Doesn’t this picture make you want to dive in to that crispy chicken skin and get a big bite of tender chicken?  No? Just me?  Well even if the picture doesn’t tempt you, I hope the recipe below does.

For those of you who don’t know what beer can chicken is, it is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.  You start with one can of beer and one whole chicken.  Then you create a delicious spice rub to smother said chicken with.

While you are mixing the spices together, you might as well crack open that beer too.  Why?  Well because for this recipe, all you need is 1/2 a can.  The other half is all yours!

Once you have your spice mixture ready to go, it’s time to rub it on the bird!  I like my food well seasoned.  For this reason, I wasn’t shy about aggressively applying to rub to the bird’s skin, directly on the meat, and inside the cavity.  You shouldn’t be scared to “over season” either!

Once you have rubbed the chicken with the spice mixture, the next step is placing it on top of the beer can (the above picture is actually of the bird on the beer can, so I skipped ahead a step!).  You want to make sure you set the bird on the can so that it’s nice and steady as this is how it will sit for the entire cooking duration.

As you can see in the picture above, I got the best stability by placing each leg on either side of the can.  Here’s a view from the top!

Cooking the chicken on a beer can is a great way to keep the chicken nice and moist.  This method of cooking is definitely most popular on a grill, but because I don’t have one yet, I thought the oven would work well.  The result was just as good as my favorite grilled version and instantly made this dish winter friendly.

Beer Can Chicken – Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4 lb chicken
• 1/2 can of your favorite beer
• 2 TB paprika
• 2 TB sugar
• 2 TB ground pepper
• 3 TB kosher salt
  • 1 TB granulated garlic
  • 1 TB granulated onion
  • 1 TB cumin
  • 1 TB Aleppo pepper (cayenne or chili powder would work here to

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Remove chicken from packaging and discard neck and giblets.  Pour off any water/juice that is in the chicken and packaging.  Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.

Mix the paprika, sugar, ground black pepper, salt, granulated garlic and onion, cumin and aleppo pepper together in a small bowl (this is a good time to drink half of your beer!)

Rub 1/3 of the ingredients on the inside of the cavity of the chicken. Then, gently peel the skin away from the chicken and rub 1/3 of the spice mixture onto the actual meat of the chicken.  Rub the remaining 1/3 all over the outside of the chicken skin.

Place the chicken cavity over the half drank beer can.  Set the chicken, standing up, in a large baking dish.

Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook for another 1 to 1:15 hours or until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees.

Once the chicken is finished cooking, remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before carving.  If you like gravy, you can thicken the pan juices with flour for a delicious, beer flavor infused sauce!

We fell in love with the idea of smoking our own food after we were invited over to our friend Danny’s house a few summers ago. Danny has the Big Green Egg which is a smoker that looks exactly the way it sounds.  It is a large green cylinder egg that is the gold standard for grilling and smoking.  Danny has made us brisket, pulled pork, smoked whole chicken and smoked fish on numerous occasions.  Every time we eat something he makes, we are constantly “oohing” and “ahhing” about how good everything is.  So when we got the physical space to have a smoker, we decided to invest (although not in the Big Green Egg because we don’t have $1000s of extra dollars laying around nor the strength to carry an 1000 lb item up three flights of stairs!).

First up on our list of foods to smoke was pulled pork.  Pulled pork starts with pork shoulder (also known as pork butt).

I got a bone-in, nicely marbled piece of pork shoulder.  The great thing about this cut of meat is that it is so inexpensive.  I got five pounds of ethically raised pork shoulder for just $15 dollars.  The only thing you need to turn this inexpensive cut of pork into a gourmet meal is time!  Pork shoulder really requires a low and slow cooking process to yield the best results.  So if you choose to make this recipe, make sure you leave yourself a lot of time.

The other thing this pork needs is a delicious seasoning mixture to give it tons of flavor.  My dry rub was made with equal parts salt and sugar and then tons of spices ranging from savory to sweet to spicy.

After tasting the end product, I can honestly say, that this is one of the best spice rubs I have ever made or tasted.

After smoking the spice rubbed pork shoulder for over three hours, the meat got perfectly crusted and crispy.

After drenching the entire thing in apple juice and finishing it (for another 4 plus hours!) in the oven, the flavors got even more intensified.

