01 January

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January 1, 2014

Cock-a-Leekie

Posted by HI Cookery under 01 January | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Cock-a-Leekie

(Scottish Chicken and Leeks Soup)

Cock-a-leekie

January: National Soup Month

The ultimate comfort food for cold weather (and for colds and flu) is chicken soup. We have blogged before about tinolang manok, a Filipino-style chicken soup. But this recipe post is for cock-a-leekie, a Scottish-style chicken soup, for Hogmanay (Scottish New Year) and the upcoming Burns Supper celebrations in the latter part of January.

Highlander’s Scottish relatives shared several versions of their recipes with us but we have adapted one for our own tastes and kept the traditional ingredients—cock (chicken), leekie (leeks) and prunes. Other recipes add bacon rashers, rice or barley as thickeners, carrots, celery and onions. The hot broth is heart-warming, the chicken provides protein to the body, leeks lend a natural flavor and the prunes are for fiber.

During National Soup Month, cook a comfort food, cock-a-leekie, (Scottish chicken and leeks soup). Slàinte mhor (great health)!

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 leeks, sliced (white parts only)
  • 6 chicken drumsticks (2 leg quarters or 4 thighs)
  • 2-3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 slices bacon, chopped (optional)
  • 8+ cups of chicken stock
  • bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf and parsley mix)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ – 1 cup prunes, cut in half

Directions

Wash the leeks thoroughly to remove the dirt embedded below the green tops. Trim the bottom of the leeks and slice the white parts. In a large pot, brown the chicken in melted butter. Stir in the chopped bacon and cook till crisp.

Cock-a-leekie

Add the sliced leeks. Pour in the chicken stock and bouquet garni. Cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat to simmer. Let it stew for one hour, stirring occasionally and adding a cup or two of water to the broth, if more liquid is needed.

Cock-a-leekie

Remove the chicken from the pot, then take the meat off the bones and chop coarsely. Return the chopped chicken meat to the soup pot and season with salt and pepper. Add the prunes and simmer for 15 more minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls or cups. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Cock-a-leekie

Notes 

  • Happy Hogmanay (Scottish New Year) to all our blog readers! Have a happy and healthy new year!
  • We made a bouquet garni by putting a half teaspoon of dried thyme, one bay leaf and a teaspoon of dried parsley in a tea bag. Soak it in the soup while it is simmering over the stovetop. Discard after cooking.
  • Check out other chicken soup recipes by searching our blog.
 

January 24, 2013

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Posted by HI Cookery under 01 January | Tags: , , , , |
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

January 24: National Peanut Butter Day

Islander and her brother often travel together to attend work-related conferences because they are in the same field. On one of their trips, the weary travelers walked to a restaurant near their hotel and quickly devoured their dinner. But they also wanted to eat something sweet afterwards. They split a chocolate peanut butter pie—oh my! It was a deliciously decadent and terrific treat after a long day of traveling.

Upon her return home, Islander searched online for a simple recipe for chocolate peanut butter pie. She found a basic recipe that allowed her to add creative combinations of toppings of her choice (see the Notes below for other decorating ideas), although it is perfect as a plain pie, too.

On National Peanut Butter Day, give chocolate peanut butter pie a try!

Recipe

(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 (8 ounces) bar cream cheese, softened
  • 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 container (8 ounces) non-dairy whipped topping (Cool Whip)
  • chocolate pie crust (we used Keebler brand Ready-Crust)

Directions

Cream together the peanut butter and cream cheese. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Stir in the non-dairy whipped topping until light and fluffy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Pour into the chocolate pie crust. Use a spatula to smooth out the top. Refrigerate for an hour or until firm. Decorate as desired.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Notes

  • Make this chocolate peanut butter pie pretty by sprinkling chocolate curls/chips and peanut butter baking morsels, drizzling melted chocolate or peanut butter or adding crushed peanuts or chopped chocolate peanut butter candies (such as Reese’s brand) on top.
  • Search our blog for more recipes containing peanut butter.
 

January 23, 2013

French Silk Pie

Posted by HI Cookery under 01 January | Tags: , , , , , |
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French Silk Pie

French Silk Pie

January 23: National Pie Day

Scared of salmonella but still want a slice of French silk pie? The classic confection contains raw eggs but we wanted to try a recipe that uses cooked eggs—just to be safe, especially when serving guests whose digestive systems are sensitive (like Islander’s).

French Silk Pie is like a chocolate pudding cream pie but richer and velvety smooth. We chocoholics now prefer it over the latter but the raw eggs made this a rare indulgence.

Cook’s Country adapted Pillsbury’s award-winning original French silk pie recipe by cooking the eggs over a double boiler and increasing the amount of chocolate (we especially liked that part!) for a fuller flavor and deep, dark color. Now we can enjoy this delicious dessert without worrying too much about salmonella poisoning.

For peace of mind, have a piece of French Silk Pie (with cooked eggs in the filling) for National Pie Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cook’s Country)

Ingredients

  • 1 baked pie crust (we used Pillsbury brand deep dish frozen crust)
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided use
  • 3 whole eggs
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 stick (½ cup) butter, softened and cut into chunks
  • 8 (1 ounce each) squares unsweetened chocolate (we used Bakers brand), melted
  • chocolate shavings or curls (optional)

Directions

Brown the pie crust in the oven and let cool. In a large bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate the cream while preparing the other ingredients. In a glass mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and water.

French Silk Pie

Place over a pot of simmering hot water to act as a double boiler. Avoid scrambling the eggs by immediately beating the egg mixture on high speed until smooth, pale and frothy (about 7-10 minutes or until a thermometer reaches 160 degrees F). Remove the bowl from the double boiler and continue beating on high speed for another 10 minutes or until cool. Beat in the vanilla and softened chunks of butter. Mix in the melted chocolate until smooth.

French Silk Pie

Gently fold in half of the whipped cream until well blended with the chocolate. Pour into the prepared crust. Smooth the top with a spatula. Refrigerate at least three hours or overnight to set until firm. With the remaining whipped cream, fill a pastry bag and pipe decorative swirls over the pie. Sprinkle the top with chocolate shavings or curls (optional). Refrigerate until ready to serve.

French Silk Pie

Notes

  • Substitute one cup of the whipped cream for Cool Whip non-dairy whipped topping. Cool Whip is smoother and light but firm for piping the decorations on pies.
  • Substitute unsweetened baking squares for semi-sweet for a sweeter French Silk Pie.
  • Substitute the store-bought pastry pie shell for a homemade recipe.
  • Search our blog for other pie recipes.
 

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