Day 46: Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup With Beef and Fresh Herbs (Pho)

Ok, after the last dud, this one is a real winner. However, I wish they would just quit with the obnoxiously long names.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup with Beef and Fresh Herbs (Pho)

Pho always seemed a little too complicated to make at home, like there was a mystery item, a certain something (like some nasty ingredient I probably didn't want to know about anyways) that gave it the delicious flavor. Happily, I was wrong. About the disgusting ingredient, that is. The secret to the broth is anise, believe it or not, and the ubiquitous fish sauce. You cannot skip these ingredients.

Note: You are going to be cooking your beef by pouring the boiling broth on top of it in the bowl. Your steak (6-8 oz. top round) will need to be sliced extra thin so wrap it and throw it the freezer right now so that in 20 minutes you can slice it more easily.

Turn on your broiler. Set your oven rack 4-6 inches from heat.

Start by spreading foil over a baking sheet. Spread out (all peeled and thin sliced) one onion, 4 cloves garlic, and one 2-3 inch piece of ginger. Add 5 grinds of fresh black pepper and 1 whole star anise, bruised or 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds. (I used the anise seeds, it turned out great.) Broil 5 minutes, turning once. Watch carefully! It is good if the onions get a tiny brown. A couple of mine became black and I had to toss them because I think the burnt flavor would permeate everything.

Scrape onion/spice mix into large 6 quart pot. Add 4 14 0z cans of chicken broth. (The authors hate boxed broth. I use it all the time and think it tastes fine.) Also toss in 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons fish sauce.

Bring to a gentle boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

While the broth is cooking, cook your 6-8 oz. of rice noodles to your preference. Some cooks prefer to just soak the noodles in hot water. I usually bring the water to a boil with the noodles in the pot and then immediately pull them off the heat and let them soak in the hot water.

While your noodles are cooking, prepare the veggie part of the meal. On a serving platter, arrange cilantro sprigs, fresh Thai or regular basil, thin-sliced jalapenos, a big handful of bean sprouts, and lime wedges.

When your noodles are ready, divide them into 2 large bowls. We had a lot of left over noodles. We could have easily served 4 versus 2.

Slice your steak as thin as you can and divide into the bowls, on top of your noodles. (You could easily substitute chicken for steak.)
Ladle the boiling broth into the bowls and serve immediately. Top with your veggies and serve hoisin sauce and chile sauce at the table.Easy to make and gives such a lovely presentation. Delicious. The jalapenos I used were so spicy our noses and eyes were running. But damn, it hit the spot!

73 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 45: Spring Vegetables and White Beans Scented with Fresh Bay

The name is deceptive on this one. There are very few vegetables in this and they can be easily had at any time.

Spring Vegetables and White Beans Scented with Fresh Bay

This is one of those few recipes in here where you wonder if they actually really made this. It is under the vegetable main events (A very desperate chapter) but it is more like a soup than anything else and you don't get the idea that it is a stew until the last paragraph when it says "serve the stew with drizzles of olive oil...." I thought it was going to be something to serve over rice. Hmm.

Anyways, combine 2 cups of chicken broth with 4 medium carrots (cut into 3" long matchsticks), 8 thin sliced cloves of garlic, and 2 fresh bay leaves, bruised. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the carrots are cooked to your preference.

Add one can of white beans, 3 cups fresh baby spinach, salt and pepper, and stir to wilt the spinach. Cook, covered, for up to 5 minutes to heat the beans through.Squeeze in some lemon, remove the bay leaves and "serve the stew with drizzles of olive oil and sprinklings of grated Parmigiano."BOR-ING.
It wasn't quite soup and it wasn't quite thick enough to serve over rice. The bay was completely over whelming, and it just have been called White Beans with Soggy Carrots in Bay Broth.

Skip this one. A rare lump of coal.

72 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 44: Crisp Brick-Fried Chicken With Rosemary and Whole Garlic Cloves, Garlic-Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

In every cookbook there exists one or two recipes that look incredibly technical, or just plain intimidating, is inevitably avoided at all costs, and this is one of them.

Crisp Brick-Fried Chicken with Rosemary and Whole Garlic Cloves
Garlic-Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

I have avoided this recipe from the beginning. If I wasn't committed to cooking everything in the book, I probably wouldn't ever have made it. Anything involving a garden variety brick placed on top of a chicken was enough to send me into shock without the idea of butterflying the chicken as well.

In truth, this recipe probably has the fewest ingredients of any of the other recipes and requires dirtying only one, maybe two pans at most.

First, you need a nice organic chicken, butterflied. The annoying thing is that while there are instructions on how to butterfly, there are no diagrams or photos. So you have to wing it and be confident that it will turn out exactly as it should.

I made the butterflying part easy. After picking out my chicken, I had the butcher at the grocery store butterfly it for me. He had a nice big cutting board and it took him less than 15 seconds. Problem one, down.

Problem two, find a brick. Or two bricks if you have a large chicken. So run out into the garden find your least mucky brick and then cover it in foil. The weight of the brick helps press the chicken down on the pan so it will brown and cook faster.
Next, you need to rub salt and pepper all over the chicken and press four sprigs of rosemary into it as well. The authors tell you to tuck the wings back, flat against the breasts, but I could never get the wings to stay put.Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat in the largest, heaviest, non-stick skillet that you have. Place chicken, skin up in the skillet and place your brick on top of your bird. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the underside of your bird is brown.Turn over with tongs and tuck 8+ cloves of unpeeled garlic, lightly smashed around the bird. If you peel the garlic, they will burn. Replace the brick and make sure the chicken is making good contact with the pan. Cook for 12 more minutes until the skin is crisp and brown. The temperature in the thighs should be 170 F. After 12 minutes, my chicken was nowhere near done . The oven was already on to cook garlic bread, so I actually transferred the chicken to a baking sheet and popped it in the oven for another 10 minutes(sans brick) and it came out perfect. The rosemary is really the secret ingredient here. The chicken ends up with a delightful rosemary essence, not over-powering at all.

