A recent article about soup prompted Mark Issenberg, owner of Lookout Mountain Pottery, to send in a recipe for one of his favorite soups, and it sounds delicious. He gets the sausage at the Latin market next to La Altena, 314 W. Main St. All other ingredients are available at any grocery store.
"I was reading Relish this morning and saw the recipe for the Senate bean soup," he said. "Mine is better, no kidding. It's a Spanish bean soup. All the Cuban restaurants in Miami serve it with pressed garlic bread. I am from Miami and miss lots of the food, not the traffic, but I'm now missing the heat."
This soup is chock-full of fiber and vitamins, perfect for all of you wanting to improve your diet in 2010.
Lookout Mountain Bean Soup
2 big onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cans chopped chilies
2 cloves of garlic
2 chorizo (Mexican) sausages
1 quart water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1-pound bag Great Northern beans cooked or 3 (16-ounce) cans great Northern beans, undrained
1/2 pound ham, cubed
4 potatoes, diced (canned potatoes OK)
1 bag chopped collard greens, well-chopped
Sauté onions, peppers, chilies, garlic and chorizo in olive oil till onions and peppers are tender and sausage is browned and cooked through. Add water and bouillon cubes. Add beans and ham, and simmer for about a half-hour. Add potatoes and collards, and simmer 30 to 45 minutes. Makes 6 servings.
Note: This recipe is easily doubled. Add kale if you don't have collards.
I drove down Dayton Boulevard on my way home last week and, on impulse, stopped by Lillie Mae's Place to get a couple of take-out orders for dinner. As it's not my regular route home, I forget about this restaurant and its unbelievable Southern cooking.
I ordered the grilled chicken, greens and pinto beans for myself, and the chicken tenders, baked apples and green beans for my husband. I had these wonderful smells going on in my car the whole way home, figuring it was my husband's order but hoping it was mine. It must have been both, because each one was incredible.
I can't tell you how good their grilled chicken is. We sometimes think that healthy isn't as tasty. Lillie Mae's blows that thought out of the water. The seasoning is full of flavor.
P.F. Chang's has added happy hour to its menu. Every day from 3 to 6 p.m. stop by and raise a glass to new $3-$6 appetizer and drink specials. One example would be four spring rolls and two beers for $9, enough for two to enjoy.