Falling

Birthdays, beach, books and endless summer days have morphed into back-to-colleg kid #1, moving into an apartment kid #2, football season & college apps kid #3.  Life is busy and full and quite wonderful.

Pretty much took a hiatus from both cooking and blogging this summer, but September brings me back to order, to a strangely quiet house and to my kitchen.  I love this transition, always have, always will.  It's harder to get up, it gets dark earlier, reading at the beach is suspended until June - but I love this season, with football and crisp nights and jeans and boots and, wayyyyyy ahead, on the still-far horizon, the tiniest whiff of hygge.

But for now?  Here are a couple meals I've made in the past few days.  Nothing fancy, but they sure were yummy.  The chicken piccata pasta toss is a family staple - when dylan was little he called it 'slimy chicken pasta.'  with love, of course.    Enjoy the season!

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss, aka slimy chicken pasta -  c/o Rachael Ray

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 shallots, chopped

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white wine

1 lemon, juiced

1 cup chicken broth or stock

3 tablespoons capers, drained

1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente

Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes

 

Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat.

  Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes.

 Add flour and cook 2 minutes.

 Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce.

 

 Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter.

 

 Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. 

 

And next, this delicious broccoli side dish, found by my lovely niece Becca.  It is to die for.

Lemon Dijon Roasted Broccoli

1 lb broccoli florets,
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Lay the broccoli out on the cookie sheet.
In a small bowl, combine the oil, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Toss the dressing over the broccoli to combine evenly.
Bake at 400 degrees for ten minutes. Serve hot.

Edible Acres

This summer, for the second summer in a row, I subscribed to a weekly Community Supported Agriculture produce box.  The kicker/fun fact is that this produce is grown at our very own Evanston Township High School, through its Edible Acre project.

Edible Acre

The Edible Acre is a joint initiative by The Talking Farm and Evanston Township High School. On October 8, 2009, thirty-five to fifty ETHS students from the Horticulture, Senior Studies, Community Service and Green Team programs began installing the Edible Acre Pilot Project, a community garden designed, built and maintained by ETHS students in collaboration with community groups and the surrounding neighborhood.
The Edible Acre is a converted lot across from the high school's main entrance. It is a 5,000 sq. ft. organic community garden that consists of 29-4’ x 12’ raised beds. This food production project provides learning experiences, leadership opportunities and summer jobs for ETHS students, as well as fresh produce and health benefits for the larger community.
Matt Ryan works for The Talking Farm and has managed the ETHS Edible Acre since 2012. In 2014, Matt was hired on part-time to expand the garden and create a clear crop plan that extended the growth time all the way through the winter!
The Edible Acre has been able to procure 5,500 pounds of organic produce to our school between 2012 – 2014, and harvested a total of 2,800 pounds in 2015. The harvest is used in the student cafeterias throughout summer school and well into the regular school year.

 

This was the last of the (and only?)  perk(s) of Doug's time on the school board - since most of the food is used by the school's kitchen, only the faculty/staff/board are offered a chance to buy the summer surplus.   

So every Thursday I run over to the high school and pick up my box of produce.  I gotta tell you, these boxes offer some amazing and delicious produce.  And some true cooking challenges. 

There's always a note explaining the contents:

 

 Last week's box came with this produce - isn't it gorgeous?

and this note, by George:

 

 Fourth item down:  I said to Dylan, what does that say?  Pathy pans?  Patty Pans?  I looked it up and sure enough, these are patty pan squash.  You all probably know this already, but I was new to the patty pan world. 

So I washed and sorted what I thought were the pile of patty pans, until I realized that the two bottom left items were actually cucumbers. doh! Yellow cucumbers!  And delicious.

So we ate them. But I digress. 

The patty pans we cooked up.  

I washed and large-diced them with the ends cut off but skin on.

I looked around to see what I had on hand.  Spinach, which I washed up.

a couple chicken breasts, which I cut up and sauteed in olive oil, salt & pepper

and pasta, which I cooked up

 

I coated the patty pans with a bit of olive oil, s&p and roasted them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until they were tender but not mushy.

Then I tossed the whole situation together:  patty pan, spinach, spinach, chicken, some extra s&p, tons of crushed red pepper and a bit of grated parmesan.

It was killer. 

Can't wait to see what this week's box will bring!  

Concurrently, a co-worker of mine gave me a coupon for the Imperfect Produce project.  Its motto is:   

Ugly Produce.  Delivered.  

Don't you love that? They source directly with farmers to use the roughly 20% of our country's produce that doesn't meet "cosmetic standards" - so doesn't make it to the grocery store - and often goes to waste.  

You can subscribe, you can customize your boxes, and it gets delivered to your home.

www.imperfectproduce.com

 Once my summer Edible Acres boxes are done, I'm signing up.  I'll keep you posted.

June is for weddings and strawberries

It's June.  The days are long, the kids are out of school and summer stretches ahead.  

The weather, so far, has been total bullshit in Chicago, but I'm expecting it to change any day and we might actually be able to sit out on our patio and enjoy a few hot summer nights! 

Meanwhile, this happened. 

taylorheery.com

 My beautiful niece, Colleen Young, got hitched to a fabulous fellow, Brenton Murrell.  

