Tuesday, February 26, 2013

[recipe] Avgolemono Soup

Last week I started up Soup Sundays again.  I made delicious Sausage Lentil soup.  This past Sunday I made an Avgolemono which is a Greek soup that has Lemon, Chicken and Rice.  I got my recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart.  It was the cover soup for the January 2013 magazine.  I was so excited to find a recipe for it because this is one of my favorite kinds of soup.  I remember getting it at this cute Greek restaurant on "The Ave" in Seattle in the U-District.


 Photo: Yummy avgolemono soup! Thanks Martha Stewart (maybe not the best picture...but at least its mine!)

For the Spatchcocked Chicken:
  
Ingredients
  • 1 whole 4-pound chicken
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 lemons, thinly sliced, divided
  • 6 small shallots (6 ounces), peeled and quartered lengthwise
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken, breast side down, on a work surface. Starting at thigh end, cut along 1 side of backbone with kitchen shears. Turn chicken around; cut along other side. Discard backbone or save for stock. Flip chicken, and open it like a book. Press firmly on breastbone to flatten.
  2. Rub chicken with 1 tablespoon oil, and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brush 1 tablespoon oil in the center of a rimmed baking sheet slightly larger than the size of the chicken, and place half the lemon slices in a single layer on top of oil. Place chicken, skin side up, on lemons. Beginning at the neck end of breast, carefully loosen skin from flesh of breast and thighs with your fingers. Slide remaining lemon slices under skin in a single layer.
  3. Roast chicken 20 minutes. Toss shallots with remaining teaspoon oil, and scatter around chicken. Continue to roast chicken until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast reaches 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes more.
  4. Transfer chicken to a carving board, and let rest 10 minutes. Cut chicken into 8 pieces, and serve with roasted lemons, shallots, and pan juices. If using chicken for soup and salad, let chicken cool completely. Remove and discard skin, lemon under skin, and bones, and shred meat into bite-size pieces. Chicken, roasted lemons, shallots, and pan juices can be refrigerated up to 2 days. Store meat and pan juices in separate containers; lemons and shallots can be stored together.

 

For the Soup:

**Note: For a thicker, richer broth that's more in the style of Avgolemono soup, simply whisk together two large egg yolks and the juice of one lemon. Stir the mixture into the soup just before serving.**

Ingredients
  • 1 cup long-grain white rice
  • 1 3/4 cups water
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 2 cups shredded chicken from Roast Spatchcocked Lemon Chicken
  • Roast lemons, shallots, and pan juices from Roast Spatchcocked Lemon Chicken
  • Coarsely chopped fresh dill, for garnish
Directions
  1. Bring rice, water, lemon zest, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir once, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer until rice is cooked and water evaporates, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.
  2. Bring stock to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in rice, chicken, lemons, shallots, and pan juices, and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Divide soup among 4 to 6 bowls, and season with lemon juice and dill.


    Hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do!!



    ♥ Ashley

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Weekend Update

What a wonderful 3 day weekend.  Lets re-cap the past couple of weeks though first...then we will get onto the weekend.

On January 28th I posted THIS and to update from there:  It turned out to be another ectopic pregnancy.  I had to go into the doctor and get an injection of cancer medication to expel the pregnancy.  8 days later I got another blood draw and it showed that my numbers actually went UP!!! So I needed to go in again to get ANOTHER shot.  Looks like this one is working and we have hopefully avoided surgery. (though I am thinking I might go in for selective surgery to just remove my right tube as that I am now at a 60% chance of it happening again!)

On top of that fiasco I was also subjected to "The Plague" ok so I may be joking a little but I got that sore throat with a deep bronchial cough and congestion in my nose like crazy.  Last week I was living off of tea with honey and THESE I love them! I am just now starting to feel much better.






Honey Throat Drops - Burt's Bees - 20 - Lozenge
 Onto this past weekend.

On Friday I was craving Fish and Chips. More on that in a bit.

Saturday morning we had our weekend date and stopped at our local Starbucks for some coffee and pastries "for here".  I had a Vanilla Spice Latte.  He had a Blonde Roast with room.  I had a warmed Cinnamon Roll and he had an everything bagel with cream cheese.  YUMMM!!

On Saturday for lunch we went to Katie Downs for my craving and it was delicious.  Hubby and I shared a two piece "cod and chips" and a "prawn and chips" I think I am addicted to tarter sauce.  Also on Saturday we stopped by one of my favorites grocery strores The Metropolitan Market and took a look around.  I got some delicious chocolate for something I made yesterday.

On Sunday we made a stop down at Watson's Greenhouse to pick up a few things...tickets to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show (last years post) and a soup mix (Sausage and Lentil) to start up my Soup Sunday's again.  We got a free bag of daffodil bulbs with purchase!!



I love this soup, we have had it before.  I also like how it all comes in a package: all you need to add is Sausage, Beef Broth and Veggies - I added in a zucchini, yellow squash and some kale (kale is my new addiction). It turned out so good and it makes a TON...we have lunch for the week!!

Then on Monday morning we stopped over at the in-laws for some coffee and I made some fresh Beignets (french doughnuts from a mix you get at Cost Plus) with the nieces.

For dessert last night I made something that the hubster has been pining for for forever, a Chocolate Souffle.  I got the recipe from HERE.  And it was so good!! a lot of work but delicious!!!


How was your weekend?

Did you do anything fun??


♥ Ashley





Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Saving my throat


well I think I got hit with the plague along with a lot of other people out there in the blogosphere.  I have my trusty companion: Hot Water, Lemon and Honey.  I have a sore throat and a deep bronchial cough.  And I am super tired...but this is doing the trick here at work!!

What are your tricks of the trade when you come down with something?

♥ Ashley

Friday, February 1, 2013

Getting Started...

I had so much fun planning my wedding over 4 years ago.  Has it really been more than four years since that special day?? OMG it has.  I was a lucky bride, I had 20 months to plan my wedding. Even though Pinterest was not available back then our wedding turned out fabulous.  I still have my wedding binder and our day was distinctly US.

Party planning is so fun.  I cannot wait until we are placed with a baby and our adoption comes through, that means I can start planning for the Adoption Finalization Party, and then all the subsequent Birthday parties and We Got You Day parties.  Is it weird that I also want to help out with planning my own baby shower?  No, I don't think so!

Anyways, I am hoping that some of you out there who read this blog (if anyone does) can help me out a little bit.  I really want to get into Party Planning, whether it be for weddings or any kind of party.  But I have absolutely NO IDEA as to how to go about doing that.  Eventually I would love to have my own party planning business, but first I would like to start off with a company or an individual who would like to take on an assistant so that I can learn the ropes and make connections.

Do you know anyone?  Can you refer me?  Do you want ME to help plan your next event?  If so please comment and leave your email address and I will get back to you!!!

Thanks!!

♥ Ashley