Potato & Pear Soup

I own too many jackets. Coats. Outerwear. Whathaveyou. I need to lose a few.  I have donated so much clothing in the past month. Downsizing apartments and, therefore, closets will do that to a girl. But I can't cut back on jackets.

Is that weird? I mean I guess most people (ehemm.. ladies) own too many purses or shoes or something else at least multiseasonal. I own like maybe 6 winter coats.

I've noticed it's a problem recently, because they barely fit into the space I've been designated to stuff them. 

I've also noticed it's a problem, because as it gets chillier and I'm a working woman again, I don't really own a decent coat to wear to a real adult job in the fall. I don't really own too many clothes to wear to said real adult job either, but I'm working on that.

So like.. do I really need to buy another coat? Or can I tough it out until winter? Hmm.. First world problems.

Considering the weather is supposed to be 80 all next week and I don't get paid for a month, I'm going to go with the latter. The temptation is there though. Ugh. Not good things.

Potatoes. Pears. Soup. All good things.

This is a pretty simple soup in both taste and instruction. It's a good weeknight homemade meal. I've been really trying to focus on quick and easy lately. I'm trying to be seasonal and healthy as well. Try it with me! Gooo us!

Soundtrack: You won't make it through the whole thing, but that leaves plenty of time to dance later!




Potato and Pear Soup
Serves 3-4

1 tbsp EVOO
1 small onion, diced
1 c diced fennel
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 carton (32 oz) chicken or vegetable stock
1 small sweet potato, peeled & cut into 1" cubes
6-7 yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1" cubes
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt & pepper
2 medium Anju pears, quartered
jalapeno oil  to finish (optional)

In a medium stock pot, heat 1 tbsp of EVOO over med-low heat. Add onion, fennel and garlic and saute for about 10 minutes, until onion begins to soften and is aromatic.

Add stock, both potatoes and paprika. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to med-high and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to med-low and simmer. Cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are almost soft enough to mush with a fork. Add pears and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until desired texture. (Alternatively, you could cool the soup, transfer to a blender or food processor and puree. Don't add boiling hot liquid to a food processor blender though, it could explode!)

Ladle into bowls and finish with jalapeno oil. 

Zatar Seasoned Roasted Veggies & Potatoes

Heyyyy you! Are you busy during the week? Ugh, yea man, I know what that's like. Are you busy on the weekend too? Yea.. totally hear ya. 

Would you like an easy, throw-together kinda side dish? Thought so!

I know that I love this one so I thought I would share. I love this because it's so easy to commit to memory. You get your veggies and a healthy starch all in one dish so you're minimizing dishes to wash. And while the veggie combo that I list for this recipe is a great combo to roast together with potatoes, if you don't have red pepper you could substitute green. You could use sweet potato or russet potatoes. You could even nix the carrots and switch it up with brussell sprouts. Basically, it's easy to work with what you have in the fridge. 

I'll keep this short, you know, because you're busy. But totally save this and give it a try next time you're pressed for time. 

Zatar Seasoned Roasted Veggies & Potatoes

Serves 2-4 (I'll be honest, Adam and I split it. But it should probably serve 4 as a side.)

5-6 yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 small red onion, coarsely chopped into large slices

1 small red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1/2 c baby carrots

1 tbsp EVOO

2-3 tsp of zatar

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss together all ingredients until potatoes are coated by oil and seasoning.

Bake in a ceramic or glass dish for about 1 hr or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

 

Curried Turkey Chili

Sometimes I wish that a picture could capture and share taste. I can post a picture for you and make you drool over what I've made, but unless you feel like laboring in the kitchen yourself, I can't really share with you. And.. I'm all about sharing.

Today, I wish I could share the feeling of eating something warm on a the first chilly (or in this case chili.. har har har) day of the fall. The smell of a newly lit pumpkin candle. The satisfaction of a few crunchy leaves on the ground. The beauty of a bright sunny day that doesn't make you run and hide indoors because it's just too hot. 

I wish I could share opening a new jar of my mom's homemade concord grape jelly. Or pulling on a sweater outside for the first time in months (I've been rocking one every day indoors for months now, but that's just an over-air conditioning issue).

But I'm sure you have your own favorite fall stuff. Please share it in the comments! Fall is my favorite season so get ready to listen to me raving on about it for the next couple months.

Make a chili. Make a soup.. or a stew. Make an apple dessert. Throw some butternut squash into something. Drink a pumpkin beer or three. Fall is about comfort. It's not too hot, not too cold. It's cozy. Let's share that.



