Special Chicken – The Sustenance of My Youth

Today I want to talk about what might be the THE quintessential food of my childhood. The one that reminds me of home more than any other. It was featured at more birthday dinners than anything else. (It was also featured at a very recent Christmas Eve.) Everyone loved it, even the picky ones. Behold Special Chicken. It’s really called that in the cookbook, we did not make it up.

These are the ties that bind

Special Chicken is soy-marinated, batter-fried chicken wings. They are delicious, and fairly easy to make. The recipe came from this little flip top Chinese food cookbook my parents have, and this page is particularly well used.

photographic evidence

As I have mentioned before, when we were very little, my mom did a lot of the cooking, but sometime during my ‘tween years (I think) the role shifted to my dad and stayed there. But not these. These are firmly entrenched in Mom’s camp, forever to remain. Many have tried to duplicate, none have succeeded. Truly. My attempt is close, and good enough for those who don’t know, but  they are sub par by comparison. The littlest tried them for Christmas and says they were enjoyable, but not right. As far as I know, my mom has always followed the recipe exactly – she’s never told me otherwise – but maybe that’s her trick. If we can’t replicate, she can always lure us home with the original.

There are two things I have adjusted a little from the recipe. The first is the temperature. At 375 the oil is way too hot. The wings get too dark and the batter gets unpleasant. 325 is the way to go. (I am not sure what temp Mom uses, since she doesn’t use a deep fry thermometer. She just knows when it’s right.) The recipe also suggests marinating the chicken wings for an hour, but I recommend longer. All day, if you’ve got it. Marinate overnight! It makes this a delightful option for a weekday. These usually meant a special occasion for us, or at the very least a Sunday dinner, but they don’t have to be. Get wild! Make them on a Tuesday! I most recently made them on a Wednesday at the behest of a delightful house guest. (The word is spreading!) They involve deep frying, but don’t let that scare you. It doesn’t require much oil, especially if you have a wok. (Do you have a wok? They are great, get a wok.) Make sure you make extra, because the joy of eating them hot just ever so slightly trumps the joy of eating them out of a sandwich bag the next day – lunch or even breakfast. Doesn’t matter which.

And now, just because I feel like it, and it’s fun, a rundown of some of the best things I’ve eaten in Boston recently and some of my favorite Boston dishes, in general –

A cold corn and coconut milk soup from East By Northeast – revelatory

The whipped goat’s milk feta snack at Tavern Road is one of my favorite snacks OF ALL TIME. So simple and so so good. (They also make an amazing risotto over there. Every preparation has been great.)

The breakfast sandwich at Clover is way better than it has any right to be.

The corn dog at Trina’s Starlite Lounge is a delight.

The johnnycake at Neptune is just nonsense it’s so good. Seriously, mind-blowingly, crazy crazy good.

The classic Chinese BBQ pork sandwich from Bon Me is my favorite lunch.

The Baloney Pony sandwich at the Biggie Brunch at Alden & Harlow still haunts me, and alas, I am afraid I will never get to enjoy it again. I’ll have to settle for the chicken fried rabbit over there. Poor me.

The burger at JM Curley’s. Always and forever.

The corn at Toro, but everyone knows this.

The tuna crudo at Row 34.

There are others, so many others, but that is what I am thinking about right now.

frying

Special Chicken (serves 4-6)

For the chicken:

2.5 – 3 lbs chicken wings, cut into drumettes and flats

oil for frying

For the marinade:

2 tbl soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tbl sherry

1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 tsp hoisin sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp salt

For the batter:

2 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the chicken wing pieces, stir to coat, and marinate in the fridge for at least one hour or preferably overnight.

Heat the oil in a wok or another high sided pan or pot to 325 degrees.

Mix the batter ingredients together in a small bowl. It will form a thick sticky dough, and won’t come together cohesively, but that’s ok, just mix a bit until the ingredients are starting to combine. Add the batter to the bowl with the chicken and stir until the marinade and the batter come together to coat the chicken. This will be kind of a sticky mess, and will take some time to come together, but keep stirring until it does. The batter will thin when mixed with the marinade, and all the chicken pieces will be coated.

Deep fry the chicken in batches, without overcrowding, until the pieces are brown and crispy and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate lined with a paper towel and let cool slightly before serving. Let the oil come back to temperature between batches, and continue to fry until all the chicken is finished. Enjoy!!

Chicken with Harissa and Chickpeas

Good LORD these things take me a long time to write. I made this on August 11th, and started blogging about it the next day…pfthffttttttttt.

Weeknight Chicken with Harissa and Chickpeas

I made this several months back and it was delicious and quick and crowd pleasing. I made my own version recently, and it’s even easier and maybe even more delicious. My version skips the browning for oven roasting, and the pan sauce for a yogurt based marinade. There is still harissa, and there are still chickpeas, and there is even less work. Everyone wins! This is really easy. I combined yogurt and harissa, and marinated the chicken in it overnight. The night I ate it I lightly oiled a baking pan, dumped two cans of chickpeas in the bottom, then laid the chicken pieces on top, with an lemon slice on top of each one, and stuck it in the oven. I sprinkled it with parsley and served it over jasmine rice.

