Chicken Alfredo Pizza Roll

     The Kingdom of Jordan, as a whole, does not celebrate Christmas with Christians comprising a mere 6% of the population; and even though it is a member of the Holy Lands and claims a shore of the Jordan River, Santas and decorated trees are hard to find.  Oddly Santa-masked volunteers decked out in red suits and elegant lighted and bedecked Christmas trees do mark the season in the big western hotel lobbies, but we found it was best to stay inside one's own home and create our own Christmas magic on Dec. 25th.  To go outside on a shortsleeve afternoon amid the everyday bustle, quickly dilluted the holiday illusion.

     On one particularly lonely Christmas, far away from traditional family celebrations and festivities, in our efforts to create holiday memories, my family realized we were actually very near the site of the first Christmas, just 45 miles as the crow flies and also that there were forests of Christmas trees in-the -raw, on  some of the mountainsides near Amman.  One quandry remained:  we all insisted that we must have the traditional turkey dinner with hot mashed potatoes and gravy but how to keep our dinner warm in the cool forest?  The solution: our large picnic cooler could serve equally well as a picnic warmer ......and the Christmas Picnic was born!  Sitting eating warm candied yams as we shivered among the pine trees, the day became "Christmas" for us as we gazed toward the west in the general direction of Judea and sang every song our children knew with the word"Bethlehem" in it.  

      What does the Christmas Picnic have to do with a pizza roll?  Just an illustration suggesting that sometimes we make great memories and great foods by shaking up tradition a bit.  This hand-friendly rolled pizza is a delicious way to do that. It serves up equally well as a "grab a bite and sit by the fire" snack on a cold evening.  Reminiscent of other filled breads, such as the Russian pirowshki, the Arab fateyah or even Panini, it pairs nicely with soup. Admittedly, you could pick up a pizza on the way to your picnic venue, but a rather prosaic choice, lacking in imagination.  There is just a certain breed of cook possessing a singular gene that wants to create and share - it is the "love language" of such types, that speaks, "I did this for you" and relishes watching the eater enjoy it!

Chicken Fettucine Pizza Roll:
1 large shallot, peeled and finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 large red pepper, diced
1/3 cup quartered artichoke hearts
3 tab. butter
3 tab. flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
4 oz. sliced mushrooms, sauteed in 1 tab. butter until soft
2 tab. minced parsley

salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

-Melt 3 tab. butter in medium saucepan and saute shallots and garlic about 5 minutes, until soft.  Stir in flour and cook, stirring about 2 minutes.  Mix in chicken broth and bring to a simmer, until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in cream and parmesan cheese.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper.  Add red pepper, artichoke hearts, cubed chicken, mushrooms and parsley to alfredo sauce and stir.

-Roll out pizza dough to a rectangle about 14 by 10 inches.  Spoon filling down lengthwise center of dough.  Beginning at a long edge, carefully roll dough around the filling to form a long filled bread roll.  Press seams firmly together and place on well-greased heavy cookie sheet with raised edges, sprinkled with cornmeal.  Cover and let rest for 25 minutes.

-Place the pizza roll in a 380 degree oven and let bake 30 - 35 minutes, until the roll is puffy and golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes.  Brush the surface with olive oil and sprinkle on garlic powder/and or Italian seasonings and coarsely grated black pepper.  Let continue to rest another 10 minutes.  Serve warm or cold.  Slice to serve.  Serves 8.


Pizza Crust Dough:

1 tab. yeast

1 tab. granulated sugar

2/3 cup warm water (warm but not hot to the touch)

1/2 cup warm milk (warm but not hot to the touch)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups bread flour, more or less

-In a large bowl (or bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook), mix the yeast, sugar water, milk, oil, salt and one cup of the flour until well combined.

-Gradually add the remaining flour until a soft dough is formed. It will pull away from the sides of the bowl to form a ball but still be slightly soft to the touch.  Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes until it is soft and smooth.

-Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap; let rise until doubled, about an hour or so.  Punch dough down and shape into a smooth long roll, about 8 - 10 inches.  Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes (this helps relax the gluten so it is easier to roll out).