While the chicken was cooking, I made the Garlic-Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes". Basically, chop up a head of cauliflower, along with the core and leaves. Layer into a steamer basket, the leaves and core, then half the cauliflower florets, sliced garlic, salt, and the rest of the cauliflower. Steam, covered for 8 minutes. Once soft, puree in a food processor with 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.

Surprisingly, this was a little more high maintenance than it really needs to be. I make mashed-cauliflower all the time and instead of steaming it and messing up another pan and the food processor, I throw all the ingredients in a pot with 1/2 cup of chicken broth. (add more broth if nec. as it cooks.) Cover, and once everything is nice and soft, add your butter or oil or whatever, and use an immersion blender to mash it all up.

Either way, mashed cauliflower is delicious. I used orange cauliflower and that is its natural color. I also made a green tomato/tomatillo sauce that I served over the cauliflower. And I served our favorite garlic bread on the side as well. Don't forget a bottle of cabernet and you have a feast!71 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 43: North Shore Shrimp Scampi

The larger the prawns you get your hands on for this recipe, the better.

North Shore Shrimp Scampi

This is easy and fast and tasty. The only thing difficult about this recipe is that you need to marinate the shrimp overnight.

The night before, make your marinade: Combine 1 1/2 pounds of shelled prawns with 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 7+ minced garlic cloves, and 1/4 teas each of salt and pepper. The authors recommend that if you are using frozen prawns you can boil them with lemon juice, but every restaurant I've ever worked in used frozen prawns and as long as they aren't old, they should thaw out fine without any bad effects.

When ready to cook, set a large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter with some salt and pepper. Stir in the shrimp along with the marinade and turn the heat down to medium low. Cook, turning once or twice, until done, about 4 minutes. With your handy tongs, remove prawns and set on serving platter.

The the heat up to medium-high and add 1/4 dry white wine. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat and melt in another tablespoon of butter. Pour onto prawns and drizzle with lemon juice and top with chopped parsley. Nice with plain white rice.

69 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 42: Simple Garden-In-A-Pot Soup

This recipe probably has the most appropriate name of any recipe in the whole cookbook. I am usually wary of generic sounding vegetable soup, but I am happily wrong about any preconceived ideas about this soup.

Simple Garden-In-A-Pot Soup

This soup is perfect for fall and winter weather. It also has no overwhelming taste, so it would be easy to modify the spices or veggies to suit your mood.

This soup is made in three easy steps.

Start by thin slicing, in the food processor or by hand, 2 medium onions, 2 carrots, top third of 2 celery stalks with their leaves, and six large garlic cloves. Film a large heavy-bottomed pot with oil and heat at medium-low. Add the veggies along with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring every so often to make sure that nothing burns or sticks to the bottom. This stage puts off the loveliest fragrance.

Raise heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 teaspoons of dried basil, and 2 teaspoons of paprika. Stir constantly for 3 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

Then add 2 small zucchini, thin sliced, 1 rough chopped portobello mushroom, 1/4 head of green cabbage, thin sliced, a handful of chopped dark greens (spinach is good, I used chard), and 6-8 cups of your preferred chicken or vegetable broth. I used half chicken broth and half mushroom broth.

Now partially cover and let cook for 30 minutes. If you want a stronger broth, you can uncover and cook the soup down a few minutes longer.Serve in large bowls with shredded Asiago on top. Delicious and very good-for-you-tasting.

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Day 41: Scandinavian Flower Eggs with Sweet-Tart Mustard Dill Sauce

This was a great way to use up all of the potatoes, greens, and eggs that I have been getting in our farm share. This recipe has such a fancy name that I was halfway through before I realized it could have just been called "Fancy Potato Salad".

Scandinavian Flower Eggs with Sweet-Tart Mustard Dill Sauce

If you like eggs, mustard, and potatoes, this recipe is for you. Happily, I love all three so it was win, win, win.

Start by hard-boiling 8 eggs.

While your eggs are cooking, boil one pound of small red potatoes for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. When cool, peel the potatoes and slice in 1/4" slices.

While the eggs and potatoes are cooking, start on the sauce. In a medium bowl, mix together 1/4 cup plain vinegar (or cider vinegar) with 1 clove of minced garlic and three tablespoons of minced onion. It is nice if you can sit this aside for 10 minutes to mellow while you prepare the rest. Then stir in 2 T of sugar, 3 T canola oil (NOT olive oil, too strong of flavor for this), 1/2 cup dark, grainy mustard, and 1/3 cup of fresh, chopped dill. Then add salt and pepper too taste. At this point, taste for sweet-sour balance. I actually used a little less mustard and another teaspoon of sugar, all said and done. The mustard I had was extremely strong flavored.

Now comes for the grand assembly of the salad.Take your serving platter and spread out 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise to form a 9-10" circle.Cover the mayonnaise with your potato slices, overlapping them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then pile 2-3 cups of thin-sliced lettuce on top of the potatoes, covering them. I used purple potatoes since that is what we had from our farm share and I like how they looked.
Peel and quarter your potatoes lengthwise and arrange on top of lettuce in a sunburst pattern, like a flower. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, if you desire.

Before serving, zig zag dressing over the top of salad and top with diced, sweet onion and fresh chopped dill. I used a lot of onion and only a tiny bit of dill since there is so much dill in the dressing. Also, you will not need all of the dressing so you can serve the rest of it on the side at table or save it for another salad.

This salad looks lovely, but I have to say, it is a bit awkward to serve. The mustard sauce is delicious. Next time I might just chop everything up and assemble it like a more traditional salad and then I think you can just put a bit of mayo in the dressing instead.
Yum!

67 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 40: Oven-Roasted Chicken Cacciatora

I must admit, I did not cook this. I had bought all of the ingredients and then I fell ill and since it looked like a fairly easy recipe to make, I convinced my husband Trevor to make it.