I made the harissa because I felt like it-I used this recipe, but go right ahead a use a store bought one! (If you do make the harissa, it lasts forever and I am finding all sorts of things to do with it – though I suppose the same would go for store bought…) All the recipes are a little different, most have dried chiles, some include roasted red pepper. I’m not going to lie to you, I have an n of 1, but I am quite pleased with the recipe I used. It had depth of flavor and good spiciness and ingredients that I mostly had on hand, and it smells wonderful. It is delightful.

Without further ado…

over rice

 

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity. -Yeats

This summer was…heavy. It seems chaos reigns at the moment.

Fall is not typically a season of renewal, but chaos can’t hold either, right?

This one was really hard. Welcome back to Neverland Pan the Man.

Imma just leave this right here: Race/Off

Oh my god, NO. Nopenopenopenope. Who wrote that nonsense and, better question, HOW IN THE WORLD DID AN EDITORIAL TEAM LET THAT BE PUBLISHED. The last couple sentences. This is why we shouldn’t have nice things. I can’t wait for next week’s followup: “Revisiting The Holocaust: Sometimes Hitler Was Nice.”

Yes, Grandpa Joe, Yes.

Slow, sarcastic, five-months-too-late clap for the Ravens and the NFL, I guess? Now please read this (Roxane Gay, who wrote that piece, has two books out this year. Her first, a novel called An Untamed State was…something else. It is amazing and stirring and dark and powerful and hard to read, which makes it hard to recommend, except that it is so beautiful at the same time, that I want to recommend it to everyone. So read it, if you can read such things, but warning, it is visceral and tragic and awful and amazing) and also this, and watch this. Thank you Keith. Update: Everything is awful, light it on fire.

It’s apparently cut-the-bullshit week over here at B&G. I’m ok with that.

But there was good stuff!

Why isn’t she Queen of the World yet?

Serena. LIKE. A. BOSS.

I made these again last week. They hold up.

Did y’all see THIS thing of beauty? It is going to be SO MUCH FUN.

What I am reading: I just finished The Summer Fletcher Greel Loved Me by Susanna Kingsbury. I also finally finished A Clash of Kings. Mr. Martin, edit thyself, holy hell. I am currently reading The Last Days of California by Mary Miller and next on the list is Code Name Verity.

What I am listening to: Sia and of course and always, Beyonce.

I have another vacation planned! I am going to Key West and Nashville in October AND I CAN NOT WAIT.

Happy fall. May the weather throughout be as perfect as it was today.

 

 Harissa-Yogurt Chicken with Chickpeas and Lemon (serves 6ish)

1 whole 4-5 lb Chicken, cut in 10 pieces (wings, thighs, legs, each breast half cut in half again) or feel free to use chicken pieces of your choice. Remove the skin if you prefer.

1 cup Plain Yogurt (greek or regular is fine)

1/3 cup Harissa

2 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained

10 slices Lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Splash of oil for the pan

Jasmine rice and parsley to serve

The night before you are planning on serving this, combine the yogurt, harissa and chicken pieces with a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl or a ziploc bag. Mix together to coat chicken evenly, and refrigerate overnight.

On the day you are serving the chicken, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly rub a baking dish (a 9×13 fit the pieces well) with olive oil, and add the chickpeas to the pan. Place the chicken pieces on top of the chickpeas and place a lemon slice on top of each piece of chicken. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 25-30 minutes until the pieces are cooked through.

Sprinkle the chicken with parsley, more salt and pepper to taste, and serve the chicken and chickpeas over jasmine rice. SO EASY.

Stuffed Pork Chops with Speck, Manchego and Pesto

stuffed

These were a bit of a fluke (these were also inordinately difficult to photograph) – sometimes the best things are. I get meat delivered monthly from a company that sources beef, pork and lamb from farms within 250 miles of the city, then delivers it packed in dry ice right to your door. (Every day I become more of a hermit.) I love it. The meat is delicious, they have awesome things like trotters and tails and organ meats and fresh eggs, and it is so convenient! Plus it is reasonably priced AND when they send me things I wouldn’t typically buy, I get to be creative and experimental.

So I had what I thought were boneless pork chops in the freezer – when I typically buy pork chops I buy thick cut bone-in chops, and then I coat them in panko, pan roast them and serve them with apples, sage and brown sugar, which is one of my favorite meals of all time, but is not summery. That is totally what I would have made if I had known they were bone in, but because I thought they were boneless I got creative – divine intervention! I thought they would be great stuffed with the manchego and garlic scape pesto (you can still find scapes out there – get some, make pesto) that I had in the fridge, and they would have been, but they were even better when I found the speck I had forgotten about in the cheese drawer. (Use prosciutto if you want, in this case, they would be totally interchangeable and equally delicious, I just happen to love the speck from the local meat store.) I just made a quick mixture with chopped up speck, grated manchego and the pesto and then I used a thin sharp knife to cut a slit in side of the chop. A thin knife is great here, because it allows you to cut a thin slit in the meat on the edge, so the stuffing doesn’t fall out, but open it up wider in closer to the bone to maximize the stuffing ability (this would be a great place for a video, because I don’t think my description is even remotely helpful.) Basically, just try to get as much stuffing in there as you can.

