Sometimes, my mind is so slippery things are just completely gone before it seems I even really register they’re there. That thing that I’ve been reminding myself I have to get at the grocery store every day for a week? I get there and poof, it’s gone! That really important thing I need to tell Noel? I start talking to him and poof, it’s gone!

And maybe it’s a sign of getting older, but now it seems my slippery mind trick applies to recipes too. Recipes that we cook, photograph, eat, and love, but somehow slip right out of my mind once the pictures are off the camera. Just like they never existed.

Until, this past Saturday when I’m rummaging around in the fridge looking for that butter that I was sure I had but somehow I could not find (never found it by the way, just went to the store to get more!) but I DO find all of the ingredients for this dish. And suddenly I’m transported back to that January night when we made this, a cold, snowy and quiet Saturday at home. I remember the tastes–sweet and fiery with a fantastic crunch, and I know I have to share. Because now that it’s spring, soon there will be farm stands with fresh produce and those fresh ingredients will really make this dish shine. If we loved it with sad mid-winter green beans, I can only imagine how fantastic it will be with the crunchy fresh ones that are right around the corner.

Feisty Spicy Green Beans and Tofu
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Part of the beauty of this dish is it’s simplicity. The way we do it, it’s a one dish wonder made mostly with pantry staples, green beans and tofu. You can adjust the spices to your taste–the ingredients below will make a fairly spicy dish, but if you want something milder go easy on the red pepper and paprika. It was hearty enough for me to eat as a dinner, but it made a fantastic side for Noel. And really, the idea of this with fantastic farmers market green beans is enough to make me feel a little swooney.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound green beans, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

If you’re using unsulfured raisins, which will likely look dry and tough, put them in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Allow to sit for five minutes, or until their plumped up. Drain and set aside.

Place your largest skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, garlic, and onion. Cook for 5 minutes, until the onions and garlic start to brown. Add the wine and cook until evaporated. Add the spices and stir, until they are distributed through the onions. Stir in the tofu and raisins and cook until heated through, about a minute. Add the butter and green beans and stir until the butter has melted. If you haven’t pre-cooked your green beans (we don’t, but if you don’t like as much crunch, you can blanch them before you add them), turn the heat down to low and cover the pan, allowing the beans to cook for five minutes. If the mixture looks too dry before you put the cover on, add a bit more white wine and then cover.

Serve hot. At 101 Cookbooks they garnished with sour cream and slivered almonds, but I liked this just how it came out of the pan.

My family rocks. Really. We can not see each other for months, and then when we get together it’s hours and hours of non-stop chatting and fun. And normally, food.

This past weekend, Noel and I were lucky enough to go to Slower Lower for some quality family time. Nevermind that the picture above shows the best weather we had all weekend (there’s no driving rain or 60 mph winds!) and that we all cried a little bit when we saw the sad state of the beach (if you don’t believe me, here’s the same strip of beach last July. Yeah, there was a whole lot more of it). We had two and half days of food, drink, a bit of shopping, and then more food and drink. And my sister was there. It was fantastic.

The main food event was a big family dinner on Saturday night, for which our host Art had devised a menu of lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and pina colada martinis. Blue pina colada martinis. Art is pretty much the King of the Martini, and he’s always coming up with recipes for new ones. Don’t ask me how all those flavors worked together, but they did!

But since it was my birthday dinner, we did something a bit untraditional with the lasagna. Instead of ground beef and red sauce, neither of which I typically eat, we used chicken and cheese sauce made from a simple roux.

Then we chopped up a ton of veggies–peppers, spinach, mushrooms–to sizes perfect for layering!

And finally we stacked it all up in a huge and shiny oversized lasagna pan (I think Art has a special pan for everything)! I had never made lasagna before, so throughout the hour of oven time I kept anxiously peeking, curious to see how our creation would turn out. About halfway through, we had to cover the dish with foil to keep the top from over browning. The suspense of that covered pan nearly got the better of me!

But before we get to the big foil uncovering…let’s get to another unveiling! Of the correct answer to last week’s quiz and the winner of the 990 Square giveaway!

