Artichoke, Pancetta and Lemon Pasta

I may sound like a broken record, but this recipe is not only delicious, it's healthy, too. It was a family pleaser last night (EXCEPT FOR MY FINICKY 13 YEAR OLD: I WON'T NAME ANY NAMES BUT YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE). The pasta is elegant enough to serve to adult friends, too.
Start the sauce when you put the pasta water on to boil-- it goes that quickly.


4 ounces pancetta, thin slices
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
2 fat cloves garlic, minced or pressed
Hefty glug of dry white wine
2 healthy squeezes of lemon (1/4 juicy lemon or 1/2 of a not-so-juicy one)
Zest of one lemon
1 can whole artichoke hearts, drained and sliced into quarters
1 and 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for passing
1 pound slowly dried pasta

1) Place a large, covered pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Set a non-stick skillet over medium heat and allow it to get hot, then cook the pancetta, as you would bacon, turning halfway through, until crisp (this takes mere minutes). Set aside on paper towels.

2) Pour off all of the rendered fat from the pan then add in butter or olive oil, add in the shallot and garlic. Turn the heat up to medium high and sauté until soft. *If the pasta water has come to a boil, put the dried pasta in now* Deglaze the pan with a glug of wine and lemon juice, simmer strongly for a minute or two, then add in the artichoke hearts and lemon zest. Bubble for a minute or two more, and add in the chicken stock and bring to a gentle bubble.

3) Drain the al dente pasta well, and chick into the pan with the sauce, or toss together in a large serving bowl. Crumble the crisp pancetta into the pasta, as well as the Parmesan. Toss.

Serves 6. Serve with liberal amounts of freshly crack black pepper and more Parmesan

Persian Chicken

In keeping with the Middle Eastern Palooza going on in the world these days, I decided to cook with some flavors from that region.
This one's a keeper. The yogurt/olive oil marinade keeps the chicken juicy, the saffron, cumin and garlic give it lashings of flavor, and the lemon adds zing. 
Perfect for a barbecue.

1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 fat cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in 2 tablespoons hot water for 10 minutes
1/2 teaspoon roasted coriander powder
1 whole chicken cut up, OR 6 bone-in breasts, OR 10 boneless, skinless breasts

1) Mix the yogurt marinade ingredients together, then slather over chicken and set in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but over night is better.

2) 30 minutes before you are ready to grill, remove the chicken from the fridge and lay the pieces on a large tray or platter. Salt all sides of the chicken, then grill, getting some nice char marks on the meat.

Roasted Baby Artichokes

Growing up, my parents tended not to keep junk or snack food in the house-- they simply didn't eat it and never bought it. I learned at a very young age that if I wanted something to snack on in between meals (which was frowned upon), I'd better have an open mind (and palate).

There were only ever two things always found in the family fridge-- Dijon mustard and marinated artichoke hearts. To this day, those are two items I reliably stock in my own fridge. As a little kid, I would munch away a jar of artichoke hearts while watching Gilligan's Island reruns. And when I got older, as a poor college student, one snack I could afford was Saltine crackers smeared with Maille's Dijon mustard.

While pots of Dijon mustard are readily available, baby artichokes are seasonal, and now's the season! Look for them, packaged in better grocery stores (gourmet or natural food shops). This method of preparation is simple, if not a bit time consuming, but worth every second!

9 baby artichokes (more or less, as you like)
Lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
more lemon juice
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Dill weed
Parmesan cheese

1) Preheat the oven to 375F. Have a large bowl filled with water and lemon juice (this is called acidulated water), at the ready. Snap off the outer leaves of the artichoke, about 2 layers of leaves. Cut te top 1/2 inch off and trim the bottom, as well as the stem to remove the tough, fibrous outer bit (it should look like this one to the right here) Cut the chokes into quarters and place into the acidulated water, while you trin the rest of the chokes.

