Cucumber Wrap Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Okay, so I have to state for the record right here that this is EXACTLY the kind of recipe I usually run away from as fast as possible.  It looks hard to make, and it involves inserting little strips of carrots into the center just so, and the cucumber-made-into-a-bowl part looks fraught with peril.   

But those two strips of bacon.  They kept calling my name.  And finally one day I gave in to temptation and purchased a cucumber.  There's only so much one woman can take before the bacon wins, and so I put it on one of our Friday Night Lights menus.

And guess what?  This was pretty much as easy as it gets.  You peel thin strips of the cucumber with a vegetable peeler or a mandoline...make the strips as thin as you can, because the thinner they are the easier they will turn into these little bottomless bowls.  I have an OXO Good Grips Mandoline Slicerand I love it...just be SUPER careful if you are using one, because those babies are sharp.  The moisture of the cucumber will make the ends stick together once you have fashioned them into these little bowls, which will take you about 2 minutes.  I used two strips per bowl, just for sturdiness.  

In the meantime, cut some bacon in half and cook it up however you like to...I always cook bacon for about 10-12 minutes in a 400 degree oven and it comes out just perfect.  Yes, you do have to cut up a carrot into little strips, but with bacon on the horizon, I was willing to cut up carrots.  Tear up some lettuce and toss it with your favorite dressing (a balsamic vinaigrette works great with this recipe), some crumbled blue cheese and some chopped pecans.  Or walnuts...or whatever catches your fancy.  Now take your favorite tongs, scoop up some of the lettuce mixture and nestle it into your cucumber bowls.  Fill them right up.  When you are done, stand two pieces of bacon and some of those carrot strips into the lettuce mixture.

Now stand back and look modest. 

The moral of the story: Never try and resist bacon.  It always ends up happily ever after.

Cucumber Wrap Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese, adapted from My Recipes

• 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
• 2 medium cucumbers, peeled
• 3 cups mixed baby greens
• 2 cooked thick-cut bacon slices, halved
• 1/3 cup shredded or matchstick carrots
• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Salad dressing to taste (any sort of vinaigrette will work great)

1. Place chopped pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan.

2. Bake at 350º for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally. Let cool 30 minutes or until completely cool.

3. Using a mandoline slicer or a vegetable peeler, cut cucumbers lengthwise into very thin strips just until seeds are visible. Discard cucumber core.

4. Shape largest cucumber slices into 4 (2 1/2- to 2 3/4-inch-wide) rings. Wrap evenly with remaining cucumber slices. Stand rings upright on 4 serving plates.

5. Fill each cucumber ring evenly with mixed greens, next 3 ingredients, and toasted pecans. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle each salad with vinaigrette.

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Sweet and Tangy Coleslaw

Let me start out by saying, I know coleslaw is a personal decision.  Some folks like the creamy kind made with mayo or sour cream or whatever it is that makes it creamy.  I can actually go for a nice bowl of creamy coleslaw every once in while, especially if it has those little caraway seeds in it.  Yum.

However, most of the time I am in the non-creamy coleslaw camp.  I like the kind that is a little bit vinegary-sharp, a little bit sweet, and with just the right balance of cabbage and carrots.   And the Southern husband...well, don't even TRY to sneak any creamy coleslaw by him.  He's definitely a tangy coleslaw guy.  It might be the boots...who knows.

Side note: this picture is not mine...it was shot by the teenager.  She had a photography assignment where she had to shoot people's feet in some way that represented who they are.  She wanted to shoot her dad in his boots, which I thought was very appropriate.  Then she got to me.

She also photographed my in my sneakers next to a laundry basket.  Hmm.

Anyway, back to the coleslaw.  I never seem to make coleslaw in the winter...I must have some subconscious rule in my head that coleslaw can only be made when it is above 70 degrees outside.  And every year when coleslaw season rolls around,  I have managed to lose whatever recipe I found the year before for non-creamy coleslaw.  This year I found it again, and figured if I just put it up on the blog, at least next year the search would be a little faster.  

This recipe is from the always fabulous folks at Cooks Illustrated, and as always the recipe itself makes you scratch your head a little when you first read it (put the cabbage in the microwave?  Really??) but as always, it comes out perfectly.  Trust me.  So here it is...the only coleslaw recipe you will need all summer.  And if you come back in a couple of days for my next post, I'll be showing you something pretty dang good that you can do with it.

Sweet and Tangy Coleslaw, from Cooks Illustrated

• 1/4 cup cider vinegar , plus extra for seasoning
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 large green cabbage (about 1 pound), cored and shredded fine (about 6 cups)
• 1/4 cup sugar , plus extra for seasoning
• Table salt
• 1 large carrot , peeled and grated
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Combine 1/4 cup vinegar, oil, celery seed, and pepper in medium glass or metal bowl. Place bowl in freezer until vinegar mixture is well chilled, at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
2. While mixture chills, toss cabbage with ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with large plate and microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir briefly, re-cover, and continue to microwave on high power until cabbage is partially wilted and has reduced in volume by one-third, 30 to 60 seconds longer.
3. Transfer cabbage to salad spinner and spin cabbage until excess water is removed, 10 to 20 seconds. Remove bowl from freezer, add cabbage, carrot, and parsley to cold vinegar mixture, and toss to combine. If desired, adjust flavor with sugar or vinegar. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes. Toss again before serving.

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Gnocchi with Spring Vegetables

This past week or two it is finally sinking in with me that after the long winter of snow and ice and snow and wind and snow and sleet and snow, spring might finally be here.  The proof is right here in my own backyard....

That is a little baby lilac.  When it turns into a full-blooming lilac I will go through the same agonizing decision I make every year - clip it and bring it inside, or leave it on the lilac bush?  (Hint: the lilac bush has won every year so far.)

There's also this little guy.

