What do you do when you have no homemade salsa, but you do have a freezer full of frozen tomatoes? Well of course, you do some Christmas canning and make up a batch of Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa.
Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa Emergency
Hello, my friends. Chef Blondie here. First of all, I want to wish all of you a very, very Merry Christmas. And then I want to tell you we have an emergency here at Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen. I went into the pantry to find some salsa to go with my chips. Well, guess what? There was no salsa to be had!
And if I didn’t have any homemade salsa, my grandkids would not be happy because they love their tacos my salsa on it. So, when we go over to have lunch with them it’s, “Granny, did you bring any homemade salsa?”
So, here we are today. My sous chef and I, we’re going to be making salsa. I looked in my freezer and I said, hey, we’ve got some of these frozen tomatoes from season 2023. We’re going to use those. So come along with us on this journey as we make salsa. Happy cooking!
Why we used frozen tomatoes in our salsa
The idea of using frozen tomatoes for salsa is nothing new. I’m sure other people do it. I’m sure I can find videos on it. But we haven’t ever tried it. So, we thought the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen should give it a try.
The whole idea started back in September of 2023. The reason was, we had such an overpowering abundance of tomatoes. We had grown eight or ten varieties of tomatoes. We had so many tomatoes and we just didn’t know what to do with them.
So, we froze them. What we did was we flash froze them, then we use the Food Saver and vacuum sealed them and weighed the individual packages. We thought that someday we would figure out a way to use them.
When planning for this SFH-TK test, we determined that we needed about six pounds of tomatoes to make at least five pints of salsa. Then we selected the bags of frozen tomatoes that would give us the six pounds we needed.
The SFH TK Quest for Better Salsa
Another crucial factor in this test was to continue our efforts to improve our own salsa mix. Our current version of SFH Salsa Mix, was derived from a copycat recipe, but we’ve adapted it to make it uniquely our own. For various reasons we decided not to use dried garlic. Instead we use either our own fresh or fermented garlic.
To the extent possible, we use our own homegrown hot peppers and herbs. This year, we dehydrated our own bell peppers and our next batch of salsa mix will include them.
Now that you know the backstory on why we used frozen tomatoes in our SFH-TK Salsa, watch the video and learn how we overcame challenges with preparing the key ingredient, and how we managed to come up with the best winter salsa ever.
Today, we’ll be exploring the rich culinary history of the Azores, focusing on a traditional and frugal dish—Azorean Bean Soup with Linguiça.
Hi! Old Fuzz Face here. Welcome to the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen!
In the late-1800s and early 1900s, life on São Miguel was simple and community-oriented. Meals were often prepared with whatever was locally available, making use of seasonal ingredients and foods like linguiça sausage.
Our video will show you how to use linguiça in a traditional bean soup that tastes great and is warm and satisfying. – A perfect meal for this time of year.
By the way, don’t be worried if you don’t have any linguiça. A number of grocery chains such as Harris Teeter sell various brands of authentic linguiça sausage. And if you are really daring, try making your own linguiça using my recipe here.
Sous Chef Lessons Learned
Mr. Monte claims that I’m not the sharpest claw on the paw. I’m not saying our video proves him right. I will say that I learned three important lessons while making this about how to make Azorean Bean Soup. Watch the video to see what those three lessons were.
A Recipe on a Journey from the Azores
In 1903, my dad’s parents emigrated from São Miguel to Massachusetts. They didn’t bring much with them, and they had to start here from scratch. But my grandmother did bring one very important thing with her, that was her skill at cooking traditional Azorean dishes.
My grandfather died young, and I never got to meet my grandmother. My dad became the head of the household in the late 1920’s. I learned through my cousin Emma what types of meals my grandmother made for my dad and the family. This bean soup we’re preparing today is an example of what my grandmother would make back in those days. We think you’ll enjoy this bean soup because of its great flavor and ease of preparation.
On YouTube you can find an enormous number of videos showing how to make French onion soup gratinee. For example, Jacques Pépin has at least three different videos. But have you ever seen one video on French onion soup Lyonnaise-style?
Hello my friends, Chef Blondie here. – French Onion Soup Lyonnaise-style is a Jacques Pépin mystery recipe that makes a great French onion soup even better.
How did Jacques do it? What were his mystery ingredients?