Now I know a lot of people who make great tasting pulled pork in their slow cooker or in the oven. But you have access to a smoker or even a charcoal grill you can add woodchips too, I really recommend infusing the smoky flavor into this meat.  It made the tender, flavorful pork all that much better.

Serve the pulled pork with or without sauce (its so flavorful, it doesn’t even need it, but I have included a recipe for it below), a few pieces of cornbread, a crunch green vegetable (green beans sautéed in bacon fat anyone?) and some fresh corn on the cob.  Also note that there is another protein on the plate pictured below.  This was the other item we smoked – fresh, local whitefish.  That recipe is forthcoming.  Because like this pulled pork, it was life changing.

Apple Wood Smoked Pulled Pork – Serves 6 (inspired by this recipe)

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs pork shoulder (I used two 2.5 lb pieces that were well marbled and each had a small bone)
• Vegetable oil to rub on pork
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
• 2 TB freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 TB paprika
  • 2 TB chili powder

• 1 TB granulated garlic
• 1 TB granulated onion
• 1 TB ground cumin
• 1 TB fried thyme leaves
• 2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 cups vinegar
• 2 cup apple juice, divided
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp worcestershire
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:

Mix salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, chili powder, granulated garlic and onion, cumin, thyme, cayenne and nutmeg together in bowl.

Remove fat cap from pork shoulder if there is one.  Drizzle the pork shoulder with approximately 2 TB vegetable oil.  Once covered in oil, sprinkle the meat generously with the spice rub (I used all but 1/3 cup of the spice rub).  Allow the meat to sit with the spice rub at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour.  If you want a more intense flavor, you can allow the meat to sit for up to 12 hours in the fridge.  However, make sure you allow enough time to get the meat up to room temperature prior to placing in the smoker.

While the meat is sitting with spice rub, pre-heat the smoker.  We smoked our meat at 225 degrees with apple wood.  We plan to experiment with other woods, but apple yielded a great product!  Once pre-heated, place the butt in the smoker and cook for approximately 3 hours.  Once the three hours is up, take the pork out of the smoker.

For the final 4 hours of cooking, you can either place the pork back in the smoker, or finish it in the oven.  We choose to use the oven because the smoke fails to add any extra flavor after three hours.  Additionally the oven regulates heat a little bit better than the smoker, so we knew exactly what temperature the pork was cooking at.  If finishing in the oven, place the pork shoulder in a large pot or dutch oven.  Pour 1 cup of apple juice and cover with a lid (if putting back in the smoker, do this process with tin foil, reduce the amount of apple juice by 1/2 cup and wrap tightly).  Cook for an additional 4 plus hours at 225 degrees.  The pork is finished when you can easy pull it apart.  Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes once you pull it from the oven.  At that point, pull the meat apart, discarding the fat and bones.  I like larger pieces of meat, but shred it to the size that you prefer.

While the meat is resting you can put the bbq sauce together.  In a sauce pot, add the vinegar, 1 cup of apple juice, tomato paste, sugar, Worchester sauce and red pepper flakes.   Heat ingredients together until combined and warm.  Serve over the pulled pork and enjoy!

The combination of goat cheese, beets and arugula is one of my absolute favorites.  The most common way I see these ingredients put together is in a salad.  Which is a great way to enjoy them!

Because beets come sold in bunches, I often times am left with a few extras and never know what to do with them except for repeating the whole salad process over again. But, lets face it, one can only eat so many salads.  Enter a variation of the this amazing combination – beet and goat cheese stuffed ravioli served with sautéed, buttery arugula.

All I had to do to repurpose these ingredients was blend the beets and goat cheese together into a magical whipped concoction (which would have been delicious just served with crackers!) and stuff it into some very easy to make dough.

I know.  You are probably thinking – there is nothing easy about making ravioli.  But actually, this was not a difficult process! I actually have a pasta dough attachment for my KitchenAid, but you could easily roll the pasta dough out using a rolling pin.

Once you have rolled the pasta out, all you have to do is plop a tablespoon or so of the beet and goat cheese puree onto it, seal the ravioli up and drop them in a big pot of boiling water.

To serve them, I sautéed a big container of arugula in butter and olive oil and plated everything together. The dish, thanks in large part to these delicious ingredients, came out wonderfully!

