Cooking is an expression of my love.  Seriously.  People say that homemade gifts are better, and that always sounds like an excuse, but really.  For me, if I love you, I want to cook for you.  And I want to think about you and what you like and what would make your day brighter or happier.  I’m terrible at picking gifts.  I kind of hate Christmas.  Not really, but the pressure to perform overwhelms me.  I don’t know what you want, and I sure as hell can’t find it when I’m trying.  But cooking…  well, little things stick in my head.  I used to keep a notebook with my friends names in it.  At Sunday dinners, I’d encourage people to write down their love and hate ingredients, and if I could remember after they left, I added the pieces I gathered.

Little things stick in my mind, and I *try* to find them and bring them forth for people. (P.S.  Angela should have said she hates mushrooms.  or was that Katie Layton, or both? maybe I’m not as good at the little things as I thought!)

In my raspberry buttermilk cake recipe, I wrote about my sweet friends’ love of buttermilk pie.  John and Kari are amongst the dearest people in our lives, and I really strive to make things for them on occasion.  Kari is a tricky one, probably cause I haven’t known her as long, and somehow, it’s intimidating cooking for women.  Men seem to like it all, cause well, as a whole they’re more simple-minded ; )  Back to the story, so John and Kari introduced me to their love of buttermilk pie.

Just after Christmas, a dear friend of Cory’s passed away.  I consider her his godmother, because I can’t figure a more appropriate synopsis of the relationship.  Irene raised Cory, in a way, and he wouldn’t be who he is without her influence.  It’s one of the most profound examples of love I’ve ever seen.  After the funeral, Chester entrusted me with Irene’s recipe box.  I’ve been through it and pulled all sorts of things to try, but when I saw buttermilk pie, I pulled it for Kari.   Chester and Irene lovingly watched my husband every Saturday morning during his formative years.  And apparently watched Johnny Carson with him some Friday nights, which I’ve definitely never seen.  When I heard Kari had a chest cold today, I had to make this for her.  I hope I can channel Chester and Irene and be as loving and supportive of John and Kari’s baby-to-be as they were for Cory.  Yeah for babies.  I’d like 50.  Just kidding.

Buttermilk Pie (adapted from Irene’s friend Zelma Long’s recipe -makes 2 pies)

1 and 1/3 c. 1% milk

6 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 and 2/3 c. sugar

4 tbsp flour

1 stick plus 3 tbsp melted butter

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

In a glass measuring cup, combine milk and lemon juice to make buttermilk mixture.  Let stand 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300.  In a mixer combine sugar, flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk mixture.  Divide between two uncooked frozen pie shells.  Bake 1 and one half hours at 300, then an additional 10 minutes at 325, or until center is firm.

My sweet friend Michaela brought Tabouleh to some-one’s bachelorette party.  Was it mine?  Was it Lisa’s?  I can’t remember, they all seem to have blended together over time.  In any case, I quickly decided it was one of the best things I’d ever had prepared by a friend.  (Michaela is an exceptional cook, and really, I enjoy anything she creates.)   I immediately began stalking her for the recipe, which of course she didn’t have.  She, too, cooks in a little of this, little of that fashion.  And it’s part of her heritage so she’d been making it “forever”.  This at our ripe old age of 24.  In any case, as happened with most things in my cooking life pre-blogging, she emailed me the recipe she came up with, and it promptly disappeared into the mist of long lost emails when I quit working and didn’t have that email address or data any longer.

So this is what I came up with as my interpretation.  Tabouleh traditionally consists of parsley, mint, bulgur wheat, some veggie type things in a citrus vinaigrette.  Incidentally, can every Arabic word be spelled like 1,000 different ways?  Between trying to decide how to correctly spell Tabouleh and Baba Ghanoush, my brain feels like it’s been put in a washing machine.  Bulgur wheat is a whole grain which is high in fiber with a low-ish glycemic index for a grain.  I love tabouleh and love that it adds such nice color to appetizer plates!  Proper tabouleh production ensures only the leaves of the parsley are used and no stem pieces as a key element, albeit labor intensive and seriously time consuming.  This is a good time to let your preschooler practice those scissors skills.  Feel free to add more mint, I was using up what I had on hand, but would have been happy to add additional!

