The Sinclair (and I'm back from hiatus!)

It's the last day of 2012, and I know that I have been on quite a hiatus these last few months. My resolution for the new year is to get back into the swing of things here, because I miss it. Sometimes it's easier to drop something you love doing, rather than having to fit everything into those 24 hours we have each day, but I need to make time for this, thus my resolution. My inspiration was easy! We have a friend who has had an integral part in opening a new restaurant/music venue in the Harvard Square area, called The Sinclair. Not yet open to the public, they invited friends and family to join them this weekend for a delicious meal, on them! We couldn't pass up an invitation like that, and I'll tell you one thing - it may be my new go-to place in Cambridge!

I'm not sure of the opening date yet, but I do know that the first concert they will host is taking place on January 12th, and it's a big name! Howie Day will be in Cambridge! I haven't gotten to see the space for concerts yet, but I'm sure I will soon! For this post, I'd like to tell you about the delicious food we ate, and the wonderful cocktails we imbibed! Michael Schlow, of Via Matta and Radius fame, had a hand in the menu collaboration and back-of-house set up, and he was even there, overseeing the Friends and Family event. It's a plus to have such a big name behind them, and the menu does not disappoint. I immediately realized that I wanted one of everything! 

We started by looking at the drinks menus (there were several), and both of us decided on cocktails for the occasion. I opted for the Whiskey Smash, which is made with George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey, muddled mint, lemon, sugar and Angostura Bitters. It was the perfect drink for the cold and cough I've been nursing for the past few days. Matt decided on the North X South, with Mezcal Vida, Hellfire Honey Sassafras Syrup, Carpano Antica and lime. We both really enjoyed the flavors, but also the creativity of the drinks menu. It was a pleasure to read, and choose from!

Our lovely waitress, Carla, came over to take our appetizer order so we asked for the Local Crab, the Steak Tartare, and the Grilled Artichoke Salad. They all came out within minutes of each other but we dug into the Artichoke Salad first. The bitter greens atop the tender, grilled artichoke hearts were balanced really nicely, and the topping of crispy onions added some great flavor. The dressing of an herb emulsion was quite satisfying, and there was just enough to add flavor, without over dressing the greens. It really was a delicious salad!

As for the Steak Tartare, and the Local Crab - both were yummy! It was a bit of the same type of consistency in both dishes, but with very different tastes. The Local Crab came with some chopped green apple and celery, along with a little gelee, and purple potato chips! When I had a bite of every flavor together, the result was fantastic! Separately, the flavors were just kind of there, but together, they just popped! It was a wonderful pairing! The steak was delicious, mixed with cornichons and accompanied by these tiny little baby mushrooms (adorable!) and truffle aioli. My only complaint - I needed more crostinis so that I could eat more of it!!

Before the entrees arrived, it was time for a second round of cocktails, and we both decided on drinks that would follow well from our first choices, but also allow us to try something new! I opted for a Sazerac (I love the oldies!), with Rye Whiskey, Sugar, Angostura Peychaud's Bitters, and an Absinthe rinse. It was straight-up, and delicious! :) Matt decided to move from Mezcal to Tequila, with the Bull Fight, which used el Jimador Reposada Tequila, House Falernum, Drambuie, lime and ginger beer. Again, the creativity of these drinks is really appealing, and the concoctions work!

Okay, second round of drinks - check! The entrees arrived and the award for Prettiest Plating of the night goes to, ding ding ding, the Grilled Prawns, with Tasso Ham, Spinach and Creamy Grits. It was such a beautiful plate that I almost didn't want to eat it, but wait, yes I did! It looked SO delicious! The grits were creamy and flavorful, the spinach was resting atop a delicious tomato sauce, and the prawns, well, they were cooked perfectly! All the flavors were so interesting separately, but then melded so well together without overpowering each other. It was a very balanced dish, and really a plate full of southern hospitality! It was so comforting! 

Matt opted for the Branzino (my second choice), which is a delicious fish, served with the skin, cooked until crispy, atop white beans, smoked bacon and a shellfish broth. It was a hearty dish with great flavors. He cleaned that plate!