Oven-roasted Chicken Cacciatora

This is a easy, one pan dish. It is made with chicken thighs, but you could use chicken breasts if you wanted, just be aware that it will cook faster.

In a roasting pan, spread out 8 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on).

Scatter the following ingredients on top of the chicken:
-1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives
-4 thin slices hard salami, cut into 1 inch squares
-1 large red pepper, roughly chopped
-1 large tomato, coarse chopped
-1 red onion, coarse chopped
-leaves from two 4 inch pieces of rosemary
-10 fresh sage leaves, torn
-4 minced garlic cloves
-1 teas fennel seeds, crushed
-1/4 cup dry red wine
-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
-salt and pepper

Roast chicken at 400 F for 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Chicken should be 170 F. Usually with any recipe of this type, you would brown the chicken pieces first and then de-glaze the cooked on bits to make the sauce. The authors skip this part to make it easier and less messy, but next time I will probably go ahead and brown them first as I like the look and taste. Alternatively, you can broil the chicken afterwards to brown.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon. This was simple and easy and you can easily adjust the ingredients to what you have on hand. The dish was tasty with the rosemary and olives, so make sure you don't leave those out!

66 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 39: Coriander-Orange-Scented Red Lentil Soup

I thought it was weird at first, but now I am finding it positively endearing, the use-of-hyphens-in-nearly-every-recipe-title!

Coriander-Orange-Scented Red Lentil Soup

This isn't just orange-scented, it's got all sorts of orange tasting going on as well. And it isn't a bad thing, not at all.

This soup looked interesting because it contains all sorts of my favorite things: cilantro, red lentils, garlic, ginger, yum yum. And it did not disappoint.

This is very easy to make and uses the unique ingredient of cilantro stems.

First, wash a bunch of cilantro. Cut off the bottom 3-4" of stems and chop these fine. Set the rest of the cilantro aside for now.

Next dice up 3 medium onions, setting aside about 1/3 of them.

Film a nice big soup pot with oil over medium to high heat. Stir in your 2/3's of onions along with salt and pepper. Saute until those onions start to brown. Add you cilantro stems, 4 cloves garlic- fine chopped (I used 6), 1/2" chunk of peeled ginger- fine chopped, 2 teas ground coriander, and zest of 1 orange. Stir that in for just about 20 seconds until nice and fragrant and scrape out entire contents of pot onto a plate for now.Back into the now empty pot on the stove, add one 14 oz. can of chicken broth, 2 /2 cups water, 3/4 cups of lentils, and the uncooked onions you set aside. Bring that to a boil, ok, a gentle bubble (I call that a simmer), and cook, partially covered for about 10 minutes, no more.

Add back your cooked onion/cilantro stem mixture with more salt and pepper if you wish and then cover and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Then add in the juice from the orange you zested plus the juice from 1 lemon and additional orange juice, up to one cup. Cook til warm and bubbly. Serve with some of the cilantro leaves you set aside. I also added a heaping tablespoon of lowfat yogurt to each bowl when I served it.
Melt some parmigiano on some whole grain bread and a fabulous feast you have. The orange wasn't as overwhelming as you might think, but I could definitely taste it as well as smell it. My husband couldn't even put his finger on it at first that it was orange because it is a little unexpected. I also loved how much onion was in the soup.

65 recipes down in How to Eat Supper.

Day 38: Chinese-Ginger Scallion Meatballs and Sweet Yams in Ginger-Stick Curry

Now don't go thinking that I am obsessed with meatballs just because there are two meatball recipes right in a row. I freely admit that I have cooked nothing from my cookbook project in the last three weeks. Our farm share produce was just not measuring up to what I needed ingredient-wise, so it took a back seat. But now I am on it again and I just happened to make the other meatball recipe.

Chinese-Ginger Scallion Meatballs and Sweet Yams in Ginger-Stick Curry

This is a variation on the Scandinavian Spiced Meatballs I made last month and just varies in a few key ingredients.

Start by blending in your food processor 1/2 piece of fresh peeled ginger, 3 whole scallions, 1 T soy sauce, 1 egg yolk, a little sugar, and 1/2 cup dry red wine. Once that is blended, you can either add your meats (1 lb lean ground beef, 1/2 lb ground chicken or turkey) to the processor and pulse 5 times or turn out processor into large bowl and blend your meats by hand. At this point also blend in 3 more chopped scallions and 10 diced water chestnuts. Form your meatballs, ad you should get at least 20 if you make them 1 1/4", but I make mine a little bigger.

Film a saute pan with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add your meatballs and brown before turning them (about 3 or 4 minutes). Turn them over carefully and add 1/2 diced onion, 1 diced red bell pepper, and 1/2 cup thin-sliced bamboo shoots. Why they don't say add a whole can of bamboo shoots, I have no idea, but that is exactly what I did. Turn heat to medium, cover, and let cook 8-10 minutes, until centers are no longer pink.

Remove meatballs with a slotted spoon and put into your serving dish. Return heat to high and cook down onion-bell pepper sauce, stirring frequently. Once the juices are cooked down, add 1/3 cup rice or white wine and cook down before adding 1 cup chicken broth and 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce.

Like last time I made these, I just added the wine and the broth at the same time and it turned out great. (Especially the part when I added a little corn starch to thicken the sauce that I am sure would send a shudder through the authors' minds.)

Once broth is cooked down by half, pour over meatballs to serve. I served this over brown rice.

Alongside my meatballs, I made Sweet Yams in Ginger-Stick Curry. (I love how much hyphenating there is in this cookbook!)

Some people might call this recipe spicy. I put a whole, diced, jalapeno in it as called for, but I think I should have put 2 jalapenos in it.

