Kielbasa and Kale Soup

It looks like spring is finally edging it's way in for good - and what better way to celebrate than with a bowl full of vibrant colour and flavour! This Kielbasa and Kale Soup is packed with carrots, potatoes, and white beans in addition to its namesake ingredients, and packs a spicy, smoky punch too.

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You might be surprised to know that my family eats soup and stews year round. Lunchtime in the summer is often just as hectic (if not more so) than it is during the school year, since we either have the littles over all day, the garden needs constant attention, or mom is running off somewhere or other. Having filling, delicious meals on hand is something that never goes out of season! Given that the warmer months are here (hopefully to stay!) I wanted to bring the colours of the season into this bi-monthly batch with lots of kale, celery and carrots. These vegetables were accented with hearty sausage and potatoes, creamy white beans, a hefty pop of garlic and a richly flavoured homemade chicken broth.

The star of the show, for me at least, is the smoked paprika. I own three varieties of smoked paprika, which I love to use in the summer to amplify the flavour of meals either cooked on the grill or not. Selefina Spices' Spanish de la Vera Smoked Paprika is the perfect addition to burger mixes, mayo, ketchup, deviled eggs and pasta salad - and I'd wager it would make grilled corn butter pop too. Letting the soup simmer (and even sit overnight before reheating) allows the flavour of the paprika to infuse fully, making every bite memorable.

Some notes on variations and alternate ingredients:

• You can use turkey or beef kielbasa in place of the traditional pork, or even cooked Polish sausage. I haven't tried vegan sausage in this but it should work as well, or leave it out completely.
• If you don't have hot smoked paprika on hand, mix 1 1/4 tsp sweet smoked paprika with 1/4 tsp of cayenne to make your own.
• If you don't want the spice of the hot paprika, use sweet smoked paprika 1:1 for the hot paprika. 
• Any waxy potato will work - I used Yukon Gold, but white or red potatoes would work too.
• Vegetable broth can be used in place of chicken, if you don't use low sodium taste the soup and add salt to taste
• Start with 9 cups of broth and add if you need the soup to loosen up.
  
• Kidney beans, brown lentils, lima beans and navy beans will all work. You want about 5 cups of cooked beans if you're cooking from dry.
• You can use any leafy greens instead of kale - Savoy cabbage or mature spinach are both good.
  
• This soup freezes well - ladle cooled soup into freezer-safe containers and store up to 3 months.
  
  
  

Brigadeiro-Filled Chocolate Cake

A comparatively un-fancy yet apparently quite delicious "haha you're older" consolation prize for my sister this year. Complete with Brigadeiro (Brazilian fudge) filling trying to escape and questionable looking polka dots on the sides, it wouldn't be a birthday cake if there wasnt a decoratimg adventure story alongside it!

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I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed in myself that I wasn't able to achieve a fancy-pants cake for the birthdays this year. Normally, I go all out and put together something that, if I may be so bold to say, is gorgeous. However, life was in a constant state of upheaval this year, so (upon consultation with the birthday girl) I took a less-involved approach to decorating this time around. However, the cake itself more than makes up for the plainer appearance!

The star of the show here is by far the rich, thick and indulgent brigadeiro that makes up the filling. If you aren't familiar with this treat, it is essentially a mix between truffle and fudge, made with sweetened condensed milk and cocoa powder and rolled in sprinkles. When I say it is a rich filling, it is rich. But a birthday is a once a year deal, so whole-hog it was!

Once you have the filling made - a time consuming and somewhat meticulous process that is well worth it in the end - the rest of the cake is easy! I have multiple chill steps in the assembly instructions due to the filling's tendency to want to escape, but I have to tell you that brigadeiro mix is perfectly acceptable scooped on top of a single layer cake (or cupcakes, or between cookies...). Due to the richness of the cake and filling, small slices are encouraged - even the chocoholics here were more than satisfied.