This was a fantastic meal, and the space is very cool. Dark woods, caged lighting, and a relaxed atmosphere made it a really attractive place to hang out! And the fact that there's a music venue in the space as well - amazing! This is exactly what Harvard Square was missing, and I can't wait to go back! I think those Prawns and Grits just became by go-to cold weather comfort meal! Keep an eye out for it's opening dates, because this is one you'll want to check out!

I'm back, baby! :)

  

My Go-To Breakfast

Have you ever had guests come to visit, and been at a loss for what to make them for breakfast the next morning? This recipe will bring you out of that slump, I promise you that. It's delicious every time, it's easy, fast, and showcases your culinary expertise, even if you may think it's limited! This is something I found in the back section of my Food Network Favorites: Recipes from Our All-Star Chefs cookbook. I've used this book so much that all the pages have come away from the spine, and I'm about ready to hole-punch the pages and make a binder out of it!

It's called Baked Eggs with Farmhouse Cheddar and Potatoes, it uses a minimal amount of ingredients, and is a one-pot wonder! Less dishes = happy hostess, right? The majority of the prep time is taken up dicing the potatoes into pretty little squares. The recipe calls for red-skinned potatoes, and that makes for a very pretty dish, but I usually use whatever I have on hand, and everyone has potatoes on hand. This time around, I had some Yukon Golds to use up! If the potatoes are larger, I usually do 1 - 1 1/2 potatoes per person, if they are small, then I go with the weight measurement of about 1 1/2 pounds. I was feeding three of us this weekend, so I used about 5 medium-sized potatoes, and I've got a good trick for dicing them into lovely little squares! Cut the potato into thick slices and then split it in half and stack them with flat side down. Now you can cross-cut, horizontally and vertically, making beautiful, mostly symmetrical squares when the pieces fall apart!

Once the potatoes are prepped, you can start cooking, and then prep the rest of the ingredients while the potatoes cook. It's best to use a cast iron skillet for this recipe as it gives nice color to the potatoes, and can also transfer to the oven when you're ready to use it. I melted some butter into the pan first, and foremost.

Once the butter had melted, and I had spread it around the pan, I added the potatoes and left them to sizzle and brown, while I turned my attention back to my cutting board, where I had a few more things to chop. I chopped some parsley and a couple of garlic cloves, amidst intermittent potato-stirring. 

I got the eggs out of the fridge, in preparation for the next stage in the process:

...and shredded some sharp cheddar for the last step in the process.

Now, let's check on those potatoes, shall we!? Once they were tender and cooked through, I stirred in the parsley and garlic, along with some salt and pepper and let everything meld together for another minute or two. Now, it's time to make the wells for the eggs. The amount of people you are feeding will determinehow many areas you need to clear. For three people, I made a kind of peace sign out of my cast iron skillet, with the potatoes. If you had four people, you could move things around a bit to accommodate that. More than four people, and I'd say it's time to use two pans. Once you have your wells made, you can break two eggs into each of them.

At this point, the whole thing gets to go in the oven to bake! The recipe quotes times but I usually eyeball it, and move on to the next step once the whites of the eggs are stiff. That's the part that NEEDS to be cooked through. This time, I think I left them in a minute too long, and the yolks got a little overdone, but usually, they stay a little runny and ooze out into the potatoes when you cut into the whole thing!

Once the whites are stiff, it's time for that last step! Sprinkle the shredded cheddar all over the top, and stick back in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes, giving it time to get ooey, gooey and cheesy! It's a crowd-pleaser...every time, I guarantee it!

An Ode to Julia!

Happy 100th birthday to Julia Child! I remember watching her when I was a little girl. She would greet me with her unique "helloooooo" and then teach me something I didn't even know existed about cooking. I especially remember one episode, where Julia made a recipe that used raw eggs, but she wasn't planning on cooking those eggs at any point. My mom had always drilled into me that I shouldn't eat anything with raw eggs in it - no licking the bowl of cookie dough for me - and I just freaked out. "Julia's eating raw eggs," I yelled as I ran into the other room to find my mom and "tattle" on her. Little did I know that many things that are totally delicious are made with raw eggs - as long as they are fresh, you're probably good to go! Yea...probably, but usually, it's worth the risk!

