Split Pea Soup

"Bad hair day (every day)? Stained kitchen towel draped around my entire top half? Whatever. Nothing can get me down." - that's our Isla.  Keepin' it real. 

I’ve documented how much these kids love soup. Also, the utility of leftover Irish bacon. The ever-frugal provider in me loves that I can make a meal that everyone will eat (and ask for seconds of) that is essentially made up of scraps from the fridge and leftovers. The only thing that could make this a better Sunday lunch? S.N.O.W. Tons of it. Oh, and brownies, from our new neighbors - to counteract all of the calories burned making snow angels and shoveling the drive.  Days like this make me feel less sorry for myself that we have to put up with the “bad” weather so many months out of the year. Kids teach you a lot. Mine have taught me to see things differently, to appreciate the wonder and fun in snow, the joy in anticipation of Christmas. I’m still not crazy about digging the car out or tackling most of the items on my December to-do list.  But, instead of just feeling overburdened by the responsibility of buying gifts and fighting the cold, for the past few years, I’m also remembering to enjoy it all a little more.

I really enjoy making this soup and how everyone lingers around the kitchen waiting for it to be ready to eat. Even the kids who, like most their age like something one minute and detest it the next, are guaranteed to eat a big bowl of split pea soup. Why wouldn’t they? It’s like comfort in a bowl.  Perfect for a snow day.

Split Pea Soup

About 8oz of leftover Irish Bacon (cooked)

1 large carrot, cut into small pieces

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

About 3 sprigs of thyme

6 cups chicken stock or broth

1 ½ cups dried green split peas

½ tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Place butter and olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat until butter is melted and starts to bubble.

Add carrots, onion and celery and cook until onion starts to become translucent, about 6 minutes, turn down the heat if vegetables start to brown.

Add garlic, bay leaf, thyme and a little bit of salt and cook about two minutes more.

Add bacon and split peas and stir.

Add chicken stock or broth, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for 1 hour to 90 minutes or until peas soften enough to thicken the soup. Serve with fresh parsley, bread or rice.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Mustard and Boiled Cider

We just got back from visiting my parents in sunny southern California and had a fabulous time. My parents live in Carlsbad, where the weather is always perfect and the beach is only a few minutes away. We took the kids to the San Diego Zoo but beyond that, we mostly just hung out and “relaxed”, which looks a lot different than it did pre-kiddos, but was still a welcomed break from our usual day-to day. There was a little bit of cooking but not too much and that was fine with me.

Beach time. 

When we got back on Saturday evening the kids were super-excited to be home and playing with their toys in their space was more fun than usual. For me there was unpacking to be done and a time change to be reckoned with so that we could all be ready to face the week ahead by Monday. As much as I wanted to spend a sleepy Sunday on the couch, I knew I had to venture out for groceries and cook something for dinner (and preferably to eat one more time during the week). If there is one thing being a parent has taught me, it’s that sucking it up and doing something you don’t feel like doing right now can have a major payoff later. So, with the knowledge that my future-self would thank me, my little assistant and I went to the store and brought back chicken thighs that we found on special.

This one got all of the Irish genes.

Braised chicken thighs don’t take very long at all but always seem to take longer than my usual weeknight schedule allows. I keep them on the regular weekend rotation and always make enough for leftovers. Even though it was sad to leave the sunshine state there’s something to be said for the seasons and seasonal cooking. It’s been a gorgeous fall here in Chicago and I couldn’t think of a more fetching fall supper to get us back in the saddle.

Next week is Thanksgiving! We’re having Turkey but I’ve also been promised an Irish bacon for my Thanksgiving spread. Stop by the boutique for all sorts of Holiday foods from desserts to condiments to breads to sausages.

Public Service Announcement: Cornbread stuffing with Winston's sausages is the best. 

Braised Chicken Thighs with Mustard and Boiled Cider

Serves 6

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

8 chicken thighs (I used boneless, skinless)

Salt and pepper

2 cups chicken stock or broth

1 shallot, sliced

5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

A few sprigs of thyme (optional)

2 tablespoons boiled cider (recipe for boiled cider can be found here but honey or maple syrup are both good substitutes)

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

½ cup dry white wine or sherry

2 tablespoons cold water

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Parsley or chives for garnish

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pan or dutch oven over high heat.

Wait until oil becomes very hot.

Add chicken thighs and sear until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.  Do this in at least two batches.

Once browned all over, set chicken aside on a plate and start searing the remaining chicken.

