Taco Soup

I get so stressed about cooking for guests. Preparations usually involve scouring the internet, revisiting my starred recipes in my Google Reader and multiple calls to Giz. I finally had to stop the madness, stop calling my mother, stop stressing and just pick something. An anxiety-filled decision making process isn't a prerequisite to making a good meal. In fact, it's often the simple dishes that are the best tasting.

This certainly is the case in this situation. This Taco Soup made for a delicious and filling lunch. The recipe come from Pam at For the Love of Cooking. One of my "go to" blogs for great recipes, I've blogged about Pam's dishes before here, here and here.

Taco Soup
source


Taco Seasoning:
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of coriander
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Soup:
1 lb of lean ground beef
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained (I used navy beans)
1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of frozen corn (I used canned corn)
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 4.5 oz can of diced green chilies
1/2 oz of package of ranch salad dressing mix (half a packet) (I couldn't find this, so excluded it)

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat then add the ground beef. Add all the taco seasonings and mix into the ground beef, making sure to break it up into crumbles. Add the diced onion and garlic then mix thoroughly and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies and ranch dressing packet, mix well then cover and simmer on low for 2 hours, stir occasionally. Taste and re-season with sea salt or pepper if needed.



Toppings:
Corn tortilla strips (directions below)
Sour cream
Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Green onions, diced

While the soup is simmering. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut a few corn tortillas into strips. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray then place the tortilla strips on it and spray them with cooking spray and season with sea salt. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.

Ladle the soup into bowls then top with corn tortilla strips, soup cream, cheddar cheese and green onions.

I took the opportunity to use some new plates that R brought home from Mexico for this meal.




The bread come from Art-is-in Bakery, some of the best bread in Ottawa.




My guest brought dessert and I also served strawberries. I was just looking for an excuse to use my strawberry bowl (yes, it's an actual bowl for strawberries). You can wash and serve them in the one dish.

Chicago Pizza

I've never tried Chicago Pizza before. I do, however, remember watching an episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate Pizza and remember how Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes almost salivated just thinking of his favourite Chicago Pizza. So when Val from More Than Burnt Toast invited me to share her table with a Chicago Pizza...I mean, how could I refuse that?

The concept of "Invite a Blogger to Your Table" is to invite another blogger to share a recipe with you. It doesn't even have to be a blogger you know, as long as you're setting up a new challenge and creating new friendships.

The Rules

1) Choose a dish to prepare and invite 1(one) blogger to create that dish with you. You can source your recipe from a cookbook, magazine, blog or any other source. Your dish can be sweet or savoury; easy or complicated.
2) Decide upon a date that you can both mutually post your recipe within a 4 week time frame.
3) Link back to More Than Burnt Toast http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com/ somewhere in your post as the caretaker of this event.
4) Please feel free to use the Avatar/Badge above "Invite a Blogger to Your Table".
5) Once you have made your dish with your blogging friend or friends and posted it, you can choose to STOP or CONTINUE on and "invite another blogger to your table" to make something DIFFERENT on a mutually agreeable date within the next 4 week time frame.
6) If you would like to please e-mail Val at bloggerstable(AT)gmail(DOT)com for no other reason than to let her know you have participated. She would love to see what you have accomplished.
7) Cut and paste these instructions into your post and contact a friend. Let magic happen and let's get cooking!!!

Pretty simple

Val and I emailed back and forth trying to agree on which recipe to try and we decided on one that we found on Annie's Eats , that's an adaptation of a Cooks Illustrated recipe.





For the dough: (OK, I'm not getting an award for beautiful dough)

1½ cups plus 2 tbsp. (8 1/8 oz.) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1 3/8 oz.) yellow cornmeal
¾ tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/8 tsp. instant yeast
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. (5 oz.) water, at room temperature
1½ tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

For the sauce:

1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. grated onion
Pinch of dried oregano
¼ tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
Pinch of sugar
2 tbsp. fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1½ tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper

For assembling and topping:
2 tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)
¼ oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 tbsp.)

