Mom's Best One-Dish Suppers: 101 Easy Homemade Favorites, as Comforting Now as They Were Then

by Andrea Chesman

Overview

Serve up homemade dinners the whole family will love — without spending hours in the kitchen! Showcasing the versatility of Dutch ovens, skillets, and casserole pans, Andrea Chesman offers recipes for more than 100 delicious meals that can be made in a single pot. From classics like Split Pea Soup, Chili Mac, and Chicken Potpie to the more adventurous Cajun Macque Choux, Pad Thai, and Shrimp Salad with Soy-Chili Vinaigrette, Chesman fills this book with easy-to-make dishes that fit the schedule of even the busiest home cook.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603422079
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	04/18/2014
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Andrea Chesman is the author of The Fat Kitchen as well as many other cookbooks that focus on traditional techniques and fresh-from-the-garden cooking. Her previous books include The Pickled Pantry, Serving Up the Harvest, 101 One-Dish Dinners, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How. She teaches and gives cooking demonstrations and classes across the United States. She lives in Ripton, Vermont.
 

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Soups & Stews

Quick Black Bean Soup

SERVES 6

Black beans, also known as turtle beans, black turtle beans, black Spanish beans, Tampico beans, and Venezuelan beans, are a New World bean, thought to have originated in southern Mexico and Central America more than seven thousand years ago. Black beans are small (about the size of a pea), oval, and jet black. They have cream-colored flesh, a mild, sweet, earthy taste, and a soft texture. Black bean soups and stews are especially common throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, and the southern United States, particularly in Florida and in the Southwest. Using canned black beans makes it possible to whip up this soup at a moment's notice. The secret ingredient is chipotle chile, a smoked-dried jalapeño, which adds a whisper of smoke and just the right amount of heat. You could substitute 1 to 2 tablespoons minced canned chipotles en adobo. Just be sure to add the cup of water to thin the soup.

1 chipotle chile
1. Combine the chipotle and boiling water in a blender. Let soak for 15 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and one-third of the beans to the blender. Process until puréed.

3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Sauté the onion, bell pepper, fresh chile, if using, and 1 teaspoon cumin in the oil until the vegetables are limp, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, the remaining beans, and the puréed bean mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, and cumin, if desired.

4. Serve hot, garnishing each bowl with a little cilantro.

In taking soup, it is necessary to avoid lifting too much into the spoon, or filling the mouth so full as to almost stop the breath. — ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST DE LA SALLE The Rules of Christian Manners and Civility (1695)

Lentil Soup

SERVES 6 TO 8

The most famous lentil soup of all time is the "mess of pottage" for which the biblical Esau sold his birthright. Lentils were probably one of the first food crops to be domesticated, dating back to the beginning of agriculture in the fertile crescent of the Near East. Moms have been making lentil soup ever since.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive or canola oil
1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Sauté the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in the oil until the onion is limp, about 3 minutes. Add the lentils, broth, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then skim off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the lentils are mushy, 45 to 60 minutes, depending on the variety and age of the lentils.

2. Let cool slightly, then purée in a blender. Return to the pot and thin with additional water, if desired. Add the tomatoes and mixed vegetables.

3. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley. Serve hot.

Curried Red Lentil Soup

SERVES 6 TO 8

The beautiful orange color of the red lentils fades to a mustard yellow-green as they cook, which is a pity. But as pottages go, this one is worthy of a birthright.

2 ½ cups dried red lentils, rinsed
1. Combine the lentils, water, onion, carrots, ginger, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then skim off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the lentils are very tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Let cool slightly.

2. Process the soup in a blender until smooth; you will have to do this in batches.

3. Return the soup to the soup pot. Stir in the hot sauce and coconut milk. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

4. Just before serving, stir in the cilantro. Serve hot. Do not allow the soup to boil once the coconut milk has been added.

NOTE

To toast cumin seeds, place in a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast until fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 1 minute.

Potato-Leek Soup

SERVES 4

Call it "potato-leek soup," and it is home-style comfort food. Call it "vichyssoise" and serve it cold, and it becomes an elegant soup first served at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in 1917 and named after the city of Vichy, where Chef Louis Diat, the creator of the recipe, grew up. Substitute scallions for the leeks, and call it "shallot porridge," as French-speaking Louisianans do.

5 cups chicken broth (see page 54)
1. Combine the broth and potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool slightly.

2. Purée the potato mixture in a food processor or blender until smooth.

3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Sauté the leeks in the oil until limp, about 4 minutes. Add the puréed potato mixture and half-and-half. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer to blend the flavors, about 10 minutes.

