creamy broccoli soup without the cream

While at Borders Books I stopped by the magazine section to check out what was new in the food world and I found a magazine called Whole Living. It recommended a detox to "boost" yourself and start the new year off right. Well,I was not about to commit to a detox but the recipes sounded awesome to try. Conveniently, our broccoli plants are growing strong and one of them had a huge head ready to pick. This soup was really easy to make and very tasty. I didn't have pine nuts so I made some croutons (cut bread up, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and put it in the oven on low for about 15 mins) and sprinkled them on top instead. Enjoy!

From wholeliving.com

Ingredients

Serves 4.

• 1 head broccoli (1 pound), cut into florets, stems thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 ounce shaved Parmesan, for serving

Directions

1. Steam broccoli florets and stems until tender and bright green, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly. Reserve 1/2 cup florets for garnish.
2. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add beans and stock and bring mixture to a simmer. Remove from heat and add broccoli; puree in batches in a blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish each bowl with broccoli florets, toasted pine nuts, and shaved Parmesan.

gobble gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!

root veggie mash, lamb chops, salad, and spears

Fall is finally here! Root veggies galore, pumpkins, and hearty dishes are all I can think about. The farmer's market is painted in autumnal colors that make my taste buds go wild. And I have finally decided that lamb is my favorite red meat. It is versatile and flavorful, can be fussed with, or left to savor simply dressed in salt and pepper. Sometimes, it is better left simple to accompany other more robust flavors like a pot of roasted root vegetable mash. Yum! This meal is simple, and if made with high-quality and fresh ingredients, doesn't require much added flavor.

I served the mash and meat with some lightly steamed asparagus spears and a salad with persimmons, pepitas, red onions, and a lemon shallot vinaigrette. I use about a 3:1 ratio for olive oil to acid (lemon juice or vinegar), add Dijon mustard (just a dash), salt, pepper, and in this case minced shallot. If you find the dressing is too acidic, try adding a pinch of sugar or a couple drops of honey. This was a relatively simple meal that was packed with flavor. ¡Buen Provecho!

Roasted Root Vegetable Mash
serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 large jewel yam, washed and cut into rounds about 1 to 1.5 inches thick.
1 large turnip, washed, peeled, and cut into rounds about 1 inch thick
2 medium russet potatoes, washed and cut into rounds about 1 to 1.5 inches thick
2 large carrots, washed and cut into wedges
1 Leek, washed and sliced finely
1-2 cloves garlic, use a garlic press to add to the leeks and olive oil
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
chicken stock (or veggie stock) if needed

Directions
1. Toss all sliced veggies with a little olive oil, place on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil.
2. Place baking sheets in the oven and turn the oven on to 400 °F (do not turn the oven on before you put the veggies in. By allowing them to heat up with the oven, the sugars caramelize better and the flavor is better).
3. Once oven is hot, cook the root vegetables covered for 30 minutes then remove the foil and cook until easily pierced with a fork, another 20-30 minutes. 
4. In the meantime, heat olive oil in a deep pot, add sliced leeks and cook until tender. Once tender, add garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes and turn off heat. 
5. When vegetables are ready, take them out of the oven and dump them into the pot with the leeks, olive oil, and garlic. 
6. Using a potato masher, mash all vegetables together. If they are dry, add some chicken stock, about 1 cup added in 1/2 cup increments. Add salt and pepper to taste. 


Grilled Lamb Rib Chops with an optional Chimichurri sauce


Ingredients
Lamb rib chops
Salt
Pepper


Directions
1. Heat grill
2. Cook ribs turning once so each side is evenly charred. Make sure your instant read thermometer reaches the recommended temperature for lamb.

