What Did You Eat?

Presto Pasta Night: Chicken Couscous with Dried Fruit

It's always fun to experience how shape and size affect the taste of pasta.  One of the best examples is couscous.  Upon first taste, most people enjoy it, but can be surprised to learn that the tiny grains are semolina pasta.  At one time it was an exotic food for many Americans, but now it's appearing with greater frequency at meals. I think the texture and flavor is fabulous, as well as the minimal cooking time required to make it.  So, as Presto Pasta Night, the event created by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast, has rolled around again, I did a mental review of pasta and imagined a heaping plate of couscous, shredded roast chicken, dried fruit, and almonds.  So, here it is.

Presto Pasta Night: Gemilli With Chicken Thigh Pasta Sauce

Someone is buying all the gemilli pasta in this town.  Well, they're doing that at the two grocery stores where I shop.  It's my favorite pasta shape, and someone else must feel the same way.  But they're greedy, taking every box of it, across three different brands!  Finally, I found one overlooked box of Barilla Gemilli, which had fallen down the back of the pasta rack.  I feel that the gloves are off now. I'm going to find out when the next shipment comes in and beat the gemilli hoarder to the punch.  I'm going to be like Elaine on Seinfeld, when she bought cases of The Sponge. 

Once I had my precious box of pasta, I knew the perfect sauce was Marcella Hazan's Chicken Thigh Pasta Sauce With Herbs, Tomatoes, and White Wine.  This is a wonderful sauce, simple to make and absolutely delicious.  It's sweetly tangy, with just the right mix of herbs and lemon peel.  The recipe calls for grinding up chicken thighs, and I urge you to go to that extra effort.  It tasted much better than the ground chicken or turkey available in the store.  This wonderful recipe is my last minute submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was created by the lovely Ruth at Once Upon A Feast.  Make sure to check out her site tomorrow, where you will find many fabulous pasta recipes.

WHB: Thai Chicken With Mushrooms, Basil And Green Beans

I remember when I first saw tiny ears of corn in a dish served at a Chinese restaurant. I was a teenager, and the sight made me feel so happy. My family ate a lot of corn on the cob, big ears with fat rows of plump kernels.  The baby corn was so cute, it became one of my favorite things to add to a stir-fried meal. Here I offer a delicious and very easy to assemble dish of Thai Chicken With Mushrooms, Basil and Green beans--and tiny ears of corn.  It also contains quite a bit of fresh basil, which makes it perfect for Weekend Herb Blogging, which was created by the fabulous Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen.  WHB has traveled to Missouri this week and is being hosted by the lovely Glenna at A Fridge Full Of Food...And Nothing To Eat.  Stop by her blog next Monday to see a Roundup of all the herby dishes.

Presto Pasta Nights: Pappardelle With Chicken Cooked In Red Wine

Bonjour, mes amis! It is I, Maurice!  It's been months since I was allowed out of the dark confines of a pantry to fulfill my destiny of cooking food as other inferior pots can only dream of doing!  After-all, I am the world's finest cookware, a fact that is beyond the half wits in this house.  As I understand it, they abuse food in hideous ways, recently using an ingredient called Cheetos in a pie.  Frankly, I think there has been some sort of conspiracy by the Le Crueset ( a mere poseur) and All-clad pans. They are so jealous and have prevented me from doing my work. But, today a miracle happened, I was pulled from the shelf and allowed to work the magic that only a Staub Le Cocotte can do.

True, it was a mere trifle, a simple stew of chicken cooked in red wine, served over pasta. But I sense I'm coming into my own and will rule this kitchen as it was intended when The Woman bought me on sale at Williams Sonoma.  To paraphrase the wonderful Scarlett O' Hara--"I'm going to get through this and I'll never go back to the dark shelf again, even if I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill.  As God is my witness, I'll never be stashed in a dark pantry again!?"

Chicken And Cabbage Chowder

A month ago, Alanna at A Veggie Venture announced a great event. She decided to make February the month of Soup, Glorious Soup!  I thought it was a great idea and made a mental note to cook up a recipe for this event. But one thing led to another, and I dilly dallied and spent far too much time pondering soup recipes. Finally, I looked at the calendar and saw that February is almost over!

The weather here has been cold, wet, and windy and I wanted a hearty, filling soup.  A nice  chowder seemed perfect for the job, and I imagined something thick and creamy-- a potato-cheese or corn chowder. Then I remembered a recipe in Jasper White's cookbook, 50 Chowders for a Pheasant and Cabbage Chowder.  It reminded me of a soup my mom made when I was a kid, full of cabbage, caraway seeds, and thyme.  She used beef rather than pheasant, and it was called Hunter's Soup, as I recall.  Remembering how good the caraway seeds and cabbage were in the rich broth of my mom's soup, I decided to give Jasper's recipe a try, but I substituted chicken thighs for the pheasant.  And I wound up with a delicious soup that was perfect for this dreary, wet weather. It's humble looking, but wonderfully rich and satisfying.  If you eat it, you will gain strength to shovel snow from your driveway or sandbag your house from flood waters.  Or...vacuum the house.

