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.
Another “cold-weather” recipe. This weekend, it was kinda cold and rainy here in Boston. No big deal — it is November, after all — but it did inspire me to make another cold weather meal. This is very creamy, even though it uses only milk, not cream. The trick is to use a combination of both mealy (ie. russetts) and waxy (red, yukon gold) potatoes. The russetts fall apart and lend their starch to the broth, versus the waxy that hold together. I even used a few purple potatoes in mine, just for contrast.
I had bought some sweet potatoes at the farmer’s market the other weekend, with the full intent of making sweet potato fries (which I love), but somehow today was another “cold weather food day” so here I am, making another soup. Added some shrimp just because I had them in the freezer. And there are leftovers.
PS: don’t tell me that it looks like baby food. Should have added more cream at the end because it got a little thick after I added the shrimp/prawns. Adjust the cream level as needed!
It’s getting colder and autumn is settling in here in New England. I even heard that there were some snow flakes in the air north of here. Thankfully we’re not at that level here in greater Boston, but it is time for more cold-weather-food. Here is a little cheater recipe to get a nice hearty stew on the table in about an hour. It’s homey, rich and delicious and easy peasy thanks to …. a rotisserie chicken from the market (in my case, from Whole Foods because I think that they taste the best and have the least amount of fat). Saute up a few veggies, cook some wild rice and make a roux-based sauce and off you go. On the table in a hour and it makes great leftovers the next day too.
I have a glut of basil this ear. Seriously, I am overrun. The plants come up to my waist and they are thick with delicious basil leaves. There are a number of different sorts, but mostly it is your standard Italian sweet basil. And lots of it.
So what does one do with a glut of basil? Make pesto of course. I have made lots and lots of Pesto alla Genovese (the standard green stuff that one thinks of first when one hears ‘pesto’). It freezes very well so my I am well stocked for a while. So I thought that I would make this Pesto di Noce (Walnut Pesto). It’s not as pretty as it’s Genovese cousin (for starters, it’s brownish, despite 2 cups of basil leaves in it), but it of so amazingly yummy. Pair it with giant ravioli and a few more walnuts and you have an amazing dinner (or lunch, in my case).