Well, if you want to learn the answer, watch as my trusty sous chef and I show you what Jacques did.
Happy cooking!
What makes this onion soup recipe better than the rest?
Of course, Jacques has many variations of the typical French onion soup gratinee. But in this recipe, which comes from the Lyon region of France, the soup is much thicker than the usual kind.
In his cookbook Essential Pepin, Jacques recounts his personal recollection.
It’s often served as a late-night dish. When I was a young man, I often made it with my friends at 2 or 3 A.M. after returning home from a night of dancing. … It looks thick and messy, but it is delicious.
The Two Mystery Ingredients
What sets this recipe apart from all the others is what comes at the very end. It is an added touch that you can perform in the presence of your dinner guests. This simple addition adds warmth to a cold evening and brings people together.
When you take the basic onion soup out of the oven, it will still be bubbling. That is when you add two egg yolks to 1/2 cup of sweet Port wine and mix well. Then you make a hole in the crusty top of the hot onion soup and pour the egg and wine mixture into the opening. As you fold the mixture in, the soup becomes rich and creamy and develops a wonderful aroma.
While your friends huddle around watching, you instantly transform your once typical onion soup into a warm and romantic dish to be shared and savoured.
Key Differences in Jacques’s Onion Soup Lyonnaise-Style
Texture: The Gratinee has a thinner, more broth-like consistency. The Lyonnaise-Style is thicker and creamier due to the addition of egg yolks.
Preparation: The Gratinee is typically served in individual bowls with a crusty cheese topping. The Lyonnaise-Style is baked in a large tureen and served from the center.
Flavor Enhancements: The Lyonnaise-Style includes port wine. This adds a sweet, fruity depth to the soup, and egg yolks, which give it a richer, creamier texture.
The Role of Egg Yolks and Port Wine
Egg Yolks: They thicken the soup and add a velvety, luxurious texture. When mixed with the hot soup, they create a creamy consistency that elevates the overall mouthfeel.
Port Wine: This adds a sweet, complex flavor that adds wonderful undertones to the savory onions and cheese. It also gives the soup a unique depth and richness that is not present in the Gratinee.
What are the two mystery ingredients in Jacques Pépin's recipe for French Onion Soup Lyonnaise style? Chef Blondie will show you what they are and why they make a difference.
Adapted from the cookbook Essential Pépin
We did two things to make a good rye bread even better. First, we enhanced the flavor by using our own home-milled rye berries. Then, we found a way to add the wonderful character and aroma of caraway seeds without suffering the problems often associated with seeded breads.
Hello, my friends.
My hubby and I have been working in the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen. Our most recent project has been to perfect a bread machine recipe using home-milled rye.
In our YouTube video, we show you how we’ve adapted a recipe for Scandinavian Light Rye Bread from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbookby Beth Hensperger. We’re sure you’re going to love it.
A Few Wry Comments on Rye and Rye Bread
Rye is classified as an ancient grain, belonging to the wheat family, and it has been cultivated for thousands of years. Compared to wheat, rye contains fewer carbohydrates and is richer in vitamins and minerals, making it a nutritious choice. This is a time-proven grain that remains ever so versatile in modern baking.
Perhaps those comments weren’t so wry, but they did let you know that rye, especially when freshly milled, will help you to make a good rye bread even better. So, watch our YouTube video to see how we did it. Also, if you like the looks of that pimento cheese, check our post Pimento Cheese IHO Mom and try out our recipe.
Resources
It’s been nearly 25 years since Beth Hensperger authored The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook. The updated edition comes out this month. Check out the following link for details on The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook, Newly Updated and Expanded: A Master Baker’s 300-Plus Favorite Recipes for Perfect-Every-Time Bread–From Every Kind of Machine Paperback – October 22, 2024 by Beth Hensperger (Author)
In case you were wondering about what bread machine we used to make our rye bread, check out the following link. Cuisinart Bread Maker Machine, Compact and Automatic, Customizable Settings, Up to 2 lb Loaves, CBK-110P1, Silver,Black
After harvesting and processing, the next step in a successful winter food prep is making use of preserving skills. This is key in ensuring that favorite summer foods will be there during the coming months. So, let’s talk a little about the preserving methods we used here at Serendipity Farmhouse during the week of September 15th.
