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The recipe begins by cooking the chicken in a Dutch oven until the skin is browned and releases freely from the pan. Next, chunks of potato are added to the pan and wine is poured over them. The dish bakes until the chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender. The pan is removed from the oven and the chicken is placed on a dish. Vinegar and water is added to the drippings and the potatoes tossed until coated.
What a tasty meal! The meat had a lovely complex flavor from the ingredients. The potatoes were quite flavorsome as they absorbed the juices and pan sauce. A wonderful one pot meal. To go along with the cacciatore, I thought a green vegetable side dish would be nice. Creamed spinach was my first thought, but I had no cream. I found a recipe by Pierre Franey on The New York Times/NYT Cooking website for creamed spinach that didn’t ask for cream. Basically, Mr. Franey’s recipe starts with a roux made with flour, butter and milk. The sauce is cooked until thickened and seasoned with nutmeg, salt and pepper. The fresh spinach was cleaned and rinsed and cooked until tender. It goes into a food processor or electric blender to be chopped. The spinach is incorporated into the finished white sauce and stir until blended. While not as rich as a creamed spinach made with cream, this recipe was delicious and was made in under 30 minutes with ingredients I already had on hand. Since January 2025, I’ve been holding on to a recipe I found in the Financial Times/FT Weekend newspaper for Ravinder Bhogal’s No-Stir Mushroom Risotto. It just so happens at the Sunday Asbury Fresh Market in Asbury Park, there is a purveyor of locally grown mushrooms, Wildspawn Mushrooms in Ringoes, NJ. I purchased a boxed assortment that included black pearl oyster, chestnut, fresh morels, king oyster, lion’s mane, maitake, oysters and white beech. For the recipe you’ll also need a package of dried porcini mushrooms, chicken or vegetable stock, butter, olive oil, fresh thyme, garlic, salt, freshly ground black pepper, white wine, a shallot, celery, carnaroli rice and Parmesan cheese. The porcini need to be rehydrated in hot water and drained, but saving the liquid for use later. The porcini are chopped and set aside. The mushrooms are sliced and sautéed in butter with thyme. Once nutty and dark brown, garlic is added to the pan and cooked until fragrant. The pan is deglazed with white wine; then the ingredients are removed and kept warm. The risotto is made using the stock and porcini water. It’s cooked covered over low heat to allow the mixture to bubble gently. When it’s done, a bit more stock is added and cooked for several minutes longer. The risotto is finished by stirring in butter, the cooked mushrooms and Parmesan cheese. The risotto was wonderful, as my husband says occasionally, “restaurant quality.” The risotto was tender and creamy; the seasoning was spot on and the rice flavorsome. Adding the porcini water to the stock added more mushroom flavor to the dish. The variety of mushrooms added complexity to the flavor and texture; overall, a fabulous meal. Eataly is an Italian food emporium featuring high-quality products accessible to everyone. The store has fresh and dried pasta, meats, cheese and prepared foods to name a few. Ending shortly is Tiramisù Fest where available for purchase was traditional tiramisù, limoncello, espresso martini and peanut salted caramel. My son-in-law purchased a three pack for my husband and I. We had the traditional, peanut salted caramel and pistachio. We shared the pistachio the first night. By the second day I feared the quality would diminish, so we each had our own little jar. Oh my, they were heavenly. They were light, yet rich tasting and the flavors were incomparable, each unique and delicious. My son-in-law sent me an IG video of a tiramisù cake. Unfortunately, to get to the recipe you had to pay for a subscription, which I was unwilling to do. However, I found an alternative to the cake, tiramisù cookies found on the website “Julie Marie Eats.” For the cookie portion you’ll need butter, granulated sugar, an egg, vanilla, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, instant espresso and salt. The topping is made with mascarpone cheese, vanilla, confectioners’ sugar, agave or honey, heavy cream and cocoa powder for dusting. The recipe is given in grams so I used my scale and converted my settings. Also, the total time to make these cookies is just over an hour as the dough needs to set up before baking, but don’t let this deter you. You can also prepare the dough