-On a lightly greased or floured counter, roll the dough about 1/8-inch thick into a large rectangle, about 14 by 10 inches. 

Italian Sausage, Pepper and Mushroom Pizza Roll:
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup each, chopped red and green pepper
1 cup pizza sauce
2 cups grated mozarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup sliced olives
4 ounces, sliced fresh mushrooms

-Crumble sausage in lightly oiled saute pan and cook over medium heat, until browned, breaking up with wooden spoon.  Drain well and set aside.

-In another saute pan, heat 2 tab. olive oil.  Add onion and peppers and saute until soft, about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and continue to cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat. In separate sauté pan, heat 1 tab. butter and saute mushroom slices until soft.


-Roll out dough according to directions.  Spread sauce evenly over the dough then sprinkle ingredients down one long edge of the rolled dough. Beginning at a long edge, carefully roll dough around the filling to form a long filled bread roll.  Press seams firmly together and place on well greased heavy cookie sheet with raised edges, sprinkled with cornmeal.  Cover and let rest for 25 minutes.

-Place the pizza roll in a 380 degree oven and let bake 30 - 35 minutes, until the roll is puffy and golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes.  Brush the surface with olive oil and sprinkle on garlic powder/and or Italian seasonings and coarsely grated black pepper.  Let continue to rest another 10 minutes.  Serve warm or cold.  Slice to serve.  Serves 8.

Persnickety PS:

**Purchased pizza sauce could certainly be used as a shortcut as well as prepared pizza dough found in some stores in the refrigerator or deli section.

**When shaping the roll, try to keep the dough from being rolled in with the filling.  The dough should encase the filling - otherwise the dough in the middle will not cook evenly.

Red Pepper and Caramelized Onion Pisaladiere

Wading my way through a bed of roasted red peppers and caramelized onions is a taste expedition I would courageously undertake with anticipation of a sweet trip!  Will you join me? Particularly, if the bed is made of airy, buttery- crisp puff pastry?  The following recipe is is an easy take on a dish from Provence, usually made with a heavier, more time consuming short pastry. This version, using pre-made puff pastry, is faster and lighter and with the addition of red pepper, and artichoke hearts, sweeter and smokier.  I would never presume to improve upon the original but this is another version that may be less intimidating to some; that is unless you've never worked with puff pastry - "pâte feuilletée" (leaves of pastry).  According to those that know, this French pastry used for making incredible desserts , should be composed of 78 layers of flour and butter, which may prove intimidating to most.

 I have studied how to make puff pastry, and I have made it on occasion but I would only recommend doing so when you have several spare hours, derive great pleasure from doing it yourself, or relish being able to say, "I made it myself!" I almost exclusively purchase the pre-turned frozen pastry.  However, when I recently discovered a pastry from the Brittany region of France, "Kouing Amann", I wanted to delve into making that delicious confection by rolling up my sleeves, putting on a good movie in the background and started at the very beginning.  It is an experience worth the effort and if nothing else, makes you grateful for the advent of industrial machinery. You should make puff pastry on a dry cool day - not on a muggy, warm day as I originally did.  But until that day arrives, venture to the freezer section of your grocery store, lovingly select a frozen package of Puff Pastry sheets, take it home and place it in your freezer until ready to use.  If you follow the steps below, you should be successful and this delicate pastry can be your friend for composing dishes such as Bouchee a la Reine (Chicken A la King), Napoleans and palmiers.

Tips for Working with frozen Puff Pastry Sheets:

1 - Remove each sheet from it's wrapping and place it on the counter for about 10 minutes.

2 - Gently, with careful coaxing, unfold the tri-folded sheet and stand it up on the counter in a tent shape for an additional 15 minutes, to thaw.

3- While the dough is still chilled but somewhat malleable roll it out to a slightly larger rectangle, sealing the seams closed with the rolling pin as you go.

4 - Place the dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

5- Do not roll any leftover dough into a ball but keep it flat, or you destroy the butter - pastry layers created in the dough and it will not puff up when you bake.

6 - Return the prepared pastry to the freezer for about 20 minutes before baking to allow the pastry to become cold again, thus keeping the butter solid so that more layers will form and puff during baking.   

