Nothing says winter and comfort food quite like Chicken Pot Pie. Yummy. While I think that most recipes for Chicken Pot Pie take advantage of winter veggies, I thought that I would use some that seem to be even more common here in the northern climes — carrots (of course) but also cauliflower and broccoli. Add in the fact that I used a Whole Foods bought rotisserie chicken, the whole thing was on the table in about 90 minutes.
Not a great Memorial Day weekend here in Greater Boston, weather-wise. Saturday was brutally hot but then Sunday overcast and cold. Nevertheless, I needed to eat and I had all the ingredients for these lovely kebabs, and I was just itching to use the grill on Saturday. Wrapped them in a tortilla to serve, but could also just serve with a side of rice and beans. Also, I had leftovers, which I diced up fairly small added a bit of mayo and guacamole, and it made a lovely chicken salad for dinner last night.
Coq au Vin is my favorite food on earth, hands down. This is also one of the best recipes that I make. A little background: when I started falling in love with cooking again (no, I was not always a recipe junkie, though food has always been an important part of my life), I fell in love with Julia. Yes, that Julia. I think that a lot of women admire her for the fact that she was just an ordinary woman who picked up cooking later in life and became one of the most influential cooks of an entire culture. So I made her Coq au vin recipe. Coq au Vin is a very old concept — like back from the Romans — but her recipe was straight forward. I have made variations on her it for 5 years now, each time changing it until I have come up with what I consider perfection. I have learned a lot about cooking since I started — like knowing you shouldn’t add all the wine at once otherwise all the tanins end up ruining the dish, or by adding ground dried porcini, the umami flavor is boosted (doesn’t make it taste more mushroom-y). Anyway, I love this recipe. Be forewarned: it takes a minimum of 3 hours. You can stop just before the rue-making stage though, if you need to divide the effort over 2 days.
They really should call Superbowl Sunday the official U.S. junk food “holiday” of the year. At very minimum, it is a good excuse to make loads of snack-y munchies. To wit, these here wings and drummies. Not really junk food because all the ingredients are relatively good for you. Just don’t eat all 4 pounds… by yourself. Bring napkins. Maybe a bib too.