2) Dry the chokes off with a tea towel then toss them with evoo, lemon juice (2 parts evoo to 1 part lemon juice), salt and plenty of black pepper and then dill weed. Bake on a non-stick pan for 20 minutes, until soft, then sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top and bake a few minutes longer, until the cheese has softened and begun to melt.

Serve hot, warm or room temp. Serve 2 chokes per person for an appetizer.

Crustless Quiche with Roast Tomatoes, Leeks and Gruyere

Crustless, so it is healthier. Roast vegetables, so that it is vegetarian. Gruyere so that it is goooooood.

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 small leeks, trimmed and sliced into rounds up to dark green part
5 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
sea salt
1 cup thinly sliced collard leaves, spinach, Swiss chard or kale
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs, or crushed garlic croutons
4 large eggs + 1 egg white
1 cup lite sour cream
1/2 cup milk (whatever you drink, skim, 2%, whole)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup shredded Gruyere, or any sharp cheese you like

1) Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the halved tomatoes into a large bowl. Separate the leek rounds into individual pieces with your hands and add them in with the tomatoes, add in the garlic, too. Drizzle bout 1-2 tablespoons evoo over the mess and toss with your hands. Sprinkl with sea salt and place into the oven. Roast until the tomatoes are soft and edges of the leeks are beginning to caramelize, between 20-40 minutes depending on your oven. When they are done, remove from the oven to cool slightly, then place all of it into a strainer above a bowl-- catching the juices that run out (save 1 tablespoon of the tomato jus-- drink the rest as a delicious soup!) This will also dry out the vegetables a bit, which is good. Allow the veggies to sit in the strainer until completely cool. While that's going on, sauté the greens over high heat in a bit of evoo until wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.

2) Turn down, or preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 9", deep-dish pie pan with 1 softened butter, then pour the breadcrumbs in and roll the pie dish around in your hands until all the butter os coated with the crumbs.







4) Whisk the sour cream, eggs, egg white, milk, 1 tablespoon tomato jus and Dijon mustard together. Lay the greens on the bottom of the pan, then scatter 1/2 of the cheese and pour the egg/sour-cream/milk mixture over top. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and place the roast tomatoes and leeks on top (it will still be soft) and scatter the rest of the cheese over the tomatoes. Place back in the oven and continue to bake for 20 minutes more.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Serve warm, room temp or chilled. Makes 8 slices.

Fun Mexican Tortilla Soup

  The 'fun' lies in that I served this with tostadas rather than tortilla strips. Wahoo! I get my kicks in the most simplistic of ways. But my kids had fun dipping and crunching the tostada into the soup. They did not, however care for chopped avocado-- that was optional (but delicious to the adult palate).



8 cups chicken broth
1, 14 oz can chopped tomatoes, with juice
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 poblano chili pepper, charred or roasted to remove skin, chopped fine
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
a very small pinch cinnamon
Salt to taste
1, 15 oz can pinto beans
5 green onions, sliced thin
Handful of chopped cilantro

1 avocado, cubed with lime squeezed over top
Shredded sharp cheddar or Mexican cheese
8 tostadas

  1) Char or roast the pepper, stick into a Tupperware, cover tightly and allow to steam the skin from the pepper. Remove the skin and chop.

2) Pour the chicken broth and tomatoes into a large soup pot and slip the chicken breasts in. Bring to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool.

3) Add the chopped pepper, cumin, oregano and cinnamon to the soup and simmer. Taste and season with salt. Chop the chicken into small dice. Just before serving, add the beans, green onions and cilantro, bring to a simmer and serve. Top with cheese and avocado and a tostada.

Serves 6

Stuffed Shells

                                      Really satisfying and perfect when it's blustery outside.

8 oz pancetta, cubed
1 yellow onion, chunked
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 pound lean ground beef
15 oz can crushed tomatoes
28 can crushed tomatoes

24 jumbo pasta shells

32 oz part skim ricotta
1 and 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan
Handful of freshly chopped basil
Salt to taste
Dash o' nutmeg
1 egg
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1) Place pancetta cubes into the food processor and pulse until it is crumbled.

