Dinner's On The Table – The Personal Chef & Home Cooking Resource

     In the 10 years I’ve lived in Dutchess County I’ve seen a small explosion of Asian restaurants and Asian grocery stores that have really expanded my interest in Thai, Japanese, Chinese and Indian cuisines. As chefs this is fantastic because we are able to buy ingredients at these stores that just aren’t found at Stop and Shop, Hannaford or Price Chopper, which allows us to prepare truly authentic dishes for our clients (and ourselves) without traveling to Westchester, New York City or Northern New Jersey.

     But who would have guessed we would be lucky enough to have a Burmese restaurant open up…in Hyde Park! 

     Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is sandwiched between China, Thailand, Laos, India, Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. And you’re correct if you guessed that Burmese food is influenced by these surrounding countries, yet it has a flair all of its own.

     KT Sushi is located in the small shopping center across from Twist and the former Amish Market in Hyde Park on Route 9. Amish Market was one of our favorite grocery stores because you could find some interesting specialty foods there. But we also loved to grab a Hawaii Roll or Spicy Tuna Roll as well.

     If you miss Amish Market’s sushi bar, you can find the sushi chefs over at KT Sushi. They liked the area so much they decided to stay and open a restaurant. However, while sushi is 60% of the menu you can explore authentic dishes from Burma just a few miles from home.

     Now, while they do have a couple of tables in the back for eating there, they are built more for the takeout crowd – perfect for that quick lunch or dinner.

     Our favorites include Spicy Beef, Green Chicken Curry and Burmese Noodle Soup which is a delightful blend of chicken, egg, scallions, lemon juice, and noodles in a coconut milk broth.

     We find inspiration for menu items that we offer you from our own experiences. We’re currently perfecting some Burmese dishes and we’ll be adding Burmese recipes to our list later this year.
 

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     It’s cold and snowy outside. The wind chill is giving your goose bumps, goose bumps. You CRAVE soup! Soups are some of the most wonderful dishes to enjoy. They’re delicious, filling, and usually inexpensive to make. But they are time consuming to make as well.

     So, in the modern age we reach for a can of Progresso’s or Campbell’s. But they don’t always have the flavors you want and you may not have the right flavor in your pantry. Here is a quick solution for creating fantastic soup in only a few minutes using chicken broth you may already have waiting for you in your pantry when you don’t have the time and we haven’t cooked for you yet:

Spicy Chipotle Chicken Soup

16 oz of Chicken Broth or use Bouillon and Water (follow package directions)
1/2 – 3/4 cup of Vegetables and/or Beans
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken (optional)
1/4 cup Cooked Rice or 1/2 cup Uncooked Broken Angel Hair Pasta
1 tablespoon Chopped Cilantro (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle Powder (Can substitute Ancho or Chili Powder)
Salt and Black Pepper to taste (be careful that you taste before adding salt)

     Bring broth just to a boil in a sauce pan, turn down to a simmer. Break the pasta into 1 inch or smaller pieces. Add in all the ingredients except Cilantro.  Heat through or until pasta is soft. Add half the cilantro and cook for 1 minute. Add a dollop of sour cream (optional) or crumble in some tortilla chips and garnish with remaining cilantro. Serves 4-6. For another twist, sauté 1/4 cup of onion and 3 chopped garlic cloves before adding broth to the pan.

     If you read my Improv In The Kitchen posts you’ve noticed I like to play around with spices and make my own recipes. Frozen vegetables and canned beans are always in my freezer and pantry. You can use any combination of veggies to beans here. I had a Mexican frozen vegetable blend that had broccoli, carrots, beans, green beans and peppers in it. You can use corn and black beans or any other vegetable you have on hand. I actually used a packet of Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup as the base when I first tested this recipe out. You can use any brand chicken broth (College Inn, Swanson’s, Trader Joe’s, Wolfgang Puck) or even your own.

For Vegetarians: Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and firm tofu for chicken. Or simply add more beans.

Greek Chicken Florentine Soup

16 oz Chicken Broth or use Bouillon and Water (follow package directions)
3/4 cup Chopped Spinach
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken (optional)
1/4 cup Cooked Rice or 1/2 cup Uncooked Broken Angel Hair Pasta
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon marjoram leaves
1 or 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (adjust to your tastes)
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Black Pepper and Salt to taste

     Add broth to sauce pan. Stir in oregano, marjoram and garlic powder and bring just to a boil, turn down to a simmer. Break the pasta into 1 inch or smaller pieces. Add in all the ingredients except Lemon Juice and Feta Cheese. Heat through or until pasta is soft. Add lemon juice and stir just before serving. Crumble feta on top when serving.

     For Vegetarians: Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and firm tofu or cannellini beans for chicken.     

     These soups are perfect for a quick dinner or taken to school or work for lunch the next day. Please note: Dinner’s On The Table, when cooking for clients, makes all soups from scratch. 
 

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