Buttermilk Roast Chicken with Roasted Parsnips & Carrots with Brown Rice

The chicken was, in a word, delectable. Marinated overnight in a simple brine of buttermilk and spices, it was tender and juicy. Mike went back for a third piece. The parsnips and carrots were a great complement to the chicken. It makes so much chicken I'll definitely make this for company next time.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen's recipe

2 cups buttermilk

5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (we used about 8 cloves)

1 tbsp. table salt

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

2 tsp. paprika

Lots of fresh ground pepper

2 1/2 to 3 lbs. chicken parts (we used legs and thighs)

drizzle of olive oil

flaked or coarse sea salt, to finish

Whisk buttermilk with garlic, table salt, sugar, paprika, and lots of freshly ground black pepper in a bowl. We placed the chicken in the bowl, swished it around to make sure all the pieces were good and coated with the brine, and covered it. The original recipe suggests putting everything into a gallon freezer bag, but a) I have very bad luck with leakage and ziploc bags, and b) we were out of them anyway! Refrigerate the chicken for at least two hours or for up to 24 to 48 hours.

When ready to roast, preheat over to 425 degrees. Line a baking dish with foil. Remove chicken from buttermilk brine and arrange in dish (we shoved as much of the chicken as we could into a 9 x 13 in baking pan, and we still have some chicken left over for roasting tomorrow). Drizzle lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle with additional paprika and sea salt to taste. We roasted the legs and thighs for 40 minutes, until brown and scorched in spots. The original recipe suggests roasting legs for 30 minutes, or if you're roasting breasts, for 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Roasted Parsnips & Carrots

3 large parsnips, sliced into rounds

4 medium carrots, sliced into rounds

2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 tbsp. olive oil

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large baking dish (with an oven preheated to 425 degrees), combine all ingredients. Give them a quick toss or two to incorporate, and then roast in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the parsnips are golden brown and blackened in spots.

The roasted veggies were very flavorful - almost crispy on the outside in places, and tender on the inside.

Overall, a very satisfying meal. So satisfying, in fact, that Mike and I sat over our empty plates and chatted for over an hour before we were ready to tackle the dishes. Definitely a meal we'll make again!

Aztec Soup

This is a tortilla soup-esque dish that Brit found and sent my direction. I had recently expressed desire to try our hand again at tortilla soup and this recipe seemed like a great way to start. I actually cooked this dish the day before as the required length of time did not make this a realistic weekday meal. We also felt that giving the soup an extra day to sit would help the flavors meld together and give the soup a significantly improved taste. I definitely enjoyed this soup, and the required garnishes really help make this dish work well, but we could make some improvements in the future. Once I figure them out I'll let you know.

Aztec Soup
(originally printed on the Daily Candy)

2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
1 whole chicken, quartered
2 dried pasilla chiles (we found these at Whole Foods)
9 Roma tomatoes, chopped in half
Tortilla strips (we used crumbled tortilla chips)
Avocado, sliced
Shredded Mexican blend cheese
Cilantro, chopped
Lime, cut into wedges

In a large pot, place half of the onion and garlic, the carrots, bay leaves, peppercorns, and chicken. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken by two inches. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 45 minutes later. If you can, skin off any fat that collects at the top, or wait until later to do so (I did the latter).

Remove the chicken to a bowl, wait for it to cool, and shred into small pieces. Meanwhile, pour the stock through cheesecloth and discard the vegetables while reserving the liquid. As the stock cools the fat will collect at the top and will make it easier to remove.

On a non-stick sprayed baking sheet, broil the tomatoes and remaining onion and garlic. My tomatoes never charred, but I stopped when I could tell that the onion and garlic were done and the tomato skins were peeling back. When cool enough to handle, remove the skims from the tomatoes.

Also broil the chiles for just a few minutes until toasted, but not burnt. Transfer to warm water for 5-10 minutes, which will prove difficult as the chiles will have inflated under the broiler and will float obnoxiously.

When ready, blend the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and chiles until smooth. In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat some olive oil and fry the tomato puree. Be very careful as this mixture will splatter everywhere and will make you blister when it lands on you but you're too busy stirring to keep the splattering to a minimum and can't wipe the burning mix off of you until 10-15 minutes later. Once the puree has darkened in color and thickened, 5 minutes later, reduce the heat and add back the reserved chicken stock. The original recipe called for 4 quarts, but my stock only had about 3 quarts in it. Oh well. Simmer for 15 minutes.

At this point I placed the soup in the fridge and continued the next day by adding the chicken to the soup and cooking for another 10-15 minutes to heat up and let all the flavors mix together. I also, conveniently, removed a lot of the fat that had collected on the surface of the soup while overnight in the fridge. Serve with the remaining ingredients as a garnish and try to ignore the pain from the burning puree that splattered all over you.