I have no idea what he is, but he's green, so I'm happy.

However, the ultimate sign of spring, the one that means we have truly crossed over to the other side is the following....

Once the dog is outside sunning herself in the grass instead of lounging around illegally on my bed, I know that summer can't be far away.  And all this springtime merriment was enough to make me work up my courage and tackle this recipe for gnocchi with spring vegetables.  I don't know what it is about gnocchi that intimidates me, but for some reason I think that it is always going to backfire on me and I am going to have to wave the white flag and call the pizza delivery guy.  But this recipe was just different enough for me to buck up and give it a go.  For one thing, any recipe with the words "spring" and "vegetables" in it just makes me want to run out and buy loads of carrots with the tops still on them.

And in this case, I also bought a load of fresh peas that the Southern husband cheerfully shelled for me.  Man, I love this guy.  If you ever find someone who is willing to shell peas for you, hang onto him.

Anyway, the gnocchi recipe turned out to be a snap.  After you make the gnocchi, which are basically little heavenly balls of mashed potato mixed with a little flour and olive oil, you freeze them solid.  Then when you are  ready to make them you saute them on the stove in butter and olive oil until they are golden brown and perfect.  Toss in some fresh cooked carrots and peas, a little chopped basil, some salt and pepper, throw open your windows, put on your flip-flops and a short-sleeved shirt and raise a glass to spring.

(I hope I haven't now inadvertently triggered a rare late-April snowstorm.)

Gnocchi with Spring Vegetables, adapted slightly from Jonathan Waxman's recipe in The New York Times

3 large russet baking potatoes
4-6  tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut in thirds
2 cups shelled peas, fresh or thawed frozen
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 basil leaves, slivered
Sea salt and ground black pepper.

1. Steam potatoes over boiling water until tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool for 2 hours. Break up potatoes and use a food mill or ricer to mash them into a bowl. Peeling is not necessary with these tools, but the potatoes can be peeled if desired. Dust a smooth work surface with 1 tablespoon flour and scoop potatoes on top. Dust potatoes with remaining flour and dribble a tablespoon of the oil on top. With your hands, work the potatoes, kneading lightly, about 5 minutes until they come together to make a soft dough. Add a bit more flour if needed. Let it rest 10 minutes.
2. Divide the dough into four balls. Roll out each into a strand 1-inch thick, then use a knife or pastry scraper to cut into 1-inch pieces of gnocchi. Place on one or more parchment-lined trays and freeze at least 1 hour. When hard, remove as many as desired for cooking and transfer the rest to a plastic bag for freezing up to one month.
3. Cook carrots in simmering water 10 minutes or until tender. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and cut in bite-size pieces. If using fresh peas, add to water, cook about 2 minutes, until tender, and drain. Melt butter with 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add frozen gnocchi and sauté about 5-10 minutes, turning gnocchi frequently, until lightly browned. Add peas and carrots and cook about 2 minutes more. Toss in basil leaves and season with salt and pepper.

Yield: About 60 gnocchi, 4 to 6 servings.

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Carrot Parmesan Risotto

Sometimes you come home from work, and all you want is a nice hot bowl of something comforting.   And at the same time, you don't want your supper to be, well, boring.  And those are the nights that call for risotto.  Don't be intimidated by all those recipes that tell you that you MUST stir risotto constantly for 30 minutes or until your stirring arm falls off, whichever comes first, because I am here to tell you that is NOT true.  Not.  True.  You can make perfectly heavenly risotto by only stirring it here and there, I promise you.

This particular risotto starts with a base of red onion and shredded carrots that you saute for a few minutes in just the teeniest amount of butter.    This is the perfect recipe to make when those first carrots start popping up at your local farmer's market.



Now toss in some rice...if you have the arborio variety that is great, but I actually used a nice basmati rice because that is what I happened to have on hand at the moment and it worked out just fine.  Pour in some chicken broth a cup at a time and stir every five minutes or so and you will be just fine.  (Here's my trick: I put on my Ipod and stir at the end of every song...that's about 3-5 minutes depending on your playlist.  Yes, this risotto owes it all to my playlist of Bob Seger songs, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.)

At the very end, when the rice is tender and the carrots have almost melted into it, you toss in a teeny bit more butter and a handful of grated parmesan cheese.  Spoon it into your favorite dish and grind enough pepper on top to give it just the right amount of kick.  That's all there is too it.  This would be great with just about anything you cook on the grill...Buttermilk Chicken, for example...but for those early spring days that are still just chilly enough to make you want a bowl of something warm and comfy...it doesn't get too much better than this.

Carrot Parmesan Risotto, from Everyday Food

• 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 6 medium carrots, grated
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 1/4 cups long-grain white rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. In a saucepan, bring broth and 2 cups water to a bare simmer over medium.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium. Add onion and carrots; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in rice. Add wine; cook, stirring, until absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add 2 cups hot broth; simmer over medium-low, stirring frequently, until mostly absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Continue to add broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring occasionally, until absorbed before adding more. Cook until rice is creamy and just tender, about 20 minutes (you may not need all the broth).
4. Remove risotto from heat. Stir in Parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter, and season with salt and pepper.
   
   
   

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Brisket Slow-Cooked in Coffee and Brown Sugar

I think I may have said this once or twice or one million times before on this blog, but I wish I liked coffee.  I really do.  It is SO much easier to get a cup of coffee than to find a decent cup of hot, strong English breakfast tea unless you happen to be in the middle of London, and I am usually in the middle of New Jersey, so this is a problem for me.  I've tried to like coffee, just for the pure convenience factor, but I just....can't...do it.

