Turkey Udon with Butternut Squash and Corn

Post-Thanksgiving: dealing with leftovers, and lots and lots of stock. With some of yesterday's ingredients and this morning's stock, I concocted this soup.

Turkey Udon with Butternut Squash and Corn

Serves 4

6 cups turkey stock
1 medium sized butternut squash, cubed
1 cup corn
3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried lemongrass
3 bunches of udon, cooked to package directions
1 cup cooked turkey, shredded (I prefer dark meat, but white is also delicious)
Salt and white pepper to taste

Chopped green onions

4 eggs, optional

Bring 3 cups of turkey stock to a boil with an additional cup of water. Boil squash until fork-tender and remove with a slotted spoon. Add remaining turkey stock, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass, and simmer until fragrant (10-15 minutes). Add corn and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Divide the udon into four large, deep bowls and top with butternut squash and shredded turkey. Cover with boiling turkey soup and garnish with green onions and a hard boiled or poached egg, if desired.

My moody squash, posing.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Today for lunch, Ali made broccoli grilled cheese... which I opted out of for my delicious BLT: turkey bacon, horseradish cheddar, spinach, and heirloom tomato.

I can't escape a broccoli and cheese temptation, though, so I made broccoli-cheddar soup this evening, and silly me, after tweeting, I got recipe requests from some friends. Enjoy.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup:

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, finely diced

1 stalk celery, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups broccoli (about 4 small heads) cut into very small pieces (you want them to fit on a spoon)

2 cups chicken stock (I used two chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in two cups of hot water)

2 cups milk

1/2 cup flour

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Salt and white pepper

Melt butter in a pot over medium heat, add onions and celery plus a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until soft. Add garlic, cook for another minute. Add broccoli, cook for one minute, then add the chicken stock and cover. Allow the broth to come to a boil, and cook until the broccoli is soft.

Whisk together flour and milk until combined. Add this mixture to the pot, stirring gently. The soup will thicken (yay starch!) and once it's thick and creamy looking, add the grated cheddar. Salt and pepper to taste, serve with toast.

Winter Term, Day Thirty One: Sometimes Good Things End

A final trip to West Side Market and Trader Joe's today, to get all the ingredients for our last final delicious meal.

On the menu:
Hummus by me (topped with sambal and sriracha OR za'atar and olive oil)
Oregano flatbread by Daniel
Terra chips brought by Carolyn
French onion soup with Gruyere toast by Michael
Greek salad with lemon vinaigrette by Amanda
Grilled asparagus, zucchini and red peppers by Daniel
Penne alla vodka with pancetta by me
Spaghetti with mushrooms, garlic, and olive oil by me











Dessert:
Nainamo bars by Eli
Chocolate espresso scones by Daniel
Lime-coconut macaroons with haupia (coconut pudding) filling and chili chocolate dipping sauce by Daniel
Grapefruit cupcakes with grapefruit curd, whipped cream, and spun sugar by Eliza
















In addition to all this great food, we had lots of great people around: Mike, Hana, Carolyn, Yoshi, Chris, Sneha, Tevi, Daniel, Michael, Eliza, Amanda, Eli and Matt. Thank you all who came and brought plates. It was an incredible end to the month of food.

Winter Term, Day Thirty: Pizza Day

Daniel had made granola by the time I woke up this morning. I proceeded to make a Feve-brunch like scramble with cubed flank steak, avocado, onions, cilantro, salsa, and cheddar cheese.



Dinner was pizza night. Toppings included:

Tomato sauce
Alfredo sauce
Roasted red peppers
Onions (raw and sauteed)
Roasted shallots
Roasted garlic
Sauteed spinach
Sauteed portabellos
Black olives
Pepperoni
Shredded chicken
Cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese

We also had Italian wedding soup with mini meatballs, orzo and spinach, Chris made baked brie, and Daniel made espresso chocolate chunk scone with a coffee glaze for dessert. Yoshi and Sneha rounded out house pizza night.

Winter Term, Day Twenty Eight: PHO Real!

Started off my day with the beginnings of pho beef broth (blanching the bones, charring the onions and ginger, toasting the spices), but as I worked, I needed sustenance. I made a meatball sandwich on wheat bread with provolone, basil, crushed red pepper, tomato sauce and then melted, and then topped with spinach, salt and pepper, and olive oil.



I prepped all the things for last minute dinner making, and then headed to the airport with Brandi. We returned, Daniel finished up the summer rolls (fillings included tamari-marinated fried tofu, bean sprouts, green onions, garlic chives, cilantro, basil, carrots, cucumbers, pickled daikon, and mung bean noodles, with sweet chili sauce and peanut sauce to top) and I finished prepping the beef pho: boiling the beef stock, cooking the rice noodles, then pouring the boiling broth over the thinly sliced flank steak and noodles. Yoshi, Brandi, Daniel, Aries and I then topped the soup with bean sprouts, lime, basil, green onions, hoisin sauce, sriracha and sambal, depending on taste.