Nanny Bubby’s Matzo Balls

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My daughter is a vegetarian, so she won’t eat chicken soup. Naturally, I cannot cook the matzo balls in chicken stock. I cook them in heavily salted water the way I would cook pasta and they turn out wonderfully. Then I serve them to her in a vegetarian stock.

The key to fluffy big Matzo balls is seltzer water (as my grandmother used to call it). Today we just all call it club soda. You can also substitute rendered chicken fat for the Ghee if you really want to go old-world on this. This pairs with my comforting chicken soup recipe. Enjoy!

Factoid: The second largest population of Jews in the diaspora is in France. The herbs de Provence in this recipe is a nod to them as I can imagine them using it.

 

Serves:

6 – 8

Total Time:

1 hours

For Soup

Ingredients:

  • 4 extra-large eggs, separated

  • ½ C. club soda

  • ¼ C. Ghee melted or rendered chicken fat if you want to be traditional

  • 2 Tbsp. Herbs de Provence

  • 1 C. matzo meal

  • 1 Tbsp. Kosher salt

 

Directions:

Gently mix the egg yolks, club soda, ghee, Herbs de Provence and two tsps. salt.

Gently stir in the matzo meal.

In the bowl of an electric mixer whip the egg whites with the remaining tsp. of salt until they are stiff with strong peaks.

Fold them into the matzo mixture gently and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

With a 1.5-inch ice cream scoop, form into balls. Drop them into simmering well salted water and cook for 30 minutes, rolling them over after cooking them for 15 minutes.

Be sure to roll each one of them individually.

Serve two in each bowl of chicken soup. Enjoy!

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Nanny Bubby’s Chicken Soup

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In our house, chicken soup is the cure for everything. You scraped your knee? Let me make soup. You’re sick? Let me make soup. We call it Jewish Penicillin! It is the ultimate comfort food. It cures everything. It is absolutely LOVE in a pot. Enjoy!

Serves:

8

Total Time:

5 hours

For the Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 whole chickens, 3 to 4 lbs. each OR 1 whole chicken and 4 lbs. chicken legs and thighs combination

  • 2 large yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered

  • 4 carrots, unpeeled and halved

  • 6 stalks celery with leaves cut in half

  • 1 large rutabaga

  • 1 large turnip

  • 1 large bunch fresh Italian parsley

  • 1 large bunch thyme

  • 1 large bunch dill

  • 3 large sprigs rosemary

  • 2 large heads garlic, unpeeled and cut in half lengthwise

  • 3 Tbsp. Kosher salt

  • 1 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns

 

Directions:

If you are using the 4 lbs. of legs and thighs, ask the butcher to split or crush the bones of the meat before packaging. This allows the broth to become richer with collagen and create more of a succulent and healthy bone broth that creates a jellied consistency when cold. (A true sign of lots of collagen for good health.)

Place the chicken, onions, carrots, celery, rutabaga, turnip, parsley, thyme, dill, rosemary, garlic and seasonings in a 16-quart stock pot.

Cover with water to about ¾ of the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for one hour.

Remove the whole chicken and let cool. Remove the breast meat, cover and set it aside until soup is ready for serving (this way the breast meat will not be overly cooked and tough, but rather delicious and tender for serving).

Return the remaining carcass to the pot and continue simmering, uncovered for three more hours.

Strain the entire contents of the pot through a fine sieve. Let it cool and then chill.

I always find making this a day ahead is a good way to go. Sometimes it can take hours to cool down. You do not want to put it in the fridge to chill if it is still hot because it will sour. Also, most of the dark meat will disintegrate over the three hours. I throw everything away.

Tip: If there is any dark meat worth saving, I always pack it up for meals for my little pup. He loves it.

To Serve

Ingredients:

  • 6 diced carrots

  • 6 diced whole celery

  • ⅛ C. fresh dill

  • ½ C. fresh Italian parsley

 

Directions:

To serve the soup, reheat the stock in a pot adding the carrots, celery, dill and parsley. Shred the reserved chicken breasts into larger pieces and add to the pot. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Season to taste and serve over two matzo balls.

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French Onion Soup

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When I was five months pregnant with our daughter, May of 1981, my husband and I were invited to Maui as a reward for my husband’s sales success. While there with about 25 other couples, we purchased a box of about four dozen Maui Onions, and a box of pineapples. I really did not know what to do with that many onions except give them away as gifts. A friend of ours on the trip gave me this French Onion Soup recipe and it has been a family favorite ever since. And it has gotten better over the years, because I became a better cook over the years!

 

Serves:

6 – 8

Total Time:

3 hours

To Roast the Pumpkins

Ingredients:

  • 12 red onions or sweet Maui onions

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil

  • 2 Tbsp. sweet butter

  • 1 Tbsp. sugar

  • 1 tsp. salt

  • 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

  • 3 C. chicken broth (undiluted) or vegetable stock

  • 4 C. beef broth (undiluted) or vegetable stock

  • 2 tsp. Dijon mustard

  • ¼ C. dry vermouth (preferred) or white wine

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • 8 pieces of toasted French bread slices (about ½ inch thick)

  • 2 to 3 C. shredded Gruyere cheese

  • 1 egg yolk or 2 Tbsp. Cognac (preferred)

 

Directions:

Slice the onions in ¼ inch round slices, then slice the rounds in half.