Beet, Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad with Toasted Almonds – Serve 4

Ingredients:

• 1 head butter/Boston lettuce, torn or cut into large pieces
• 1 5 ounce container of Arugula
• 2 medium boiled or roasted beets*, sliced
• 5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic
• 2 TB Dijon mustard
• S+P to taste

I prefer to boil my beets because roasting takes longer and, in my option, doesn’t add anything in terms of flavor.  To boil, place beets in a sauce pot big enough to hold the beets covered completely with water.  Place the beets in the water, bring it to a boil, season with salt and pepper, cover the pot, turn the heat down and allow to cook for 30-45 minutes until the beets are tender.

Directions:

To toast the nuts, place them in a dry sauté pan and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until they are lightly browned and smell toasted.  Keep a close eye on them because they can burn quickly!

To assemble the salad, place the arugula and lettuce in a large salad bowl, add the sliced beets followed by the goat cheese and tasted slivered almonds.

To mix the dressing together, I place the balsamic, oil and Dijon mustard and salt and pepper into a small Tupperware container and shake it until it is incorporated.  Taste and adjust for seasoning.  Use enough dressing to lightly coat the lettuce and beets.  Mix together and serve!

Beet and Goat Cheese Ravioli with Wilted Arugula – Serve 4

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• Salt
• 1 large beet
• 4-5 ounce goat cheese
• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese (I used the mascarpone to cut the tartness of the goat cheese. If you like a lot of goat cheese flavor, feel free to use all goat cheese)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 5 ounces arugula
• 1/4 cup butter
• S+P to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cover and set aside so that it is ready for the ravioli.

Meanwhile, to make the ravioli, place the flour on your countertop or a cutting board and make a well. Crack the eggs into the well and gently use your fingers to incorporate the flour into the egg.

Keep incorporating the flour into the eggs until it becomes a smooth ball.  At this point, allow the dough to rest for 10 –15 minutes while you make the filling.

To make the filling, add the beat, goat cheese, mascarpone, parmesan and salt and pepper to the bowl of a food processor.  Combine everything together until it forms a smooth puree. Taste the puree and adjust for seasoning.

Now, it’s time to roll out the dough! Cut your ball of dough in half, setting aside one half.  If you are using a rolling pin, make sure you use a lot of flour so the dough doesn’t stick to your counter and roll it out as thin as you can get it.

If you are rolling out the dough using a pasta machine, dust a bit of flour on the counter.  Then press the dough into a rectangle and place it in the pasta machine, using the widest setting.  Once you have run it through the machine, fold the dough in half.  Repeat the process 2-3 times.  Reduce the setting on the machine and run the dough through, and fold in half after each time, 2-3 more times.  Continue running it through until you crack the dough through the narrowest setting and you have a paper-thin long sheet of pasta dough (about 1/8 inch thick).  Place the dough onto a floured board and repeat with remaining half.

Once you have rolled out both pieces of dough, it is time to fill it with the beet and goat cheese puree.

Add about a tablespoon of filling every two inches or so all the way down one piece of the dough.  Place the other piece on top and seal the dough together around the puree.

Cut the dough into raviolis using a ravioli cutter or a pizza cutter.  Once cut, seal the ravioli by pushing the edges down with a fork.

At this point the ravioli are ready to go!  Salt the pot of boiling water and drop the ravioli carefully into the water. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until they begin to float.

While the ravioli are cooking, add the butter to a large sauté pan and add the arugula.  Cook until wilted and season with salt and pepper.  Add the sautéed arugula to a platter, reserving the butter in the pan. When the ravioli are finished cooking, add them to the pan and coat with butter.  Add the cooked and buttery ravioli to the plate of arugula and serve warm! Enjoy!

As you can tell by the eight (soon to be nine!) recipes on my recipe page, I am a huge lover of pizza.  Not only is pizza delicious to eat, but making pizza allows me to get creative with my cooking without expending a lot of energy.  Thanks to high quality dough from the grocery store, I can make pizza on a work night and have it come together in no time.  Plus, I consider pizza dough to be a blank canvas, one that allows my creative cook to come out and top it with a variety of wonderful toppings and flavor combinations.

One of Tommy’s favorite kinds of pizza is Buffalo Chicken Pizza.  This is often his top request if we order out from a pizza shop.  And while pizza delivered to your house definitely has its advantages if you don’t want to cook, I think that this pizza would make you think twice about placing an order!