Penne with Chicken, Sweet Potato and Sage

I was very surprised by how deep the flavors were in this dish. I found this recipe on Blue Kitchen, and Mike and both love sweet potatoes, so we figured we'd give it a try. This recipe is a keeper - delicious flavors and very cheap to make. I made only a couple of minor adjustments to the published version.

Sweet Potato Sage Pasta with Chicken

from the Blue Kitchen recipe

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage (or 2 teaspoons dried)

1 package of penne pasta

Parmesan cheese to taste (optional)

Start a pot of water for the pasta. Put the cubed sweet potato in a lidded, microwave-safe container. Add 2 teaspoons of water and microwave for 2 minutes with the lid vented. Test sweet potato with the tip of a sharp knife; the knife should insert easily. You want the potato just tender, but not mushy. If not, microwave it for an additional minute and test again. (Cook's Note: this took us 4 minutes.)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Drain sweet potato and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring and turning occasionally. Add onion and toss to coat. If using dried sage, add to pan now. Cook for a minute or two, stirring occasionally. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook until chicken is just cooked through, stirring occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic to pan and cook until just fragrant, about 45 seconds. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Add to skillet with sweet potato mixture and toss to combine. If the dish seems dry, add a little reserved pasta water, a tablespoon at a time (I didn’t need any). If you’re using fresh sage, sprinkle with 2/3 of the sage and toss to combine. Divide among shallow pasta bowls and top with remaining sage. Serve immediately.

We also added some Parmesan cheese to the finished dish - because pasta's always better with a little Parm. :)

So simple. So delicious!

White Lasagna with Chicken, Spinach and Mushrooms

Yesterday morning, while I was playing around on Bon Appetit's website, I stumbled upon an article called "Why Are You Not Making These Casseroles Tonight?" and Daniel Boulud's Chicken Lasagna with Wild Mushrooms and Fontina Cheese immediately caught my eye. After a little convincing, Mike added the recipe to our meal list this week.

It was a hit - AND we have enough leftovers for tomorrow's lunch, Tuesday's lunch, Friday's dinner and a final lunch on Saturday. This lasagna definitely feeds 12, folks.

I made several adjustments/changes/switches to the original recipe, which can be found here. I just couldn't justify making this dish with heavy cream, whole milk or chicken thighs. Then at 5PM this evening when I realized we'd forgotten to get white wine while we were out yesterday, I decided I'd just use sherry instead - I'm glad I did because it was soooo yummy.

Lasagna with Chicken, Wild Mushrooms, and Fontina Cheese

Makes 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

4-5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 lb. fresh wild mushrooms (such as chanterelle, black trumpet, or hen of the woods, also called maitake), trimmed, washed, and roughly chopped (we used 1/2 lb of button mushrooms, 1/2 lb cremini mushrooms and 2 tbsp of rehydrated morels)
1/2 lb. spinach leaves, stems removed, washed (we used baby spinach)
4 tbsp butter
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into approximately 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fat free half and half
3 cups skim milk
1/2 bunch Italian parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
16 dried lasagna noodles
1 lb. fontina cheese, cut into small dice
1 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and celery with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium high, and add mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then add the spinach with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook until spinach is wilted and mushrooms are tender. Remove the vegetables from the pot and set aside, but leave any remaining liquid in the bottom of the pan.

Add the butter to the same pot, and adjust the heat to medium. Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper, and add to the melted butter. Cook, stirring, until the chicken is almost cooked through but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add the sherry and simmer until almost completely reduced (about 30 minutes). Sprinkle the flour over the chicken, and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, allowing the flour to coat the chicken and absorb the liquid. Gradually stir in the cream and milk, scraping the pot to release any cooked flour from the bottom and sides (if necessary, stir with a whisk to break up any lumps). Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly, allowing the liquid to thicken. With a spoon or ladle, reserve 1 cup of liquid. Remove the pot from the heat, and add the cooked vegetables and mushrooms. Add the chopped parsley. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.

To Assemble the Lasagna

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles for about 8 minutes; they should be not quite cooked through (al dente). Strain the noodles in a colander, and rinse in cold water. Drain, then toss noodles with 2 tablespoons of olive oil to prevent sticking. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9" x 13" baking pan. Place a layer of 4 noodles on the bottom, overlapping them slightly. Top with one third of the chicken mixture, then one third of the diced fontina. Repeat layering twice, finishing with a layer of noodles. Spread the reserved sauce on the noodles and then sprinkle with Parmesan. (At this stage, the lasagna can be refrigerated overnight. Cover tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.) Cover with aluminum foil or a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Increase heat to 400 degrees F, remove the foil, and continue to bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes more.

Chicken Marsala with Green Beans and Cous Cous

I was feeling lonely because Brit was hanging out with friends for dinner, so I invited MLove to come on over and I would cook for her. Brit will later join us so that we could all watch our favorite show, Top Chef, together. Brit and I had already planned to cook chicken marsala for tonight's meal and I threw in some steamed green beans and cous cous to round it all out. The green beans were flavored and seasoned with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. The cous cous was seasoned with salt, pepper, curry powder, cumin, and chili pepper flakes. I'm always super critical of my own dishes, especially when serving them to company, but the reviews from my dinner company were positive.