It was absolutely perfect.

 The whole Corey fam

 all the Corey girls - photo props to Bill Hanrahan!

the cousins

 It was a great way to kick off the summer.  Magical and meaningful and moving to help usher these lovely young adults into their new, hope-filled life.  

The night we got home I made a total shop-your-pantry meal.  I think I'll call it, "Pasta with all the things"

Here was my inventory:

 Pasta, feta, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini, olives and garbanzo beans. Plus one tomato.

 I had a little rose in the fridge - oh happy day!!

 I found a red pepper and cut it up.  Then made a dressing of balsamic vinegar & olive oil, s&p.

 Then added some fresh spinach and the cooked pasta and tossed it all together.

 feta on the side for the non-feta-eaters.

It was actually quite delicious.

And then?  This past weekend we had a dinner party and I made a lot of the usuals - grilled chicken with chimichurri sauce, cous cous with toasted pine nuts and an arugula-watermelon salad.  

All were fantastic.  But the magnum opus was dessert.

Those who know me know I love to eat dessert, but I don't love making dessert.  I'm more of a cook than a baker.  Baking is exact and precise: it's chemistry and it's stressful.  

But this sucker was GOOD and worth the work.

Homemade Strawberry Shortcake with lemon pepper Syrup

Rinse 2 quarts of strawberries.  Cut off the tops then thinly slice 1/2 of them.

 

Mix sliced strawberries with 2 Tbsp superfine sugar and half of a zested lemon. Set aside. 

In a small bowl, whisk together 1-1/4 cup flour, 1-1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 2 eggs plus 1 egg white on high speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Gradually pour in 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar and whip on high speed until mixture is a pale yellow color and has thickened enough to mound onto itself when beater is lifted, 1 to 3 minutes.

Here is what the instructions say:

 Using a rubber spatula, gently and patiently fold flour mixture into egg mixture.

Patiently?  I'm not sure I was terribly gentle or patient, but the job got done.

 Fold in 1/3 cup warm milk, 2 tsp vanilla and 2 tbsp melted butter until completely combined.

 Gently pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in pan. Invert cake onto a cooling rack and peel off baking paper. Let cool completely.

(as you can see, I do not have the pan lined with parchment paper above.  I realized this just as I put it in the oven and stared at it for a second, then sighed, took it out, poured the batter back in the bowl, cleaned the pan, greased it, lined it with parchment, greased the parchment, then dumped the batter back in.  See what I mean about baking vs cooking?   #scared.

 

 Whip 2 cups heavy cream with 1 tsp vanilla until soft peaks form.

 

 Meanwhile, in a small pot, whisk together remaining 100 grams ( 1/2 cup) granulated sugar, 1/4 cup water and 1/8 tsp finely ground black  pepper. Simmer on medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture has reduced by half, about 5 min. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1/2 lemon zest. 

 Using a serrated knife, horizontally slice cake in half.

 Generously brush each cut side with lemon-pepper syrup.

 Transfer the bottom half to a cake plate, cut side up, and spoon sliced strawberries and any juices over it.

 Spread half the whipped cream over sliced strawberries and gently place the other cake half on top.

 Spread remaining whipped cream over top and sides of cake (or mound it all on the top).

 Garnish with whole strawberries and drizzle with more lemon-pepper syrup for serving.

Trust me when I tell you - this was fantastic. 

The next time I'll double the amount of pepper to give it a little bit more of a bite.   

Happy Summer!!

Strawberry Shortcake with Lemon-Pepper Syrup

Melissa Clark

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, more for greasing pan
• 2 quarts strawberries (about 2 pounds)
• 25 grams superfine sugar (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 lemon, zested
• 155 grams all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 4 grams baking powder (about 1 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 grams salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg white
• 330 grams granulated sugar (about 1 3/4 cups)
• ⅓ cup whole milk, warmed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter or cooking spray. Line with baking paper and grease the parchment.
2. Cut off tops of strawberries and thinly slice half of them, leaving remaining berries whole. Mix sliced strawberries with superfine sugar and half the lemon zest. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip eggs and egg white on high speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Gradually pour in 230 grams (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar and whip on high speed until mixture is a pale yellow color and has thickened enough to mound onto itself when beater is lifted, 1 to 3 minutes.
4. Using a rubber spatula, gently and patiently fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Fold in milk, vanilla and butter until completely combined.
5. Gently pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in pan. Invert cake onto a cooling rack and peel off baking paper. Let cool completely.
6. Meanwhile, in a small pot, whisk together remaining 100 grams ( 1/2 cup) granulated sugar, 1/4 cup water and the pepper. Simmer on medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining lemon zest.
7. Whip heavy cream and vanilla until soft peaks form.
8. Using a serrated knife, horizontally slice cake in half. Generously brush each cut side with lemon-pepper syrup. Transfer the bottom half to a cake plate, cut side up, and spoon sliced strawberries and any juices over it. Spread half the whipped cream over sliced strawberries and gently place the other cake half on top. Spread remaining whipped cream over top and sides of cake (or mound it all on the top). Garnish with whole strawberries and drizzle with more lemon-pepper syrup for serving.