Because I used a grill pan inside, I preheated the oven to 400 and finished the chops in there so I didn’t smoke myself out of my apartment, but if you are using a real grill because you’re fancy, there’s no need for the oven. These are crazy quick and very flavorful and feel like lots of effort even though they are not. Perfect for a summer dinner party. Of course they would also be lovely using boneless chops. These cook up really quickly, and the filling just requires about five minutes to put together, so these are a great weekday dinner. I served them over a salad of farro, summer squash, pine nuts and parmesan, but they would be great with anything mildly flavored. The filling is rich and salty, so you don’t want anything that would compete. (Also, take it easy on the salt, the meat and cheese in the filling are plenty salty.)

off the bone

Things about things:

1. SUMMER TIP: And I can’t stress this one enough – next time you are grilling outside, propane, charcoal, campfire, it doesn’t matter, anything will (and does) work – buy yourself some fresh littlenecks (if you are nice, also buy enough for whomever you are grilling with) rinse them off and throw them on the grill. Let them sit on the grill until they open. Put them in a bowl (if you don’t put them directly into your mouth) and squeeze lemon on them. Pass them around with some hot sauce. Seriously. Do this. There isn’t even a recipe because the only ingredient is clams, so I am just going to drop it here and hope you take me seriously. This is so much better than it should be, and I have no idea why. You don’t even have to like clams, and you are probably going to like them like this.
2. I have been eating some crazy good food lately. I went to The Red Hen in DC, and Maple Avenue in Falls Church and Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami, and that was just the last couple of weeks when I was on the road. I have also been to Pastoral and Trina’s Starlite Lounge close to home and I continue to think about the food I had in all of those places. In related news, have you all had corn dogs? I think most people have, right? That is a thing that people eat, I think, but I missed that boat somehow, and I am really sad about that. I had a corn dog recently, and I think it is just the beginning. I have lost time to make up for.
3. I am still reading A Song of Ice and Fire The Second (A Clash of Kings.) It is good, but it is long and I am ready to read something else.
4. I am listening to Jenny Lewis and LP. They are very different but equally awesome and I am pretty much just rotating between the two albums this week.
5. I catered a bridal shower last weekend, and Pam was lovely enough to write about it in her blog. Pardon my face, I forgot how to present myself that day.
6. I got to visit JMU for the first time in YEARS a couple weeks ago and it was delightful. It looks so different and impressive. It was orientation week and the incoming freshmen were freakin adorable. I am so jealous they still have those years in front of them.
7. The littlest will be home for a whole month in less than three weeks and I am so excited I can’t stand it. I miss her.

Stuffed Pork Chops with Speck, Manchego and Garlic Scape Pesto (serves 2)

2 thick-cut (at least an inch, an inch and a half would work) pork chops, bone-in or boneless

1 oz (4-5 slices) speck or prosciutto, chopped in small pieces

2 oz manchego, grated

1/4 cup garlic scape pesto (basil pesto will work too!)

salt and pepper to taste

If you are cooking indoors, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Using the thinnest, sharpest knife you have, cut a small (about 1″ wide) slit in the side of each chop, then use the tip of the knife to increase the  size of the pocket in the middle of the chop and in closer to the bone (if there is one.) Try not to puncture the outside of the chop anywhere else.

In a small bowl, mix the grated cheese, the chopped speck and the pesto together to combine. Stuff the chops with as much of the stuffing as you can, without tearing the meat, you should be able to use most of it. I like to use a toothpick to close the opening a bit if it needs it. Salt and pepper the outside of the chops.

Heat an oven proof grill pan or grill to medium high. Cook the chops on the first side for eight minutes, and if cooking on the stove top, flip the chops and put the pan in the oven for another eight minutes. If you are grilling outside, flip the chops and cook for eight more minutes with the top of the grill closed to retain the heat.

Remove the chops from the heat and let them rest for at least five minutes. Slice, serve and enjoy.

Korean Fried Chicken Sliders

Korean Fried Chicken Sliders

Oh haaaaaaaaaay!

Anyone there? Have you left me? It would be well deserved – I am a giant slacker and I apologize. This has been, perhaps, the busiest six months of my life, and I am exhausted. Just when I think things are easing up, they absolutely do not do that. Luckily it’s been mostly great, fun, exciting and lovely stuff, but I am tired. I have a list a mile long to tell you about, but it’s been so long since I have made some of the things I want to share, I am going to have to go back and make them again.

BUT, I had to write today, because as it turns out, today B&G turns FIVE. That’s right. Today is Bread & Ginger’s fifth blogiversary. I am currently celebrating with a delicious gimlet and some pork chops that I can’t wait to tell you about, but we are going to celebrate with some fried chicken sliders, which might be how I celebrate everything from now on, because they are good. I first made this a full sized sandwich, which was good but it was a lot. I like the sliders better for their spicy/sweet meat-to-everything-else ratio.

