Coney Island: Chicken Lemon Orzo Soup

My husband and I began dating in college. Once we met, we were instantly inseparable and pretty much spent every waking hour together that we weren’t in class. (And we did find a way to take a couple classes together, even with different respective majors.) On days that we had a short break in between classes for lunch we would grab a bite at a Coney Island that was just a block from campus.

I was some type of vegan or vegetarian at the time, and would order a simple plate of hummus and pita. My husband had his regular order as well, which was chicken lemon rice soup and two “Coneys”. While I’m pleased to say that we’ve since moved up in the world as far as restaurants that we frequent, and our visits to Coney Islands are few and far between. However, my husband will still order chicken lemon rice soup wherever he can find it.

Lucky him, he found it just the other day cooking on the stove in our kitchen! I was flipping through Ellie Krieger’s The Food You Crave a few nights ago and saw a recipe for this type of soup, but made with orzo instead of rice. The soup is very easy, and he loved, loved, loved it! As soon as he tasted it, he instantly informed me that I would be making it again soon. It has been in our fridge for just about 24 hours, and he has already snuck back with a spoon to sneak a taste several times.

I doubled Ellie’s recipe to have a bigger batch to get through the week. I also skipped her step of cooking chicken breasts, and instead added the (already cooked) meat from a rotisserie chicken at the end. I carefully tempered the eggs in a bowl with the hot broth, not in a saucepan (as the recipe calls for), and I thought that worked just fine. This soup gets thicker with each second you let it sit. My husband likes that consistency, but if you find that your soup has become too thick after a day or so, you can add more broth to it. I also added a few extra tablespoons of lemon juice, to make it extra lemony. Next time I might add some lemon zest too.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo
(From The Food You Crave)
Ingredients
4 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into small chunks
1 pinch salt, plus more to taste
1 medium onion , diced (about 1 ½ cups)
2 stalks celery, diced (about ½ cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (about ½ cup)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup orzo (preferably whole wheat)
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt, add it to the pot, and cook, stirring, a few times, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

Warm the remaining 1 cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. Add the mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

San Fran Stew: Cioppino

A couple of years ago my husband and I were watching a Food Network special that spoke about the history of Cioppino (pronounced “chuh-pee-noh”). This fish stew has an interesting origin, as it was developed by Italian fishermen in San Francisco in the late 1800's. The fishermen would all “chip in” their catch of the day to a collective soup pot to create seafood stew, similar to a French bouillabaisse (less the saffron).

My husband orders Cioppino occasionally when we dine at seafood restaurants. Most recently, we shared some with our friend Sarah while dining at Beretta in San Francisco.


I had been intending to make Cioppino at home, but had not taken the time to sort through different recipes. I was delighted to find a Cioppino recipe while I was flipping through my new copy of Ellie Krieger’s So Easy. I flagged the page, bought my seafood (and for such a steal at Trader Joe’s! ), and made this over the weekend to get us through a few dinners this week.

It smelled delicious while it was cooking, it was ridiculously easy to make, and my husband loved it. It wasn’t even mealtime when I finished it (we were somewhere between lunch and dinner), and I had to stop him from eating a whole bowl. He actually said to me, “Kate, I love everything that you cook. But I haven’t been this surprised by something you’ve made since you made Chicken Scallopine with Saffron Cream Sauce for the first time.” (And that was two years ago!) Needless to say, this Cioppino is making it into the regular rotation! I actually can’t wait until we’ve eaten it all up so that I can make it again!

Cioppino
(Adapted from Ellie Krieger’s So Easy)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (6 oz.) jar tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 (14.5 oz.) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 cup fish stock or water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt
½ - 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (you may want to remove the tails, too)
½ - 1 pound scallops
½ - 1 pound skinless halibut fillet, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 teaspoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Fresh bread for serving

Directions
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, an additional 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and their juices and the fish stock (or water) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, for 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, salt, and pepper. (This base may be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

Heat the soup base to a boil. Add the shrimp, scallops, and halibut. Reduce the heat and simmer, until everything is just cooked, about 5 minutes. Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with the parsley. Serve with bread.

Leftover Meat: Kate's Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup

My husband and I have enjoyed our long weekend by putting up our Christmas tree, catching up on our favorite television shows, and trying to make a dent in the plentiful leftovers from our Thanksgiving dinner. Not having to cook for several days gave way for time to catch up on sleep and cleaning. However today I found myself cooking up a storm to prepare for a long and busy week ahead. I’d imagine that many people are currently trying to find innovative ways to finish up food from last Thursday. While we typically enjoy Thanksgiving leftovers in their original state, if I have a lot of turkey, I’ll sometimes turn it into a soup.

My husband loves my homemade chicken noodle soup. After Thanksgiving, turkey meat and turkey broth can take the place of chicken, however I’ll make this recipe throughout the winter with chicken. I find myself buying rotisserie chickens for various recipes, and I’ll use the leftover meat (usually dark meat) to toss into this soup. It’s also a great way to use up any leftover celery and carrots in my refrigerator. I like to use the crinkle-cut carrots, because they look nice, however today I had leftover shredded carrots from a recipe I made for myself.

I have adapted my soup to match my husband’s preferences, which includes a lot of egg noodles (you can substitute whichever pasta you prefer). I make it particularly chunky for him, but if you like more broth, you can add a fourth container of broth. The peas and parsley add a lot of color to the soup. By using cooked chicken and letting the pasta cook in the soup, this is a very easy recipe. These days you can even purchase your mirepoix pre-chopped at the grocery store to make this even quicker. This makes a ton of soup. You'll be set for the week!

Kate’s Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped (or shredded, or sliced)
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 (32 oz.) containers of low sodium chicken broth (use only 3 for an extra chunky soup)
3 bay leaves
1 (16 oz.) package broad egg noodles
2 cups chicken, shredded or diced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
½ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrot. Cook for approximately 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Add egg noodles and reduce to low heat. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes, until noodles are cooked. Add chicken, peas, and parsley. Discard bays leaves and serve immediately.

Best Chili Ever: Quinoa Chili

Are you sick of quinoa yet? Because I am certainly not! I keep trying out new recipes of this wonder-grain, and I can’t seem to get enough of it. Just the other week my friend, Beth, forwarded me a recipe for Quinoa Chili. I was rather anxious to try it, because I’ve eaten at Beth’s place before, and I know that she is an excellent cook. At a mid-summer dinner that she and her husband hosted me and my husband for, she prepared our entire scrumptious meal from scratch, including the corn tortillas!

The Quinoa Chili goes together easily, and it is delicious! This is the best vegetarian version of chili that I have ever had. It is hearty yet healthy, and I am so thankful that Beth sent this one my way! You can gave fun with the garnishes, and add whatever you like.

Quinoa Chili
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large green pepper, diced
2 teaspoon cumin
1-2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed in warm water and drained
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
2 (14 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1 (14 oz.) can small diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth or water
1 (14 oz.) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I sometimes substitute with black beans)

Directions
Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt, garlic, green pepper and spices; sauté 5 to 10 minutes. Add rinsed uncooked quinoa and stir in. Add corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce and vegetable broth/water to onion and quinoa mixture. Cover and simmer together 20 minutes. Add kidney beans; simmer another 10 minutes.

If chili is too thick, just add water or more vegetable broth until it is to your liking.

Toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, corn chips, green onions.