However, I DO (for some mysterious reason) like coffee when it is an ingredient.  Usually that means in ice cream, or in muffins, or other sweet stuff.  But in this case, I like it in a brisket recipe.  Whatever the hours and hours of cooking in the slow cooker do to transform the coffee, the sauce comes out not tasting like coffee, but like some rich, tangy, wonderful thing that you can't quite put your finger on.  (Spoiler alert: it's the coffee.)

For all you slow-cooker fans out there, this one is right up your alley.  Toss a brisket and some chopped carrots and baby potatoes and quartered onions into your slow cooker.  Mix up a sauce of tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and (you guessed it) coffee and pour it in there, stirring things up so the sauce is generally all over everything, and about half the veggies are on top and the other half are on the bottom.  Cover the slow cooker, press the "LOW" setting button, and go do something else for about 8 hours.  

Now come back, slice the brisket into thin slices, put it on the plate with some veggies and pour that rocking great sauce all over the whole aromatic, tender, fabulous thing.  Have tea with dessert.  Feel all smug for liking coffee and tea at the same time.

Slow-Cooked Brown Sugar and Coffee Brisket, adapted from Real Simple

• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered, stem end left intact
• 1 pound new potatoes (about 12)
• 1 pound medium carrots, cut into 2 1⁄2-inch lengths
• 2 1/2 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup brewed black coffee
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Season the beef with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and place in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.  Add the onion, potatoes, and carrots.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, coffee, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar; pour over the beef and vegetables.  Stir things around just a little until some of the sauce reaches the bottom of the pot.  Cover and cook on low until the beef and vegetables are tender, 7 to 8 hours.
3. Slice the beef across the grain and serve with the vegetables and sauce, sprinkled with the parsley.  

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Braised Chicken with Spring Vegetables

I love, love, love, love, love this recipe.  Not just because it tastes SO good.  Not just because it is fabulously good for you, being made up of chicken, veggies and a delightful broth-based braised sauce.  But also because it means (and I know, I am tempting fate and potentially bringing one last snowfall down on our heads) that Spring is pretty close to being right around the corner.

I know this because at a certain point in time, the wonderful farm market near our house starts carrying these...

And these...

And that point in time was this past weekend.  And that is the weekend each year that I haul out this recipe, and starting thinking positive thoughts about daffodils and grilling supper outside and the fact that one day, the relentless pile of snow at the corner of my driveway will actually be GONE.

Just a quick word about the recipe that is the actual point of this post:  it's a sweet and simple one where you sear chicken (bone-in variety please) in a teeny bit of olive oil.  When the chicken is gorgeously brown, take it out and pour in some chicken broth (I love the Imagine and Pacific brands in the box, not the can) and scrape up all that browned goodness on the bottom of the pot.  Now toss in some radishes and carrots, nestle the chicken pieces on top of the veggies, and cover the pot.  About twenty-five minutes later you will have perfect, tender chicken, delicious cooked spring veggies and a rich, perfect sauce from the braising liquid.  Dish it out, sprinkle with chives, and be happy with the thought that when the spring veggies appear, can these be far behind?

Think SPRING!!

Braised Chicken with Spring Vegetables, adapted from Real Simple

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken breast pieces
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 12 medium radishes, halved
• 3/4 pound carrots (about 4), cut into sticks
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Season the chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook until browned, 6 to 7 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Spoon off and discard the fat. Return the pot to medium-high heat. Add the broth and scrape up any brown bits.
4. Stir in the radishes, carrots, and sugar.
5. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and gently simmer, partly covered, until it is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with the chives. 

Click here for printable recipe

Carrot Puree

I know, I know, you are looking at that picture and saying, she's really gone off the deep end now.  She's gotten just a little bit too obsessed with those addictive E-Trade baby commercials and is now making and showing us pictures of baby food.



And okay, while I freely admit that I truly AM obsessed with those commercials, hang in there with me on this recipe, because it really is something both easy and delicious, and contains a couple of things that you probably don't want to be feeding your baby.

I'm talking butter.

I'm talking sour cream.

I'm talking fresh ground pepper and coarse salt, baby.

I'm the first one to admit that I am a little side-dish-challenged, so when I come across one that is as easy and silkily scrumptious as this one, I hang on for dear life.  So the next time you are going to make plain old carrots as a side dish, trust me and give this one a spin.  All it involves is boiling up a bunch of peeled and chopped carrots until they are nice and tender, and then whirling them in your food processor with yes, some butter, some sour cream and some salt and pepper until they are a smooth, creamy, carroty delight.  

Now, THAT'S a side dish.

And that's definitely something to smile about, baby.

Carrot Puree,  from Everyday Foods

• 2 pounds carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1. Place carrots in a large saucepan. Fill with water to cover by 1 inch; add salt. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to a simmer. Cook until carrots are very tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
2. Drain and transfer to a food processor. Add butter and sour cream; season with salt and pepper. Process until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of processor with a rubber spatula as needed. Serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Butternut Cider Bisque

Okay, so this is one of my blog posts that has a long involved back-story, and since there is nobody here to tell me to cut to the chase except for the dog (who can't talk) and the Southern husband (who is WAY too smart to say anything of this nature) I'm going to go ahead and tell it.  Take comfort in the fact that it will be broken up with some entertaining pictures.  At least I think they are entertaining.

So to start at the beginning, a while back I was invited to take a series of pictures of chefs from restaurants in our area.  For a food groupie like me, this was a fabulous assignment, and I met a bunch of terrifically talented people this way (and got to sample some rocking good food along the way.)  Here's the first chef I photographed for this project:

Chef Chris Calcagno.  I know, it was a hard assignment, but someone had to do it.

Anyway.

Part of the assignment was to photograph each chef holding a copy of their favorite cookbook, which worked out to be double bonus points for me, because what better recommendation can a cookbook have then to be a chef's favorite?  So of course, I followed the directions and asked Chef Calcagno to please bring a copy of his favorite cookbook to be photographed with.  He selected THE NEW RED LION INN COOKBOOK.

