A Lever House Meal

There are few places I love more than New York; my dream of life in the big city began at age 12 after spending the summer at the Jeoffery Ballet School,  it only increased when Carrie Bradshaw ran down Madison Avenue ten years later.  Though Texas is my home, Jersey relatives and Brooklyn besties allow for frequent opportunities to play New Yorker.  For me, a meal in New York is more than food; it is an opportunity to fantasize a life amidst the amazing energy and unique allure.  Years ago, Mom and Dad treated the husband and I to a meal at the Leaver House.  Not sure if it was the jetway-like entry, the gorgeous bar, or the Martha Stewart sighting, but by the end of the meal I was in love.  Luckily, they have a cookbook.

I'm not usually a fan of restaurant cookbooks, however this particular one has a few recipes fit for a home cook.  This recipe for white bean soup is not only attainable, but a true marriage of comfort food and gourmet cuisine.   Originally created for a local newspaper's request for a one pot meal, this is a hearty yet luxurious soup.  Planned for a family dinner, I began preparations only to realize that I would not finish the dish before the clock struck extra curricular hour. The solution?  Moving it to the crock pot.  Luckily, this worked and the family enjoyed a piece of New York at the Texas table.

White Bean and Chorizo Soup with Poached Farm Egg
Recipe By: Dan Silverman & Joann Cianciulli
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
1 pound dried cannellini beans, picked through and rinsed
Bouquet garni (1 large leek green 4 celery leaves, 2 thyme sprigs, and 1 bay leaf)
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. plus additional to taste
1 pound Palacios chorizo (I used sausage form my local farmer)
2 large Spanish onions finely diced
5 or 6 celery stalks, finely diced
freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 bunches green swiss chard chiffonade (I used rainbow)
6-8 large farm fresh eggs
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon fleur de sel

1. Put the beans in a large bowl and add cool water to cover by 2 inches.  Soak the beans in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or over-night. Drain and rinse thoroughly. 
2. Transfer the beans to a medium stockpot.  Add the bouquet garni and fresh water to just cover, and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and let simmer until tender, about 1 hour.  Periodically, skim the foam that rises to the top.  
3. When done, the beans should be soft and creamy but not mushy. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt only when they are cooked through and tender.  Remove from the heat.  Discard the bouquet garni. Strain the beans from their cooking liquid and reserve the broth.  You should have at least 1 quart of cooking liquid. (I only had 2.5 cups of liquid, and added chicken broth to compensate.) 
4. Film a large Dutch oven or saucepan with 2 tablespoons of oil and place over medium heat.  Add the sausage and saute for 5 minutes, until the oil is a vibrant red color (but don't over-brown the sausage).  Add the onion and celery, season with salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are tender, 10-12 minutes.  Add the reserved beans and stir well to combine, mashing them a bit with the back of a wooden spoon.  Pout in 1 quart of the cooking liquid and bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and gently simmer for about 20 minutes, skimming any froth that rises to the surface.  
5. Stir in the swiss chard and continue to cook until the chard has wilted into the soup and is tender, about 10 minutes. 
6. Meanwhile, fill a wide pot with 3 inches of water, add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat.  When the water is just barely bubbling , carefully crack 2 or 3 eggs into it spacing them apart.  Poach for 3 minutes, until just cooked but the yolks are still soft.  Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon to a plate and dab the bottom of the eggs with paper towels to blot dry. Repeat with the remaining eggs.  
7. Ladle hot soup into warm bowls, place a poached egg on top, and sprinkle the egg with a little paprika and fleur de sel.  Drizzle the soup with a few drops of olive oil.  

After sautéing the vegetables on the stove and combining them with the beans and cooking liquid, I moved my soup to the crock pot.  The soup simmered for about two and half hours on the low heat setting.  Upon my return, I increased the heat setting to high, added the chard and covered for an additional 15 minutes.  Slow cooked gourmet... what more do you want?

Uneducated Lessons and a Roasted Chicken

Two years ago I embarked on a quest to host 52 dinner parties.  One year ago, I hosted the fifty-second party and one year later... what?