Farmhouse Food Skills Category 3 – Preserving
Hi! Old Fuzz Face here. In the first two posts of this winter food prep series, we talked about where we get our winter food and the farmhouse food skills we use to process it. But that’s just the beginning of our winter food prep. There’s another set of food skills we’ve learned that helps us preserve the food we’ve processed.
Food Preserving Skills
Q – Okay, now that we’ve processed our raw ingredients, what do we do to preserve different types of farmhouse food products?
A – We employ a variety of techniques to extend the shelf life of food, such as canning, dehydrating, fermenting, freezing, and vacuum sealing herbs and other food products. In the future, we hope to explore smoking and other traditional techniques.
You can find any number of lists describing skills needed for preserving food. The lists pretty much agree on primary techniques, but it’s hard to find a single standard list. In our list of six preserving techniques, we show the ones that are important for us here at SFH. For other folks, the list will be different.
6 Important Preserving Skills
Technique
Description
Canning
Preserves fruits, vegetables, and meats by sealing them in jars and heating to kill bacteria. This technique is vital for ensuring long-term storage without refrigeration while retaining nutritional value and flavor.
Dehydrating
Removes moisture to prevent spoilage. This is essential for preserving herbs, fruits, and vegetables, making them lightweight, compact, and easy to store, with a long shelf life.
Fermenting
Utilizes natural bacteria to convert sugars into acids or alcohol, preserving food while enhancing its nutritional value and flavor. Perfect for making pickles, sauerkraut, and other fermented goodies.
Freezing
Slows down enzyme activity and bacterial growth. Freezing is indispensable for maintaining the quality and nutrition of fruits, vegetables, and meats, making them last well beyond their natural season.
Root Cellaring
Uses the earth’s natural coolness for storage. This energy-efficient method is perfect for keeping root vegetables, apples, and other hardy produce fresh over winter. (We don’t have a root cellar or basement, so we have to use the coolest places we can find in our old farmhouse.)
Vacuum Sealing
Removes air from packaging or containers to extend the shelf life of foods. This method is critical for preventing freezer burn and oxidation, keeping frozen and dried foods fresh for a longer period.
Farmhouse Preserving Skills
Here are some preserving skills we used during the week of September 15th.
Canning – Spicy Dilly Beans
We’ve been canning spicy dilly beans for three years now. It’s a great way to preserve those garden-fresh beans and to kick them up a notch. Sure, they can be used as a side for dinner. But with these spicy dilly beans you can also serve them as an appetizer or as a snack at lunchtime. It’s really worth the effort to can beans this way because it ensures that we will have a crunchy, tangy snack or side dish all year-round.
Sage is an essential herb for adding flavor to dishes. Dehydrating this herb takes little time and it’s about as easy as it gets. Now that we’ve started dehydrating products from our own gardens, we can be sure that we always have a supply of aromatic, home-grown herbs to season the foods cooked in the soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Test Kitchen.
This is our first year dehydrating tomatoes. We’re compiling a list of ways that we can use them in various recipes. They reconstitute easily and they’re going to be found on top of our pizzas and in clam chowder and other dishes. Looking further into the future, we expect to turn some of our dried tomatoes in tomato powder for making tomato paste, tomato sauce, and other basic tomato products.
As we see it, dehydrating tomatoes is a way to preserve summer’s sweetness for those colder months. It’s a great way get the most from our summer garden.
Fermenting – Cucumbers
Fermenting cucumbers, or making pickles, is an excellent way to add tangy, probiotic-rich foods to our diet. During the summer we get a large number of cucumbers from our CSA. In fact, we get more than we can use during a normal week. Fermenting those excess cucumbers means we can preserve them for several months and use our own homegrown dill and garlic to add flavor. So, we end up with a healthy, flavorful treat that’s perfect for snack platters and sandwiches.
Fermenting – Garlic
In mid-September our homegrown garlic meets a critical point in its lifecycle. Without a proper cold storage room, this is when our garlic starts to go down hill. We’ve found a few good ways to preserve garlic from two to six months beyond this point. One way we used to preserve the garlic was in red wine. Now, we prefer to ferment our garlic. That’s because, not only does it last longer, in the fermenting process it gains the healthy benefit of becoming a probiotic.
Fermenting garlic enhances the flavor and gives it a little more kick. Now our garlic is long lasting, has great flavor, and it’s healthy. Who could ask for more?