Tabouleh (makes about a quart)

4 c. parsley, leaves only, minced

1/2 c. fresh mint, leaves only, minced

2 tomatoes, finely chopped

1 english cucumber ( 1 c. finely chopped)

3/4 c. minced yellow onion

1 and 1/2 tsp chopped garlic

1/2 c. bulgur wheat

8 tbsp lemon juice plus 2 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp kosher salt

12 turns pepper

Use scissors to trim only leaves from parsley, discarding any stem pieces.  Mince leaves to accumulate 4 cups.  Use a similar method to mince mint leaves.  Combine with tomatoes, cucumber, onions, and garlic.  In a saucepan, bring 3/4 of a cup of water and 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice to a boil.  Add bulgur, remove from heat and let sit for 30 minutes.  Drain, then squish with  a clean towel to pull out any extra moisture.  Add to salad mixture.  In a small bowl, whisk to combine remaining 8 tbsps lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, then pour mixture over salad.  Cover and refrigerate at least two hours, stirring part way through.

Mediterranean Diets are often considered amongst the most healthy in the world and have been found to significantly increase life expectancy.  I’m thinking much of this could be due to the amount of labor involved in making a Mediterranean appetizer plate.  Seriously, to make 7 fresh pitas, baba ghanoush, tabouleh, and hummus took me about six hours.  Who needs to go to the gym when you’re actively cooking for six hours?  I’ve written about my endeavors in pita making, and for some reason, I just keep beating myself up trying recipe after recipe determined to make a better pita.  This week was a Lebanese recipe, which I’ll write about in a couple of days.  Anyway, save yourself the trouble and purchase your pitas.  Or grab one of those bags of pita chips that seem to be jumping out from every grocery display these days. *Tangent*  Did I tell you I drove my grocery cart into an entire display of Ragu Spaghetti Sauce the other day?  Stellar driving on my part, and I didn’t even have the kids with me to blame.  I swear that display came out of nowhere.  There was glass and spaghetti sauce everywhere.  Jars leaping from the display and crashing on to the floor in a time warped moment that seemed to last for years.  Probably at least 15 of them. broken. on aisle 3. Ahem.

Baba Ghanoush is an eggplant dip with an intimidating name, and a truly phenomenal flavor.  For some reason, I always thought it was yogurt based which is just totally wrong.  This dip is not that labor intensive, your active cooking time is maybe only 15-20 minutes?  So you’ll still have to go to the gym to get your exercise.  I seriously might start making this once a week, and can’t believe I haven’t been making it for years!  If you’re making this for a party or for several servings, go ahead and buy as many eggplants as you can carry.  You won’t regret it!  It seems like they’re giant in the store, but your yield quantity after cooking is really quite low.

A note of interest on the preparation, I accidentally failed to poke holes into one of my eggplants before roasting on the gas flame.  I did poke the holes before I put it in the oven though.  It could be a coincidence, but that eggplant cooked very differently than the others, and it was much more challenging to remove the seeds from the inside.  They were swimming everywhere in the flesh versus the firmer version remaining intact in long strands for easy removal.  So be sure to poke the holes in advance of any prep!

Baba Ganoush Recipe (makes about 1 and 1/2 cups)

3 small eggplant

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp tahini

4 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

8 turns pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.  Use a fork to pierce several holes in each eggplant.  Place the eggplant over the flame from the gas stove top, letting it rest directly on the grates.  Turn every minute or two using tongs, until the skins surface is black and charred.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and roast eggplant in oven for 40 minutes.

Let eggplant rest on counter for 10 minutes, then slice in half.  Use a spoon to remove the strings of seeds, don’t kill yourself trying if you leave a few in the flesh.  Scoop the remaining flesh from the skins and place in a blender.  Add remaining ingredients, then pulse until combined.  Stir to make sure the blade is free, then blend on low until you have a smooth consistency.  Serve with pita bread or chips.

You know those one dish meals people are always talking about?  This was my attempt at one of those.  At the end of the day, I think I prefer this recipe strictly spinach,  keeping the meat on the side.  Preferably with beef.  Of course you know me, I’d eat beef every day of the week if I could.  I guess that’s the other thing I was going for with this, a last ditch effort to hide the chicken from myself so I wouldn’t know I was eating it.

So if you want to make it simply a spinach au gratin, leave out the chicken and double the spinach.  In that scenario, I’d omit the breadcrumbs as well.  You could also use the chicken but skip a few steps by using shredded chicken from a grocery store rotisserie chicken.

