Ah, one-pot meals! I love them. And I’ve been looking for some easy do-ahead meals, as well. So when I saw Anne Burrell make this chicken and cauliflower dish, I decided it was the perfect thing to make for dinner…It was delicious! The chicken had a strong flavor from all the coriander, the texture of the veggies was great due to the nuts I added, and it was so easy to get dinner on the table. Continue reading
Another baby recipe by Tyler Florence! And another one-pot all-in-one meal! Can’t go wrong here. I think I’m just trying to work my way through this cookbook until I find my favorite recipes. Why? Not only are they healthy recipes geared towards your family’s eating, they’re also SO easy and quick to make. And easy but still super delicious recipes are my favorite! Continue reading
AKA Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken.
Apparently we’ve been on a chicken kick lately! But all of these recipes serve different purposes, and really, you can never have enough chicken recipes! Here’s our latest obsession from our favorite Ina Garten:
There aren’t many recipes that are this easy and yield so much flavor like this roast chicken. Ina definitely knows how to take simple ingredients and add that wow factor! This chicken was moist and juicy, with just the right amount of aromatics to make bring the flavor of this chicken to the next level. Next time you’re having company, impress them with this roasted chicken. You won’t be sorry. Continue reading
I remember watching Jamie Oliver on the Food Network, back when he was the Naked Chef. Well, he wasn’t actually naked, which is why I wasn’t surprised when they changed the name of his show (or did they just start a new one) called Oliver’s Twist. Anyway, he would “strip down” recipes so that they were really just the essentials of cooking. No fancy gadgets or ingredients, just great homemade food. Now he’s never on the Food Network anymore, and I don’t get the Cooking Channel, so I never see him on TV. I can’t even watch the reruns of his show Jamie at Home. But I can still get most of the recipes on the Food Network website, which makes me happy. His recipes are simple and tasty, and he doesn’t use any gross ingredients; it’s mostly natural, earthy food. His recipes really bring out the essential flavors of the main ingredients.
And this is why I was so excited to make this soup recipe. I love Jamie Oliver and I love butternut squash! It’s definitely my favorite winter squash, even though it’s a pain to peel and chop. Everything else about it is just perfect, an my favorite way to eat it is in soup form. Something about butternut squash soup just makes me smile.
Sage is a classic combination with butternut squash, and infusing the oil with that flavor imparts a wonderful undertone to the soup. The sage on top adds a great crispiness. I ate a lot of those sage chips before serving the soup. Oops. Hence the lack of crispy sage on top of the soup in the picture. It’s delicious with a teaspoon of sour cream mixed in, too. Just so you know.
Superb squash soup, adapted from Jamie Oliver (serves 8):
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Heat large saucepan over medium heat and pour in some olive oil, enough to cover the bottom.
2. When it’s hot, throw in the sage leaves and fry for about 30 seconds, until crispy. Remove with a slitted spoon and drain on paper-towel lined plate.
3. Add your celery, onion, and carrot, garlic, and jalapeno to the pot. Add salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
4. Add the squash and stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. When the squash is soft, blend the soup using an immersion blender until you have a smooth puree (or as chunky as you like it).
6. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle the sage leaves on top.
7. Serve with croutons if you want (that’s how Jamie Oliver did it).
Chicken and spaghetti was always a Friday night staple in our home. Though Poopa Dweck’s book states that it’s a Syrian custom to not eat this dish for Shabbat dinner because it’s a sign of bad luck, my family’s been eating it for years, and I don’t think we’re any less lucky than other people out there. So If you’re superstitious, make it on a weeknight. It’s a good meal with just a small side salad or vegetable. If you’re not superstitious, or just want to make a main course that consists of a carb and a protein (does the tomato sauce count as a vegetable?), then make this for Shabbat dinner. Your guests and family will fight over the crispy burnt edges.
When my mother makes this, she always leaves the chicken pieces whole. This way, it’s easier to eat just the spaghetti, which I often like to do (especially when there’s chili on the table – chicken and spaghetti chopped with some chili is awesome). I sometimes shred the chicken into the spaghetti, so that every bite has a little bit of chicken and a little bit of spaghetti. I find that the chicken also stays more moist this way and soaks up the flavor of the sauce more. Try it both ways and let me know which you prefer. Remember if you’re shredding to be careful to remove all the bones and stuff. No one wants a mouthful of spaghetti and chicken bones!
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Place chicken on baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 35 – 45 minutes, until cooked. Then let cool and shred, cut, or leave whole. Save the chickeny oil and juice!
3. While chicken is roasting, boil spaghetti in very salty water for one minute less than stated on the package.
4. Drain the spaghetti.
5. Place spaghetti in roasting pan and add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, spices, salt, and some pepper. Mix well.
— Now you have what we like to call “And Spaghetti” which is the BEST Friday afternoon snack ever.
6. Add the chicken (pieces, shreds, whatever you decided) and the chicken juice and mix well.
7. Cover and roast in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour, until the edges are crusty and the middle is soft.
You can’t go wrong with caramelized onions and roasted butternut squash. Here’s a pretty easy (once you get the pie crust out of the way) special dinner recipe. Sure, it’s a bit fattening, but hey, once in a while you just have to splurge. If you’re having some company over and making dairy, this is definitely a great recipe to impress guests with. The list of ingredients looks rather long, but I found that I had a lot of the ingredients.
This recipe is from The Art and Soul of Baking, a book that I haven’t used in a while. I’m happy to have it opened up again, and keep finding more and more recipes to try… Continue reading