Now on this particular shoot the Southern husband was helping me.  Which he is great at, and which has the added benefit of me being able to order him around and not get any back-talk.  Anyway, he was browsing through this book while I was doing the rest of the shoot, and he must have liked what he saw because lo and behold, I came home to find my very own copy sitting on my desk a couple of weeks later.  (Which made me feel a little tiny bit guilty about the whole ordering-around thing.)

I promise there is a point to all of this and here it is: this fabulous butternut soup is taken from this great cookbook.  It's a thick, delicious soup that involves cooking up chopped onion, carrots, celery, fresh thyme and a whole lot of butternut squash in a mixture of chicken broth and cider, and then pureeing the whole thing.  When you have it all nice and smooth and pureed, the recipe gives you the choice of thinning it down with either more broth, more cider or heavy cream.  I had about 1/4 cup of heavy cream in my fridge and it seemed like destiny to  me, but honestly, it would have been pretty much close to perfect even without that.  I swirled a teeny bit of cinnamon on the top and got this:

But I couldn't leave well enough alone.  No, I knew in my heart of hearts that there was one more thing that could push this soup over the edge to true greatness.

Yep.  Popcorn.  (Red Lion Inn people, if you are out there, I hope I didn't just horrify you.)  But it brought just the right amount of salty crunch to this sweet and scrumptious soup.  I put the popcorn in a bowl right there on the table and we scattered it on top as we ate...the popcorn will sink pretty quickly as it absorbs the soup, but trust me when I say this is a GOOD thing.

I will be quiet now and give you the recipe already.

Butternut Cider Bisque, adapted from the New Red Lion Inn Cookbook

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional but great)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cinnamon sugar for garnish
• Popcorn for garnish (also optional and also great)

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat and saute onions, carrot and celery for about 5 minutes.  Add squash and thyme and saute, stirring, for another two minutes.

2. Add stock and cider and simmer until squash until very soft, about 30 minutes.  Remove from heat.

3. Puree with immersion blender or in blender until smooth.  Return soup to pot and add cream if using, and salt and pepper to taste.  Reheat over low heat.

4. Serve, garnished with cinnamon sugar.  Put popcorn on table for diners to add as desired.

Click here for printable recipe 

The Best, Easiest, Quickest Chicken Noodle Soup Ever

There are few things I love as much in the cold heart of winter as a bowl of chicken noodle soup.  I'm most definitely not talking about the one in the can.  I'm talking about soup in a rich, flavorful broth with chunks of roasted chicken, freshly chopped tender pieces of carrot and celery, bow-tie noodles soaking up the chicken taste and fresh parsley and thyme floating throughout the whole thing.

Sounds long and involved and exhausting, right?  Well, usually that is right.  What usually happens is that you start out with all great intentions and energy and a nice whole chicken.  You toss it in the soup pot with some water and a prayer or two, and hours and days and weeks later you have a cooked chicken and some "broth."  But the chicken is a little rubbery from having boiled away for ages and I'm sorry, all the onion and carrots in the world have not been able to produce a nice rich broth  -- for me, anyway.  It ends up watery and sad and you have to skim the top of it, and on and on and on.  

It was time for something to be done.  It's our right to have a fantastic chicken soup that doesn't require a nap and a degree from the Culinary Institute of America.  So here's what needs to happen.  First of all, the foundation is the broth, and while pre-made chicken broth used to be a sad state of affairs, things have gotten a whole lot better lately.  There are two brands that are actually EXCELLENT, and they both come in boxes that are stacked in the supermarket right next to those nasty cans of chicken broth.  My fave is this one:

Although this one is pretty good as well:

 

Don't be tempted by the canned broth - go for one of these guys.

Next, you need a bone-in split chicken breast.  Put in in a baking pan, brush that baby with a little olive oil, sprinkle with some salt and pepper and roast it for about 50 minutes.  Meantime, chop up some carrots, some celery, an onion and some fresh parsley and thyme.  If I have a leek on hand I'll chop that up too.  Once your chicken is roasted and cooled a little, the chicken soup is about 20 minutes away.  Bring the broth to a nice simmer and drop in the veggies and some bow-tie pasta and simmer it covered until the veggies are tender and the pasta is cooked.  While this is going on, take a fork (or your fingers, if you are me) and pull the roasted chicken off the bone into bite-sized pieces.  Now toss the chicken pieces and the herbs into the soup and simmer for another few minutes until everything is all warm and perfect.  Taste to see if you need to add in any salt or pepper...and that's it, folks.  You have now made the perfect chicken noodle soup.  It will keep for several days and get better and better.  If it gets too thick, pour in a little more broth and it will be just fine.

Doesn't everything seem right with the world now?

Quick and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

• 1 split bone-in chicken breast
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Two 32 ounce boxes of chicken broth
• Two large carrots, sliced
• Two stalks celery, sliced
• One leek, sliced or one onion, chopped
• 1 cup bow tie pasta
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Place chicken skin side up on baking sheet lined with foil.  Rub olive oil onto chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 50 minutes and then cool until chicken is cool enough to shred with your fingers.  Discard bones and skin.

2. Heat broth until simmering.  Add carrots, celery, leek or onion and pasta and cook until pasta is done, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in parsley and chicken and season to taste.  Ladle into bowls and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Avgolemono Soup with Chicken and Orzo

Okay, so where should I start with this soup?

Let's start with the name, which is pronounced Ahv-go-leh-MAN-o. 

I think. 

It's Greek, and I am Irish-American, and so I am on shaky ground here.  I've now picked out the recipe, made the recipe, photographed the recipe, eaten the recipe, and I am STILL asking the Southern husband how to both pronounce and spell it.  