I’m a little ashamed to admit it, because I think it’s a sign that I either made the contest too hard or I’m too good at fibbing, but no one actually guessed the right answer, except for my Dad, who surprised me with it as soon I saw him last week. But since he knew, he didn’t think it would be fair to enter. Still wondering which one it was? It was number 4:

“Noel and I love to travel. We go just about any chance we get and we love seeing the different places and the different cultures all over the world. Although I love almost everywhere I’ve been, there’s one city that truly stole my heart and it’s Prague. I would pick up and move there tomorrow if I thought they would let me take claims at the embassy!”

We do love to travel, but the city I would love to live in is wrong! Noel’s favorite city in Europe is Prague, mine is definitely London. It’s a city with a personality that matches mine! A bit too serious at first glance, but lots of fun right under the surface.

Thanks to Random.org, the winner of our contest was comment number 3–Maureen! She has chosen a copy of the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Cookbook to add to her collection. I’m sure you will love it, Maureen. Thank you to everyone who played along–I’m so happy that I got to share my birthday and a bit of obscure Beth trivia with you!

White Chicken Lasagna
Adapted liberally from All Recipes

This was sooo good. The cheese sauce, although simple, had a lot of flavor, and the veggies really kicked the whole thing up a notch. The recipe below will make enough lasagna to fill a 13×9 pan–use 1.5 times the quantities below to fill a big lasagna dish. And have some good bread on standby to soak up the sauce!

Ingredients

• 1 box lasagna noodles (don’t use the oven ready ones like we did–the top ones didn’t cook)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
• 2 packages fresh baby spinach
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles using instructions on the box. Drain, and rinse with cold water.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, the peppers, spinach, mushrooms, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with another round of the ingredients. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Check the lasagna ever 15 minutes and if it starts to get too brown on top, cover with foil. The lasagna is done when a knife inserted into the center goes through without resistance.

Serve with family or friends, for a night of good cheer!

Last week it hit me. It was already officially meteorological spring, and I had yet to make a chicken pot pie this winter.

You’re probably thinking, no big deal. But you see, I had been practically dying to make a pot pie all through the end of last summer and into the fall. Some (perhaps some that are big Arsenal fans), suggested that I should wait until it got cold to make this soul warming piece of American home cooking. So I waited.

And then I seemingly, forgot. Not that I didn’t make lots of chicken and dumplings, which is practically chicken pot pie. But it’s not actually chicken pot pie, so it doesn’t actually count. So last week I resolved, that after we returned from our trip to Philly, but before I went to watch the Oscars (I know, but I love it, and come on wasn’t Neil Patrick Harris great??) I would make a chicken pot pie. And I did. And it was delish…

…even though it was a light recipe I got from Real Simple magazine. Normally when you say light and pot pie in the same sentence, people laugh at you. But this really works! It ups the veggies, cuts the butter, and uses white wine and flour to thicken the sauce. So give it a try, see what you think, and then once you find it delicious, file it away in your recipe file. Because this is one to come back to!

But before we get to the recipe, I want to thank Astra from Food for Laughter for giving me the Creative Blogger Award! It really made me smile when I discovered (belatedly) that Astra had thought enough of my work to share this award with me!

Astra always does such amazing and healthy things with food. I’m always inspired by the recipes she comes up with and I hope that one day I’ll meet her again (yes, we knew each other once in real life) and she’ll cook one of her amazing meals for me!

And now, in keeping with the tradition of the award, I’m going to share five things about me that you may not know. One of them is not true. Guess which one, and you might win something!

1. When I was a kid, I was a picky eater. I didn’t like food that crunched, I didn’t like things to touch or food that was mixed (especially Spam and mac and cheese!), and I most definitely didn’t like bread crusts, even though my dad tried to convince me bread crusts and french fries were the same thing.

2. The first job I seriously wanted when I was in college was to be a park ranger at a National Park. I wanted to work at a Civil War site. Now I just like to visit the sites, and I still keep track of which National Parks I’ve visited.