Tonight, we visited Harvest, located in Harvard Square, for a delicious set menu honoring Julia Child's 100th birthday. I had purchased a Gilt City voucher a few months back for a great deal on a set three-course menu with wine pairings, and it just so happened that we hit the restaurant when they were offering a special menu. This was a three-course menu, plus an amuse, along with wine pairings and every bite/sip of it was absolutely delicious. First things first - the menu:

An amuse bouche is a small plate, consisting of a few bites, meant to "tickle" the palate before starting a meal. Today, we were offered a take on a Salade Nicoise, with a bite of tune conserve, a hard-boiled quail egg, a bit of anchovy, haricots verts, and some lovely heirloom potatoes. It was a very refreshing beginning to the meal, and I will definitely look for it as a dish on the menu next time I visit.

How pretty is this!?

For the appetizer, we received a delicious Sauvignon Blanc from Loire Valley, in France, which was paired with a yellow heirloom tomato, stuffed with bread crumbs, and floating atop a beautifully seasoned tomato water with sea beans and fine herbs. I don't think I've ever had sea beans before, but I know I've seen them on cooking shows, as one of those challenging ingredients that chefs don't know how to incorporate into the dish. I have to say, they added a wonderful crunchy texture to an otherwise soft consistency, and the tomato water was seasoned absolutely perfectly. The herbs added wonderful flavor to the dish, and it was really pretty to look at, as well!

I love the flowers that garnish the plate!

For our main course, our fabulous server brought us a beautiful plate, with four slices of duck breast, in a peach glaze. The duck was resting atop a potato gratin terrine with carrots, which was gorgeous to look at, but even more delicious to eat! Roasted root vegetables completed the dish, and every bite was as wonderful as the last! With the main course, we enjoyed a Grenache/Syrah from the Cote-de-Rhone, in France.

More flower petals!

As if I could eat anymore, there was still a dessert course to come, along with my favorite of the three wine pairings, a Semillon from Bordeaux. The richness of the cake was balanced by the fluffy lightness of the mascarpone, and complemented perfectly by the salted Dulce de Leche and the almonds. I love a little salt in my dessert and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect end to this fabulous meal!

That looks like ice cream, but it's really mascarpone! yum!

I've been to Harvest a handful of times aside from this visit. Before my parents moved here, they would come to visit me while I was at Boston University, and this was one of our go-to places. The food is always beautifully presented and delicious, and the service is impeccable! We will definitely be adding this one back into our repertoire after such a delicious meal tonight! Bravo to Harvest!

Harvest can be found at 44 Brattle Street, in Harvard Square. Call 617-868-2255, or go to OpenTable for reservations.

Food Truck Nation

Eating at a food truck makes me want to own one. I have ideas for them, and I get really excited until I realize that I'll need a lot of backing to actually start it up. (Insert donation plea here - ha!) Yesterday, I had a delicious lunch at a truck that my husband has been raving about for months, and I finally made it over there. It was definitely worth the walk!

The truck is called Staff Meal, and they have truck-made chorizo. Yup, they had me at "truck-made chorizo!" The menu selection consists of four basic choices, with the option of having each as tacos, or as a burrito, as well as a few specials - one of which is Matt's favorite. The line was long, people were excited to eat the food, and the employees are friendly and helpful!

I finally got my turn at the window, and ordered for both me and Matt. A "Steinberg" for him (half chorizo, half barbacoa, rice n' beans, "guac" and Alex's Ugly Sauce) and the Truck-Made Chorizo, Lime Crema, Radish and Lettuce burrito for me. I added a couple of Judge Smails' Half & Halfs (half lemonade, half iced tea blasted together) and pulled up the coupon I got on Yelp for checking in! After saving the dollar, I pulled up LevelUp to pay! I love how convenient they make this!

After toting my purchases over to a lovely bench down the way a bit, I took a sip of the refreshing beverage. It was a great concoction of iced tea and lemonade, not too much of either, but just right. It was just sweet enough, and just tart enough to be the perfect drink for a hot day in Boston!

Once properly refreshed by "Judge Smails," we both unwrapped our burritos and took a few bites! The chorizo is so fresh, the rice is perfectly cooked, and the sauces are interesting and flavorful. I thoroughly enjoyed mine, but the "Steinberg" was amazing. The combination of flavors made each bite really pop, and the mixture of barbacoa and chorizo was very complimentary! I think it was the guacamole that pulled it all together - that or the red cabbage they threw in there for some crunch - so good!)