In addition to be flat out delicious, this pizza is also a hell of a lot healthier than what you would get if you ordered out as well.  This is thanks to the addition of grilled (not breaded and fried) chicken, the use of high quality blue cheese that is so pungent you don’t need a ton.  Also, because I love things extra spicy, I can alter the sauce to make it have extra zip to it.

So next time you are tempted to pick up a buffalo chicken pizza from your favorite pizza joint, stop at the grocery store and get the ingredients for this pizza instead.  I promise you won’t regret it!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza – Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 6-8 ounce chicken breast
• 3 ounce good quality blue cheese
• 4-6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 1/4 cup plus 2 TB (more or less to taste) buffalo sauce
• 1/2 pre made pizza dough (if you like a thicker crust, you can use the whole thing)
• S+P to taste
• Cooking Spray

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees and, if using, place pizza stone in while it pre-heats.  Roll out pizza dough to desired thickness.  If using pizza stone, sprinkle corn meal all over the stone to prevent sticking.  Place pizza dough on stone and spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pre-cook the dough for 5-7 minutes until it starts to brown and bubble slightly (if it bubbles too much, I stick a knife in the bubbles to release steam).

Meanwhile, grill, sauté or poach chicken breast.  Once cool, slice and coat with 2 TB buffalo sauce.  Combine the remaining buffalo sauce with the pizza sauce.

To assemble the pizza, add the buffalo pizza sauce, and 1/2 of the shredded mozzarella. Then evenly distribute the sliced chicken breast and blue cheese. Top with remaining mozzarella.  Place in the oven and allow to cook for about 5 minutes more until the cheese has melted and the crust has browned.

I am always looking for new and creative starchy side dish recipes.  When I am feeling uninspired, my go-to starches typically include baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato puffs, roasted parsnips or brown rice.  And while all those side dishes are fine, none of them are going to blow your socks off.

What will blow your socks off is a creamy, cheesy, sweet potato and new potato gratin dish.

And while sweet potatoes and gratins are often associated with winter, Chicago farmers offer both the sweet and regular varietals of potatoes all summer long.  That was enough of an excuse for me to get in the kitchen, make a twist on a traditional side dish and come up with something delicious.

These sweet potato gratins are so cute served in individual serving dishes, but it would work just as well in a large pan.  I think the key to making this dish have the right mix of savory and sweet is using a combination of regular baking potatoes and sweet potatoes.

And of course, a gratin wouldn’t be complete without a rich béchamel sauce and a generous grating of parmesan cheese!

Hiding under all that goodness is also some pancetta.  Why did I add pancetta? Well first, I fully subscribe to the expression “everything is better with bacon pancetta.”  Secondly, the saltiness of the pork balances really well with the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.  Of course, if you are serving this to vegetarians, it would still be fantastic without the pancetta!

Finally, as a last point, I couldn’t finish an individual portion of the gratin so I had leftovers the next day for lunch, and if possible, the gratin just got better!  Allowing the flavors to sit together overnight just made it all the more yummy.  This got me to thinking about making it for a party and cooking it off in advance.  By the time you guest get to your house, you can throw these back in the oven to warm up and you have saved prep time and get a better tasting end product! Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Gratin – Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 2 TB butter
• 2 ounces pancetta, chopped
• 1/2 cup shallot, chopped
• 6TB flour
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated swiss cheese
• 2 small – medium sized baking potatoes, pealed and cut into 1/8 inch slices
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, pealed and cut into 1/8 inch slices
• S+P to taste
• Cooking spray

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with lots of salt.  Add the regular potatoes (carefully) and cook for four minutes, or until just tender.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.  Cook the sweet potatoes for another four minutes and drain.  I do this process separately so that I can layer the sweet potatoes and potatoes more easily. However, if you are rushed, cook the potatoes and sweet potatoes together.  Once cooked and drained, set them aside and allow to cool. Sprinkle the potatoes evenly with 2 TB of flour.

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium low heat.  Add the chopped pancetta and cook for two minutes.  Add the shallot and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add 1/4 cup (4 TB) of the flour to the pan and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes to allow the raw flour taste to cook out.

