So, springtime and the first real weekend sunny weekend of the Spring and I decided to go for a picnic. But instead of making a sandwich, I decided to go with these hand pies and a bunch of salads. I really like hand pies, as they are an “enclosed” sandwich of sort. Or a mini-pot pie without a serving dish. Either way, delicious.
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dinner
So it’s soup. Just soup. Really not all that exciting.
But when something so simple turns out so amazing that you even surprise yourself, you know it’s good. It’s still chilly and damp here in Greater Boston these days (at least it’s not presently snowing!), so I decided to make some Veggie and Chicken Soup, and I threw in some Sacchetti pasta (which is tort of like tortellini, but prettier!). Even my dinner guest, who hasn’t had much of an appetite recently had seconds and even wanted to take some home to have for lunch the next day. I’d call that two thumbs up. Simple. Easy. Good. Soup.
Happy First Day of Spring! It certainly doesn’t feel like it around here, it being cold and there is yet another looming snowstorm for Greater Boston. This is why “comfort Food” is still on the menu around here, so recently I made this Portuguese Fisherman’s Stew to warm up. I’m more used to chowders in New England, but this is more of a tomato-and-pepper based seafood stew with cod and shrimp/prawns. Turned out really nice. I served it with saffron rice, but can also just be served as a soup. Enjoy!
So how many people hate making roux? I’m fine with making blonde roux, mostly used the thicken things, but when it comes to making penny-roux, the deep dark, meant-for-flavor type of roux used to make things like gumbo, I either lose patience (because it takes so long) or I mess it up by burning the whole thing. Either way, it isn’t my favorite thing to do, so when America’s Test Kitchen demonstrated a dry roux (by placing plain old flour in the oven for an hour), I was really happy. That photo isn’t of cinnamon, it’s flour! And it turns out to work well, at least in making this Chicken and Andoille Sausage Gumbo. At the end of the day, it takes about the same amount of time (2 hours), but you can also toast the flour weeks or even a month or two ahead of time. Game changer! (Oh, and in addition to the technique, the Gumbo is pretty dang tasty too!
Just catching up with posting this, even though I made it a few days ago. Last weekend was a miserable rainy and cold one (though not snow!) which was a good excuse to make this Bacon Beef and Beer Pot Pie. True winter comfort food. Rich and hearty and warms the soul. If you don’t fancy the pie part, just make the stew and serve with potatoes or egg noodles or Spätzle. The recipe makes enough to feed the entire extended family but it’s a great make-ahead meal and freezes well (either just the stew, or already assemble into the pot pie).