So next I should tell you that I posted on my Facebook page that I would be making this soup for dinner, and I got a whole string of comments in response.  Which were pretty evenly divided between people who (based on the word avgolemeno) had NO idea what I was cooking in my kitchen these days, and people who knew exactly what it was and left all kinds helpful advice about combining eggs with hot broth.  Because the base of this recipe is a mixture of chicken broth, lemon juice and beaten eggs, and if you are not both EXTREMELY CAREFUL and EXTREMELY LUCKY, you will mess the whole thing up by adding the beaten eggs to the hot broth and the whole thing will curdle and the world as we know it will come to an end.

I was actually worried for a few minutes, and then I remembered this happy fact: recipes are pretty much all about Following The Directions, and if you do this, you will almost always end up with something that looks like the picture in the cookbook.  Which is what I did, and which is exactly what i ended up with.  So do not, I repeat do NOT be afraid.

Lastly and most importantly: this soup is SO amazingly easy and delicious that you (if you are me) will have one of those moments where you smack yourself on the forehead and wonder how you have managed to live all these years without knowing about it and making it and eating it at every possible opportunity.  The soup is as healthy as you can get - the ingredients are pretty much chicken broth, a few eggs, lemon juice, chicken, shredded carrots, a handful of orzo pasta and some herbs - but because of how it is put together, it comes out in this rich, creamy format that feels positively sinful.  If you didn't know better, you would swear that there was a boatload of heavy cream lurking in this one...but there isn't!  Not a drop!  That in and of itself makes this worth a try.  

So...ahv-go-leh-MAN-no.  Go for it.  Eating is believing!

Avgolemono Soup with Chicken and Orzo, adapted from Cooking Light's The Essential Dinner

• 6 cups chicken broth (I like the boxed Imagine and Pacific brands)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 cup uncokked orzo
• 4 large eggs
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 8 ounces cooked chicken breast, shredded into bite-sized pieces

1. Bring broth and dill to a boil in large saucepan and add orzo.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and remove one cup of broth from the pot (without any orzo in it.)  Let it cool for 5 minutes.

2. Put eggs and juice in blender and process until smooth and frothy.  With blender on, slowly pour the one cup of cooled broth that you removed from the pot into the blender and process until smooth.  This is to thin out the eggs a little more so they will blend in to the soup obediently later on.

3. Add carrot, salt, pepper and chicken to the broth and orzo in the pot.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until orzo is tender.  Reduce heat to low.

4. Slowly pour in egg mixture, stirring constantly, until soup is heated through, about 1-2 minutes.  Do not let it boil or you may get the dreaded curdling.  If you do, remind yourself that it is still going to taste just fine.  

5, Ladle into bowls and serve at once.

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Cottage Pie

A while back I made a recipe for what I called Shepherd's Pie.  It is a scrumptious mixture of ground beef and vegetables in a light tomato-ish sauce, topped with mashed potatoes and baked.  Perfect, easy comfort food.  I wrote a little story about how I fell in love with shepherd's pie.  I even included a picture of a sheep, because I had one hanging around and it seemed like the perfect time to use it.  I posted it up on the blog, and started reading the comments.  (I love comments, by the way.  Leave me comments!).

Anyway, in addition to all the sweet things everyone says to me about the pictures and the recipe and the story, more than one person gently told me that I had not in fact made Shepherd's Pie.  I had made Cottage Pie.

Huh?

Well, as it turns out, that's exactly what I did.  Apparently Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb, and Cottage Pie is made with beef.  Which now made me feel bad about the whole sheep picture thing, because I was unwittingly including a really cute picture of the, um, ingredients.  Oh dear.

So long story short, I recently ran across this recipe for Cottage Pie, which used a topping of very thin-sliced potatoes instead of the mashed version...and while I am probably the world's biggest fan of mashed potatoes, I actually LOVED this version.  The filling is the usual mixture of ground beef, carrots and peas, and the whole thing was just as delectable as its incorrectly named predecessor.

So at the end of the day, no matter what you call it, MAKE it.  Delicious, delicious, delicous.

Cottage Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 large carrots, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 1 cup dark beer
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 large russet potato, sliced very thin

1. Preheat oven to 400.  In large skillet, heat one tablespoon butter over medium high heat.  Add onions and carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Season with salt and pepper and add tomato paste.  

2. Add meat and cook for 3 minutes, breaking up with wooden spoon.  Add thyme and beer and bring to a boil.  Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over top and stir.  Add 1 cup of water and cook until slightly thickened, another two minutes.  Stir in peas and then season to taste.  

3. Transfer to baking dish and top with overlapping potato slices.  Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Bake until potatoes are browned at the edges, about 40-45 minutes.  Cool ten minutes before serving.

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Coconut Beef Stew

These are a few of my favorite things:

1. Beef Stew
2. Coconut

(Does two count as a few? I can never remember.)

Anyway, imagine this.  You get a hankering for a nice, hot, comforting beef stew with all the wonderful ingredients: chunks of beef, pieces of carrot and potato, etc.  But instead of the usual beef broth or wine that you usually make beef stew with...you use coconut milk.  And you throw in a few spices that are usually not found in beef stew, like coconut and cumin.  And when the stew is done, all tender and with a hint of coconut taste after simmering for hours in the coconut milk, you sprinkle it with a little shredded coconut just for good measure.  Then you ladle it out into bowls and take your first bite, and you are transported into a land that is a confusingly wonderful mixture of tropical comfort food.  I promise you, this is one beef stew that you are going to remember lovingly for a good long time.

Which all goes to show you, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.

Sorry.  Any excuse to put a puppy picture up.

Anyway...coconut beef stew.  Try it!

Coconut Beef Stew

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 14oz can coconut milk
• 2 pounds beef chuck steak, cut into cubes
• 4 large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
• 2 cups carrots, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

1. Heat oven to 350.  Put oil in Dutch oven or other ovenproof pot over medium heat.  Cook onions for 5 minutes or until soft.  Add garlic and spices  and stir for one minute.  Stir in tomato paste and then coconut milk.  Bring to a boil and add beef.