Start by peeling 2 large Garnet or Jewel Yams. I prefer sweet potatoes, so I compromised with 2 medium yams and 1 sweet potato. Cut your sweet root veggies of preference in half lengthwise and then cut into 1/4 inch thick half rounds.

Boil yams in fiercely boiling water. (Do they watch Project Runway?) Yes, they use the word fiercely quite frequently when describing boiling water. Cook at a hard bubble for 10 minutes. (I love these descriptions.) I cooked my potatoes for 10 minutes and they came out a little mushy. Yummy, but mushy as you will see in the photo. So I would start testing for doneness around 7 minutes or make your potato chunks a little bigger. Drain your yams and place in your preferred serving dish.

For the curry part, the authors have been extremely explicit about how to prepare the ingredients, that it is a "Chinese cooking" thing and every little bit is important and I completely agree with them. Not only is it fun to slice ginger into little matchsticks, but it actually does taste different on your tongue. I wish more cookbooks had such specifics.

Reuse the same pot you cooked the yams in and generously film it with oil and set over medium-high heat.
Add the following: 1 inch peeled ginger, peeled and sliced into paper-thin matchsticks
4 large garlic cloves, sliced paper-thin
1 jalapeno, sliced very thin
2 whole scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 large shallots, thin sliced
generous sprinkling of salt and pepper
Stir frequently on medium-high for 2 minutes. Cover, and then reduce heat to medium low and cook for an additional 5-8 minutes or until ginger has softened. Stir in a handful of coarse chopped basil (Thai or regular) and stir, uncovered for 30 seconds or less, just to wilt the basil. Spoon sauce over your yams and then give a squeeze of lime over the entire dish. This packs a lot of flavor and tasted pretty damn healthy too.It was a nice compliment to the Ginger Meatballs. Good leftovers too.

64 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 37: Scandinavian Spiced Meatballs with Caramelized Apples

This recipe makes a lot of meatballs so make sure you have dinner guests or you are going to be able to eat the leftovers the next day.

Scandinavian Spiced Meatballs with Caramelized Apples

This recipe looks complicated at first glance, but meatballs are pretty easy. You blend all of the meatball ingredients in a food processor, shape the little suckers, and then cook them with the sauce ingredients.

Start by blending 1/2 medium onion, 1/3 cup dry red wine, 1 large egg yolk, 1 garlic clove (I used 4), nutmeg, ground ginger, salt, coriander, cumin, and pepper in your food processor. Now the recipe says to add 1 lb lean ground beef and 1/2 lb ground chicken (or turkey) to the processor and pulse 5 times. I just turned out the processor into a large bowl and added the meats and blended with my hands. At this point you also add 3 sliced up large scallions 5 large, diced, pitted prunes.

Many meatball recipes I have done in the past call for 1 tablespoon or so of white rice as a thickener, here they use prunes. And they magically blend in and you can't taste them, so don't worry about those picky eaters--what they don't know won't hurt them!

Shape into 20 plus meatballs. I ended up with a few more since those organic ground meats come pre-packaged and I didn't want to waste any meat. So I had to cook my meatballs in two batches.

Film a saute pan with oil and heat over medium-high. Add the meatballs and brown before turning. (The authors point out that your meatballs should not touch, but I would have to cook mine in 3 or 4 batches and they turned out just fine squeezed in together.) Once they are browned, turn the meatballs and sprinkle with pepper, a bit of bruised caraway seeds, 1/2 of a diced onion and 1 diced apple. (1/4" dice works nice.) Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook until middles are no longer pink, about 8 minutes.

Remove meatballs with slotted spoon and place in serving dish. Turn heat to high and boil down the pan juices in the apple mixture. Using a wooden spatula, frequently stir the apples until they are getting nice and brown. Then add 1/2 dry red wine and keep cooking until wine is cooked down. Then add chicken broth and and boil it down by half and then pour sauce over meatballs to serve.

Now, I have to admit, sometimes I don't read things too carefully and I added the wine and the broth at the same time and I let it cook down by half and it turned out delicious anyways.
I served these babies with spicy green beans, and smashed and roasted potatoes. The roasted potato recipe I found on The Pioneer Woman's blog. Dish delish! I make these potatoes all the time now.

62 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 36: Hoisin China Noodles with Four Flavors

The obvious key to any good sauce is usually the high fructose corn syrup present in whatever base you are using. Store bought Hoisin Sauce's number one ingredient? High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Hoisin China Noodles with Four Flavors

We were having a dinner guest so I wanted to make something a little fancier. This comes off very well and it is high maintenance with the prep work and makes a lot of dirty dishes, but the cooking part couldn't be easier.

First you prep the four "flavors"--this are raw ingredients that you serve at table so this part is easy. Prepare 1 and 1/2 cups each: thin-sliced radishes, bean sprouts, peeled, seeded, and diced cucumbers, and thin-sliced spinach leaves. These look very nice if served in their own separate bowls.

Next you need to cook 3/4 pound of Chinese Egg Noodles. Now the recipe calls for the thin noodles, substituting egg spaghetti if nec, but I used the wider noodles because that is what I had and they worked great because they held the sauce so well. When noodles are done, rinse in cold water. It is best if this is all done before you start cooking the pork and sauce. When I cook this again, I will start the noodles before prepping the veggies.

Marinate 1 lb ground pork butt with 3 T dry sherry, chopped garlic, and 1 teas sugar. Set aside for now.

In another small bowl blend 2 T hoisin sauce with 2 T soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon hot chile paste. (Another thing to admit, I doubled the hoisin and soy sauce and quadrupled the chile paste. You can never have enough hot spicy yummy sauce.) Set this aside as well.

In a large skillet or wok, warm up 3 T canola oil. Add the pork mixture and cook for a few minutes, breaking it into smaller bits and cooking until most of the moisture is gone and the pork is no longer pink. Add 1/2 cup sliced green onions and 1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts. (I also add a sliced red pepper since we had one from our farm share.)

