Onion Soup

The soup contains beef bones, bought from Jeff and Barrita Shanks, local Lima vendors at the Rochester Public Market. This onion soup makes a great addition to any dinner!


ONION SOUP

Serves 8-10 people

                                     Olive oil
4 tablespoons                Butter
2 large                           Mayan Sweet onions, peeled and cut into 1/8"to 1/4" by 1"to 1 1/2" slices
2 large                           Onions, peeled and cut into 1/8"to 1/4" by 1"to 1 1/2" slices
1 tablespoon                 Thyme
3 qt.                              Beef broth
1/4 cups                        Parmigiano Reggiano
                                     Salt and fresh pepper

1. On low heat, pour olive oil and butter in a pot. 
2. Then put onion slices and thyme in the pot. 
3. Let sit for 45-60 minutes. 
4. Add beef broth. 
5. Add salt and pepper to the soup.  
6. Cook for another 45 minutes. 
7. Add parmigiano reggiano. 
8. Serve and enjoy. 

Onion Soup

I USE ONLY MY LEFT HAND !!!

Chicken Cacciatora

If you smelled it... terrific!


CHICKEN CACCIATORA

Serves 4 people.

6 oz.                                   Medium egg noodles
                                           Olive oil
1 medium                          Onion, cut in half, peeled, slice
1/2                                     Green pepper, slice and then cut the slices in half
1/2                                     Red pepper, slice and then cut the slices in half
6                                        Chicken thighs, boneless, slice into 1/2'' cubes
2                                        Garlic, minced
1-28 oz.                             Peeled tomatoes, San Marzano
1/2 cup                              Parmigiano Reggiano, grated cheese
1 tablespoons                    Basil
1 tablespoons                    Oregano
1/4-1/2 teaspoon               Hot pepper flakes
                                          Kosher salt and pepper
                                          Fresh basil

Cacciatora

1. Boil water in a stock pot strainer. Once it is at a boil, turn it off.
2. While the water is boiling, crush tomatoes using your hands in a bowl.
3. Saute the peppers and onion on slow for 5-8 min. Add chicken, 10 min. Add garlic, 1 min. Add crushed tomatoes, Parmigiano Reggiano, basil, oregano, peppers, salt and pepper. Set 30 min.
4. Turn the water back on, once it is at a rapid boil, cook egg noodles for 6 minutes. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix.
5. Garnish with fresh basil.
6. Eat!

I USE ONLY MY LEFT HAND!!!

Gazpacho

I didn't cook a thing.

GAZPACHO

Serves 25 people.


8 pounds                          Tomato, cored (Cut the white core away from the sides of the tomato)
5 pounds                          Roma tomato, cored
4                                      Cucumber, peeled, halved and seeded
3                                      Green bell pepper, halved, cored and seeded
1                                      Red bell pepper, halved, cored and seeded
4 small                             Red onion, peeled and halved
8                                       Garlic cloves, peeled
4 large                              Long green peppers, stemmed and halved lengthwise
1 1/2 cups                         Extra virgin olive oil
8 tablespoons                    Red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons                    Basil, finely minced
4 tablespoons                    Parsley, finely minced
                                         Kosher salt and ground black pepper
                                         For garnish, chopped chives and Tabasco

All of the Ingredients

1. Roughly chop 6 pounds of tomatoes, 4 Roma tomatoes, 3 pounds cucumbers, 2 pounds green bell pepper, 1/2 pound red bell pepper, 3 small red onion and place in large bowl. Add garlic, long green peppers, and 6 teaspoons salt and toss until well combined. Set aside for 1 hour.
2. Dice remaining tomatoes, Roma tomato, cucumber, green bell pepper, red bell pepper and red onion into 1/4-inch pieces and place in medium bowl. Toss with 2 teaspoons of salt and transfer to strainer set over medium bowl. Set aside for 1 hour. 
3. Roughly chopped mix: Use a Vitamix on the 6-8 speed setting. Pour a 1/4 cup of olive oil SLOWLY into the hole in the lid. Blend until liquified. *The whole mix will not fit into the blender at one time. You will need to pour the liquified mix into a bowl and then add more of the roughly chopped mixture into the Vitamix. Repeat until the whole mixture has been through the Vitamix.
4.  Diced mix: Add red wine vinegar, basil, parsley, kosher salt and ground black pepper.
5. Add the diced mixture into the liquified mixture and stir.
6. Freeze the soup (about 4-5 quarts) if you aren't eating it. If you are eating it, chill and serve cold.
7. Garnish with chopped chives and Tabasco.