These are good and easy and quick! There is some deep frying but hopefully that doesn’t scare you anymore. The sauce is sweet and spicy and nutty from the sesame, and also has a hint of funk from the fish sauce. (A good thing, I promise…) There are some ingredients in here that you may not have, but if you have an Asian supermarket nearby you will be able to find all of them ( if you don’t  – Amazon!) Gochujang – Korean chile paste – is spicy, but spicy like sriracha, rather than spicy like Frank’s or Texas Pete. There is a great depth of flavor and umami-ness to it. The spice is balanced by the sweetness from the sugar, and the pickles and the Kewpie mayo and the buttery brioche combine with the sauce for crazy goodness.

I miss you all, and B&G. I am still working on making more hours in the day. If anyone has any ideas, I am all ears.

Happy Blogiversary B&G! And thank you all for reading!!

Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough

1. It is apparently National Junk Food Day which makes me feel way better about the snacks I had today.

2. I will watch Parks and Recreation any time it is on, notwithstanding how many times I have seen a particular episode.

3. I am currently reading A Clash of Kings. I am currently listening to Beyonce as often as possible. I saw her and Jay in concert a couple weeks back. It was amazing – life changing even. (Too hyperbolic?)

4. I am recovering from an ankle sprain. Apparently walking is a struggle. I wear heels for days, and hike around Denver, and a curb in front of one of my favorite restaurants three blocks from home lays me low while I am wearing top-siders. My high school soccer career is coming back to haunt me. Forever a champion. (This is the most annoying because I was starting to run again, and I have a Jawbone. It counted crutching, which was nice, but I am falling way short of my goal while I have a bum wheel.)

5. MAKE THESE SLIDERS. They are so good. You are going to like them. (And then use whatever sauce you have leftover for chicken wings. I am planning on doing just that this week.)

Korean Fried Chicken Sliders (makes 8 sliders)

For sauce:

4 cloves garlic

1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped

3 tbl gochujang (Korean chile paste, available at Asian markets or online)

3 tbl dark soy sauce (available at Asian markets)

1 tbl fish sauce

1 tbl brown sugar

1 tbl sesame oil

2-3 tbl rice vinegar

Put all ingredients and two tablespoons of the vinegar in a blender and pulse until ingredients are mixed and ginger and garlic are minced. If sauce seems a little thick, add another tablespoon of vinegar and blend to combine. Place in bowl and set aside.

For chicken:

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in two equal pieces each

1 egg

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup masa harina (corn flour)

1 tbl corn starch

Salt and pepper

oil for frying

Heat three inches of oil in a sauce pan over medium high heat until it reaches 375 degrees. Meanwhile, in one bowl mix egg with 1 tbl water and whisk until combined. In another bowl, mix both flours, the cornstarch and generous pinches of salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Dredge chicken pieces in the egg mixture, then the flour mixture, and then again in the egg and then the flour. Fry chicken in batches until light brown and crispy, about 6 or 7 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Let the oil come back to temperature and repeat with the rest of the chicken pieces.

For sliders:

8 small brioche rolls

butter for toasting

dill pickle slices

kewpie mayonnaise (Japanese style mayonnaise – can be found in Asian markets and some supermarkets.)

Spread butter on the sliced brioche rolls, and toast until cut sides are golden brown and toasty. Spread each side generously with kewpie mayonnaise and layer pickle slices on the bottom roll. Dredge fried chicken pieces in sauce until well coated, and place on top of the pickles. Cover with the top of the roll and voila!

B&G Classics: Chicken Noodle Soup

Wahoooooooo!

That means I passed my test, in case it wasn’t clear. And I am so so glad. That was easily the most stressful thing I have done in a long time. I felt unprepared and I HATE feeling unprepared. It was hard. I woke up this morning and honestly felt like a year had passed since last Friday. But it is over! And studying did give me the opportunity to procrastinate and make lots of soup, so that is nice. Sorry about the three day hiatus, I was going to blog every day to get all the soup in, but Sunday got a little hairy as the test was getting closer, and Monday was for test taking and then bubbly-drinking and yesterday was for the rest of life. But today is soup day again! Specifically, Chicken Noodle. There are a million ways to make it, but the gist is chicken vegetables and noodles in chicken broth. (I mean, there probably aren’t a MILLION ways to make it, but you know what I mean.) This is a pretty basic, classic version. (This one is classic with a twist and I am DYING to try it. Related: have you guys ever checked out Sweet Paul? It is GORGEOUS.)

A cure for what ails you

This version is perfect for post-chicken dinner leftovers. The key is homemade stock. While I suppose it is not technically necessary, I am saying it’s necessary. You are going to be so happy with yourself if you use homemade stock. It will be infinitely better. Truly. There are plenty of times where homemade stock isn’t that noticeable because of other things that are going into the soup, but this is not one of those times. (STOCK REMINDER: put six lbs of chicken backs in a large pot and cover with water. (Use wings or legs if you don’t collect chicken backs in your freezer/can’t get them from your butcher or grocery store. Pro-tip – ask for them at your butcher or grocery store. Whole Foods often has them packaged with the other chicken for .99 a pound. Way cheaper than you’ll pay for wings.) When the water boils, take the chicken out, dump the water (and the sludge that will come along with it) rinse out the pot, and add the chicken back in with two onions peeled and cut in half, three carrots peeled and cut in large pieces, three celery stalks peeled and cut in pieces, a head of garlic sliced in half width wise, two or three bay leaves, a handful of fresh parsley, some black peppercorns and a good dash of salt. Cover with a ton of water (I use a 12 quart pot and fill it close to the top.) Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat, simmer for two to four hours or as long as you are hanging around the house, strain the solids out, and voila! Chicken stock! Let it cool, skim the fat off the top and use what you need and freeze the rest!)

