Roast Chicken

A few months ago I read this article around the time Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook came out. I thought it was pretty funny that when asked what her ideal meal to win over her heart, her answer was: roast chicken, because that its almost impossible to f* up! I totally agree.

Roast chicken has to be one of my favorite comfort meals. I feel a lot of people are skeptical to dealing with a whole chicken, but in all honestly, its a cinch! The hardest part of it, is the cutting, which is really not that bad. Another reason some people veer away from making a whole chicken is they aren't sure when its done. My solution? Just buy a meat thermometer, and as long as you hit 165, you're good to go! Another way to be pretty sure, is to poke it with a knife, and if clear juices pour out vs. the pink juices, it's pretty much done.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
1 tbsp butter
3 cloves minced garlic
1 Lemon
3-4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
Salt & Pepper
1 beer




Pre-heat oven at 350 F. Make sure to remove any giblets from the cavity of the chicken before you start seasoning and place in center of the pan, breast down. Take 1/2 the tspn of butter and cut into little pieces. Lift the skin of the chicken and place little bits of the butter under the skin with 1/2 of the minced garlic and rub around. *This keeps the chicken moist and helps the browning of the skin. Salt and Pepper to taste, drizzle some olive oil over and squeeze 1/2 the lemon over. Flip so the breast is on top and repeat with remaining butter, garlic and lemon. Salt and pepper this side as well and loosely sprinkle with the thyme and rosemary. Also drizzle some olive oil on top. Cut the squeezed lemons into quarters and place in the cavity of the chicken. Open the beer, can or bottle and pour around the chicken, pour the last 1/4 into the cavity of the chicken. Place in oven and cook for around 1 hour and 15-30 minutes (may vary depending on the size of the chicken as well as your oven).

You should always check on the chicken every 20 minutes or so and baste it. (With a cooking brush, dip into the liquids and brush over the chicken). This helps to keep it moist as well as enhance the coloring and crunchy texture on the skin. Once it's done, let sit for 10 minutes before you start carving it out.

 This chicken was extremely juicy, but if you like to have a little sauce to go over it, use the left over juices in the roasting pan, place in a saucepan, and add a 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch and whisk well over low heat. Nothing beats a great home-made pan gravy!

Scalloped Potatoes

I love potatoes, pretty much in any form. But I really have always loved the combination of textures that scalloped potatoes offer. They are a mix of creamy and buttery, sometimes a little cheesy, but always finished with that crunchy layer on top.

As much as I love scalloped potatoes, I don't make them very often, at least not during the work week. (Who really wants to spend all that time peeling the potatoes, to then finely slice them?) This week I finally got around to making a batch for my cooking class, since we had already done roasted and mashed potatoes before.

What I do find when comparing my version of these potatoes to other recipes is that I tend to favor a little "lighter version". Instead of doing a typical béchamel sauce and pouring that over the potatoes, I slightly cook the potatoes with some milk and a dab of butter prior to placing in the baking pan. Then I sprinkle a little cheese over each layer. Because potatoes have so much starch in them, I simply eliminate the flour in the béchamel mixture, and when the potatoes cook with the milk, they release natural starches that naturally thicken the milk and butter as they slightly cook.

 
Ingredients: 
6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
3 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2 cups milk
3 Tbsp Creme Fraiche
6 sprigs of Thyme
4 oz. shredded gruyere cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use non-stick spray in the inside of a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the potatoes about 1/8 inch thick . I don't have a mandoline, but you can definitely use one. I like to slice 2 potatoes a time and place in 3 individual piles to have same sized layers.

In a large saute pan, add 1 of the 3 piles of potatoes, 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup of milk. Salt and pepper to taste as well. Slowly start cooking the potatoes in the milk and mix constantly. When the milk starts bubbling up add 1 tbsp of the creme fraiche and 2 sprigs of the thyme. Keep cooking until the mixture thickens slightly and pour into baking dish, spreading out the potatoes evenly. Sprinkle some cheese over the top. Repeat with other 2 bunches of sliced potatoes. Bake, uncovered, until the potatoes are fork-tender, and the top layer has a rich golden color. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. (Feel free to use more cheese between layers and on the top!)

