Pumpkin Soup

I love a good soup!  This is one that I made from parts of many recipes that I like.  Take one sugar pumpkin, peal and remove seeds and string insides.  Dice one small onion, carrot, and parsnip, saute in olive oil until soft.  Then add pumpkin cubed and add enough chicken or vegetable stock to cover.  Add bay leaf, pinch of cinnamon, ginger and some fresh grated nutmeg.  Simmer for 30-45 minutes until pumpkin is soft.  Puree in batches in blender or food processor.  Add more stock if needed. 

I served this toasted bread with roasted garlic.  Delicious.

A Wonderful Day with my Dad at the Pub

So, this summer, I went to Colorado to hang with my Dad, we went on a mission, we went to the museum to see the King Tut show.  Then we went to an English Pub across the street, Pints Pub.  Here is what we had:  Harvari Cheese on the world's largest cracker (it was bigger than my head).  While it was novel, I did enjoy the tart apple with the cheese.

My Dad had the pub classic,  you can hardly go wrong with burger and fries.










The real winner, was the lamb skewers.  Both my Dad and I could not believe how tender and tasty this dish was....just the right combo of spicy and savory.  The mustard curry sauce is something that I might have to try and create at home.

Grocery Store Challenge!

So, I have mentioned before that I love food bargains, could be a great sale,  but what I have been working on lately is wasting less food.  So I have challenged my self to spend $25 a week on groceries.  So the first thing that I have been doing is eating from my pantry.

Here are a few items that I have to use up:  dried mushrooms, canned crab meat and escargot...stay tuned for what I end up making with this.

So quick, run into your pantry, what do you have in there that you need to use?  I'm happy to make any suggestions.  One random poster will receive a prize for posting what is their pantry.

Braised Chicken

Now that it is getting colder, I love to have something on cooking slowly in the oven.  Braising is a wonderful technique that is easy to do and has the results of tasting like you spent all day working in the kitchen.  Here is a chicken that I braised with pears and rosemary.  All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking is where I found this recipe.  My favorite braising tip is to put parchment paper under the lid to keep the juices from burning on the top of the pan. 

Here is the recipe:

• 3-4 pound whole chicken
• Salt and pepper
• 3 pears
• 4 Tbsp butter (divided)
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large leek
• 2 shallots
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

First, prepare the chicken.
Preheat the oven to 300.
Rinse the chicken (inside and out) and pat it dry. Remove any large chunks of fat around the neck.
Remove the last two joints of each wing. Season both the inside and outside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Quarter the pear and stuff it inside the chicken cavity. Truss the chicken with kitchen string. Bind the drumsticks close to the body and then wrap the string back around the chicken’s body and tie it behind the neck.
Brown the chicken
Heat 1 Tbsp of oil and 2 Tbsp of butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. The butter will foam and then settle down. Pat the chicken dry again and lay it breast side down in the hot pan. Brown the chicken for at least 3-4 minutes and then gently lift it up with wooden spoons to see if it’s browned. If not, let it go another few minutes. You’ll want to carefully turn the chicken so that it browns on all sides. Once the chicken is completely browned, remove it carefully to a plate.
Add any chicken pieces (such as gizzards, heart, neck, and those wing tips you cut off) to the pan and saute them until browned, about 7-10 minutes. Remove those to the plate as well.
Drain the pan of all fat. Turn the heat to medium and add a tablespoon of butter. Now add the leek, shallots, and rosemary sprig, along with some salt and pepper. Cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the wine, turn the heat up to medium-high, and boil for 2 minutes. Add the stock and vinegar and boil for an additional 2 minutes.
Braise the chicken
Carefully lay the chicken on top of the veggies. Tuck the chicken parts in with the vegetables and cover the dish with parchment paper. Cover and slide into the oven. Baste every 20 minutes for about an hour and 20 minutes or until the chicken registers 170 between the breast and thigh on a thermometer.

Moist chicken with sweet and tangy pears

About 10 minutes before you take the chicken out of the oven…
Peel the last two pears, core them, and slice them into 1/2 inch thick slices. Mince the rosemary and set aside. Heat 2 Tbsp of butter over high heat in a large, nonstick skillet  – the largest skillet you have.
Once the butter stops foaming, add the pears and toss to coat. Add the sugar, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring and turning the pears frequently, until the pears have started to caramelize.
Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 30 seconds. The balsamic vinegar will form a glaze that will very quickly thicken. Pull the chicken out of the oven. Using those same wooden spoons (or a meat fork), tip the chicken so any juices inside the cavity run into the Dutch Oven. Set the chicken on a cutting board and cover with foil for a few minutes. Strain most of the vegetables and other chicken parts (wings, heart, etc) out of the pan, keeping all of the juices. Boil the juices over high heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, to thicken.
Serving
Carve the chicken. Top with pears and balsamic glaze, and then spoon some of the pan finished juices over the whole thing.

I have a Le Creuset pan that I've had for years.  One item that I recommend for any pan that you braise in, is a metal knob.   I used one large chicken and I got 6 meals for one out it.  The cost for the meal, $9.00 (I like to buy my meat buy one get one free).  

Oh my where did the time go?

So, sorry to have been away.  I started a new job in August and the time has just flow away from me.  Here is a yummy dish I made last week.  The chicken is left-overs from my braised chicken (more on that later).  The grains are from Trader Joe's
Harvest Grains (with Israeli Style Couscous, Orzo, Baby Garbanzo Beans and Red Quinoa.  This was  a quick disk to whip up.  The grains take 10 minutes and beans I just blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes.  This is one of my favorite type of dishes, quick, uses up leftovers and has minimal dishes.

Cupcakes-Treat

There is a new cupcake place in Needham, Treat. You can create your own frosting (think mix-ins for ice cream) or you can enjoy their creations. I have to say, that if I were 10 or under I would love to have my birthday party here or come to make my own. But if that isn't your scene go directly to their cupcakes. Here is the orgaencile cupcake, very nice with marshmallow frosting. The Boston cream was rich and not too sweet. The chocolate icing was rich and a nice compliment to the cake with the cream filling. The bottom two were the ones that my cupcake compadre and I did, too sweet. You just don't need gummy bear in icing.

Cake Pops

So, I read about these crazy cute items, cupcake pops by bakerella (if you have not read her blog, run, run to read it). So I thought, this will be super cute. And while yes, this was super cute it was A LOT of work. The lemon ones were the the best. I would do this again, but just make cake pops, not all the rest. Here is a very bad photo of my treat. What I like about this is that you could serve these at a party with no plates or forks, so a kids party would be perfect. Or a party at work. The challenge, getting them to the party and storing them once they are done. I made a holder, but next time I would prepare something else a head of time.