This blog has become a nagging relative that I've avoided like high fructose corn syrup.  My delima?  I have no idea what this blog is about or what business I have telling people how to cook.  I'm not a classically trained chef, nor a certified nutritionist. Why would anyone take cooking advice from me?  It finally dawned on me that this is not a classroom, it's a blog.  This is not a how-to site, but a snapshot of what mealtime in my home looks like on a given day.  Why is this  blog-worthy?  Because a meal can be a celebration.

I am certain of one thing in life: change is inevitable. Some changes are exciting, and others are scary but both require action.  I think that action, forms our personal journey through life.  In this journey we encounter both celebrations and sorrows, but more than anything, we encounter the day to day routine;   the fearful steps into the unknown and the constant push towards a better future.  Why not elevate each day with a good meal? Each week, I plan meals for the family to enjoy quickly and healthily Monday through Thursday, and ones to splurge with Friday through Sunday.  If we are expecting Guests, I plan particular meals depending on the who and the when.  For Jeff, it's a fried pork chop for dinner, for Sha it's a bowl of hummus for cocktail hour, and for my mother, its pasta for a soul-warming evening.   In my house, food is how we show love, celebrate time together and give thanks for family and friends.  So, as I jump into a new year of dedicated blogging, this is my focus: cook often, cook with love and share  stories good and bad.

I hope you enjoy my recipe journal and hope even more that it inspires you to fire up your oven and celebrate your day.  If not, well..... you would not be the first to find me impalpable.

Roasted Chicken: 
Last year, my youngest and I adopted Wednesday date days.   Each Wednesday I would pick her up from school with the intention of spending the entire afternoon together.  We used this time for zoo visits,   art excursions and the occasional playground jaunt.  When dinnertime rolled around,  I craved something quick and soul satisfying.  Roasted chicken proved to be the best option.  While my favorite roasted chicken recipe changes with the wind, my current love is courtesy of Ina Garten's most recent cookbook  How Easy is That?.   In an effort to be organized, I would prepare the chicken for roasting early Wednesday morning, enjoy the afternoon outings and upon our return, simply preheat the oven and slide in dinner.  Budget friendly tip: As part of our healthy weekday efforts, my husband and I avoid wine consumption Monday- Thursday.  Sunday evening, I pour any leftover wine into small tuperware containers and store in the freezer poised and ready for use in stews, sauces and roasted chickens.

Jeffrey's Favorite Chicken:
Recipe By: Ina Garten: How Easy is That?

Ingredients:

1 4-5 lb free range chicken
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 lemons quartered
1 head garlic split in half horizontally
2 Spanish onions peeled and thickly sliced
1/2 cup white wine (see note)
1/2 chicken stock
1 TB AP flour

Preheat oven to 425
Remove and discard the giblets. Rinse and pat the chicken dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Place two lemon quarters inside the cavity along with the garlic. Brush the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. (I also put a bit of tin foil on the tip of the leg if I see it's starting to burn!) Place the chicken in a small (11x14-inch) roasting pan. (If the pan is too big the onions will burn.) Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large bowl (I used a ziploc baggie!) and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken.

Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. (Mine took much longer, and I used a thermometer - 165°!) Remove the chicken to a platter, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce.

Place the pan on top of the stove over medium-high heat. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the stocks a and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect on the platter under the chicken and taste for seasoning. Carve the chicken onto the platter and spoon the onions and sauce over it. If the lemons are tender enough to eat, serve them, too. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot or warm.

Cold Cure

"But mom, it's hot outside!"


It was nearly 100 degrees on a typical mid August evening. I had announced the night's dinner of chicken noodle soup and understandably, my moody pre-teen was not pleased.  Fast forward a few months; it is an 80 degree evening in October and autumn's first cold has settled in on the said pre-teen.  I waited for the formal request, but already planned to cook up a steaming bowl of mom's chicken noodle soup. Regardless of the weather this soup seems to cure allergies, fevers or indescribable funks.  