Brown Rice & Black Bean Casserole

Mike sent me the link to this recipe a few days ago. It looked pretty good so we decided to try it. The original recipe called for way too much time on the rice portion (simmer 1/3 cup of rice and 1 cup of broth for 45 minutes?! Not unless you want to burn the bottom of your pan...not to mention the rice), so I edited it a little bit. The finished product turned out really well!

Brown Rice & Black Bean Casserole

(Adapted from On My Menu's recipe )

1/3 cup brown rice

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium zucchini, chopped or thinly sliced

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (canned chicken would work, as well)

3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1 tsp cumin

Salt, to taste

Cayenne Pepper, to taste

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (4 oz.) can green chilies

1/3 cup carrots, chopped small

2 cups shredded swiss cheese (we used TJ's light Mexican cheese blend)

Mix the rice and chicken broth in pot on stovetop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low,

cover and simmer for 15-ish minutes, or until rice is tender. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a medium-sized casserole dish (we used 9x9) with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the zucchini, chicken, and mushrooms. Season with cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until zucchini is lightly browned and chicken is heated through. In a large bowl, mix the rice, onion, zucchini, chicken, mushrooms, beans, chilies, carrots, and half of the cheese. Transfer to the baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cover casserole dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Chicken Paprikash

Brit found this recipe in the December issue of Food Network Magazine. I don't know why, but I was a little skeptical at first, but the more I looked at the ingredients, the better it looked. I'm really glad I got over my gut reaction, because this meal was sooooo good. The sauce is incredible and the chicken turned out really, really, really, really tender. Brit and I are definitely going to make this dish again.

Chicken Paprikash
(very minimally adapted from a Food Network Recipe)

Serves 4

1 package (8 oz) egg noodles
6 slices turkey bacon, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup flour
2-3 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cubed
2 cups veggie broth
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Cook the egg noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, cook the diced bacon over medium heat. Since I used turkey bacon, I used a little olive oil to help it cook. After 2-3 minutes, add in the onion and bell pepper and saute 2-3 more minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, paprika, marjoram, and 1 tsp of salt in a large bowl. Toss the cubed chicken until it's well coated.

Push the bacon and veggies to the side and increase the heat to high. Add a little olive oil to the space in the skillet and add in the chicken. Cook and turn until browned on the outside. Stir everything together and cook another 1-2 minutes.

Now, add the chicken broth and bring everything to a boil. Reduce to the heat to low or where needed to let it simmer. Cook another 10 minutes until the chicken is done. Once cooked through, increase the heat to high for 1-2 minutes. Again reduce the heat to low, stir in the sour cream, and cook another 1-2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve over the noodles.

Yakisoba with Marinated Chicken

This is another remake of a dish we made a long time ago. In fact, Yakisoba was the first dish Brit and I ever blogged out. This is a recipe that I brought from my childhood and used to be a regular staple while I was growing up.

We once again didn't use actual yakisoba noodles as we're unsure as to where to find them. Instead we used about 26 oz of Udon noodles from Maxx's produce. The noodles were cooked according to the package directions, drained, rinsed in cold water, and set aside until ready to be stir fried.

The last time we cooked this dish we felt that the noodles overpowered the remaining ingredients. To help fix that, we doubled the amount of carrots and also included a package of sliced mushrooms from Trader Joes. I also increased the quantity of the sauce by 50% to help coat all of the noodles and give the whole dish more flavor.

Brit sauteed the onion and carrots in some olive oil and then added in the mushrooms cooking them until most of their liquids have been released. The veggies and noodles were then transferred and cooked in a large pot together, which was probably not the best option. We should definitely use a wok next time to help mix everything together well. The sauce was added and once everything was well coated, the previously marinated, cooked, and sliced chicken was added in and mixed well. We gave the whole dish a minute or two to heat up the chicken and then eagerly served, garnished, and dug in.

By far a huge improvement over our last experience and the last time it was fantastic. Next time we can only hope we'll find real yakisoba noodles to use.

Green Salad with Grilled Chicken & Caesar Dressing

This weekend, Mike and I volunteered with our friends Jeremy and Kendra at a camp in rural New York. We spent Saturday wandering the campus, picking up remnants of an epic shaving cream battle and harnessing teenagers into a giant three-person swing that drops passengers from 60 feet in the air. As lovely as it was to escape the city, we were both ready to come home and eat something green and not-fried.

Enter Mike's last-minute salad suggestion. We ran to Trader Joe's, grabbed a bag of mixed greens and some grilled chicken for protein, then came home and quickly assembled what we deemed to be a mighty successful, mostly-healthful meal. Definitely going on our list of recipes to tweak and repeat.

