Cream of Broccoli Soup

Yes, it’s another vegetable soup. This time the star is broccoli and it doesn’t need much else to make a tasty and satisfying meal.

Cream of Broccoli Soup (6 servings)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 lbs. broccoli, florets separated and stem cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup light cream
• ½ tsp. nutmeg

1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the broccoli and sauté about 5 minutes.
2. Add the chicken stock. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is tender, about 20-25 minutes.
3. Purée the broccoli and stock in a blender then return to the soup pot. Add the cream and the nutmeg and gently heat on low.

Asparagus Pancetta Risotto

I had planned to make a completely different risotto but the asparagus looked so great at the grocery store that I had to get it. So I needed a new game plan. I debated whether to get pancetta or prosciutto to go with it but decided on pancetta because the flavor is a little more subtle and I wanted the asparagus to be the star of the dish.

Asparagus Pancetta Risotto (6 servings)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• ¼ lb. pancetta, chopped
• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
• 6 cups chicken stock
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 lb. asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces and steamed

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp. Add the rice and toast, stirring constantly, until the rice is coated and has become translucent, about 2 minutes.
2. Add ½ cup of stock and cook, stirring constantly, until it is almost completely absorbed. Continue to add stock ½ cup at a time, stirring, waiting until it is absorbed before adding the next batch.
3. After all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked (it should still have a slight “bite”), stir in the Parmesan cheese and the asparagus.

Curried Potato and Spinach Soup

Another simple but extremely satisfying soup. Potato soup is so versatile; there are so many ways you can dress it up without getting too fancy. Just one or two additional ingredients is all you need. In this case, I don’t use too much curry powder; the curry flavor is subtle and enhances the potato and spinach without overpowering them. I had first made this soup several years ago and it was good (it made it into my recipe files) but not outstanding. I made some tweaks to the recipe this time around and I think it’s just right now. Exotic but comforting at the same time.

Curried Potato and Spinach Soup (6 servings)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 8 oz. fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup light cream

1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and curry powder and sauté another minute.
2. Add the potatoes and the chicken stock. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes.
3. Add the spinach and stir it into the soup until it wilts. Add the cream and gently heat on low.

Cheesecake Update

I have not been idle on the cheesecake front. I have some small (4”) springform pans that make mini-cheesecakes about a quarter the size of a regular 9” or 10” cheesecake. And I realized that my basic cheesecake recipe is easily divisible by four. So I can bake cheesecakes to my heart’s content without drowning in extra slices (or gaining a significant amount of weight). Each mini-cheesecake gets cut into four slices. One is for the cook. The other three get rearranged into cheesecake samplers that I can give to friends.

Since the Big Island cheesecake, I’ve made strawberry swirl, brown sugar and molasses (I’m very happy with that one), bitter orange, honey, ginger, and spicy chocolate cheesecakes. Yes, spicy chocolate. When I dream up a recipe I usually have a pretty good sense for how it will taste. This one was exactly what I imagined only much, much better. The cheesecake is rich, dense, and chocolatey which ends in a spicy little kick that sneaks up on you thanks to cayenne pepper in the batter. You could certainly omit the cayenne for a plain chocolate cheesecake, but I think the spicy finish tempers the richness of the chocolate very nicely. You don’t need to eat a lot of this dessert; one small slice is extremely satisfying.

Spicy Chocolate Cheesecake (one 9” or 10” cheesecake)

Crust

• 5 oz. chocolate wafers
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted

Filling

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp. coffee liqueur
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 cup light cream, at room temperature

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°. Grease the sides of a springform pan.
2. In a food processor, process the chocolate wafers to fine, even crumbs. Add the butter in a slow, steady stream while pulsing. Pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened and resembles wet sand, about ten 1-second pulses. Press into the springform pan. Line crust with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, remove foil, and cool.
3. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the cocoa powder, coffee liqueur, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper and beat until smooth. At low speed, beat in eggs, one at a time. Add the flour and beat just until incorporated. Add cream and beat just until incorporated.
4. Cover bottom of the springform pan with aluminum foil and place in a water bath in a roasting pan (water should come about 1 inch up the side of the springform pan). Bake for 1 hour. Turn oven off and let stand for 1 hour.
5. Cool completely. Carefully remove the springform pan. Chill for at least 4 hours.

Pumpkin Part 2

My pumpkin-crusted chicken inspired me to try two quick ideas for pumpkin: a dip and a vinaigrette.

The pumpkin-cannellini bean dip is very easy to make. Throw everything into the food processor and let it rip. It was delicious; I made some whole-wheat pita chips and enjoyed this as a snack for several days.