3. I really love weather. Growing up, I used to watch the Weather Channel for hours. I even used to do my own hurricane storm tracking with these maps I printed off my computer. Yes Mom, that’s what I did all of those hours when I was home during the summer! It’s probably a good thing we don’t have cable, because if we did, I probably would have watched the Weather Channel for the entire month of February.

4. Noel and I love to travel. We go just about any chance we get and we love seeing the different places and the different cultures all over the world. Although I love almost everywhere I’ve been, there’s one city that truly stole my heart and it’s Prague. I would pick up and move there tomorrow if I thought they would let me take claims at the embassy!

5. Although I may be hyper-cautious, and some may even say BORING in real life, in my kitchen life, I have no fear. Whether it’s making a wedding cake or baking bread, I like to just jump in there and see how it all works out!

And now a sixth (and true!) thing about me: I’m a leprechaun lady. Yep, my birthday is Saint Patty’s Day, so every year I like to spread around a bit of Irish luck and cheer to all of my friends and loved ones. And this year I want you to be part of the cheer, so I’m doing a giveaway! That’s right, for my birthday one of you will receive two things off my personal wishlist. The lucky winner will receive:

1. A set of these fantastic magnetic measuring spoons. I know you have measuring spoons, but these ones are awesome, and will change your life. Okay, maybe not change your life, but you will use them A LOT in your kitchen!
2. Your choice of one of the following cookbooks: Baked, Sky High, Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes, or King Arthur’s Whole Grain Baking. I have three of these and I desperately want the other. I know all will earn their keep on your bookshelf!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with your guess as to which fact about me is not true! So easy, and there’s a cookbook at stake, so start guessing folks! I will run the giveaway through 8pm on St. Patty’s Day!

And now I would like to pass this award on to three fantastic bloggers. It’s so hard to choose because there are so many people that get me thinking everyday, but these three have been particularly inspiring of late:

Biz from Biggest Diabetic Loser
Kate from The Blueberry Files
Wendi from Bon Appetit Hon

And now, on to the recipe!

Lightened Up Chicken Pot Pie

As I said before all of that self confession, this recipe is fantastic. Go and make it before it’s too hot to have Chicken Pot Pie in your belly. Enjoy with a side of Neil Patrick Harris. May I suggest his work in Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog? It’s also fantastic.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 carrots, diced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups 1 percent milk (I only had skim milk and the broth seemed a bit too light, so I added two tablespoons of butter)
• 1 10-ounce package frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 recipe below of olive oil pie crust or 1 9-inch store-bought piecrust, thawed if frozen

Directions:

Heat oven to 400° F. Cook the chicken in a pot of simmering water until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes; cool, then shred.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook, about 6 to 8 minutes until they begin to soften but do not darken. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook while stirring for 1 minute.

Add the wine and cook until evaporated, about 5 minutes (it took about 2 minutes for me). Add the milk and simmer until the sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. If you’re using a bit of butter, add it now and allow it to melt in the milk. Stir in the chicken, peas, thyme, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Transfer to a shallow 1½- to 2-quart baking dish.

Lay the crust on top, pressing to seal if you want the crust around the edges. I always just lay mine on top. Cut several vents in the crust. Place the pot pie on a baking sheet and bake until bubbling and the crust is golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Olive Oil Pie Crust

This recipe will make enough crust for a whole pie (top and bottom). For just a pot pie with a top crust, half the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup of extra virgin Olive Oil
• 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 1 tbsp of vinegar

Directions:

Place olive oil in the freezer until it solidifies and is of a consistency similar to thick honey. Check it every 30 minutes or so. Mine usually takes 2-3 hours.

Once the olive oil solidifies, place flour, salt and baking powder into a food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until a dough ball forms. If your dough ball seems dry, add a bit more water. Place ball in an air tight container or plastic wrap and put in the fridge for an hour or so to chill.

Roll ball out until 1/8 inch thick and put into a pie plate. Use as you would a regular pie crust.

Oh, I look at it now and I want another one…right now!

