Take A Tip From Cross-Examiners...

Use A Cross-Examiner’s Secrets To Get Your Kids To Try New Dishes…

As any afficionado of courtroom dramas knows, cross-examining attorneys get the answers they want from witnesses by asking them “leading questions”; that is, questions that elicit a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response and lead to a desired conclusion. ‘Isn’t it true that…’ ‘Isn’t it true that…’ ‘Isn’t it true that…’ and finally, ‘Then you must agree that…’

The same technique works on a kid who’s unwilling to try a new dish like, say, this month’s flat-out fabulous Chicken Tortilla Soup. The first time I put a bowl of it in front of my son Harry, he pushed it away.
“I’m not eating it,” he declared.
“You’ll like it when you find out what‘s in it,” I reassured him. “You like chicken soup, right?” began the cross-examination.
“Yes, but this doesn’t look like –“
“Just answer the question! It also has salsa in it. You like that too, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And tortillas. You love those, right?”
“Well, that’s all it is, basically. So you’ll like it, right?”
“…I guess.”

He didn’t just like it. He ­loved it. Everybody does. It’s super fast –it’s done in less than half an hour – and it’s super easy, starting as so many of my recipes do with a rotisserie chicken. And by the way, you can make it vegan by subbing chicken flavored seitan and vegan “chicken” broth for the chicken and broth.
No matter how you make it, you’ll be making it over and over and over again. It’s that good.

Chicken tortilla soup…in thirty minutes

1 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, cut into eight pieces
2 tsp minced garlic (2 large cloves)
¾ of a 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 jalapeno chile, ribs and seeds removed if you prefer less heat
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo with 1-3 tsp of sauce, depending on how much spice you want
8 cups chicken broth (low sodium is best)
2 sprigs fresh oregano
A handful of fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1rotisserie chicken, or at least half of one if you can’t keep greedy fingers out. Shred the meat and discard (or gobble up) the skin
2 bags of Fresh Gourmet Tortilla Strips, lightly salted (in the produce section) or ½ of a 10-oz bag of tortilla chips, broken into large pieces (“Hey, kids! Come into the kitchen! There’s something I want you to break for me!”)

Garnishes:
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1 ripe avocado, cut into small cubes
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, regular or Vegan Gourmet (optional)
Sour cream, regular or vegan Tofutti brand

Put the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven and heat over medium heat until it shimmers.
Bung the onion, tomato, garlic, chipotle and sauce and jalapeno into a food processor and puree. Add to Dutch oven. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken broth, oregano and cilantro, and heat five minutes.
Add the shredded chicken and heat through.

Put a handful of broken tortilla chips in each soup bowl. Ladle soup over. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and other garnishes. Serves 6.