2. Cover and transfer to oven,  Cook for 1 hour,  then remove from oven and add potatoes and carrots.  Cover and cook for an additional hour and 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle each serving with flaked coconut and parsley and serve.

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Chicken Vegetable Cobbler

There is something about the word "cobbler" that just makes me feel all warm and cozy and contented. Most of my cobbler recipes are for desserts - apple, peach, and so on. (And just so you know, I have a chocolate cobbler recipe waiting in my stack of "to be made one day soon" recipes. SOON. Very soon.)

Anyway, cobbler is something I usually associate with dessert, so when I came across this chicken recipe in Mark Bittman's fabulous video series, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Cobbler for dinner! NOW we're talking. First you cook up a heavenly, homey mixture of chicken, carrots and peas all in a creamy herby thick broth.

Then you top the whole thing with a buttery biscuit dough and pop it in the oven. By the time it is almost ready to come out, people and dogs will be drifting into your kitchen with happy and expectant looks on their faces. And really, isn't that one of the main reasons we make things like chicken cobbler in the first place? Yes it is. :-)

Chicken Vegetable Cobbler, adapted from The Minimalist

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 leek, washed and chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (I like Imagine brand)
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 medium carrots, cut in chunks
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg

1. Heat over to 400. Put oil in large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add leek, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add stock and rosemary and bring to a boil. Add carrots and chicken and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add peas and stir for one more minute. Remove rosemary and discard.

3. Whisk cornstarch with a few tablespoons of cool water to make a slurry and add to skillet. Sir until liquid thickens, and then transfer the chicken mixture to an ovenproof casserole.

4. Put flour in food processor with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add butter and process until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl and mix in buttermil and egg until it comes together into a sticky dough.

5. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto chicken mixture and smooth with a knife, covering as much of the surface as you can. Leave a few holes for the steam to escape. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Scoop onto plates or bowls and serve at once.

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Shredded Chicken with Noodles

This is one of those recipes that falls squarely in the comfort food category. There is something warm and cozy about shredded chicken with noodles and carrots in a delicious sauce that makes you feel like pretty much everything is right with the world. It also features turmeric, a spice that doesn't get anywhere near its fair share of love and respect, at least in MY spice cabinet.

Speaking of spice cabinets (and yes, mine IS in alphabetical order, and I am not ashamed to admit it), the absolute best place in the whole wide world to buy spices is this little outfit called Penzey's. Here's a link:

Penzey's Catalog

I am lucky enough to have a Penzey's in my area (that area being Grand Central Station in NYC) and take a look at this:

...and this....

....and this...

...and don't even get me started on what it smells like in that place. Spice Heaven.

Anyway, turmeric...it's one of the things that makes this recipe from the Pioneer Woman so fabulous. That and the shredded chicken part. There is something about shredded chicken that just does me in, and makes me think about warm blankets and children's books and raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

One word about the noodles - the original recipe calls for using pre-cooked frozen noodles and believe me, I would have used them if I had been able to find them. But I wasn't able to, so I just tossed some garden variety egg noodles in there and they worked just fine. Probably due to the previously mentioned shredded chicken and turmeric. One way or the other, the next time you need a good dose of Extreme Comfort Food, this is your recipe.

Shredded Chicken with Noodles, from The Pioneer Woman

1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
2 whole Carrots, Diced
2 stalks Celery, Diced
½ whole Medium Onion, Diced
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Turmeric
¼ teaspoons White Pepper (more To Taste)
¼ teaspoons Ground Thyme
2 teaspoons Parsley Flakes
16 ounces, weight Frozen "homemade" Egg Noodles or same amount dried large egg noodles
3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

1. Cover chicken in 4 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Remove chicken from pot with a slotted spoon. With two forks, remove as much meat from the bones as you can, slightly shredding meat in the process. Return bones to broth and simmer on low, covered, for 45 minutes.

3. Remove bones from broth with a slotted spoon, making sure to get any small bones that might have detached. Add the carrots and celery and onions to the pot, followed by the herbs and spices. Stir to combine and simmer for ten minutes to meld flavors.

4. Increase heat and add egg noodles and chicken. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Mix flour and a little water. Stir until smooth. Pour into soup, stir to combine, and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until broth thickens a bit. Test and adjust seasonings as needed.

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Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie...it might be my all-time favorite comfort food, and I never get tired of making it. I am very particular about the kind of shepherd's pie that I like, though, and that all dates back to my days right out of college, living with my dear friend C in the world's smallest studio apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Ah, that apartment -- it had exposed brick walls that got red-hot in the winter (why? we didn't know and were afraid to ask), the world's dinkiest, oldest refrigerator, and a reclusive next door neighbor named Bruce who was straight out of a Seinfeld episode. We made a combined salary of about $25,000 per year, and probably spent $20,000 of it on rent for this glorious pad, and so our nights out on the town were few and far between, and divided between what is STILL the best pizza place I have ever been to and this Irish joint called Finnegan's Wake.

Finnegan's was loud and dark and the floor was sticky and they served the best, cheapest, most delicious shepherd's pie I've ever had. It was made with beef, not lamb, and featured peas and carrots in a thick tomato-ish sauce, all topped with mashed potatoes. (The picture above is before the addition of the potatoes, in case you are wondering. Because once you put the potatoes on top it would look like a picture of, well, potatoes.)

The Finnegan's version spoiled me forever in terms of shepherd's pie, and ever since I have been in search of a recipe that stood up to Finnegan's. (Of course, it might have tasted so good because the rest of the time we were eating cold cereal, ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese out the box, but whatever.)