With the heat still on medium, slowly pour the milk into the pot, whisking constantly to avoid getting lumps in the sauce.  After a minute of whisking, switch to a spoon and cook for 3-5 minutes until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon.  Stir in the parmesan cheese and cook until it is completely melted (1-2 minutes).  Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

Spray your cooking dish (either four individual gratin dishes or a 11×7 baking dish) with cooking spray.  Arrange the potatoes in alternating layers in a baking dish.  Spoon béchamel cheese sauce over the potatoes.  Top with the grated swiss cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

If serving the gratin immediately, preheat the broiler to high and broil for 3 minutes until golden.   Let stand for 10 minutes and serve warm.  If making this dish ahead of time, remove the gratin from the oven after 35 minutes of cooking and allow to cool completely.  Place in the refrigerator.  When ready to bake off. preheat oven to 400 degrees and cook the gratin for 10-15 minutes then broil and allow to cool slightly as instructed above.

It’s no secret that I am absolutely crazy about artichokes.  They are hands down, far and away, my favorite vegetable.  I love them so much that I eat them all year round even though they are truly at the height of their season during spring.

Because they are so great in the spring, I basically take that as an invitation to up my artichoke eating quota from once a week to twice a week at a minimum.  And while I am content eating them steamed with butter or stuffed with breadcrumbs, herbs and parmesan (or just about any way you could think of) I also love to incorporate them into pasta.

Removing the leaves and shaving or cutting the heart very thinly allows the artichoke to cook significantly faster than if it was left whole, so you can get this on the table in no time.

When you combine the fresh artichokes with the creamy and tangy goat cheese and lots of fresh lemon juice, the resulting recipe screams spring flavors.  The only trick to this recipe is making sure the artichokes don’t turn brown.  They oxidize quickly, but the process can be slowed down by soaking the artichokes in lemon water.

If you can’t find fresh artichokes, feel free to substitute in canned whole artichoke hearts. You won’t get the fresh texture or flavor, but the combination of flavors will still be delicious.  Enjoy!

Artichoke Pasta with Lemon and Goat Cheese – Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bowtie pasta
• 4 artichokes, leaves and tough outer part of stem removed, hearts sliced
• Juice of three lemons
• 4-6 ounces goat cheese
• 1/2 cup EVOO
• S+P to taste

Directions:

To prep the artichokes, fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze in the juice of one lemon. Once the juice is squeezed, add the lemons to the water.  Once the water is ready, you can start to remove the leaves of the artichoke.  I think the easiest way to do this is to cut the top half of the leaves off the artichoke entirely, then start removing the tough outer leaves one by one.  Once you have removed the tough leaves, you can start to cut off the thinner, softer leaves that are closer to the heart.  Once you just have a few layers of thin leaves, cut the artichoke in half length wise so that the choke and heart are exposed. Using a grapefruit knife or spoon, entirely remove the choke.  Next up, use a vegetable peeler to cut down the stem to remove the tough outside.  Once you have done all this, place the artichokes in the water until you are ready to use (here is a great tutorial of how to do this whole process).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Drop the pasta and cook per package directions. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, remove the artichokes from the water and slice very thinly.  Place back in the water until you are ready to cook.

In a large skillet, add the EVOO and heat over a medium flame until hot.  Drain the sliced artichokes and drop into the hot oil.  Stir often to make sure the artichokes don’t burn.  Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes until the artichokes are just tender.

Add the drained pasta to the pan with the artichokes and oil and stir to combine.  Add the juice of two lemons.  Taste and adjust for seasoning.  Serve the pasta in shallow bowls and add crumbles of goat cheese.  Serve warm.

This year, we had a special treat for Mother’s Day – Tommy’s mom was in Chicago!  We had a really wonderful weekend including visits to the Purple Pig, a trip to the Art Institute and dinner at a Polish restaurant called Starapolska (Tommy’s family is of Polish decent, so we wanted to get some tasty Polish food).  The weekend ended with a brunch at our place featuring the Mom of honor (Sarah also visited with Matilda because let’s face it – she is a fur mom!).

Brunch for a crowd can be tricky.  So many breakfast dishes require standing over a pan slaving away while your guests are enjoying the party without.  For this reason, I make it a cook as many items ahead of time as I can.  This way I can just pop the dishes back in the oven to heat up as my guests arrive so I don’t miss out on any of the fun.

The other tricky thing about brunch is what to serve.  I find people are very particular about what they like to eat in the morning – sweet, savory, eggs, lox, etc.  I think the safe bet is to serve one savory and one sweet dish at a minimum.  If you are hosting a big brunch, then its best to serve a couple of each.