10 Craziest Culinary Guinness World Records

Culinary adventures might not be something we necessarily associate with the Guinness World Record, but Food and Drink are a very popular category for setting records. If you visit that section on the GWR website, you'll see all kinds of crazy records. Longest noodles, the largest serving of pancakes or the most expensive hotdog commercially available are just some of them. But human creativity goes way beyond the longest noodles or the largest serving of pancakes. We can do much better! Let's see some of the craziest culinary achievements worth mentioning in this article.

1. Most ice cream scoops balanced on a cone

You know when you have 2-3 scoops of ice cream on your cone and you have to eat them fast or they start dripping? Well, imagine how much would 123 scoops of ice cream drip, because that's exactly how many scoops Ashrita Furman from the USA balanced on a single cone in 2017.

2. Most ghost peppers eaten in two minutes

Ghost peppers held Guinness World Record for the hottest chilli pepper in the world until 2012, when it was beaten by the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper in 2011 and the Carolina Reaper in 2013. Eating something 170 times hotter than Tabasco sauce obviously wasn't enough for Jason McNabb from the USA, who consumed 66 grams of ghost chilli peppers in just two minutes. Yikes!

3. Largest wedding cake in the world

Playing in an online casino for real money can make you hungry, but not hungry enough to eat this wedding cake because the whole thing weighed more the 6 metric tonnes. To be more precise, chefs at the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino, Connecticut, made a 6.818 tonnes wedding cake which was later displayed at their New England bridal showcase.

4. Largest pizza in the world

You thought this could go without the pizza? No way. This record was set in 2012 for the first time by a group of Italian chefs, and the latest attempt was by YouTuber Eric Decker teamed with Pizza Hut. They officially made the largest pizza in the world earlier this year, a 14,000-square-foot pepperoni pie.

5. Largest chocolate sculpture

Finally, a food record that is not set in the USA. The largest chocolate sculpture was created in Brazil by Equipe de Casa do Chocolate on April 2018, weighing 10,488 kilograms. It is a recreation of a traditional house, with all the inventory inside it made out of chocolate as well.

6. Most Big Macs eaten in a lifetime

Donald A. Gorske sure loves Big Macs. He has been a fan of McDonald's since 1972 and has eaten more than 32,000 burgers. Big Macs account for almost all of his solid food intake, and he drinks nothing but Coca-Cola. He's almost 70 and healthy as a horse. Talk about good genetics!

7. Longest sushi roll

It's only fair that the longest sushi roll came from Japan if the largest pizza didn't come from Italy. This sushi roll measures almost 3 kilometres (2,844 m) and was created by 400 participants in Tamana City Labor Athletic Center on November 2016.

8. Highest pancake toss

Proud of your pancake tosses? Well, this American called Dominic Cuzzacrea tossed his pancake for 9.47 metres and was rewarded with the highest pancake toss world record. That's pretty much it.

9. Largest cheesecake

Englishmen are among those who claim to have invented cheesecake, but the world record for everyone's favorite sweet dessert goes to the Russians. Created by a Cheeseberry Company in Stavropol, this cheesecake weighed 4,240 kg and was almost 2 m in diameter.

10. Largest fruit salad

This whole thing started as a bet, and after a while, an entire town of Checy (France) was involved. The official Guinness World Record states this salad weighed 10,340 kg. After the record was set, the salad didn't go to waste. Instead, part of it was donated to charity, and other part sold.

Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies

My niece and I made these double chocolate brownie cookies - rich, decadent and delicious warm (if you don't mind them falling apart in your hands!)

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I'm so happy my niece loves both baking and chocolate - you may remember the donuts and brownie spiders we created. Getting her into the kitchen is always an adventure, and a great opportunity to learn about math, etymology, history and science (the brownies turned into a discussion about gas expansion and pressure release, turning into a lesson on volcanoes). These lessons are never formal, and I love that they can be woven in seamlessly because she is infinitely inquisitive and I am an endless treasure trove of random trivia.