I found Staff Meal's truck in City Hall Plaza, by Government Center, but you can check their website daily, or follow them on Twitter for alternate locations. I definitely recommend checking them out when you are in the mood for tacos or a burrito, because the food is delicious and really satisfies the craving. With fresh ingredients, and friendly faces, how can you go wrong!?!?

Days Fly By

Amidst the recuperating from my foot surgery, BBQs on hot summer nights, weekends away, and Groupons that are going to expire, I haven't done much cooking in the past few weeks. For this, I apologize, because when I don't cook, I don't really think to write - unless I visit a new and exciting place, but I haven't done that. I've been frequenting the many favorites (ones I've already written about) or hanging out with friends at home, grilling up simple steak tips, and trying to beat the humidity by not rushing around my kitchen in a frenzy.

As the days begin to get shorter, and the weather starts to get cooler, I definitely start to "nest," doing larger food shopping trips, and stocking the shelves for the comfort foods of cold weather. In preparation for this "nesting," I've been trying to organize my kitchen (as well as the rest of our apartment), and the first task on the list was the pantry. I have TOO MANY spices, oils, vinegars and other assorted ingredients. I realized that I have duplicate bottles of many things, as well as items in containers that aren't labeled and difficult to find in the back of these deep shelves.

So, I got out the label maker, I bought some little bottles for consolidating duplicates, and even got some adorable polka-dotted contact paper to pull it all together! I'm almost done with the first shelf! Yes, I've only done one shelf. It's a lot of work - it was the spice shelf! Once it's finished, I'll have an accurate account of the things I need to use up before going on anymore ingredient binges. I've got plenty to last me awhile, and all I need to supplement are fresh fruits and veggies, and proteins. I probably won't be making a set menu for a few weeks as I make my best effort to clear some things that need to be used up. I think I'll use farmers' markets and local stores to supplement what I've got in small amounts, since we still have a bunch of Groupon vouchers that expire at the end of the month, as well as lots of plans to take advantage of outdoor dining before the summer's up.

Thankfully, I'm getting around better now, and can take advantage of all that Boston has to offer in the summertime, while the weather's nice and the college kids are still on vacation! Once September hits, it's a mad house up in here! :)

Lasagna on the Fly!

"On the fly," is a term used in restaurant kitchens, when something needs to be cooked and delivered to a customer ASAP! That's exactly what happened last night! We got home a bit later than usual, and my husband needed to get to a softball game. He also needed to eat before he went, so I flew into the kitchen and whipped up a little something! This was the planned meal of the evening, but I thought I would have more time to prepare it, so I definitely pulled this out of somewhere!

Three things needed to happen before I could assemble the Sausage, Chard, and Lemon Lasagna. I had to simmer some lemon slices to soften them, cook the sausage until it was no longer pink, and create a delicious Bechamel sauce. I whizzed around the kitchen (well, as fast as my limping foot could take me) gathering my ingredients in my arms. I was able to do it one or two trips! I got three pots set on the stove and started preheating the oven too!

The first pot held a thinly sliced lemon, along with some water that I brought to a boil, and simmered for 7 minutes. This softened the lemons, bringing out the flavor and also making the entire thing (including the rind) edible and flavorful. Once the 7 minutes had passed, I took them out of the water and left them to dry on a paper towel. We'll be using those later!

Meanwhile, I also placed some sweet Italian sausages into a non-stick skillet, peeled of their casings. I used a wooden spoon to break up the sausages, letting them crumble and brown in the pan. I was able to let that sit and cook, while I worked on the Bechamel sauce, which required a lot of stirring and attention.

Now, for the Bechamel sauce, which I have to say, came out really well! I melted three tablespoons of butter in a pan, and added a quarter of a cup of flour. This combination creates a roux, which thickens liquids over heat. After cooking the butter and flour mixture for a minute or two, I added the three cups of whole milk and brought it all to a boil. As it began to boil, it began to thicken, which meant it was time to remove it from the heat, and add the Parmensan cheese. As the cheese melted into the roux and milk, the sauce became silky and thick, and delicious! I seasoned it with some salt and pepper, and stirred in my chopped Swiss Chard that I got at a local farmer's market this past weekend.

