Roasted Asparagus and Scrambled Eggs

Who would ever have thought of scrambled eggs over asparagus as a comfort food? Well, I was reading up on dishes people find comforting and the Barefoot Contessa stated that when her husband is away, this recipe is one of her favorites. Yes, eggs over asparagus does sound strange but would you believe this is actually delicious? Roasting asparagus in the oven with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese is easy and full of flavor. Not over cooked, so not mushy. Perfect tenderness with a simple, creamy egg scramble over the top. I made this for breakfast but now I can also see making the simple but flavorful dish for dinner.

Roasted Asparagus with Scrambled Eggs

(adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

3/4 pound fresh asparagus

Good olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/8 cup freshly grated Parmesan

6 extra-large eggs

3 tablespoons half-and-half

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided

2 to 4 slices 7-grain bread (I used garlic French bread, thick sliced and toasted. . .smeared with butter)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and, if they're thick, peel them. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat the asparagus completely. Spread the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast the asparagus for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender but still crisp. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

While the asparagus is roasting, whisk the eggs in a bowl with the half-and-half, and salt and pepper, to taste. Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet. Cook the eggs on the lowest heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, to the desired doneness. Remove from the heat, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter, and stir until it melts. Check for seasoning, salt and pepper, if needed, and serve with the roasted asparagus and 7-grain bread.

Dorie Greenspan's Creamy Chocolate Pudding

TWD is here again and chocolate pudding it is! Melissa from It's Melissa's Kitchen chose this week's cooking event from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook "Baking from my home to yours". My grandpa used to love pudding; chocolate and butterscotch being his two favorite flavors. Grandma used to always buy the pudding in those little plastic container cups at the grocery refrigerated section. Don't get me wrong, my Grandma was a fabulous baker but the idea of mixing pudding over the stove didn't excite her imagination. Grandma was famous for her pies, mostly fruit pies. . .I bet a small orchard of different fruit trees had something to do with this. Granny came from the depression era and made sure NOTHING went to waste. 3 different kinds of Apples, several sweet cherry trees, and 1 Bosc pear tree made up the variety of fruit. Her applesauce and apple butter were to die for!

If grandpa tasted Dorie's chocolate pudding, I bet Grandma would be stuck mixing it over the kitchen stove because Grandpa would be making such a fuss about how much he loved it! Chocolate creamy richness in small amounts. The best flavor of any dish comes from the taste of the first two bites. Silky texture, bittersweet richness of a good chocolate, and the visual attraction of adding a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream with chocolate curls over all makes this simple sounding dessert feel like a rich treat. For me, enjoyment came more from mixing the ingredients together and smelling the wonderful aroma permeating throughout the house. Nostalgic is the only word I can think of to represent the feeling. I think that is what cooking and baking represents to so many of us. . .memories of aromas and experiences in kitchen's past and/or images of our own ideals for home life and taking care of our most cherished. Sitting down and tasting the end result can be secondary, not that I do not look forward to diving in. . .because I DO! =D

The hardest part for me putting Dorie's chocolate pudding recipe together was having time to take pictures of each step. Several steps required a little hustle. This was fun wasn't it?

The chocolate pudding recipe can be found on page 383 and on It's Melissa's Kitchen blog site.

Another keeper for a family favorite: Thank You Dorie =D!

I used Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder - Unsweetened along with the cornstarch and salt.

3 Tablespoons of sugar, egg and 2 egg yolks are blended for 1 minute.

After incorporating the dry ingredients with the egg mixture, the hot milk was added, processed, and poured back into a pot to be whisked until thickening starts to occur.

Ghirardelli chocolate, 60%, semi-sweet is melted and waits to be added to the final stage.

Now that the chocolate pudding has thickened, the pudding is poured back into the food processor. Butter, vanilla extract, and melted chocolate are added and a few quick pulses mixes everything together.

The pudding has had saran wrap placed on the surface to prevent a skin from forming while chilling in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, I whipped up a small amount of heavy cream, added 1 T. of fine granulated sugar, and 1/2 t. vanilla extract. Placed a dollop on the top and a few chocolate curls for presentation. The pudding is creamy, rich, and delicious! =D

my Kitchen. . .my World

my Kitchen. . .my World cooking event!
I am a day late for joining in on the Korean dish chosen by Elra of elras baking. This is my first attempt at Korean cuisine and I am now really glad that I still tried.

The menu for the dinner is:

Korean-style

Bulgogi with ginger dipping sauce

Sesame Rice Vermicelli

Spicy Pickled Vegetables

and Beverage:

Almond Tea. . .