On my first date with Noel, way back in February of 2004, he took me to an Indian restaurant before we went to see a production of Sweeney Todd. Anxious to impress this guy that I knew I really, really liked, I didn’t have the nerve to tell him that I had never had Indian food before.

But I think my bluff that I *looooved* Indian food soon became apparent, when I clearly had no clue what anything on the menu was. So I ordered something with chicken and called it a night, and Noel and I were off on our whirlwind romance. Soon we were spending every spare second together, and ordering Indian takeout every chance we got. As my love for Noel grew, so did my love for Indian food.

Then came graduate school at Maryland. I was poor and the co-op was cheap, so I started eating their hot lunch whenever I was on campus. My favorite quickly became chana masala, a big dish of curried chickpeas. When my two years at Maryland were over, I was happy to discover a local restaurant (the now defunct) Mehek where I could get my chana masala fix. After Mehek closed, I was in a void. Where could I go to satisfy my need for curried chickpeas?

Finally, after nearly a year of searching, and much tasting of inferior dishes, a solution. Make it myself!

Chana Masala
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

When I saw that Deb posted a recipe for homemade chana masala, I did a little happy dance, then sent the recipe on to Noel who insisted we try it AT ONCE! This recipe is well spiced, with some nice heat. It’s easy and relatively quick to put together, and unlike takeout Indian, there are no puddles of oil floating on top! Serve with hot basmati rice and a spoonful of yogurt for a perfect mid-winter dinner.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or powdered ginger (we used powdered)
1 fresh, hot green chili pepper, minced (we used a jalapeno)
1 tablespoon ground coriander
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (you can adjust this to control the heat of the dish, use less if you want something less spicy)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups tomatoes, chopped small or 1 15-ounce can of whole tomatoes with their juices, chopped small
2/3 cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas (which are 2 cups dry–I cooked my dry ones in the crockpot on high for about three hours with just enough water to cover them) or 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice from 1 lemon

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, paprika and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spices for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and their juice. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.

Special thanks to Tony G for being guest photographer on this post!

One of the things I like best about food blogging is that it encourages me to try new things. I’ve always loved to cook, but I may not have always been the most adventuresome cook recipe-wise. I tended to find something that worked and then make it over and over and over again until Noel was ready to shout “enough I’m done!”*

But now, I find I’m always looking for a new recipe to try, and to share with you all. But sometimes, I remember something that I used to love and I remember the taste, and I just have to make it again. And that’s the story with this stew.

For a while there, we ate this A LOT. But this year, not so much. Last week though, I just couldn’t get it out of my head. And so I picked up butternut squash at the store, and pulled a can of chickpeas out of the pantry. But then Noel surprised me by picking up saffron threads at the store, an ingredient we had never seen fit to splurge on for all of the previous incarnations of this recipe. They did kick it up just a bit. Everything old is new again!

Chickpea and Butternut Squash Stew
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Although I love Deb and the Smitten Kitchen, there were some things in this recipe that I did not love. Particularly the olives. I really HATE olives. Always have, always will. Still have memories of picking them off of things in my youth, when we would have big old fancy family dinner at Pizza Hut. Yeah, the town I’m from used to be so small that Pizza Hut was considered fine dining. But now they’ve gone all upscale and have a Bob Evans and sushi and stuff. But I diverge. I also have never used the preserved lemons the recipe calls for, mostly because I’ve never tracked them down. If you’re interested in these things, hop on over to SK and check them out!

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
• 4 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound butternut squash, large dice
• 3/4 pound red potatoes, large dice
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups (1 can) cooked chickpeas, drained
• 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices
• Pinch saffron threads (optional–but they are very tasty!)
• Steamed couscous, for serving (directions here and elsewhere on the web)

Directions:

Heat butter and olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. When oil shimmers, add onion, garlic, cumin, and cinnamon, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spices are aromatic and onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add squash and potatoes, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir to coat, and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Add broth, chickpeas, tomatoes and their juices, and saffron, if using. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until squash is fork tender, about 10 minutes. It won’t seem like everything can cook this fast, but the steam produced with the lid on does wonders to cook the potatoes and squash–so no peaking!