Other than the stock and the leftover chicken, I like onion, celery, a little bit of garlic, carrots, egg noodles and dill. And that’s it. Soften the vegetables without browning them. Add the stock, bring to a simmer and cook until the carrots are soft. Add the egg noodles and the chicken, cook until the noodles are done. Add the dill, voila! That’s it. It all happens in about half an hour, which is pretty funny, considering Chicken Soup is the quintessential comfort food. It seems like the quintessential comfort food that cures all ills and is essentially a word that has come to symbolize home itself should be an undertaking of some sort. But it’s not. Go forth. Make soup.

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup (Makes a lot)

2 tbl olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

3 carrots, peeled a chopped in half moons

3 stalks celery, peeled and sliced in half moons

1 large clove garlic, minced

8 cups chicken stock

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

4-6 oz egg noodles

1 handful dill, chopped (optional, but I recommend it!)

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add all the vegetables and saute until they are soft, without letting them brown. Add the chicken stock, bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add the chicken and the noodles, and cook for another five or six minutes until the noodles are cooked through. Add the dill, taste for salt and pepper and add as needed, and serve! (IF you are planning on freezing or bringing this to someone’s house, or saving it for later, and you are worried about the noodles getting too mushy, leave them out at this point. Or take some of the soup out for freezing or transporting and just add the appropriate amount of noodles to what you are going to eat now, and add the rest to the defrosted/transported/saved part, so they don’t get mushy!)

Gingery Carrot Soup

You guys, January was going to be soup month, and it IS actually soup month. I’ve made a bunch, and it’s been soupier than I even anticipated, due to some client requests. Of course, it hasn’t be post-ier than normal (though this will be the third one this month, so maybe it has) which means there are SO MANY SOUPS to discuss. So I have to post every day between now and next Thursday, because I have so much soup to talk about and I couldn’t POSSIBLY let soup trickle into February, because if these arbitrary monthly themes that I decide at totally random times for absolutely no rhyme or reason and based on no one’s whims but my own don’t mean anything, WHAT DOES? (Related: February’s theme? Indian Food! I’ve been craving it.)

carrot ginger

This particular soup is a bit of a palate cleanser. It’s light and healthy and can easily be made vegetarian or vegan with equally delicious results. (For real! I’ve done it!) It has a ton of flavor, but is not heavy at all. It would be great as part of a multi-course meal, it would work in all kinds of weather, and is kind of perfect if you are using January to detox from the holidays. I made it for the first time in November when I was cooking a dinner that had quite a few dietary restrictions (kosher, vegan, soy and gluten allergies) and had to come up with a soup that would please vegans and meat eaters alike. I made a quick vegetable stock, because a) store bought vegetable stocks can taste real weird, and b) because store bought stocks can have all sorts of surprise soy and gluten in them, and both the vegetable stock (quick trick! Add a potato!) and the soup itself came out pretty damn delicious, if I do say so myself. Toot Toot! When I made it at home for myself, I used chicken stock, because that’s how I roll. It was also delicious.

Basically, this soup should not taste as good as it does, because there are basically four ingredients and one of them is carrots. But it does! I mean, it tastes like carrots, it’s not like it tastes like steak, but it is delicious. And the ginger gives it a serious kick. It would be really nice if you were sick. The ginger will clear out your sinuses AND settle your stomach! It’s magic! (I’m pretty sure ginger can cure the common cold too. I had a DOOZY coming on one day a while back, and I made this and the next day it was GONE. Not even kidding. It was amazing.) So what I’m saying is, if you get sick soon, make this soup and keep me posted on what happens. If I have unwittingly discovered the cure for the common cold and/or stomach upset, Imma need to know. I’ve always wanted to be rich and famous. I HAVE BIG PLANS.

Alright, back to the studying. Hasta mañana.

Carrot – Ginger Soup (serves 6-8)

4 tbl butter or olive oil

2 medium onions, diced

1 ½ lbs carrots, peeled and sliced in half moons

2 tbl minced ginger

8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Salt and pepper

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt butter, or heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions. Sauté just until soft and add carrots. Cook onions and carrots until the carrots are just beginning to get tender. Don’t let the vegetables brown. Add the ginger, a pinch of salt and pepper, and then add the chicken or vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer until the carrots are cooked all the way through and quite soft, 20 – 30 minutes. Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes, before pureeing in batches in a blender until very smooth. (An immersion blender is not going to give you the smoothness you want here. Go full bore with the blender for this one.) Reheat if necessary, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve. Feel healthy and virtuous!

Fish Tacos, Finally (for Em, because they are her favorite)

crispy and delicious

I have been working on this post for quite some time, but I am glad I waited, because it took me a while to get it right. Now I suspect they will be in the regular rotation. There are a couple components, but most of them can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for weeknights, which is very convenient because these are delicious and the perfect antidote for the crappy days that occasionally pop up during the week.