One really really awesome thing about making this, is that I got to use the new microplanes I got for Christmas.  If you haven’t broken down and purchased these yet,  Go ahead.  Do it.  It feels exactly like when you buy new socks after putting it off for way too long.  Only better.  I’ve been coveting these for ages, and I’m seriously impressed I was able to hold out until Christmas.  Just thing of all the grating 2010 has in store for you!

Chicken Spinach Au Gratin (serves 5)

3 chicken split breasts

4 tbsp butter

2 c. diced onions

4 tbsp flour

3 c. 2% milk

20 oz. frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and all water squeezed out

1/2 c. grated Parmesan Reggiano

3/4 c. shredded Gruyere

2 tsp kosher salt

8 turns fresh ground pepper

breadcrumbs

In a large pan, combine split breasts with 1 tsp of kosher salt and 12 turns of fresh ground pepper, cover with water.  Bring to a boil, then cook boil chicken for 35 minutes.  Turn off heat, and let chicken rest in water for 10 minutes.  Remove skin and bones and shred chicken using two forks.

Preheat oven to 350.  In a deep saute pan, melt butter on medium heat, add onions and saute 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as necessary to prevent browning.  Add flour and stir until paste-like and combined, then cook for 2 more minutes.  Add milk and stir to incorporate, raise heat to medium high and cook for 10 minutes to thicken.  Turn off heat.

Add spinach, shredded chicken, Parmesan, Gruyere, salt and pepper.  Stir until combined, then smooth surface with your spatula, and sprinkle just the surface with a teeny bit more Parmesan, Gruyere and breadcrumbs.  Bake in oven for 25 minutes – or until bubbly and just lightly browned.

Happy Holidays my dear readers!  I hope this season fills you with love and warmth and your kitchen feels like the happiest place in your home.

This year has flown by me.  I know that’s trite and ridiculous,  and I’m showing my age but seriously.  That’s how it has felt.  It feels like it *should* be March and asparagus should be just peaking in season.  Of course it’s December and the end of 2009.  Thank God.  I mean that in both the sarcastic sense and the literal sense.  I guess it’s a coming of age thing when you recognize both the monumental joy a decade has brought you right along with a recognition of the pain felt along the way.  Do *any* decades just feel amazing start to finish with love and peace and prosperity the overwhelming theme?  If so, I’d like one of those please.

So in honor of 2009 and the millennium decade or whatever we’re calling these years, I’d like to express gratitude for:

1.  My sweet husband.  7.5 years of marriage  this Christmas and 13.5 together.  Thanks for being on my team, even when I want to throw things at your head, and thank you for always being you, the love of my life.

2.  My children.  What a journey it was to have you here with me.  The road was full of heartache, but the end is my ultimate bliss.  You are everything I ever wanted.  Literally.  And I love that both of you want to be chefs.

3.  Every culinary present I’ve ever received.  All of which have come this decade.  I’ve loved my kitchens, and I’ve loved my toys.  10 years ago, I was in college and had no kitchen – or at least not one worth mentioning.  Dear Kitchen Aid Stand mixer my husband swore I would never use, the card may as well have been written: To Lane, because you love to prove someone wrong.  Dear Cuisinart, (which shall be replaced soon due to the vast improvements to this year’s model) I.  Each and every one makes me happy, and *that* is the goal friends.  I’m thankful for the kitchen I’ve built this decade and look forward to having one twice as nice next decade ; )

4.  My friends and family.  Whose support and interest in my blog has totally blown my mind.  Thanks y’all.  Truly.

5.  The abundance of groceries in my life.  Both the actual food and the multitude of options I have for procuring them.  I am a seriously blessed lady.

So if you made it through my holiday musings, this is the soup I created for a pre-Christmas dinner at my house.  I love a soup course, and hate to serve a meal without one.  We had Cream of Asparagus soup at my luncheon on my Wedding Day,  and it has always held a sweet place in my heart.  You hear cream of …, and I see some of you tuning out.  Let me be clear – this is a predominantly asparagus and broth soup, cream is present, but it is not a cream based soup.  It was very well received.  I originally topped these with the tips of the asparagus, but they tended to sink.   So unless you want to top your soup with a dollop of cream, they may not be the best food presentation choice.

