a kid.
Serve with Saltines or Ritz Crackers and enjoy!!
The "Day After" Tara's birthday...
It's a cold and rainy here in the desert; a perfect day to make chicken soup. If your Mom made chicken soup, there's a good chance you think her's was the best and after all, the view is always in the eye of the beholder. I order chicken soup everywhere I travel and a good Jewish deli with a well crafted matzo ball soup is one of my favorite indulgences on the road. I took Cherie to the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan many years ago for her first Matzo Ball soup and let's just say she's never quite recovered. There's magic in chicken soup whether its home made or out of a can. I have found over the years, not only does chicken soup soothe the soul and help a cold, it may be the best way to re-enter the world of eating normally after a bout with the flu. Truth be told, our youngest daughter celebrated her birthday last night, only to be stricken by the dreaded stomach flu in the middle of the night. In lieu of the normal family dinner birthday celebration combo tonight, we will hope she awakens ready for a little chicken soup to help her recover.Like most soups, the basic ingredients are the same, the cooking process is easy and relatively similar and the aroma that fills the house for the hours preceding dinner help your appetite build. My Mom made some kind of soup every Saturday when I was a kid. My favorites were her barley soup and her chicken soup. So, like most of my recipes, I learned the basics from Mom and added a little twist or turn here and there. If you are adept with a pressure pot, this whole drill can be reduced to 90 minutes or less.
I begin just about every soup the same way: cover the bottom of a large stock pot with a little bit of olive oil, add chopped veggies seasoning them well, then add your meat along with any beans, lentils split peas etc. and cover with water, bring to a boil reduce heat, cover with a lid and cook until done.
Murph's Chicken Soup
Ingredients
One Whole Chicken(4-5 pounds) quartered
2 Cloves Garlic, finely minced
2 Onions peeled and roughly chopped
4-6 Large Carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into one inch chunks
4 Celery ribs cut into 1/2 inch chunks plus celery leaves from one bunch
2 Bay Leaves
6-10 whole black peppercorns
2 tsp kosher Salt
Olive Oil
One pound of egg noodles or you favorite pasta
Heat your favorite 6-8 quart stock up to medium and cover the bottom of the pot with olive oil.
Add chopped onions, minced garlic, celery and carrots.
 |
| Murph's version of "rough chopped" onions |
 |
| The veggies in my largest stock pot |
Give it all a good stir, increase heat to medium high and cover completely with water.
Bring to a vigorous boil and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for at least 2 hours.
While cooking it's a good idea to skim some of the fat off the top every half hour or so.
Test chicken for doneness with a fork at about the 2 hour point. If chicken is cooked completely and falling off the bone remove parts and set aside.
I like to use a mesh wok ladle for this task removing chicken, bay leaves and returning veggies to the pot.
 |
| Chinese strainer works best for removing chicken |
Allow chicken to cool completely.
Once it's cooled, remove skin, set aside and shred chicken returning bite size pieces to the stock pot.
Increase heat to medium and return to a boil.
Add egg noodles or pasta and cook until tender.
On a final note you can use this recipe as a basic stock recipe by simply omitting the noodles or pasta. If your really want to delve into variations of chicken soup I would highly recommend Molly O'Neill's "New York Cookbook" It is one of my favorite cookbooks for everything from soups to Italian dishes, fresh seafood recipes, barbecue and everything in between. It's also a great reference for New York eateries and includes many of the places my parents and grandfather took me I was a kid.
 |
| Murph's Chicken Soup- it cures what ails you! |
Serve with Saltines or Ritz Crackers and enjoy!!
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