We dehydrate, pickle, and freeze our okra. But, we never ever ferment it. The one time we tried that, we regretted it deeply. So for now, freezing is our go-to method for preserving okra. It’s a simple, effective way to preserve this nutritious vegetable. Freezing okra ensures that we have a supply of this versatile veggie for soups, stews, and gumbos all winter long. Of course, frying is our favorite way to use okra.
Once you learn a preserving technique, you can apply it to a host of other food products. Freezing some veggies like okra is very simple and straightforward. Other vegetables, however, require an added step of blanching to lock in color and flavor. Crookneck squash requires that little bit of extra preparation. After that, it’s just like freezing okra and tomatoes.
You’ll really want to try this. That’s because everybody knows that by mid-summer they’ve seen too much summer squash and zucchini. Freeze it now, and enjoy it in February.
Farmhouse Food Skills Series
We hope that you’re enjoying this series of post and videos about farmhouse food skills.
Joining a CSA can be a great deal! Hubby and I have made a video of my weekly veggie haul that shows you why.
Hi! Chef Blondie here.
Last year, in our post Can Joining a CSA be a Good Deal?, we showed you the many benefits of joining a CSA farm (Community Supported Agriculture).
We are now four weeks into this year’s CSA season. We thought you might be interested in joining me as I head over to Waterpenny Farm to do my weekly veggie haul.
So, read this post for some background info. Then watch the video to see what one might find on a weekly veggie haul.
By the way, you might notice that I’m wearing shades in the video. Well, that’s because I’m still recovering from recent eye surgery and bright light causes me discomfort. I’m expecting things will be much better in a week or two. Many thanks to those who prayed for me over the last several weeks.
What’s a CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a production and marketing model whereby consumers buy shares of a farm’s harvest in advance. In exchange for this, farmers commit to supplying sufficient quantity, quality, and variety of products. The consumers and farmers share the risks and benefits of food production.
If you’re interested in a how a CSA works, check out Waterpenny’s website here. Eric Plaksin and Rachel Bynum give a great rundown of how their CSA came to be and they highlight their service to the community. They also talk about pricing for shares and half shares, describing what products are available over the course of a season. – There’s a lot more to running a CSA than you might think, and Eric and Rachel provide many valuable insights.
SFH and Waterpenny – An Interesting Relationship
In a sense, CSA members support the CSA farm as if it were their own. That means, through the lean years as well as through the good years. And that’s been our relationship with Waterpenny Farm for the past 8-9 years. There are times when our half share overwhelms us. So, we have to give away excess produce to our children and friends. There are other times when we wish the weather had been kinder to our CSA.
But here’s the secret to what makes the Serendipity Farmhouse – Waterpenny Farm relationship so worthwhile to us.
If you’ve read our posts, you know we grow our own herbs, and vegetables. We can or preserve most of what we grow.
We know we can’t grow everything we want or need. So, we stick to our favorites – tomatoes, okra, garlic, green beans, and hot peppers.
Although our garden production overlaps with what Waterpenny provides us, Waterpenny grows a host of other products that are not within our capability to grow. – And when we’re one pound short of tomatoes for canning, Waterpenny always comes through.
The bottom line is, come canning season, we have everything we need. There are no trips to Walmart for veggies during the summer. – In essence, Waterpenny becomes a virtual extension of the vast 1.203-acre Serendipity Farmhouse Estate.
What does a half share veggie haul look like?
I think you’ve got the picture now. By working with products from our CSA, we’ve managed to solve a large part of our original food procurement problem. In answer to the question “Can joining a CSA be a Good Deal?” The answer for us is ‘yes.’ As an illustration of that, here are pictures showing some veggie hauls from last year and last Thursday.
Typical Veggie Hauls
If there’s a downside to all this feast of plenty, it’s difficult to find. But when this much fresh food comes into our kitchen every Thursday, we have to plan meals to ensure nothing is wasted. It’s amazing how many innovative recipes we’ve developed to make the best use of this great bounty.
You stored away your bumper crop and now you’re wondering how to use your frozen tomatoes. You’re also wondering what to serve on a chilly day. This is where Chef Blondie and the amazing Jacques Pépin come to your rescue. Tonight the menu will include Jacques’s Velvet Tomato Soup made from your very own frozen tomatoes.