Cream of Asparagus Soup serves 10

4 tbsp butter

2 c. chopped onions

3 bunches asparagus, cleaned, snapped, then sliced into 1 inch segments

6 and ¾ c. chicken stock

¾ c. heavy cream

1/4 c. Madeira wine

1 and ½ tbsp lemon juice

12 turns fresh ground pepper

1 ½ tsp kosher salt

Reserve 20 of the prettiest asparagus tips for garnish.  In a heavy bottomed stock pot, melt your butter on medium heat.  Add chopped onions and saute for 5 minutes, stirring to ensure you are not browning the onions.  Add asparagus and satue an additional 5 minutes.  Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until asparagus can easily be chopped in half with the edge of a wooden spatula.

Splitting into 3 batches, puree soup in a blender.  Once all pureed, in stock pot, add puree with cream, madeira, and lemon juice.  Add salt and pepper.  Think of your seasonings as a jumping off point to start negotiations, bring soup back up to heat on medium, not to a boil, but warm.

Meanwhile, place asparagus tips in a pan of boiling salted water.  Cook until tender about 8 minutes.  Let soup rest 5-10 minutes at just below medium heat, then recheck and adjust seasonings as warranted.

Merry Meet!

I’m back!  Sorry for the long hiatus in posting.  Life has just been beyond busy, and frankly, I’ve been suffering from a lack of inspiration so I’ve been cooking many meals which I’ve already blogged.  I’ve been focusing my creative juices in some other places, some worthwhile, some not so much.  Anyway, I sought out a few ideas on chicken mains on facebook tonight and wound up creating these Roasted Chicken Breasts over Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Orange Chili Sauce.  Kathleen mentioned orange chicken which reminded me I have way too many clementines on hand.  Cory is teasing me that Crushed Red Pepper Flakes seem to be my ingredient of the year.  Which is perhaps true, but they just add such a surprising depth to any recipe, it’s hard for me to hold myself back.  Also, I went with the chili flavor because orange juices tend to become so sweet when cooked and I have a strong animosity toward sweet flavors and meat or poultry.  It’s a personal choice, not that there’s anything wrong with a sweet sauce, it’s just not my personal favorite.

I also had forgotten how much I love mashed potatoes.  I used to make them all the time, in many variations.  Back in my days of Sunday dinner, before we had children, my house was a revolving door with an open invitation to any and all friends for a Sunday meal.  Mashed potatoes were a habitual side dish at these events.  Garlic mashed potatoes, horseradish mashed potatoes, mashed with chives, etc., etc.  Long ago I abandoned white potatoes in  favor of sweet potatoes for optimal nutrition (lower glycemic index).  Well, I’ve decided I hate sweet potatoes.  I almost *never* want to cook them, so I’m welcoming back russets with enthusiasm.  It’s a problem considering we have a football national championship looming and sweet potatoes are one of my staple burnt orange foods.  Anyway, if you’re looking to lighten up these potatoes, you can totally use milk – even skim.  I just happen to have heavy cream on hand and let’s face it, if you can afford the calories, it is better this way, but it won’t ruin them to use milk.  I frequently make them that way when we don’t have cream.

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Orange Chili Sauce serves 3

3 chicken split breasts

olive oil

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 c. chicken broth

2/3 c. fresh squeezed clementine juice

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

3 tbsps butter

1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian Parsley

Preheat oven to 425.  In a heavy bottomed skillet, drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for approx an hour, until internal temperature reaches 165.

Remove chicken breasts to a cutting board to rest.  Spoon off as much fat as you can from skillet, leaving any remaining juices.  Saute garlic in juices over medium heat for about 1 minute, scraping up any brown bits.  Add chicken broth, and cook on medium high heat until reduced by 1/4 volume, about five minutes.  Add orange juice and crushed red pepper, cook another two minutes.  Stir in butter, then parsley.  Serve chicken over garlic mashed potatoes, then top with orange chili sauce.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes serves 4

2 large russet potatoes

1/4 c. heavy cream

3 tbsp butter

3 large cloves garlic

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Peel potatoes, then slice into 1 inch rounds then half each piece.  Place in a pan and fill with cold water, covering potatoes by an inch and a half.  Bring to a boil then continue to boil until potatoes begin to crumble.  Drain, then use a potato ricer to mash potatoes.