Chimichurri Sauce 


Ingredients 
1/2 bunch parsley, washed and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon, juiced
red pepper flakes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions
1. Mix all ingredients together and spoon over meat. 

butternut chicken-noodle soup

We don’t get many rainy days in San Diego, so when we do I like to make fall-y dishes and savor the moment. Chicken noodle soup has a reputation for being curative so I decided to make it and see if it’d help me feel just a little bit better. The only problem is that I was craving a sort of hearty and sweet soup, so I had to mix the savory “normal” flavor of chicken soup with something sweet: a butternut squash. It was a marriage made in heaven.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

1 large onion, diced

1 small bunch celery, sliced coarsely

2 large carrots, sliced coarsely

1 whole chicken, cut into large pieces (or use your favorite cut, just be sure to leave some of the skin for flavor)

Egg noodles, I prefer linguine egg noodles—not too thick, not too thin

1 small-medium butternut squash, cubed in about 1.5/1.5 inch squares

Olive oil

Water

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Add a little oil to the bottom of a dutch oven, heat on high.
2. Once heated, add the chicken pieces. Cook until just golden brown.
3. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken from pot, set aside.
4. If needed, add a bit more olive oil, turn heat to medium, and add onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Be sure to stir!
5. Add chicken back into the pot, fill with water—until chicken is more than just covered.
6. Bring to a boil and then cook on medium for about an hour.
7. In another pot, boil water, salt it, then cook egg noodles.
8. While noodle water is coming to a boil add the squash to the chicken mixture, let cook.
9. Add salt and pepper.
10. When noodles are done, add them to the bowls and cover with chicken soup. OR you can add the noodles to the soup directly, is personal preference.

¡Buen provecho!

spaghetti alla bottarga

Some foods are best when left simple. This is the case with Bottarga, it is a type of caviar that is highly coveted by the Sicilians. Bottarga is either tuna roe or mullet roe that is grated over pasta. Our Sicilian friend had us over for this amazing dish, since then we've been making it on our own. He used squid-ink pasta, the ink adds a salty-sweetness to the dish. I highly recommend finding this pasta as it will add lots of flavor. The recipe is fast and delicious and you only need 4 ingredients.Too bad I was so eager to eat it...I forgot to take a picture, but if you like caviar you will probably love this dish. If you look online, you can find pictures of the squid ink pasta and pictures of Bottarga...now go get some and make yourself this dish!

Ingredients
Serves 4


400 grams ink pasta
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
olive oil
Bottarga

Directions
1. Fill pot with water (for pasta), when it comes to a boil, salt the water and add the pasta cooking until al dente--follow the directions on the package.
2. In a pan, heat olive oil. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, approximately 1-2 minutes.
3. When pasta is done, drain and add to pan with garlic and oil.
4. There are two variations on how to add the Bottarga, you an either add it to the oil (after the garlic is done) and let cook VERY briefly, add the pasta and toss together--OR--you can add the pasta to the garlic-oil mixture, grate the Bottarga on top, then toss.  

Serve with a side salad, I used kale as the bitterness from the kale salad complements the salty-sweet pasta.

cranberry walnut chicken salad

On Monday evening, I roasted a whole chicken. It turns out perfect every time thanks to my trusty instant-read thermometer and to the chicken dude who sells them to me on Sundays at the Hillcrest Farmers' Market--giblets and all. I buy whole chickens because they taste better. Actually, if you cook any meat or fish with the bones, it will taste better. I also buy whole chickens because I make my own stock. I freeze the bones and giblets until I'm ready to throw them into a pot of sauteed veggies (onions, carrots, and celery) and slow cook them into a perfect stock which is easy to freeze and use as I please. 

The only problem with cooking a whole chicken, especially when there are only two of you, is that you have a bunch of leftovers and have to creatively think of new and hopefully exciting ways to prepare it each day. After eating chicken sandwiches for the past couple of days, I decided it was time to make a chicken salad. I am not a fan of the usual curried chicken salad that you will find on most tables. I like my chicken salad to be salty and sweet, tangy, and crunchy. This one is refreshing and light, perfect for any time of year and is oh-so-versatile. I like to eat it in red-leaf-lettuce wraps, on top of chopped romaine, on some fresh sourdough, in a grilled sandwich, or just by itself. I was inspired by this recipe from Gourmet except I didn't have all the ingredients, so I improvised.

Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad
Serves 2

Ingredients
1-2 cups coarsely chopped chicken
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted if desired
1/2 celery rib, diced finely
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot or red onion
1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
1-2 tablespoons Vegenaise (the grapeseed oil one with the purple top) or mayonnaise
1-2 teaspoons vinegar, you can use rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, or champagne vinegar
salt to taste
lots of freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Toss everything together until thoroughly mixed

 

I didn't have all the ingredients today (celery and walnuts were missing) but it still turned out great:

coconut cream pie

I'm an ice cream kind of girl, but my husband prefers baked goods. He loves lemon bars, cookies, cakes, and pies. His favorite pie is a coconut cream pie. He recently requested one, so I set out on making one that wasn't too sweet or overly coconut-y. I whipped up a simple vanilla pudding, threw in some coconut and let it cool in a fresh pie crust. Below are the recipes. The pie was so good we didn't get a picture of it, but I found one that looks similar so you can imagine what it'll look like. Enjoy...

Pie or Tart Crust
from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters
Makes two 11 inch tarts, or one double crust nine-inch pie. It's easily doubled or halved.

Ingredients
1/2 cup ice cold water
2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. salt (if using unsalted butter)

Directions
1. Whisk together: flour and salt (if using unsalted butter)
2. Add 12 tablespoons (one and one-half sticks) cold butter, cut into small (1/4") cubes.
3. Cut or work the butter into the flour with a pastry blender your fingertips, or two knives using a scissor-like motion, leaving some of the butter in fairly large, irregular pieces. This will take 1-2 minutes. Pour in three quarters of the water, stirring all the while with a fork until the dough begins to form clumps. Keep adding water if needed. Divide the dough in two, bring each part together into a ball, and wrap each ball in plastic wrap. Let rest, refrigerated, for one hour or longer.
4.Rolling out the dough. If the dough has been in the 'fridge for many hours, take it out to warm a bit (no more than 20 minutes). If it's just been in the 'fridge an hour or two, it's ready to roll out.
5. Choose a surface that is smooth and cool with plenty of room to roll the dough out. Flatten the ball with your hands while it's still wrapped and/or pound it with your roller to flatten it out. If cracks appear on the edge of the dough, just pinch them together.
6. Dust the counter lightly and evenly with flour, dust the top of the dough with flour, tap the dough with the rolling pin to flatten it out even more, and then roll from the center of the dough disk out toward the edge with firm but consistent pressure. Don't roll back and forth, continue to roll outwards from the center.
7. Brush off extra flour gently with a brush or lightly using a kitchen towel, fold it in half and then quarters, and ease gently into the pie pan. Or you can roll the dough onto the rolling pin to transfer into the pie pan.
8. Cover crust with parchment paper and fill paper with pie weights, rice, or beans so the crust cooks evenly. Cook for 7-10 minutes.
9. Remove parchment paper and weights, cook crust an additional 3-5 minutes or until just golden brown.
10. Fill.

Coconut Cream Pie--Filling
from Real Simple Magazine
Makes 2 cups


Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar, or less, depending upon your desired sweetness. (I use just under a half cup)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 C Unsweetened, shredded coconut
1 C whipping cream




Directions
1. Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of the milk into the sugar mixture, stirring to form a smooth paste. Whisk in the remaining milk and the egg yolks.
3. Cook the pudding mixture over low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until thickened, about 20 minutes. Do not allow it to boil. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
4.  Toast coconut in the oven--350 °F for 10-15 mins, until just golden
5. Scrape the pudding into a bowl and add toasted coconut.
6. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the surface to make an airtight seal and prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour. Then fill cooled pie crust with chilled pudding. Refrigerate and top with fresh whipped cream when ready to serve.