• Winey Figs, Prosciutto & Ricotta Crostini
• Pears w/ Goat Cheese and Pecans
• Turducken w/ Gravy
• Roasted Green Beans w/ Shallots
• Spinach Salad w/ Mandarin Oranges
• Twice Baked Stuffed Potato Casserole
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Colicchio & Sons’ Parker House Rolls
• Herb Stuffing w/ Goose the Market Sausage
• Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream
• Apple Tart with Salted Caramel Sauce and Bourbon Vanilla Gelato
• Chocolate Pecan Pie
• Artisan Kentucky Bourbon

2 ears of corn, husked, brushed with olive oil
2 vine rip tomatoes, cored
1/2 red onion, chopped fine
3 TBSP olive oil plus more for brushing
2 TBSP vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

marinate red onion in vinegar for 1/2 hour. roast the corn and tomato on a hot grill until tomato is wilting and corn is nicely marked but not burnt. Cut the corn off the cob and chop the tomato and put both with the marinating onions. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Roast Chicken:

First, I buy a roaster (preferably organic — thanks Goose! or Bell and Evans Organic) and stuff the cavity with whatever I have on hand — garlic, onion, thyme, salt, pepper, or lemon/orange — just whatever is in your fridge that would go well with chicken. These are just aromatics, not to be consumed. Remember depending on the chicken you might not get a plastic button that pops when the chicken is done. Chickens don’t come with plastic buttons so if you buy from a small producer or organic just use the weight chart in any basic cookbook or google the weight to temperature ratio to find the right time. If the juices run clear and there’s no “pink” in the meat, you’re good to go.

In it goes and roughly 2.5 hours later (roasted at 325° and occasionally basted) you have a beautiful golden brown chicken. Roast off some green beans, garlic and shallots in olive oil. Use a fat separator and pour only the chicken juices over slices of chicken breast meat. ( the breasts on these roasters are big so I split one between two people and give legs to the 2 kids). 1 meal down. Wrap up the remains and process on the next day.

I pick the rest of the chicken meat and place in a bowl. I will make chicken casserole and chicken salad sandwiches with the remaining meat.

Chicken Casserole:

Chicken casserole: I found an OUTSTANDING recipe from Cook’s Country — but I think you need a subscription to view it. Let me just say it involves thyme, sour cream, sherry, egg noodles, and a crisp bread crumb topping — exceptional and always a big family hit.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches:

I generally use what’s left for homemade chicken salad sandwiches. I add grapes and pecans, a little mayo and dijon mustard, sometimes a dash of curry and load that up on a good home baked whole grain toasted bread. You can go for days on that sandwich.

Homemade Chicken Soup:

That brings me to my last and equally as good meal number 4. Homemade chicken soup. I take the carcass and any remaining innards or neck and throw that into a pot. I throw in a couple chopped carrots, onion, salt and peppercorns. I cover to the top with water and let simmer for several hours. I know this probably sounds vague but I can tell by smell. When it smells like chicken soup, I know we’re close. Strain the liquid back into the pot and add your favorite soup amendments. I like chunky onions, small carrot slices, left over chicken, amish egg noodles and (my mom turned me onto this seasoning) Paul Prudhomme’s poultry seasoning. Meal 4 in the bag!

One 4-5 lb. roaster, ranging in price from $2-$3 a lb. can feed a family of four, four meals which nets down to a cost of less than $1 per person (protein only). I do this 4 or 5 times during the winter. It’s easy, healthy, and tastes good!

New Recipes This Week

Fresh Tomato Gorgonzola Soup: I’m not a tomato soup fan — too many childhood memories of the can, but this surprised me, especially since I had to use tomatoes from a grocery store in the middle of winter — can’t wait to try this with tomatoes from my garden. I didn’t add a lot of gorgonzola but it added a subtle flavor that was exceptional. Inspired by a cup I had in a local eatery (name escapes me), but I tried to approximate the flavors. See recipe.

Chicken-Tortilla Soup (Martha Stewart): I was excited about this one until I saw 2 cups of cilantro. I just can’t do it. But rather than pass on the soup altogether, I substituted basil. I know, I know, I’m trying to convince you this is not a blog about Italian food and then I go and take a traditional Hispanic soup and make it Italian, but I swear it’s just my aversion to cilantro. Anyway, the soup was great and hearty with the addition of chickpeas, corn and chicken!