Chocolate Brownies

I've always loved easy to grab desserts such as cookies and brownies. What's not to love about them? I've been pretty consistent at making pretty great cookies for most of my life (as its noted in my profile!), but I've always had issues with brownies.

I have tried several brownie recipes from scratch and either came up with overly gooey brownies that looked more like fudge, or other recipes that yielded dry, crumbly cakey brownies. All this failure making brownies constantly had me turn into the boxed versions to get the consistency that I always yearned for. That is until I came accross this recipe. I had seen several other blogs comment on this Bon Appetite recipe for what may of them called "The Best" brownies ever. 

So I tried them, and I most definitely agree, these are THE BEST brownies I've ever made! I followed most of the recipe, the only difference is I didn't add any walnuts. I also added some course kosher salt sprinkled on top prior to baking. I highly encourage you to try this recipe out, I've made them 3 times, and they NEVER last more than a few hours! They are everything you want in a brownie too, they are soft inside, slighly chewey and most importantly heavenly chocolatey!

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, chilled

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8x8 or 7x11  inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend.

Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle a little coarse kosher salt over the mixture. Bake for 25 minutes. Make sure to let cool for several hours before cutting into squares.

Frittata

This week as part of our weekly cooking club we took full advantage of the long weekend to make a brunch in lieu of our standard dinners. We had originally planned it as a fun "boozy brunch", but after a long night out, we ended up with fewer people than anticipated and opted for a booze-free brunch instead. The result, just as fun and so tasty. We made, possibly the best frittata possible for 2 first time frittata makers!

If you've never made a frittata, no worries- its WAY easier than making a pretty looking omelet! For those who aren't sure what a frittata even is, its essentially an Italian version of an omelet. Same basic method for cooking the eggs with whatever fillings you like, but instead of flipping it, you finish it off in the oven, which is why I think its easier than making an omelet. (I rarely make a properly folded omelet, they always end up more like a scramble). I just want to point out that it does take almost 45 minutes to an hour for the entire process, but if you've got the time and can hold off the hunger, trust me its worth the wait!

Whole Frittata

Ingredients:
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp papprika
5 asparagus stocks cut to 1/2 inch pieces
1 large scallion finely sliced
1/2 large tomato diced

2 slices prosciutto di parma, cut into thin strips

6-8 basil leaves, cut into thin strips
Mozzarella bufala (about 4 oz)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Cut asparagus, scallions, tomatoes, prosciutto and basil leave and place in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl blend together all eggs and milk. Add salt, pepper and papprika and mix well. Spray onto a large oven-safe skillet (about 10") some non-stick cooking spray. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in skillet and add egg mixture. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes for the base to set. Add vegetable mixture and spread evenly over entire pan. Mix gently into egg mixture, you don't want to beat it. 

With a silicone spatula, lift the edges of the egg mixture once it starts to set. You want to make sure the egg sets well prior to placing into the oven. Essentially the edges should lift easily, but have a little color on the edges. Place into the oven and cook for about 6 minutes. Remove after the eggs started to set slightly and then add the mozzarella cheese. You can either slice them or break up the cheese and have little dollops all around the frittata. Place back in the oven and cook for another 30-40 minutes. The time on this can really vary, but you want the frittata to puff up, and have the eggs cook thru. Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes prior to cutting.

Frittata Slice: asparagus, prosciutto, scallions, tomato, basil & mozzarella

Limber de Coco (Coconut Cream Popsicles)

One of my favorite things to eat while we visited my grandmother every summer in Puerto Rico, were her next- door neighbors limbers. A limber, is essentially a flavored ice pop, but my favorite has always been coconut. Traditionally they are not poured in actual ice pop molds, but made in either ice cube molds or it dixie cups. These popsicles are different to most, as they are a little creamy, with little bits of coconut texture without being overwhelmed by the coconut flakes. They also include cinnamon which should almost always go hand in had with anything coconut flavored.