The vinaigrette tastes like a vinaigrette but has a thicker consistency. It was great on salad greens; the pumpkin and balsamic vinegar are a really nice combination. I thought it would be a great dressing for a non-mayonnaise-based potato salad so I boiled up a couple of potatoes and tossed it in a little of the vinaigrette. Delicious!


Pumpkin-Cannellini Bean Dip (about 2 cups)

• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1 cup canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 2 tsp. herbes de Provence
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup olive oil

1. Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food process and process roughly.
2. While running the food processor, stream in the olive oil and mix well.

Pumpkin Vinaigrette (about 1 cup)

• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. dried sage
• 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• ¼ cup pumpkin purée
• ¾ cup olive oil

1. Combine the garlic, salt, pepper, and sage in a bowl. Mix in the vinegar and the pumpkin. Whisk the oil in a slow stream to form an emulsion.

Lemon Roasted Asparagus

Spring is slowly coming to New England. We are starting to get occasional sunny days that don’t require you to bundle up before going out. And spring means asparagus. Roasting is one of my favorite ways to prepare vegetables. I thought I’d up the sunshiny quotient on roasted asparagus by adding a little lemon zest to them to roast in the citrus flavor. Easy and delicious!

Lemon Roasted Asparagus (6 servings)

• 2 lbs. asparagus, ends trimmed off
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• zest of 1 lemon
• Kosher salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Put asparagus on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle oil and lemon zest over the asparagus and toss to coat. Season with the salt.
3. Roast 10 minutes. Turn asparagus and roast another 10 minutes.

Liberate the Pumpkin from Pie Purgatory

Don’t get me wrong, I love pumpkin pie. But pumpkin is a fantastic ingredient that is sorely underused, especially considering that canned pumpkin is so easy to use and so good for you. It’s a shame that it’s located in baking aisle and not with the other canned vegetables where it belongs.

I’ve made a lot of savory dishes using this wonder-ingredient (soup, pasta, and risotto, to name just a few). I’ve had the idea of using pumpkin as some sort of coating on chicken breasts for awhile but I had no idea if it would work. I finally got around to trying it and it was even better than I expected! By flouring the chicken breast first, I could pile on the pumpkin and it would stick. A layer of breadcrumbs on top keeps the pumpkin in place. The resulting cutlets taste delicious; the pumpkin flavor is fairly subtle and works very well with the Parmesan cheese and sage in the crispy bread crumb coating. The orange hue looks luscious and healthy (which it is because the pumpkin brings lots of vitamin A to the plate).

This little success has started the ideas for pumpkin recipes flowing. I may even have enough for a small cookbook devoted to this great ingredient. And, yes, I will include a couple of dessert recipes.

Pumpkin-Crusted Chicken (6 servings)

• 1 lb. thinly sliced chicken cutlets or butterflied chicken breasts
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 can pumpkin purée
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp. dried sage
• 1 tbsp. olive oil

1. Put the flour in a shallow dish. Put the pumpkin purée in another shallow dish. In a third shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and sage.
2. Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge it in the flour. Then cover it with pumpkin purée. Use your fingers to spread a thick coating across the chicken. Dredge the chicken in the bread crumb and Parmesan cheese mixture.
3. When all the chicken has been coated, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken and cook on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes on each side until the coating is crisp and golden and the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken and place on paper towels to drain excess oil.

Nigella-Tarragon Rice Pilaf

After writing about nigella recently, I’ve been thinking about other non-bread uses for the spice. The most obvious idea was to make a rice pilaf. Then as I was making the chicken salad with spinach and tarragon mayonnaise, I had some tarragon left over that I didn’t want to waste. As I was chopping the tarragon for the salad, the aroma reminded me of the nigella. And I wondered if I could use the tarragon in the nigella rice pilaf. I don’t know what made me put the two together but it was an intriguing idea that was worth a try.

It turns out to be an interesting combination. I used basmati rice, which stands up to the bold flavors of the nigella and tarragon, but the overall effect is not overpowering. As is, this pilaf makes a very unique side dish. But I think there is huge potential to add other ingredients (meat? vegetables? other flavorings?) to create a fully rounded main dish.

Nigella-Tarragon Rice Pilaf (6 servings)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 ½ tsp. nigella seeds, crushed lightly with your fingers
• 1 ½ cups basmati rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the nigella and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and toast, stirring constantly, until the rice is coated and has become translucent, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the water and turn heat up to medium high until liquid begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.Stir in the tarragon.