Creamy Caramelized Onion Soup (Martha Stewart): what’s not to like? Onions, leeks, shallots and garlic, cooked to the caramel stage with vermouth or dry white wine and stock and a touch of cream…buzz it down and you’ve got velvet, baby!

Now I need to turn my attention to beef! Like stews and chili…

Bon Appetit/Feb 2010: is it me or is this issue outstanding? from the luscious cover of grilled cheese, short ribs & caramelized onion sandwiches to an entire article devoted to milk chocolate (I’ve already ordered Callebaut for the mousse), I must have over 10 recipes earmarked!

Saute chopped onion and carrot until soft. Add minced garlic. Add tomatoes & basil and cover with stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer until tomatoes are falling apart, at least 30 minutes. Buzz down with stick blender (note: this yields a chunky soup, one with texture — if you want a smoother soup use a blender or better yet, a food mill) Add cream. Break up Gorgonzola and stir until melted. Test for seasoning.

French Onion Soup — Barefoot Contessa — incredible, the best ever — substituted gruyere though for parmesan (it is a French soup after all)
Butternut Squash Soup — a family favorite: saute onion in butter, throw in 16oz. of squash, cover with chicken stock, cook until soft, buzz down with blender with a little curry, nutmeg, honey and a dollop of creme fraiche, serves 4
Curried Chicken and Carolina Gold Rice — inspired by Goose the Market
Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy — thanks to CooksCountry.com!
Fresh Ravioli with Egg Yolk nestled on a bed of ricotta filling — inspired by a picture I saw in a publication of Marlow & Sons (I think?)

*note: ever since I saw “It’s Complicated,” have been craving chocolate cake & chocolate croissants — go, see, you’ll understand — tweeted about this movie — the garden, although defying the laws of nature — is also to die for.

Combine all ingredients. Mixture should be stiff and a little sticky. Shape into 1″ balls and roll in confectioners sugar. Store in air tight container at room temperature. Note: they are strong, but will mellow over time.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen

2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium sized onion, chopped
3/4 to 1lb. Italian Sausage (see note)
clove of garlic, minced
16 oz. of tomato’s, I use Academia Barilla
1/2 c. red wine
1/2 c. cream
fresh basil & flat leaf parsley to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste
grated parmesan

3 to 4 twists of fresh basil pasta
or
enough dried pasta to feed four

Saute onions in skillet until soft and translucent. Add sausage and break up into small “chunks” with wooden spoon. Continue to saute sausage until pink has faded. Add garlic and saute briefly. Add tomatoes and wine and cook on medium low for 15 to 20 minutes until reduced and combined. Add cream and seasonings to taste and continue to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Add pasta to boiling water, fresh will cook faster than dried. Add pasta to sauce (it will absorb a lot of the sauce) and then plate. Offer Parmesan at the table.

Notes: This is a family favorite/standby. We have a “pasta lady” at our farmers market and I stock up on this fresh basil pasta and freeze it for quick winter dinners. I just pull out enough twists for whoever’s having dinner and adjust sauce quantities accordingly.

I’m also kind of particular about the sausage. We have a great shop here in Indy, Goose the Market, and they make their own Italian sausage, again a family favorite and I keep that in the freezer as well. But any favorite sausage would work in this sauce.

I use Academia Barilla Cherry Tomatos (sometimes the can, which is 28 oz. will stretch to two dinners) but you can use your favorite canned tomatoes. These are sweet and add a nice balance to the pepper flakes and cream.

to make it “wedding soup”
4 tbsp. grated parmesan
2 large eggs

Since we were making meatballs for our Thanksgiving feast, we used some of the meatball mixture to add to our escarole soup. Take about a pound of meatball mixture and roll into miniature meatballs (slightly smaller than an inch in diameter). Set aside.

Bring approximately 8 to 12 cups (2-3 boxes) of chicken broth to the boil. Add the escarole and the meatballs and some parmesan to taste. The key to this soup is to let it cook for some time (at least a couple of hours). Escarole can be a little bitter, but as it cooks and the flavors meld together, that bitterness disappears.

To turn it into Italian Wedding soup, mix the eggs along with the parmesan in a small bowl. While stirring the soup, slowly drizzle in the egg mixture (this can be done to greater effect with a fork). Strands will appear in the soup (like egg drop soup). Continue to cook until you’re sure the egg has set. Season to taste with salt and pepper. You can serve along with more parmesan if desired.

this recipe makes approximately 6-8 servings