Cook for no more than a minute and add in you soy sauce mix. Heat that for another minute and then add 3/4 cup chicken broth and cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes over high heat. Add your drained noodles and cook long enough for the sauce to get all over the noodles and to heat them up a little, just a couple of minutes. Serve immediately in a nice large bowl with your four flavors on the side for your guests to select what they want.

Trevor and his friend Tony both liked the dish a lot. At least their plates were empty by the end of dinner! The only thing I might try differently is to add raw carrots to the flavors and actually throw the spinach in with the noodles to wilt them a little.

Very delicious. Drink with cold beer.

61 recipes down in How to Eat Supper.

Day 35: Supper Tart of Red Onions, Greens, and Grapes

The piano tuner is here so I am more than a little distracted by his tinkling of the keys.

Supper Tart of Red Onions, Greens, and Grapes

If you want to impress a crowd, there is nothing like puff pastry to help you out.

This is a lovely and simple tart and it is very fast to make.

Defrost on your counter I package of puff pastry (2 sheets). It will go faster if you take the sheets out of the box and lay them side by side to thaw.

Take 1 light-packed cup of greens of your preference---I used spinach---and tear them into bite-sized pieces. Toss in a bowl with a half cup plus of green grapes, 1 slivered medium red onion, shredded zest of 1/2 lemon, 1 chopped garlic clove, chopped fresh thyme, salt, and pepper.

Once sheets are thawed, lay them side by side, overlapping by 1/4 inch or so on a large baking sheet. Press the overlapping edges to seal and pinch the outside edges to create a rim. I actually rolled my sheets out a little bit to make the tart a little larger. You should end up with a sheet about or larger than 7" x 17".

Fill the tart with your onion and greens mixture and spread it out evenly.

Now the authors say to bake this at 500 degrees on the bottom rack for 15 minutes. I know my oven is extra hot so I put it on the middle rack for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.

While it is baking, blend1 cup shredded cheese (they recommend Asiago) and 1/4 cup heavy cream. OK OK I just used half and half and it turned out fine.

Pop the tart out of the oven and spoon your cheese mixture all over the tart. Bake for an additional 6 minutes. Serve warm. YUM!
This is easy and in a pinch you can get away with whatever cheese or veggies you have on hand.

60 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 34: Pan-Crisped Risotto Patties (Variation)

Everything tastes better coated in egg, dipped in breadcrumbs, and fried!

Pan-Crisped Risotto Patties (Variation)

I didn't make any of the cookbooks risottos-I just made some based upon what I had on hand: onion, eggplant, garlic. And it was tasty-but this is not a risotto recipe, it is a pan-crisped risotto recipe.

Start with any risotto leftovers. Wet your hands and then make hamburger-like patties with approximately 1/2 cup of risotto per patty. Dip patties in beaten egg and then toss in breadcrumbs, panko, whatever your prefer.

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add patties and turn heat down to medium. Cook until golden on one side, turn over and cook until the other side is done to your preference. Drain on paper towels if needed and serve with a squeeze of lemon.

I tried this two different ways. Yesterday, I made the patties as directed but I baked them instead of frying them. I finished them by broiling them to turn them brown and they were tasty. Today for breakfast, I took the leftover baked patties and sauteed them as originally directed and they were just as good, maybe a little crispier. Both times I ate them with a dollop of sour cream, extra yum.

59 recipes down in How to Eat Supper.

Day 33: Sante Fe Summer Pot with Avocado and Shrimp

I must admit, I thought I was making gazpacho, but it was really just salsa.

Sante Fe Summer Pot with Avocado and Shrimp

This recipe is masquerading as an entree in the Main Dishes section of the cookbook, but I realize there is no appetizer section for it to really be in. So make this for a first course! We took a few bites of this, realized it was really salsa and went out for dinner instead!

I read that there was cucumber in the recipe and that was the true mistake of my confusion. Gazpacho leaves the salsa realm with olive oil, cucumbers, vinegar, and bread (sometimes blended in, sometimes served on top). We had an AMAZING garlic/yogurt gazpacho in Walla Walla and I did some research and it was a traditional ajo blanco and I will be making that very soon before summer is completely gone.

OK, back to the recipe-- this is really a pico de gallo. The authors also say it has a prep time of 10 minutes. Do they have eight arms? It took me over 20.

Combine 1/4 cup lime juice, 1/2 chopped red onion, 1 minced clove of garlic, and 1/2 a seeded and minced jalapeno with a blend of cumin, ground coriander, and pepper.

Let that mix marinate while you blend 1 and a half pounds of fresh tomatoes with cilantro in a food processor. The authors recommend 1 or 2 sprigs of cilantro, I say use the whole bunch if you are ending up with salsa! Keep it chunky and then add in the onion mixture and blend with just a few pulses.

Turn out into your serving bowl. Fold in 1 small peeled and diced cucumber, 1 diced avocado, and 1 pound cooked, peeled shrimp or prawns. (They said shrimp in the recipe, I used baby shrimp and then realized they probably meant prawns.)

Serve with chips and a few lime wedges.
Maybe the chips were a signal this was really a salsa? This really tasted quite fine, but it was not what we were expecting and so we didn't really enjoy it. Also, the onion was incredibly strong. I might substitute a sweet onion in place of the red.

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Day 32: Curried Cauliflower Cream Soup

Weirdly, we ate a lot of soup while on our road trip so I have had a big soup craving since we got back.

Curried Cauliflower Cream Soup

I have always loved cauliflower soup. It takes flavors nicely and has an interesting texture. This was a little on the simple side, I was surprised to discover, and very easy to make. It doesn't even have cream in it, they use yogurt to thicken it instead.

Start with a simple saute in oil of one chopped medium onion, 5 chopped garlic cloves, and 3 tablespoons of generic curry powder. Cook over medium low for 5 minutes, making sure not to burn it.