So this recipe has all those elements, and whenever I have leftover mashed potatoes I make it. By the way, I'm not sure exactly why it is called shepherd's pie -- maybe shepherds eat it? Maybe because - eek - it is usually made with lamb? At any rate, it's also a good excuse for me to show you the one and only picture I have ever taken of a sheep.



And now that you have all this useful information, here's the best part, which is the actual recipe.

Shepherd's Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

2 pounds freshly ground beef

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons flour

1 to 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Coarse salt and ground pepper

10 ounces frozen peas, thawed

Potato Topping:

2-½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Heat a large skillet over high heat. In two batches, cook beef until no longer pink, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer beef to a colander set in a bowl; let fat drain off and discard.
2. Add ¼ cup water to the skillet, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium; add onion and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add flour; cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
3. Add Worcestershire sauce, 2 cups water, and beef. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in peas; cook 1 minute. Divide among eight 8-ounce ramekins or two 9-inch glass pie dishes.
4. Meanwhile, make potato topping. Spread over pies; use a fork to make peaks. Bake on a baking sheet until tops are browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly; serve.

Potato Topping:

1. In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes with salted water by 1 inch; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
2. In pan, bring milk and butter to a simmer; remove from heat. Return potatoes; mash. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

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Shredded Pot Roast

This is another one of those AWESOME recipes from the Pioneer Woman (go buy her cookbook! Runrunrun!!) that takes something you think you already know how to make pretty well -- in this case, pot roast -- and shakes it up just enough to make it the best version of pot roast you have ever made. All the usual players are here in this recipe -- the beef roast, the carrots, the onions, etc. This version does not cook the usual potatoes in with the roast, but calls for serving the pot roast with mashed potatoes on the side. As far as I am concerned, anything tastes better with mashed potatoes on the side, so I was good with that.

But that's not the game-changer here. The two things that put this pot roast over the top for me were first that you cook it with just enough fresh herbs (fresh thyme and rosemary) to infuse it with a gorgeous, herby flavor. About one hour into this my kitchen smelled like...I don't know how to describe it. I could have bottled and sold that aroma. Eau du Pot Roast With Herbs -- it was crazy.

The second thing was the shredding. The meat comes out of the pot so tender that it almost falls apart anyway, but I took it to the next step and shredded it, and then dunked the shredded meat back into the pot roast juices until it was thoroughly soaked through with the herb-infused liquid. On to the plate with some of the carrots it cooked with on one side, some mashed potatoes on the other. Oh my. You know you have hit a pot roast home run when the dinner table is completely quiet because any talking would interfere with the EATING.

From now on, I think I will shred everything we eat.

SHREDDED POT ROAST, adapted from The Pioneer Woman

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 5 pound chuck roast
• 2 onions, peeled and halved
• 6 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup red wine
• 2-3 cups beef broth
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1. Generously salt and pepper the chuck roast.

2. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat and add the olive oil. When it is very hot, add the onions and brown them on both sides. Remove to plate. Add the carrots and toss them around for a minute until they are browned, and then remove.

3. Place the meat in the pan, adding more oil if needed, and sear on all sides until brown, about a minute per side. Remove the roast.

4. With the heat still on high, add the red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom to get all the browned bits off. Place the roast back in the pan, add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway and add the carrots and the onions. Toss in the fresh herbs, tucking them around the meat.

5. Put the lid on the pot and put in 275 oven for one hour per pound -- so 5 hours for a 5 pound roast, 3 hours for a three pound roast, etc.

6. When the roast is fork-tender, remove it from the pan and shred it with two forks. Dunk the shreds back in the pan juice until they are soaked through, and then put on plate with carrots, onions, and mashed potatoes.

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Spiced Beef in Red Wine Sauce

I love recipes that introduce me to a new ingredient that I have never, ever heard of, and this was one of them. This is from an article published about 6 years ago in the New York Times by Nigella Lawson, and I think I have had the clipping bouncing around in my "need to make this recipe one day" file ever since. (There are recipes in there from the last century. So many recipes, so little time!!) I loved the whole idea of spiced beef cooking in red wine, I loved the idea of serving it on a bed of polenta (which is what we Northerners call it. The southern husband calls it grits.) The thing that kept kicking it to the back of the line was this one ingredient that sounded important, but mysterious and hard to find.

Ever heard of star anise?

Me neither.

Why I decided all of the sudden last weekend to figure this out -- who knows? -- but I called my source of all culinary information and it went like this.

Me: Hi Mom -- do you know what star anise is?
Mom: Of course. It's a spice.
Me: You don't have any, do you?
Mom: Of course. Do you need some?

I guess I am the only one without some star anise hanging around, and I felt the need to have my own jar of it, because you never know when you are going to need some star anise. At least now I knew it was a spice and not some exotic vegetable. A few hours later there I was in the spice aisle at Fairway with my very own jar. It is definitely a handsome little spice.

And smells just like licorice. Yum, yum...this was starting to feel good. The stew itself is a pretty basic recipe with a few excellent wrinkles to it. You start with a base of chopped carrots and onion -- but you also add some chopped bacon with it. Obviously there is the red wine part -- it simmers in the red wine for most of the cooking time. And of course there is the star anise which gives it a delicious sweet and spicy touch. I followed Nigella's directions to the letter and served it on top of a nice little pool of polenta, which was just PERFECT.

So there you have it, a Sunday dinner that is both comforting and just a little exotic. Let me know if you need to borrow any star anise....

SPICED BEEF IN RED WINE SAUCE, from Nigella Lawson

• 2 slices bacon, roughly chopped
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped
• 2 large leeks, white and light-green parts only, roughly chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 pounds chuck steak in 2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or more as needed
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups red wine
• 2 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 star anise
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1.

