Creamy Butternut Squash and Pear Soup 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup onions, diced 1/4 cup celery, diced 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash (or 1/2 butternut squash), cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 pear, peeled, cored and minced 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 cup sherry 4 cups chicken stock 1 cup heavy [...]
As the weather turns to the cosy-sweater-and-maybe-a-scarf variety, I find myself looking to the dining room table rather than the picnic table as a place to entertain friends. It’s no longer warm enough to eat outside, but we can still bring the brilliant leaves-in-full-color glory to our tables with pumpkin, beets, squashes and leeks. The [...]
Pear Tarte Tatin Pastry: 1 1/2 cups flour 6 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 10 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/4 cup ice cold water, as needed Pears: 8 Anjou or similar pears; peeled, cored and quartered 12 tablespoons butter 1 cup sugar Pastry: In a medium bowl, sift the [...]
Creamy Chicken, Spinach and Chipotle Tacos 1 pound chicken thighs 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup chicken broth 6 cups stemmed and cleaned spinach (about 10 ounces) 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons tomatillo salsa OR 2 to 3 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, chopped 1 cup heavy cream 12 tortillas [...]
Over the past year or so I’ve been experimenting with cooking techniques from Mexico and Central America. My background is in traditional cooking methods from Europe, which means that chilies of any sort don’t play a large or even much of a supporting role in the food I first learned to love. Truthfully, I’ve always [...]
People say that the memory of smell is one of our strongest and when I smell my mom’s Spaghetti and Meatballs I am transported. Suddenly, I’m looking up at my elders, hanging onto pant legs, bickering with my brothers and feeling unbelievably wrapped in home and love. My mom and dad are here for a [...]
Cauliflower Gratin This summer the CSA gave us several orange cauliflowers and I’d never seen them before. I loved them. One, they were beautiful. Two, they were tasty! Sweeter, less bitter and just pretty to look at. It could have been because they were organic that I liked them so much, I’m not sure. Then [...]
Braised Chicken Breast with Bacon and Swiss Chard We serve Swiss chard to our guests all summer long because it’s one of the staple vegetables that our CSA offers as it grows well in cold climates. We’ve served it with lemon, balsamic vinegar, garlic, roasted garlic, roasted pine nuts and crumble feta cheese (not necessarily [...]
I have something unpopular to say: It’s all about calories in and calories out. In the long run, I’m not convinced that carbohydrates have anything to do with whether we permanently loose weight or not. What if we just ate less and moved more? What if we didn’t eat that second helping, took the stairs, [...]
Grilled Clams and Mussels with Parmesan Aioli Making food for our families is one of the most mundane and also sacred things we can do each day to foster healthy bodies and healthy families. Sitting down to the table for dinner can sometimes be trying when dealing with busy schedules, but it is also a [...]
