Pho, Pho, Pho

it's like 'Ho, Ho, Ho'...but pronounced 'Fo, Fo, Fo'...get it?  No?...okay, me either...and technically, I guess it's supposed to be pronounced 'Fuh', (like 'duh') but when I was introduced to it, I was given the 'Fo' pronunciation and so that's stuck with me.  What is it exactly?  Glad you asked... :)

Pho is delicious...it is a Vietnamese noodle and rice soup...typically served with beef, but also chicken...or tripe if you're feeling adventurous (no thanks).  It's served in a ginormous bowl filled with really hot beef broth, chopped up scallions, onions, cilantro and noodles.  It's also flavored with star anise (something my palate is not sophisticated enough to pick out, but I have been told it's in there, so I'll go with it).  You have the option of having the beef served on the side (to add at your own leisure), or in the broth.  The beef is very thinly sliced (but thicker than carpaccio) and raw (I know it sounds gross, but just wait...).  The broth is so hot that it actually cooks the meat.  By the time my bowl is delivered to the table, the meat is mostly cooked...just a little bit of pink.  Then they provide you with a plate of garnishments...bean sprouts, lime or lemon wedges, slices of jalapeno peppers, fresh basil, and fresh sawgrass leaves ...along with your choice of sauces - hoison or srircha (neither of which I use as I am not a fan of spicy / hot). 

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YUM!!!

For MY Pho bowl, I always order the rare beef...as I said, the beef ends up cooking quickly in the hot broth...I then tear up the basil leaves, add the bean sprouts and squirt fresh lime (or lemon) juice over it and dig in.  That's how I like to eat mine...

Sadly, my fellow Pho friend (say that fast 3 times) is moving away soon...as in a week and a half soon...so we've been trying to fit in as much Pho eating as we can...and when I bemoaned the fact that my only Pho friend was leaving, she did reassure me that I could always get take-out...which is true...it just won't be the same...  She asked me if there was Pho in Anchorage...I said I didn't know...but after doing a Google search, I breathed a sigh of relief ~ I will not have to go Pho-less in Anchorage.  :)

If you haven't tried Pho, you SHOULD...Pho Sho!!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm on a food kick lately, can you tell?  I know it's Spring and soups and stews are not usually on a lot of menus at this time of year, but I recently had the most wonderful homemade chicken noodle soup while taking care of some friends kiddos and wanted to try making it myself.  The urgency to do it now comes because one of the ingredients will not be available to me up in Anchorage :(  but I'm HOPING to find a comparable substitute once I'm there.

Chicken noodle soup is another food item that I am rather particular about eating ~ none of the gross Campbell's version in a can...I want big chunks of chicken and noodles, not little unidentifiable pieces of what I think are supposed to pass as those ingredients.  So I don't typically eat chicken noodle soup very often...until now!

INGREDIENTS:

olive oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1-2 stalks celery, chopped

1-2 carrots, chopped

1 quart chicken broth

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 bag Grandma's Noodles, cook/heat according to package directions

1 rotisserie chicken, diced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saute onion, celery and carrots in olive oil until soft.

2. Add chicken broth, reserve 1/2 to 1 cup of broth.

3. Add chicken and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. In separate bowl, melt butter.  Whisk in flour and then reserved chicken broth.  Slowly whisk in milk.

5. Add #4 to broth and heat to low boil.

6. Add cooked noodles...soup thickens a little more as it cools.

   **Add salt & pepper to taste**

The genius and ease of this recipe comes from using a rotisserie chicken (no pre-cooking of chicken required - I didn't even dice it up - I just pulled it off in chunks and broke it up with my fingers).  The other is the noodles, Grandma's Noodles to be exact...

I'd never heard of these before but they are SOOOO good.  The company's headquarters are actually local here in Arvada, CO.  These noodles can be found in the frozen food section of the grocery store.  There were two different sized noodles (I chose the wide noodles) and two different sized BAGS of noodles - I bought the bigger, "Family-Sized" bag because I like a lot of noodles in my soup.  Sadly...they do not currently distribute their product to Anchorage, so if I want them there, I will have to have them shipped in dry ice...

FINAL RESULT:

Mmmmm....noodle soup...(to quote another "Friends" episode) :)

This recipe is definitely a keeper!!