I also always like to serve a dishes that cater to meat eaters and vegetarians alike.  And in my opinion, you have to serve the one staple brunch item that everyone can agree on – mimosas.  If you are most ambitious than me, bloody marys and mimosas would be great.

So my menu this past Sunday I thought about what everyone would like.  Carol, for example, really only likes eating eggs that she cooks herself, so I knew I didn’t want to do eggs benedict or a big batch of scrambled eggs.  Sarah doesn’t eat meat, so I made sure that one of the savory items was veggie friendly.  And finally, Tommy loves bacon, so I made sure to cook up a batch to go along with brunch.

For the sweeter offerings, I made a baked french toast recipe from Ina Garten.  To me, this recipe epitomizes what I talked about above.  French toast is a great brunch item, but I don’t want to individually make each portion.  By making a baked french toast dish, I get the flavors and textures I love about this dish, without the hands on time it typically requires.

Also on the sweet side, I put out a big platter of fresh fruit.  One of my favorite elements of a big brunch buffet is a gorgeous offering of a variety of fruit.

I choose raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe and honeydew for my platter to showcase a variety of colors and incorporate lots of different fruit flavors.

As for the savory dishes, I opted to go with a couple of quiches.  I think quiches are great at any time of day, but work particularly well at brunch because it satisfies any egg desires without having to worry about how people like their eggs cooked.

As I mentioned above, Sarah doesn’t eat meat.  Because of this, I made sure one of these quiches were filled with lots of veggies and didn’t sacrifice on flavor.  The combination I came up with was fabulous and will absolutely be replicated in the future – goat cheese and mushroom quiche with fresh basil.

Take note of that beautiful pie crust work – Tommy made it!  As for the other quiche, I went with the standard Quiche Lorraine, which was delicious as ever!

I missed my mom on Mother’s Day, but was happy to celebrate with Tommy’s.  This menu was also so good that I could definitely make it again for my mom once she gets back in town!

Goat Cheese and Mushroom Quiche with Fresh Basil – Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1/2 recipe for perfect pie crust
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk or cream (I used 50% milk 50% half and half)
• 1 lb button mushrooms
• 8 ounces goat cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh basil
• 2 TB butter
• S+P to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

After you have made the pie crust, place in a 9 inch pie dish and par bake for 10 minutes.  There are two methods to par baking. You can either prick the dough lightly with a fork all over or place tin foil with dried beans on top of the dough to ensure that the sides don’t collapse and the bottom doesn’t puff up.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Once melted, add mushrooms and cook until softened and slightly browned.  Season with salt and pepper and allow to cool.

To make the quiche filling, combine the beaten eggs, milk or cream and salt and pepper in a large bowl until well combined.

To prepare the quiche for the final cooking stage, take the par baked crust out of the oven and evenly spread the mushrooms, basil and goat cheese over the surface.

Then pour the egg and cream mixture over the toppings.  Bake at 450 for 10 minutes and then lower the heat to 350 degrees and cook for another 40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

A few weeks ago, my beloved Green City Market opened for the season.  Granted, the market didn’t feature the bounty of summer, but it did still have a great selection of farm fresh items.  One of my favorite spring time vegetables is asparagus and I was happy to see that many of the vendors were selling a number of varieties – thin and thick, purple and green.  I opted to buy the thick cut (more flavor in my opinion) green variety.

These babies were so beautiful!  While I contemplated just steaming them up and serving them alongside a piece of fish, I decided to get a bit more creative and turn them into the base of a cream of asparagus soup.

This proved to be an excellent decision.  The soup had the perfect amount of creaminess, slight tang from fresh lemon juice, and a wonderful crunch thanks to homemade saffron flavored croutons.

This recipe was actually a slightly adapted version of an asparagus soup recipe of my mom’s that I have made many times.  Hers is a “healthified” version of cream of asparagus soup which replaces the cream for potatoes to thicken the soup and add the right texture.  And while I love that soup, I wanted an option that was a little bit more refined and truly allowed the asparagus to shine.

Speaking of asparagus – did you notice that the asparagus were sitting in water glasses in the above picture?

This is how I store asparagus!  I find that, like fresh flowers, asparagus responds really well to being stored in water.  They stay tender and maintain their vibrant color for at 3-5 days in the fridge (but of course, the earlier you use the asparagus, the fresher it will taste!).

