Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup)

Kevin and I first had Pho a couple of years ago when my cousin had her rehearsal dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. It wasn't until sometime last year that we Kevin attempted to make it. It was so yummy! We were craving it today and even though it was hot outside we decided to make it and just turn the AC down. This recipe is a little more complex than I normally prefer, but it's worth it!

Gather it:
3-4 cloves of garlic
Small handful of whole black peppercorns
5-6 star anise pods
2-3 bay leaves
2 inches of ginger, cut into thin pieces)
1 jalapeño, diced
Small bunch of fresh cilantro, leaves only
2 stalks of scallions, sliced
Bean sprouts
1 lime, cut in wedges
4 soup bones (if it's not in the fresh meat section, look in the frozen section)
2 large boxes of beef broth
1/2 lb roast beef from the deli, shredded into bite sized pieces
Rice noodles, found at Asian store, but my Publix had it too in the International aisle
~ 6 Tbsp of fish sauce (found at local Asian store)

Make it:
1) In a large pot, over medium heat, "toast" first 4 ingredients for 4 minutes.
2) Place soup bones in pot and brown for 4 minutes. Then place about 1/2 cup of beef broth in pot
and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3) Pour remaining boxes of broth in pot and simmer over medium high heat for 20 minutes.
4) Add 5 cups of water, ginger, fish sauce and return to a boil then simmer on low heat for 45 min.
5) Place a fine mesh strainer and pour 2 ladlefuls of the broth in a smaller pot. Fill additionally with water and cook rice noodles according to package directions.
6) Using strainer and ladle, remove the garlic, peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves and ginger from the large pot and throw away.
7) In a bowl, place noodles, jalapeños, sprouts, and roast beef. Pour hot broth over it, top with cilantro and scallions and squeeze lime juice.

The garlic, peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, and soup bones browning together.