Country Chicken

The first time I had this, I had just arrived, with my husband and daughter, in Phoenix, Arizona from Missoula, Montana after a harrowing 2 day drive through winter weather & multiple pee stops (I was pregnant at the time). My mother had this waiting for us and it was like heaven - the ultimate in comfort food. I don't know where she got the recipe, but I imagine it was from either Ladies Home Journal or Good Houskeeping, both magazines she subscribed to until the day she died. It's a great one dish dinner and is easily adabtable to any vegies you have in the house (I used red peppers and threw in chunked green tomatoes at the very end last night). The leftovers (if there are any) are great as a chicken pot pie!

Inspiration: a great weekend at the beach & nothing for dinner when we got home
Time: about 1 hour
Difficulty: easy
Special equipment: a large roasting pan
Servings: 6

4 medium potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
1 pound hot Italian Sausage links cut into 1 1/2" pieces (or regular sausage plus 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 frying chicken, cut into pieces
4 medium green peppers, cut into bite-size pieces
1 large onion, quartered & separated
1/2 cup water (I use chicken broth)
1/2 teaspoon salt (opt)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 pound mushrooms, quartered
1 10oz package frozen whole green beans

Mix the potatoes, sausage & oil in a large roasting pan. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Add chicken and next 5 ingredients. Bake 15 minutes. Thaw beans enough to separate. Add to the pan w/ the mushrooms. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until done, stirring occasionally.

Jerk Pork Chops

Several weeks ago, I made Jerk Pork chops for House night, and had every intention of putting the recipe up on the blog since then. Sadly, weeks later, I'm only now getting around to it. But the important thing is that I'm sharing a recipe which my roommate Sarah said, "Whoa! That really smells like fall!."

Inspiration: Pork Chops from Gartners
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special Equipment: Food Processor
Servings: 4 Pork Chops

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
2 thick cut pork chops, washed and patted dry.

1. Preheat grill to be very hot. Brush clean and spray with olive oil.
2. In a food processor, combine all ingredients (but the pork chops of course) and created coarse paste by pulsing the blade. Rub chops with jerk paste and let sit for 15-20 minutes.
3. Grill pork over the very high heat for approx 5 minutes. Flip and cook on other side until tender.

(Note: Pork does not need to be cooked through until it is a dry coarse chunk of meat. You can cook pork to medium and it's perfectly safe to eat, and better yet, it's moist and delicious.)

Smoked Brie and Chanterelle Crepes

Last weekend Jenny and I spent our anniversary at the coast. Two days of wandering a quiet little beach town, petting the world's smelliest dog, interrupting a pelican convention, sampling local micro brews and of course eating more than our fair share of bread and cheese (we went to Cape Mears, which is just outside of Tillamook).

Baked Brie with roasted garlic in a sourdough loaf (Prosser Style) for dinner on Friday. Artichoke/cheese dip and bread at the Pelican Brewery Saturday afternoon. Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup for dinner on Sat. Caprese Paninis at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory for lunch on Sunday. Smoked Brie and bread with Cabbage soup for dinner on Sunday night (by the way, you should implore Mother Goose to add that recipe onto the blog, it was AWESOME!).

While I am not ready to trade in my US passport for a buree and a cigarette yet, after three straight days of a Frenchman's diet, my mind seemed reluctant to return to bacon laudened existence that is my life in Portland. So when Jenny's sister pushed a bag of fresh Chanterelles into our unsuspecting arms, naturally and instinctively my mind turned to the French for inspiration. I sauteed an onion, garlic, rosemary and the sliced mushrooms in butter, delgazed with Sherry, and then, with the left over smoked brie, wrapped in a freshly made crepe. Thus creating yet another satisfying bread and cheese meal. Bon Appetit!