After browning all of the chicken pieces, add shallot, garlic and thyme (if using) and cook until onion begins to soften, 3-5 minutes.

Add wine or sherry and reduce until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as you go.  

Add stock or broth, boiled cider and dijon and bring to a boil.

Turn off heat and place pan, mostly covered (I put it in the oven with the lid just slightly ajar), in the oven for about 40 minutes.

Remove chicken, taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if necessary.  

To thicken sauce (optional), mix water and cornstarch until fully combined and no powder remains, just white liquid.

Add cornstarch slurry to sauce and bring sauce to a boil.

Add cider vinegar.

Remove pan from heat, pour sauce over chicken, garnish with parsley or chives and serve.

Irish Comfort Food: Coddle

I first learned about Coddle from a movie. Somehow, no matter how hard I try, I can't remember which movie, all I remember is that the main character was served coddle when he went home to visit his family in Ireland. In the movie, they make it look like the most unappetizing thing in the world. I remember feeling sorry for the main character as he choked it down (and clearly, nothing else about the movie - it's always about food with me). Despite this unfavorable depiction, coddle piqued my interest. When I googled it, I found that it’s an Irish dish made to use up leftovers and therefore, without a specific recipe. Leftovers? No recipe? Yes please. Rummaging around my kitchen I discovered a small piece of bacon leftover from one my father-in-law brought over earlier in the week, some sausages leftover from an Irish breakfast, a few yellow potatoes, some lingering root veggies in the fridge and some homemade chicken stock that I was defrosting for Eve, whose babysitter swears by it and insists I bring her some to feed the baby each week. So everything (and more) required for a good coddle.

The name comes from the verb “coddle” which means to cook food in water below boiling, like coddled eggs. Historically, the dish was often made on Thursdays to use up leftover sausages and bacon because Catholics were not supposed to eat meat on Fridays. Traditional Irish or Dublin Coddle does not contain carrots, garlic or cabbage and is made with water instead of stock. After reading a few different recipes I came up with the version below, which allowed me to use up a bunch of our leftovers. I’m not in a position to make any claims as to its authenticity (since I’ve never had coddle before), but I can tell you that it was comfort food at its best.

Once the coddle was done, I left it covered on the stove top while I put a loaf of brown bread, made from this mix in the oven.  About 35 minutes later, we enjoyed some coddle with warm bread and butter. Perfect for a chilly fall day and even more so, I can imagine, for a snowy winter one.

Emmett was in charge of making the Brown Bread.  The mix is awesome. All you need to do is add milk to this plastic zip-top bag, seal the bag and mix it in with your hands. 

Once the milk is mixed in with the dry ingredients you just squeeze the dough into the little pan that it comes with and bake at 375F for about 35 minutes. 

We put an "E" for Emmett on top of our bread. Baker's signature. 

Dublin Coddle

Serves 6

1lb yellow potatoes, chopped into small pieces

1 lb Irish sausages (Winston’s, I always have them in the freezer)

6-8oz Irish bacon, courtesy of my father-in-law, chopped into small pieces

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

2 carrots

½ small head of cabbage

3-4 cups chicken stock

Chopped parsley to serve

Pre-heat oven to 300F.  Prep vegetables and bacon.  Place a large dutch oven on the stovetop and heat to medium high. Add sausages and cook until browned on all sides (they don't need to be cooked through as they will cook much longer in the oven).

Remove and set aside. Add onion, garlic and bacon and cook until bacon begins to brown. Set aside with sausages.  

Turn heat up to high and add ⅓ cup chicken stock, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Once stock is reduced and there is very little liquid remaining in the pan, turn the heat off and spread the potatoes in a layer on the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Add carrots and cabbage in another layer, followed by the onion, bacon and sausages on top.

Pour remaining chicken stock over the ingredients in the pan and place in the oven for two hours.

Check the liquid level in one hour and add more if the coddle seems dry.  For reference, after the first hour, the liquid in mine reached the level of the cabbage and carrots but not the sausages and bacon. This was a good amount.  After 2 hours the liquid was at the same level as the sausages and bacon (the meat was not submerged but there was plenty of liquid). I thought this was the perfect amount.

After two hours, check to make sure potatoes and carrots are cooked through, garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

Browning the onions and bacon.

After the stock has cooked down, layer the potatoes in the pot. 

Layer cabbage and carrots on top of potatoes and then sausages, bacon, onion and garlic.

Eat, little person putting together a puzzle in the background optional.