Mrs. Seymour's Chicken Soup

Here's the recipe for Mrs. Seymour's Chicken Soup, posted exactly as she e-mailed it to me. (Oh, Mrs. Seymour is my mother-in-law.) Follow it exactly. The "Jubilee" rice she speaks of is this Lundberg Jubilee rice blend that you can find at Whole Foods. This soup is really amazingly good and easy and magical and fixes all kinds of problems. And then I'll tell you a funny story about celery.

Chicken Soup
I buy a combination of chicken breasts and thighs (at least two breast
pieces and four thighs). Remove all skin except the skin on one of
the thighs. There is something about having a certain amount of fat in
the broth that seems to enhance the medicinal properties of chicken
soup (so you may want to buy organic). You decide if you want to buy
boneless cuts of chicken - the bones add flavor, but can be a problem
to remove from the soup if the chicken really falls apart while
boiling.

Put chicken in bottom of soup pot. Cover with chicken broth (I used
two of the larger boxes of organic broth - my guess would be it was
about 6 cups - sorry, I don't usually pay attention to measurements).
Begin to boil.

While that is getting started, I cut up the vegetables and add them as
I get them cut up.

Ingredients:

• 2 onions
• 6-8 carrots
• 4-6 stalks of celery
• (Really, you can add any other veggies you'd like- I've added cut up potatoes, but then they don't freeze too well. Frozen green peas add a sweet favor - add them in the last 15-20 minutes of cooking time, after adding rice, but they turn that faded green color when you heat up the leftover soup the next day.)
• 1 T marjoram
• 1 t poultry seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste (I added a tablespoon of salt and that really wasn't enough for this amount- the salt also helps with caring for cold symptoms- better to have each person have to add more, than to have it too salty, I guess. )

Once the chicken looks fully cooked, I lift each piece out of the pot,
put it on a plate to cool until it's cool enough to handle, then
de-bone it, cut it up, and put the meat back into the pot.

About an hour before serving add 1/2 -1 cup of rice (I used a blend of
rices, "Jubilee" it's called, you can decide what rice you'd like.
Also, some types of pasta are good.) Keep it at a low boil while rice
is cooking. I actually like it when the rice is almost overcooked and
starting to split.

It is really pretty simple, but it does require a fair amount of
chopping of vegetables.

---
When I made this the first time around, i wasn't quite sure what a "stalk" of celery meant. I took it to mean an actual bunch. So I cut up about four whole bunches of chopped celery into this soup. As I added it to the pot, it seemed kind of like a lot of celery. A little too much. So I reserved a bowlful of these to eat with peanut butter and added in this massive amount of celery to the soup. The soup was good but just a lot of celery. And then later on, I asked Christine and the internets and figured out that no, I really just needed one bunch of celery. I'm an idiot.

Mushroom Risotto

I attempted risotto last night for the first time, something I've been meaning to do for some time. I had a box of Arborio rice sitting in the pantry from Trader Joe's and had hunted down some dried porcini mushrooms at Far West Fungi at the Ferry Building (surprisingly, these were not that easy to find). One ounce pre-packaged in a bag was $6.50 and the perfect amount for this dish. I'll admit, I was nervous about making this as I've heard rumors about how difficult it is to cook, how long it takes, etc. Plus I've only had it a couple of times in my life, including the most divine mushroom risotto at Osteria la Buca in LA when it was still a charming little hole in the wall joint. After some research, including finding a recipe that involved soy sauce (!), I opted for Mr. Tyler Florence's version. It sounded solid and I pretty much followed it to the letter, mostly eyeballing the measurements. The only exceptions are I didn't have any parsley or truffle oil (I've never owned any), though the end result did not seem to lack flavor. I can only guess that adding the latter would take things to another level. It ended up not being the culinary hell I imagined. It was pretty easy, it just requires a tiny bit of patience and attention. And it's oh so worth it. The result was warm homey cozy goodness, which we served as the main dish with a little salad. My favorite part turned out to be the soft and meaty portobellos that soak up all the oils and flavors. My husband also loved it and inhaled his and went for seconds. Note to self: get over yourself and purchase some truffle oil.

Mushroom Risotto, adapted from Tyler Florence

Ingredients:

• 7 1/2 to 8 cups chicken broth (low sodium, if available)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 onion, diced, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
• 1 pound fresh portobello and crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped (also skipped this)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon truffle oil (if you don't have it, go without!)
• Salt and pepper
• 1-ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
• Fresh Italian parsley, for garnish (if you got it, use it)

Directions:

Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Put the dried porcini mushrooms in 1 cup of broth in a bowl to rehydrate and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 onion and 1 clove garlic, cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms, herbs and butter. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes until lightly browned, season with salt and pepper. Optional: Drizzle in truffle oil. Then add the dried porcini mushrooms which were reconstituted in the warm chicken broth (I added everything, liquid and all). Season again with salt and pepper. Saute 1 minute then remove from heat and set aside.

Coat a large saucepan with remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Saute the remaining 1/2 onion and garlic clove. Add the rice and stir quickly until it is well-coated and opaque, 1 minute. This step cooks the starchy coating and prevents the grains from sticking. Stir in wine and cook until it is nearly all evaporated (it should stop smelling of alcohol).

Now, with a ladle, add 1 cup of the warm broth and cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time. Continue to cook and stir, allowing the rice to absorb each addition of broth before adding more. Stir, stir, stir. The risotto should be slightly firm and creamy, not mushy. Taste test little bites of it every couple of minutes as you're getting close. Done risotto should be al dente, that is tender but still firm. And by all means, don't overcook it! Transfer the mushrooms to the rice mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, cook briefly until melted. Plate and garnish with the rest of the cheese, and a drizzle of truffle oil and chopped parsley, if you have those things on hand.