It's Soup Time....Avgolemono...egg lemon soup

I know it sounds wierd....egg lemon soup, but trust me it's good (and easy to make). My kids and I got this recipe from Christos (Greek Restaurant in Minneapolis and I wrote about in MN Parent.

Kotsoupa Avgolemono
(Chicken Soup With Egg and Lemon)
Used with Permission from Christos

1 medium roasting chicken, 3 to 4 pounds
1 large onion, unpeeled and studded with 2 cloves
2 to 2 ½ quarts water
Salt, to taste
1 cup long-grain rice or bulgur
2 to 3 eggs at room temperature
Strained fresh juice of 1 to 2 large lemons
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring chicken, onion, and water to a slow boil. Skim foam off top frequently. Add salt to taste and simmer, covered, for 2 to 3 hours, until chicken meat comes away from the bones.
Turn off heat and remove chicken and onion from pot with a slotted spoon. Discard onion and de-bone chicken, shredding, or chopping meat fine. Put chicken meat back in pot, bring to a boil, and rice or bulgur. Simmer, with cover ajar, adding more water if necessary or desired, until grain is cooked.
In the meantime, in a medium-size bowl, beat together egg and lemon until frothy. Very slowly add 2 to 3 cups of hot soup to egg mixture, beating vigorously with a whisk to keep egg from curdling. Pour egg mixture into pot and stir well with a wooden spoon. Serve immediately. Season individual bowls with freshly ground black pepper.

White Sangria - My Favorite Summer Punch

This is my favorite summer punch. Make more than you think you need, it goes fast!

White Sangria

Bon Appetit - 2001

Serves 6

1 750-ml bottle of chilled White Zinfandel

1/2 cup peach schnapps

2 tablespoons Cointreau or other orange liqueur

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

1 lemon, sliced

1 orange, sliced

1 peach, sliced into wedges

1 10-ounce bottle of chilled club soda

Ice cubes

Mix first 8 ingredients in tall pitcher. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Mix in club soda. Fill 6 wineglasses with ice cubes. Pour sangria over ice and serve.

Crock Pot Recipe

Although I really don't like using the crock pot, I have a few recipes that turn out ok. I have two problems with the CP - the food looks like mush when it's done and everything tastes the same.
However, this recipe is pretty good, it is from a friend of mine who is a great southern cook!

Sterling’s Slow Cooker French Dip
4 lbs chuck roast
10.5 oz can beef broth or consommé
10.5 oz condensed onion soup (or one packet dried onion soup, use ½ packed if you want less salt)
12 oz beer
6 french rolls
1 Tbsp butter

Trim excess fat from roast. Place in slow cooker. Add broth, onion soup and beer. Cook on low for at least 7 hours. Preheat oven to 350, split rolls, spread with butter. Bake for 10 mns. Good served with sautéed onions and mushrooms and cheese. Serve sauce for dipping. Even better the next day.

Star Wars Cooking Class

At Sunday's Star Wars cooking class, the Wookee Cookies were amazing and the Han Solo Hoagies were a big hit. I'll do another Star Wars class this summer at Cooks of Crocus Hill, watch the schedule there for more info (http://www.cooksofcrocushill.com/).

Here's the Wookee Cookie recipe:

Wookie Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup packed brown sugar ½ cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup milk chocolate chips 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 375º 2. Put the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Stir with the wooden spoon until well mixed. Set aside. 3. Put the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in another mixing bowl. Using the electric mixer set on high speed, beat together until well blended and creamy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and stir with the wooden spoon until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. 4. Scoop up a rounded tablespoonful of the dough and drop onto a baking sheet. Repeat until you have used up all the dough. Be sure to leave about 1 inch between the cookies because they spread as they bake. 5. Put the baking sheets in the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. 6. Remove the baking sheets from the oven. Lift the cookies from the baking sheets with a spatula, and place on cooling racks. Let cool completely.