Red Pepper and Caramalzied Onion Pisaladiere

2 sheets frozen puff pastry sheets

1 package Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs, 

              (room temperature)

2 large sliced onions, slivered

2 tab. olive oil

1/2 cup sliced roasted red peppers

              (from a jar or prepared yourself)

1/2 cup roughly chopped, canned or frozen artichoke hearts

1/4 cup roughly chopped Kalamata or Nicoise olives

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

-In large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and toss with 1/2 tsp. salt for about 5 minutes to begin the caramelizing process.  Reduce the heat to low and slowly caramelize the onions for about 40 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool.

-Follow the directions for using the puff pastry above.  Place one rolled out sheet on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll out the other pastry sheet and cut 4 - 1 inch wide strips down the length of the pastry.  Brush a bit of water along each edge of the original sheet and lay a 1" strip along each edge, overlapping and trimming strips to fit, to create a raised border around the edge of the pialadier. Preheat the oven to 380 degrees.  Chill the pastry in freezer while the oven is preheating.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the pastry is puffy and golden brown.  Allow to cool about 15 minutes.

-Gently spread Boursin cheese over the cooked pastry.  Distribute onions, red peppers and artichoke hearts evenly over the cheese layer, then scatter olives and parmesan cheese over the top. Return to 375 degree oven and heat for 12 - 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Notes:  Although you could use creme fraiche or mascarpone cheese to spread on the pastry, I chose Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs.   Easy on the olives - the bold taste of the Kalamata olives can demand your attention so insistently that the silky, subtle flavors of the onion are overwhelmed.  But a little briny pop creates a nice contrast.   

Summer Caesar Salad

There were Caesars and there were Caesars, some I could champion, like Justinian and others whose behavior I find questionable, like the ilk of Caligula.  For example, the invasion of England?  Going to the Senate without undercover armor?  Thumbs down on Christians in the Coliseum?   But I think most would agree that the simple salad in the name of Caesar, made of romaine lettuce, crunchy croutons, parmesan cheese, and a bit of garlic, was one inspired decision and will make Caesar's title live forever!  I have no noble Roman blood or particular right to interpret Caesaric inspiration but certainly I might be forgiven for inviting other subtle flavors to join his loyal legions. Sweet red peppers, firm ripe avocados and subtle red onion add a light piquant note of a patrician nature and a creaminess that melds elegantly with the dressing.  But don't use the red onion instead of white, in the dressing - a pink tinge might be just a bit too feminine and may find you thrown into the coliseum.  Try this untraditional version of a favorite American salad for a change....and if worried about being presumptuous, don't call it Caesar's.

Caesar Salad with Red Pepper and Avocado

Salad:
      1 large head romaine lettuce, cored and coarsely cubbed
      3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
      1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced, about 1/2 inch slices
      1 sweet red pepper, cored and seeded, cut in julienne slices
      1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced veriically in 1/2 inch slices

     -Chill lettuce.  In large bowl, combine lettuce and all but 1/3 
     cup salad dressing.  Arrange salad on large serving platter or 
     on individual salad plates.  Top with croutons.  Arrange 
     avocado, red pepper and onion slices around edge of salad. 
     Drizzle remaining 1/3 cups salad dressing on vegetable slices
     and sprinkle entire plate with grated parmesan cheese  (or
     garnish with a parmesan cheese crisp) and more
     freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Dressing:
      1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
      1/2 medium white or yellow onion
      1 tab. Dijon mustard
      1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
      1 - 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
      freshly ground black pepper to taste

      -Combine dressing ingredients in food processor.  Blend until 
       smooth and then chill.

Croutons:
     4 cups cubed french bread or baguette
     1 clove garlic, finely minced
     5 tab. finely grated parmesan cheese
     1/3 cup olive oil

     -Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine the 
      garlic, cheese and oil.  Pour onto baking sheet.  Cover with 
      bread cubes and toss to coat.  Bake until crisp, about 10 
      minutes.

Optional:  To make the salad a complete meal, mix cooked shredded chicken into the salad when you add the dressing or place a grilled chicken breast or salmon fillet on the top of each individual serving of the salad.