Add the onion

Pulse again until minced.

Sauté in a large, dry pan (no oil  needed) until cooked.








Deglaze the pan with white wine and simmer until almost evaporated, then add in the beef and sauté until no longer pink.

Add in the tomatoes (I love San Marzano tomatoes-- they are the type the pizza guys use to make sauce for pizza in Naples, Italy)

Simmer sauce for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. You may not need any, because the pancetta is salty.

While the sauce is cooking, boil the shells until just slightly under cooked (a minute or two shorter than boxed directions). Drain, rinse in cold water and drain again.

Mix the ricotta with the Parmesan, basil and nutmeg. Taste it and add salt if you like. When it tastes good and flavorful, add in the egg.

Spoon some of the sauce into the bottom of a large baking dish to cover the bottom. Stuff about 1 tablespoon of ricotta into each shell and set into the pan.









Spoon the rest of the sauce over top, pile mozzarella cheese over that and bake, covered with foil in a 350F oven for 30 minutes, remove foil and continue to bake until golden and bubbly.

This can also be made up to the point of baking and held in the fridge for up to a day before baking as above (or a smidge longer).

Serves 6-8

Thai Beef Salad

 I developed this recipe to serve to a friend who was coming to visit. I hadn't seen my friend Ted in 15 years, and was excited to catch up when he Facebooked me to let me know that he would be in town. In addition to feeling excited, I was a bit nervous, too. 18 years ago, Ted was my boss, the executive chef at a restaurant where I served as the lowly prep and occasional line cook. It took me a while to get used to his dry wit and direct honesty, but we eventually bonded over books on tape. He'd pop a casette into the tape deck, hit the giant, thumb-size button and we'd silently lose ourselves in the story as we chopped, sliced and diced, in preparation of that evening's manic service.
It was at that job that I realized I didn't want to become an executive chef. But I did enjoy the gentleness of listening to stories being read aloud, as we worked behind the scenes away from the mayhem of a busy professional kitchen.
So last night, Ted arrived, we chatted, he showed me pictures of his daughter and played with mine, then we ate. Talking all the way through dinner, no one mentioned the food. I wondered what my former boss thought of the salad. Finally, Ted proclaimed it to be outstanding-- although I'm not sure if he was being facetious. I need to readjust to that dry wit.


Dressing/Marinade
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1-2 teaspoons minced serrano chile
1/3 to 1/2 vegetable oil (lesser will produce a more tart vinaigrette)
3 cloves garlic, minced (not to be added to the dressing-- read below)


Salad
2 pound Flank steak
3 green onions, sliced thinly
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup fresh mint leaves
8 cups mixed greens
Pint of very ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 an English cucumber, sliced into bite size pieces
Handful of chopped, lightly or unsalted peanuts

1) Mix the dressing up. Pour 1/2 into a container large enough to hold the flank steak and add in the garlic. Place the steak in there and marinate at room temp for 30 minutes, or in the fridge for up to 8 hours. Hold the rest of the dressing aside.

2) Start the grill, or broiler. Remove the steak from the marinade and dry well with paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt and grill or broil until medium rare, between 4-6 minutes per side on a hot grill. Broiling in the oven will take about the same amount of time, unless you have a Salamader, in which case you must be A) wealthy, and can have your cook prepare dinner, or B) work in a restaurant in which case, you don't need me to tell you how to cook flank steak. Remove the steak from the grill and/or oven to a platter and cover to loosely with foil or, in an effort to cook greener, invert another platter over top. While the meat is resting, make the salad.

3) Toss the greens with the green onions and herbs, dress the salad and toss again, then scatter the tomatoes and cucs. Slice the beef thinly, against the grain and layer the strips on top of the salad. Sprinkle peanuts over top and serve it up!
Serves 4 with left-over steak which will make an awesome sandwich tomorrow for lunch.