These cookies are the perfect after school treat to make, because they are fairly quick to put together (even with 5 and 2.5 year olds getting involved!). While an overnight chill is recommended for these, if the chocolate craving is immediate it's easy enough to scoop out 1 or 2 balls of dough and freeze them for a half hour while the rest of the dough hangs out in the fridge for the next day. They're dense and chewy, just like a thin brownie, and the amount of chocolate chips is absolutely up to you - the amount I have listed is as per my niece's measurements. If you prefer nutty brownies, substitute 1/3 to 1/2 of the chocolate chips with your nut of choice, or add mini M&Ms, pretzels... anything you like!

Pro tip: these make amazing ice cream sandwiches. I found it best to pop the cookies in the freezer for about 30 minutes before assembling them since they are on the softer / chewier side of things. Once assembled, individually wrap the sandwiches and freeze until the ice cream firms up.

Beer Braised Chicken

Are you looking for a unique way of preparing chicken that will leave you and your friends wanting more? If yes, then this beer braised chicken recipe will definitely do the job, making you have a combination of beer and chicken that creates an exceptional flavor to impress your visitors.

Beer braised chicken is extremely easy to prepare and takes less of your time. If you are new to the game, the process takes less than two and a half hours. However, the process will likely take even less time if you have been doing it for long or have some tips (around two hours).

The best thing about this process is that you can use any old beer to have that chicken taste you have always desired. For a better result, it is recommended to use a dark malty beer that is rich and contains sweet notes. Don’t worry about how to get such beer since Beer Snobs will enlighten you and get one that suits the job.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

6 skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)

1 large onion, sliced

6 small carrots, sliced

3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

All-purpose flour

2 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp dried thyme

3 bay leaves

2 tbsp whole-grain mustard

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 (12 oz) bottle amber beer

Step 1: Brown the Chicken Thighs

• Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. 
• Heat oil in an ideal pot over medium-high heat and add the chicken thighs in one layer (you may need to do this in batches). 
• Cook, without moving, until the thighs turn brown, about 6 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the brown thighs to a plate and cook the remaining thighs using the same procedure.

Step 2: Drain off the Fat Rendered by the Chicken

• Drain the fat from the cooking pot, leaving about two tablespoons.

Step 3: Cook the Onions

• Add the onions, carrots, and garlic and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the vegetables turn golden brown. Add flour, stirring for another 1 minute.
• You can add your brown sugar at this point to intensify the natural sweetness of the onions and the other vegetables.

Step 4: Bring to Simmer

• Add 1 tbsp of salt, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, vinegar, and beer to the onion. 
• Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the cooking pot with a spoon or spatula, then add the chicken thighs and bring to a simmer.

Step 5: Cook Until the Chicken is Falling off the Bone

• Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour, until the liquid is reduced and the meat separates from the bone. 
• Serve it with your favourite starch - potatoes or rice are both great.

 

Related Questions

Can Chicken Be Braised?

• Yes, you can definitely braise the chicken to make it flavorful and tender. It is an ideal method of preparing your chicken during the colder seasons.

What Beer Is Good for Cooking Chicken?

• The best beer for cooking chicken is one that has been perfectly balanced (Amber). A beer in the middle as far as taste is concerned. You need a beer that is neither too hoppy nor too sweet. Sour beer is also ideal, as the acidity works too well on the chicken.

Does Braising Tenderize Chicken?

• Yes, braising is an ideal way of tenderizing the chicken. The beer also helps to keep the kitchen moist and flavorful. This is because the chicken absorbs the flavors in the braising liquid, giving it the required flavor.

Conclusion

Braising chicken is an excellent way of making it flavorful and tastier. The process is easy and will consume less time when you have the needed materials. Ensure you use an ideal beer (not too hoppy) to achieve a great result. Also, follow the procedure carefully to avoid messing up.