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Vail Valley Nibbles: Chicken tortilla soup is the Wednesday soup special at the Bookworm of Edwards.
Recipes
Super soup
Kristi Allio of The Bookworm of Edwards shared her recipe for a popular soups
Thai coconut chicken soup
48 oz unsweetened coconut milk
16 oz chicken broth
3/4 pound chicken breast (shredded by hand)
4 oz lemongrass (whole stalks peeled, cut into two in sections, and smashed gently with back of large chefs knife)
1/2 cup chopped ginger
1 jalapeno with seeds, minced (wear gloves!)
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
2 cups dried shitake mushrooms (big pieces broken into smaller ones by hand)
2 oz thai fish sauce
3 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Fresh ground black pepper
For garnish:
cilantro (whole leaves picked from stems)
lime wedges
Combine coconut milk and chicken broth in stock pot on high. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, add lemongrass, ginger, jalapeno, crushed red pepper and mushrooms. Simmer for 45 minutes with lid off. Strain out large pieces of lemongrass with slotted spoon. Add chicken and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and black pepper. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Garnish each cup before serving.
Serves: 6 to 8
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Warm Autumn kamut salad
Recipe courtesy of Jenna Johansen, chef/owner Dish restaurant
2 cups kamut, uncooked
5 cups water with (1 tsp. salt)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 butter nut squash, peeled, seeded and diced to 1/4 inch
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 lemon, zest only
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Directions:
Rinse Kamut and place in a pot with boiling water, then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook until tender, but slightly chewy (1 to 1 1/2 hours), add more water as necessary. Meanwhile, lightly toss the squash in 1 tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on a sheet pan. Roast squash in 350-degree oven until soft (about 15 minutes). Saute onions and garlic over medium heat in one tablespoon olive oil until translucent (about 5 minutes). Mix all ingredients (kamut, squash, onion mixture, one tablespoon olive oil and remaining ingredients together while warm).
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 6 as a side dish.
Kristi Allio of The Bookworm of Edwards shared her recipe for a popular soups
Thai coconut chicken soup
48 oz unsweetened coconut milk
16 oz chicken broth
3/4 pound chicken breast (shredded by hand)
4 oz lemongrass (whole stalks peeled, cut into two in sections, and smashed gently with back of large chefs knife)
1/2 cup chopped ginger
1 jalapeno with seeds, minced (wear gloves!)
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
2 cups dried shitake mushrooms (big pieces broken into smaller ones by hand)
2 oz thai fish sauce
3 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Fresh ground black pepper
For garnish:
cilantro (whole leaves picked from stems)
lime wedges
Combine coconut milk and chicken broth in stock pot on high. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, add lemongrass, ginger, jalapeno, crushed red pepper and mushrooms. Simmer for 45 minutes with lid off. Strain out large pieces of lemongrass with slotted spoon. Add chicken and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and black pepper. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Garnish each cup before serving.
Serves: 6 to 8
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Warm Autumn kamut salad
Recipe courtesy of Jenna Johansen, chef/owner Dish restaurant
2 cups kamut, uncooked
5 cups water with (1 tsp. salt)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 butter nut squash, peeled, seeded and diced to 1/4 inch
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 lemon, zest only
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Directions:
Rinse Kamut and place in a pot with boiling water, then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook until tender, but slightly chewy (1 to 1 1/2 hours), add more water as necessary. Meanwhile, lightly toss the squash in 1 tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on a sheet pan. Roast squash in 350-degree oven until soft (about 15 minutes). Saute onions and garlic over medium heat in one tablespoon olive oil until translucent (about 5 minutes). Mix all ingredients (kamut, squash, onion mixture, one tablespoon olive oil and remaining ingredients together while warm).
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 6 as a side dish.
VAIL VALLEY, Colorado — The cafe at the Bookworm of Edwards recently added soup to the menu. Each weekday a vegan tomato basil soup is available, along with a daily soup special. Monday is chicken orzo soup; Tuesday is butternut squash curry (vegan); Wednesday is chicken tortilla; Thursday is Thai coconut chicken; Friday is New England clam chowder. A 12-ounce cup of soup with an Avon Bakery organic roll is $6.50 and soup and a grilled cheese sandwich is $8.50.
“Our customers have always asked us if we could make soup, and it just so happened that this year everything came together — space, staff, time, and the right recipes — to make it happen,” said Kristi Allio, co-owner and executive chef of The Bookworm.
Allio said fine-tuning the recipes was her favorite part.
“We are making everything from scratch so flavor is very important,” she said. “The Bookworm staff has been taste testing for over a month to make sure we get it right.”
— Caramie Schnell, High Life Editor
“Our customers have always asked us if we could make soup, and it just so happened that this year everything came together — space, staff, time, and the right recipes — to make it happen,” said Kristi Allio, co-owner and executive chef of The Bookworm.
Allio said fine-tuning the recipes was her favorite part.
“We are making everything from scratch so flavor is very important,” she said. “The Bookworm staff has been taste testing for over a month to make sure we get it right.”
— Caramie Schnell, High Life Editor
Bacon makes everything better
Paul Ferzacca didn't invent bacon mania, but he's sure capitalizing on it. The chef-owner of La Tour is hosting the valley's second bacon dinner Saturday. Four courses of porky goodness for $49 is fine dining at its porcine pinnacle. Bacon has gone through a big revival in the past decade, due in part to the low-carb trend and in part to its sweet and savory decadence. As with La Tour's last bacon dinner, each course will highlight a different bacon, smoked or cured in a different style, from various parts of the country. The courses run the gamut from the traditional (bacon-wrapped jumbo shrimp, marscapone grits and barbecue sauce) to the sensual (chorizo-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon with a piquillo pepper sauce) to the outlandish (chocolate bacon bars, chocolate curry bacon truffles and chocolate-dipped bacon). Shoot, there's even a breakfast course: pork belly and bacon with french toast, sweet potato hash and sunny-side-up quail eggs.
The inaugural bacon dinner sold out, so reservations are recommended. Contact the restaurant for more information at 970-476-4403 or www.latour-vail.com.
— Wren Wertin, Special Sections Editor
Going with the (heirloom) grain
When you plan your holiday meals this season put the mashed potatoes away and try a healthy whole grain salad, soup or rice medley to accompany your turkey. Ancient varieties of grains such as teff, spelt, quinoa, millet, kamut, faro, buckwheat, barley and rice varietals like black forbidden rice — also known as “heritage” grains — are making a comeback at the American table. Jenna Johansen, chef/owner of Dish! restaurant in Edwards uses kamut, quinoa and purple Thai rice to accompany her culinary creations.
“I like the texture of these grains and the mouth feel. Heritage grains lend an interesting twist and really complement our lighter dishes like fish and poultry,” Johansen said.
Heritage grains, which originated in China, South America and the Middle East thousands of years ago, are not as processed and are closer to their natural state with a great source of nutrients such as high amounts of minerals (selenium, iron, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous), vitamins (especially vitamins B and E), omega oils, protein and fiber. The health benefits of these grains in reducing heart disease and the on-set of diabetes have been well documented.
Indian Harvest is one company that is known as a pioneer in the cultivation of heritage grains. Located in northern Minnesota, Indian Harvest began cultivating ancient grain and legume varieties in 1978. Starting only with ancient heirloom seeds that hold their flavor and nutritional profile, Indian Harvest uses the highest quality seeds, which is likely why the blends have recently become popular with chefs like Johansen.
Indian Harvest heritage grains and legumes can be purchased locally at Eat! In Edwards and are served in Dish Restaurant, located above Eat! Drink!
— Kelly Brinkerhoff, Daily Correspondent