Vitamix

Roughly Chopped Mixture before the Vitamix


















I USE ONLY MY LEFT HAND!!!

Diced Mixture

Gazpacho

Bread and Butter Pickles

Pickles!!! I have a mandoline and cucumbers for cutting.

Cucumbers and Mandoline

BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES 


Serving size is 6 quarts.

6 pounds                                 Cucumbers
3                                             Onions, cut in half, then sliced
3 tablespoons                         Kosher salt
6 tablespoons                          Mustard seeds
1-1/2 teaspoons                       Celery seeds
3 tablespoons                          Coriander powder
1-1/2 teaspoons                       Turmeric powder
5 cups                                      White vinegar
1 cup                                       Sugar

1-1/2 cups                           Kosher salt

1. Using a 1/16 slide on the mandoline, slice the cucumbers and place them into a colander.
2. Then place the colander into an empty bowl that will allow for drainage.
3. Mix the cucumber slices with 3 tablespoons salt. Then place them in the fridge to drain overnight. The next day, drain and get rid of the excess salt.
4. The next day, you want to toast your mustard seeds, celery seeds, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Set aside.
5. Using the mandoline, slice the onion and set aside. 
6.  Mix together the cucumbers, the seed and powder mixture, the sliced onion, the white vinegar, and sugar.
7. Heat the above mixture in a stockpot on the stove for 15 minutes.
8.  In a large enamel pot, place the wire rack into the pot and boil water.
9. Next, pour the mixture into the canning jars and put the lids on. Make sure the wire rack's handles are hooked on the lip of the pot.
10. Place the canning jars into the enamel pot on the wire rack.
11. Remove the hooks, so that the jars are now submerged. Let boil for 15 minutes.
12. Lift the wire rack up and place the hooks on the lip of the pot. One by one, use tongs to place the jars on the counter.

Pot, stainer, tong, funner, lid & jar

I USE  ONLY MY LEFT HAND!!!

Pizza with Onion

This is real simple method for pizza dough. It is made using Size 00 flour. The pizza dough is from Jamie Oliver, Jamie's Italy.

Made 6-8 medium thin pizza bases.


DOUGH

PIZZA WITH ONION

2-1/4 lb.                White bread "00" flour
1 tablespoons        Salt
1/2 oz.                   Envelope active dried yeast
1 tablespoons        Sugar
2 cups                   Lukewarm water


ONION & CHEESE

                             Olive oil
4 large                  Onion, sliced
1 tablespoons       Fresh thyme
10 oz.                   Fresh mozzarella
                             Parsley

1. Cook olive oil with onion in a large skillet over low heat, for 1 hour.
2. Pile the flour and salt onto a clean surface and make a 7-inch well in the center. 
3. Add your yeast and sugar to the lukewarm water, mix up with a fork and let it set five minutes, then pour into the well over four separate times.  Each time, using a fork and a circular movement, slowly bring in the flour from the inner edge of the well and mix into the water. When the dough comes to together, pat it into a ball. Repeat this for 10 minutes, until you have a smooth, springy, soft dough.
4. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. It is best to a use pizza stones.
5. Flour the top of your dough, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes at room temperature. I suggest that 6 is a good quantity for this amount of dough. Roll the dough into 8"-10" pizzas 15 to 30 minutes before you start to cook them. Move dough onto parchment paper on pizza peel.
6. Tear off mozzarella in bite size pieces. Top with caramelized onions, mozzarella, thyme and parsley. Remember: less is more.  
7. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the pizza are golden and crispy.

I USE ONLY MY LEFT HAND!!!