Inspiration: A weekend as a pseudo Frenchman
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate
Special Equipment: Small nonstick pan, fresh chanterelles,
Servings: 4 crepes

Ingredients:
Crepes (I use Alton Brown's Recipe, but if you're lazy you can make a really watered down pancake batter):
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan

Filling:
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs butter
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (1 sprig of fresh rosemary), chopped
2-3 hand fulls of fresh chanterrelles (or other wild mushroom) scrubbed clean, and diced into large bite sized pieces
1/4 Cup cooking Sherry (Note: My sister taught me that you should always buy Sherry in the wine section of a grocery store)
2-3 oz. brie (I used the smoked brie we purchased at the Blue Heron Cheese Company), cut up as best you can

1.To make the crepes, combine all of the ingredients in a blender and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

2. Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. You can wrap in a damp towel and place on a cookie sheet into a 150 degree oven to keep warm while you make the filling. Of if you want to make crepes ahead of time, you can stack them (once cooled) and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months.

3. To make the filling, melt butter in medium pan and saute onions, garlic, rosemary until the onions is transparent. Add mushrooms and saute for 1-2 minutes, but not until mushroom is dry. Delgaze pan with sherry and simmer until sherry has cooked completely off.

4. Place a bit of the filling and cheese in a crepe. Wrap and Serve.

Note: Crepes are actually really easy to make. I highly recommend watching the Good Eats: Crepe Expectations, episode EA1E09.

Potato Leek Soup

I remember when my mom first made potato leek soup. She found the recipe in a Williams-Sonoma catalog, and made it for dinner on a cold fall night to warm me up after football practice. My first impression was that it looked to me what I imagined gruel would look like: A vaguely green substance of unknown origin blended to a smooth, uniform texture. Frankly, it's a statement of how much I trusted my mother's cooking as a forth grader that I even tried it. But upon the first spoon full I was hooked on the gentle sweetness of the five ingredient soup, and quickly insisted that it became a staple in the household.

I'm not certain when she decided to deviate from the recipe for the first time, but at some point she decided to add small chunks of ham. (Her philosophy was then, and is today to some degree, it's not a meal if it doesn't have meat.) This was the first step of evolving this recipe from the traditional form of a French Potato Leek soup that it once was into the hearty, rib sticking, soul warming recipe that it's been developed into. This is, by the way, my favorite soup.

Inspiration: 7lbs of potatoes and one GIANT leek in the crop share this week
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special Equipment: enamel coated, cast iron pot (really, you just need a large pot with a thick bottom, but I like using the enamel coated caste iron because soup cooks better in it)
Servings: 6-8 bowls

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian sausage
2tbs + 2 tbs butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2-3 medium carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried sweet basil
2 medium leeks (or 1 GIANT LEEK), washed well, split in half and cut into 1/2", half rings
1 small-medium celery root, peeled and cubed into bite sized pieces
6-7 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes, washed well, and cubed into bite sized pieces
4 cups chicken broth or chicken stock (or Turkey stock)
1 cup whole milk

1. over medium low heat, brown Italian Sausage in large enamel coated cast iron pot. Remove from pan and drain, reserve 2 tbs of sausage fat in bottom of pot.
2. Add 2 tbs butter to sausage fat and melt. Add in onions, carrots, celery and herbs. Saute until carrots are tender and onions are transparent.
3. Add leeks to pot, turn heat to low and cover. Let steam for 10-15 minutes until leeks are tender (they turn bright green)
4. Add 1/4 of the chicken stock and deglaze pan. Add potatoes and celery root and stir. Add enough of the remaining stock until potatoes are covered (this could very easy take the rest of the stock). Turn heat up to medium and bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are cooked.
5. Add milk, butter and any remaining stock that you have. Bring back to a boil. Then, being very, VERY careful NOT to burn yourself, use a potato masher to mash the potatoes and celery root so that only about 1/4 of the potato cubes remain.
6. Add sausage and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

This soup is best served with some thinly cut spinach in the bottom of the bowl and topped off with some fresh Parmesan cheese. Also, fresh bread, such as Challah, goes very well to mop up the bottom of the bowl.

Italian Wedding Soup

Soup. I LOVE soup. It's warm. It's filling. And it tastes great on a cold day or night. In fact, I don't know a single person that doesn't like soup. Over the next few cold months, I will undoubtedly be uploading a number of soup recipes like Potato Leek, Curried Chicken Noodle, White Chili, Chipotle Chili...the list could go on. However, my favorite fall soup.) is Italian Wedding Soup. Essentially, it's veggie soup with meat balls. What makes it great in the fall is the abundance of fall veggies to throw into the soup. And best of all it's really easy to make.