Green Salad with Grilled Chicken & Caesar Dressing
(Caesar Dressing adapted from Epicurious recipe)

Salad Ingredients

1 bag of mixed greens
2 carrots, diced
1/4 cup walnut pieces
2ish tablespoons herbed goat cheese
2 chicken breasts

Caesar Dressing Ingredients

7 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
5 anchovies, roughly chopped
3/4 cup TJ's reduced fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup reduced fat buttermilk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat a cast-iron grill pan on medium heat (if you have an actual grill, by all means use it instead). Spray it quickly with olive oil spray to lubricate. Quickly salt and pepper the chicken breasts and then place them on the grill pan. Cover with a large sauce pan lid. Grill breasts for 7-8 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat, let the chicken rest for 4-5 minutes and dice into bite-sized pieces.

While the chicken is on the grill, finely chop the garlic and anchovies in a food processor. Add the mayonnaise, buttermilk, parmesan, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Blend in the food processor until smooth. Season with black pepper to taste. Cook's note: This will make plenty of leftovers.

In a large bowl, combine greens, carrots and about 1/2 of the dressing (or enough to coat the greens). Serve salad with walnut pieces, diced chicken and goat cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Roaster with Curried Lentil Soup and Spinach

It has been a while since Brit and I made our favorite soup, the curried lentil soup, so we eagerly put it on our meal calendar and planned to serve it along side Brit's incredible chicken roaster and some wilted spinach. My father had recently tried to make the soup himself (he feel in love with it after Brit and I had cooked it for my family in July) but found that it was too liquid. Paying closer attention to my own experience I found that the lentils cooked in about 35 minutes, but that my soup was also still quite liquid. I let the soup simmer at a slightly hotter temperature for an additional 5-10 minutes and that definitely concentrated it quite well. This soup is so good I'd recommend it to anyone. It could even be made vegan and pareve by substituting the butter for margarine.

Braised Chicken with Brown Rice, Broccoli, and Cauliflower

A long time ago Brit and I tried for something new and decided to cook a lamb shank. We normally don't eat red meat, but we had just bought ourselves a dutch oven and were willing to break our rule for just one night. I had asked my mom if she had any suggestions for what to do with the lamb and she sent us a recipe of hers for a braised lamb shank with a rosemary and garlic sauce. Sadly, for what we to believe were technical reasons, the lamb did not turn out very well. However, the rosemary and garlic sauce was incredible. So, I've wanted to retry that recipe for a while now but try using a chicken instead of a lamb so that we wouldn't feel so guilty about eating any red meat.

The chicken turned out fantastically well. It was incredibly tender and tasty. The sauce was also quite good, but not as good as when we first made the lamb. The flavor infused into the sauce from the lamb was not something we would have been able to replicate with the chicken. Oh well.

We paired our chicken with brown rice, roast cauliflower and steamed brocooli. It was quite a feast.

Braised Chicken

Whole Chicken (we picked up a 4.5 lb. chicken from our favorite Halal Meat Market)
Salt
Black pepper
Paprika
Olive oil
7-8 cloves garlic, chopped
Bunch of green onions, chopped
Onion, chopped
Rosemary
Thyme
Sage
1 cup white wine
3 cups chicken stock (you may need more or less depending on the size of your cooking pot and chicken)


Preheat your oven to 325 F.

Generously rub salt, pepper, and paprika all over your chicken. Heat up olive oil in a medium to large dutch oven. Sear the chicken on all sides until brown. This shouldn't taken more than 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside. Brown the garlic, green onion, and onion for just a few minutes. Add in the wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Throw in the herbs, return the chicken with all of its juices, and then add enough chicken stock to cover half of the chicken. Secure the dutch oven lid and stick in the oven.
We cooked ours for about an hour. We knew it was done because we had inserted a cooking thermometer probe into the thigh of the chicken and cooked it until it was 165 F. We then let it rest on top of the stove for about 45 minutes while we cooked the rest of our meal. Future braisings would hopefully be better planned and the meat wouldn't sit out for longer than 10-15 minutes.

If you don't have a cooking thermometer, I bet any chicken would be done in 1-1.5 hours. If you overcook it, it shouldn't be a problem as the liquids in the dutch oven will keep it from drying out.

Chicken Marinade with Cous cous and Asparagus

Brit and I needed an easy meal to make as we had a very narrow amount of time between when we both got home from work and when we would have to leave to go see Bush and Chevelle in concert (with Filter opening). To briefly describe the concert: Gavin Rossdale rocked the house and Filter has become really, really awful. The lead singer lost his ability to sing and none of their new music is tolerable.

Chicken Marinade

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs chicken breasts (we got ours from the fantastic Halal meat market around the corner)
Soyaki marinade (a great TJs marinade)

Trim the chicken, slice thin, and stab a few times with your knife.  Immerse in a sealable container (whether it's a ziploc bag or a bowl with saran wrap on top, and marinate overnight (we did 48 hours because we're crazy).

We then baked the chicken at 450 F until it was done (prob 30 minutes).