Anyway, back to the soup.  This would be the perfect starter to a fancy dinner party, but works equally well alongside a big salad on a busy weeknight because the whole thing comes together in 30 minutes.

However you enjoy it, just make sure you give it a try when the asparagus is at its freshest – a.k.a RIGHT NOW!

Cream of Asparagus Soup with Saffron Croutons – Serves 4-6 as an appetizer

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs asparagus
• 1/2 stick butter
• 3 large shallots, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups water
• S+P to taste
• Fresh lemon juice (approximately the juice of one lemon is what I used)
• 3-4 slices of any variety of bread (I chose a multigrain variety), crusts removed and cut into small cubes
• 2 TB EVOO
• 1/3 tsp saffron threads

Directions:

In order to remove the tough bottoms of the asparagus, I simply take the asparagus and bend lightly.  Wherever the asparagus bends is the place where the tough meets the tender.  Discard the tough pieces (keep if you make your own veggie stock!).

In a large stock pot, add the butter and melt over medium low heat.  Once melted, add the chopped shallots and cook until they are soft, but not browned, about five minutes.

Add the cream, water, salt (start with 2 tsp) and pepper to the pot.  Increase the heat to high and bring liquid to a boil.  Add the asparagus, lower to a simmer, and cook until the asparagus is tender, but still has a bright green color, about five minutes.

Now it is time to puree the soup.  Working in batches, add the contents of the pot into a blender and puree until smooth.

I found that the texture of the soup was perfect for me.  Slightly thick, but very smooth.  If you prefer a finer texture, you can push the contents of the soup through a fine mesh sieve.

Add the soup back to the pot and keep warm until you are ready to serve.  Taste and adjust for seasonings as necessary.  Right before serving, add enough lemon juice to taste.  You certainly don’t want the overwhelming flavor of lemon to come through on the soup, but you want enough to know that it is there.  I think 1/2 to a full lemon’s worth of juice is perfect, but let your palate guide you!

While the soup is staying warm, you can make the croutons, which is very easy!  In a large sauté pan, add the EVOO and heat over medium-low heat.  Add the saffron shreds and cook in the olive oil for 1 minute to infuse the oil.  Add the bread and toss to coat in the saffron oil.  Spring with salt and pepper and cook until the croutons are golden and toasted.

Serve the soup topped with croutons and one more spray of lemon juice!

Let’s face it.  Chicken breast, even on its best day, can be a little boring.  Sure it’s can be delicious in some cases – breaded and fried, slow roasted with the bone in and skin on – are a few preparations that come to mind.  But on it’s own, chicken breast doesn’t cut it for me.  What does cut it for me is a chicken breast that has been stuffed with mozzarella and basil and wrapped in prosciutto.

Not only are mozzarella, basil and prosciutto a fabulous flavor combination, but the fat in the mozzarella and prosciutto also help keep the chicken moist throughout the cooking process.

The end product is far from dry and has the perfect mixture of saltiness from the prosciutto.  Stuffing a chicken breast can seem intimidating, but actually, this process was extremely easy.  All you do is take a chicken breast, cut it through the middle until it is nearly cut through, and open it up so it lays flat like a pancake (otherwise known as butterflying).  If you are anxious about doing this (but don’t be!), you can also have your butcher do this for you.  Once the chicken has been butterflied and seasoned with salt and peeper, you add your cheese of choice (blue cheese, brie, manchego and mozzarella are all great choices) and then top with a few leaves of fresh basil.

Once you have stuffed the chicken, you then simply place the cut half back on top of the bottom part of the breast.

Don’t worry if the stuffing is sticking out slightly, as mine is above.  The prosciutto will cover it so that you avoid any melting in the pan or grill.

You can count on using about 2 pieces of thinly sliced prosciutto to cover each chicken breast completely.  When you cook the chicken, the prosciutto will get slightly crisp and is a nice textural contrast to the tender chicken.

I served this chicken with kale chips (what else is new) and a fabulous sweet potato gratin (recipe coming soon) for a well-rounded, healthy weeknight meal!

