New Year's Day: A New Year, A Few New Things

Happy 2011 Y'all! Five days in, it hardly seems right to say "Happy New Year," the way the years fly by now!

I wrote a curmudgeonly post a few days ago all about how I had no hope for the new year. (I chose note to post it.) Surprising since the final days of 2010 weren't bad at all. My mother-in-law had our boys for a few days and Scott and I partied like rock stars, going out every night until the wee, wee hours and then sleeping in the next day. I even met a few cool people on New Year's Eve and had several drunk very nice people guess that I was in my 20s or early 30s. How cool is that?

Still, I felt very negative the first few days of this new year and still do about some things, but right now I feel pretty good about writing and want to be writing. I also don't want to be guilty of adding more negativity to the Universe, so I'm trying hard to keep those thoughts to myself.

To that end, I decided to post this yummy Cream of Potato and Turnip soup recipe I created last week. It was delicious and the perfect thing to keep January's chills and darkness at bay. Hope you enjoy it!

Cream of Potato and Turnip Soup
1 large Irish potato
1 medium to large turnip
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 stick butter, plus a dab
4 - 5 Tablespoons flour
32 oz. chicken stock, broth, veggie broth or water
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
1 stem rosemary
Salt to taste

Peel then dice your potato and turnip. Place in pot and cover with broth or water. You can also place into a steamer basket and steam them. I find boiling them in broth adds a layer of richness to the soup that I enjoy.

Boil potato and turnip until tender. Remove from heat to a clean bowl. Add dab of butter and minced garlic along with salt to taste. Mash to your desired consistency.  I prefer mine kind of chunky, but if you want a super creamy soup with no lumps, you can whip them with a hand mixer.

Rinse and dry the pan you just used (for no other particular reason than conserving pots and pans). Place butter in pan and melt, once butter is melted begin to gradually add flour, whisking as you go along. If it seems too dry, you can add more butter. (Also, note, some folks prefer to make a roux with oil. It can be made with any melted fat, but I prefer the taste of butter.)

As your roux thickens, gradually add the milk, whisking constantly. Next, add in the mashed potato, turnip, garlic mixture and stir it in. I also add a bit of salt, here, too. If it seems too thick, you can gradually add a bit of milk. Float rosemary (the whole stem) on top of soup, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about 5 min.

Remove rosemary. Stir in cream and serve.

Sadly, I forgot to take a photograph of my soup, but I can assure you it tasted great!

If you try this recipe, let me know your thoughts. I'd love to see how you like it.

Happy Cooking!

Come On-A My House

I've always loved food. I've loved to cook for as long as I can remember. To this day, I remember the first meal I cooked all by myself. Swiss steak. I got the recipe out of a magazine at the hospital. I was nine and determined to take over the cooking duties when my grandmother came home from the hospital. She was 79 and had just had a heart attack. So, I learned by trial and error. That first meal, though I barely had a clue what I was doing, turned out pretty good and started a life-long love of good food and cooking that has evolved into a love of fresh, organic and locally-grown food. 

Perhaps because I am more aware of cooking healthfully and eating well, and therefore talking about it more, I've had a couple of friends ask me to give them some meal ideas. I also offered to post some recipes for some Twitter contacts as well, so here are some of my favorite recipes and quick meal ideas. Enjoy!


Cheesy Chicken Fingers

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese crackers, crushed

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

dash paprika or cayenne pepper (optional)

1 egg

1 1/2 pounds chicken tenderloins

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Place crackers in zip-top bag and crush. Add breadcrumbs, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, cheese and shake to mix.
3. In large bowl,  beat egg. Add chicken and toss to coat.
4. Remove chicken from egg, allowing excess egg to drip off. Place chicken in bag with cracker and spice mixture; seal tightly and knead to coat.
5. Arrange chicken in single layer on baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

So, that's one that's popular with my boys, although, I have to admit my husband is not a huge fan. I like it a lot for a quick, easy dinner that the kids will eat without complaint or pressure from their parents. I usually serve it with steamed broccoli or carrots, and whole grain rotini (or curly noodles as my sons call them) with butter.

Another favorite is this lemon chicken recipe. It takes an hour to cook, but it's the kind of thing, you put together in about 10 min, then pop in the oven and let cook while you mop the floor, or run the kids to soccer or dare we dream, read a book:

Lemon Pepper Chicken with Lemon Noodles

1 Whole Chicken (3 to 4 lbs)
2 Lemons
5 cloves garlic (more if you really love garlic)
1 stem fresh rosemary
1 stem fresh thyme
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Kosher or sea salt (to taste, but be careful as you'll be adding salt to the herbs, salting the cavity, and salting the skin)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 425º F.

Wash and prep chicken.
Remove the leaves of the rosemary and thyme and gently chop them. Mince 4 of the garlic cloves. Zest one lemon. Blend the garlic, lemon zest, and herbs together. Add 1 T spoon of oil, salt, and pepper to herbs and garlic.

Gently loosen skin on chicken with your fingers so that you can apply your herb mixture to the meat of the chicken. Next, cut lemons in half and squeeze juice of both lemons over the entire chicken. Place half a lemon in the cavity along with the remaining garlic clove, then add salt and pepper to cavity as well. If you have extra rosemary and thyme and want to stick a stalk of each in the cavity, go for it.

Next, use your fingers to smear the herb mixture all over the chicken underneath the skin. Be gentle, but make sure you get the rub all over for consistent flavor.

Bustle up your legs and wings and tie them with kitchen twine. (If you omit this step, it's not a big deal, but tying the legs and wings presses them up against the breast of the chicken which helps it retain more moisture. I often leave this step out, but can tell a difference in the juiciness of the bird.)

If the skin is bunched, spread it out as best you can, then drizzle remaining olive oil over the entire chicken.

Pour 1/4 cup water in roasting pan and place chicken in pan. Cover with lid and roast for 45 minutes. Remove cover and cook an additional 15 min. to allow skin to brown and chicken to finish cooking.

When chicken is done, remove and let stand 5 to 10 min. If you like you can add a little more water to the pan drippings and cook as a sort of gravy.

Lemon Noodles:

• 1 lb.of your favorite noodles (rotini are popular here)
• 2 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 lemon, zested, and juiced, plus more juice if desired
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 stick salted butter, softened

Cook noodles to package directions. While pasta is cooking, mix all other ingredients except butter.  (Egg yolks should be beaten gently, but should not be frothy.) 

When pasta is done, add butter and gently toss to melt butter. (Stirring will make your pasta too chewy.) Take off heat, but while still hot, add the egg/lemon juice/cheese mixture and toss to coat pasta. 

Serve with lemon chicken.

This collard greens recipe would make a nice accompaniment. Only throw in a few shakes of crushed red pepper to really make it sing. 

Enjoy.

I'll try to post more recipes as time allows.

Happy Eating!