So, read the general instructions below. They will enable you to make any type of tomato soup you like. They will also help you to use frozen tomatoes in any number of other dishes from chili to stew.
The YouTube video and the attached, printable recipe will show you how to make Jacques’s fantastic Velvet Tomato soup à la Jacques Pépin.
And remember: Happy Cooking!!!!
How to use Frozen Tomatoes for Tomato Soup
Frozen tomatoes can be an excellent ingredient for making delicious and flavorful tomato soup. Here’s how you can incorporate them into your soup recipes.
Thawing and Preparation
The first step is to thaw the frozen tomatoes. You can do this by placing them in the refrigerator overnight or running them under warm water for a few minutes until they soften.
Once thawed, the skins should easily slip off. If not, you can make a small slit in the skin and peel it off.
Adding to the Soup
After peeling and removing any blemishes or cores, you can add the thawed tomatoes directly to your soup pot. Chop or crush them if you prefer a smoother texture. Some recipes recommend adding a teaspoon of sugar or a splash of balsamic vinegar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
Cooking and Seasoning
When making tomato soup with frozen tomatoes, it’s essential to simmer the soup for a longer time, around 30-40 minutes, to allow the flavors to meld and the tomatoes to break down. This extended cooking time also helps to evaporate any excess liquid released by the thawed tomatoes, resulting in a thicker, more concentrated soup.
You can enhance the flavor of your soup by sautéing aromatics like onions, garlic, and herbs before adding the tomatoes and broth. Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and your preferred herbs and spices.
Blending and Finishing Touches
For a smooth, velvety texture, you can use an immersion blender or a regular blender to purée the soup once it has finished cooking. If using a regular blender, be cautious of hot liquids and work in batches.
Finally, you can add a splash of cream, a dollop of pesto, or garnish with croutons or grated cheese for a delightful finishing touch.
By following these simple steps, you can create a rich, flavorful tomato soup using frozen tomatoes, ensuring that none of their freshness goes to waste. And that’s how to use your frozen tomatoes.
Resources
The recipe used here was adapted from Jacques Pepin’s Velvet Tomato recipe on p. 54 of Jacques Pepin Heart and Soul in the Kitchen. Over his lengthy career, Jacques has used several variations of this recipe.
Other sources used in preparing this post and recipe:
You're wondering how to use your frozen tomatoes. You're also wondering what to serve on a chilly day. This is where Chef Blondie and the amazing Jacques Pepin come to your rescue. Tonight the menu will include Jacques's Velvet Tomato Soup made from your very own frozen tomatoes.
We use a combination of ripe frozen tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, and concentrated tomato paste. Of course, fresh ripe tomatoes work just fine.
It’s really been cold here at Serendipity Farmhouse and I need a quick and easy winter soup to keep me warm. So I wondered to myself, “What would Jacques Pépin do?” – Well, in his cookbook More Fast Food My Way, he says,
“Soups are foremost dishes in my life, especially in winter.”
Hi, Chef Blondie here!
Immediately after Jacques declares his fondness for winter soups, he goes on to introduce one of his favorites – an amazingly simple and satisfying Cream of Leek and Mushroom Soup.
It’s truly a great dish. And we in the SFH Test Kitchen are going to share it with you today.
Quick and Easy Winter Soup – Preparation Tip
Jacques says that leeks are essential as a basic ingredient for many of his simple soups. He always keeps some on hand. He also reminisces about how his mother and his aunt often made several variations of leek and potato soup, adding mushrooms or other ingredients.
As a “girl raised in the South” I wasn’t very familiar with leeks. It was fascinating for me to learn how Jacques cleans and prepares this tasty member of the onion family. After watching Jacques prepare leeks in several videos, I learned quite a bit about his technique. For example, he uses a paring knife to trim the leek, but he switches to a chef’s knife to do the slicing. – So here’s a step-by-step view of how to prepare leeks for this soup.
Step 1 – Trim the Leek
Slice off the very bottom portion of the leek. Then trim off and discard most of the green outside leaves from the leeks. Reserve the light green leaves from the center.
Slice off the bottom portion of the leek.
Trim off and discard most of the green outside leaves.
Trim dark green portion of leaves.