Add cream and butter to potatoes, but don’t stir yet.  In a small skillet, warm olive oil, then add garlic and saute on medium until fragrant and just beginning to brown.  Add garlic to potatoes, then stir to combine.  Add salt and pepper, then taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

I’ve been working on the best recipe for fresh pitas for just over a month since posting the Cannellini Beans, Artichoke and Fresh Rosemary Dip.  I’ve tried bread flour, white flour, whole wheat flours.  I’ve tried direct in the oven, on a hot pizza stone, and on a hot metal sheet pan.  I’ve created completely by hand, used a stand mixer and used a food processor.  It’s been a month long Lane vs. Pita Challenge.  At the end of the day, they’ve all been beautiful and they’ve all tasted good.  As far as the pockets go, well, I’ve never achieved a perfect puff suitable for stuffing.  If I want to serve actual pita pockets, I’ll be buying them at the store, I admit defeat.  As far as pita bread or pita chips go, I claim victory.  The fresh whole wheat are very good, but I think the best flavor lies in a combo of white flour and whole wheat flour.  Many of you will ask why on earth I would even attempt to make pitas from scratch.  There are two primary reasons.  I’m kind of obsessed with magic – not like magic shows or the bunny in the hat thing – but when something seems a totally unreasonable end result from meager beginning elements.  And the second is I just love cooking.  I literally feel better standing in my kitchen creating something.  And the longer it takes to make it, strangely, the better I feel.  Pitas take care of both of these things.  It’s unfathomable to me still that you can take flour, salt, water, yeast and olive oil and create a pita.  It feels like I *am* magic.  I’ve suddenly become Harriet Potter of the Kitchen or something.  And they take a very long time.  So – you know 3 and a half hours later, you have like 8 fresh pitas.  And you haven’t even toasted any for chips yet.  It’s crazy, and I’m insane.  But it’s a perfect project for me.

We’ve also had quite a bit of hummus this month.  And we’ve decided on a winner.  More lemon, sauteed onions, garlic and tahini, and lots of water for a fluffier consistency.  If you want a bigger bite on your hummus, leave the garlic raw like I did in this summer’s chive hummus.  Or try out a half and half method.  Hummus, unlike pita bread, is quick and rather painless.  And it can be ever changing, today one way, tomorrow tweaked just a little bit.  Variations are endless.

Fresh White Whole Wheat Pitas

1.5 c. white whole wheat flour

1.5 c. unbleached white flour

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

3 tsp active dry yeast

1 and 1/4 c. water

2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat bowl to stand mixer by running it under water that’s just a little bit warm.  Combine dry ingredients in a stand mixer.  Combine water and oil in a measuring cup, then slowly add to the mixer, while it is running at a low speed.  When the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, stop.  Form a complete ball and transfer to a floured work surface to knead.  Knead dough, by pushing out with the heel of your hand, then folding over the top half, then pushing the middle down with three fingers, then turn dough 1/4 turn, fold down top again, then push down in middle.  Continue this process for about 10 minutes.  Form a ball of dough, then use your hands to coat the outside with olive oil.  Place the dough in a bowl, cover with saran wrap and let stand in a warm place 1 and a half hours.  I’ve been cooking something in my oven during this time, and leaving the bowl in the center of the stove top as  my “warm” place for dough rising.

Preheat oven to 475.  Knead dough 5 times, then divide in to 8 even triangles of pie.  Roll each triangle into a ball, then cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes.  Roll into circles with rolling pin, to a very thin size.  Heat an upside down cookie sheet in oven.  Place pitas one or two circles at a time in the oven for about 4 minutes.  Check to see if lightly browned, then pull from oven and let cool in another towel, this one dry.

If you want to make chips, cut into strips, then brush both sides generously with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt,  and bake for 8 minutes or until crisp at 400.

Homemade Hummus

1 yellow onion, sliced and chopped

3 large cloves garlic, chopped

1/3 c. tahini

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 c. lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

1/3 c. water

1 tsp kosher salt

In a saute pan, saute onion for four minutes, add garlic, saute another minute, add tahini, saute another minute.  In a food processor, combine garbanzo beans, onion mixture, and lemon juice.  Turn food processor on for 1 minute, then begin drizzling olive oil through the top while running.  Drizzle water through in a similar manner.  Add salt from top.  Serve chilled.