In a large soup pot, sauté the onions in butter and olive oil for two hours, on low heat, stirring often.

After 30 minutes, sprinkle the onions ,with salt, pepper and sugar.

After another hour, sprinkle flour over the onions and stir until it dissolves. Let onions continue to simmer for remaining 30 minutes.

Bring both soup broths to a boil.

Add the broth to the onion mixture and stir to blend.

Add the wine, mustard and seasoning and continue to simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to be sure onions are not sticking to the bottom of the pot. When the soup is finished cooking, stir in the Cognac.

Fill individual oven-proof soup bowls with soup, leaving about ½ inch at the top.

Place toasted French bread slices on each of the soups. Top with a handful (about 1/3 C.) of grated cheese on each.

Arrange the bowls on a cookie sheet and place on the second rack in the oven.

Turn Broil on to high and broil for two to three minutes, until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling, and a bit crispy at the edges.

Serve immediately.

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Butternut Squash Soup in Pumpkin Bowls

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I have always loved the pictures of butternut squash soup being served in pumpkin bowls. The problem is that every recipe I found caused the pumpkins to be overcooked and become too soft, and the soup would seep out of it. What I learned after many times of trial and error, is that you just want to cook the pumpkins long enough at a medium heat to get the raw smell out of them. And, you don’t want to scrape the bottom too much or you could puncture or cause a hole. It is ok to leave a little extra pumpkin meat in the bottom for extra protection. What you will have is a beautiful, splendid presentation during any fall holiday.

Tip: I use little Tiger Pumpkins for this recipe – but any miniature pumpkins are off the grocery shelves the day after Halloween will do. I buy them for Thanksgiving in late October and place them in the refrigerator till Thanksgiving. They will keep perfectly. If you wait till November 5, you will not find a single one! So figure out your Thanksgiving invite list early and buy enough in October.

For the Soup – I don’t ever remember having butternut squash soup growing up. I never even heard of it until 1999 when I was in South Africa deep within the Kruger National Park at a game Lodge called Sabi Sabi.

Every sunrise and sunset we would go out on a photographic game drive and be amazed at the nature we were observing. One evening after one of our sunset drives we returned starving and a bit tipsy as they serve alcohol right before and after you take off for the adventure. Sabi Sabi had a staff of gourmet chefs that fed us fabulous meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This night they served a starter of butternut squash soup. It was amazing. I never had such flavor hit my taste buds. I so, so loved it. I asked for the recipe, but the chefs (who spoke a South African native language) and I could not quite communicate. I spent years working to perfect it. My family loves it. I think I got close. Enjoy!

To Roast the Pumpkins

Serves:

6 – 8

Total Time:

30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • Miniature Tiger Pumpkins (one for each one of your guests)

  • Organic coconut oil spray

 

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.

Cut off the tops of the pumpkins.

With a grapefruit or serrated spoon, scrape out the meat and seeds, being careful not to scrape the bottom too thinly.

Once hollowed out, spray the inside of the pumpkin with the organic coconut oil spray.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Wipe the outside of the pumpkins with a paper towel to remove the extra oil so they do not char in the oven.

Place upside down on a cookie sheet lined with a cooking rack and bake with the tops off but also in the oven for 15 minutes. Watching closely to be sure they do not crack or split. You will know they are done when they no longer smell raw and have a sweet pumpkin aroma to them.

 

To Make the Butternut Squash Soup

Serves:

6-8

Total Time:

1 hour

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3, 2 lb. packages cubed butternut squash
  • 2 quarts. organic vegetable stock
  • 1 large clove garlic (or 2 small), minced
  • 2 tsp. fresh thyme
  • ½ tsp. fresh sage
  • ½ C. heavy whipping cream
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Topping:

  • ½ C. heavy whipping cream
  • ½ C. Crème Fraiche

 

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over high heat in a large non-metallic stock pot.

Add the chopped onion pieces until they begin to soften and turn translucent before they begin to brown, about five minutes.

Add the butter and then add the squash and cook stirring occasionally until the edges begin to brown and the squash begins to soften on the outside layer, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute until it softens being careful it does not brown or begin to burn.

Add the vegetable stock, thyme, sage and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the squash is very soft about 20 mins.

Take the soup off the heat, and then pour in the heavy cream. Puree the soup using an immersion blender.

Season with salt and pepper. Pour into your roasted Tiger Pumpkin Bowls.

For the Topping

Ingredients:

  • ½ C. heavy whipping cream
  • ½ C. Crème Fraiche

 

Directions:

Mix together the cream and Crème Fraiche in a small bowl and drizzle over the top of the soup making designs as you go. Garnish with a piece of sage.

Tip: Fried sage is an awesome treat on this. Just spray a little olive oil in a pan and sauté till crispy! Voila!

 

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