Step 2 – Cut the Leek into Quarters
Cut the leeks lengthwise into quarters. If it is a large leek, you can slice it lengthwise one or two more times. Take care in holding the end of the leek firmly so that it doesn’t slip while slicing.
Step 3 – Wash the Leeks
Leeks can be very dirty. There is often a great deal of grit between the leaves. That’s why it’s necessary to wash the leaves thoroughly under cool water to remove any dirt or sand.
Step 4 – Slice the Leeks
After washing, slice the leaves thinly with a chef’s knife. Cut the butt end of the leek into halves and slice. One large leek or two smaller leeks will give you about 2 cups when sliced.
Slice the leaves thinly with a chef’s knife.
Cut the butt end of the leek into halves.
Slice the butt end of the leek.
1 large leek or 2 smaller leeks will give you about 2 cups.
Cook a Quick and Easy Winter Soup – Jacques’s Way
Now that we’ve learned Jacques’s technique for preparing leeks for a quick and easy winter soup, here’s his recipe as adapted and tested by the SFH Test Kitchen. The original recipe appears on page 36 of the cookbook Jacques Pépin More Fast Food My Way.
Happy Cooking!!
It’s really been cold and you need a quick and easy winter soup to keep you warm. Jacques Pépin says make Cream of Leek and Mushroom Soup. It goes together in just minutes, and it's hearty and healthy.
These January days are growing colder. It’s the perfect time for a dinner of Beef Stew with Red Wine to warm the heart and soul. And as Christmastide draws to a close, perhaps you’ve decided it’s time to move away from rich holiday foods. You probably want to get back to a healthier way of eating. Today, Chef Blondie will show you a recipe by Jacques Pépin that’s just what you need to get started. It’s both warming and healthy.
Hello, my Friends! Chef Blondie here.
All of us at the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen greatly enjoyed our Christmas and New Year’s feasts. But now it’s time to start eating healthy again. That’s why I’ve chosen a recipe from Jacques Pépin’s Simple and Healthy Cooking.
While this recipe isn’t all that simple, it certainly is healthy. And it sure is tasty. It’s more than worth the extra effort. As usual, Jacques not only gives us a great recipe. He also shows us ways to make it healthier. He does this by reducing the amount of fat and salt. And, at the same time, he compensates by increasing flavor and aroma. So, let’s gather our mise en place and see how he does it.
Ingredients for Beef Stew with Red Wine
Jacques says that it’s best to use meat from the shoulder blade or shank. That’s because it’s moist even when most of the fat has been removed. – Remember, Jacques’s objective was to make this dish healthier. – We used stew meat from a well-trimmed chuck roast, cut into 1½” to 2″ cubes.
How do you make Beef Stew healthier?
I gave my Hubby a research assignment. I asked him to determine just exactly what did Jacques do to make his Beef with Red Wine recipe healthier than his well-known Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce. After he muttered under his breath, scratched his balding head, and shrugged his shoulders a couple of times, my reluctant Hubby got to work. – Here’s what he found.
Jacques thoughtfully eliminated ingredients that were high in fat and carbohydrates. He reduced the quantity of other ingredients. For example, he cut extra virgin olive oil in half. The recipe only used 1.5 cups of wine, instead of a whole bottle. Wherever possible he reduced sodium levels. Then, to make up for the deletions, he added more aromatic herbs and vegetables.
The result of his recipe modifications was a beef stew with spectacular flavor and aroma.
Bouquet Garni for Beef Stew with Red Wine
Jacques doesn’t say so directly, but he uses a simple technique to enhance the aroma and flavor of this beef stew. How does he do it? – The beef is stewed gently in chicken stock and red wine flavored with a bouquet garni. A bouquet garni (garnished bouquet) is a bundle of aromatic herbs that is used to add flavor to soups, stews, sauces, and other dishes.
To make our bouquet garni, we followed Jacques instructions, using a string to tie together a bundle of herbs consisting of:
4 or 5 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
a small bunch of fresh parsley
a half a stalk of celery
a few sprigs of rosemary and oregano.
How to cook Beef Stew with Red Wine Jacques’s Way
Now that we’ve learned some of Jacques’s techniques for healthier cooking, here is his recipe as adapted and tested by the SFH Test Kitchen.
“… to all cooks Who believe, as i do, that good cooking and good health are inseparable …”
Happy Cooking!!