Add I large head of chopped cauliflower, 3 potatoes skinned and cubed (I used red), 4 cups chicken broth (I used one box), and enough water to cover the veggies if nec. Bring soup to a boil and cook until the veggies are fork tender. The cookbook says 15 minutes and then let it sit 15 minutes to cool. I guess so the yogurt won't curdle when you add it.

But after 15 minutes, my veggies were still very firm, so I ended up cooking it for half an hour and I had to add a little water as it cooked down. Then I only let it sit for a few minutes before I pureed it with my hand blender.

If you don't have a hand blender and you like to make soup and smoothies, I heavily recommend it! I am not a big fan of buying a million different silly kitchen gadgets, but this little device is a modern miracle. I used to puree soup by zapping it in small batches in my food processor and that was a MESS and took forever. Now I just puree it right in the pot, no mess, easy to clean the hand blender. I bought mine on amazon for $29, a steal!

Ok, back to the soup. It is basically done at this point. Serve with a giant dollop of yogurt and a squeeze of lemon blended in each bowl.

I served this alongside our favorite Lynne's Retro Garlic Bread.

However, I have to admit, I thought this could have used some more interesting spices. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but a little spice, a little pepper, anything could liven it up. I will definitely keep experimenting with this recipe. We love the cauliflower.

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Day 31: Almond Chutney Chicken in Lettuce Roll-Ups

After an eight day road trip to Montana, Wyoming, and Walla Walla, I am ready to cook!

Almond Chutney Chicken in Lettuce Roll-Ups

After eating A LOT of steak and fries and wine the last week, I tried to pick out a healthier looking recipe.

This is in the spirit of Vietnamese Spring Rolls and is made of a chicken salad served alongside lettuce leaves and a few crispy fillings.

The chicken salad has a secret ingredient-- Major Grey's Chutney. This is a ready-made, mango-based chutney with about a zillion ingredients supposedly invented by a British Officer in India and even the cheap brand I bought from Fred Meyer's tasted pretty good so I will skip any long-winded speech about making your own. Just buy it!

Start with a whole roasted chicken. Another day I might roast my own chicken first, but I was hungry when I was at the grocery store, so I just bought one of the ready-roasted birds. It wasn't organic, so I am sure the authors would be disappointed in me. Pull all of the meat you can from your chicken, discarding the skin and bones. Then shred it or cut it into bite-size pieces.

Combine in a large bowl: 1 diced red onion, 1-2 diced jalapenos, grated zest and juice of one large lemon (or more to taste), one 9 oz. jar of Major Grey's Chutney, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Fold in chicken along with 1 cup chopped almonds and a few stalks of chopped celery.

Serve with bibb lettuce leaves, sliced cucumber, fresh cilantro, fresh basil and radishes.
This was very tasty and came together really easily. It would be easy to use substitute. I think jicama or carrots could be a nice addition and I might try it with peanuts instead of almonds.

The only problem was that the lettuce was small and it was a little messy. For lunch today I sliced up the rest of the lettuce and tossed it with the chicken mix and it was delicious.

56 recipes down in How to Eat Supper.

Day 30: Pan Browned Scallops on a Bed of Bacon and Brussels Sprouts, Dressing-In-A-Bowl Simple Salad

No matter how many times I say it, it is always better with bacon.

Pan-Browned Scallops On a Bed of Bacon and Brussels Sprouts
Dressing-In-A-Bowl Simple Salad

Okay, I am distracted while writing this because I am multi-tasking and listening to Barack Obama's nomination speech. I may forever call this Democratic Convention Scallops.

I love bacon. I love brussels sprouts. I love scallops. And luckily, so does Trevor.

Start by trimming your sprouts (about 1 lb) and slicing them in half. Throw in a large, straight-sided pan with 1 cup water, 3 slices chopped bacon, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until water is almost gone and bacon is giving off its fat. 7 minutes plus.

Lower the heat and add I Tablespoon of oil, 1 medium chopped onion, and fresh chopped tarragon. Don't overstir as you want the sprouts to brown.

When it is all nicely browned, scoop all of the mixture into a bowl on the side, wipe your pan out and heat again over medium-high heat. Add oil and once heated, add the scallops. Season them with salt and pepper and do not touch for a minute or two, letting them brown. Turn over for a minute on the other side, add the sprout mix back in and serve immediately.

Now, I think this cookbook would have you cook the scallops until they are firm, but I believe in flash cooking scallops. Much juicier and a better texture. Also, the tarragon was overkill and with all of the other flavors, you don't really need it.

I served on the side the Dressing-In-A-Bowl Simple Salad which is indeed simple. All it calls for is mixed greens tossed with olive oil, vinegar (half the amount of vinegar to the oil), salt, and pepper. I added shaved Parmigiano-Regianno and beets, carrots, and tomatoes from our farm share.

The salad was refreshing and light. The scallops were delicious. They were so good. This is so easy and will even satisfy picky eaters. (It is the bacon, I am NOT kidding!)

We are leaving tomorrow for our roap trip to Montana, Wyoming, and Walla Walla so we drank one of our nice bottles of wine we have been saving since we will be able to buy more this weekend. If you ever have a chance to drink Waters' Cabernet Sauvignon, don't pass it up.
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Day 29: Lemon-Garlic Roast Salmon on New Potatoes, Butter-steamed Leeks with Fresh Tarragon

I was dreading buying salmon as it is super-rare/expensive these days, but luckily my dad just went on his annual fishing trip and brought us back a lovely, perfect salmon.

Lemon-Garlic Roast Salmon on New Potatoes
Butter-Steamed Leeks with Fresh Tarragon

I know I will be shot upon saying this, but I am not a huge fan of salmon. I grew up in Bellingham, Washington which means that I grew up eating salmon. And now it is being over-fished and I always have so much guilt about eating it. It is hard to explain--even when we had our wedding reception, the caterer pushed salmon, and I fought against it.

But if I was going to make salmon, this dish is not a bad one to chose.