The tea is so good and one that will stay in my refrigerator as a go to beverage for the rest of the

summer. . .Delicious with a refreshing almond flavor. The recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar but this is a little too sweet. Half that amount would be just as good.

Bulgogi (bul-GOH-gee) is also called "fire meat" in Korea. The beef is traditionally cooked on table-top grills but I chose to grill mine over a charcoal grill. . .I'm fresh out of table-top grills =D. The beef is tender with lots of flavor from the sambal, ginger, and rice vinegar. Sambal is a spicy Asian condiment made from

chilies, salt and shrimp paste, along with a few other ingredients that may differ according to which type is chosen. The condiment adds a dark color and fiery flavor to foods. Sambal can be found in the Asian food aisles of local grocery stores.

Spicy pickled vegetables is a staple dish on Korean tables. The dish was easy to make and only needed 1 hour to pickle. If daikon radishes are hard to find, then I am sure red radishes would work just as well.

The rice vermicelli was a different flavor for me and one that I would have to get used to eating before I could enjoy the pasta. I did not "dislike" the dish ~ but thought the dish tasted unusual. I roasted the sesame seeds under the broiler for a couple of minutes to toast and this method worked perfectly.

Korean-style Bulgogi

with ginger dipping sauce

(adapted from Cuisine at Home Aug. 2008)

Ingredients:

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. rice vinegar

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. fresh ginger, minced

1 T. garlic, minced

2 t. toasted sesame oil

2 t. sambal

1 T. water

1 t. cornstarch

3/4 lb. boneless ribeye steak, cut into 1/4-inch thick strips

salt and pepper

sliced scallions

toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Preheat grill to high or light charcoal and heat to a high heat.

Simmer sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and sambal together in a small saucepan over high heat. Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl, then whisk into the sauce. Return mixture to a boil and simmer 1 minute; remove from heat and set aside.

Season ribeye strips with salt and pepper; grill 2 minutes per side, then toss in 2 Tablespoons dipping sauce. Arrange strips on 2 plates and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve with vermicelli, vegetables, and remaining sauce on the side.

Sesame Rice Vermicelli

Ingredients:

4 oz. dry rice vermicelli

2 T. scallions, thinly sliced

1 T. toasted sesame oil

1 T. sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

Prepare vermicelli according to package directions and cool. Toss with remaining ingredients.

Spicy Pickled Vegetables

Ingredients:

2 T. rice vinegar

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 t. sugar

1 t. sambal

1/2 t. salt

1/3 cup "each" carrot and daikon radish, peeled, sliced into matchsticks

1/3 c. cucumber, seeded, thinly sliced into half-moons

Directions:

Whisk vinegar, lime juice, sugar, sambal, and salt together in a bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Pour marinade over vegetables in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate 1 hour. Drain vegetables in a colander before serving.

Almond Tea

(adapted from Taste of the South June/July 2008)

Ingredients:

2 c. water

9 regular-size tea bags or 3 family-size tea bags

1 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

1 1/2 t. almond extract

Juice of 3 lemons

6 c. cold water

Directions:

Bring 2 cups water to a slow boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Let steep for 10 minutes.

Remove tea bags, being careful not to squeeze bags. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add extracts and lemon juice. Add 6 cups cold water. Cool and serve over ice.

World's Hottest Chile (bhut jolokia) and a Triple Decker Strawberry Cake

I have heard very little about bhut jolokia. . .Ghost Peppers for us non-pepper literate people =). Then, the magazine Chile Pepper comes along and changes my world! I read an article by Jon Wipfli about the world's hottest pepper and how the taste is "ultra-clean, well-rounded, tongue-tingling delight . . ." (Wipfli, 2008) and will not leave my mind once I try the pepper. . .if I am a pepper person. To investigate this pepper, a website has been provided, going directly to the New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute for further education. The site is one of the few places a person can actually order Ghost chile seeds to plant his or her own plant. Otherwise, my search is limited to ordering a full plant and waiting 90 days for chilies. I am not prepared to grow a plant like the one pictured here. Instead, Amazon.com came to the rescue once again! A supplier called Rojos Gourmets.com offers this: Dave's Insanity Ghost Pepper Private Reserve 2008 The First Seller To Bring You This Years Insane Reserve Sauce with the Guinness World Record Chile Pepper Bhut Jolokia .

I can not wait to try the Ghost Chile Pepper in a homemade Mayo that will give Simplicity and Boldness in the same bite. My chicken salad sandwich will take on new levels of heat and flavor!