Inspiration: Monica's overflowing tomato basket
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special Equipment: mini muffin pan
Servings: 6-8 bowls

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (or 1/2 lb ground pork and 1/2 lb ground beef)
1 small onion, grated
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large egg
1 dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Panko (or whatever breadcrumbs you have in the pantry)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs butter or olive oil
1 onion, diced
3-4 medium carrots, diced
3-4 sticks of celery, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
2-3 potatoes, cubed, bite sized
1 zucchini, diced
5-6 large tomatoes (2 lbs), diced and juices saved (if out of tomato season, use 2 12 oz cans of diced, unsalted tomatoes)
32oz of chicken stock or broth (can substitute veggie broth)

To make the meatballs:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend ground meat, grated onion, parsley, egg, wooster, garlic, salt, panko, parmesan and pepper in a large bowl using your hands (seriously, this is the only way to do it).
3. Using 1 1/2 tablespoons for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place in mini muffin pan so that the meatball is elevated off the bottom. You may need to make larger or smaller meatballs to accomplish this. If you do not have a mini muffin pan, you can use a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating meatballs once to ensure they cook evenly. Remove from oven and let sit.

To make soup:
1. In a large sauce pan, melt butter or heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Saute until onion is transparent. Add Peppers, thyme and oregano. Cook until peppers are tender.
2. Add 1/2 of stock and bring to a boil. Turn down to low, and add potatoes. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until potatoes are tender but not soft.
3. Add Tomatoes (including any juice that came from the tomatoes,) zucchini, remaining stock and bring back to a simmer.
4. Add meatballs, and continue to simmer until meatballs have come to temperature with the soup.

Notes: This soup is served best while hot. I also like to add 1/4 spinach leaves that have been sliced thinly to the bowl before I pour in the soup, and then sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.

Hollandaise Sauce

Once upon a time, when I was still thinking that I wanted to open a restaurant, I spent many a drive home daydreaming about what I would serve. As weekend brunch is one of my favorite meals, I developed an elaborate plan that would differentiate my brunch from all of the other amazing brunches in Portland. My favorite ideas was a "Build Your Own Benedict" menu. I mean think about it. Everyone has a traditional eggs benedict: Canadian bacon, poached egg, english muffin, hollandaise sauce. Very boring...although that doesn't stop me from ordering it. I was imaginging having a choice of breads: English muffin (of course), crumpets, toasted biscuit, fresh baked rye bread and so on and so forth. A plethora of meats: Canadian Bacon (of course), smoked salmon, pate, etc. etc. etc. And veggies...oh the veggies. Tomato, avacado, asparagus, artichoke hearts, spinach. Slather the combo in hollandaise sauce and YAHTZEE!

The only thing that keeps most people from doing this at home is the hollandaise. It's seems like it's a really hard thing to make, but rest assured, it's super simple, and it makes for a great homemade breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning.



Inspiration: A wild hair to make an atypical sat morning breakfast (Usually, I put PB on toast)
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special Equipment: Double boiler
Servings: 4-5 benedicts

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
1 teapsoon water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Pour 1-inch of water into the base of a double boiler; over medium heat, bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low.

2. Place egg yolks and 1 teaspoon water in the top half of a double boiler and whisk until mixture lightens in color, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sugar and whisk for another 30 seconds.

3. Place the top half of the double boiler on top of the other half that has the simmering water and whisk constantly for 3 to 5 minutes, or until there is a clear line that is drawn in the mixture when you pull your whisk through, or the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

4. Remove the top half of the double boiler and gradually add the butter, 1 piece at a time, and whisk until all of the butter is incorporated. Place it back over the simmering water occasionally so that it will be warm enough the melt the butter. Add the salt, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. Serve immediately.

Note: if you don't have a douple boiler, a metal or glass mixing bowl over a pot of water works just as well.