These are fairly basic, in that there aren’t too many components. You could absolutely change this up and add your own twists. Pico de gallo, guacamole instead of just avocado, cotija cheese. Find your bliss! You do you! I will tell you though, the sauce is key. This one is really spicy, but the spice is from sriracha, so it’s flavorful round spice, not the kind that smacks your mouth and makes your eyes water. And it is mellowed by the slaw and the avocado. The slaw is a little bit sweet and adds good crunch, and the fish is fried in beer batter, which makes everything delicious. I usually just use tilapia, because it is easy to find and cheap, but any white fish would be excellent. And I prefer flour to corn tortillas for these, but you can absolutely switch those out. I generally like to have both in the fridge anyway. If you have the slaw and the sauce on hand (and they both keep pretty well) these go together in about 15 minutes. Easy peasy.

assembly

All the things:

1. I am still studying for the Series 79. It is miserable. I need it to be over.

2. I’m going back to Cali, Cali, Cali. Another California trip for this girl in April. The ladies are going to Sonoma and San Francisco, and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s my favorite place on earth.

3. I am trying to eat healthy lunches, so I decided to make a salad on Sunday to bring with me for the week. The first one was quinoa, edamame, red cabbage and carrots with an orange soy vinaigrette. I ate it with avocado on it. It was delicious.

quinoa, red cabbage, carrots, edamame, orange-soy vinaigrette

4. I am STILL reading The Goldfinch, but only because I have a job and a non-profit and a test to take so I can’t just read without stopping. It is GREAT.

5. Speaking of non-profits – IGNITE the NITE is February 27th! Get your tickets Bostonians! It is going to be an amazing time again this year!!

6. It’s almost the Superbowl! The most glorious snack filled day of the year. I mean, I could not care less about who wins this one, but I can make snacks, so that’s pretty good.

7. I still couldn’t love anything more than I love my new camera. I can’t wait to be done with this test so I can spend some good quality time with it and learn all the tricks.

8. Make these tacos asap. You are going to like them.

For the Tacos

8 pieces batter fried fish (see recipe below)

8 flour tortillas

One avocado, sliced

2 cups cabbage slaw (see recipe below)

Spicy sauce (see recipe below)

Warm the tortillas (if you have a gas stove, toast them over a burner. It is delightful.) Lay one piece of fish over each tortilla. Top with avocado slices, slaw and sauce.

Enjoy!

For the Fish

2 Tilapia filets, each cut in four strips lengthwise

1 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Salt and black pepper

1 cup beer of your choice (I really like Negra Modelo or something similar, but Bud Light works just fine)

Oil for frying

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cayenne if you are using, a generous pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper.  Add the beer and whisk to combine. Add the fish to the batter and make sure all the pieces are coated well. Heat 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch of oil in a large (10″) high sided frying pan over medium high heat until it shimmers. Test it by dropping in a bit of the batter, if it starts to puff and turn golden right away, the oil is ready. Drop four pieces into the oil and cook until the bottom is golden brown and flip, cooking the other side the same way, about five minutes total. Remove the fish to a plate lined with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the second batch of fish. Voila!

For the Slaw

¼ head red cabbage, shredded

1 carrot, peeled shredded (in a food processor or on a box grater)

Chopped cilantro to taste (this is personal preference, though I don’t love cilantro, and I still like quite a bit in this slaw)

¼ cup rice vinegar

1 tbl neutral oil, like canola

1 tbl honey

2 tsp salt

Combine the shredded cabbage, the carrot and the cilantro in a large bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and refrigerate. (Let sit for ideally an hour or so before using to allow flavors to meld)

For the Sauce

½ cup mayo

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup whole milk

¼ cup sriracha (this is a lot. Feel free to use less if you are nervous. The final product is really spicy on its own, but meshes really nicely with everything on the taco.)

2 cloves garlic mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt

1 tbl soy sauce

Zest and juice from one lime.

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well to combine. This makes a lot, but leftovers obviously keep (and you’ll use more than you think, I suspect)

Clam Chowder

New England style

Happy New Year friends!

It’s 2014, which is weird. It sounds like it’s out of science fiction. 2014. This might be the year The Others come. Hopefully they’ll be nice. And single.

I’ve got big hopes for 2014. Unfortunately most of them require vast amounts of wealth and free time, of which I have neither, so small hopes will have to do.

I hope GLOW raises ALL THE MONEY this year, and that IGNITE the NITE is a rousing success again, and that I am still sane when that time rolls around. I hope to pass the Series 79 and 63. I hope to have time to read all the books I bought last year that I haven’t gotten to yet. I hope to learn how to make duck confit. I hope to run a half marathon (which involves the hope that I can figure out how to work regular work outs into my schedule.) I hope to go on vacation in April for my birthday. I hope to finish (start) all the improvements I have planned for my apartment. I hope to eat more ramen (the real stuff) and less ramen (the packaged stuff). I hope to spend more time with my bf Shania because we keep talking about it but can never get our acts together. I hope to get to the beach more. I hope to actually write Christmas cards this year. I hope to learn to love gin. I hope to see my littlest sister more. I hope to see my entire family more. I hope to meet more single dudes. I hope to cross some of the reportedly amazing new restaurants in the area off my “to-try” list. I hope to be more patient. I hope to remember to listen well and to be a good friend because I have amazing people in my life that deserve that from me. I hope to do more yoga. I hope to eat more vegetables. I hope to get to NYC for no other reason than just to visit. I hope to have more impromptu dinner parties. I hope to spend more time here.

