Cookle's Kitchen

Tips To Prepare Chicken Noodle Soup—The Ultimate Comfort Food!

Whether you want something to warm you on a cold winter night or something warm to ward off a winter cold or you simply love soup, Chicken Noodle Soup is always a winner.   My first attempt at this soup was anything but a culinary delight, but over the years I have learned several of the secrets to preparing a great batch of soup. 

 First, here is the recipe for Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

 1 stewing chicken, cut up

2 quarts water

1 large onion, quartered

1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 celery ribs, sliced

5 chicken bouillon cubes or about 2 Tbsp. chicken base

5 whole peppercorns

4 whole cloves

1 bay leaf

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Dash of dried thyme

3 – 4 carrots, thinly sliced

About 2 cups noodles, uncooked

 In a large stockpot, combine the first 12 ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until the chicken is tender.  Remove chicken from broth.  Cool.  Debone chicken and cut into chunks.  Strain broth and skim fat.  Return to stockpot.  Add chicken and carrots.  Boil noodles in separate pan according to directions and add to soup.  If you prefer more liquid, add additional chicken stock.  Serve.

Tips:

• Use a large enough stockpot to accommodate your recipe--a Stainless Steel stockpot with a steamer basket insert is ideal for conveniently straining your soup.
• Do NOT add too much water.
• If you have time to make the soup a day ahead, you can refrigerate overnight.  The fat can then be skimmed easily from the top of the soup.
• If you prefer extra liquid, add chicken stock rather than chicken broth. 
• If you have the time, you might want to make your own chicken stock.  Though a bit more tedious to prepare, the end result is well worth it.  The broth has a much richer flavor than conventional broths. 

Chicken Stock Recipe

 3 to 4 lbs. whole chicken, cut up, or 3 to 4 pounds necks and back

About 4 quarts of water

2 onions, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 stalks celery with leaves, coarsely chopped

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme or 1 tsp. dried

4 sprigs parsley with stems

8 peppercorns, cracked

 Place the steamer basket in the stockpot.  Place the chicken in the basket and fill the pan with water to 1 inch below the large holes in the steamer basket.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  With a Large Serving spoon, skim off the froth (fat and scum) that rises to the surface of the water and discard.  Add the balance of the ingredients.  Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan (if you have a waterless stockpot, open the vent), and simmer for about 3 hours.  Do not allow the stock to return to a boil.

 To strain the stock, lift the steamer basket above the liquid level and press the juices out with a large Serving Spoon.  The basket contents can be discarded or reserved and frozen as a starter for your next batch of stock.

 To remove the fat, place the stock in the refrigerator.  When it has cooled, the fat and debris will rise to the surface.  Skim off and discard.

 To store, package in 1 cup quantities and freeze up to 3 months.

About the Author

Marcia Klun is a former teacher and an experienced cook as well as the owner and webmaster of www.thegourmetscookware.com, a site that offers quality stainless steel products, such as Waterless Cookware sets, stockpots (http://www.thegourmetscookware.com/stockpots.html), cutlery, skillets, flatware, and other gourmet cooking essentials.  In addition, the site offers relevant information about waterless cooking and provides a variety of healthy recipes that can be adapted to waterless cookware.

Ok well you are going for stainless steel right big mistake this will discolour and most of all your food will stick !!!

Go for an expensive top quality coated pan (great if you don't keep birds..if you do keep birds then teflon is OUT)

Othewise go for Le creuset these cast pots will last you a lifetime expensive to start with (initial outlay) but you will never need another set of pans as long as you live ! so go figure out which would be the cheapest and best for you in the long run Id say le creuset..

http://www.lecreuset.com/

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Different Types of Cookware   by Jen Watson

Cookware consists of several different types of pots and several different types of pans, most with its own specific purpose depending on what kind of food preparation and cooking you plan on doing. First we'll look at a couple of the most common cooking apparatus and the types of foods they are often used to prepare.

Sauce Pan

This is probably your most common and versatile cooking device. Sauce pans can be used for boiling, steaming and heating liquid-based foods like sauces and soups. If you don't have a rice-cooker, sauce pans serve as a good replacement for cooking rice.

Skillet

Also known as a frying pan, skillets are flat cooking devices that are light in weight with low ides which makes it easy to toss and turn the food with or without a spatula. Skillets are quite versatile - they can used to cook scrambled eggs as well as saute a variety of foods including meat, chicken, shrimp and vegetables.

Next we'll look at more specialized, less well known types of cookware that are usually associated with cooking a specific type of food.

Stockpots

Stockpots are the largest types of pots and range in size from six quarts to twenty quarts. They have an upright appearance as they are taller than they are wide. These are used when you need to simmer a large amount of liquid, as the tall shape helps prevent the liquid from boiling or foaming over the top. Stockpots are ideal for cooking stock, chili and thick soups.

Dutch Oven

A Dutch oven pot is round or oval in shape and large in size. The capacity ranges from two quarts to six quarts. They work great for pot roasts, pastas, stews and large batches of soup. Dutch ovens can be used on the stove top or in the oven.

Double Broiler

A double broiler consists of two pots - one sitting on top of the other. The bottom one is slightly larger in diameter so the top pot slightly rests inside. This apparatus is often used for cooking sauces that have a tendency to separate when exposed to direct heat. Sometimes the top pot will have perforations on its bottom so the double broiler can serve as a steamer as well.

Stir Fry Pan

A stir fry pan has a wide top that slopes down so that the bottom of the pan is smaller in diameter. This pan is used for cooking rapidly at high temperatures. You can stir the food so that only a portion of it is exposed to the hottest area at the bottom at any given time which helps keep it from burning.

Roasting Pan

A roasting pan is a large rectangular pan with low sides and a grill rack insert. This is used to roast chicken, tenderloins and beef. The idea behind a roasting pan is that the meat will sit above the juices so it will brown as opposed to stew, and the steam of the juice will make its way into the meat to help tenderize it and give it added flavor. Along with the juice on the bottom you can add vegetables such as peppers and onions, and when finished cooking you can pour the juice and vegetables over the meat and serve it in its juices so that it will further absorb the moisture.

Griddle

Griddles have a flat surface with hardly any sides, usually just a small lip to prevent run-off of liquid, fat or oils. These are to be operated over stove top burners and conduct heat quickly. Griddles are commonly used to cook breakfast meals like pancakes, French toast and fried eggs.

This is a quick overview of some of the different types of cookware - some of them common kitchen items and others more specialized. If you are just getting into cooking you can start with basic cookware like sauce pans and frying pans and then delve into more specialized items as you expand your cooking horizons.

About the Author

For more helpful articles like this, visit http://www.thebestkitchen.org, your best resource for toaster oven reviews and cooking tips. We provide the most important info that you need to know about kitchen appliances.