Working in batches in a food processor, process bacon, onions, leeks, carrots and parsley until finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, and set aside. Place flour in a freezer bag or other plastic bag. Season with salt and pepper. Add steak cubes, seal bag, and shake until cubes are well coated.

2.

Place a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons oil. When hot, add beef in batches, turning until well seared on all sides. As beef is browned, transfer to a plate, and set aside.

3.

If casserole dish is dry, add 1 tablespoon oil. Place over medium heat, and add bacon and vegetable mixture and ground cloves. Sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine wine, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, star anise and brown sugar. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. When vegetables have softened, pour liquid over vegetables.

4.

Return beef to pan, and stir well. Bring to a boil, partly cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently until beef is tender, about 2 hours. Serve hot. If desired, stew may be cooked and then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for a month.

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Italian Wedding Soup

Oh, I love and adore this soup. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do us part, I love this soup, and true love lasts forever. For me, this soup is all about the adorable little meatballs, which cook right in the soup. You make them nice and tiny so they fit right on your spoon. Use a really nice prepared chicken broth for the soup base -- these days I am liking Imagine free range chicken broth, which comes in a box and has a smooth and rich chicken broth flavor (some of the canned chicken broths taste a little tinny and watery to me). The broth is enhanced with some chopped sauteed veggies, some pasta, some fresh baby spinach...and of course those wonderful teeny meatballs.

I like to make a nice big batch of this soup on a Sunday afternoon -- it makes a perfect Sunday supper, especially served with some crusty French bread and butter, or even grilled cheese sandwiches if you have an especially hungry crew on your hands. The leftovers save just beautifully and will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling when you look into your fridge wondering what's for lunch and see the container of wedding soup.

Ah, Italian Wedding Soup. Make it for your true love today.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
• 2 ribs celery, chopped fine
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound ground pork/veal/beef combined
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cup dried pasta (I use tiny shells, but your choice)
• 1 pound fresh baby spinach

1. Heat oil in a deep large saucepan over medium heat and add carrots, celery, onion and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, cover pot and cook veggies for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.

2. While the veggies cook, combine meat, egg, garlic, cheese, crumbs and nutmeg.

3. Uncover pot and add broth and water and bring to a boil. When soup boils, reduce heat a bit and start rolling the meat mixture into very small meatballs, dropping them in the soup as you go.

4. When you are done with the meatballs, add the pasta, stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. When pasta is tender, stir in spinach. When spinach is wilted, the soup is ready. Taste, adjust seasonings, light some romantic candles and serve.

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Best Beef Stew

So for me, beef stew is like macaroni and cheese -- I never met a recipe I wasn't a little bit tempted to try, JUST in case it might be better than the other million recipes I already have. So when the practically perfect folks at Cooks Illustrated promised that this particular one was the Best Beef Stew...well, all I needed was a snowy Sunday with nothing else on the horizon and I was ready to roll.

Now truth be told, I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to "new" beef stew recipes. I've been around the beef stew block enough times that I need something pretty convincing in the latest recipe to get me on board for real, since beef stew is a major commitment. It involves chopping. It involves both searing and simmering. It involves many, many hours on the stove, and as my Cooks Illustrated friends pointed out, it can often smell better than it ultimately tastes. However, this latest recipe did come through for me in terms of the secret ingredient.

Are you ready?

Can you HANDLE it?

Okay, here goes.

ANCHOVIES.

No, I am not kidding. No, I have not finally lost my mind due to bacon overdose. Anchovies. It has an actual scientific explanation that goes with it, something to do with glutamates. All I know is that Cooks Illustrated is my Holy Grail of recipes, and if they say anchovies, I am down with the anchovies. And sure enough -- the stew tasted richer and more intense...and not a bit like fish. Promise.

So if you, like me, are always on the hunt for the next best beef stew, give this one a try and don't be afraid of the anchovies. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice!

BEST BEEF STEW, from Cooks Illustrated

2	medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
4	anchovy fillets , finely minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1	tablespoon tomato paste
1	boneless beef chuck-eye roast (about 4 pounds), trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2	tablespoons vegetable oil
1	large onion , halved and cut from pole to pole into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
4	medium carrots , peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1/4	cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2	cups red wine
2	cups low-sodium chicken broth
2	bay leaves
4	sprigs fresh thyme
4	ounces salt pork , rinsed of excess salt
1	pound Yukon gold potatoes , scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2	cups frozen pearl onions , thawed
2	teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin (about 1 packet)
1/2	cup water
1	cup frozen peas , thawed
	Table salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine garlic and anchovies in small bowl; press with back of fork to form paste. Stir in tomato paste and set mixture aside.

2. Pat meat dry with paper towels. Do not season. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over high heat until just starting to smoke. Add half of beef and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total, reducing heat if oil begins to smoke or fond begins to burn. Transfer beef to large plate. Repeat with remaining beef and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, leaving second batch of meat in pot after browning.

3. Reduce heat to medium and return first batch of beef to pot. Add onion and carrots to Dutch oven and stir to combine with beef. Cook, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits, until onion is softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add garlic mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until no dry flour remains, about 30 seconds.

4. Slowly add wine, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits. Increase heat to high and allow wine to simmer until thickened and slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, bay leaves, thyme, and salt pork. Bring to simmer, cover, transfer to oven, and cook for 11/2 hours.

5. Remove pot from oven; remove and discard bay leaves and salt pork. Stir in potatoes, cover, return to oven, and cook until potatoes are almost tender, about 45 minutes.

6. Using large spoon, skim any excess fat from surface of stew. Stir in pearl onions; cook over medium heat until potatoes and onions are cooked through and meat offers little resistance when poked with fork (meat should not be falling apart), about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over water in small bowl and allow to soften for 5 minutes.

7. Increase heat to high, stir in softened gelatin mixture and peas; simmer until gelatin is fully dissolved and stew is thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve.

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