Chicken Stew with Leeks & Kale

• 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut in to bite-size pieces
• 3 leeks, sliced and cleaned
• 8 oz. kale
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 3 Tbs flour, divided
• 4 cups chicken stock, divided
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 large baking potato, peeled and diced (1/2 inch)
• salt & pepper to taste

In a large, non-stick soup pot, saute leeks in butter over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet or ditch oven, saute chicken and sprinkle with 2 Tbs flour and salt and pepper to taste. When chicken is browned (about 8 minutes), add to leeks, then deglaze pan with wine. Whisk remaining Tbs of flour into 1 cup stock, add to wine, and bring to a boil. Add to chicken and leek mixture, then add remaining liquids. Bring to a boil, add potatoes, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add kale and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Flan

• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 whole large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1 (15-oz) can solid-pack pumpkin (1 3/4 cups; not pie filling)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Make caramel:
Cook 1 1/2 cups sugar in a dry 12-inch skillet over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar melts into a deep golden caramel. Pour into twelve 6-oz. ramekins, then let harden.

Make flan:
Bring cream and milk to a bare simmer in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat. Whisk together whole eggs, yolk, and remaining cup sugar in a large bowl until combined well, then whisk in pumpkin, vanilla, spices, and salt until combined well. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking.

Ladle custard over caramel in ramekins, then bake in a water bath until flan is golden brown on top and a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Remove ramekins from water bath and transfer to a rack to cool. Chill flan, covered, until cold, at least 6 hours.

To serve:
Run a thin knife between flan and side of ramekin to loosen. Shake dish gently from side to side and, when flan moves freely in dish, invert a dessert plate over dish. Holding dish and platter securely together, quickly invert and turn out flan onto platter. (Caramel will pour out over and around flan.) Serve flan with gingered (or cinnamon) whipped cream.

Shrimp with Corn and Basil

• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups frozen silver queen corn
• 2 Tbs. EVOO
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• salt, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and sautee briefly,  then add shrimp. When shrimp are nearly done, add remaining ingredients and cook until done.

Serve over bowtie or other pasta of your choice.

Chicken with Olives, Tomato, and Lemon

Adapted from a recipe in New Food Fast, by Donna Hay:

•  3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup pitted calamata olives, coarsely chopped
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 1 lb green beans

Preheat oven to 425F. Slice chicken breasts horizontally to create to thin cutlets from each breast. Combine all ingredients in a large rectangular baking dish, and bake for about 20 mins.

Banana Bread

From an email from Mom: “Here is the banana bread recipe. I must have made this every week when you and Claire were little. This was Aunt Helen’s recipe. I added the bran and wheat germ to keep you healthy!”

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 3 very ripe bananas mashed
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teas. Soda
• 1 pinch of salt
• Optional: 3 T. bran and 2 T. wheat germ

Beat eggs and sugar, add butter and bananas, mix well. Add flour and other dry ingredients. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake in a slow oven, 265 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake

Originally uploaded by ted_major

Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting
Cake ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C. flour
• 2 Tbs. dutch-process cocoa (I used Hershey’s Dark)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 C. sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 C. milk
• 1/2 C. canola oil
• 2 eggs

Frosting ingredients:

• 2/3 C. heavy cream
• 1 1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips (or 9 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped)

The cake:
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch cake pan (Pam baking spray is fast & easy, but use oil & flour if you prefer).
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In a large mixing cup mix liquid ingredients and eggs. Pour liquids into bowl and mix until smooth.
Bake 35 minutes or until done (a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean).
Cool completely (refrigerate for 30 mins to an hour if necessary) and slice into 2 thin layers.
The frosting:
Heat cream in a small saucepan–you want the cream hot enough to melt the chocolate, but not scalded or simmering. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth. Cool until thickened.
Ice the cake and chill in the refrigerator to harden the frosting.
Adapted from the Easy Chocolate Cake recipe at CacaoWeb. Thanks!

Black Bean & Corn Soup

• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 2 links chile-lime chicken sausage, cooked and sliced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chipotle chile poweder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• salt, to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp)
• 2 cups frozen silver queen corn

Saute celery, pepper, and onion in olive oil. Add stock, black beans, sausage, and seasonings, and bring to a simmer. Cook 30 mins, then add corn and bring back to a simmer for another 5 mins.

Serve with yellow rice. As usual, I like it with habanero pepper sauce, but YMMV (Claire thinks it’s plenty hot as-is).

Cherry-Oatmeal scones

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tbs turbinado sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbs canola oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Milk to make a total of 7/8 cup liquid

Preheat oven to 425F. Use convection if you have it.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Combine liquid ingredients in a measuring cup and stir until it emulsifies. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until mixed.

Turn out onto a  floured counter. Knead gently and divide into two pieces. Shape each piece into a round and pat to about 1/2″ thick. Cut each round into 6 wedges and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown–it’ll take an extra minute or two if you’re not using convection.

Cassoulet

I cooked this cassoulet in the crock pot, but I didn’t really want to call it “Crock Pot Cassoulet.” I have also done it in the oven- works well, too.

Cassoulet

• 3 carrots, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cans cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• ½ to 1 cup chicken broth
• ½ c wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 t dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• fresh parsley chopped

Sauté onion, carrot, garlic, and celery in olive oil until soft. Remove from skillet and add to the crock pot. In the same skillet brown chicken thighs (you may have to add a little more oil). Add sausage to brown it a bit, too. Remove chicken and sausage and put in pot with onion mixture. Deglaze skillet with wine, cook for a minute to burn off the alcohol. Pour over onion, chicken, sausage mixture. Add everything but fresh parsley to the pot. Add enough chicken stock to almost cover everything. Cook in crock pot on low for 5 or more hours.

Serves 8-10

This recipe is for the crock pot, but you could put everything in a dutch oven and cook in the oven for a couple of hours. You will need to add some more liquid partway through the cooking.

Slow-Roasted Grouper

• 2 6-8 oz grouper filets
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped
• sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 275F. In an ovenproof dish, combine oil, garlic, oregano, and wine. Add grouper and spoon mixture over the fish. Salt to taste.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until opaque.