RECIPE: JEAN'S FAVORITE REUBEN (CORNED BEEF) CHOWDER

I have the best friends. My high school friend Jean, who is an amazing mom to five kids, shared her favorite soup recipe with us a while back. It's been on my blog for five years and people still comment that it is one of their favorite cold weather recipes. Thank you, Jeano, for sharing it with us!

Jean needs to feed an army so this recipe can be easily halved if you don't want to make a big batch.

JEAN'S FAVORITE REUBEN CHOWDER

INGREDIENTS

1 pound unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup celery, finely diced

1 cup green onion, finely diced (use the white only, save the green for garnish)

2 gallons milk

4 quarts heavy cream

½ cup chicken base (find these in the same aisle you find boullion cubes; McCormick or Superior Touch brands are both good)

½ cup ham base (same as above)

1/3 cup caraway seeds

1 cup sauerkraut

2 pounds corned beef brisket (make your own or buy from your favorite deli)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 pounds potatoes, cubed

DIRECTIONS:

For the roux: Melt the butter. Add onions and celery and cook until tender. Stir in the flour. Cook the roux for five minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Whisk in the liquid ingredients, a little at a time. Then add the remaining ingredients except the potatoes. Stir frequently to keep from sticking. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in boiling water until fork tender, drain. Add to chowder after it thickens.

NATIONAL HOT TODDY DAY: MAKE A HOT TODDY TO KEEP WARM THIS WINTER!

I love "national" days and January 11th is National Hot Toddy day. I guess any hot cocktail qualifies as a hot toddy. If you've never warmed up with a hot adult beverage, here's one of my favorite recipes... honey, bourbon, lemon, and orange... comforting and delicious. If you make a large quantity recipe in a saucepan or pot, remember to always remove it from the heat before adding alcohol as it will flame.

Warm up with a bourbon hot toddy for National Hot Toddy Day!

BOURBON HOT TODDY

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 ounces bourbon (I like Knob Creek or Gentleman Jack for this recipe)

1/2 ounce Grand Marnier (or any orange liqueur)

1/2 teaspoons local honey

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick

Lemon or orange twist (which is a strip of the lemon peel)

1 1/2 cups boiling water (more or less depending on the size of the mug)

DIRECTIONS:

Put the cinnamon stick, twist, and lemon juice into a heavy mug. Add bourbon and Grand Marnier and top off with the boiling water. Let stand for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavors to blend and to cool slightly. Remove the cinnamon stick and enjoy!

JUSTIN WARNER'S TEMPURA RECIPE

JANUARY 7TH IS NATIONAL TEMPURA DAY...  in other words, national fry something at home day.

Any time I hear the word tempura, I immediately think of my Food Network Star teammate, Justin Warner. Justin knows how to fry things really, really well and his tempura recipe was not only one of the best I've ever tried, it was a huge hit with all of the guests at our pop-up Italian restaurant on the show. Since then, I've used it for a number of things but really like it for frying shrimp for a Po-Boy.

Fried Shrimp Po-Boy... Justin's tempura batter makes it light and airy. Not heavy.

Here's us... working the fry station. Justin's tempura recipe follows.

Making a lot of fried food in our pop-up restaurant with Justin Warner on Food Network Star season 8. Get his recipe for tempura batter below

JUSTIN'S FAMOUS TEMPURA BATTER

INGREDIENTS

2 cups rice flour

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried parsley

Salt and ground black pepper

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

Club soda

Vegetable or peanut oil, for frying

DIRECTIONS:

Make a dredge of 1 cup rice flour, oregano, parsley and some salt and pepper.

Make a batter by combining the remaining 1 cup rice flour with the all-purpose flour, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Pour in the club soda a little bit at a time and whisk until the batter is just slightly loosened and the whisk won't stand up. Keep on an ice bath as  you are using it.

Fill a Dutch oven just under halfway with oil and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F.

To fry: Dredge strips of fresh veggies, like bell pepper, zucchini, onion, whole string beans in the seasoned flour and then dip in the batter and drop into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels, season with salt and a spray of lemon juice.

If you make this recipe, please give my buddy Justin a shout out on Twitter: @EatFellowHumans. His highly acclaimed restaurant, Do or Dine, is located in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York where tempura fried things like the Cauli-Balls are always on the menu. Check out the Nippon Nachos with gouda and cheddar -- the one chef's dish Alton Brown says he wishes he'd come up with during an interview with Conde Nast Traveler.

Happy National TEMPURA DAY! Go fry something delicious!

LEARN MORE ABOUT JUSTIN WARNER IN MY CHEF SERIES Q & A. Read the article....