First, boil a pound or two of new potatoes in lots and lots of water.

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

While the potatoes are boiling, blend 1/2 cup olive oil, 5 garlic cloves, the juice of one large lemon and salt and pepper in the food processor. Place your salmon steaks/fillets in a shallow pan and pour the marinade over them. I put them back in the fridge, but I think it would be more prudent to let it all marinate at room temperature as it will cook quicker.

After 15 minutes or so, drain the potatoes and run them under cold water so you can stop the cooking and handle them. You are supposed to peel them, but this was a huge mess, so I gave up about half way through. Then slice them thin and overlap them in a baking pan. Drip some of the salmon marinade onto the potatoes and throw some capers on to boot. Then place your salmon on the potatoes, cover with the rest of the marinade and some more capers and cook 8-10 minutes.

I would like to point out at this point that it took 25 minutes to cook my salmon. It was a giant fillet and I kept it in the fridge to marinate which was my mistake. Just let it marinate on the counter and it will cook closer to the 10 minutes. Top with fresh chopped parsley.

Note: You can never go wrong with salmon, lemon, garlic, and capers. NEVER.

Meanwhile, I was cooking my Butter-Steamed Leeks with Fresh Tarragon.

Start with 3-6 leeks, depending on size. Trim away the roots and dark green part of the leeks. Slice lengthwise. Rinse well.

Heat up some butter and add your leeks, a sprig of tarragon, and salt and pepper. Brown gently and then add some white wine and chicken broth. Cover and cook 5-10 minutes. Lift the leeks out, add some water, and cook down your sauce until it gets a little syrupy. At the last second, mix in a little cream and barely heat. Pour over your leeks and sprinkle with fresh tarragon.

The leeks finished far quicker than my cold-marinated salmon, but I just threw some foil on the top and they were fine when I served them.

We both thought the tarragon was a little strong on these leeks. I think butter, garlic, salt, and pepper are all you really need here. Next time I will just skip the tarragon.

53 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 28: Oven-Crisped Pork, Peppers, and Greens

I made a variation of this already with lamb, but I think the pork works best.

Oven-Crisped Pork, Peppers, and Greens
Turkish Almond Sauce
Now if you haven't discovered the joy of cooking with a pork tenderloin, drop everything right NOW and go to the store and buy one! They are inexpensive, easy to prep and cook and take any type of spice, sweetness -or whatever flavor you choose- brilliantly.

All you do is slice up a pork tenderloin, a few peppers (hot and sweet of your choosing), and an onion. Now mix that with a handful or two of mixed greens, plus oil, salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, cumin, coriander, and allspice and toss it on a pre-heated baking sheet and throw it into a HOT 450 degree oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally.

This is sooooooo easy. The pork comes out very crisp, just like the title says. When I made this with lamb, it was gamey and tasty, but it wasn't crisp. This is also easy to double so that you could serve a crowd.

Key to this recipe is to serve alongside Turkish Almond Sauce. First combine chopped garlic, a few tablespoons fine chopped sweet onion, and two tablespoons white wine vinegar. Set aside to mellow. (I did this step first, then prepared the pork.)

Next, beat 1/4 cup of olive oil into your garlic mix until creamy. Add salt and pepper and then stir in 1 cup of plain yogurt (I used half non-fat/ half regular and it was just fine), 1 cup chopped almonds, and a lot of chopped cilantro. They always say, cilantro is optional, but I disagree! Cilantro is key! And this sauce is delicious and really brings everything together.

I served it with homemade flat bread, corn on the cob slathered in butter, and a cheap Washington Cabernet Sauvignon. Yum yum!

51 recipes down in How to Eat Supper.

Day 27: Dark and Moist Gingerbread with Cheesecake Pockets (Variation)

The original version of this gingerbread was so tasty that I thought to make one of the variations for a party I was going to.

Dark and Moist Gingerbread with Cheesecake Pockets

First, let me say this came out delicious and spicy and soft and moist and disappeared at the party.

However, once again after making one of the variations, I am thinking the authors didn't bother to make their own variation.

You start with the same exact gingerbread batter. Except only pour half the batter into your prepared pan. Then you drop spoonfuls of your cream cheese mixture (cream cheese, one egg, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract) onto your batter. Top with the next half of the gingerbread batter and cook.

The reason I think they didn't even bother to cook this is the cheese mixture was so runny with the egg and lemon juice and extract that I couldn't even spoon it out of the bowl. I just poured the thin batter into the pan and it spread everywhere. When I topped it with the gingerbread batter which was much thicker, all of the cheese mix was pushed to the edges.

In the end, I think the cheese part was more trouble than its worth. A bite of the cream cheese means you miss all the yummy flavors in the gingerbread. Next time I will skip the added hassle of the cheese and make the delicious bread naked as it should be.

50 recipes down in How to Eat Supper.

Day 26: Roast Fish with Preserved Lemon and Garlic (Varitation)

I haven't cooked much fish out of this cookbook yet, so I made an effort today to get some fish fillets.

Roast Fish with Preserved Lemon and Garlic

This is one of the variation recipes so the instructions are fairly vague. The recipe says to get any preferred fillet, steak, or whole fish so I decided to get Tilapia fillets. I chose U.S. farmed Tilapia because it is a nice simple, white fish that takes flavor well, is inexpensive, and is on the best fish to eat list of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.

Start by pre-heating your oven to 450 and pre-heating your roasting pan with a layer of oil in it at the same time. I am not sure if pre-heating the oil in the pan actually helps. If anything, it just makes it more likely that you will get burned because you will forget that the pan is hot!

While your pan is heating up, blend a quarter of a preseved lemon with olive oil, garlic, and pepper in your food processor. If using a whole fish, like a small trout, you will need to make cuts in the side of the fish. Rub the preserved lemon mix all over the fish and into the slits. For my thin fillets I didn't bother making any slits but made sure they were well covered.