Cookie Salad

The inspiration was a "spoonerism" or if not that, I had a spoon in my mouth while trying to speak.  What came out was "cookie salad".  Cookie Salad - why not?  Who would not be lured to a salad, paired with the name "cookie"!  Fruit was the obvious choice to be paired with cookies and a few lonesome strawberries were still lounging on my counter, waiting for my inspiration of what to do with them.  As they saw their siblings popped into hungry mouths, or pureed to a sauce for ice cream, or floating among clouds of cream on a meringue crown, they must have wondered what was in store for them.  The flavor palette is reminiscent of trifle - strawberries, banana, orange for zing and blueberries.  Which cookies?  That was the fun part - and involved an excursion through the cookie isle. Shortbread is not too sweet and its buttery flavor affably combines with cake and cookies.  The pecans in the shortbread and the coconut of the macaroons added a nutty crunch; the snap of ginger snaps sparkled as a spiced  "crouton" topping.  (Of course, if you have the time and inclination,  homemade renditions of  the cookies are perfectly acceptable.)  What a fun salad for children to make!  They will be doing "spoonerisms" of their own....the kinds where they spoon food into their mouths!

Salad:
      1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
      2 bananas, sliced in 3/4 inch slices
      1 cup fresh blueberries
      8 Pecan Sandie cookies cut into 6 pieces
      8 coconut macaroons, broken into large pieces
      6 gingersnaps, coarsely crushed


-Combine cut fruit and cookies in medium bowl and chill for 30 minutes.   Place about 3/4 cup salad on each single serving dish.  Top with 1/4 cup dressing and garnish with gingersnaps.  Serve immediately.  (If salad sits at room temperature for long, the cookies become soggy.  The salad is more visually appealing if the dressing is spooned on top rather than tossed with the salad.)

Dressing:

       3/4 cup cream, lightly whipped
       1/3 cup powdered sugar
       3 ounces softened cream cheese
       1 tab. grated orange rind

       -Combine ingredients until well combined and chill until ready to use.

Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream

There were only three plump berry jewels on the rogue strawberry plant that had sprouted among the pachysandra in my garden.  My two-year-old grandaughter thought it a lovely surprise, to discover them dangling under their protective leaves but was disappointed that there weren't more to pop in her mouth. (I pulled up the berry plants a few years ago, weary of feeding the local birds who always beat us to the harvest.)  This plant had wandered from its parent....the child had not. Her mother, my daughter, must have been born with a strawberry in her mouth.  Her choice for birthday cakes always involved the queen of berries: strawberry shortcake, strawberry cheesecake, even her choice for bed sheets and pajamas - Strawberry Shortcake!  Most of us have fond memories involving strawberries - in fact, can you imagine summer without?  Similar to yours, no doubt, my memories include fresh strawberry pie at summer cookouts, freezer strawberry jam for the hot rolls on Thanksgiving, Emma and Mr. Knightly picking berries on Box Hill, picking berries myself in strawberry fields....forever!  And Jordan.  Not many would associate the Middle East with delicious berries - but so it was. Some of the sweetest strawberries I've ever tasted were sold by the itinerant fruit sellers in this arid climate.  In the spring, the Amman Marriott hotel featured a five layer strawberry cake frosted with white chocolate cream, chocolate curls and sandwiched about fresh berries: this cake became the ideal.  Every May, I experimented, tweaked and fussed but couldn't create a cake that quite measured up.  Until I brought these two recipes together....a moist, deep strawberry flavored cake, frosted with a buttery, white chocolate cream and of course, fresh strawberries!

Strawberry Cake:
2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups white sugar
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberries, pureed

3 cups fresh strawberries
white chocolate curls

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 10 inch round cake pans.

-In a large bowl, beat sugar, gelatin and butter until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix flour and baking powder and beat, alternately with the milk into the sugar mixture.  Fold in 1 tsp. vanilla and pureed strawberries.  Divide equally into 2 prepared pans.

-Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove from pans and cool completely.

