Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I bet that chicken soup is a comfort food for a huge number of people out there, and rightfully so in my opinion.  It's something many of us associate with childhood, and our mothers. It's something I crave in the winter, and especially when I'm under the weather. I made this soup a few weeks ago when I was nursing a seemingly never-ending cold. One that seems to have finally gone away- I'd like to attribute that to this soup! This is my favorite quick and easy version of chicken soup. It is from the wonderful cookbook Fresh Flavor Fast, which comes from the people over at Everyday Food, one of my most favorite cooking magazines that unfortunately is no longer a standalone magazine. That magazine, this cookbook, and the other two in this series- Great Food Fast and Everyday Food: Light, I seem to turn to again and again for reliable and delicious weeknight meals. This soup comes together relatively quickly, uses some shortcuts such as store-bought chicken broth, but cooks in such a way that imparts it with so much flavor. Sauteing the onions and poaching the chicken in the chicken broth really work to make this soup so flavorful.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, coarsely chopped

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

32-oz low-sodium chicken broth

2/3 cup wild-rice blend

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 oz), or 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast 

4 carrots, coarsely chopped

4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot, preferably a dutch oven. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 3-5 minutes, until onion starts to soften, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth, rice, and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 35 minutes.

2. Add chicken, carrots, and celery. Return soup to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Remove the chicken, and shred.

3. Return the shredded chicken to the pot, and season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Source: Fresh Flavor Fast

Potato Frittata with Feta and Scallions

Whelp, remember when I said that I was hoping for a snowy winter?  Looks like I got my wish, plus some!  As I'm sure everybody know, Connecticut got a gigantic storm over the weekend, starting Friday morning, and ending Saturday morning.  We got about 3 feet of snow! That's the most I've ever seen in one shot. I couldn't even see my car when the storm was done, and we were stranded in our apartment for a few days. Luckily we never lost power, and so we were able to stay inside all warm and cozy, with an excuse to be totally lazy. We did get outside and shovel, which was extremely exhausting, and my arms feel dead now because of it, but other than that, this was the perfect time to just relax. As I am a hoarder of food, we had no problem keeping ourselves well-fed. We even decided to risk salmonella poisoning, and made a batch of cookie dough and no cookies. Here's to snow!

So this is something I cooked last week before the blizzard hit. It's the second recipe I've made from Deb Perelman's wonderful cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. (The other was her flat-roasted chicken with tiny potatoes- something I will be making again and I will make sure I share it with you were when I do.) Her blog is one of the best out there, and I urge you to check it out! Ron got me her cookbook for Christmas, and over vacation I read the entire thing, front to back. I am now slowly working my way through the archives of her blog. I love her writing, and reading both the cookbook and her blog make me feel like I'm sitting right there with her in her tiny kitchen listening to a good friend tell me a story.

I made this frittata for dinner and Ron and I devoured it! I busted out my cast-iron skillet to cook this, and as I did, I resolved to not fear this skillet. I don't know why, but cooking with cast-iron really intimidates me. I decided that I have to get over this once and for all, especially since this frittata turned out so beautifully in it. This frittata reminds me of another dish I love, Ina Garten's Omelet for Two, from her cookbook Barefoot Contessa at Home. I love that recipe and that cookbook. I don't think I've ever made an Ina Garten recipe that I've disliked! While that omelet (which really is more of a fritatta also), uses cheddar cheese and diced potatoes, this one uses feta cheese and sliced potatoes. Other than that they are very similar and are both awesome! I'll post that recipe soon.

Potato Frittata with Feta and Scallions
Serves 4 (as a dinner) or 6-8 as a breakfast

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/4-1/2-inch slices, and then into half-circles
1/2 tsp table salt, plus more for roasting potatoes
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound bacon, thick-cut, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 bunch (3-4) scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
2/3 cup (3 oz) crumbled feta cheese
6 large eggs
2 Tbsp milk or cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a baking sheet or roasting pan with 1-2 Tbsp of oil. Place the potatoes, on the pan, and season with salt and pepper. (They do not all have to be in one layer). Roast about 30 minutes until the potatoes are mostly cooked through, tossing halfway. Remove from oven, and let cool down a bit.
2. Place a cast-iron or other 9-inch oven-proof skillet over medium heat, and cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Add the remainder of the oil to the skillet with the bacon drippings (1 Tbsp), and reheat on medium. Make sure you swirl the oil and drippings around in the skillet to coat the sides of the pan.
3. Place the potatoes in the skillet, browned side up. Then sprinkle on the bacon, scallions and feta.
4. Whisk together your eggs and milk, adding 1/2 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour over the potatoes.
5. Cover your skillet with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil, and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the eggs are set in the center, and the edges have puffed up.

Source: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

Artichoke and Basil Bruschetta

This weekend my Grandmother and I celebrated our birthdays! I still have 2 weeks until I reach the milestone age of 30, but since I can remember we've always celebrated our birthdays together, as they are so close together. Hers is the 2nd and mine, the 17th. This year we are both celebrating big birthdays- my 30th as I said, and her 80th!! It was a great party- lots of delicious food (of which I unfortunately got no pictures). We had a surf and turf feast- London broil, seafood chowder, paella, oysters... It was all delicious! We had cheesecake and a chocolate-hazelnut cake to finish the evening.

I brought an appetizer- this artichoke and basil bruschetta! I made it in the summer for a birthday party and loved it so much I just had to make it again, and then I had to make more for a light dinner tonight as I didn't eat my fill yesterday! This is such an easy appetizer to make- the assembly is the only thing that takes a little time, but it is so worth it. This comes from one of my favorite blogs- Shutterbean- go check it out if you haven't heard of it! And if you are into podcasts, I heartily recommend the Joy the Baker Podcast, which Tracy from Shutterbean and Joy the Baker of course do. It's hilarious, sometimes informative, and always entertaining!

Artichoke and Basil Bruschetta

Makes about 20

Ingredients:

1 Baguette, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1/3 cup olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic

12 oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts

1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)

10-20 Basil leaves

20 shavings of Parmesan cheese

Fresh lemon juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet, and brush with olive oil. Bake about 5-10 minutes until lightly crispy. 

2. When the slices are toasted, remove from oven, let cool slightly, and then rub with a garlic clove.

3. To assemble, spread each baguette slice with about 1/2 tablespoon ricotta, then lay on a basil leaf (if large, tear in half), then an artichoke heart (again, if large, can be halved), then a shaving of Parmesan. Squeeze a little lemon juice on each bruschetta, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Source: Shutterbean