Serve over couscous. Add a bit of hot sauce if you’re feeling adventuresome!

*for anyone else who has Disney show tunes in their head–I do not sing Noel off to sleep as he digests after he shouts “enough I’m done!”

So, is it cold enough out there for you? If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, chances are your answer to that question is yes! Because here we are, a week and a half into the year, and it’s freezing! Literally. I’m not sure we’ve really made it above freezing so far this year. Our cats are looking for warm places to hide (like on top of laptops) and we’re looking for indoor fun to keep warm (thus the reason I’ve been to the movies twice, TWICE! already this year).

Luckily, cold weather calls for warm comfort foods, and they just happen to be some of my favorites. Soups, stews, chillis–they’re all my friends, especially when the mercury can’t make it out of the 20s and the wind just makes it worse. So last weekend, as we were looking for a dinner to warm us up while keeping with our resolution to eat slightly better now that we’re past the holidays, we decided to try out a chicken and wild rice soup recipe that was loaded with veggies and winter warmth. And it went into the crockpot–so it would cook for us while we settled up on another of those resolutions, re-engaging our gym routine!

The recipe called for all of the traditional trimmings of chicken noodle soup–carrots, celery, onions–but added a bit of a twist with the addition of mushrooms and wild rice. The mushrooms allow you to use just a little bit of chicken, but still get a fantastic satisfying meal. You could also leave the chicken out and use veggie stock to easily get a good vegetarian meal. Perfect for a cold night in.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Adapted from Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever

If this recipe isn’t comfort food in a crock pot, I don’t know what is. This soup is fantastic the day it is made, and good for several days after. If you reheat it on the stove you may want to add some additional water as you reheat, since the rice will continue to soak it up. We found that some fantastic homemade Parker House rolls were the perfect compliment to this meal!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 medium carrots, chopped
• 4 medium stalks of celery, with leaves, chopped
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, cut into slices
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage, crushed in your hand
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups cooked chicken
• 2 cups wild rice
• 1 cup cream or milk (we used skim)

Directions:

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until the veggies are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, thyme, and sage to the pan and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the contents of the skillet to the insert of a slow cooker. Stir in the chicken broth, chicken, and wild rice.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, until the wild rice is tender and the soup is thickened.

Stir in the cream or milk, and serve the soup.

A big of bowl of comfort, to help you get through this deep winter freeze!

A few weeks ago, I had a predicament. Eileen and I–pretty much without consulting our husbands–had decided to do a new years dinner party. And we had invited 12 for a formal sit down. At first, we were thinking we would do something over the top fancy, like crab, lobster, or some other spectacular seafood. But then I started to price out crab and other seafood recipes. EEK! I had no idea that jumbo lump was so expensive! Guess that restaurant markup on crabcakes isn’t quite as much as I thought after all. I love my friends, but I didn’t want to be bankrupt in January! Double EEK!

So what do you make for a whole crowd of people that’s 1) fancy enough for a formal sit down and 2) not so expensive you’re going to spend a whole month’s food budget on it?

Pork loin–it’s fantastic! And available in bulk, at very reasonable prices, at Costco. Look at that 7 1/2 pound beauty. Suitable for serving 12, half of which we expected to be very hungry boys.

Then the challenge was to find a suitable treatment for the pork loin, something that was festive and fancy, but not too much work. We found the perfect recipe at Simply Recipes–Cranberry and Apple Stuffed Pork loin. I loved the idea of traditional fall flavors like apples and cranberries, offering an echo of traditional holiday tables, with the twist of an inside stuffing. And the best part of the recipe was that we could stuff the loin early in the day and then refrigerate until we were ready to cook it in the oven. No slaving over a hot stove in party dresses required!

Looks like someone else approved of our choice of pork loin as well.