a day ahead and refrigerate or freeze with the dough already portioned and ready to bake. I made my cookies and stored them in a tin until I was ready to pipe the cream on top. The mascarpone cream can also be made ahead and refrigerated. As I was making these for my son-in-law, I piped them in the morning before heading up to my daughter’s. I placed them in a container with sides so I could cover them and not disturb the cream. Later in the day when he came home he had a few and said they were very good. I had some left and made my husband and I our own cookie. I’ll say this, they were delicious and had all the flavor of a traditional tiramisù. The cookie was firm, yet soft to hold up to the cream and you could taste the espresso in the cookie. The cream was soft, but had enough body to be piped on a cookie and not smear. I’d make these again as they were easy to make with pantry staples and I only needed to purchase heavy cream and mascarpone cheese. The last recipe for this week’s blog is for Crispy Chicken with Lime Butter, a recipe by Eric Kim of The New York Times/NYT Cooking. For the recipe you’ll need bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, salt, pepper, peanut or canola oil, garlic cloves, chicken stock (or water), fresh lime juice, maple syrup, cold unsalted butter, and parsley, cilantro, basil or mint for garnish. The recipe takes approximately 40 minutes from start to finish, with most of the time devoted to the chicken searing on the skin side for approximately 20-25 minutes. Once you have crispy golden skin, garlic is added to the pan and the chicken turned over to brown. At this point your chicken should be cooked and removed from the pan. The sauce is made with the stock or water, lime juice, maple syrup, salt, pepper and reduced by half. Lastly, butter is added and stirred until incorporated with the sauce thickening and becoming glossy. The chicken is served garnished with the sauce and lime wedges. This dish was appetizing, but my chicken was a bit overcooked. I used rather plump bone-in, skin-on chicken breast. The sauce was tasty with a hint of lime and a subtle sweetness from the maple syrup. My husband enjoyed the flavors, but the chicken was a bit dry. I used a thermometer and removed the chicken 10° shy of being done due to carryover cooking time. It could have been the brand of chicken I used or an inaccurate thermometer. Asparagus season is over and if you're lucky enough to have some locally grown asparagus, Spring Spinach and Asparagus Soup would be a great way to use it
One-Pot Roman Chicken Cacciatore with Potatoes
By Cybelle Tondu The New York Times/NYT Cooking Total Time: 1 hour Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 55 minutes Servings: 4 servings Ingredients 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs Kosher salt 3 tablespoons olive oil 1-pound waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or fingerling 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves (from 1 large sprig) 4 anchovy fillets 2 garlic cloves 2 tablespoons drained capers ¾ cup dry white wine 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, plus more to taste 2 tablespoons chopped parsley Preparation 1.Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pat chicken thoroughly dry with paper towels and sprinkle all sides with 2 teaspoons salt. 2.Coat a large, high-sided skillet or Dutch oven with 1 tablespoon oil. Arrange chicken, skin side down, in a single layer in the cold skillet and place over medium heat. Cook, undisturbed, until the skin is browned and releases easily from the pan, about 15 minutes. 3.While the chicken cooks, cut potatoes into 1-inch-thick chunks and place in a large bowl. Chop the rosemary and anchovy, smash and peel the garlic, then add to the bowl. Add the capers, 2 tablespoons oil and ½ teaspoon salt; toss to combine. 4.Flip the chicken, then add the potato mixture to the skillet, tucking the pieces around and under the chicken. Pour the wine over the potatoes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. 5.Return the skillet to the stove. Transfer the chicken to a plate to rest. Add the vinegar and 2 tablespoons water to the skillet and continue to cook the potatoes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until coated with a thickened, glossy sauce, about 5 minutes. If the sauce seems too thick or oily, stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time to help emulsify the sauce and achieve desired consistency. Taste and add salt and more vinegar, as needed. 6.Return the chicken to the skillet and sprinkle parsley over everything to serve. 