Curried Turkey Chili
Serves 3-4

1 tbsp EVOO
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 small onion, diced
2 tbsp chili powder, divided
2 tsp curry powder, divided
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 c chicken stock
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 can diced tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
salt & pepper

In a medium dutch oven or stock pot, heat 1 tbsp EVOO over medium heat. Add turkey, garlic, onion, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp curry powder, and 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. Add a couple small pinches of salt and pepper. Saute the meat until browned, stirring every couple of minutes.

While the meat is browning, whisk flour into the chicken stock until combined.

Once the meat is browned, add flour and stock mixture, oregano, cumin, coriander, diced tomatoes (including juices), bell pepper and sweet potatoes. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring this to a boil.

Once chili is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Blueberry & Fennel Frittata

Hello!

Logging in to my little blog again after almost a month hiatus is so exciting! Wee! I'm still sort of in between kitchens. As I sit here in Philadelphia, PA, everything I own is in Washington, DC gathering dust. I'm here until Monday, but then I'm a representative-lacking-Washingtonian for good. This has literally been the l o n g e s t move in the history of the world.

I did do a little dabbling in my new kitchen last weekend on Saturday morning. It was a day which I was going to also dedicate to baked goods, but that was cut short by a power outage in the afternoon. Literally walked in the door with an armful of groceries, excited to finally mix butter with flour again, and.. pop! and everything shuts down. 

Fortunately, it came back the same evening and merely deterred my culinary endeavors. My ice cream didn't even melt. YES! And I guess the grilled cheese party I was baking for wasn't REALLY lacking in the fat department anyway. I'm still sweating butter. (PS if you ever find yourself in need of a new party idea.. grilled cheese is the way to go.)

I should also let you know that I owe the inspiration for this frittata came from my poor eyesight. I was driving down 95, heading to work last Thursday, when I noticed a WaWa billboard with an egg wrap. At first glance (and ok,  and the next 2-3 seconds as well) it looked like egg and blueberry. Which.. was interesting to me. Obviously it was sausage, but it got me thinking. So thanks, WaWa, for making your sausages look conspicuously like blueberries.

 I made this with swiss for myself and mozz for Adam. Swiss won in my book, but mozz is an acceptable substitute if your pallet is a little funny and you don't like the swiss.

Blueberry & Fennel Frittata
Serves 2

1/4 c coarsely chopped fennel bulb
2 heaping tbsp blueberries
4 eggs, beaten
salt & pepper
2 oz swiss cheese (or mozzarella), shredded

Grease a small cast iron pan (or a non-stick fry pan) and heat over low heat. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add fennel and saute for 3-4 minutes until it begins to soften and becomes slightly translucent. Pour in eggs and drop blueberries gently around the pan evenly. Cook eggs over low heat for 5-7 minutes, or until eggs begin to firm up in the center.

Sprinkle cheese evenly over the top. If using cast iron, place pan in the oven and bake for 3-4 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted and just begins to brown. (If using non-stick, continue to cook over low heat on the stovetop until cheese melts).

Cut into 2 pieces and serve with toast for breakfast or salad for lunch (or dinner of course!).

Blueberry & Nectarine Cobbler

You know when you have a really great day? It's a day when you feel like everything is working out. Like things are falling into place. The sun is shining. Maybe there are some birds chirping? People you love are happy. You are happy. Bright things are on the horizon.

And you found out your finally moving to DC and have a real solid plan to start working towards that career you've always wanted? Too specific? Oops.

I've been a pretty bad blogger this summer. There has just been so much life happening in the lives of people around me. Weddings, babies, dance parties, graduations (for the record, I did just qualify dance parties on a level with babies) and more. I've let blogging go a little in an effort to not go insane. But I'm coming back in a big way. And when I do, I'll be blogging to you from a new kitchen in a new apartment in a new city. And I won't be able to vote in national elections.

As Ferris said, life moves pretty fast.

But, sometimes I just feel like time just needs to slow down so we can eat some damn cobbler. Honestly. The summer is nearing an end and I've only just begun to get my cobbler on. Summer is such a great time for cobblers. Cobbler is easier than pie and it's topped with a biscuit to sop up the fruit juices and of course, the vanilla bean ice cream. This cobbler has plenty of juices, so we'll make sure it has plenty of biscuit.

Soundtrack: OMG obsessed. Maybe.