And this month, I hope you like soup, because there will be a fair amount of it. January seems like a good month for soup. I made chowder this weekend and it was really good. I can’t recall if I’ve ever made clam chowder before, which is kind of crazy since I like clam chowder and I live in the clam chowder center of the universe. But I have now! It’s very rich. There’s plenty of cream in it, but the richness comes mostly from the clam broth. It’s not as thick as many of the pure white stewy style chowders that you get in mass quantities up here. The broth is much thinner. A spoon is not standing upright in a bowl of this. But it is richer, nonetheless. The clams are all added at the end, as to remain really tender and delicate, rather than chewy and overcooked, and it could be easily modified to include more celery, corn or other shellfish.

I am off to my first of three GLOW meetings this week. SO MANY MEETINGS! But I missed you all! And here’s hoping you will be seeing more of me around here. I have three more weeks of studying to do, so you’ll get AT LEAST three more weeks of regular posting. And maybe I’ll have more to say. Writer’s block is a fearsome beast.

Things:

I am studying for the Series 79 right now. It is miserable. You know what I like more than studying? EVERYTHING. You are getting your first post in several months. This is hardly a coincidence.

I bought myself a really fun new toy. I have wanted a good camera forever and I finally treated myself. I love it like I have never loved before. I don’t even know how to use it yet, and my pictures are a million times better.

There are some fun new food and drink places popping up around here these days. I am particularly enamored with Tavern Road. The food is so good and it is a place that I want to be when it’s cold out, or when I have had a bad day, or on New Year’s Eve. My other favorites at the moment, some new and some not so new, are JM Curley’s, Trillium Brewing, Toro (always), Neptune Oyster (of course) and Row 34. Boston is a really fun place to eat and drink these days. And I haven’t even ventured over to Cambridge recently. There are approximately eleventy new places I need to try asap.

What I am listening to: Beyonce. Obviously.

What I am reading: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. And the Knopman Series 79 study guide. And the IRS guidelines for a 501 (c) (3). The Goldfinch I can definitely recommend.

Clam Chowder (serves 6)

2 dozen littlenecks, scrubbed clean

1 dozen quahogs or two dozen cherrystones, scrubbed clean

2 tbl unsalted butter

1/2 lb thick cut or slab bacon or pancetta, cut in half inch pieces

2 stalks celery, diced

2 small onions, diced (about a cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 bay leaves

pinch of dried red pepper flakes (optional)

2 tbls all-purpose flour

2 large yukon gold potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs) scrubbed and diced in 1/2 inch pieces

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

pepper to taste

parsley to serve

Put the quahogs (cherrystones) in a large pot with quart of water over high heat and steam the clams, watching them and removing  each clam as they open. Put them aside to cool. Strain the water through a sieve lined with cheese cloth and set it aside, you should have about a quart. Wash the pot thoroughly to get ride of the grit. Remove the meat from the reserved clams and chop the meat into large pieces (about an inch) and set aside.

Heat the butter and bacon or pancetta in the pot over medium heat, until the bacon is brown and crispy and the fat has rendered. Add the celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves and red pepper flakes, if using, and saute until the vegetables are soft, about five minutes.

the early stages…

Add the flour and stir for two minutes or so, until all the vegetables and bacon are well coated. Add the potatoes and continue to stir for several more minutes. Add the reserved steaming water, raise the heat to medium high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about ten minutes. The potatoes will be starting to soften, but won’t yet be cooked through. Add the heavy cream and the milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the littlenecks and cook the chowder until the clams open. Add the reserved clam meat and heat just a couple minutes more until all the littlenecks are open and the chopped clams are cooke through. There is a good chance the chowder will look “broken” at this point. (You will likely see small bubbles of oil on the top of the soup.) If this bothers you, and it did me, there’s an easy fix! Strain the chowder through a strainer over a large bowl. Put the solids back in the pot, and then run the liquids through the blender in batches and then pour back into the pot over the solids. Reheat the soup until piping hot and taste for pepper (and salt, though you will likely not need it. The clams and the bacon are plenty salty!) Serve with a good sprinkle of parsley over the top of each bowl.

Enjoy!!

Grilled Ham and Cheese

Remember how I love sandwiches? I do. I love them so much. They are really the ultimate comfort food for me. Probably because of the bread. Sandwiches on really good bread are hard to beat – hearty, filling, a little guilty – carbs! bah! But oh man. Some days a sandwich is just what the doctor ordered. I have had several of those days lately.

Sweet sweet redemption

Sandwiches man, little portable stacks of heaven. And this one is particularly good and restorative. It’s sort of my makeshift version of a Cuban sandwich. I love Cubans. They are meaty and smoky and spicy and there are pickles. But they require roasted pork, which is lovely, but I don’t generally have it on hand. This is not a bad alternative at all, if I do say so myself. I made some chipotle garlic mayo to add smokiness and lots of flavor, and then I grilled it up. Pro tip, if you have a brick lying around, wrap it in aluminum foil and use it to weigh down your sandwich while you are toasting it up. Instant panini press!