Opening the truck door, and slowly getting out of a hot truck. . .with air conditioning that is blasting out of the air vents with semi-cold air, there is a realization that I HAVE BOXES WAITING FOR ME ON THE FRONT PORCH!!!!! CHRISTMAS in July. . .YAYYYYY! Okay, yes, I ordered the boxes but when each item is sealed up, happiness awaits in ripping the box open to see the wonderful new addition to my kitchen. If you haven't guessed, there was (2) boxes. One was Emeril Lagasse's 10-inch Saute pan that was received as a free gift for ordering his full set of shiny silver and copper pots and pans. The second was the Ghost Pepper sauce that I ordered 1 1/2 days ago! Talk about fast shipping. . .WoW! I think I will let the bottle age for a couple of days and then open it =D.

Nothing like the combination of "the" hottest pepper" AND a triple layer strawberry cake BUT I just have to share! I try to not use cake mixes since I can usually tell the difference but this cake is not your typical cake mix type of cake. Fresh strawberries are added to the mix along with flour, strawberry jello, eggs, sugar, milk, and vegetable oil. The frosting is very simple: fresh strawberries, butter, and powdered sugar. That is it! Easy and beautiful. The fresh strawberries naturally color the frosting a pretty medium pink with red little flecks. The flavor is phenomenal! The cake tastes fresh and homemade. . .

Triple-Decker Strawberry Cake

(adapted from Southern Living)

Ingredients:

1 package white cake mix

1 (3-oz.) package strawberry jello

4 large eggs

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. finely chopped fresh strawberries

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened

1 (32-ounce) package powdered sugar

1 c. finely chopped fresh strawberries

Directions for Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cake mix and next 7 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl, and beat at medium speed 2 more minutes, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. (Strawberries should be well blended.)

2. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 23 minutes or until cakes spring back when pressed lightly with a finger. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and let cool 1 hour or until cool completely.

4. Spread Strawberry Buttercream Frosting between layers and on top and on sides of cake.

Garnish with strawberries if desired. Serve immediately, or chill up to 1 week.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting Directions:

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy (about 20 seconds). Add sugar and strawberries; beat at low speed until creamy. (Add more sugar if frosting is too thin, or add more strawberries if too thick.)

Pike's Place Market in Seattle, WA has a quaint little Italian market selling a wide variety of authentic Italian products and ingredients and hosting a huge fresh deli. My Mom and I discovered crystallized roses (real) and crystallized violets (also real) which we BOTH have been looking for on-line since our constant on foot searching has produced ZIP in the past! We both saw these at the same time and squealed in unison. I think the store clerk thought we were either both drunk or hurt. Either way, she stayed clear of us until we explained how excited we were about our new found treasures. I still feel giddy. . .

Reference:
Wipfli, J. (2008, July). Love at First Bite. Chile Pepper, Vol. 22, No. 4, 10.

Barefoot Contessa's Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

I can not believe that this is the second Thursday of July Already?! Scary. Time sure flies. Our cooking event for the first half of July is a Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread. The choice of this cooking event was selected by Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids.

Being from the Northwest, my family already enjoys cornbread that has a little sweetness added to the flavor and the Barefoot Contessa's cornbread not only had that extra sweetness but included a cake like texture. Diced jalapenos, scallions, and sharp cheddar cheese makes the cornbread addictive and all I could think of making was either chili or chicken tortilla soup to go with the cornbread. I made the chili, in the middle of summer, I made chili! I am really glad I did. I found this awesome chili recipe from Rosie with Bitchin' In the Kitchen.

The chili actually uses 6 POUNDS of hamburger. . .incredible! I'll have to blog about the recipe later since I really want to devote this blog to Ina. Ina's recipe can be found on the Food Network cooking site.

This cornbread will permanently be added to my favorite recipe list and I have already shared the recipe with friends. I just love the Barefoot Bloggers group! I do not think I would have tried this particular recipe if I had not joined in on the fun. I have so many recipes just waiting to be tried already! Thousands, literally, collected over the last 5 years.

Mixing the dry ingredients together is a snap. Flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

I just use a small whisk to give everything a quick toss.

I am now ready to add the milk, eggs, and butter to the dry ingredients. =D

Diced jalapenos, scallions, and sharp cheddar cheese has also been added to the mixture. I just let the mixture sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before turning into a 13 x 9 baking dish.

While waiting out the 20 minutes, I pre-assembled the rest of the ingredients and sprayed my baking dish with Pam.

