Italian Pumpkin Soup Is Not Only Easy But Also Healthy

When I first wrote about Acorn Squash Soup, pumpkin and acorn were about the same price. I like the flavor of roasted acorn squash so I could buy a couple of small ones and make one into soup and the other eat roasted. Well in the past year, one market has dropped the price of pumpkin down as low as fifty cents a pound and started selling one pound pieces. So naturally I decided to try pumpkin soup using my Acorn Squash Soup recipe.

Actually, Italian Pumpkin Soup is richer and bolder than Acorn Squash Soup and just as versatile. I made a vegan version with coined carrots where you have to blanch the carrots until tender and add them back after the pumpkin soup is pureed. The version pictured above is with chicken and when I cooked it on the stove top, I included carrots, dumplings and chicken. When rereading the acorn squash recipe, I see that I no longer add Pasta to soup. If you choose to do this in your coffeepot, you have to cook the pasta for twice as long as called for and avoid leftovers as the pasta has a tendency to turn mushy. So in effect, this really is an entirely different soup and deserves it's own recipe.

Italian Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 can vegetable broth or Chicken Broth
• ¾ to I pound pumpkin
• 3-4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 small onion diced
• Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• Optional – Piece of chicken with or without the bone
• Optional – Coined Carrots, precooked
• Optional -Tablespoon grated Parmesan sprinkled on top

Method:

1. Peal and cube the pumpkin and get rid of the skin and seeds.
2. Add cubed pumpkin and garlic to the pot and cook with broth for 2 hours
3. Puree in blender or remove pumpkin from broth and mash by hand.
4. Add onion and chicken or cooked carrots if desired. Cook additional 2 hours.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Do You Know Why Foie Gras Is So Famous In French Cuisine

Foie gras is one of the most popular and well-known delicacies in French cuisine and its flavour is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of a regular duck or goose liver. It can be sold whole, or prepared into mousse, parfait, or pâté (the lowest quality), and is typically served as an accompaniment to another food item, such as toast or steak.

This fattened liver is produced by using a traditional technique known as Gavage, this is the force feeding of ducks and geese to fatten their livers to produce 'foie-gras-de-canard' or 'foie-gras-d'oie'.

The technique of gavage dates as far back as 2500 BC, when the ancient Egyptians began keeping birds for food and deliberately fattened the birds through force-feeding. Today, France is by far the largest producer and consumer of this famous french food.

Traditionally, in the South-West of France where this is mainly produced, it is womens work and they are called gaveuses. There are special markets to display this produce and it is truly a respected industry, women of all ages take pride in exchanging stories on how their 'Foie-Gras' fairs in the colour, texture and taste counters.

 

This Famous Food is expensive, this fattened liver is worth at least 10 times more than the rest of the bird, called the paletot which doesn't go to waste. The breasts are vacuum packed and sold as magret while the rest is sold to make confits.

'Foie-Gras-d'Oie' is about twice the size of the 'Foie-Gras-de-Canard'. They are usually preserved by canning or by barely cooking ie mi-cuit or semi cuit, then vacuum packed. This means they will last for up to one month.

It is an extremely delicate piece of meat and can be totally destroyed if overcooked. If all the fat runs out it will just melt away so take care in it's preparation!!

Tips For Cooking Shrimps

Shrimp is definitely one of the favorite fish in the USA and all over the world. It can be cooked in numerous approaches including boiled, steamed, fried as well as grilled. Some tested recipes require shrimp to be pre-cooked and others completely uncooked. If you add to most of this the fact that shrimp comes in several sizes and the few different types of shrimp the cooking connected with this delicious crustacean may seem overwhelming many. However, should you follow just a couple of easy tips your shrimp can be as delicious as they possibly be.

The most common error that a lot of people carry out is overcooking shrimp. When you overcook the item it becomes rubbery and it will lose the vast majority of its moisture. If you are boiling shrimp you can say to that it is ready gets hotter turns pink along with starts floating. Usually small shrimp need about three to four minutes whilst medium shrimp requires 2-3 extra minutes and jumbo shrimp 3-4 extra minutes. It is important to remove the shrimp from the cooking fluid when they are ready and not let them cool from it, because the cooking will continue and your shrimp will be overcooked.

If you utilize frozen shrimp, the defrosting method is equally important. The correct way is to defrost them in the fridge or in cold mineral water. Defrosting them at room temperature, in the microwave or perhaps warm water is not recommended.

A common question that a lot of men and women ask is whether marketing and advertising to cook them with the layer or without it. Basically there is no right or wrong means by my opinion. I have read people saying that if you cook them with the shell they tastes better and in plenty of cases I agree. Even so, if you remove the shell you make a very nice broth by cooking food the shells with spices or herbs and vegetables which you can use in the same recipe or for other dishes.

Finnaly, if you are using large shrimp you should devein them first. You will find specialized kitchen items that are used for this you can also just use a sharp modest knife. By deveining these you remove the dark "vein" that you can see in the back of the shrimp. Even if you can eat it may taste a bit "dirty". Many big shrimp require deveining nevertheless medium and especially little jumping salad in most cases do not. It really is mostly a matter of looks and judgement.

This Abalone Soup Recipe Is Quite Traditional And Famous

Abalone or what we called Bao Yu in Chinese, is considered a delicacy in Asian cuisine. Similar to shark fin , abalone is considered a luxury item, and is traditionally reserved for special occasions such as weddings and other celebrations. However, the availability of commercially farmed abalone has allowed more common consumption of this once rare delicacy. The flesh of abalones is widely considered to be a desirable food, and is consumed raw or cooked in a wide variety of dishes.

The abalone we purchased came in a can, already precooked. The one we got is considered a medium-grade Australian abalone. The highest grade may cost double or more and come from Mexico.

Abalone has quite a chewy texture and some people may not like it for this reason. You can use abalone not only in soup but also to stir fry with vegetable and other stuff. My mom likes to use abalone to make a soup and I can't think of anything better than an abalone soup in a subzero temperature.

ABALONE SOUP

• 6 C of chicken stock
• 1 can of abalone
• 1/2 C of scallops – optional
• 2 stalks of spring onions

COOKING METHOD:

1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add in the sliced abalone and scallops and cook for about 1 minute. The abalone is already precooked and the scallops do not take long to cook

2. Garnish with spring onion.