The chicken was paired with some cous cous and asparagus we boiled and then seasoned with white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Chicken Pot & Apple Pie (separately)

Oh my goodness. I think I went a little crazy this weekend. It's getting cooler - time for food for cooler weather. Comfort foods, and foods that make me want to curl up with my favorite person and watch Modern Family afterward. I got really, really excited when I found a recipe for chicken pot pie in the October issue of Bon Appetit. It looked so incredible that I just couldn't resist. So I spent all of this afternoon preparing it. It was worth every single minute - I think Mike can attest to that.

Chicken Pot Pie (faithfully prepared, with a few minute changes, from the October 2011 issue of Bon Appetit)

Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for surface
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes (Cook's Note: I accidentally only used 1 stick of butter, and in retrospect, I stand by my mistake. I will only use 1 stick for this recipe)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Chicken:
2 cups peeled, coarsely chopped carrots
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 leek, coarsely chopped
1 3-pound whole chicken
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
6 sprigs thyme
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Filling:
2 tablespoons dried chanterelle or shiitake mushrooms (we used the dried morel we had in the pantry)
1 cup 1/2" slices peeled carrots
1 cup fresh (or frozen, thawed) peas
1 cup pearl onions
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 fresh sage leaves
4 thyme sprigs
2 sprigs rosemary (Oopsy, we forgot to pick the rosemary. But it was still delicious)
1 cup button mushrooms, halved if large
1 cup 1/4" rounds sliced fingerling potatoes
1 egg, beaten to blend
Coarse sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper, optional

For crust:
Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor. Add cubed butter and shortening and process until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size lumps. With machine running, add 1/2 cup ice water and process, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry, until dough forms. Form dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 12x9 1/2" rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Place on prepared sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

For chicken:
Preheat oven to 400°. Place carrots, onion, and leek on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large pot fitted with a lid. Add chicken, breast side down, celery, thyme sprigs, wine, salt, and peppercorns to pot. Add 8 cups water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat, cover, and poach chicken until cooked through, about 35 minutes.
Remove chicken from pot and set aside until cool. Reserve broth. Shred meat; discard skin and bones. Set a large strainer over another pot. Strain broth into clean pot. Stir in tomato paste. Return to medium heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 5 cups, about 40 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cool. Cover chicken and broth separately; keep chilled. Rewarm broth before continuing.

For filling:
Place dried morels in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup hot water. Let steep for 10 minutes; set aside. Reserve soaking liquid. Cook carrots in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium bowl. Add peas to saucepan; cook for 1 minute; transfer to bowl with carrots. Add onions to saucepan and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside; let cool. Peel onions.
In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Whisk in herbs and warm broth from chicken. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chanterelles to saucepan. Pour in soaking liquid, leaving sediment behind. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Set a strainer over another large pot. Strain broth into pot; discard solids. Add chicken, carrots, peas, onions, mushrooms, and potatoes. Bring to a simmer. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cool; cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Spoon filling into an 11x8x2" or 2 1/2-quart round baking dish. (Add pie bird, if using.) Top with pastry, pinching edges to seal. If not using pie bird, cut a 1" slit in center of crust for steam to vent. Brush pastry with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, if desired.
Place pot pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 45 minutes.
This was hands-down the best chicken pot pie I have ever had. If you ever want to spend an afternoon in the kitchen, just try it. It is so worth it.
For dessert, I made an apple pie with fresh apples from the farmer's market.
Apple Pie
(loosely adapted from Smitten Kitchen's recipe)

I used the crust recipe from the chicken pot pie above, except I used both sticks of butter that it called for and I added 2 tablespoons of sugar. I also separated the dough into two equal parts, flattened them and refrigerated them for 1 hour.

I did not lattice the pie.

1 1/2 pounds ginger gold apples (about 3 medium) (any green apple will do)
2 pounds Braeburn apples (about 4 large) (any reddish baking apple will do)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
About 1 cup + 1 tablespoon of sugar
2 - 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 egg white, beaten lightly
1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat rimmed baking sheet and oven to 500°F. Remove one piece of dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable).
2. Roll dough on lightly floured work surface or between two large sheets of plastic wrap to 12-inch disk. Transfer dough to pie plate by rolling dough around rolling pin and unrolling over 9 1/2-inch pie plate or by folding dough in quarters, then placing dough point in center of pie plate and unfolding. Working around circumference of pie plate, ease dough into pan corners by gently lifting dough edges with one hand while pressing around pan bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs lip of plate in place; refrigerate dough-lined pie plate.
3. Peel, core and cut apples in half, and in half again width-wise; cut quarters into 1/4-inch slices and toss with lemon juice. In a medium bowl, sugar, flour, salt and spices. Toss dry ingredients with apples. Turn fruit mixture, including juices, into chilled pie shell and mound slightly in center.
4. Roll out second piece of dough to 12-inch disk and place over filling. Trim top and bottom edges to 1/2-inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with pan lip. Flute edging or press with fork tines to seal. Cut four slits on dough top. If pie dough is very soft, place in freezer for 10 minutes. Brush egg white onto top of crust and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
5. Place pie on baking sheet and lower oven temperature to 425°F. Bake until top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Rotate pie and reduce oven temperature to 375°F; continue baking until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30-35 minutes longer.
6. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours.

