Month: October 2018

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

Posted on by Bruce Barone in Recipes

This is so delicious. And so easy to prepare.

Recipe is from “Food & Wine Magazine, Quick From Scratch One-Dish Meals Cookbook;” a great cookbook. I am positive I made four meals from the book in the past 10 days!!!

Quoting from the book:

“Spaghettini is a good stand-in for Asian noodles, but if you can find rice noodles, by all means use them here. Serve the soup in deep bowls with chopsticks or forks as well as spoons and then drink the soup in the Asian manner. Or, use a spoon only and eat everything together, break the pasta into small pieces before cooking.”

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespooon sesame oil
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger (peeled and cut into thin slices)
2 dashes cayenne pepper (add more to taste)
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more)
1 1/2 quart chicken broth (I used my homemade stock)
1 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes, with juices
1¼ pounds chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch or smaller cubes (boneless, skinless)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (plus extra for garnish) (optional)
½ pounds udon noodles (can substitute spaghetti, gluten-free or egg-free thin noodles)
salt (to taste)
3-5 cups baby bok choy (I used 5.)

1/4 cup lime juice (from 2 limes)

Directions

 

In a large soup pot, heat both oils at medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the broth, crushed tomatoes, chicken, and fish sauce, cilantro. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add noodles and cook for an additional 4 minutes, or for the cooking time recommended on the package of noodles you are using. Add salt to taste. Add bok choy and lime juice and cook another 1-2 minutes until soft. Serve with chopped cilantro, lime wedge (optional)

Oh—and I served it with homemade Wheat, Pecan, Sunflower Seed, Dried Cranberry Bread.

In Memory of My Father, Alfred Dernier Barone

Posted on by Bruce Barone in Inspiration

Yesterday was my father’s birthday. He passed away in April 2006  and not a day goes by when I do not think of him.

This photo says so much about him. Out in the cold, smiling, helping me shovel snow one Christmas night.

When my father passed away my two children said to me, “He loved us so much.”

Love. This is our greatest gift.

When I spoke at my dad’s memorial service, I said:

“My sister Michelle spoke of The Perfect Child. I think in my father’s heart, in his soul and spirit, Michelle, Darlene, Dennis and I are all The Perfect Child as you, too, his family and friends are The Perfect People. Darlene spoke of The Lucky Ones. Yes, we four are lucky to have been blessed with a father filled with such unconditional love, a man who never spoke an ill word of anyone, his heart always filled with love for his neighbor. And Dennis spoke of our Dad as The Greatest and certainly he was for who could say what I want to say to you now; who could say this of their Dad–how many children could say that when they made a new friend, when I made a new friend, I always said to this friend, I can’t wait for you to meet my Dad, you are going to love him, and invariably, she or he did love him, and my Dad loved them and he would then always inquire about them, their day, their joys, their sorrows, their dreams.”

My father, Alfred, also know as Fred, and sometimes Freddy, and who Susan and I named our Labradoodle after–in his honor; Freddy.

My father was known as the epitome of a gentleman and his biggest joy came in life from loving his family and his grandchildren.

Here he is with his grandchild, Nina, in the kitchen, a place where he loved to be–to cook, to talk and to enjoy a glass of wine.

And here with his grandchild, Sara, looking at photos in an album, probably saying something like, “That was such a beautiful day.”

Love. This is our greatest gift.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

~Philippians 3:8 NIV

 

 

 

 

 

Pasta with Tuna, Capers, and Green Olives

Posted on by Bruce Barone in Recipes

A few nights ago Susan and I had dinner guests. Candy and her daughter, Remy. Candy and I went to the same elementary school, junior high school and church when we were growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey (This was a long time ago.) So I feel very blessed she and her daughter took time to visit with us.

Earlier in the week, Susan and I talked about what to cook and we thought this might be perfect. I had asked Candy if there was anything she didn’t like and she said “boudin.” But the thought crossed my mind “tuna, caper, green olives!” Need I say, they loved it.

SERVES: 4

When it comes to making quick, delicious pasta sauces, Italians hold canned tuna in high regard. We complement it with Provençal herbs and orange zest. If you’re a lemon-zest fan, try that instead of the orange.

Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried sage (I used 1/2)
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary (I used 1/2)
  • 3/4 teaspoon grated orange zest (from 1/2 orange)
  • 1 tablespoon drained chopped capers
  • 1/4 cup chopped green olives
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
  • 2 6-ounce cans tuna packed in olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon wine vinegar
  • 3/4 pound linguine or tagliatelle
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
  1. In a medium frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the garlic, sage, and rosemary and stir until the garlic just starts to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the orange zest, capers, olives, salt, pepper, and the tuna with its oil. Remove from the heat; stir in the vinegar.
  2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until just done (follow package directions) Drain the pasta and toss with the tuna sauce and parsley.

NOTE

Tuna Packed in Oil

Here we use tuna packed in olive oil, and we count on that oil as part of the sauce. If your tuna doesn’t have at least one-and-a-half tablespoons of oil per can, add a little more olive oil to make up the difference. Of course, you can use tuna packed in vegetable oil, too, but avoid water-packed tuna at all costs. The flavor, and most of the nutrients for that matter, leach out into the water.

A robust French rosé from the southern Rhône appellation of Tavel will serve these Mediterranean ingredients well. Earthy and full of roasted raspberry flavor, Tavels are among the most full-bodied of rosés. If you’d rather stick to the Italian theme, look for the wonderful Sicilian rosé from Regaleali.
The first time I made this recipe I used Linguine:

~Food & Wine