Pierre Franey’s Creamed Spinach
Featured in “60-Minute Gourmet,” The New York Times December 23, 1987 Total Time: 20 minutes Servings: 4 Ingredients 2½ pounds spinach in bulk, or two 10-ounce plastic wrapped bags 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon flour 1 cup milk ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Salt to taste, if desired Freshly ground pepper to taste Preparation
No-Stir Mushroom Risotto
By Ravinder Bhogal Financial Times/FT Weekend January 5, 2025 Servings: 5 All measurements are in metrics. I used a scale set to grams to cook this recipe. If you do not have a scale search the internet for a conversion website. The “Financial Times” is produced in the UK. Ingredients 25g dried porcini mushrooms 1.3l chicken or vegetable stock 90g unsalted butter A splash of olive oil 500g wild mushrooms, sliced (see substitution box) 4 sprigs fresh thyme 2 fat cloves of garlic Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper 300ml dry white wine 1 banana shallot, finely chopped 2 stalks celery, finely chopped 350g carnaroli rice 80g Parmesan cheese, finely grated Substitutions – arborio rice works just as well as carnaroli. Wild mushrooms can be substituted for a mix of your choice: chanterelles and girolles for preference, but also chestnut or oyster mushrooms. Tip: Use the leftovers to make arancini. Wrap the rice around a cube of semisoft cheese, (e.g. taleggio) then dredge in flour, beaten egg and panko breadcrumbs and deep-fry. Donna’s Notes: Most grocery store products list both US and metric weights. Glass measuring cups have US measurements and milliliter. As for the mushrooms, I picked a box of assorted wild mushrooms from Wildspawn Mushrooms at AsburyFresh market on Sunday in Asbury Park. Preparation
Measurements g = grams l = liter = l m = milliliter
Tiramisù Cookies
From the website Julie Marie Eats Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 11 minutes Resting Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 11 minutes Servings: 11 cookies Ingredients Cookies 110 g butter 100 g granulated sugar 100 g dark brown sugar 1 egg (57-60 g with shell) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 230 g all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder ½ teaspoon salt Mascarpone Cream 180 g mascarpone cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 90 g confectioners’ sugar 20 g agave or honey 120 g heavy cream 1 tablespoon cocoa powder for dusting COOKIES
MASCARPONE CREAM
Crispy Chicken with Lime Butter
“The Secret to Restaurant-Style Chicken at Home,” By Eric Kim, The New York Times, May 7, 2025 Total Time: 40 minutes Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Times: 35 minutes Servings: 4 Ingredients 4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds) Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed ½ cup chicken stock or ¼ cup water 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving 2 teaspoons maple syrup 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pats Parsley, cilantro, basil or mint leaves, for serving (optional) Preparation
Tip - Rendered chicken fat, sometimes called schmaltz when clarified, can be used to pan-fry vegetables and meat; to enrich a soup, stew, sauce or tomato-based braise; or to spread on toast
Spring Spinach and Asparagus Soup
Courtesy of Chris Cirkus Market Manager, West Windsor Farms Market From “Edible Jersey,” magazine Spring 2024 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil ¾ pound asparagus, chopped (woody end removed) 3 shallots, finely sliced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 large handfuls baby spinach (about 2 cups) 2 to 2-1/2 cups vegetable broth or chicken stock 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper Optional: scallions sliced Preparation Heat oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the asparagus, shallots and garlic and cook for about 5-10 minutes, until they begin to soften, being careful not to burn. Add the spinach and stir to combine. Add the broth/stock and bring to a boil. Either transfer to a blender to puree or use an immersion blender directly in the pan. Season with salt and pepper and add a little water if you need to thin the soup. Sprinkle with scallions and salt and pepper to taste. Donna’s Notes: I seasoned the asparagus, shallot and garlic with salt and pepper as they cooked. I also seasoned again when I added the spinach. After pureeing, I added a bit of lemon juice to brighten the flavor of the soup.
1 Comment
Catherine
6/19/2025 01:53:32 am
Here I am, years later, still checking your site for new recipes you've tried and your take on them. Thank you! Leave a Reply. |
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