Mediterranean Chicken Stew

I subscribed to an unhealthy number of food blogs (or maybe it's the other way around) and I'm always excited to read their daily suggestions. Tonight's recipe came from The Kitchn (yes, it's lacking an e on purpose) and was appealing to me because of how good the recipe looked and how quickly it would be to cook it. Part of what makes the dish so quick to make is that the author created a shortcut by buying a pre-cooked chicken from the store and just tearing off chunks to be included in the stew. Brit makes an incredible roast chicken on her own, so I figured I would just ask her to cook a whole chicken for our meal instead of buying one from the store.

Mediterranean Chicken Stew
(Adapted from a recipe posted on The Kitchn food blog)

Serves 4

Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup chicken broth
2 bay leaves
Black pepper
1/2 roast chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice

Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute the onions until they are soft, about 7-8 minutes. Throw in the garlic and oregano and stir for another minute to prevent any burning. Toss in the tomatoes (with their liquid), chickpeas, broth, bay leaves, and pepper to taste. Stir, bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the chicken pieces and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove the stew from the heat, stir in the olives and lemon juice, and serve!

We served our stew over some cinnamon couscous (as was originally recommended in the recipe) but only seasoned the grain with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. We did not include the recommended raisins and orange juice.

Overall, the stew was fantastic. Perfect weeknight meal and made some great leftovers. Just be careful not to get any pieces of the bay leaf or you'll end up choking on them or chewing for far too long. I'd add in some more olives and lemon juice the next time I make this and I'll definitely be making this again.

Roast Chicken with Tunisian Potato Turnovers and Curried Lentil Soup

We had some friends over for dinner last night. One of my go-to dinner party entrees (okay, who am I kidding, it's one of my most frequently prepared entrees) is roast chicken. Unless you're a vegetarian, it's bound to be satisfying in the most innocuous way, and it's a great complement to almost any type of cuisine - Italian, Mexican, Indian, or in this case, Tunisian(ish). I prepared some potato turnovers and Mike made one of our other favorites - curried lentil soup - as sides.

Tunisian Potato Turnovers
(from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites)

2 cups of potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups of sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 garlic cloves (or 5, or 6)
3 tbsp of plain nonfat yogurt
2 tsp ground caraway seed
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne
salt to taste
3 tbsp scallions, chopped
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 package Fillo dough
3-5 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook the potatoes, sweet potatoes and garlic in water to cover until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and thoroughly mash them by hand with the yogurt, scallions, caraway, coriander, cumin, cayenne, lemon juice and salt until very smooth. Add more salt to taste.

Prepare a baking sheet with a light coating of cooking spray. Set aside near your work area.

Place the filling, filo, oil, a pastry brush and a clean damp towel on the counter top within easy reach. Unfold the stack of filo and in one smooth motion, remove a sheet and place it flat on the counter top with one of the short sides nearest you. Brush it lightly with olive oil. Working quickly, add a second and then a third sheet, oiling each lightly. Cover the remaining stack of filo with the damp towel as you work to prevent it from drying out and becoming brittle.

Cut lengthwise through the three oiled sheets to make three strips. Place two rounded tablespoons of filling on each strip, one near the bottom and one about a third of the way up. With a table knife or the back of a spoon, spread the filling to thinly cover the bottom half of each strip. Fold the lower left corner up and over diagonally so that the bottom edge is aligned with the right side. Fold straight up and then to the left. Continue to fold as you would a flag to make a small triangular pastry. Place each triangle on the baking sheet.

Repeat three more times until all of the filo and filling has been used and you have 16 turnovers. Brush the tops with any remaining oil.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.

Jeremy and Kendra both seemed to enjoy the meal and did mildly rave about the lentil soup. After dinner we started watching Gone With the Wind, but only made it through the first act. We'll be heading over to their place later this week to let them cater us a meal and to finish the epic movie.

Chicken and Refried Bean Fajitas

I saw a fajitas recipe on the Closet Cooking blog and got inspired. Brit and I love making any sort of Tex-mex dish and put together an easy recipe for us to try.

Fajitas

Whole wheat tortillas
1 can refried beans
Salsa
Sour cream
Brown rice
Avocado, sliced
Chicken slices (we used pieces of meat from a whole chicken that Brit had recently roasted)
Bell pepper, sliced
Onions, diced
1 tomato, diced
Lemon juice
Jalapeno pepper, minced
Salt
Pepper

Heat up the refried beans with a few scoops of salsa. Also use a few scoops of sour cream, if you don't forget to include it, like I did.

Saute the bell pepper with half of the onion and set aside.