I put all my extras over the top and toss this into the oven for 35 minutes. I needed the full 35 minutes of baking time too.

The end result is a beautiful, fluffy dish of bright yellow cornbread. The colors are as beautiful as the dish is flavorful. A definite keeper for a recipe! YUM! =D

TWD Double Crusted Blueberry Pie

First, Amy of South in Your Mouth picked this weeks TWD.
Amy, I LOVE blueberries and so does hubby! The flavor of the pie is phenomenal! Now, with that said. . .I am asking for help from my fellow TWD bloggers =. If you scan down to the last pie picture, you will see that my pie crust literally melted away in the oven. I know I am tired from cooking so much over the 4th BUT I went over the pie crust recipe again and what the heck did I do wrong?

First, I used butter that was NOT frozen. I did put the butter in the freezer for 20 minutes. The shortening WAS frozen. Also, after making the pie crusts, I put them back into the refrigerator until I was done mixing together the ingredients for the blueberry filling.

Finally, after assembling the pie, I did NOT put the pie in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour like Dorie suggested. With all the above information, Could someone maybe see where I went wrong? The pie flavor is awesome and I want to make this specific blueberry pie recipe again. . .this time when I am not tired but any input would REALLY be appreciated =D.


The recipe chosen included a pie crust called Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough found in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours, on pages 442-443.

Here, I have pulsed the butter and shortening with the dry mixture.

The Double-Crusted Blueberry Pie is found on pages 361-363.

The blueberries have been picked through and are happily waiting for the addition of sugar, flour, and lemon.

Blueberries are waiting to be gently tossed to mix all ingredients together.

The top pie crust has been added and ready for a little trim.

After fluting the edges, I have made a few openings for steam to release.

My final pie. Ouch! The pie crust is literally on the oven floor. I need pie 101 help please?

What To Do With Left Over 100 Pound Piggy?

First, you start with a stiff drink! Beach Bourbon Slush to be exact. I wanted to make an iced tea to take with me down to my sister's house but there is only so much a person can pack into 2 (yep, I took 2 vehicles to get grill, 100 pound piggy, 2 cakes, 2 types of cole slaw, 3 BBQ sauces, 80 pounds of charcoal, 6 large Weber charcoal chimneys, large table, tarps just in case, 10 pounds of hamburger, 7 pounds of brats, 5 pounds of hot dogs, buns galore, all types of toppings for all of the above, cases of soda, large watermelon, and dishes that will be mentioned below.) vehicles so there was limited space on account of also taking people with me too. The Beach Bourbon Slush does have 2 cups of brewed unsweetened black tea in it. That has to count for something. I think I will do this blog with recipes in a story setting. The Bourbon Slush is as follows:


(recipe found in Taste of the South magazine)
Ingredients:
2 c. brewed unsweetened tea
5 c. water
1 pint Jack Daniel's Black Label sour-mash whiskey
1/4 c. sugar
1 (12-oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 (6-oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 (33.8-oz.) bottles ginger ale, chilled
Chilled Glasses


Directions:
Combine tea, water, whiskey, sugar, and both concentrates in a 13 x 9 inch baking pan, or any shallow container large enough to hold mixture.


Place in freezer. Once every 45 minutes or so, stir mixture with a fork. Continue this for a couple of hours, or until mixture is the consistency of a granita; icy, slushy, and granular.


serve, use an ice-cream scoop or heavy large spoon to fill a chilled glass two-thirds full with chunks of frozen tea. Top with ginger ale. Don't stir. Let ginger ale coagulate with frozen tea, then drink up.


Next, I took with me Hog-Apple Baked Beans. Would you believe this recipe has a can of non-sweetened apple pie filling? I come from a long line of country cooks specializing in baked beans and this recipe screamed "just try me!". So, I threw all my family baked bean recipes BACK into the recipe box and went with a fellow food blogger called Bossman and this gentleman specializes in BBQ. Everyone that tried these baked beans swore they were the best EVER! These people INCLUDE my MOM. WoW!


Hog-Apple Baked Beans
(care of BossmanBBQ blogger)

3 or 4 slices bacon, diced
2 (16 oz) cans pork and beans, mostly drained (modified to 2 28-oz cans Bush’s Baked Beans)
1/2 c. Blues Hog BBQ Sauce (or other sweet-spicy favorite)
1 lb. smoked leftover smoked pork or beef, more or less, or 1 lb crumbled cooked pork sausage
1 can apple pie filling (chop up the big chunks)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. Mustard (prepared)
1 tsp chipotle or cayenne powder (optional, to taste*)
1 tsp barbecue rub

Directions:
Brown bacon, and saute onion and green pepper in bacon grease. Mix in remaining ingredients. Bake at 325º for 1 hour, or simmer on stove top in large pot for 30 minutes if you don’t have time to do them in the oven. Serves 12.