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breast Stuffed with Mozzarella Cheese and Basil – Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 6-8 ounce portions of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
• 4 ounces prosciutto
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
• S+P to taste
• Oil for pan frying

Directions:

Butterfly chicken breasts and sprinkle the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper.  Lay 2-3 slices of mozzarella cheese on the chicken breast. Follow with a couple of leaves of basil.  Make sure you don’t overstuff the chicken, or you won’t be able to roll it back up.  Once you have added the mozzarella and basil, place the top half of the breast on top.  Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper.  Wrap each chicken breast with two slices of prosciutto so that it it is completely covered.  Note, I think it is easiest for cooking the chicken if the prosciutto is wrapped in such a way that the ends, or seams, are on the same side of the breast.

In a large, heavy set pan (cast iron or stainless steal is best), heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the chicken with the prosciutto seam side down.  Cook for 3-4 minutes until the prosciutto starts to brown and you can easily loosen it from the pan.  Cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes.  Turn the heat down to medium-low and continuing cooking the chicken, flipping occasionally, until it is completely cooked through or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.  Allow to sit for 1-2 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute and enjoy!

I love cobb salad.  The combination of creamy avocados, pungent blue cheese, salty bacon, tender chicken, fresh cherry tomatoes, crunchy nuts and crisp lettuce is fabulous.  Cobb salad often get a bad rap from the calorie police.  I can’t count the number of times I have heard “don’t order cobb salads because they have as many calories as a cheeseburger does.”

I think that there can be some truth to the above statement if you order a cobb salad out at a restaurant.  Especially one that is doused in fat laden dressing and contains more bacon than it does lettuce.  However, when you made a cobb salad at home, you get to control the quality and quantity of ingredients.  And when made right, cobb salad can be a completely satisfying and healthy entrée.

To elevate the flavors of a normal, hum drum cobb salad, I marinate the chicken in a delicious mayo-mustard sauce, use good quality blue cheese, thick cut bacon and very fresh vegetables.  I also like the slight crunch that comes from using pine nuts.  They have a much milder flavor and texture than other nuts, and when they are toasted, they are the perfect compliment for the salad. For the lettuce, I opt for a combination of bibb (or Boston) lettuce and arugula.  I like the pepperiness of the arugula combined with the the crunchiness and buttery-ness of the bibb lettuce.

I also prefer a simple balsamic vinaigrette on my cobb salad, but feel free to exchange the vinegar for lemon if that is your favorite combination.  Tommy and I ate this for dinner alongside a delicious bowl of soup (recipe coming soon) and were completely satisfied.  If you go without soup, either increase the portion size of the salad or add a crusty piece of bread to go alongside!

Cobb Salad – Serves 4 as Entrees:

Ingredients:

• 3 TB mayo
• 3 TB dijon mustard, divided
• 2 large chicken breasts
• 2 medium sized heads of boston lettuce (about 10 ounces total), trimmed, torn into bite-size pieces, washed and drained well
• 2 cups arugula
• 1 large avocado, cut into large pieces
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup crumbled good quality blue cheese (Roquefort is a good option!)
• 2/3 cup toasted pine nutes
• 4 slices of thick cut bacon
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for cooking the chicken
• S+P to taste

Directions:

To make the vinaigrette, combine the balsamic, olive oil, 2 TB of dijon mustard and salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk until incorporated.

Next up is marinating the chicken.  You only need to keep this marinade on for 10 minutes to infuse the chicken with flavor and keep it moist throughout the cooking process.  Combine the mayo, 1 TB of dijon and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

Slather the chicken with all of the marinade and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  While the chicken is marinating, it is time to cook the bacon.  Add the bacon slices to a large, dry pan and cook over low heat, turning occasionally, until crisp – about 10 minutes.  Drain the bacon on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil. Once cooled, crumb into large pieces and reserve.

Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to another pan and heat over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook the chicken for 4 to 6 minutes per side to get a good sear on the outside.  Lower the heat to medium-low and cook the chicken for another 3-4 minutes per side until it is completely cooked through.  Allow to cool completely and then cut into large slices.

While the chicken is cooling, you can toast the pine nuts.  In a dry small pan, add the pine nuts and toast until slightly browned – about 3 minutes.  Watch them carefully because they can burn quickly.

Finally, it is time to put everything together.  I think it looks nice to put the lettuce on the bottom of a large salad bowl and then place all the ingredients, in lines, across the top.  This makes for a nice presentation.  Once all the ingredients are on the salad, pour on the vinaigrette and mix well. Enjoy!