Make a pico de gallo with the remaining onion, tomato, lemon juice, jalapeno pepper, salt and pepper.
Heat up the tortillas in a skillet with some non-stick spray and assemble the fajita.

Put down a layer of refried beans, rice, chicken, pico de gallo, avocado, salsa, and sour cream.
Try your best to eat with grace, but just give in, cut it all up with a knife, mix it together into a tex-mex mush, and enjoy.

Roast Chicken with Curried Lentil Soup, Israeli Cous Cous and Pumpkin Cheesecake

Our friend Melissa was kind enough to pick me up from the airport after my trip to Oregon with Mike (and by "kind enough," I mean she was a saint for waiting until 12:30AM), so we invited her and a couple of friends over for dinner and a board game to thank her. Roast chicken is one of my go-to dinner entrees for guests, since it's universally appealing (unless you're vegetarian - but there are plenty of other meatless options for those occasions) and relatively simple to prepare. The Israeli couscous is a recipe we obtained from Mike's mom while we were visiting Portland - we prepared it for a cookout they planned in honor of Mike's visit, and it was so good we couldn't wait to make it again.

The pumpkin cheesecake dessert is Mike's favorite to make, and it's so delicious that I can almost never refuse a slice of it.

Overall, the dinner and game night was quite a success. I can't wait to do it again!

Roast Chicken
(adapted from My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken from Epicurious.com )

1 whole chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1 long piece of butcher's twine
a meat thermometer

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Using two small bowls, pour salt into one and cracked black pepper into the other. Set aside.

Rinse the chicken under cold water, then pat it dry with paper towels - it is very important that the chicken is as dry as possible, inside and out, to ensure a crisp skin.

Salt and pepper the inner cavity of the chicken, then truss it using the butcher's twine. When I was learning how to truss a chicken, I used the below video from Chow.com. You will notice there are comments about this being the "wrong" way to truss a chicken, but I don't care - it's easy and secures the chicken and turns out perfectly.

How to truss a chicken

Once the chicken is trussed, set it in a 9x13 baking dish, legs pointing upward. I love the way the original recipe describes salting and peppering the chicken, so I'll repeat it here: Rain the salt over the skin, being sure to get some granules on all of the appendages - this is key to extracting all the flavor of the chicken and to crisping the skin. Then, repeat the technique with the black pepper.

Stick the meat thermometer in between the leg and the breast - you want to make sure it's deep in the meat of the bird so you get an accurate temperature reading. Place the chicken in the oven. You want to meat to reach 165 degrees. I usually set a timer for 45 - 50 minutes, check on the thermometer, and set it for another 10-15 minutes. I try to remove the bird from the oven when the thermometer registers 163-164 degrees - it will continue to cook for a few minutes before it starts to cool.

Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest 15-20 minutes before serving.

Curried Lentil Soup
(Originally posted on Epicurious.com)
Serves 4-6

Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped and divided
2 tbsp (or more) curry powder
1 cup green lentils

4 1/4 cups water, divided
1 15-16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and carrot and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Once translucent, add half of the garlic and cook until the veggies are soft. Stir in 2 tbsp of curry powder and cook an additional minute. Add the lentils and 4 cups of water. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, increase heat until the soup boils, reduce to medium and simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through.

Meanwhile, puree the chickpeas, lemon juice, 1/4 cup water, remaining garlic, and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Once the lentils are done, stir in the chickpea puree and butter. Season with salt, pepper, and additional curry powder to taste. Serve with green onions and lemon wedges.


Israeli Couscous with Asparagus, Peas, and Sugar Snaps

serves a lot

4 tbsp lemon olive oil, divided (if you don't have lemon olive oil you can add the lemon juice to the oil when it's shimmering hot)
4 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cups (6-7 oz) Israeli couscous
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth
14 oz (2.5 cups) asparagus, trimmed and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
8 oz (2.5 cups) sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup green peas
1/2 cup chives, chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Whisk 2 tbsp olive oil, half the garlic, and lemon peel in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the couscous, sprinkle with salt, and saute until most of it is golden brown. Add 1 3/4 cups broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the couscous is done in about 10 minutes. More broth can be added if it is all absorbed before the couscous is fully cooked and tender.
Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Cook asparagus, snap peas, green peas, and remaining garlic. Season with salt and pepper and saute for a few minutes until crisp-tender. Mix the vegetables with the couscous and dressing in a large bowl. Add the chives and cheese and toss together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Pumpkin Cheesecake
by Mike!

Crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Filling:
3 packages (24 oz total) cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
4 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin (Try to avoid the pre-flavored cans. It doesn't turn out as well)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all of the ingredients for the crust in a medium sized bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 10 inch springform pan and set aside. Do not bake! I know a lot of pie recipes involve the pre-cooking of the crust, but do not bake!
To make the filling, beat the cream cheese and sugars in a large bowl on medium speed until fluffy.
Brit's amazing grandparents recently bought her a Kitchen-Aid, so I no longer have to do this with a ridiculously old electric mixer that smells like it's burning up every time I use it. (Thanks for giving it to me mom! At least I had one, right?!)
Add the eggs, one at a time, while mixing on low, until each egg is just blended. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. I would occasionally stop and scrape down any bit of the filling that had gotten stuck near the top of the bowl and wasn't properly incorporated.
Pour the filling into crust and bake for 70-75 minutes when the top is lightly browned. Run a small knife around the rim of the pan to loosen the cheesecake and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the cake for at least four hours before serving. NOMS!

Chicken Tostadas

Brit and I had leftover tortillas and cheese from our quesadillas that we needed to use up before we go on vacation this Saturday. Our veggie tostadas turned out really well, so I proposed we make tostadas again. We also had lots of leftover chicken from a chicken roaster Brit made on Sunday, so we only needed a few more ingredients to make ourselves some chicken tostadas.

Chicken Tostadas

serves 4

Roast chicken
Tortillas
Mexican blend cheese
1 onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
Olive oil
Chicken stock
Salt pepper
Sour cream
Chipotle salsa
1 can refried beans
1 tomato, diced

Mix the can of refried beans in a small pot with some healthy scoops of salsa over low-medium heat until hot.

Saute the sliced onion and bell pepper in a little olive oil and fully cook in a few splashes of chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

In the same saute pan, spray with non-stick spray, and toast the tortillas over low heat until brown and crisp.

On your plate, layer one toasted tortilla, the bean/salsa mixture, cheese, roast chicken pieces, sauteed veggies, diced tomatoes, sour cream, and more salsa.

Pretend you can eat this dish with grace, give up after just one or two bites, cut it all up, mix together, and enjoy! Go back for seconds if you desire.

Chicken Curry with Southern Greens over Brown Rice

Even though we've been planning to make it all week, the curry was inevitably put off until last night - it's delicious, but it takes an excruciatingly long time to prepare - at least it seems like forever when you get home at 5:30, already tired and hungry for dinner. But it's a great weekend meal and totally worth the 1.5 hour wait.

Chicken Curry with Cashews
(based on the Epicurious recipe, tweaked to make it slightly healthier)

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped (2 cups)
8 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
3ish tablespoons curry powder (I rarely accurately measure spices, and I err on the side of more of it)
2 teaspoons salt
1ish teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne
2 lbs. chicken breast, sliced on a diagonal (about 30 pieces)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes - I used about 2/3 of a 28-oz. can
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup cashews (1/4 pound)
3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt


Heat butter in a 5- to 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderately low heat until foam subsides, then cook onions slowly, for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, stirring, until softened, about 5 more minutes. Add curry powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring to coat, 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, including juice, and cilantro and bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes.

Just before serving:
Pulse cashews in a food processor or electric coffee/spice grinder until very finely ground, then add to curry along with yogurt and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring, until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.
Cook's Note: I followed the cooking instructions almost to a T - the only difference was that I cooked the onions for a few minutes before I added the garlic and ginger. This was the third time I've made this curry recipe and this go 'round was by far the best; the chicken was tender, the curry creamy, and the flavor was deep and rich. I will continue to follow the instructions as written from now on - for this recipe, anyway. :)

Chicken Marsala

This is one of my favorite dishes that I used to make before I met Brit. I think it might have also been the first dish I made for Brit after we started dating. Cooking it is fairly simple, it's full of some awesome flavors, and it was about time I made it again for the two of us.

Chicken Marsala
(adapted from a June 1995 Gourmet magazine recipe)

Serves 3-4

1.5 lbs chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
3.5 tbsp butter, divided
1 onion, diced
3/4 lbs mushrooms, sliced
3/8 cup marsala
3/4 cup chicken broth

Clean and cut the chicken breasts down to a quarter of their original size, pat dry, and season all over with salt and pepper.

Over medium-high heat, melt a tbsp of butter with a tbsp of olive oil and brown the chicken. Be careful not to cook the chicken for too long. Once the chicken is done, remove with tongs to a plate and set aside.

In the remaining fat in the pan, cook the onions and mushrooms until all of the liquid the mushrooms give off has evaporated. Add the marsala and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated. Add back the chicken, any drippings on the plate, and the stock. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, turning the chicken once, until the chicken is cooked through.

Use tongs to remove the chicken to a plate and set aside. Increase the heat on the pan, reduce the stock in half, and then add the remaining two tbsp of butter. Reduce the heat, stir until the butter has melted, and serve.

We served the chicken with a side of brown rice (seasoned with salt, pepper, curry powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and dried oregano) and steamed broccoli (seasoned with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper). The onions, mushrooms, and broth were poured liberally over everything and we dug in quite excitedly.
This was probably the best version of this dish I have ever made. The chicken was so incredibly tender (I've over-cooked it before), the mushrooms capture the marsala flavor so well, and the broth is such an excellent sauce.