Cooking with alcohol seems a little retro, doesn’t it? To me, it conjures the liquid sounds of Miss Peggy Lee (“if that’s all there is, my friends, ... let’s break out the booze”) and the kitsch factor of copper fondue pots and Mama’s ’50s Melmac dishes.
And yet a shot of Pernod or cup of Burgundy can give a ho-hum dish a deep, potent complexity that seduces and soothes the palate. Particularly with cold-weather soups, a light pour can bring warmth and comfort. A dash of sherry, white wine or vodka adds elegance to shrimp bisque, oyster stew or other creamy seafood soups. No need for excess, either: The alcohol burns off. Your guests drive home safely.
As a longtime theater critic, I often find myself eating late, and I can’t think of a better bedtime send-off than a warm bowl of soup. After a particularly long or tepid performance, a glass of beer or wine is not a bad idea, either. So why not combine the two?
Jennifer Levison — the actress and entrepreneur behind Buckhead’s Souper Jenny and Café Jonah and the Magical Attic — loves to cook with booze. She's been glugging up her boozy-soup repertoire for her Feb. 29 “Today” show appearance with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. “They celebrate alcohol every day of the week,” she says of the duo.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta soup star pretends to sip wine in “Next Fall," at Actor's Express through Feb. 11. As it turns out, Mitchell Anderson — an actor-turned-chef who apprenticed with Levison and opened Midtown’s MetroFresh in 2005 — has a starring role in “Next Fall.” After a recent “crackling” matinee, Anderson says he was inspired to get in the kitchen and make ossobuco (Italian veal stew with white wine).
“It must have been the released endorphins from the show,” Anderson says. “I found all my ingredients and then, because we can now buy wine on Sunday, I found a couple of bottles of La Crema Pinot Noir, which is my fave, plus a bottle of Rex Goliath (for the stew). I got home, built a fire, poured a glass of wine and got to work.” Apparently, he gave another flawless performance.
Famished for a warm bowl on a recent wet day, I got in the kitchen to make Levison’s Tomato, Chardonnay and Rosemary Soup with Goat-Cheese Croutons. I put the finished bowls under the broiler to melt the cheese, and proceeded to sop up the tomato-y goodness with croutons. I sipped the leftover wine — from a glass.
As a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy of Irish extraction, I guess I was genetically predisposed to love the Irish Brisket Stew with Guinness Stout, Cabbage and Potatoes, a recipe that Anderson attributes to MetroFresh executive chef Bryan Kraatz. The Guinness gives the stew a beguiling finish. It can be put together in half the time as classic beef burgundy, a dish it recalls. I can’t think of a better choice for Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day or a much-needed après-theater lift.
Turn inside for recipes for Tomato, Chardonnay and Rosemary Soup with Goat-Cheese Croutons; Irish Brisket Stew with Guinness Stout, Cabbage and Potatoes; and Penne Pasta and Smoked Salmon Soup with Peppered Vodka Cream.
Intro for recipes:
Boozy soups for a winter's day
A little alcohol adds flavor and fun. And you probably won't have much trouble figuring out what to do with the leftover wine or beer. (Wink.)
Irish Brisket Stew with Guinness Stout, Cabbage and Potatoes
Hand-on: 1 hour
Total time: 3 hours, 10 minutes
Serves: 8 to 10 (entrée-size portions)
This delicious hearty stew is courtesy of MetroFresh's Mitchell Anderson and executive chef Bryan Kraatz. Clip and save for your St. Patrick’s Day feast.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef brisket or beef stew meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 large onion, chopped
6 carrots, cut into thick slices or chunky dice
1/2 bunch celery (about 5-6 ribs), sliced thin
1/2 head cabbage, roughly chopped (may use a bag of pre-shredded cabbage)
3 (12-ounce bottles) Guinness Stout Beer
2 quarts vegetable stock (preferably homemade; or use a good quality, low-sodium, store-bought stock)
6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into large cubes (about 2-inch)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3/4 cup chopped fresh dill weed, plus more for garnish
Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add meat and brown on all sides, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and onion, and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add carrots, celery and cabbage, and sauté for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. (You want this mixture to caramelize just a bit.) Add beer, and stir to deglaze the pan. Continue to cook and reduce liquid by about half, about 30 minutes. Add vegetable stock, potatoes, salt and pepper. Stir. Raise heat to high, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low, cover and simmer for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Before serving, taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in chopped dill weed. Ladle into large bowls and serve, adding more dill if desired.
Per serving, based on 8: 667 calories (percent of calories from fat, 53), 28 grams protein, 48 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 37 grams fat (13 grams saturated), 85 milligrams cholesterol, 847 milligrams sodium.
Tomato, Chardonnay and Rosemary Soup with Goat-Cheese Croutons
Hands-on: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 8 to 10 (entrée-size portions)
From Souper Jenny's Jennifer Levison, this easy-to-make vegetarian soup is a good way to use up an inexpensive bottle of wine and a day-old baguette. The soup makes a nice light lunch or supper; add a salad, and you’ve got a complete meal. Skip the croutons for a vegan dish.
1/2 French baguette, sliced thin on the diagonal
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 (28-ounce) cans chopped Italian style tomatoes (preferably chunky)
1 (28-ounce) can whole, Italian style tomatoes
2 cups inexpensive chardonnay wine
2 quarts vegetable broth (preferably homemade or use low-sodium if store bought)
Salt and pepper
1 cup (8 ounces) creamy-style goat cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Toast baguette slices for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add rosemary and saute a couple more minutes. Add all tomatoes, wine and broth and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for at least 45 minutes (or up to 2 hours). With a hand blender pulse a few times, leaving soup chunky for a stew or puree completely if you like it smooth. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
Spread goat cheese on baguette slices. Ladle soup into bowls and top each with two goat cheese toasts. If desired, place bowls under the broiler to melt the cheese, about 2 minutes.
Per serving, based on 8: 390 calories (percent of calories from fat, 40), 18 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 16 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 30 milligrams cholesterol, 898 milligrams sodium.
Penne Pasta and Smoked Salmon Soup with Peppered Vodka Cream
Hands-on: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Serves: 8 (entrée-size portions)
Atlanta chef Ray L. Overton's creamy and voluptuous soup gets its kick from pepper-flavored vodka; the smoked salmon makes it redolent of old-fashioned seafood chowders. If you don’t want to splurge on pepper vodka, Overton, in his book “Main-Course Soups,” suggests making your own: “In a clean glass bottle, mix together 2 cups vodka, 6 dried hot peppers, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, and 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes. Steep for about one week in a cool, dark place; then strain and pour into a clean bottle with a tight-fitting lid.”
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, sliced thin
2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced thin
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounce) can chopped plum tomatoes, with their juice
1 teaspoon sugar
2 quarts chicken stock
8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
1/3 cup pepper-flavored vodka
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
salt and freshly ground pepper
In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly to keep garlic from burning.
Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar. When mixture begins to simmer, turn heat down to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken.
Add chicken stock and penne pasta. Turn heat up to medium high, bring to a boil, and cook until pasta is al dente, but not mushy, about 8 minutes. Stir in the vodka. Add the cream, smoked salmon, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Heat through, removing from heat when the mixture barely begins to bubble.
Pour into a tureen or large individual soup bowls. Garnish with additional parsley and parmesan (or place a bowl of parmesan on the table and let guests help themselves). Serve at once.
Adapted from “Main-Course Soups” by Ray L. Overton (Longstreet Press, 1997)
Per serving: 421 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 16 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 20 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 55 milligrams cholesterol, 787 milligrams sodium.
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