Cranberry and Apple Stuffed Pork Loin
Adapted from Simply Recipes

As soon as we mixed the stuffing for this, we knew it was going to be a hit. It had me at croutons alone, but Carlos, Eileen and I all agreed that the stuffing smelled wonderful. It really was tough not to spoon it right out of the bowl–I had to satisfy myself with a few of the extra croutons out of the bag instead. We doubled this recipe to accommodate our pork loin, so if you follow the scale below you will get enough to make one 3 pound loin. Also, if you refrigerate this after stuffing, be aware that your loin will take longer to cook through.

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless pork loin (about 3 pounds)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup seasoned croutons
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup peeled, chopped green apples
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon minced rosemary

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.

Rinse the pork and pat it dry. Butterfly the roast by first cutting lengthwise about halfway through the roast. Then angle the knife and cut horizontally almost all of the way through, on both sides. You are making a total of three cuts into the pork. Unfold the pork. Cover with 2 layers of of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet to flatten as much as possible. Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place croutons and stock in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes, until the croutons have absorbed the stock and have softened. If you’re me, mash the croutons repeatedly until they’re mushy. Stir in the apples, walnuts, cranberries, shallots, maple syrup and rosemary. Spread mixture over surface of the pork. Starting with the smallest side of the meat (which should be in the shape of a rectangle), roll up tightly and secure with kitchen string in three or four places, depending on the size of your loin. At this point you can wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate if you are making ahead.

Coat the bottom of a roasting pan with cooking spray. Place the roast in the pan and cook at 325°F, uncovered, for about 1 hour ten minutes, or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140-145°F. Start checking the internal temperature of the roast at about one hour. The pork may still look pinkish on the outside, so you really need a kitchen thermometer to make sure it is done! Let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the kitchen string and slice into 1/2-inch thick slices.

The loin looked just beautiful on our festive holiday table! But those boys let us down and we ended up with a whole extra half leftover! Good thing that the loin is also excellent reheated the next day. And it allowed me to fulfill Noel’s annual Pennsylvania Dutch pork on New Year’s Day tradition without eating pork cooked in saurkraut, which I really can’t stand!

Update!!

There were actually two Nikons at the pork assembly party–my baby and the Sanchez family D80. I just got the pictures off the Sanchez camera and frankly, since they’re so beautiful they made me cry, I have to share two here:

this is our beautiful loin all rolled up!

and here with some of the fantastic stuffing peaking out! Amazing pictures–thank you LS!

In my last post, I lamented a holiday on the road where folks beyond the first stop on a four day road trip would not receive the pleasure of an elaborate Ratskellar holiday dessert. But luckily for the folks at the first stop, there was a fancy dessert that traveled. And it traveled well.

No, it wasn’t a loaf of bread! But it did start with some homemade portuguese sweet bread made in my Mini Zo with a recipe from King Arthur Flour, which is an excellent brioche stand in. Any guesses as to what it was? If you’re thinking bread pudding (and you should be, since it’s the title of the post!) you are right on.

I have a confession to make–I had never made bread pudding before I attempted it for Christmas dessert. I know it’s one of the baking staples that every true baker should be able to whip up with her eyes closed, but the opportunity to make one had never presented itself, and I didn’t think I was a fan of bread pudding, since I had only ever had supper eggy and gooey restaurant bread puddings. But when I needed a dessert that could easily travel to Slower Lower, bread pudding had a certain appeal. I could bake it in advance, in a casserole with a lid (key!), and then reheat it before serving. Throw is the fact that the recipe had fruit cooked in brandy and a sour lemon sauce for topping, and I was SOLD!

The recipe I settled on was from Martha’s Holiday Sweets Magazine, which has been a favorite of mine this holiday season. Like most Martha recipes, the first step should be set aside more time than you ever think you could need, and then prepare to dirty every bowl in your kitchen. But the reaction to this dessert at Christmas dinner made it all worthwhile–it provided the perfect, traditional end to a fantastic holiday meal.