Crab and Artichoke Lasagna

Lasagna is one of those great dishes that can be deconstructed and then reinvented in completely new ways. I’ve experimented and created a lot of unusual lasagnas, such as chicken paprika lasagna and balsamic chicken lasagna to name a few. My latest attempt was inspired by hot crab and artichoke dip. I wanted to keep the flavors simple so you could actually taste the crab and artichoke. I opted for ricotta cheese to bind the filling together. I omitted the sour cream that is often used in the hot dip because I didn’t want it’s tangy flavor to overwhelm the crab. I used a little light cream to loosen the filling and scallions to give a light onion flavor again without overpowering the star ingredients. This lasagna is surprisingly light but filling. It’s very elegant and is great for a dinner party. Just assemble it a day or two in advance then pop it in the oven; you can focus on your guests rather than fuss over the stove.

A note about lasagna noodles. For those of you who dread the cooking and draining (and sticking together)… you don’t have to do that anymore! There are no-boil lasagna noodles available and they are great. But here’s the big secret: you don’t have to boil the regular lasagna noodles either! I haven’t boiled lasagna noodles for more than 15 years. In addition to being much easier to use, there is an additional benefit. Because the uncooked noodles absorb liquid from the filling and sauce rather than plain water, they also absorb lots of flavor. (You know how lasagna always tastes better the second day? This technique gives you that second-day flavor right from the oven.) I do often use the no-boil noodles, however, because I prefer their shape. But it really doesn’t matter; it’s your choice entirely.

Crab and Artichoke Lasagna (one 9” x 13” lasagna)

• 1 lb. crab meat
• 2 15-oz. cans artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 15-oz. container ricotta cheese
• ¼ cup light cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 ¼ cups milk
• ¾ lb. mozzarella cheese
• Lasagna noodles

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. In a large bowl, combine the crab, artichokes, scallions, Parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, cream, and salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine.
3. Make a béchamel by melting the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour and whisk together. Cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and whisk to ensure no lumps form. Heat the milk, whisking occasionally, until it thickens.
4. Spread 1/3 of the crab and artichoke mixture into a 9” x 13” baking dish. Cover with uncooked lasagna. Pour 1/3 of the béchamel on the noodles. Place 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese on the lasagna. Repeat the process two more times.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Not Your Average Chicken Salad

I love quick “salads” like chicken salad, tuna salad, ham salad etc. that can be a side dish or turned into a sandwich. This chicken salad uses a tarragon mayonnaise that my father recreated from a tarragon mayonnaise he had years ago at Houston’s. I also added spinach because I love spinach and also because I love to as many delicious nutrients to food as possible. You could certainly mix just the chicken, spinach, and plain mayonnaise together and this would be a good sandwich. But the tarragon mayonnaise – which gets better and better as it sits in the refrigerator – makes it really special. I particularly like this chicken salad on a homemade croissant roll but it would be equally good on store-bought croissant, baguette, or ciabatta.


There are lots of ways to cook (or purchase) chicken for chicken salad. My favorite method is uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I put them in a glass baking dish with some chicken broth. I cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 400° oven until they are cooked. This poaching method keeps them from drying out and using chicken broth rather than water keeps the flavor.

Chicken Salad with Spinach and Tarragon Mayonnaise (6 servings)

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh or 2 tsp. dried tarragon
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 tsp. anchovy paste
• 1 to 1¼ lbs. chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 10-oz. box frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, tarragon, garlic, and anchovy paste.
2. In a large bowl, add the chicken, spinach, and tarragon mayonnaise. Stir to combine. Let sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Brown Rice Pilaf with Celery Seed and Garlic

Every once in a great while I just want to throw together a quick dinner with ingredients I have on hand without getting too fancy. And sometimes that leads to surprising results. Recently I had such an evening. I had an orange roughy fillet in the freezer. That's easy, just season it with a little Old Bay (which I love) and steam it. The Old Bay led me to thoughts of celery seed and that started me off. I threw together a brown rice pilaf that I seasoned with garlic and celery seed. It was fantastic; good enough, in fact, to add to my personal recipe collection. The nuttiness of the brown rice works really well with the stronger flavors of the garlic and celery seed. It's a great, simple side dish to add bold flavor to a lightly seasoned steamed fish.

Brown Rice Pilaf with Celery Seed and Garlic (6 servings)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. celery seed
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 ½ cups brown rice
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup water

1. Heat the olive oil in a pot. Add the celery seed and garlic and toast about 1 minute.
2. Add the rice and toast, stirring, 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer until rice is cooked.