Mrs. Flannestad has been a bit under the weather this week and requested chicken soup last night.

This is what I made…

Chicken and Corn Chowder

2 Chicken Leg Thigh Combo
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1/2 carrot, roughly chopped
1/2 celery, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
sprig thyme
few whole black peppercorns
1 whole clove

1/2 pound bacon
Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 small red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic
Dry Oregano
Dry Thyme
Bay Leaf
1 TBSP Chili Powder
2 TBSP White Flour

2 Russet Potatoes, Peeled and diced

1 Package Frozen Corn
1 Cup Half and Half
3 Green Onions, sliced
Cilantro, Chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste

Add Chicken to a pot, add onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf and thyme. Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cook until chicken runs clear.

Meanwhile chop you veggies for the stew proper. Add the bacon to a heavy pot large enough to hold a quart or so of soup. You may need to add a touch of olive oil to get this started faster without burning the bacon. Render fat from bacon and cook until crispy. Reserve bacon. Remove most of the bacon fat from the pan and add chopped onion, bell pepper, and red pepper. Sweat over low heat until they begin to soften and add garlic and spices. Cover and sweat for a few minutes more. Add 1 TBSP bacon grease back in (or olive oil if you prefer), and add flour, stirring to cook for a few minutes. You are creating a roux.

Hopefully, before now, your chicken will be done. Pour off the cooking liquid, strain, and reserve. You should have a couple cups. If not, add extra stock to make it up. Add strained cooking liquid to the vegetables and roux above, whisking quickly. Bring to a simmer rapidly. Add potatoes and lower heat. Cook until potatoes are almost done.

Remove chicken from bones and dice. Add chicken, reserved bacon, corn, and green onions to the soup. Bring to a simmer for a few minutes stir in the half and half and check seasonings. When it again comes to a simmer, ladle into bowls and top with chopped cilantro. Serve with crusty bread.

Oops! Rookie move, getting the shadow of the camera in the picture! Unfortunately, the others were blurry.

Kind of like “Hunter’s Chicken”

Shopping list:
4 Chicken bone-in Leg Thigh Combos
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
1 Bunch Basil, chiffonade
2 small Zucchini, halved and sliced

Pantry Items:
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Medium Onion, chopped
Olive Oil
1 tsp. Dried Thyme
Dry Vermouth or White Wine
Chicken Stock
Fettuccine
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan or other hard Italian style cheese.

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Heat a pot of water for the pasta.

Separate the legs from the thighs at the joint. Salt generously. Heat pan, heavy, oven safe pan. Add a good amount of Olive Oil. Brown thighs and legs, in batches if necessary. Remove from pan and reserve. Brown zucchini. Reserve. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and dried thyme to pan. Reduce heat and cook briefly. Deglaze with Dry Vermouth, and cook until syrupy. Add tomatoes and cook until they begin to split. Nestle Legs and thighs in with tomatoes and add chicken stock until it comes half way up the pan. Cook on top of the stove until it begins to simmer. Cover and transfer to oven.

Once the Chicken is cooked through, remove it from the pan and reserve. Return the (very hot!) pan to stove top and cook on high. Boil the Fettuccine. Add the browned zucchini to the tomato and stock mixture. Once the Fettuccine reaches al dente, pull and add to tomato mixture. Add half of the basil, check seasonings, and serve in pasta dish. Place a leg and thigh on top of the pasta, sprinkle with basil chiffonade and freshly grated Parmesan. Serve with tasty red wine and crusty bread.

Serves 4

Had a friend over Friday night and made Roast Chicken Breasts with Porcini Mushroom Risotto. Unfortunately, too busy cooking to take pictures.

I first made a gremolata-substance as a sort of “rub” for the chicken.

Mince 3 cloves garlic, zest of one lemon, 1/4 cup parsley, and 2 tablespoons fresh oregano. To this add a good amount of salt, freshly ground pepper, and a quarter cup of olive oil. Rub this all over 2 bone-in, skin on, chicken breasts, taking special care to get the mixture under the skin over the breast.

Pre-heat oven to 425 F.