Kris Kringle Bread Pudding
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Holiday Sweets

As I’ve mentioned, this recipe is involved, but the results are fantastic. If you’re going to make this, I recommend making the sour lemon sauce a few days before you make the bread pudding, since it will last up to two weeks in the fridge, and will simplify your process the day of the pudding assembly. The pudding keeps wonderfully in the fridge for a few days, and then you can rewarm it in a 350 degree oven right before you serve it. And it really does provide a bit of holiday magic.

Sour Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• Pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• Zest of 2 lemons, plus 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Bring sugar, cornstarch, salt, and warm water to a boil in a medium saucepan set over high heat, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes more.

Stir in butter and lemon zest and juice. Cook, whisking, until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from heat; transfer to a medium bowl to cool completely before putting into jars. Sauce can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks. Spoon sauce over bread pudding before serving.

Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter, softened, for bowls and parchment paper
• 3/4 cup vanilla sugar or granulated sugar, plus more for bowls and sprinkling
• 1 1/3 cups Armagnac or other good-quality brandy
• 7 ounces assorted dried fruits, such as peaches, apricots, and pears
• 7 ounces pitted prunes
• 5 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise; seeds scraped to loosen
• Zest of 1 orange
• 12 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 2 large loaves day-old brioche (1 pound each), cut into 1 1/4-inch cubes (18 cups)
• Boiling water, for roasting pan

Directions:

Coat two large covered casseroles with butter, and sprinkle with sugar, tapping out excess; set aside. Bring brandy and dried fruits to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fruits have softened and absorbed the brandy, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer fruits to a work surface and coarsely chop; set aside.

Bring cream, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans and seeds, and orange zest to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Put egg yolks into a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, gradually ladle half the hot cream mixture into the yolks. Pour yolk mixture into saucepan with remaining cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping sides of pan, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Pour through a large sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. If your egg mixture overcooks and solids start to form, use an immersion blender or regular blender to blend the mixture. This will pulverize the solids back into your custard.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put bread into a large bowl. Add soaked fruit, reserving 1/2 cup. Pour in custard; toss to combine. Divide bread mixture between prepared casseroles. Top each with half the reserved fruit. Sprinkle with sugar. Let stand until bread is saturated, about 20 minutes.

Set bowls in a large deep roasting pan. Brush two pieces of parchment paper with butter; place, butter side down, over bowls. Tightly cover with foil. Transfer pan to oven; add enough boiling water to come 3 inches up sides of bowls. This took up almost my entire oven, but it still worked great. Bake 1 hour. Uncover; bake until set and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes more.

Serve warm with lemon sauce. Puddings can be refrigerated up to 3 days; let cool completely before covering with plastic wrap. If desired, reheat in a 350 degree oven.

Such a perfect Christmas dessert–especially when photographed with my Christmas present from Noel, a Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash! No more yellow photos for me!

And even better for Boxing Day breakfast. Dessert for brekkie is totally okay–it’s the holidays, after all!

Are you looking for something to do with that leftover turkey? Well I’ve got a recipe for you. And as a bonus, you can put it in the slow cooker before you head out shopping today and it will be waiting for you when you get home.

Back in October, I shared a recipe with you all for butternut squash risotto done in the slow cooker. The secret to that recipe was starting the risotto on the stovetop, then transferring it to the slow cooker for the rice absorption process.

So how did I get from butternut squash to chicken and mushrooms? Well, I really love cooking whole chickens, mainly in the slow cooker. It’s cheaper, and whole chicken just tastes so good! But the only issue is, we end up with a lot of leftovers after we eat the chicken that first night. And then I’m always looking for a way to use that extra chicken. One of my favorites is chicken and rice, although I’ve never found a recipe that I loved. A few weeks ago though, I came up with the idea to adapt the slow cooker risotto recipe to include chicken and rice instead of butternut squash. When we had it for dinner that night, it was a hit–a MAJOR hit. So much so, that I made it again Wednesday night to use up some leftover chicken we had in the fridge.

