My Prairie Cookbook Read Online Free PDF Page A

fresh corn, shucked
    8 slices bacon, chopped
    Â¼ cup (½ stick/55 g) unsalted butter
    4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
    2 ribs celery, finely chopped
    1 yellow onion, finely chopped
    1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
    1 fresh or dried bay leaf
    6 cups (1.4 L) milk
    3 new potatoes (about 1½ pounds/680 g), peeled and cut into ½-inch (12-mm) cubes
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    Â¼ cup (7 g) thinly sliced fresh basil or 4 sprigs thyme, for serving
    â€¢ Working over a large shallow bowl, slice the corn kernels off the cobs, scraping the cobs with the knife to extract the flavorful juices. Halve 5 of the bare corncobs crosswise, discarding the rest. Set the corn and cobs aside.
    â€¢ Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 12 minutes. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the bacon for garnish, leaving the remaining bacon in the pot. Add the butter, garlic, celery, onion, thyme, and bay leaf. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 6 minutes. Add the reserved corn kernels and cobs, the milk, and potatoes. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.
    â€¢ Skim any foam from the surface of the soup. Discard the cobs and bay leaf. Transfer 1½ cups (360 ml) of the soup to a blender and puree. Stir the puree back into the chowder to thicken it. Season with salt and pepper and serve garnished with the basil or thyme and the reserved bacon.

    This is my mother’s chicken soup recipe. I’m pretty sure it’s been passed down from generation to generation to generation. Whenever I was sick as a kid, I got this soup. When I was sad . . . soup. When I was cranky, crampy, moody, heartbroken . . . soup. This soup really is a cure-all. If you like, you can substitute a 16-ounce (455-g) bag of egg noodles for the matzo balls, cooking them and adding them to the soup before serving.
    Serves 4 to 6
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    1 (4- to 5-pound/1.8- to 2.3-kg) whole chicken
    8 carrots, peeled and sliced
    2 ribs celery, chopped
    1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
    1 yellow onion, chopped
    Â¼ cup (7 g) chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
    3 cloves garlic, crushed
    2½ cups (290 g) matzo meal
    6 large eggs
    6 tablespoons (90 ml) vegetable oil
    2 teaspoons salt
    â€¢ Place the chicken in a large pot with the breast-side down. Add the carrots, celery, parsnip, onion, and dill. Fill the pot with enough cold water to cover the chicken and reach about 3 inches (7.5 cm) from the top of the pot. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat and cook, partially covered, for 2 hours. Do not let the soup boil.
    â€¢ Skim any fat from the top of the soup and add the garlic. Partially cover and simmer for another 2 hours. Remove the chicken to let it cool a bit.
    â€¢ In a medium bowl, mix together the matzo meal, eggs, oil, salt, and ¼ cup (60 ml) of the broth from the chicken soup. Refrigerate the mixture for about 20 minutes.
    â€¢ Bring a separate pot of water to a rolling boil. Roll the matzo mixture into about 16 balls. Wet your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them. Drop the balls into boiling water, cover, and cook for about 35 minutes.
    â€¢ While the matzo balls are cooking, strain the broth from the chicken soup; discard the vegetables. Return the broth to the pot over low heat. Remove the bones and skin from the chicken and cut the meat into bite-size pieces; return it to the broth. Remove the matzo balls from the water, drain them briefly on paper towels, and serve them in the hot chicken soup. Garnish with fresh dill.

    This hearty recipe is a guaranteed hit. Everyone, I mean
everyone,
I have made this for has absolutely loved it. Serve it with some great crusty French bread and oven-roasted potatoes. And after your friends and family have eaten this and loved it, you can tell them proudly that you just served them an authentic