Then, get your heated pan out of the oven and place a generous layer of sliced onoin, cilantro, and oranges in the bottom. This stops your fish from sticking to the bottom of the pan and I think is an extra nice touch. Veggies cooked at the same time and less mess. Lay your fish on top of the onion bed and cook for 8-12 minutes, depending on the type of fish you bought.

When you serve, you have to use 2 spatulas to scoop up the veggies and fish at the sme time and keep it looking nice. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and impress your dinner guests with your pretty presentation. This was a nice, simple way to cook fish and the preserved lemon, as always, added a nice flavor and tartness.

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Day 25: Jerry Traunfeld's Tarragon Chicken Breasts with Buttery Leeks, Wine-Braised Carrots with Fried Sage Leaves, and Rustic Jam Shortbread Tart

I have a little more free time this week, so I am making a lot of food to get ahead of myself for when we go on our road trip next week and I don't cook anything....

Jerry Traunfeld's Tarragon Chicken Breasts in Buttery Leeks
Wine-Braised Carrots with Fried Sage Leaves
Rustic Jam Shortbread Tart

I have no idea who Jerry is, they just mention he is a chef, I am not sure from where, but he does know what he is doing!

Disclaimer: I made this with organic chicken thighs because I think they taste delicious and they are about 1/3rd the price of chicken breasts. I skinned them, but left the bone in.

This is a nice, aromatic entree. Thin slice a leek or two and and place in a large skillet with a couple tablespoons of butter and 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for about 8-10 minutes, letting the broth cook down a little. Sprinkle your chicken with salt and pepper (they called for 4 boneless, skinless, organic breasts) and place them in the leek mixture, spooning some of the leeks onto them. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until breasts are done, 10-15 minutes. My bone-in thighs took about 15 minutes.

Transfer your cooked chicken to a plate. I covered mine and set in the oven to keep warm. Then, increase the heat under your leeks and add 2 more tablespoons of butter (mmm, good), some lemon juice, and FRESH, coarse chopped tarragon. Cook until the butter melts or cook down some more if you want a thicker sauce. To serve, pour over your chicken.

There really is something magical about fresh tarragon and butter. I don't use tarragon that often, but it is subtle and works well here because everything else is so mild. I placed a chicken thigh on rice and then poured the sauce on top of both.

The Wine-Braised Carrots with Fried Sage Leaves was a little high maintenance. First you take 16 sage leaves and fry them in oil. (Again, they wanted me to use olive oil, but I ignored them, especially with making the oil this hot!) You are supposed to fry them for less than a minute and drain them on paper towels. I followed this to the letter, but my sage ended up with a very bitter taste. Maybe if you cooked them for 2o seconds, they would have more flavor. Set those aside for now.

Then in the same oil you fried the sage, saute carrots cut on the diagonal with 1/2 onion, minced and 6 chopped fresh sage leaves. Saute for a few minutes and then add 1/2 cup wine and water to cover the carrots. I didn't completely cover the carrots with water. (I am not fond of overly mushy carrots.) Bring to a boil and cover. Cook for 10 minutes or so and then uncover and stir to cover the carrots in the glaze. Transfer to a serving dish and scatter your fried sage leaves over top.

I love anything braised in white wine, but the fried sage really ruined this dish for me. Luckily, once I realized I didn't like the leaves, I was able to pick them out and enjoy the rest of the dish. The leaves add a crunchiness and that weird, bitter taste and clashed with the delicate carrots and onions. I admit, I might have cooked the sage a hair too long, but I think it was an added step to add drama to the dish. The fresh sage, however, added nice flavor. Next time I will skip the frying and add some more fresh sage into the mix. It was also easy to cook this alongside my chicken and adjust the temp to time everything to be done at the same time.

The dessert I made ahead of time. This might be one of the easiest tart recipes I have ever done. My only problem is that they used a 9" tart pan, I only had an 11" tart pan and so my dough was stretched a little thin and the tart nearly over-cooked even though I took it out 5 minutes early.

In a food processor, blend lemon zest and whole almonds until fine. Then add flour, sugar, salt, butter, an egg yolk, and almond extract. Blend until cut-in like "clusters of peas".

Using your hands, spread dough out in a buttered tart pan, making a standing rim as you go. Cook the crust first. I also pierced the crust with a fork-the recipe didn't call for this, but I always do that out of habit.

When the crust is just starting to brown, pull out of the oven, spread 3/4 cup of the jam of your choice over the tart and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until the jam is warm and bubbly. This is a great way to use up the ends of whatever jam you have in the fridge. I used the FABULOUS raspberry jam my friend Jennifer just jarred, mixed with a last little bit of peach jam. This was tasty and rich. I will either 1 and 1/2 times the recipe for my large tart pan or I will have to accept that I need another kitchen item.

48 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.

Day 24: Iced Cantaloupe Soup with Jalapeno and Basil

It is hard to remember wanting to make a cold soup just a few days ago when today it is drizzly and overcast.

Iced Cantaloupe Soup with Jalapeno and Basil

This is basically the same thing as the Thai Cantaloupe Salad with Chile that I made a few weeks back, only you add ice and puree the whole thing.

This is super easy with no cooking and comes off very sophisticated. The authors recommend using a food processor, but next time I will use a blender because the processor didn't chop up the ice very well.

Blend one chopped up cantaloupe (no seeds or rind, obviously) with 2 cups ice, salt, pepper, sugar, and lime juice. Stir in a little grated lime zest.

I made this ahead of time and put it in a pitcher in the fridge. When ready to serve, you have to stir it a little as it starts to separate. Pour into serving bowls and garnish with diced jalapeno, red onion, and fresh basil.

This is so DELICIOUS! It may sound a little weird, but it is refreshing and has a little zip and the toppings are really essential to make it taste far more complex than it really is. This is one of my favorites so far.

45 recipes down in How to Eat Supper.