Chicken-Stuffed Shells with Sharp Cheddar Cheese Sauce

This is a great dish for a family dinner night. It can be made ahead and held in the fridge until ready to bake. Kids and adults like this one.

1 and 1/2 cups low fat or skim cottage cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Handful of fresh, chopped herbs, (basil, parsley, or dill-- or your favorite)
1/2 cup chopped, fresh tomatoes (seeds squeezed out before chopping)


3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts-- cooked and cut into small cubes
salt and pepper to taste
20-24 jumbo shells
Cheddar cheese sauce (recipe below)

1) Whiz the cottage cheese and egg in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender. Add in the Parmesan and herbs and whiz again to incorporate. Mix this with the chopped tomatoes and cooked chicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.


2) Cook shells until just al dente-- do not overcook, as they will cook again when baking. As they are cooking, make the cheese sauce. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water, drain well again and stuff with the chicken mixture. Spoon the cheese sauce over top of the stuffed shells and bake in a preheated, 350F oven until golden and bubbling, about 45 minutes.

Cheese Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons Wondra or all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (full fat, low fat or skim)
Dash of nutmeg
6 ounces shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, the stronger the cheese, the better the flavor
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste

1) Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the shallots and cook until soft, then pour in the wine and bring to a strong bubble. Cook for a minute or two then shake the milk and flour together in a jar and pour into the saucepan. Bring this all to a very gentle simmer and bubble away for three minutes-- stirring often. Remove from the heat and add in the shredded cheese, stir well, taste and season with salt and a dash or two of cayenne pepper. Allow to cool a bit, then pour over the shells and bake.

Serves 6-8

Creamy Tomato Pasta Salad

Inspired by salad caprese-- a pasta salad for tomato sauce lovers.

1 pound penne, macaroni or farfalle pasta
1 and 1/2 cups simple tomato sauce (homemade is best, or good quality store bought)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (regular or reduced fat)
1 bunch basil, chopped
4 green onions, sliced thin
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Optional additions: chopped sun dried tomatoes, sliced cherry tomatoes, cubed mozzarella, crumbled blue cheese

1) Start a huge pot of salted water on to boil. Once boiling, place the pasta in to cook and make the sauce. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large serving bowl. Set aside.

2) When the pasta is cooked just al dente, drain, rinse under cold water until completely cool, drain again very well. Toss into the bowl with the sauce and mix well. It may seem soupy at this point, but as the salad chills it will absorb much of the sauce. Stash in the fridge for at least 1 hour but up to 8 hours.

Makes 8-12 side dishes

  I used to scoff at people who used mixes of any sort (sweet or savory). Freshly graduated from culinary school 17 years ago, I was truly a food snob. Sheesh...
Then I got married, had a bunch of kids and wised up. Food is supposed to make you happy, it is supposed to taste good and make you feel good. Whatever that means to you, whatever feeling good or tasting good means to you-- if you can achieve this when you prepare a meal, then you are a good cook.
My friend Aimee gave me a version of this cake. I changed it a bit, but am so thankful to her for sharing the original recipe. It is as easy to bake as a cake can be, and everyone loves it. It is the moistest cake I have ever tried-- so moist, in fact that to frost it would seem redundant.
As a culinary gauge, this recipe runs about equivalent to one of the better dessert recipes from a Junior League cookbook.

1 box cake mix, vanilla
Ingredients required to make that box cake (usually eggs, vegetable oil and water)
Add to this:
1 small box vanilla pudding mix (powder)
1 small container (8 ounces) sour cream
1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup (2.25 ounces) chopped macadamia nuts
Serve with:
Chopped, fresh pineapple

1) Pre-heat oven to 350F. Make the cake according to package directions, but add in the pudding mix, coconut and sour cream. After you've beaten the daylights out of the cake batter, stir in the macadamia nuts.

