Monday, October 24, 2011

Dinner In A Bowl

IT'S DINNER!  IN A BOWL!

Nothing will take you back to your childhood (or happy altered-state college days) like eating a meal out of a bowl.  You can't help but smile a little thinking about being the first one to open up a new box of Fruity Pebbles and pouring that nice cold milk over those rainbow colored crispy bits of happiness.  It is amazing however that kids these days have NO FREAKIN' IDEA who the Flintstones are - and yet they sell the crap outta that cereal.

Other GRRREAT!!!(pardon my Tony the Tiger) things come in bowls: ice-cream, chicken noodle soup,and chili just to name a few.  Let's turn it up to 11 here and have Dinner In A Bowl!

One of the ideas we like at home is the burrito in a bowl concept which I BORROWED from a restaurant chain that rhymes with Chip-Oh-Tlay.  But, check this out, you can change up the flavors and make it Mediterranean or Italian or Whateverian.

So typically you will have a starch like rice - well change it up amigo!  Change it up!  (But Doug, change is hard...)  Yeah, I know, change is hard - dollar bills are soft.  Which one do you like?  Uh huh, thought so.

Burrito = rice, beans, meat, cheese, onions, etc.

Dinner in a bowl turned up to 11 = tater tots, grilled steak, blue cheese and red wine, mushrooms sauce.

Or how about couscous, shrimp, cucumber, tomatoes, with dill and white wine-dijon dressing.

I am so doing this!!  And I am serving it to friends and they are going to love it and you will too!  (Shit Doug, calm down now...)  pant, pant, pant... okay Dude, sorry...  calming down.

Hey, if you like this stuff, and you like chicks digging you (and who wouldn't?)  subscribe to my blog!  If you're the first new subscriber, send me an email and I will send you a free copy of the book.  (I know, it's crazy how much I care about you!  I'm getting all emotional...)


Friday, October 7, 2011

You've Got To Be Kidding

Fall is here and I'm getting back into the kitchen.  Learned some new stuff that needs to be shared.  It's about soup.  Making soup from scratch versus opening a can.  Specifically you should know that opening a can is NOT going to get you chicks.

I have searched through numerous cookbooks and recipes online and discovered something amazing.  There are no recipes for soup.

"Shut the hell up Doug, I know for a damn fact that soup recipes exist."

Yes, my friend you are right, and I'm curious about your inner rage, but never mind that.  What I learned is that there is no ONE recipe for soup.  This was astounding to me.

Here at Chicks Dig Central there was a request for "Butternut Squash Soup" from Mrs. Chick.  Knowing that the Digging Me One would be quite happy to have butternut squash soup show up on the table on a cool autumn day, I decided to look for some ideas.

My usual modus operandi is to fire up all things Google and see what looks good (and what we might have in the fridge).  Imagine my surprise when the recipe lists for butternut squash soup contained anywhere from three ingredients to twenty-three ingredients!  Some of the recipes even had duck feathers!  Just kidding.

Looking at all the different options for making one soup was a bit puzzling, but it didn't take long to realize that some chefs put their own spin on a dish (or in this case a bowl).  I looked at other recipes for varying soups and found the same thing.  But, (here's the cool part) there are some common approaches to making one soup base and changing it up to be several happy endings in a warm, comforting bowl.

The Test Kitchen at Dig This Headquarters has been all abuzz with the institution of "Soup Sundays".  Starting with leeks, potatoes and chicken broth, we have made: Leek and Potato Soup (duhhh...), Watercress Soup, Spinach Bisque, and the afore mentioned Butternut Squash Soup.

Want some?  It's pretty easy...  Start with trimming 3 leeks (just the white or lightest green part) and 2 medium sized peeled potatoes chopped up.  Saute those in oil for 5 minutes, then pour in 64 ounces of chicken broth.  Simmer that for 20 minutes and blend it all up to make it nice and smooth.  Put it back into the pot to simmer for another 20 minutes so all that flavor can get happy together.  Taste it and you'll see it needs salt and pepper.  Add a little bit (teaspoon of salt, couple dashes of pepper) and taste it again.

You just made leek and potato soup.  It's really good.  You're getting veggies and comfort.  Serve it with bread and you can make that a meal.  I did the leek and potato soup and added shredded cheese and crumbled bacon to the bowl and it was freakin awesome!

Add peeled butternut squash before you do the simmer part and you've got butternut squash soup.  (I cut up the squash and scooped out the seeds.  Then put it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes first.  Makes it easier to deal with.)

It's easy, it's tasty, and chicks dig that.

Lemme know what you think...