Blueberry & Nectarine Cobbler
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 6

1 1/2 cups plus 3 tbsp AP flour, divided
3 tbsp plus 1 c sugar, divided
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 c plus 1 tbsp greek yogurt or sour cream
6 c fresh blueberries

1 large nectarine, cut into 1/2' pieces
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
vanilla bean ice cream, "optional" but you want it
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine in the bowl of a food processor 1 1/2 c flour, 3 tbsp sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and pulse until just combined. You should have pea-sized or just slightly smaller lumps of butter. Add yogurt and continue to pulse until a biscuit-like dough forms. Try not to over mix.

In a large bowl, combine remaining 1 c sugar, remaining 3 tbsp flour, berries, nectarine, and lemon juice. Toss to coat. Pour the mixture into an 8x8x2" baking dish or divide among six 6-oz. ramekins. Using clean fingers, break the biscuit topping into quarter-size crumbles and scatter over berries.

Bake cobbler until juices are thick and bubbling and topping is cooked through and deep golden brown, 25-30 minutes for ramekins or 45–50 minutes for baking dish. Let cool for at least 1 hour. Before serving, reheat ramekins or single size servings for 30 seconds in the microwave. Top with vanilla bean ice cream.

Chocolate Semifreddo with Spicy Chocolate Sauce & Cinnamon Whipped Cream

I've learned soooo much about cooking, baking, how to avoid 3rd degree burns, etc in the past couple years. I feel like I "know what I'm doing" much more now than ever before (despite the fact that I have a fresh scar on my bicep from a cookie sheet..!?). 

But I remember cooking back before I technically "knew how" and it's weird, but I was so much more confident.

Ok sure, there was the time I made stew and didn't peel the carrots. And yea, there was the time I burnt everything I was making (that was more than one time). The time I ruined a sauce pot making rice. The time I dumped baking soda into my flour container (ok, that was yesterday). But I think the point is that despite the mistakes, I had more confidence then, than I do now.

Why, you might ask? I think it's because now I know that things are difficult. I had no idea that there were so many ways to screw things up.

I made a pie crust in college using a container of Pam spray for a rolling pin.. AND IT WAS FLAKY! I made a lemon meringue pie at age ~12 for Easter... AND THE MERINGUE DIDN'T RECEDE FROM THE PIE CRUST. I made soo many muffins as a kid that, in retrospect, I know I stirred 12,0000+ times, but they were still good. You get my point.

Now that I know the proper way to do things, it just seems harder. Now that I know it's supposed to be difficult, it is! I have become the "omgosh that looks hard" self fulfilling prophecy of baked goods.

So, ladies and gents... this is why I'm going to preface this recipe with... the opposite of a warning. This recipe is SO godamn easy; please don't make it hard. It looks hard. It sounds hard. What if my egg whites don't whip to stiff peaks? What if I over whip them? Did I heat them to the right temp? The chocolate could seize! What if I stir the custard too many times!

Relax.

I think that's the key to semifreddo (a semi-frozen custard with a mousse-like texture). It sounds like there are a lot of steps, but this took me under 10 minutes. Just chill out. Heat the eggs, kill that bacteria, and then just whip 'em. Do your best to get stiff peaks, but I think under-whipping is better than over whipping. Melt your chocolate however you want. I've only ever had chocolate seize on me once and it was white chocolate, so it doesn't count. And then when you fold everything together, just keep in mind that it's ok if it's not totally uniform. If you see a little white in your finished product, that's how you know it's homemade. If it's a little flat, next time stir a few less times, but again try to err in favor of not fully mixing rather than over mixing. And you know what, just enjoy yourself.

My whipped cream was a little sad and droopy. The cream I bought JUST WOULDN'T WHIP!
See? Imprefect!

Soundtrack: 

Chocolate Semifreddo with Spicy Chocolate Sauce & Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Semifreddo:

2 large egg whites

1/2 c sugar

4 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
1 c chilled heavy cream

Spicy Chocolate Sauce:
3/4 cup 2% milk
1 tsp hot chile powder
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp packed light brown sugar
6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp corn starch
1 tbsp tequila

Cinnamon Whipped Cream:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

"Special" Equipment:

2 medium heat-proof bowls (but if you only have one, you could heat your egg whites, then transfer them to another bowl to whip, clean the original bowl and reuse OR honestly I'm sure you could melt the chocolate in the microwave, but I did not test this)

To make the semifreddo:

Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line with plastic wrap, leaving a 2" overhang and set aside. 