Any time is the perfect time for a dinner of Beef Stew with Red Wine to warm the heart and soul. While this recipe by Jacques Pépin isn’t all that simple, it definitely is healthy. And it sure is tasty. It’s more than worth the extra effort. Jacques shows us ways to make it healthier by reducing the amount of fat and salt. At the same time, he compensates by increasing flavor and aroma.
Jacques Pépin did this macaroni, spinach, and ham gratin recipe with his granddaughter Shorey. The cookbook A Grandfather’s Lessons – In the Kitchen with Shorey tells the beautiful story. In the book, we find that Jacques’s macaroni and cheese recipe is a dish with flavorful additions that would make any child happy.
So, if you have grandchildren, this is a great recipe to make with them. This SFH Test Kitchen post and the linked YouTube video will show you how to do it.
Hello, my friends.
It’s important as grandparents to spend time with your grandchildren and teach them how to how to cook. You know, it’s just a wonderful sharing experience. Here’s just one memorable example from over 20 years ago.
My Junior Chef Masters Chocolate Chip Cookies
When my first grandson was two, he and I made cookies together. It was such a beautiful experience for both of us.
Here is my junior chef with a chocolate chip cookies recipe in hand. As you can see, he has already put on his apron and is ready to head to the kitchen. – He intends to master that recipe.
When cooking with your grandchildren, keep in mind that the world is a bigger place for them than it is for you. However, what they lack in size, they will make up for with enthusiasm. – Let them feel like the kitchen belongs to them.
Your grandchild will learn how to cook by watching you. They see how you read directions from the recipe. When you pick up a bag of chocolate chips, they will do the same. Sometimes they will even copy your facial expressions. – Judging from my grandson’s expression here, I must have really had some concerns about what to do with these chips.
When you’re cooking with your grandchildren, remember, the kitchen is not a classroom where you have to be. The kitchen is the heart of the home and a place where you want to be.
Preparing for the Great Event
Following Directions from Granny
Inspecting the Work
Just Had a Little Taste
Happy Time in the Kitchen
When all is said and done, the truly magic moment is when your grandchildren taste something they made with their own hands.
That is a moment that both of you will cherish and remember forever.
Jacques’s Macaroni and Cheese Test Results
Unfortunately, no grandchildren were available for this Test Kitchen adventure. That meant I had to work with my dear Hubby. Although he has some childlike characteristics, I wouldn’t say he’s a good substitute for any of my 13 beautiful grandchildren. Nevertheless, he did his best. – That might be because macaroni and cheese is one of his favorite dishes.
Here’s what the able staff of the soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Test Kitchen learned during this test.
1. Level of the Challenge
This is not a difficult recipe. It is well-suited to a youthful palate. A young person can easily grasp the approach Jacques and Shorey used with this dish.
2. Selection of Good-quality Ingredients
Most of the ingredients used are commonly found in the kitchen or easily attainable. The only exception in Jacques’s recipe was Spanish Paprika. In a case like this, you can provide your grandchild with a simple explanation about an unusual ingredient.
For example: Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground chiles. In Spain, the name for paprika is pimentón, which is Spanish for pepper. If you use Spanish paprika instead of regular paprika, it will add a smoky flavor to the dish.
3. Use of Cooking Techniques
For sure, this recipe employs several cooking techniques not used in a simple chocolate chip cookies recipe. You are the best judge of your grandchild’s abilities. You can decide if this recipe is too advanced or just right for your junior chef.
4. Development of Macaroni and Cheese Taste and Flavor
The introduction of spinach and ham bring a new dimension in flavor to the classic comfort food we call mac and cheese. Because the spinach is chopped and blended in with the other ingredients, children won’t really think of this as a vegetable dish.
How to Cook Macaroni and Cheese Jacques’s Way
So, without further ado, here is Jacques’s recipe as adapted and tested by the SFH Test Kitchen.
The original recipe appears on page 114 of the cookbook A Grandfather’s Lessons – In the Kitchen with Shorey. The cookbook was written by Jacques Pépin in collaboration with his granddaughter, Shorey. It contains recipes that are simple, elegant, and fun to prepare.
Jacques Pépin did this recipe with his granddaughter. It's a mac and cheese dish with flavorful additions that would make any child happy.