White - Chocolate Buttercream:

1 2/3 cups sugar
7 large egg whites
1 1/2 pounds (6 sticks) butter, cut into tablespoons, softened
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
12 ounces good quality white chocolate, melted and cooled

-Place sugar and egg whites in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water.  Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture registers 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

-Transfer hot mixture to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and cooled, about 10 minutes.  Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

-Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter by the tablespoon,
beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla and white chocolate.  If not using immediately, refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.  Bring to room
temperature before using; beat on low speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

To assemble cake:
      -With a long serated knife, slice each cool cake in half horizontally.  Insert knife half way through the cake and rotate the cake carefully as you gently saw through the cake.  Set the 2 cake layers aside and repeat with other cake.

-Place one cake layer on cake platter and frost with about 1 cup of buttercream.  Arrange sliced berries over layer of buttercream.

     -Place another cake layer over first layer and repeat buttercream and fresh berry layer.  Repeat one more time.

     -Frost the top and sides of cake with the remaining buttercream.  Decorate top of the cake and around the bottom with more sliced and halved berries and white chocolate curls.  Chill.  Remove from refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving.

*Cook's Comments:  If you don't have cake flour on hand, combine 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup cornstarch and blend well with a whisk.

Navajo Tacos

Until well into my teens, I had no idea that the British had laid claim
centuries before I was born, to the "scone", a dry biscuit concoction
that had to be served with tea just to wash it down.  How could this be,
I wondered and assumed the English were unfortunately mistaken but
then when I considered that an entire Brisith nation was confused,
I confess, I had to question my assumptions about food origins.  In my
search for the truth, I looked inwardly to examine my own culinary 
heritage, a heritage that included pioneers crossing the plains in covered 
wagons with yeast and flour preciously stored in cushioned barrels. 
My mother carried on the pioneer tradition and called these fried, golden
yeast squares, "scones".  As her mother had done before her, she taught 
me how to stretch the dough a bit just before cooking, to ensure
the scones rose with a pillowy puff in their middles as they cooked.
In my imaginings, I could  make it work; the pioneers' encounters with 
Native Americans were for the most part friendly...
perhaps even included exchanges of culinary techniques?  Regardless,
stubbornly I continue to defend my heritage and proclaim scones to be
thinly rolled yeast (roll) dough, cut into squares and deep fried until
golden.  Versatility allows them to be served with butter, or if
in the mood for a sweet version with honey, jam or powdered sugar.
Often, family Sunday dinners are scones and soup, the only variable
being the kind of soup served. (I confess to being a bit of a softy - 
preparing 2 - 3 different soups to satisfy 6 diverse clamoring appetites.)
Which leads me happily to this recipe.  Indian Fry Bread was here
first...and certainly Mexican influence saw taco potential in the
flat round bread... and just as 2 + 2= 4,  Navajo, Mexican and
Scones = Navajo Tacos!  Served at county fairs, amusement parks
and rodeo days concessions in western states they are a creation
worthy of their ancestry - even though the pedigree chart may be
somewhat complicated to follow!
And as to the British scone (which I have ultimately,
learned to savor) I just call them "Tea Biscuits".  Problem solved!

Navajo Tacos

Scones:
    2 tab. dry yeast
    1/4 cup lukewarm water
    2 cups boiling water
    1/3 cup sugar
    2 tab. shortening
    2 tab. butter
    1 tab. salt
    2 eggs
    5 cups flour, approximately

     -Sprinkle yeast over 1/4 cup lukewarm water in small bowl. 
Set aside for 5 minutes.  In large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups boiling water, sugar, shortening, butter and salt.  Mix briefly and allow to cool to lukewarm.  Stir in dissolved yeast and eggs.  Mix well.  Add flour as necessary to make dough easy to handle.  Knead for 5 minutes by hand or with electric mixer with the dough hook.  

     -Place dough in a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let sit in warm place or in the oven on "bread proofing" setting for about 1 1/2 hours, or dough may be refrigerated 8 hours or overnight. (This longer process allows dough to rise slowly.)

     -When ready to use, punch the dough down and roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface.  Let dough rest 10 minutes then cut into 3 - 4 inch squares, or rectangles.  Let dough rest another 30 minutes.