Cold Snap!  So tonight we had one of our all-time favorite comfort meals, Bob’s Chicken.  We concluded our meal with my personal favorite dessert, crème brûlée.  (Though molten chocolate cake takes the second place position with the slimmest of margins.)  I’m not thrilled with the picture quality for this recipe, so I’ll definitely be making this again in the not so distant future to hop to capture it’s essence better.  Partially, this is because I absolutely can not stand to look at these heart ramekins anymore.  I thought they were precious when I bought them on Valentine’s Day many moons ago, but now I’m just over them.  Luckily, we’ve managed to break 3 of the set of 4 over time, so what’s left is just this one heart shaped ramekin looking oh so provincial.  My oddly fervent distaste for certain dishes is in large part due to the fact that I like food to be the focal point of the presentation, not the extra-spectacularly artistic medium on which I served it.  Crème brûlée is a powerful presentation in itself with the light and toasted caramelized surface over the perfectly smooth pudding texture below.  It’s the edible and visual representation of  the opposites attract proverb.  Thus inherently able to stand alone without saccharine dishware.  So for the photo, I’ll apologize.

As for creating the spectacular caramel crust, I highly recommend a torch.  You can caramelize it using your oven broiler, but the key lies in getting the brulees so close to the burner it’s difficult and definitely hazardous.  The pictured version was done in a broiler, just to see if I could pull it off, but my advice is strongly in favor of the torch.  The torch also works much more quickly, enabling you to maintain a chilled temperature of your pudding, protecting it’s delicate consistency.  One of the absolute best things about this dessert is, if you plan in advance, which I *rarely* manage to do, these can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.  Just pull them out, let rest on the counter 10-15 minutes, top with the powdered sugar, and torch the surface.  Dessert to the table in minutes.   I wouldn’t recommend torching them immediately out of the fridge, the rapid change in temperature from the torch could shatter your ramekins.

Crème Brûlée makes 4 small or 3 medium ramekins

1 c. heavy cream

1 c. half and half

3 egg yolks

1/4 c. sugar

1 vanilla bean

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325.  Pour creams into a sauce pan, then split the vanilla bean and scrape the pulp into the cream.  Add the vanilla bean hull, then bring cream to a boil, stirring with a wooden spatula continuously.  Cover and remove from heat, letting stand 15 minutes.  Remove vanilla bean hull and discard.

In a bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar.  Whisk until color begins to lighten and sugar is thoroughly combined.  Pour a teeny bit of the warm cream into the eggs, whisking continuously.  Continue adding very small portions of the cream to eggs, whisking continuously until all combined.  Pour into ramekins.  Place ramekins in a glass casserole, then pour warm water in casserole to soak your ramekins in a bath.  Put casserole in oven and bake for 45 minutes.  Check ramekins by wiggling to ensure that sides are firm but center wiggles, then remove or cook more depending on your results.  Let cool on counter for 15 minutes, then chill in refrigerator – at least 3 hours, up to two days in advance.

Sprinkle custard surfaces with powdered sugar, then use torch to caramelize sugar until light brown.  Serve immediately!

Fall is fleeting, and winter is closing in on us.  One of my favorite things about this part of the year is most people consider it acceptable – even gratifying – to eat soup at least once a week.  National Soup Swap Day will be somewhere towards the end of January.  I’ll be hosting one at my house as usual, so get those ideas pumping.  This recipe diverges from a traditional chicken and rice soup idea with a lot of lemon and a little bit of spice promising an awakening aspect without overpowering.

This recipe is written as I made the soup, which is certainly a time intensive method – but there are several shortcuts you could employ.  If your freezer is home to one of my staple whole roasted chickens minus the breast meat which was eaten at an earlier date, skip the first paragraph and throw your freezer portion in the pan with 2 raw split breasts.  If your freezer is bare AND you’re short on time, use 3 raw split breasts and cook for at least an hour before adding your vegetables if you can – but even 30 minutes will get you started.  When you are lacking a whole or part of a roasted chicken your broth isn’t going to be as flavorful, and there will be more room in your pan.  So cover the split breasts, then when you add the veggies, add 4 cups of chicken stock.  If you have cooked white rice on hand, that would totally work as well, I just like this method since the rice absorbs some of your stock’s flavor without stealing all of the stock thus leaving you with a thick, dry soup.

Now get out there and make some for yourself, and a friend, or just throw it in your freezer in individual sizes to bring you through the winter!