Now, it was time to assemble the lasagna and put it in the oven. Where are the noodles, you ask? Well, this recipe called for Barilla's No-Bake Lasagna Noodles, so I decided to go with that direction, rather than making my own this time around. I spread some sauce on the bottom of the pan, added two noodles, half of the sausage and a cup of sauce. I repeated the procedure and then finished it off with two noodles, the rest of the sauce and the lemon slices. I have to say that this is the first lasagna recipe that has made the perfect amount of sauce. I usually double the sauce portion of any recipe because I never seem to have enough, but this was perfect!

After 27 minutes in the oven, at 350 degrees, the lasagna was ready! And I was just under the gun, too! We finished eating and then, Matt was off to his softball game! Clean-up wasn't too bad either! Since there were so few ingredients, the majority of the clean-up were the three pots I used to prep everything. The lasagna pan went straight into the fridge - I'm looking forward to those leftovers!



Poached Eggs and Playdates

We had some friends over last night...Baxter the Pit/Boxer mix, along with his human, Josh! Oia and Baxter had a field day playing and running around while I made sure the humans were fed some yummy dinner, and we all had a lovely evening! While they chowed down on treats for tricks, we dove into bowls of gooey risotto loaded with crispy pieces of bacon, and silky, sauteed leeks. The best part though? The poached egg broken over the top of each mound of risotto, dripping and oozing into the dish, adding that much more texture to an already flavorful dish!

I got a later start than I had originally planned, but the bacon was crisping when Baxter and Josh walked in the door! I was moving along in my creation of Bacon and Leek Risotto with Poached Egg. After the bacon was done, I sauteed the leeks in the drippings and eventually added the rice as well as the wine. I've explained the risotto-making procedure over and over, so I won't bore you with the chicken-stock-ladling and stirring process, but I did happen to have two more containers of homemade stock so that added to the flavors! Once the risotto was ready, I stirred in the bacon, some fresh parsley, and some grated Parmesan, and then seasoned it all up with some salt and black pepper.

While the risotto was cooking, I sliced a bunch of ingredients for an Escarole, Apple and Raw Golden-Beet Salad. I used my mandoline to thinly slice some raw golden beets and radishes. I was a bit skeptical about eating beets raw, but the freshness combined with the really bright flavor of the golden beets worked really well. I paired the radishes and beets with some escarole, Granny Smith apple, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and hazelnut oil. I topped it all off with some sea salt flakes. This salt adds a mild saltiness to salads, but with a really interesting texture. They are very fine flakes, so you don't get that crunch that you would get with other types of salt. I like to use it instead of Kosher salt when I'm adding it to salads. I decided not to roast the hazelnuts and sprinkle them over the top, and the salad really worked without them. It was a very bright dish, for one described as a winter salad in the recipe. It was much lighter than what I would imagine a winter salad to be.

The final step was to poach those eggs for the top of the risotto, and by a stroke of luck, I managed to get all three of them perfect on the first try! I usually spend time screaming and yelling at a pot of boiling water when my eggs break, or don't cook correctly, but these three...they went in perfectly, they cooked perfectly, and then, they oozed gooily over that mound of risotto! Score!

The Swing of Things

I've been at home, recuperating from my foot surgery, and I've really missed writing this blog, and most of all, cooking! We were down to a little bit of nothing in the fridge, in the way of proteins, and have been subsisting on take-out. My husband doesn't cook very often, and it's been quite an effort to stand in the kitchen and prep ingredients, so take-out was the solution. I think we exhausted about all of our options by the time I was ready to pull a list together and get some food in the house! Finally, last night, Peapod delivered, and our fridge is again stocked with delicious, fresh ingredients, and there's a menu hanging on the door. Ah, getting back into the swing of things now!

I decided to start off simple, with meals that don't take a ton of time, or prep...and best of all, clean up easily. I still have to take it easy on my foot, although I can walk on it, so short stints in the kitchen are best. For my first trick, Asari Sakamushi (Steamed Clams with Soy, Butter and Garlic) with a side of Thai-Style Brussels Sprouts. This meal took a total of about 20 minutes, with only about 8 minutes of actual cooking time, between the two dishes. It was so simple to pull together, totally delicious, and great for a hot summer's evening.