Imma make this quick, because it’s late, and I have another very long day ahead of me tomorrow. I can’t wait for the weekend. But I had to share this with you, because it was so good. Better than I actually expected. The mayo makes it. Make a bunch, keep it on hand.

And now…

A public service announcement to the classless, ignorant mother-daughter duo in Grandstand 12 at Fenway for the Sox-Orioles game last night – there is no better way to incur my wrath than to belittle and harass my little sis and her gf for being who they are. Life is long, and if you want to spend yours making someone else feel small, know that it will all come back around tenfold. You should rue the day I find out who you are, because HELL HATH NO FURY like a protective older sister. I know a lot of big words and have no qualms about publicly shaming ignorant shitbags. I will also have a few choice words for all the cowards sitting around them that didn’t feel it was their duty to stick up for their fellow humans in the face of bigotry…

Deep breaths…

In other news:

I have a new best friend. She is tiny and adorable and I can’t wait to spend A LOT more time with her. Welcome to the world Baby A. I adore you already.

So I actually got a little sad when I read this…because apparently the marriage itself and the fact that he is a famous person that I don’t actually know didn’t completely drive the point home that it probably wasn’t meant to be for us. But a kid, man. I guess it really isn’t happening.

What I am reading: Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain. I am really enjoying it, though I haven’t found myself with much time to read the last 10 days.

New TV is coming back and I am EXCITED about it. That means Scandal is coming back. Woot! And football is back. And it feels like fall. It is really wonderful. These sandwiches are perfect for fall! And football games! And tv!

Grilled Ham & Cheese (makes one sandwich)

2 slices of your favorite bread

3 slices ham

2 slices swiss cheese

3 pickle slices (lengthwise slices) (I like the Claussen Sandwich Stackers. Or just slice your favorite dill pickle in lengthwise slices.)

Mustard (I like Guilden’s Spicy Brown)

Chipotle Garlic Mayo (see recipe below)

1 tbl butter

Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Spread the other side of one piece of bread with mustard and the other with mayo. Stack the ham, cheese and pickles in between the slices of bread with the butter sides out. Grill the sandwich in a grill pan or frying pan over medium low heat until bread is toasty and brown and the cheese is melty. I like to press the sandwich under a weight to make it extra crusty. Enjoy! This sandwich is going to blow your mind.

Chipotle Garlic Mayo (makes about a quarter cup)

1/4 cup regular mayo

1 medium garlic clove, minced into a paste

1 smallish chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced into a paste

Pinch Salt

Mix all the ingredients together. Use on everything because you are going to like it a real lot.

Homemade Ranch Dressing: The food of kings.

Let them eat ranch

I like to think I am a lady of sophisticated tastes. I have eaten at the French Laundry, I will spend $15 on a tiny jar of crushed French red pepper, I like anchovies in things, you know, très chic. But there is one place where I can’t keep up my fancy pretenses; where my refined palate is too embarrassed to show its face; where my eight year old self takes charge; a magical place called the salad bar. I love a good salad bar, which means, for me, that there are croutons and ranch dressing available. I know vinaigrette has a place, there is a wonderful ginger dressing on here that I adore, and there is a yogurt miso one from 101 cookbooks that is divine, but my first love is ranch. My salad tastes skew towards that of a picky kid. Creamy dressings, basic vegetables, eggs, bacon, lots of croutons, you know, the really good stuff.

Back in the day, ranch dressing was from a packet (way better than the bottle.) Add a little mayo and milk and voila – covering up the taste of vegetables in households with small children everywhere. But I have discovered something. When you make it yourself, like from SCRATCH, it really only takes about three minutes longer than the packet does, and you get to pick the herbs you put in, which means you can punch up the best flavors (i.e. dill) to your liking. Start with two parts buttermilk to one part mayo and work your way out from there. I added garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and chives, dill and chervil, because that’s what I had. I would say the chives are standard, but everything else can be just the way you want it. I add dill because it is my absolute favorite, but if you are not a fan of dill, use parsley. Tarragon would be interesting, thyme would be interesting and basil would add a great twist, I think. It truly takes about five minutes and is so much better than the packet or bottle. Much more sophisticated, for sure. Impressive AND crowd-pleasing.

So sophisticated

What I am reading: Almost finished with Beautiful Ruins and I am loving it. Not sure what I am going to read next, but it may have to be Furious Love.

What I am listening to: I am all over the map. Yesterday it was Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros in the morning and Top 40 for my run.

I got nothing else today. I am really tired and there are currently no sheets on my bed. How is it only Tuesday?

Homemade Ranch Dressing (makes about 1.5 cups)

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, minced to paste

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbl minced chives

1 tbl minced dill

1 tbl minced chervil or parsely

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid. Close the top and shake like mad to mix. (You could also mix it in a bowl with a whisk, but it’s way less fun.) Feel free to mix up the herbs it whatever combo suits you best!

Serve over your favorite salad. (Or just dip random vegetables right in it. I won’t tell.)