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

You’re probably wondering when I’m going to get to that leftover turkey–so here it is. I think this recipe would be FANTASTIC with turkey subbed in for the chicken. Just use as much turkey as you feel is right, light or dark meat. Dark meat might actually be better, since it would lend more flavor to the risotto, and it’s usually what people have more leftover. This tastes so different from your traditional Thanksgiving foods, that it’s a great way to use up that leftover turkey after you’re tired of eating it in the standard Thanksgiving prep. And since the recipe feeds 4-6, it’s enough to feed the family and any remaining houseguests you may still have around.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow union diced
• 1 package baby bella mushrooms sliced (or white buttons)
• 1 package oyster mushrooms separated
• meat from 1 chicken breast and 2 drumsticks, pulled into pieces
• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine or light bodied beer (we used Dogfish Head Festina Peche with excellent results)
• 4 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup freshly grate Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Spray your slow cooker liner with a non-stick spray like Pam.
2. Heat 1/8 cup of the butter with the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the chicken, and cook until mushrooms begin to brown. Add the rice and cook until rice is coated and translucent. Add the wine or beer and cook until the wine evaporates.
3. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker liner and stir in the broth. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours. Check the risotto after 2 hours to make sure all of the broth has not cooked out. When all of the liquid is absorbed, stir in the last 1/8 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of the cheese.
4. Serve immediately, with the remaining cheese as garnish.

A hearty winter meal that uses leftovers and requires minimal time over the stove? Yeah, you know you want to make this!

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I am likely icing a wedding cake as you’re reading this, so wish me luck!

Noel and I have a running disagreement about winter squash. I love it. I think its gentle sweetness is comforting as the days get cooler, and it hits my need to satisfy my sweet tooth without added sugar. Noel, on the other hand, does not enjoy the sweet. He prefers his vegetables savory, and his sweet with dessert.

But when the fall rolls around, neither one of us can resist the piles of winter squash at the farmer’s market. Especially when they reach their peak and the ridiculous deals abound–6 acorn squash for $5?–we are all OVER that.

What to do with all that squash though? Well, it seemed like a good project for some internet research–finding savory winter squash recipes without sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, or anything else that could give a hint of added sweetness. After some patient searching and many, many websites, I found what I thought was the solution–a soup that was savory with caramelized squash and brown butter but came with a (optional) sweet topping that could be loaded with fall spice. Dinner where both Noel and I are satisfied–score!

Acorn Squash Soup With Brown Butter and Maple Yogurt
Inspired by Serious Eats

When I first found this recipe at Serious Eats, I loved the idea of using brown butter to draw out the flavor of squash roasted in the oven. But as I got into the middle of this recipe, I realized it was not going to make the type of soup I wanted (creamy, smooth, but not super thick) without some serious alterations, because if I followed the directions, I was going to end up with something like squash-mash. So some quick thinking led to the addition of 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock to the original ingredients list. The extra liquid, along with some extra puree action, made this into the soup I was dreaming of. I also changed around the milk products a bit, using only 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of skim milk. Don’t skip the yogurt topping, because it’s what really makes this soup pop.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium acorn squash, halved, seeds removed
• vegetable oil
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 cup thick (Greek-style) yogurt or creme fraiche
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• Allspice

Directions:

1. Rub the squash with a bit of vegetable oil and bake on a sheetpan at 400°F until fully tender and the flesh is quite browned and caramelized. Scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the butter over very low heat. Allow to cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the butter starts to brown and has a delicious, nutty smell. Allow to cool.
3. In a blender or food processor or using an immersion blender (this is what I did), puree the squash with the brown butter, cream, milk, chicken stock, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Blend until the soup is really smooth
4. Taste and adjust, adding salt and pepper as needed. I also added a few shakes of allspice at this point.
5. Combine the yogurt and maple syrup along with 1/8 teaspoon of allspice.
6. Serve in cups or bowls, garnished with a dollop of the maple yogurt.

Like I said, we all really enjoyed this soup. The brown butter gives the squash a distinctive savory taste in this creamy soup, but the maple yogurt gives it just a touch of sweet. The sweet and the savory tooth are both happy. And it’s a nice change up on your traditional preparations of winter squash.