Category — Recipes
Soup for Windy Chicago
Soup is always a good idea, especially on a windy, chilly, Chicago day. Typically, Zuppa Toscana has bacon, but Marissa and I decided that the Italian sausage was enough meat for one soup. I’ve added it as an option in the recipe below, so you do you. Another change to the classic soup is my addition of diced tomatoes. I felt as though the soup needed a bit more color and tomatoes are always a win for me.
Zuppa Toscana
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 3 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juices
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 bunch kale, tough center stems removed and leaves chopped
- 1 cup half and half
- Cooked and crumbled bacon and/or freshly grated Parmesan, optional
Squeeze the sausage out of their casings. Discard casings.
Heat a large soup pot over medium heat, when hot, add olive oil, swill around the pot and then add the sausage. Cook, stirring frequently until sausage is lightly browned, about 5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a plate.
[Read more →]November 9, 2022 3 Comments
Marissa’s zucchini enchiladas
Marissa made this for dinner the other night and I love it! She made the recipe her own and found the original on a site called Gimme Some Oven. Marissa left out the corn, but when I make it, I plan to add it, so I’ve included it here. One point of contention between the two of us was the salsa I purchased when I did the shopping at Trader Joe’s. She requested salsa verde. She didn’t know that Trader Joe’s has two styles of salsa verde, the original and Hatch Valley Salsa, which is my favorite. I knew full well that when she asked for the salsa verde, she meant the original, but I bought my favorite. She was not pleased. Too bad, it was delicious!
Zucchini Enchilada Casserole
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, cored and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 2 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken
- 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup whole-kernel corn
- 1 1/2 to 2 jars salsa verde, divided
- 2 large zucchini
- 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- Possible Toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced red onion, sliced jalapeño peppers, sliced green onions, sour cream, and/or sliced avocado
November 7, 2022 No Comments
classic
I made this salad while I was in Chicago back in August. On August 31, 2022, to be exact, while I was literally trying to get out the door to go to the airport to head back home. Marissa and Jeff would be enjoying it after Jeff got back home from dropping me at O’Hare. That is why there are no “in the process photos” and why the avocado is sitting on the platter instead of added to the salad. This is also why there are roasted bell and poblano peppers added to the classic salad, I didn’t want them to go bad if the fridge after I left.
The big news is that I’m back in Chicago for three weeks. I arrived last night and today is the first day of my stint as the primary caregiver to Max. Marissa’s maternity ended yesterday and she is back to work today. Granted, she is upstairs in her office, while Max and I are hanging out downstairs, but she is truly back to work, so it’s just me and Max for the next three weeks. More to come on random life updates in the days to follow. Until then, please enjoy this classic salad. xoxo
Original Hollywood Brown Derby Cobb Salad
Brown Derby Dressing
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
October 31, 2022 3 Comments
Tip Tuesday
Ever since I began cooking for myself … some 40+ years ago, I have made poached eggs the exact same way. I fill a small saucepan with water, bring it to a boil, add a pinch of salt and maybe a splash of vinegar, crack in the egg and simmer for exactly three minutes. This produces the perfect, fully cooked whites with a runny yolk egg, every single time, guaranteed.
In the last month or so, I’ve done it differently and now this is the only way I’ll cook a poached egg.
First, let me say, I love poached eggs. For breakfast, or on top of an open sandwich for lunch, or atop pho for dinner. Nothing is better than a perfect poached egg. The thing I’ve never liked about making it at home was cleaning the saucepan. There was always stuck egg white on the water line that wasn’t exactly easy to clean off.
With the new and improved way, there is nothing stuck, no need to do more than a quick soapy wipe, rinse, and dry. Now, I use a 1-cup Pyrex measuring cup, a splash of vinegar, and the microwave.
Adding vinegar to the poaching water makes for faster coagulation of the egg whites. It also helps make the whites more tender by reducing the strength of the egg protein bonds. With the vinegar, the proteins unravel and loosely bond back together as they cook.
You will need to experiment a bit to find out exactly how long it takes to poach an egg to your perfection in your microwave. I have an 800-watt microwave and it takes about 70 seconds to have an egg with a runny yolk and set whites. I’ve also had success cooking for 1 minute and simply leaving the egg in the hot water for another 20 or 30 seconds while I prepare the English muffin or toast. Always drain on a paper towel before transferring to a muffin. No one likes soggy bread!