Between the two recipes, there were a total of 11 ingredients, which is great because I could pull everything out without too many trips to the pantry and fridge from my workspace near the stove. I gathered my bottles of olive oil, fish sauce, sake, and soy sauce, and then grabbed some roasted peanuts, garlic cloves, butter, scallions and a lemon. I had unpacked the groceries and left my Brussels sprouts and clams on the counter already so now I was ready to start! Instead of the Manila clams suggested in the recipe, I purchased about 3 pounds of steamers - they were on sale, and they are my favorite! I washed them in some cold water to remove a lot of the grit and set them aside. I trimmed, groomed, and halved my Brussels sprouts too, placing them in a bowl with the olive oil and fish sauce to marinate for a few minutes. That was the extent of the prep, aside from a little chopped garlic!

At the same time, I heated a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, and also brought the sake and garlic to a boil in a separate deep-walled pan. I definitely had more than 30 clams so I wanted to make sure there was a lot of room for them to open. I placed the Brussels sprouts halved-side down into the cast iron skillet, and left them to caramelize while I tended to my clams. Once the sake was simmering, I poured those clams into the pan and covered them, leaving them to steam for the next 5 minutes. I don't think I've ever steamed clams in a pot with a clear cover before, and I have to stay that it was very cool to actually watch them cooking, and slowly opening. Maybe it's just been too long since I cooked a meal...but I was intrigued!

As the clams finished cooking, it was also time to stir the brussels sprouts and get the other side a bit more browned. I stirred them up, and then removed the clams from the pan with a slotted spoon. In place of the clams, I added some soy sauce, lemon juice, and butter to the pan, allowing it all to meld and get deliciously luxurious and silky, just two or three minutes longer. I poured it all over the clams, sprinkled some sliced scallions on top, and voila...dinner is served!

We ended up baking a loaf of frozen bread towards the end of our dinner, because there was so much delicious broth left over that we couldn't waste! I didn't think we'd need it with all the clams, but, it was too good to just pour down the drain. YUM!!

Dwindling Supplies

Apologies to everyone for being a bit M.I.A. for the last few weeks. I'm having surgery next week and I've been trying to get lots of things done before I'm on crutches for a few weeks. Don't worry, I'm going to be fine, and this is going to fix what has been causing me pain for months so...I'm actually looking forward to it, as much as one can look forward to extra pain. Knowing that the pain will subside is what is keeping me going right now!

I've been cleaning the house, doing all the laundry, changing the sheets, and preparing for a week on the couch...but I've also been trying to use up what I've got in the kitchen. I haven't gone food shopping in a few weeks, trying to clean the freezer out of all the collected meats, and pairing that with randomness found in the pantry! There's too much stuff in there! I've actually purchased some cute little glass bottles, which should arrive in the next few days, in order to combine duplicates of spice jars in the hopes of making more space in there! I've got bottles and bags, jars and cans...and I need to use this stuff up. Otherwise, there's no room for new and exciting ingredients that I find in the future!

Last night, for instance, I made a risotto using things I had on hand. Like I've said in the past, risotto can be a great catch-all for leftover ingredients, and this was no exception. I even had some homemade chicken stock left over that I defrosted for the occasion. I'm not going to share the intricacies of my creation, because I'm thinking that this is one for the books - and a cookbook, I will write, one day. I'm taking notes, and collecting pictures. This one was an interesting pairing of ingredients that turned out really well so I was very excited!

What types of ingredients do you have lying around in your pantry? We've all gotten that jar of seasoned salt, that bottle of tarragon vinegar, that container of homemade jam that sits around, waiting for the perfect recipe. They take a long time to use up, but taste so good - we need to utilize these wonderful ingredients more often! That's the my goal!

Record Time

Last night, I cranked out dinner in record time! We had somewhere to go, and we weren't going to eat until late if I didn't get something on the table before we had to go. I had defrosted burgers, but a plain burger on a plain bun wasn't all that appealing to me at the time...so I worked somethin' out!!