Do the risotto prep:

Rehydrate a quarter to half cup of dried porcini mushrooms in enough boiling water to cover. After they have rehydrated and cooled enough to handle, remove the mushrooms using a slotted spoon. Mince the mushrooms. Strain the liquid through a couple layers of fine cheese cloth or a paper towel. Put it in a sauce pan over very low heat on the stove.
Finely dice 1/2 onion and 1/2 carrot.
Slice 1/2 onion, lengthwise.
Slice 6 Crimini Mushrooms.
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme.
Grate 1/2 cup Parmesano Reggiano.
You’ll also need 3 or 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock added to the mushroom liquid above, and a quarter cup of cream (optional).

Put the chicken breasts on a roasting pan and place in the oven.

Saute the sliced mushrooms until they have given up their water and start to brown. Add the sliced onion, season with a little salt, and cook until translucent. Deglaze the pan with white wine or vermouth. Cook until the wine or vermouth is syrupy, and remove the pan from heat.

Heat another large saute pan. Add a good amount of olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add 1 cup Arborio rice and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to smell toasted. Add the diced onions and carrots and cook until onions are translucent. Begin by adding a good ladle full of warm stock to the rice and reduce heat to a simmer. Continue adding stock gradually as it evaporates and cooks into the rice.

Hopefully, somewhere around here, your chicken breasts will have reached around 155 F on an instant read thermometer. Remove from oven and allow to rest until you finish the risotto.

When the risotto is nearly done, but still a little toothsome, check the seasonings, stir in the cream and sauteed mushrooms and onions, and chopped dried mushrooms. Add minced herbs. While stirring, add in the Parmesan, reserving a bit to add on top when serving. If it seems too Sticky add a bit more stock or cream to loosen.

Place the Risotto on the plate, sprinkle with a little parm and freshly ground pepper. Slice the chicken breasts and lay next to the risotto. Serve with a crusty bread, a nice red wine, and maybe simple salad of greens in a light vinaigrette.

A new version of Spicy Tofu for dinner tonight.

This time with brown mushrooms and broccoli.

And a gratuitous photo of our other cat, Ms. Clementine:

Another easy, old favorite. You can make it with any root vegetables you like.

You’ll need a couple sweet potatoes, a couple parsnips, tofu, an onion, 3 tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, an inch piece of fresh ginger root and curry powder.

I usually make my own curry powder by toasting 1 teaspoon of whole fennel seed, cumin seed, fenugreek, coriander, mustard seed, cardamom, and 3 cloves over low heat in a dry pan on top of the stove. Once the mustard seeds start to pop, and the whole is quite aromatic, remove from heat, cool, and grind in a coffee grinder or spice mill. Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, cayenne, and tumeric.

Cut up your veggies and tofu. Mince the garlic and ginger.

Heat a large pan very hot, add a bunch of oil of your choice, and add the garlic and ginger. Once those start to smell nice, add the onions and continue cooking until soft. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until they more or less disappear. Add the root vegetables and half the curry powder. Add a bit of water or stock to loosen, cover and cook until the vegetables are close to done. Add the tofu and a bit more liquid, if necessary.

Serve with rice. A nice addition is some yoghurt thinned out with lemon juice and chopped fresh cilantro on top.

When I worked at a “Southwestern” restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin, we would sometimes offer these as a special.

If I remember correctly, we would call them New Mexican Enchiladas.

Instead of rolling the ingredients in the corn tortillas, you would build a stack.

Put down a sauced corn tortilla, add an ingredient, add another sauced tortilla, then an ingredient, tortilla on top, sauce, and cheese. Then microwave the whole shebang.

Sort of like a tortilla lasagna.

Tonight I had some leftover chicken. I bought some salsa verde, spiced it up with minced chipotles en adobo, reserved half the sauce, and then stirred the leftover chicken into the remaining sauce. Then I put down a layer of spiced salsa verde, a tortilla, some chicken, another tortilla, some more chicken, a tortilla, the remaining sauce, feta cheese, and cheddar cheese. I baked it in the oven until browned.

At the same time I had crisped some bacon, then sautéed some onions, garlic, and chile powder in the rendered fat. Added a small can of black beans, and simmered. Added the crisped bacon back in.

Yep, not bad for a quick Sunday night dinner.