2) Pour batter into a well greased bundt pan and bake for about 1 hour-- when a wooden or metal skewwer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, it is ready. Allow to cool for 30 minutes, then pop the cake out of the pan and allow to cool completely.


Serve with freshly, chopped pineapple.

Bang Bang Chicken (Salad)

  This is a great salad if you are trying to eat healthfully in the new year; It's got TONS of flavor, and the only fat is from the tahini in the dressing. The dressing tastes sort of like peanut satay sauce. 
Use tofu rather than chicken to make this a vegan dish.
The whole recipe can be made ahead of time-- perfect for entertaining.




Bang Bang Dressing
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 and 1/2 tablespoons Vietnamese garlic.chili sauce (spicy)
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

1) Mix the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar dissolves, then whisk in the soy sauce and chili sauce. Now whisk in the tahini until smooth. If you find it difficult to get the dressing smooth, use an immersion blender to whip it all together. Stash in the refrigerator until ready to dress the salad.
Makes 3/4 cup dressing, enough for 4 entree salads.

Salad
1 English cucumber, cut into match sticks
Big handful of shredded carrots
4 green onions, sliced thin up to the dark green part
1 head Romaine lettuce, sliced very thin
Handful chopped, fresh coriander
Equal parts fish sauce and lime juice (optional)
1/2 chicken, poached or roasted, or 3 cooked chicken breasts, meat shredded, cold

Lay the vegetables nicely on four plates, drizzle the fish sauce/lime juice over top (if using). Lay the shredded chicken on top and spoon over the dressing.

Serves 4 entree salads

Asian Poached Chicken with Noodles

This dish is as simple to make as your Granny's old fashioned chicken and noodles recipe. It's just as comforting, too, but more delicate and delicious. 
Top with steamed or sauteed vegetables, like: Asparagus, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, snap peas, edamame, grated carrots, bok choi, etc.
Using whole grain pasta amps up the health benefits to this.


1 whole chicken (giblets, neck removed)
1, 3" piece ginger, not peeled, cut in half
1/4 cup miso paste (I used the light, shiro miso)
2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass-- 1 or 2 stalks
1/2 lime
1/2 lemon
3 cloves garlic, peeled, halved
3 tablespoons fish sauce
Handful of chopped green onion

1) Trim any excess fat from the chicken (if you want to remove the skin, that's cool, too). Place the chicken into a deep pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Add in everything except the fish sauce and green onion, cover and bring to a gentle simmer, then crack the lid and continue to simmer very gently.

2) After 90 minutes, check the chicken, it should be faling apart, if this is the case, remove the chicken, ginger pieces, lemon and lime halves. Allow the chicken to cool then shred the meat. Set aside.

3) Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add in 1 pound pasta. Cook until just al dente, then remove from the heat-- do not drain. Toss the shredded chicken and sliced green onions, as well as the fish sauce into the noodle/soup. Serve up a bowl of noodles with broth and chicken and top with cooked vegetables.

Serves 8

Vegan Chili (and you would never know it)

Snowed in for the past few days, I was making due with what I could find stashed away in the cupboards and freezer. Chili seems appropriate, but I had no ground meat. I riffled through the freezer and, way at the bottom beneath a half used bag of petite pois, I found Morning Star Farms Ground Vegetarian Beef. 


I have used this in Shepard's Pie before and had great success with it. Luckily, it worked in this recipe, too-- after a day of sledding, the kids licked their bowls clean.


1tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
2 fat cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 pound vegan ground (minced) beef
1 bottle amber beer (I used Saranac, Sam Adams would be good, or Bass Ale in the UK)
1/2 square (1/2 ounce/15 grams) unsweetened chocolate
28 ounce/795 grams tin crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups/450 ml water
2 beef or vegetable bullion cubes
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon chili powder
dash of oregano
dash of thyme
14 ounce/400 grams tin red kidney beans, lightly drained
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
Sea salt to taste

1) Heat the oil in a large pot, add in the onion and garlic, cook until soft then add in the vegan beef and cook for just a moment. Now add in the beer and bring to a simmer then add in the unsweetened chocolate and allow to melt. Stir, then add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water and bouillon cubes, and all the spices, just not the beans, red pepper flakes, or salt. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat so that it just occasionally bubbles. Cook uncovered for at least 30 minutes, but up to several hours (just watch the liquid level and add more water of needed). 30 minutes before serving, pour in the beans, continue to cook then season with red pepper flakes and sea salt, if needed.

I served with Fritos, shredded sharp cheddar cheese and plain yogurt (rather than sour cream)-- although this changed it from vegan to lacto-ovo, it was still pretty tasty.


Makes 6 bowls.

Pizza Party Bread

This is such a fun party food! And it is really good, too-- so good, in fact, that my family ate it last night before I could take a picture to share with you. Sorry. It's also a very versatile dish; here I make the party bread with pizza ingredients, but it could easily be made more grown-up and vegetarian by using blue cheese instead of mozzarella and omitting the pepperoni and sauce.


1 round loaf, crusty bread
1/2 stick butter, softened
3 pencil thin green onions, chopped
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 ounces/55 grams pepperoni, chopped (optional)
4 ounces/110 grams shredded mozzarella

Pizza sauce

1) Preheat oven to 350F/175C degrees. Slice the bread loaf in 1 inch slices, stopping slicing 1 inch from the bottom of the loaf (do NOT slice through), then turn the loaf and slice the same way, making cubes (again, not slicing completely through).

2) Mix the butter with the green onions, garlic powder and Parmesan and spread in between the cubes (using hands works best). Now carefully shove the pepperoni pieces in there, as well, followed by the mozzarella-- although it is good to leave some of the mozzarella cheese on top, too. Tent the stuffed loaf with foil, so that the foil is not touching the top of the loaf (otherwise the cheese will stick to it). Bake like this  on a baking tray for 30 minutes, then raise the temperature to 375F/190C, remove the foil and continue to bake for 15 minutes more, or until the cheese on top is golden.

Serve hot-- people simply pull cubes from the loaf and dip into warm pizza sauce.

Dinner for the night after Thanksgiving

This deceptively easy. Just the ticket for the day after Thanksgiving chaos.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium, yellow onion, chopped
8 ounces (220 grams) Jerusalem artichokes/Sunchokes-- peeled and chopped
2 cups (2 big handfuls) shredded left-over turkey (or chicken)
Sea salt, black pepper
Dry oregano
1/2 pint (8 oz/220 mls) cream

1 pound dried pasta

Have a very large pot of salted water boiling. When you place the pasta in to boil, begin the sauce.


1) Pour the olive oil into a large saute pan, set over medium high heat and add in the onions. Saute until soft, then throw in the Jerusalem artichokes and continue to saute for a minute or two longer.

2) Now chuck in the shredded turkey or chicken, season with salt and a few hefty pinches of oregano. Toss. Pour in the cream and bring to a simmer, allow it to reduce, simmering as the pasta continues to cook.

3) Just before the pasta is cooked, scoop out one or two ladles of cooking water (depending on the size of the ladle) and pour it into the sauce, stir to incorporate. Taste again and add more salt, oregano or black pepper. Drain the pasta well and toss with the sauce. Serve with Parmesan.

Serves 6

Peppers and Pepitas

  As is, this recipe is vegetarian, but could easily be vegan or for meat eaters, with the addition of cooked, ground beef. Pepitas, or hulled pumpkin seeds add a slight crunch, great flavor and fiber, they are also a very good source of magnesium, iron, vitamin K and protein. 