I started by throwing some bacon slices into a cast iron pan, allowing them to start cooking while I gathered some other ingredients from around my kitchen! I pulled out a bag of chopped cabbage slaw mix, some very ripe (over-ripe? maybe.) avocados, a shallot, and two rogue slices of provolone cheese that I had left over from the Cubano I made last week. While I was gathering these things, my husband went outside and harvested some arugula from our garden! Okay, that's what I've got. Here's what I made:

I crumbled some of the bacon into the mixture of cabbage slaw and tossed it with a light ranch dressing - instant side dish of flavorful cole slaw! I put the burgers in the pan that I cooked the bacon in, allowing the meat to soak up some of that bacon flavor while it cooked. Meanwhile, I placed the buns under the broiler to toast, and mashed up those "very ripe" avocados with a minced shallot. I used the avocado mixture on each side of the bun, topping it with the burger (topped with melted Provolone), bacon slices and arugula leaves. 

The prep was minimal, the idea was simple, and the outcome was delicious! There's always something to be made with what you've got lying around the house, so put your thinkin' caps on and get cookin'! Dinner was literally on the table in under 15 minutes, and I have to say, I think I even impressed my husband. "Dinner's ready...already???" he yelled from the garden in our backyard. Haha, yup!

Getting Back to Basics

The other night, I finally had a little bit of time to breathe, so I decided to re-crack open my "textbook," The Professional Chef. Of course, it's been awhile since I've had time to dedicate to broadening my knowledge in the culinary field, so I'm still on that pesky soup section. Lucky thing...I love soup! The first recipe in this section of the text book is a traditional Chicken Rice soup (Canja). A few weeks ago, I made a giant batch of homemade chicken stock, so a few days before making this recipe, I defrosted quite a few small plastic containers for use in the soup.

To start the process, the first thing I had to do was brown up some chicken pieces. The recipe calls for a "stewing hen" cut into 6 pieces, but guess what I found on my Peapod.com expedition this week? I found a whole chicken, already cut into pieces, bones, skin, gizzards and all. Perfect, I still got fresh food, but I took a tiny bit of work out of it...that's what I like to find! So, in batches, I browned up my chicken pieces in one pot, and then placed them in another, larger, stock pot. I think the recipe means to use the same pot all the way through, but since I don't have restaurant-size stock pots, or giant areas of stove top, I actually used a lobster pot to make this soup. I knew I was going to need depth, and that's the deepest I've got!

Once I had browned all of the pieces of chicken (this was done in a few batches so as not to crowd them), and they had all been tossed into the lobster/stock pot, I added a bunch of other things! A nice, rough cut of mirepoix (carrots, onions and celery) got thrown in, along with minced jalapeno, chopped ginger, and a couple of bay leaves. The knife cuts on these things don't need to be precise since the soup gets strained at the end, and all this stuff gets tossed anyway. I sauteed this mixture for about 5 minutes to bring out the flavors before adding them to the pot.

After chopping and adding all of these delicious, fresh ingredients to the pot, I poured in my GALLON of chicken stock, and seasoned it all up with some rosemary, and salt and pepper.

An hour and a half later, I took a leisurely stroll back into the kitchen to find wonderful aromas, and some very tender chicken pieces. I pulled them all out of the broth mixture, and pulled all of the meat from the bones, chopping it all into bite-sized pieces as I went. The soup continued to simmer while I did this.

Once the chicken was all chopped up, and ready for the final product, I strained my soup through a sieve, removing all of the chopped veggies and seasonings. I allowed the broth to sit for a few minutes so that the fat could kind of coagulate on top. I know, gross, but hey - it happens - and you don't want to EAT it, do you? Once a few minutes had passed, I was able to skim the oils and fattiness off the top, leaving a lovely, clear broth that smelled delicious! I sweated some garlic in a pot with some canola oil (the recipe calls for palm oil, but that is expensive and hard to find) before adding it to the broth, re-seasoned it, and since I'd just pulled out all the flavorful bits, allowed it to simmer for a few more minutes. After adding the chicken back to the pot, along with a bag of corn kernels, and some long-grained rice that I had cooked separately and allowed to air-dry for a bit, it was ready to serve! All it needed was a slight garnish of chopped cilantro!

While the soup simmered for the last few minutes, I pulled together a couple of traditional Cubano sandwiches, chock-ful of roast pork, black forest ham, provolone cheese, cilantro, pickles and dijon mustard. I set them on the Panini Grill while I dished out the soup. This was a really festive and delicious meal. The soup was fulfilling without being heavy (although my husband and I both felt like it was missing something - a spice maybe, but something - it was almost like I should have left the ginger and jalapeno IN the soup), and the Cubano - mmm, delicioso!