4. Serve hot or cold.

Split Pea Soup

SERVES 4 OR 5

Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot, nine days old. This good, oldfashioned soup won't last that long. And when should you serve it? The second week of November has been National Split Pea Soup Week since 1969.

2 cups dried split peas, rinsed
1. Combine the peas, water, and ham hock in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and skim off any foam that rises to the top of the pot. Add the onions, celery, carrot, and bay leaf. Simmer for 1 hour.

2. Remove the soup from the heat to cool slightly. Remove the ham hock and bay leaf. Process the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot.

3. Dice the meat from the ham hock, discarding the skin, bone, and fat. Add the meat to the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin the soup with water, if desired. Heat through before serving. The soup improves in flavor and thickens on standing. Thin again with water, if desired.

VARIATION

Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

SERVES 4 TO 6

Lean smoked turkey contributes the flavor — but none of the fat — of the traditional ham hock. Add ½ pound smoked turkey, all in one piece, along with the onions, celery, and carrot. Remove before processing in the blender and finely dice. Return to the processed soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tuscan White Bean Soup

With chicken stock on hand and canned beans, you'll need only about a half hour to make this delicious soup.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the sausage and brown, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the broth, beans, carrots, garlic, and rosemary. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the flavors have blended. Stir in the spinach. Simmer until wilted, about 2 minutes.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

I live on good soup, not on fine words.

— JEAN-BAPTISTE MOLIÈRE author of Le Misanthrope (1666)

Pasta e Fagiole

SERVES 6

The famous "pasta fazool" is an American colloquialism for this hearty soup of pasta and beans. Dean Martin immortalized it in his song, "That's Amore" ("When the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool, that's amore"). Made all over Italy, it's a soup with many variations. This version is quite simple, very quick to make, and very satisfying to enjoy.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1. Heat the oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until limp, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, rosemary, and oregano. Season generously with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

3. Add the pasta and simmer until the pasta is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Serve immediately, passing the cheese at the table.

Minestrone alla Genovese

SERVES 6

Minestrone translates as "big soup," which perfectly describes this hearty mixture of vegetables, beans, and pasta. The word is derived from minestrare, or "to administer," presumably because the soup was portioned out as the only dish served at a meal. There are as many versions of minestrone as there are cooks in Italy. What distinguishes minestrone from Genoa is the last-minute addition of pesto.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil for 2 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, carrot, celery, fennel, thyme, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

2. Return the soup to a boil. Add the pasta and boil gently until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and beans. Simmer for 5 minutes longer, or until the greens are tender.

3. Add the pesto, if using, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve. The soup will thicken on standing. Thin with additional broth or water, if desired.

Beautiful soup, so rich and green Waiting in a hot tureen! Who for such dainties would not stoop? Soup of the evening, beautiful soup! Beautiful soup! Who cares for fish Game, or any other dish? Who would not give all else for two Pennyworth of beautiful soup?

— LEWIS CARROLL Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)

Barley Mushroom Soup

SERVES 6

Barley is such an ancient grain that historians aren't really sure when and where it originated. Because it is a grain that is well suited to harsh climates, it has sustained both cultures that arose in harsh northern climates as well as desert dwellers. Today, most of the barley grown goes first to animal feed and second to the making of malt for beer. Only a small amount of barley is made into a grain for the kitchen, usually as pearled barley. Grinding the barley kernels with very abrasive disks creates pearl barley. Each time that the kernel is ground is called a "pearling." Before it is considered suitable for quick cooking, barley must go through three or four pearlings.

1 cup dried sliced porcini mushrooms (1 ounce)
1. Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over the mushrooms and set aside to soak.

2. Combine the onions, celery, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse to finely chop. Set aside. Place 1 pound of the white mushrooms in the food processor and pulse to finely chop. Slice the remaining ½ pound.

3. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the chopped vegetables and chopped mushrooms in the oil until they are well browned and the liquid has mostly evaporated, about 15 minutes.

4. Add the broth, barley, and sliced white mushrooms to the soup pot. Add the soaked porcini mushrooms and their soaking liquid, avoiding any grit that has settled in the bottom of the bowl. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the barley is tender, 40 to 60 minutes.

5. Stir in the sherry, dill, plenty of salt and pepper to taste, and parsley. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve hot.

Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite.

— AUGUSTE ESCOFFIER (1846–1935)

New England Seafood Chowder

SERVES 4 TO 6

A New England–style seafood chowder is milk-based — never tomato-based — and generally includes potatoes and onions as well as seafood, which makes it a complete meal in a bowl. The key to a great chowder is to cook the seafood as briefly as possible, so that each spoonful contains meltingly tender seafood in a creamy rich broth. A wise, diet-conscious mom might replace the cream with milk, but then it wouldn't be "Mom's best," would it?

