Chicken Tortilla Soup

 This went rather well, so it should be shared. This is another Instant Pot recipe.

The ingredients aren't too complicated:

• 2 chicken thighs, well coated in salt and pepper.
• 2 celery ribs, chopped into thin bits
• 2 green bell peppers, diced (no cores)
• 1 onion, diced
• Salt & pepper to taste
• ~1/4 cup green salsa
• Chicken stock
• ~1 tbsp corn starch

Started with the celery, peppers, and onions in the pot on sauté with some salt and pepper until softened.

As they were going, I also put the chicken thighs in skin-side down to brown that up a bit.

As the veggies were soft, I put the corn starch on them and stirred them around.

When a fond was forming from the veggies and chicken, I added enough chicken stock to deglaze the pot. After that, I added the salsa and the rest of the chicken stock (enough to just cover the chicken) and stirred everything together.

I then put the lid on the pot, made sure the pressure valve was "closed", and set for Soup.

When all was done, I just ladled it into bowls and crushed some tortilla chips on top.

And I think this one was a winner.

Sous Vide Barbecue Ribs

Had some pork ribs, so I tried to make some sous vide barbecue. Not my best work, but lessons were learned.

The dry rub went into the bag with the ribs and got sealed a few days before the cook. Nice thing about sous vide cooking is that you can take a vacuum-sealed bag out of the freezer and put it straight into the water bath.

These cooked at 151 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hours. I have no complaints about that.

I did not pay enough attention to the rub, though. Too much salt, not enough sugar. I'll need to properly measure next time.

Woodland Heights Sour

I was thinking of making some New York Sours to enjoy while prepping the Thanksgiving dinner, but I don't have any rye or bourbon on hand. I do have Irish whiskey (Tullamore Dew). Can't call it a New York Sour if you're changing the base spirit, so Nena looked up the name of the Irish neighborhood in New York. The internet says that Woodland Heights is "Little Ireland", so that's what we're going with until someone of Irish descent corrects us.

• 2 oz Irish whiskey
• 1 oz Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 3/4 oz Simple syrup
• 1 Egg white
• 1/2 oz Red wine

Going to go with adding the whiskey, lemon juice, syrup, and egg white to the shaker and doing a dry shake. Then we'll add ice for a second shake. We'll pour into tumblers and top with red wine (Yellowtail Pinot Noir -- it's what I have open for cooking).

Slow-cooked Lamb Shanks

I had an urge to make lamb shanks. 

About 2pm I did the preparation.

• 2 lamb shanks
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 onion
• Konriko Greek seasoning (to taste, should have used more)
• 1 cup beef broth

The vegetables got a very rough chop, everything got coated in seasoning and it went into the Instant Pot with a cup of beef broth on Slow Cook for 4 hours.

After the slow cook, I removed the lamb shanks and added:

• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup rice

I put the beef shanks back in so they'd be on top, then closed up the pot and set for Rice.

I feel like this is a good approach, which gives a sort of East European pilaf result. That said, it could probably have benefited from even more Greek seasoning, or at least more salt.

Vividora Cocktail

 After watching an Anders Erickson video on the Boulevardier, I was intrigued enough to want to make something like it myself. I do not have bourbon or Campari in the house at the moment, but I do have Aperol, and I do have an Italian vermouth: Carpano Antica; it's old, but Wine Saver seems to have kept it good, so here we go.

• 1.5 oz Bumbu Reserve XO rum
• .75 oz Aperol
• .75 oz Carpano Antica

I just poured these into a tumbler over a big block of ice and stirred. An orange twist would be a good garnish, but I didn't have one or anything I would consider a suitable alternative, so no garnish.

I am pleased with the result. It needs a proper name.

Update: I'm going with Vividora, which seems to be a more-or-less equivalent Spanish term.

Chicken Paprikash Soup

Surely I am not the first to think of it, but the thought of Chicken Paprikash Soup occurred to me, and I decided to make it in the Instant Pot.

I used...

• 4 chicken thighs
• 3 carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 onion
• about 3 tablespoons of sweet paprika
• plenty of salt and black pepper
• olive oil
• chicken stock
• pasta
• sour cream
• white wine (optional)

I first put the chicken thighs in a large mixing bowl with salt and pepper and tossed them until well coated. I covered the bowl and set them aside.

I then peeled the carrots and chopped all the vegetables into smallish chunks and put them in the Instant Pot with some olive oil, salt and pepper and cooked them on sauté until they were softened. It probably wouldn't hurt to add some mushrooms at this point, but I didn't have any on hand.

When the vegetables were ready, I added the paprika and stirred it all well. I then added the chicken thighs. I added enough chicken stock to almost cover the chicken, then I added wine to finish covering the chicken.

I put the lid on the Instant Pot and set for Meat/Stew. When that was done (default of 45 minutes), I removed the lid, added some pasta, put the lid back on, and set for Soup.

When done (default 30 minutes), I let it stay on Keep Warm until dinner time.

Stir in some sour cream at serving time. We also had some French bread with ours.

Grandpa Got Devoured by a Shoggoth

 To the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"...

There was something in the forest,
Set the dogs to bark and bay,
Grandpa loaded up his shotgun,
And went to see himself what lay that way.

Grandpa got devoured by a Shoggoth
Trying to prevent catastrophe
People say there are no Elder Horrors
But as for me and Grandma... we believe

Grandpa came upon a clearing
Where some men had built a fire
They were dancing 'round a statue
Of something evil hideous and dire

The men's chant opened a portal
To a dark and awful place
Grandpa realized with horror
They had just betrayed the human race

chorus

Something started through the portal
A foul pseudopod that smelled
Grandpa fired with both his barrels
Hoping he would blow it straight to hell

His shots only made it angry
And it hastened through the gate
Grandpa knew he must act quickly
Else the world would meet an ugly fate

chorus

So he struck one of the chanters
With the butt end of his gun
As the cultist fell unconscious
All their evil magic came undone

But before the monster vanished
Grandpa felt its cold embrace
It engulfed his struggling body
Then it disappeared without a trace

chorus

Now you listeners may wonder
How I learned of Grandpa's end
I was chanting in that circle
Pity Grandpa didn't understand

Grandpa got devoured by a Shoggoth
Fighting to defend humanity
People say there are no Elder Horrors
But as for me and Grandma... WE BELIEVE

Instant Pot Lamb Stew

 I figured I might as well write down some of these recipes somewhere.

I was originally planning to make lamb shanks, but although I had seen them at the grocery store recently, they weren't available on the day I went shopping. Here's what I ended up using.

• 3 round-bone lamb shoulder chops
• 2 carrots (one was quite large)
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 medium onion
• 2-3 pinches of salt
• Several generous grinds of black pepper
• A pinch of dried thyme
• A pinch of dried rosemary
• Enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the Instant Pot
• Red wine
• Beef stock

Roughly chop and dice the vegetables into a bowl. Add salt, pepper, and herbs, and toss them around a bit.

Set the Instant Pot to sauté. When it's hot, add the oil and vegetables and cook until they've softened up bit.

While the vegetables are cooking, de-bone and cube the lamb into bite-sized pieces. I saved the bones to make stock later.

When the vegetables are ready, add the lamb. Put the cover on the Instant Pot, make sure the pressure valve is in the closed position, and set the pot to Stew. When the cycle is complete, it's ready to serve.

I served mine with some take-and-bake French bread, and I recommend putting the bread in your bowl first and ladling stew over it.