September 27, 2022 No Comments
love for Half Baked Harvest
Have you heard of Half Baked Harvest? I first discovered Tieghan Gerard on Instagram. I quickly purchased the “Every Day” cookbook, one for me and another for Marissa. I cooked out of it extensively when I was in Chicago that first month after Max was born. “Every Day” is Tieghan’s third cookbook. I have not cooked from “My Barn in the Mountains” or “Super Simple.” But I have tried out several recipes from her blog, including the recipe below.
I made a few adjustments, omissions, and additions to meet my likes and cooking style. You can see the original recipe here to compare.
The first issue for me was the instruction to keep the chicken the in skillet when adding the onion and peppers. Although I was using Marissa’s largest Le Creuset skillet, it just didn’t work. Everything didn’t truly fit into the skillet until the onions and peppers were cooked down, so I instruct to remove the chicken to a bowl. I understand why she wrote it that way, it is called a “one skillet meal” but it isn’t practical. And since there is already a bowl used to make the corn mixture, if you use the same bowl for the chicken to rest in and then to mix the corn in, it is the same number of items to use and clean.
Let’s see, what else… I added garlic, because, it’s garlic! I prefer a mix of Aleppo and Chipotle chili powders to basic chili powder. Oh, and Tieghan calls for mayonnaise as the garnish to be drizzled over the finished dish. That is not appealing to me. Once again, I see where she came up with that. True Mexican Street Corn has mayo, but I prefer sour cream to mayo for the drizzling. If I was to add mayo, I would sub out the yogurt in the corn mixture with mayo for a more authentic taste.
One last thing; although we all thought it was delicious as written, Marissa and I believe it would be even better to lift the chicken along with about half of the pepper/onion mixture, out of the sauce mixture once it is finished cooking, and palce in a separate bowl. Then double the number of tortillas, spread about half as much corn mixture on each, and fill the enchiladas with the chicken/pepper mixture too. (You may need to chop up the chicken strips to make them fit better.) Then place the enchiladas atop the salsa cooking liquid in the skillet, top with cheese, and follow the recipe from that point. Just another option to think about.
Read through my version and hers. Then feel free to mix it up with your preferred variations to make it your own. Enjoy!
[Read more →]September 22, 2022 2 Comments
grilled pizza
Our family loves grilled pizza. Probably because of our long-standing tradition of grilling pizza before going out to Trick-or-Treat on Halloween. When the kids were growing up, all of their friends came to our house/neighborhood to go out for candy. Back then, purchasing pizza dough wasn’t even on my radar. Now, I’m lazy and simply pick up a package of pizza dough at Trader Joe’s and call it a day. But making fresh dough is fun and easy. The link for my dough can be found here.
In the recipe, I instruct you to place your stretched dough onto a pizza peel that is sprinkled with cornmeal. This makes it easy to slide the dough from the peel to the grill, preventing the dough from sticking. I made this pizza while in Chicago with Marissa. She did not have a pizza peel or cornmeal. So I made do with the back of a round baking sheet and crumbled saltines. By no means perfect or all easy but when you have to make do with what you have…
[Read more →]September 15, 2022 1 Comment
perfect grilled burger
This recipe goes along with this Tuesday’s Tip for the perfect burger. (Next Tuesday’s Tip will be more grilling tips. Have to keep a good theme going!) Many professional chefs and home cooks agree that Worcestershire sauce is key to a great burger. This is because Worcestershire sauce is effectively an ancient fish sauce (it contains fermented anchovies), so it adds a sort of interesting depth of flavor or that perfect umami that enhances the basic burger to a true classic burger.
[Read more →]September 8, 2022 No Comments
refreshing shrimp salad
I spent last week in Chicago visiting Marissa, Jeff, and baby Max. This is one of the summer dishes I made for my sweet little family.
September 1, 2022 No Comments
tropical summer fun
With summer coming to a close, the kids back in school, and the “ber” months quickly approaching, how about a fun, festive, and tropical summer dish?
August 25, 2022 No Comments
Last freezer meal
This is the final recipe from the freezer meals I made for Marissa and Jeff before I returned home on July 2nd. The good news is that I am going back to visit next week. I can’t wait to get my hands on sweet Max! Here is a list of all nine of the meals I made for the new parents, with links to each of the recipes.
Tuscan Chicken w/Cannellini & Cremini
Spinach Lasagna w/Mushroom Ragu
Sausage, Poblano & Broccoli Quiche
August 19, 2022 1 Comment