My mother makes a fantastic chicken soup, and reliably had a pot waiting for me whenever I returned home from college for winter break.  When I began cooking, it was one of the first soups that I was determined to master.  About five years and many recipes later, I am happy to offer my own recipe.  

Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe created by: Lori Pierce
1 TB Grapeseed oil
1 large yellow onion finely diced
3 stalks celery,  chopped
3 medium carrots peeled, and chopped
2 cups cooked chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces*
2 quarts chicken stock
1 and 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 bay leaves
1 cup dried pasta noodles
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1. In a large pot over medium heat, heat the oil.  Add the onion and stir.  Add the celery and saute until both the onion and celery have softened, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the carrots, stir to combine and cook 3-5 minutes.  Add the chicken, stock, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil skimming off any foam as needed.  
2. Add the pasta noodles and cook until al dente; I use whatever leftover pasta noodles I have in the pantry, this time it was cavatappi which took about 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat, and stir in the balsamic vinegar.  Serve and enjoy!

The curing power of this soup requires one final step; for the oldest a large hunk of country bread and cup of lemon zinger tea is required.  For the youngest, it is a bowl of the strained broth and well placed noodles, for me a nice dollop of siracha clears out the sinuses, and for the husband it is a bowl covered in saran wrap left in the fridge as a post homework  post homework. Regardless of the side or condiment, we feel fantastic after devouring a generous bowl.  

*If I am without leftover roasted chicken I liberally salt and pepper one whole chicken breast and bake it in a 400 degree oven until fully cooked.  

Sunday Comforts

Friday dinners are a time to celebrate, but Sunday dinners are a time to savor.  Sunday dinners are more reflective and more relaxing than the weekend kick off enjoyed a mere 48 hours prior.  I enjoy them not only for their change in pace, but their dictated cuisine.  While Friday evenings are a time for culinary experiments and new dishes, Sunday dinners demand the best in comfort food.  With this thought in mind, I'm sharing a recipe for chicken pot pie.  Remember the chicken pot pie from our childhood?  A gummy crust filled with gray pieces of chicken, mushy vegetables, and a glue-like gravy?  Not today.  This dish brings together your fresh vegetables, cornbread, and roasted chicken all in a savory gravy you will scrape up with your fork.  

Chicken Pot Pie with Cornbread Crust
Recipe created by: Christina Ferrare (Oprah's favorite cook.... other than John Travolta )
Christina's recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, however I like to roast a few chicken breasts that I season, pound thin and slice into generous chunks.  I also prefer to parboil both the potatoes and carrots as fully cooking them runs the risk of mushiness.  Finally, since potatoes are readily available at the Farmers Market, I like to use fresh red or new potatoes with the skin on; the rusticity has never been better suited! 
Filling:
1 TB Olive Oil
1 TB unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock, heated
2 cups cooked chicken
1/2 cup frozen sweet peas
1 potato, diced and boiled
1 1/2 cup chopped cooked carrots
1/2 tsp salt
Cracked pepepr
Dashes of Tabasco Sauce
Crust:
3/4 cup white or yellow cornmeal (I prefer stoneground)
3/4 cup AP flour
1 TB baking powder
1 1/2 TB sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 TB canola oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 2 quart casserole with cooking spray.  In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil and unsalted butter together. Add onion and saute until tender, about 4 or 5 minutes.  Add in flour until blended.  Slowly stir in 2 cups of heated chicken stock, whisking well. (Note: The chicken stock is the basis for your gravy; I recommend homemade stock or a high quality organic product.)   Cook mixture over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 4 minutes.  Stir in chicken, peas, potato, carrots, salt, pepper, and Tabasco.  Pour into the prepared 2 quart casserole.  
2. In a bowl, stir cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  In a separate bowl, stir milk, egg and canola oil until well combined.  Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Spoon the batter evenly on the filling.  Bake until the top is golden brown 22 to 25 minutes. 

This is the stick to your ribs meal you want on a Sunday afternoon.  Enjoy it with a salad, some good wine and good people and you will go into the new week ready to take on the world.