WHB: Sicilian Chicken With Lemon, Mint and Almonds

At the beginning of the year, Julie at Kitchenography offered a wonderful summary of the best recipes of 2006, compiled by various newspapers.  As I looked at each list, one recipe jumped out at me, Sicilian Chicken with Lemon, Mint, and Almonds.  This recipe was actually chosen by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the best recipes in the last 10 years.  I immediately knew I wanted to make this recipe because it contains one of my favorite combinations, mint and garlic.  Several weeks ago I made another Sicilian recipe, Tuna With Pine Nuts and Mint, that has become one of my favorites .  So, I suspected I would enjoy this dish.  And I did.   Very simple to make, the finished dish was wonderful, and the leftovers the following day were even better.  I made this recipe for my cousin Charmayne and her boyfriend.

Last year I made Chicken with lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette, a recipe from the Mustards Grill cookbook.  It was delicious, but very involved and labor intensive. I was reminded of that recipe because I think this recipe is it's equal, but is a snap to make, and considerably lower in calories.  I have to hand it to the people of Sicily, they have wonderful recipes.  And thank you Julie.

Because this recipe contains a large amount of mint, it's perfect for Weekend Herb Blogging, which was created by Kalyn, of Kalyn's Kitchen.  This week WHB is being hosted by Anna at Anna's Cool Finds. So, head over there this weekend and see what the other herb bloggers have cooked up.

WHB: Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken Salad With Peppers, Pine Nuts, Olives, Bitter Greens, And Thyme Croutons

One of the most well known recipes associated with the Zuni Cafe is the famous Zuni Roast Chicken With Bread Salad.  Less well known is the Roast Chicken Salad with Peppers, Pine Nuts, Olives, and Bitter Greens.  The latter is a wonderful recipe, incredibly easy to make and, for me, almost addictive. While this is one of those recipes that read very simple, the taste is anything but that.  The arugula and the tangy vinaigrette are perfect with the warm chicken, olives and pine nuts. I had a hard time not commandeering the entire salad for myself. 

You can roast a chicken just for this dish, or you can use leftover chicken, like I did.   Frankly, I wasn't feeling good and didn't want to eat, much less prepare a meal. But, this was so easy to make, and the taste of the salad improved my mood enormously.  I changed the recipe slightly, by making thyme croutons.  My thyme bushes looked so pretty, I felt they were begging to be included in this recipe. And it was perfect for Weekend Herb Blogging, which is the brain child of Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen, and is being hosted this week by The Chocolate Lady at In Mol Araan.  Stop by her site and see what all the herb bloggers are up to this weekend.

Favorite Quick And Comforting Recipes: Chickpea And Tomato Pilaf And Thai Chicken Thighs With Garlic And Lime

There are several recipes that I turn to when I want to cook something fast, favorites that I can almost cook on autopilot. They're recipes that I find myself craving, so the ease in cooking them doesn't mean that taste is ever sacrificed.  I made both these meals on separate nights this week when I was tired and wanted a comforting meal. 

The first meal is a wonderful Deborah Madison recipe, Pilaf With Tomatoes and Chickpeas, that can be served wrapped in tortillas or alone with cheese sprinkled on top.  This dish tastes best when it's made with freshly picked tomatoes.  But, canned tomatoes are fine too. 

Cheese Dumplings In Chicken Broth

First it was Bob's bread pudding that I mangled last Friday.  Then today, I tried to make passatelli soup, and that didn't work out.  Passatelli soup contains wonderful, delicate noodles made from parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and eggs.  It's mixed into a dough and then pressed through a food mill, a ricer, or a special passatelli press.  Though I've never made it before, I've enjoyed it in restaurants.  I had all the ingredients, and a ricer, so why not make it?  Plus, I bought turkey necks yesterday, which meant I could make broth for the soup. Since passatelli soup is so simple, the broth is crucial and I did manage to make a good one. But, my attempt at making the little passatelli noodles was a total failure. After several attempts I gave up and made little dumplings with the dough.  They were like little cheesy clouds, so delicate they almost melted in my mouth.  I'm a passatelli failure, but at least it wasn't a replay of the odious bread pudding.

One Pot Southwestern Chicken And Rice

Friday was Bob's birthday and I fixed a very simple dish that I knew he would enjoy, Southwestern Chicken And Rice. I also fixed bread pudding, his favorite dessert, which failed miserably. Maybe it was my forgetting to include the milk in the custard?  Hmmm, yes that was probably it.  He swore the pudding was fine, but I know he was being a good sport about the whole thing.  He also said he enjoyed the chicken and rice, but I believe he spoke the truth about that.  This recipe is a one pot meal, very simple and enjoyable.  The rice, loaded with corn, black beans, and cheese, has a creamy taste somewhat like risotto.  The whole dish is prepared in one pot in only a few steps, which is a great relief on days when you can't find much time to spare for cooking much of anything.