Directions:
To make the dough, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on low speed. Mix until blended, about 1 minute. Add the water and melted butter and continue mixing on low speed until fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is glossy and smooth, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 4-5 minutes.

Using your hands, coat a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, about 45-60 minutes.

While the dough is rising, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, oregano, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until reduced to about 1¼ cups, about 25 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil and oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To laminate the dough, turn the dough out onto a dry work surface and roll into a 8- by 6-inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. With the seam side down, flatten the cylinder into a 9- by 2 inch rectangle. Fold into thirds like a business letter, pinch the seams to form a ball, and return to the oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator until nearly doubled in size, 40-50 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. To assemble, coat a 9-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer the dough ball to a dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch disk about ¼-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the pan. Lightly press the dough into the pan, working into the corners and 1 inch up the sides. If the dough resists stretching, let rest 5 minutes before trying again.

Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the surface of the dough. Spread the tomato sauce over the cheese and top with Parmesan. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.



Yield: 1 9-inch deep-dish pizza

Source: adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, January-February 2010

Notes:

I originally thought that the addition of cornmeal would make the dough gritty; not so much. It was, however, pretty bready and if you like bready crust, it's great.

Making the sauce was fun and the aroma in the house was just fabulous. I would use this sauce for any pizza.

2 cups of mozarella cheese and additionally parmesan was alot of cheese making for excess sodium and fat. But.... since you really can't finish more than 2 small pieces, I guess one could consider it a treat.

According to Duff Goldman, having a Chicago Pizza means sausage. I didn't use sausage and didn't really feel I missed anything. Sorry Duff!
I did, however, throw in 3 lonely mushrooms that were crying out for something. Many think it's just not a Chicago Pizza unless it's completely loaded with your choice of fillings.

All in all, an interesting challenge and appreciated the opportunity to share the table with Val.

Is it PC to Give a Mixed Review?

My how the tables have turned. I can't help but revel in the moments of being able to guilt Giz about not posting. Giz - are you still a foodblogger? (said in a teasing, ironic tone)

Yeah...it's THAT annoying when you ask me that question too.

Actually, I should be more appreciative. Somehow I managed to receive a package labelled for Giz. Sweet! In the package was a bag full of products from President's Choice Healthy Insider Report.


I haven't tried everything yet, so I'll just talk about some of the products that I have tried, for now.

First up are the Thin Multigrain Bagels.


They certainly live up to their name in terms of thinness. I was actually surprised that I liked them, at least the first couple that I ate. I think they would be good for a brunch. It's not uncommon for us to have family brunches that include bagels, lox and cream cheese and a bunch of other options. A bagel (or even a half) in those circumstances seems like a big commitment when there are a bunch of options. But, a thin bagel or half would be a nice balance. I definitely didn't have the heavy feeling of having just eaten a bunch of carbs like I would with a traditional bagel.

Also included was a toddler meal of spaghetti in a turkey sauce. I don't have a toddler, so I gave this to a friend. I can't speak to the taste, but her son definitely liked pretending that the container was a steering wheel of a car.


I like the idea of organic meals for toddlers, with hidden vegetables (if your child is a fussy eater). I just wonder whether the amount of packaging used is necessary.

Another item in the package was a peach and mango sparkling fruit juice. Personally, I never buy this kind of stuff. So, I may not be the best person to comment on this. But, I did try one. One word: BLECH! Sorry PC - I don't get it. Do people actually like this stuff? I tasted the peach/mango flavour. But it tasted synthetic. Other than that, there was no flavour. I tried to get R to finish it (he's usually my human garburator). No dice. He didn't like it either. The rest got spilled out and now I have 3 remaining taking up room in my fridge.


Now...to end on a positive note. I quite like the Almond Vanilla Granola.


I've been pretty loyal to a small handful of cereals. But, I have found myself craving this cereal since I first opened it. In fact, I like it more on its own rather than with milk. So far, favourite item of the group.