Seafood Soup

6 cups chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1 Tablespoon butter
Dashes salt and black pepper
8 oz. clam juice
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
4 fresh clams, soaked and rubbed clean to remove all dirt
4 Sea Scallops
8 large fresh shrimp, cleaned and cut in half
2 fresh Tilapia Fish fillets, cut in large pieces
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Add to a soup pot over medium high heat, butter, garlic, celery, scallion, green pepper, and dashes of salt and black pepper. Stir and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes. Add chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium high and add clam juice, Cayenne Pepper, and  black pepper. Add clams and cover pot. Immediately after clams open, adds scallops, shrimp and fish. Cook for 3 minutes. Keep covered and let rest for 10 minutes.

Optional, sprinkles of chopped parsley on finished dish.

Serves 4

(1958)

Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" is an American classic book and film. Oscar winner Spencer Tracy portrays the old Cuban fisherman who makes the catch of a lifetime. But, he faces a huge obstacle and try's to find his way through it. Our Seafood Soup is a little sample of the great taste from the sea. Its just before Thanksgiving and our Seafood Soup will give your taste buds happiness before the big turkey day. "The Old Man and the Sea" is a classic film for our classic Seafood Soup. Enjoy!

Best Ever Butternut Squash Soup

1 -2 to 3 lb butternut squash
Dashes of salt and black pepper
2 Tablespoons melted butter
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated fresh Ginger
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Trim ends off of Butternut Squash. De-seed and cut in half lengthwise. Cut lengthwise again. Brush the 4 pieces with butter. Add dashes of salt and black pepper. Place on baking pan and bake in oven for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven, let cool slightly. Remove outer skin and place Butternut Squash in a blender. Add chicken broth, honey, Ginger, heavy cream and Cayenne Pepper. Blend until smooth.

Add butternut squash mixture to a sauce pan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stir and lower to simmer for 3 minutes.

Optional - dollop of light sour cream and thin slices of green onion in center of each serving bowl.

Serves 6

(2010)

Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls" opens in theaters on November 5. This film is based on Ntozake Shange's play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf," which opened on Broadway in 1976. "For Colored Girls" has a cast of beautiful and super talented woman of color who are sure to serve up a feast of emotion, drama, and laughter. Our Best Ever Butternut Squash Soup is honored to take inspiration from "For Colored Girls." Our soup's color is rich in light and dark tones. It's intense, yet light taste leaves you wanting  more. Our Best Ever Butternut Squash Soup is a must do recipe for the Fall and Winter. Thank you Tyler Perry for bringing this Tony Award nominated play to the screen, and thank you my true Queens!

Vegetable Soup in Sourdough Bread Bowl

1 cup red potatoes, diced into small cubes

3/4 cup Leeks, thinly sliced (cut off top, use white and middle portion of green leaves)

1/2 cup carrots (Sweet Petites or Baby carrots)

2 garlic cloves, mined

1 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, chopped

6 cups chicken stock or broth

Dashes of black pepper

4 small to medium Sourdough Bread rounds

Cut a round hole into top of bread. Remove and hollow out inside of bread bowl, leaving a generous amount of bread on bottom and sides. Set aside.

Bring potatoes, leeks, carrots, garlic, jalapeno peppers, chicken broth and black pepper to a boil in a medium sized pot. Lower heat and let simmer 20 minutes.

Fill bread bowls with soup. Serve immediately.

Optional: For an even lighter dish, you can serve without bread in a soup bowl.

(1994)

Yabadabadoo! "The Flintstones" was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, and I was thrilled when it was made into a non-animated movie. John Goodman and Rick Moranis were perfectly casts as Fred and Barney. Also starring Elizabeth Perkins, Rosie O'Donnell, Elizabeth Taylor and the super hot diva Halle Barry. I really enjoyed the look of their prehistoric town of Bedrock. Stone houses, dinosaurs as pets, big food, you name it, everything in Bedrock was larger than life. I still remember the cartoon's theme song, do you?

Our recipe for Vegetable Soup in a Sourdough Bread Bowl is all about good food with full flavors. The Sourdough bread reminded me of the food in the Flintstones; big, bold, impressive and its' the perfect way to serve our vegetable soup. Make some for your next dinner party and your guest will love you for it.

Shank-alicious Seared Beef Stew

Inspired by the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994)

The Shawshank Redemption is a gem of a movie. From the moment you hear Red’s voice (Morgan Freeman) talking about his first impression of the new fish or convict Andy (Tim Robbins) you know a bit of movie magic is going to happen. One of my favorite scenes is when the evil and crooked warden realizes that Andy as not only escaped, but taken his money and dropped a dime on him to the media. Andy's posters of Rita Hayworth and Raquel Welch served more than one purpose.

This beef stew recipe is inspired by “The Shawshank Redemption." Andy Dupree’s redemption took over 20 years, but the good news is my Shank-alicious Braised Beef Stew only takes 2 hours and 20 minutes. Both are worth the wait!

2 large beef shanks (about 1 ½ to 2 pounds), fat removed

1 package beef marinade (I like Lawry's or McCormick packaged marinades)

1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup red onion, coursely chopped
1/3 cup celery, coursley chopped
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 cups water
2 teaspoons of “Better than Bouillon” chicken base
1 large (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes and (its juice), put in a bowl and slice tomatoes in half
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon hot sauce
½ cup uncooked white rice
1 – 14-16oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 Tablespoon of fresh thyme (1 teaspoon each if using dried thyme)
1 Tablespoon fresh basil (1 teaspoon each if using dried basil)

Marinate beef shanks for at least an hour in beef marinade.

Using a large soup/stock pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add beef shanks. Sear about 6 minutes on each side.

Add 2 of the mined garlic, red onion, celery and Bay Leaves and black pepper.

Turn heat up to high and add water and “Better than Bouillon" chicken base. After pot boils, reduce heat to simmer, and let simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

After 2 hours add tomatoes, sugar, hot sauce, rice, basil, thyme and 1 minced garlic clove. Let cook 10 minutes.

Add frozen vegetables and cook an additional 10 minutes.

When cooking is completed, remove the beef shanks and place on a plate, cut beef from bones and chop in medium size pieces. Return beef to the pot (you can discard bones or return back to the pot for additional favoring).

Remove bay leaves.

Serves 5 to 6.