Next, there is the Carolina Cider-Vinegar BBQ Sauce. The sauce is mustard based with kick and also a first time trial for me BUT in my defense, I looked at over 200 recipes for BBQ sauce and pulled pork. There are a LOT of recipes for pulled pork and sauce that originate from ALL parts of Carolina so I doubled this recipe that originated with Tyler Florence from the Food Network. The sauce has a little sweetness from the brown sugar and a little kick from the cayenne pepper. All and all, EXCELLENT!

Cider-Vinegar BBQ Sauce
(Adapted from Tyler Florence)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup yellow or brown mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
To make the barbecue sauce: combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.


Pour 1/2 of the sauce on the shredded pork and mix well to coat. ( I used a squirt bottle and everyone squeezed the desired amount onto their pork. I also had tomato based BBQ sauces so the topping choice was up to each person.)


The coleslaw that I made to put on top of the pulled pork and sauce is a spicy cabbage mix. There is a little red pepper chopped in along with onion and other seasonings. The slaw is also Excellent!


Spicy Coleslaw

Ingredients:
1 head green cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, grated
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 green onions, chopped
1 red chile, sliced
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup Creole mustard
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
Pinch sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Several dashes hot sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
Combine the cabbage, carrot, red onion, green onions, and chile in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar; stirring to incorporate. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix. Season the cole slaw with celery seed, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Chill for 2 hours in refrigerator before serving.


When I got home! Oy! What a lot of pork to work with! I wanted to show myself that I could use all the parts of the left over pig. . .including the pig's feet! Dad said that he has been trying to get Mom to make Ham hocks and beans but I think Mom had other ideas! So, that is where I started. Get out the pig's feet!


This recipe that I used came from my fellow Group Recipes friend, chef2, and I definitely messed with the spices. The pinto beans with ham hocks to flavor was also excellent! I added small pieces of pulled pork later on because I had no idea that the ham hocks just added flavor and that there really isn't any meat in the ol' piggy foot. =D


Pinto Beans and Ham Hocks


Ingredients:
3 smoked ham hocks
2 lbs. dried pinto beans
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons hot sauce
1/2 medium chopped onion


Directions:
Boil ham hocks on high heat for 45 minutes. Add all seasonings except hot sauce and onion. Continue boiling for 20 minutes. Add pinto beans, hot sauce, and onion. Boil on medium heat until beans are done to taste.



Note: To speed up cooking of beans and reduce the gas beans produce, soak beans in cold water overnight or for three hours during the day. (I soaked the beans in hot water according to the package directions.)


I took the ham hocks out of the bean dish, added small pieces of pulled pork and finished seasoning according to taste. Delicious!


For tonight, this will be the last recipe that I add to this blog. I had about 5 pounds of pork ribs left over with just a little bit of meat on them so I made pork stock. I had 1 piggy foot left over and excess rib bones, so I adapted accordingly. I think I am doing great using all pieces of pork and I have been cooking all day trying to make this happen. So help me, I better NOT see another piece of pork for a long time!


The Pork Stock came from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. I would like to add that the flavor coming from this stock is rich and delicious! I could see adding this stock to rice, risottos, stir frys, soups, all kinds of things. Yummy!

Pork Stock
Ingredients:
4 pigs feet, split (I had 1 leftover piggy foot)
2- to 3-pound pork shoulder or shank (I used 5 pounds of ribs)
1 quart homemade chicken stock (You can use water instead, but the results will not be as hearty. Do not be tempted to use store-bought stock, even the fancy kind that comes in a box.) **I used my homemade chicken stock and Boy, am I glad that I did!
Water to cover
1 garlic whole and unpeeled, halved through its equator
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 to 2 carrots
1 to 2 bay leaves
A few peppercorns

Directions:
Brown the bones, meat, onion and garlic in a roasting pan. Cover with water, bring to boil skimming off any scum as it appears. Add the chicken stock, carrots and spices, reduce heat, and allow to simmer, at least four hours, adding water to cover as needed. Strain stock – you may want to spray the solids with the sprayer from the sink to extract more stock from the solids. Allow to cool and refrigerate, leaving layer of fat intact.