The usual Mac and Cheese…

1 cup milk, 1 cup chicken stock. I only use two tablespoons each of butter and enough flour to make a stiff roux. Add the milk and stock to the roux. I add a bit of nutmeg and cayenne to my sauce and stir in a bunch of cheese. In this case it was Vintage White Cheddar from Marathon Cheese Company and some garlic cheese curds that were getting a bit old. I sauté mushrooms with 1/2 onion, fresh thyme, deglaze with wine or vermouth, then combine with the cheese sauce, and mix with the pasta. Cover with bread crumbs and bake in a 325 degree oven until browned.

I thought this little pasta porthole was funny looking.

Miss Sweetpea was quite happy for me to get home…

Check the post from yesterday for the whole recipe for Chicken, Okra, and Sausage Gumbo.

2 Medium Onions, Chopped
1 Large Bell Pepper, Chopped
3 Ribs Celery Chopped

5 Cloves Garlic, Minced

½ Pound Okra, sliced

2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp. Black Pepper, ground
1 tsp. White Pepper, ground
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp. Sage
1 tsp. Thyme

2 Quarts Chicken Stock (I had cooked the chicken and made the stock the night before.)

Meat from Chicken above, chopped

½ cup Flour, 1/2 cup Peanut Oil

In a large heavy pot, heat the oil and whisk in the flour over medium high heat.

…stirring constantly until it reaches a dark reddish-brown color (This was a little light. We wanted to have dinner before 9.)

Reduce heat, add the onions, green pepper, celery and garlic. Stir quickly. Continue to cook, stirring constantly until the vegetables are slightly browned.

Add the stock, seasonings, and sausage. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes. Add chicken. Simmer for 15 minutes, add Okra and simmer for another 15.

Make yourself a Sazerac. Savor while things simmer.

Add the chopped scallion tops and parsley, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve over rice (or potatoes) in large shallow bowls. Accompany with good beer and lots of hot, crispy french bread.

When I used to work at the Westside Bakery Cafe in Berkeley, CA, one of my favorite lunch items was a warm spinach salad with lentils and feta.

You’ll need: 1 cup of lentils, an onion or two, a carrot, a can of tomatoes, some garlic, a bunch of spinach, feta cheese, bay leaf, thyme, a nice vinegar and olive oil.

Chop a half a carrot and a half an onion and briefly saute in olive oil. Add a bay leaf and the seasonings of your choice. I actually used Herb de Provence this time. Zatar would be another cool choice. To this add 1 cup of lentils and two cups of chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the lentils are tender and have absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from the heat.

Chop an onion and as much garlic as you like. Briefly saute in olive oil, add oregano, thyme, or other herbs of your choice. I’m the sort of person who can’t make a tomato sauce without adding crushed red chiles. You may not be. Then add the tomatoes from a can of Roma tomatoes. Cook until sauce-like, and adjust seasonings.

We really like this mildly flavored and buttery olive oil from Bariani.

Pick a tasty wine. This was an Italian wine we got when we belonged to the Bonny Doon “Dewn” wine club. Its exact name escapes me at the moment.

Wash the spinach, dry, and place in a big bowl. Crumble the feta cheese into the bowl over the spinach. If you have leftover grilled or roasted chicken, like us, this is another nice addition.

Check the seasonings of your tomato sauce and stir in a bit of decent vinegar. I used the Balsamic style vinegar from Bariani. Add the warm lentils to the tomatoes and stir together. Pour the tomato and lentil mixture over your spinach and feta, and toss.

Warm bread or Pita bread is a good accompaniment. This is the sourdough whole wheat bread from the Arizmendi Bakery. I really like it. They use a great sourdough starter they got from their sister bakery, the Cheese Board in Berkeley. The bread has a wonderful smell like new mown hay.

OK, it’s not the prettiest meal in the world, but it is very tasty and quick to prepare.

My actual favorite part of pot roast or another braised meat, is to make pasta from the leftovers. Chop yourself a half an onion and some garlic.

Saute them briefly in olive oil.

Deglaze with wine and add canned tomatoes and cook until sauce-like. Add the beef and whatever pan gravy you have to the tomato sauce. Check the seasonings.

Boil some pasta.

I’m sure there are many fine pastas in the world. I’ve been using DeCecco dry pasta for years now and it’s my favorite.

Pull the pasta and add it to the sauce. If you need to loosen it up, add some pasta water. Serve with a nice red wine.

We got this one on a recent trip to Paso Robles. It was a very dark Syrah, almost like a Petit Syrah in character. Quite reasonable, and not over oaked, with dark berry flavors.