     -Heat vegetable oil to about 375 degrees in deep fryer or large, deep skillet or dutch oven.  Place dough squares carefully onto hot oil, pulling and stretching slightly just before.  Cook until golden brown on first side and scone puffs up in the middle.  (Sometimes the squares do not puff.....they are still delicious, so serve them anyway.)  Turn squares with tongs to the other side and continue to cook until golden (about 3- 4 minutes total cooking time).  Place on paper towels.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tacos:
     To create Navajo Tacos, serve scones with:

          -browned and seasoned ground beef, (season with salt, 
            pepper, garlic powder, minced onion, chili powder and 
            cumin.)
          -chili with beans, or pinto or black beans
          -chopped onions, tomatoes, olives
          -shredded lettuce
          -shredded cheddar or jack cheese
          -sour cream
          -salsa
          -peeled and diced avocado
          -chopped cilantro

       -Place warm ground beef and chili or beans on top of
        scone and garnish with toppings as desired.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

       A friend once remarked that this was the best soup she had ever tasted.
When I first discovered it at "Fritzbee's" restaurant in the 1980's I felt the
same.  I have watched over the years as various renditions of Chicken
Tortilla Soup have come and gone, most delicious but none measuring up to
Fritzbee's level. Some created their flavor base with tomato sauce; others
were nothing more than chicken broth with tortilla strips on top.  In my
attempts to ensure that even when Frtizbee's closed I could continue to enjoy
their soup, I created a version which relies on the flavor and substance of the
tortilla itself as an integral part of the broth. Providing the structure to the
soup in a similar way that bread does to some Italian soups, the tortilla breaks
down and thickens the soup to a creamy consistency. The toppings (fried corn
tortilla strips, chopped avocado, sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese),
add a crunch and a fresh Tex-Mex bite.
        Now the matter of cilantro....there are two kinds of people in the world,
those that like cilantro and those that don't.  It's like a genetic tendency, that
can't be swayed or convinced otherwise.  Don't try to coax me - cilantro and
I have never been friends.  And my husband is hesitant to eat at Mexican
restaurants worried his food will be laced with what to others, is a staple
condiment.  So if you are genetically inclined to appreciate it, pile on the
cilantro.  If not, you will appreciate my revelation while chopping cilantro
one day in prep for a cooking class: cilantro smells like stink bugs. 
That evening one of my cooking students interjected unprompted,
"You know, cilantro smells like stink bugs." There you have it - proof positive!
Those of us that live on the East Coast have unfortunately become familiar with
this immigrant from Asia over the past few years as these pesky insects have
darted about our heads, clogged up our gas fireplaces, dive-bombed into our
hair during church meetings, fouling the air with their scent. It does not
necessarily follow that they taste the same.....I will leave that up to someone who
likes cilantro
to be the judge!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 cups rich chicken stock

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ can chopped green chiles

2 medium tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped

1 ½ cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken

12 corn tortillas

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Toppings:

     1 peeled, coarsely chopped ripe avocado

     Sour Cream

     Chopped cilantro (optional)

     1 cup Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese, shredded 

            -Saute onion and garlic in 2 tab. oil until soft, about 5 minutes.

             Add chicken broth to pot along with green chiles, tomatoes,

             chicken and 8 corn tortillas torn into small pieces.

            -Simmer covered, over medium heat,  about 30 minutes until
             tortillas are broken up and absorbed into broth.  Season with
             cumin, salt and pepper.

            -Cut remaining tortillas into thin strips and fry in vegetable oil
             until crisp and golden. 

            -Serve soup with sprinkling of avocado, dab of sour cream, 
             cheese and tortilla strips.

            -Serves 6

               Cook's Notes:
               -For a heartier version, add 1 cup frozen corn niblets and 3/4 cup black

  beans to the soup when the tortillas are added to the broth.

            -If you do not have a rich, chicken stock on hand in your freezer,
                use boxed chicken stock or canned chicken broth and add 1 tab.
               "Better Than Boullion" paste to develop a rich chicken flavor. 
                Best option -  purchase a whole stewing chicken and place in large pot
               -cover with water and add a whole quartered onion, 3 stalks chunked
                celery, 3 carrots in large chunks, 3 sprigs parsley and salt and pepper. 
                Simmer over low heat 2 hours.  There you have your rich broth and
                chicken for the soup!