1 cup long grain brown rice (or white, if you wish)
2 cups stock
1 ounce Pepitas
1, 4-ounce tin chopped chillies (miled or hot)
Chopped, jarred jalapeno peppers (optional) to taste
6 ounces shredded cheese, like Mexican verole queso, mozzarella or sharp cheddar
6 large Anaheim peppers, tops removed, any seeds and membrane scooped out

1) Cook the rice with stock according to package directions. When it is done, preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

2) Now, mix the rice with the pepitas, chillies and jalapenos (of using). When it is completely cool, stir in the shredded cheese and stuff into the peppers. Place into the baking dish, cover with a lid or foil and bake for 45-60 minutes, until the peppers are soft. Serve at once.

Makes 6 peppers

3 Bean Soup with Kale

I love any sort of bean soup: Brazilian black bean, classic navy bean, Mexican pinto bean, Italian cannellini or middle eastern chickpea-- I love them all, indiscriminately, regardless of their ethnicity-- I'm super open-minded like that.

To this bean soup I added a bunch of chopped kale. It made the soup prettier, tastier and way healthier. My four kids didn't mind the kale a bit and gobbled down the soup, with big crusty wedges of buttered bread, for dinner last night.

Because I always forget to soak my beans over night, and don't like to use canned beans in soups, I am giving this recipe starting with dried beans. If you would rather use canned, do by substituting 4, 14 oz cans beans for the 1 pound dried. Or, if you are really good, soak the beans overnight and start the recipe at step 2.

1 pound/half kilo mixed, dried beans, picked through
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 fat carrot, chopped
1 big baking potato, peeled (or not) and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion (any color), peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste (puree)
2 twigs fresh rosemary plus one fresh bay leaf, tied with butchers twine
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
4 cups kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
Stock or water to cover by 3 to 4 inches (several quarts)
14 ounces/380 grams sausage-- any type you like-- I used a smoked sausage, chopped into small pieces

1) Prep the beans: Place them into a large stock pot and cover in water by six inches. Bring to a simmer (not a boil) and cook gently for 1 hour. Drain and begin soup recipe.

2) Place everything except the kale and sausage into a large stock pot. Cover with stock or water by three inches, cover and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 1 hour this way, then add in the chopped kale and sausage and simmer for 30 minutes longer. Remove the rosemary and bay-leaf, then mash the soup with a potato masher to break everything up slightly, not pureeing it. Taste to see if it needs salt. Serve with crusty bread.

Makes 10-12 servings

Crockpot Chicken Chili

This is simple and makes your house smell delicious! Great for parties or for when you will be out most of the day. If you don't have a slow cooker, simmer very gently (covered) on the stove top for a couple of hours.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (any color), minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds/1 kilo ground chicken
1 pound/500 grams spicy chicken sausage (squeezed from their casing like toothpaste) Make sure it is raw, not smoked or partially cooked-- it should be squishy.
3, 4-oz/122 grams tins chopped green chillies, mild or spicy, not drained
1 pound/500 grams fresh or tinned tomatillos, chopped
3 teaspoons cumin powder

1 pint chicken stock

3 tablespoons Wondra or regular flour
2, 15oz/420 grams tins white beans (canellini, navy, northern, garbanzo) not drained

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro/coriander

Pickled jalapenos, chopped
Sharp white cheddar, shredded
Fritos or tortilla chips

1) Turn the crock pot on high. In a very large pan, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil for just a minute or two then add in the ground chicken and chicken sausage-- breaking the meat up as you go. You are simply getting this stuff hot, not thoroughly cooking it. This is the safest way to cook with a crock-pot-- have everything HOT when it goes in. Add the chillies, tomatillos and cumin to the pan to heat through. Now, shake the chicken stock with the Wondra flour, then pour in the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring often.

2) Dump this whole mess into the hot crock-pot, cover and bring up to a gentle simmer, then turn the pot down to low, keep covered and cook for a few hours.

3) 1 hour before you would like to serve, add in the undrained beans, stir to combine. 15 minutes before service, stir in the cilantro/coriander.

Serve with chips, chopped jalapenos and cheese along side. Makes about 8-10 bowls.