Fill the bottom of a medium saucepan or saute pan with water and bring to a slow boil (you are created a double boil). In a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Set this over the boiling water and, whisking continually, heat the egg whites until warm. This could take from 2-5 minutes, just keep checking. Remove from heat.

Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed until whites have tripled in volume and stiff peaks form when you remove the mixer. Set this aside.

Place chocolate and butter in similar heatproof bowl over same saucepan of simmering water. Stir over the heat the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. You will want to let this cool slightly.

In a third bowl, beat the cream until medium-stiff peaks form.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold egg whites into warm chocolate. Then, fold in the whipped cream. Fold gently (the goal is to not lose all the air in the eggs and cream) and in as few strokes as possible until mixed. Scrape semifreddo into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Cover tightly and freeze until firm, 3-4 hours. This will keep in the freezer up to a week.

Spicy Chocolate Sauce:

In a small saucepan, add milk, chile powder, cinnamon stick and brown sugar. Cover, bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Allow to steep for 15 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and discard (or rinse for reuse).

Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside. 

Bring the milk back to a boil. Gradually pour milk mixture over chocolate, continuously stirring until melted and smooth. Stir in tequila, vanilla and corn starch. Return to the saucepan and heat, stirring continuously, until sauce thickens. (Watch this closely, it will thicken quickly and if not continuously stirred will burn to the pan.)

This will keep in the refrigerator for a week. Reheat before use.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream:

Combine cream, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until soft peaks form.

To serve:

Uncover semifreddo and invert onto a platter (or if not serving all pieces at once, you can cut slices from the pan as needed). Using a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry, cut semifreddo into slices and transfer to plates. Garnish with cinnamon whipped cream and warm spicy chocolate sauce.

Grilled Summer Vegetables & Sushi Rice with Fish-Sauce Vinaigrette

Looks good right?

Ok then.

I can't even pretend to have not noticed, so I'll just be upfront: fish sauce is gross. Like.. gross gross.

Like, when you open the bottle you instantly release a pungent aroma slightly reminiscent of putrid milk and gym socks. That kind of gross.

Like, I was too afraid to taste it on its own, so I used exactly the amount required for this recipe and mixed the whole dressing before I dared to taste. I still have no idea what it tastes like. That kind of gross.

Like, when you spill a little on your chest (yea, I don't know.. don't ask me how that happened) and then wipe it off, it will still smell funky for hours (too close to your nose for comfort). That kind of gross. 

Like, the bottle asks that you not refrigerate; it might congeal. That kind of gross.

And trust me, I was really worried about this dish once I opened that bottle. I thought for sure it was going to be a flop. I was pretty confident that I was about to make the dressing, hate it and then improvise a new one. I lacked confidence. 

But, damn this was good. So please, don't live in fear of fish sauce. Just be sure not to get too close, don't let anyone else smell it, put the cap back on tightly and hide it in the back of your pantry.

Soundtrack: 




Grilled Summer Vegetables & Sushi Rice with Fish-Sauce Vinaigrette
Serves 4-5
Adapted from Bon Appetit


Salad
Vegetable oil
15 okra pods
3 ears of corn, shucked
2 large zucchini, halved lengthwise, centers scooped out
1 small eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1" slices
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce (such as nuoc nam or nam pla)
1 tsbp fresh lime juice

2 dried mild or hot chiles, rehydrated (I used Ancho)
2 c (loosely packed) coarsely chopped mixed fresh tender herbs (I used basil, cilantro & mint).
4 cups steamed sushi rice

Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Brush grill grates with oil. Lay okra, corn, zucchini, chiles, eggplant out on a baking sheet. Using a basting brush, apply a light coating of oil to the vegetables, then lightly salt. Grill vegetables, turning every 2 minutes, until crisp-tender and lightly charred (total time is about 8 minutes).

Remove the corn kernels from their cobs and place in a large bowl. Cut the zucchini and eggplant into irregular 1" pieces and place in bowl with corn. Trim the tops from okra and cut into small tubes (about 2 cuts per orka pod) and add to bowl. Set aside.

Combine in the bowl of a food processor or small chopper the garlic, brown sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and chiles. Process until pureed.

Drizzle dressing over warm vegetables. Toss in the herbs until thoroughly combined.

Scoop steamed sushi rice onto a platter and top with salad. Either serve in this manner over the sushi rice, or toss together until combined.