Friday, October 23, 2009

Fatty Friday Issue #20: What to Eat? Everything!

I'm having a hard time deciding what to feature this week. Do I write about the butternut-bacon soup I made with the man the other night? (Butternut squash and bacon are good friends, it turns out.) Or, do I wait until next week to discuss the food explosion that will be this weekend. It's a weekend away with friends, and food is featured prominently in the activities... decisions, decisions.

Well, for now, I'll share this really easy recipe for butternut bacon soup.
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You'll need the following ingredients:
one medium sized squash, Trader Joe's sells them pre-cut and packaged (chop into small pieces)
one medium sized vidalia or yellow onion (chopped)
two to three cloves of garlic (diced)
one cup of chicken or vegetable (or really, whatever you prefer) broth
one cup water
1/2 cup of dry white wine
two tablespoons heavy cream (or more, to taste)
four slices of bacon
one tsp sugar

To begin, brown the bacon. Remove from the pan and drain some of the fat. Use the remaining fat to brown the onions and garlic. Once they are translucent, add some olive oil or butter and the squash. Sautee until bright orange, then add a little of the broth and white wine. Once the squash is soft, puree it in a food processor along with the bacon. Once the entire pan has been pureed, pour into a pot along with the rest of the broth and the water. Let this simmer for a bit - you may want to add more broth or water for a thinner soup. Once it is hot and boiling a bit, turn off the heat, season with salt, pepper, maybe some cayenne, and the sugar. Then add the heavy cream, stir and serve with crusty bread and glasses of white wine. Yum!

Friday, October 16, 2009

More Soup: The Chicken Version

I love soup. I enjoy it year round, but it's obviously my fave in the colder months. What I love most about soup is that you can just throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, let it simmer for a bit, maybe add some rice, and have a tasty meal. Sweet!


Mmmmm...lemony garlic chicken soup

Recently I made a roast chicken, based on this recipe, which gives me chills and cravings like a junkie. Try it, you'll get it. Anyhoo, the carcass and a whole roasted head of garlic were just sitting in my fridge earlier, winking at me in a way that said, "You know you want to..." So, I proceeded to make a broth using the following ingredients:
1 leftover, partially eaten roast chicken (sounds prettier than carcass, right?)
1 head of roasted garlic
1 quartered onion
1 halved lemon
1 packet of dried morel mushrooms
3 bay leaves,
cloves
dried fennel seeds
paprika
salt
pepper
6 cups of water

I placed these all in a soup pot, set on medium heat and let simmer. My house proceeded to smell like warm, spicy goodness in no time. Now I have soup to last for a while. I can add rice or pasta or just freeze it to use in the future. Yay soup!

Fatty Friday Issue #19: Pumpcakes!


Ah, the noble pumpkin. Each October this star of the squash family gets a chance to shine. The pumpkin has been around for a while. The Greeks called it "pepon." The Native Americans called it "isquotersquas." The English called it "pumpion" and the pilgrims settled on the current form of the word.* I call it delicious and useful. Did you know that the Chinese supposedly use pumpkin seeds as anti-depressants?

What a vegetable! So, to celebrate this amazing squash, today's issue is dedicated to pumpkin cupcakes. I found this recipe at smittenkitchen - one of my fave food blogs - and it is really simple. The only addition I made was adding candy corn to the tops of each cupcake.



The cake is spicy, sweet and light, and the frosting is creamy with a warm, maple flavor, just oozing "fall". Plus, they are a perfect treat for a halloween party or for breakfast or dessert with coffee. Yum! Thank you, pumpkin!

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Fatty Friday Catch Up Issue: Quick and Easy Chunky Tomato Soup

Last week, while working from home, I had an intense craving for chunky tomato soup. It was a chilly fall day here in NYC - perfect for soup.



Chunky tomato soup - whether vegetarian, or with meat, like my version - is easy to make in a pinch. All you need are the following ingredients:
1 12 oz can diced tomatoes
3-4 cloves of garlic (depending on your love of garlic - mine is intense)
1/2 onion, chopped in chunks
1 cup of broth (veggie, chicken, beef, etc)
1 cup of water
olive oil
salt/pepper
basil, torn into large chunks
optional: soppressata chopped into bite-sized chunks

To begin, you'll want to smash the garlic cloves and pull off the skins. I leave the cloves whole, (I got used to doing it for people who don't like garlic,but I also like the way a smashed clove melts in your mouth when cooked through) but you may want to dice them. Then, chop the onion. Heat a deep pan and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. After that, lightly brown the garlic and onion. Add the tomatoes, basil, water, broth, salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add the optional soppressata. Let this goodness simmer for about 20 minutes. For a thinner soup, just add more water. Serve hot, topped with some grated parmiggiano reggiano and crusty ciabbata bread on the side.

This recipe is so easy, warming and yummy for a chilly day. With the tangy chunks of tomato, spicy garlic and onion and salty soppressata it really hits the spot. It's my favorite cold weather soup! What's yours??

Fatty Friday Issue #18: Time to Make the Donuts (Part 2)

Do you know what it's like when your entire house smells of donuts? It's pretty great. This recipe is totally simple and makes a soft and chewy donut that even with a glaze is not overwhelmingly sweet. Yum!



First, be careful with the oil: donuts cook really fast once the oil is hot. It is very important to use some scraps to test the oil first. Once that oil is hot, you won't want to fry those puppies for more than 5-10 seconds a side. Also, watch out for splatter - I somehow burned my elbow with the hot oil. Nice one!

I also made a few adjustments to the original recipe, I:
1) let the yeast/milk mixture sit for about 20 minutes before adding it to the flour and mashed potato;
2) boiled and mashed the potato, instead of following the authors suggestion to microwave (I think it makes a difference); and
3) added vanilla, cinnamon and ginger to the dough.

Once the donuts are just warm - not hot - feel free to dip them in the glaze. I used about 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tbsp of milk, 1 tbsp of lemon and some vanilla. The lemon gives it just a hint of tang, which is a great quality in a glaze. For a thinner glaze simply add more milk. A chocolate glaze would also be amazing.

All in all, I really liked this recipe for donuts. What interested me originally was the potato. Potato bread can be so light and chewy. As I'd hoped, the finished product was light and chewy. I recruited a few guinea pigs - you know who you are - last night, and they were very happy, too. Now to try the recipe with a sweet potato!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Fatty Friday Issue #18: Time to Make the Donuts (part 1)


Source: kurtw.tumblr.com

Donuts gained significant popularity in New York a few years ago. People were out to find the best donut spot. Blogs were started; friends told tales of eating warm, melty, fresh donuts from little holes in the wall around the five boroughs. It was an exciting time! I remember waiting outside of Peter Pan donuts shop the summer before last and convincing the manager, along with some friends, to give us a lemon-filled donut. It was heavenly...

Recently, I have been intrigued by donuts once more. In fact, I tried my hand at donuts last week. But I baked them, opting out of the traditional fried version. The result, when shared with friends, was generally "Hmm, this is ok, but something is off with the dough." This is because donuts need to be fried - or so I keep hearing.

My task for this week's issue is to try my hand at traditional, fried donuts. My house will smell like a deep-fried palace, but it will probably be worth it. I'm trying this recipe, and can't wait for the results!

Until next time...