Mexican-American Pizza

With three ethnicities represented in this recipe, something's got to be good about it, right? This is cool because it can so easily be vegetarian (hold the chicken) and no one would know. Heaving with beans, cheese and chillies, I was pleasantly surprised that even my 5 year old twins liked this.

1 can refried beans (fat-free, low sodium, traditional-- any style)
1 teaspoon taco seasoning mix
1 ball pizza dough (enough to make a large pizza)
Shredded Mexican cheese
1 or 2, 4oz can mild or hot chopped chillies
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (about 1 cup)
Salsa











1) Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Roll out the dough to roughly fit into your greased baking tray. Dock the dough, that is, gently stab a fork into the dough all over-- this will help prevent the dough from bubblig as it bakes. Place the dough into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until partially cooked-- this will keep the crust crisp and can be done up to 6 hours ahead and held, uncovered at room temperature.



2) When ready to bake the pizza: Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Mix the refried beans with the taco seasoning and spread most of it (I had 1/4 cup left) over the pizza base. Now, sprinkle the cheese over top, then scatter chopped chillies and shredded chicken. Bake until golden and bubbly. Spoon salsa over top before serving.

Autumn Squash Soup with Sage

Autumn is such a cool time to be a cook. Pretty much no matter where you live in the States, there are seasonal foods to be found; more obviously found than in other months, anyway. 

Pumpkins are an incredibly under-utilized vegetable here in the States. In Europe, the squash are found in endless savory dishes this time of year in restaurants and in home kitchens. In fact, it is rather unusual to find pumpkin in a sweet dish across the pond. 

Last year at Thanksgiving time, being the only Americans in our little, English village I felt it my duty to bring some pumpkin pies into my daughter's 4th grade class. Not one of the 27 children had ever heard of using pumpkin in a pie. Some had had it in entrees when they had traveled to Italy, France or Spain on holiday, but none had eaten it as a dessert; and none of the children wanted to that day, either.

Lucky for me, English school teachers are extremely strict (Pink Floyd's, Another Brick in the Wall, was really not that far off), the class teacher insisted that every child try the pumpkin pie. 20 of the children loved it, 3 felt ambivalent, and 4 spat it out. 

I took those ratios as a compliment.

So, taking a cue from the Europeans, I developed this recipe for pumpkin and acorn squash soup. It is not at all sweet, rather savory and velvety. The Pecorino croutons add so much to the final dish-- they are most definitely worth making.

Soup

1 acorn squash, halved, seeds and stringy membrane scooped out, flesh and skin cut into cubes

1 pie pumpkin (small pumpkin, about the same size as the acorn squash), processed as above

1 large yellow onion, peeled and halved

1 head garlic, top cut off to expose some of the cloves

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1 and 1/2 quarts (1 and 1/2 litres) chicken or vegetable stock

8 leaves fresh sage

Sea salt to taste

Heavy cream (optional)

Croutons

1/2 baguette (preferably a day old)

EVOO

Grated Pecorino cheese, or Parmesan

Cayenne pepper

Popcorn or fine salt

Pre-heat oven to 375F (190C). Scatter the squash, pumpkin, onion and head of garlic, skin side down across a baking tray and drizzle over EVOO.

Bake for about 45 minutes, until fairly soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then peel the skins off. Toss the cooked vegetables into a soup pot with the stock and bring to a simmer.

 Chuck the sage leaves into the soup (you don't need to tie them together, I just thought was a pretty shot). Simmer all-together for 20 minutes, then puree with an immersion blender (or transfer to a blender and puree).

While the soup is simmering, cut the old bread up into small squares and toss with EVOO, cheese, cayenne and a bit of salt. Bake in that hot 375F oven for about 10 minutes, then toss and continue to bake for 5 minutes more.

Just before serving, drizzle some heavy cream on top (of you like), place a few croutons strategically in a spot and serve hot.

Makes 2 quarts (2 litres), serves 6