Ingredients:

1 can evaporated milk
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup shredded coconut flakes

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients into a blender. Don't add any ice, these are NOT daiquiris' as we'll be freezing them over night. Blend on medium for about 3 minutes. Make sure that the coconut flakes have broken down, this helps get a creamier texture. Pour thru a sieve, to have a smooth but creamy texture and pour into Popsicle molds. (Feel free to use plastic dixie cups or ice cubes too!)

If you want an "adult" version of these you could always add a tbsp of rum as a decadent treat! And if you're concerned about the waistline, feel free to use fat free or low fat options for the evaporated milk and coconut milk.

Truffle Macaroni & Cheese

Mac & Cheese, has to be one of my all time favorite comfort foods. I've had a so many versions, as well as at restaurants. I've had full blown debates over which boxed version is best Kraft vs. Velveeta? (Velveeta is still Kraft, so its a win-win for them), as well as tons of variations, lobster mac & cheese, baked, with varied cheeses. But one of my absolute favorites is truffle mac and cheese.

I had tried making a similar recipe a few months ago, but instead of using truffle butter at the beginning, I would add truffle oil towards the end. Trust me, this is the way to go! The truffle butter really infuses its flavors throughout the entire dish, and your home.

Sauce:

6 tbs truffle butter

1/2 cup flour

3 1/4 cup milk

1 sharp white cheddar shredded

1 Gruyere package shredded
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Optional Mushrooms for filling:

2 cups sliced mushrooms

3 tbs. butter,
(Saute the mushrooms in melted butter for 5-8 minutes, set aside)

For starters, you want to bring a large pot to boil, and cook your pasta, I love the larger macaroni such as Pipa Rigate use 1- 16 oz package, and cook until slightly under "al dente". You don't want to over cook your pasta, since we are continuing the cooking process in the oven. Drain and set aside.

While your pasta is cooking you can get started on your cheese sauce. For the sauce we start with a basic roux. First we want to start by melting the truffle butter. Once its melted, we add the flour and mix until all flour has dissolved. Then we add the milk while on medium heat, and mix well into the flour mixture, we don't want any clumps of the roux. Keep mixing until the milk starts to thicken, bringing it to a light boil. (This same process is known as making a basic bechamel sauce too!) As soon as it gets to this point, take off the heat and mix in both shredded cheeses. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix well, so all cheese has melted fully and creates a creamy texture.

Mix in the pasta and mix well. Pour in either individual oven proof serving dishes, or in a large baking dish. If desired, you can add the mixture of the sauteed mushrooms, and mix into the pasta mixture. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs over the pasta if desired and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the pasta is creamy and bubbly.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

It wasn't until Memorial Day weekend last year that I had any idea what a Rhubarb was. I had frequently read various recipes for deserts that showcased the ingredient but just had no idea whatsoever what it was. I had no clue as to its color, taste or texture, until an aunt made a similar crisp while we spent a weekend visiting. For those of you who are as clueless as I was, a rhubarb basically looks like celery, but red! Its natrually very tart, which is why its often paired with strawberries, and a healthy dose of sugar (otherwise, very hard to eat).

Below is my own adaptation of this easy and perfectly suitable desert for any spring or summertime gathering. Let's face it, crumbles are not necesarily the "prettiest" looking desserts, but they are so easy to make, and make as many variations as you please. Once you try this recipe,believe me you'll be craving it year round!

Filling:

1 1/2" cups rhubarb cut into 1" pieces
3 cups strawberries cut same to same size
1/3 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tspn of cinnamon and nutmeg
1 Tspn cornstarch

1 tbsn Triple Sec

First you want to cut the rhubarb and strawberries into equal sizes, preferably bite sized so 1/2" to 1" tops. Set aside. In medium bowl add the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornstarch and Triple Sec (organge based liquor). Mix well and add the fruit mixture. Mix gently until the fruit becomes well coated in the mixture. Place in 9" pie dish or in small rammekins if you prefer to do individual portions.
 

Topping:
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tspn cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

I mix the dry ingredients, then add the melted butter and mix all together. Place over fruit filling mixture.

Bake in oven at 350 for approximately 35-45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Serve warm or to room temperature with your favorite vanilla ice cream.