Basic Brown Stock Lesson 1.3

The original plan was to make the French Onion soup at my parent's house since my father adores it-- as does my brother Andrew. But my dad did not "want to have to smell the broth being made" which is very odd but to each their own... Here at my condo I thought it smelled rather good. In fact my poor husband, came home and was so excited he thought he was getting a roast (soon dear, soon let me get past soups).

So the family refusal was the cause of the delay of the brown stock until this past week. The Stock takes about 10 hours to make and it needs to be refrigerated for 8 hours before use. So either get up early or be prepared to be up late! I started this Brown Stock on Tuesday around 4 pm and on Wednesday I made the French Onion soup. When I now see the word "Stock" I should see it to mean as a "investment in time." My friend and College Roommate got it right to paraphrase "Martha has a lot of extra step, she does not make it easy but her recipes always taste good!"

I had an issue finding the veal bones because of the fact that I do not have a local butcher. I went to Stop and Shop and they are not very helpful in the meat department (in the cheese department the woman that helped me was Divine!). I got two pounds of veal Osso Buca which was mostly bone and two pounds of Oxtail which was actually Beef tail. These items and a lot of the veal and lamb was in the wrong parts of the meat department which only helped my confusion. Osso Buca was actually really expensive $12 for two pieces in a package as I learned via the web it means "hollow bone." I wonder if that was actually what I was supposed to get but I am not sure. I just tried to "fake it until I made it" when I picked up the Osso Buca.

I also decided to buy the pre-cut/ in water carrots and celery (since I knew it was going to be a long night-- but I did not know it was going to be that long) which helped cut down on waste. I bought a huge thing of carrots and celery for last soup only to see in the cookbook that I really only need like five pieces of both carrots and celery. I also buy them anyways because they are great to snack on-- you got to save in this economy when you buy $12 veal bones....

I got to try-out and use my onion goggles on Tuesday and they never left my eyes on Wednesday. They are not beautiful Dior sunglasses/glasses but they do the trick. But if I had on my new Shape-up Sketchers with the glasses then I could have looked more the part (and firmed my butt and thighs). Or at least I would have a guest spot on "what not to wear." But I did not cry and the onion goggles were comfortable for the amount of time I wore them.

Reminder out to people that it takes about 85 minutes to roast the bones. You are supposed to put the bones in for 45 minutes and then add in the vegetables. I did the reverse I added the vegetables in the beginning but burned myself on the roasting pan while I was trying to get them out of the pan. It was the part where you had to put the roasting pan on the stove top and heat it for 30 more seconds... I barely touched it but it is raw skin now. The stock still came out very well but I learned a lesson: always wear a pot holder even if you are using tongs or get a chef jacket. My forearm looks like a rebellious teenager's "revenge" and it hurts!

I was happy to know that you can deglaze a pan with just water and you do not need to also purchase red wine. I am not a drinker so getting the cognac and the Pinot Grigio (which is a white wine that I do like) was experience I had to get the Stop and Shop Wine Port (it is next to the Stop and Shop because Stop and Shop's licence will only allow them to sell beer) workers involved. I was able to purchase a really, really cute hotel size "nip" of cognac which still has enough I think for two thirds of round two of French Onion soup. I got those items when I found out on Monday during a bad rain storm/monsoon that my car battery that was just put in died. they were very kind in the store allowing me to use their phone and I pointed out where to get the cognac/dry white wines with price checks. Now I have a HUGE bottle of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio.

Martha wants you to spoon off the fat but if you have to baby sit something for eight hours then have it in the fridge at least eight hours you can spoon it off the next day. And that is what I did and the next day I had a nice thick skin of fat.

Lesson 1.22 Tortilla Soup

I was able to use that chicken stock finally last night in Martha's Tortilla soup. I have to say that I am proud even though I had some stumbles and machine malfunctions. My high moments included being able to correctly and more quickly cut the chicken. I chopped/ peeled the yellow onion a little bit better. I was able to mince the red onion more efficiently and a little bit better/ the correct way. But my eyes started to water profusely and burn so the chopping proficiently stopped and I just settled for "rustic" cuts. I had to open the window, wash my face and take a break-- it was cold last night! I need those onion goggles and in the middle of this post I just bought a pair on ebay for $19.00, free shipping! In fact my house reeks of onions that I could smell with my bedroom door closed and gave me the weirdest dreams last night. Currently it is almost intoxicating on the verge of the making me sick. I also cooked the chicken better because I cut it into 10 pieces and I felt more in tune with the process. I still however need a meat thermometer to do it more accurately!

I learned last night how to correctly peel and mince garlic. One of them was a little bit stubborn and would not peel it's skin off. I also correctly rolled the lime before I used a hand-press juicer to juice the lime. I also cut correctly an avocado and chopped it more efficently.


I had to make a couple of adjustments to the recipe. I could not find the Pastilla chiles when I went shopping so I got three small green Chile peppers. In my small/ugly kitchen my oven does not have a broiler. I had to improvise by sauteing the tomatoes until they had burn marks on it. I also did not make my own Tortilla strips and I just crushed up Tostitos. I also did not include cabbage (which my husband hates!) or cotija cheese (or any cheese).

Mistakes I made: I used a flat griddle pan to saute the onions, garlic and the tomatoes without realizing that I would have to add the chile pepper water. You need to saute it in a skillet that has walls. Also I was not thinking that I would have to add the tomatoes to the onions/garlic and well that is not so smart either. My stove top is disgusting currently and I need to clean it!

My new blender leaks I do not know what I did wrong but I could not correctly puree half of the chile puree. The second time was the charm with the puree. So the chile puree did not come out perfect but it still was edible. I need to learn either how to use my blender OR I need a new blender. It could be both. Either way it seems like I am an idiot but if you were in my kitchen last night you would be sympathetic. The blender part would not come off and I had to unplug and pour with the WHOLE machine. Then after I did that and was done when return it the blender accessory easily fell on the floor to splatter the rest of the puree on the ground. I was a watery eye, puree splatter fool and I had to pull it together so my husband could eat before going onto his midnight shift. I am thinking of getting an immersion blender instead because I hate that blender! It has always leaked when I used it and I am an educated person. I am able to get my shoes tied in the morning, why can't I use this blender! I am going to go through that user manual and I am going to make it work!

 I have to admit that even though I read this recipe it seemed like it was not going to take that long but it took me two hours to make. My husband however thought it was worth the wait as he snacked on Tortilla chips and he likes it better than the chicken soup. I do not know how hot it would be with the other chile but Jon said the heat was just right for the soup.