2 dozen hard-shell clams, scrubbed Water
1. Put the clams in a large pot with 2 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until the clams begin to open, about 3 minutes. Remove the open clams and continue to cook for another minute or two, covered, removing more clams as soon as they open. Discard any clams that do not open.

2. When the clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from their shells, holding them over a bowl to catch all their juices. Chop the clams. Pour the broth through a sieve lined with a coffee filter or paper towels into a glass measure; this should remove all the grit and sand. Add enough water to measure 4 cups.

3. Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

4. Pour off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add the onion and celery and sauté over medium heat in the remaining bacon fat until limp, about 3 minutes. Add the 4 cups clam liquid and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes.

5. Add the fish fillet and scallops to the pot. Simmer, covered, until the fish is just cooked, about 3 minutes. Add the cream and chopped clams. Season to taste with salt, if desired, and pepper. Heat just long enough to return the liquid to a simmer.

6. Serve in individual soup bowls, crumbling the bacon and sprinkling the parsley on top of each.

"But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh! sweet friends, hearken to me. It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuits and salted pork cut up into little flakes! the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt ... we dispatched it with great expedition."

— ISHMAEL, speaking in Herman Melville's Moby Dick (1851)

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Mom's Best One-Dish Suppers"
by .
Copyright © 2005 Andrea Chesman.
Excerpted by permission of Storey Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Mom's Best Cooking Advice

1 Soups & Stews

Quick Black Bean Soup

Lentil Soup

Curried Red Lentil Soup

Potato-Leek Soup

Split Pea Soup

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Pasta e Fagiole

Minestrone alla Genovese

Barley Mushroom Soup

New England Seafood Chowder

Seafood Gumbo

Mediterranean Seafood Stew

Chinese Chicken Noodle Bowl

Tom Yum Rice Noodle Bowl

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Barley Soup

Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Tomato Chicken Soup

Chicken Gumbo

Chicken & Dumplings

Caldo Verde

Chicken Provencale

Italian Wedding Soup

Beef Stew

Mom's Best Bowl of Red

Vegetable Broth

Chicken Broth

Turkey Broth

2 Skillet & Other Stovetop Suppers

Louisiana Red Beans & Rice

Tex-Mex Black Bean Cornbread Supper

Barbecued Bean Cornbread Supper

Red Rice & Black Beans

Risotto Primavera

Saffron Risotto with Shrimp & Fennel

Seafood Paella

Dominican Shrimp & Yellow Rice

Shrimp Pilau

Pad Thai

Louisiana-Style Shrimp & Rice

Cajun Macque Choux

Saffron Shrimp with Potatoes & Spinach

Lemony Bluefish with Potatoes & Zucchini

Spanish Fish & Potato Saute

Arroz con Pollo

Curried Chicken & Broccoli Pilaf

Chicken Paella

Cock-a-Leekie Skillet Potpie

Chicken & Spinach with White Beans

Lemony Chicken with Artichokes & Potatoes

Chicken & Summer Vegetable Saute

Turkey with Winter Vegetables

Jambalaya

Skillet Lasagne

Skillet Choucroute Garni

Sausage & Kale with Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Sauteed Pork & Peppers with White Beans

Skillet Shepherd's Pie

Tamale Pie

Chili Mac

Stovetop Mac 'n' Cheese with Ham & Peas

Lamb & Barley with Winter Vegetables

Lamb Couscous

3 Oven-Baked Suppers

Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Vegetables

Vegetable Lasagne

Mexican Lasagne

King Ranch Chicken

Herb-Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Chicken & Rice

Chicken Divan

Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken Potpie

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Oven-Baked Pot Roast with Vegetables

Irish Stew

Braised Lamb Shanks with Vegetables

Pastitsio

Moussaka

Roast Pork with Sauerkraut

Ham & Potato Gratin

4 Salad Suppers

Southwestern Rice & Bean Salad

Shrimp & Avocado Salad

Vietnamese Shrimp & Vegetable Salad

Vietnamese Shrimp & Noodle Salad

Shrimp Salad with Soy-Chili Vinaigrette

Shrimp & White Bean Salad

Tuscan Tuna Salad with White Beans

Mediterranean Tuna Vegetable Salad

Poached Salmon Salad with Cucumber Sauce

Trout, Asparagus & New Potato Salad

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Chicken Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Curried Rice & Chicken Salad

Chicken Pasta Salad

Turkey & Wild Rice Salad

Antipasto Pasta Salad

Thai Beef Noodle Salad

Thai Beef Salad

Chinese Pork & Noodle Salad

Taco Salad

Germany-Style Potato Salad with Sausage

Converting Recipe Measurements to Metric

Index