Lemony Chicken with Rice Soup Recipe

1 whole chicken approx 5 lbs, rinsed giblets and neck removed

1/2 a lemon, cut into 4 pieces

4 large cloves garlic

1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

olive oil

5 stalks celery, sliced

4 carrots, peeled, then sliced lengthwise, then again, then chopped into 1 inch slivers on an angle

1 yellow onion, peeled, sliced, then rounds sliced into quarters

2 bay leaves

2 c.  long grain white rice

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 425.  In a roasting pan fitted with a rack, stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon pieces, garlic, salt and pepper.  Drizzle skin very lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast chicken in oven for just over an hour – if you’re going to eat the breast meat at this point, you’ll need to keep cooking it to a safe internal temp of 165.

Since I’m going to continue boiling mine, I took it to 145, then put it in the stock pot and covered with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, for 2 hours.  Add celery, carrots, onion, and bay leaves, simmer another hour.  Carefully remove the chicken with turkey forks or a fish spatula, being sure to remove all bone pieces from stock.  Shred chicken meat with two forks, then return to broth.  Add 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 15 turns fresh ground pepper.

Cook rice in  four cups of boiling water.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cook covered about 15 minutes – until mostly cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon, drain, then add al dente rice to soup.  Cook 10 more minutes in covered soup pan.  Add lemon juice and crushed red pepper.  Simmer another 5 minutes, then adjust seasonings to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

This is pasta with spirit.  It’s essentially a melding and blending of flavors that grab your tongue and say, “Open up!  This is what it feels like to really live.”  Olives seem to be a love them or hate them kind of food.  I am constantly surrounded by people (including my sweet sisters and a best friend who thankfully grew out of her repulsion) who proclaim to despise olives.  I love them all black, purple, green, etc.  Nicoise are my favorite, but my eyes still close to fully experience the blissful joy of a Kalamata as well.  In general, I like food with zest – not the outermost portion of peel on a citrus fruit – but the sparkle of food.  That’s generally why I don’t like white sauces and why I’m fanatical about vinaigrettes and anything marinated, brined, salted, or citrused.  Speaking of which, I’m in a sparkles phase, in retaliation to the fleeting sunshine and warmth of summer.  So if you see me out wearing sparkly eyeliner and a dusting of glittered powder and think “What in the world?”  It’s my personal attempt to combat the approaching winter solstice.  Laugh at me if you will, but I’m enjoying it.  Anyway, this recipe marries all the zest I could pack from the Mediterranean with a penne pasta, but if you’re looking to lighten it up, this would be lovely over leaves of fresh baby spinach instead.

There were marinated artichokes, too.  I left those out of the title.  This recipe packs so much flavor between the sundried tomatoes, the kalamatas, the capers, and the aforementioned marinated artichokes, it doesn’t even require spices.  They’re already in the additions.  My husband would have chosen grated Parmesan Reggiano over the fresh Mozzarella, but I have a true and steady love for mozzarella, and often think of Parmesan as the bossy kid from fifth grade who’s always trying to steal the scene.  It has it’s place, but doesn’t always play well with others.  Also, we have the Dallas Mozzarella Company here and it’s simply in my blood to support the local purveyors.  Should you run across a local Parmesan manufacturer, please send me an email or post a comment!

Mediterranean Penne with Sundried Tomatoes, Kalamatas, Capers and Fresh Mozzarella

(feeds 4 with leftovers, who am I kidding at least 6!)

3 c. dried Penne pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

8 sundried tomatoes in oil, drained then chopped

shredded chicken from two split breasts, about 4 c. shredded chicken

1/2 c. sliced, pitted kalamata olives

3-4 tablespoons capers

3 oz. marinated artichoke hearts (half of the small jar)

1 c. diced fresh mozzarella

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425.  Very lightly drizzle split breasts with olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper.  Roast in oven about 50 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165.  Let rest to the side five minutes, then remove skin and bones and shred meat using two forks.  Reserve.

Meanwhile in a large saucepan, bring  water to a boil.  Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and penne.  Follow package instructions, to cook until al dente.  Drain, and reserve pasta.

In the same saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat.  Add garlic and tomatoes, saute for 4 minutes.  Add pasta, chicken, olives, capers, and artichoke hearts.  Stir to combine and let continue cooking for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, add mozzarella and continue stirring until mozzarella until it just melts.  Let your family/friends use finely ground sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, the flavors should already be leaping out of the bowl!