Recipe

chicken caesar salad with homemade croutons

I’m sure Caesar salad is a staple in most households.

However, I’m sure most of the time it involves a bottle of dressing and a bag of croutons. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s just not our style.

Rather, we’ve found the perfect (easy, and salmonella-free) recipe for a Caesar dressing from scratch. It’s as creamy or creamier than anything you can find in a jar, and bonus! You know exactly what did (or didn’t) go into it.

Didn’t use up all that nice fresh crusty bread you bought for dinner last week? It’s too dry to eat by itself, but it is perfect for homemade croutons. Just like black bananas are the perfect candidates for banana bread, day (or week) old bread is just crying out for a more fulfilling future than the garbage. Give it that satisfaction by turning it into crispy, golden brown, homemade croutons.

Yet, even with the extra steps to make it all from scratch, it is still a surprisingly quick and easy dinner. A weeknight meal. Something satisfying for the whole family (especially if your family includes 3 cats. Yes, those anchovies and chicken strips are quite tempting. Bad kitties!)

chicken caesar salad with homemade croutons

Makes 2-4 servings. Dressing recipe adapted from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS:

Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 anchovy fillets, mashed
Scant cup light olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chicken:
1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons canola oil

Croutons:
1/3 cup olive oil
One 1-pound loaf of day-old bread, preferably sourdough, sliced and cut into large cubes (about 2 cups)

1 large head of romaine lettuce
fresh shaved parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, mustard, and anchovies. Slowly whisk in the oil to emulsify. Stir in the cheese and season with sat and pepper. Refrigerate in a covered container. When ready to use, whisk again. Dressing will keep up to 10 weeks, refrigerated, in a covered container.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, drizzle olive oil over bread and toss until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a baking tray and bake until golden, turning to brown all sides. Actual baking time will vary depending on the variety and dryness of your bread, watch them carefully to ensure they do not burn.

Place chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound breasts to a uniform thickness (about 3/8"). Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat canola oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Carefully add chicken breast to pan. Cook until both sides are lightly golden and chicken is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and slice into thin strips.

To assemble, trim the lettuce and toss with some of the vinaigrette. Arrange on salad plates, top with chicken and croutons, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

spaghetti with fresh soppressata

Apparently we have quite the reputation in our building.

We’re the stinky neighbors.

We’ve been told that sometimes, when we’re cooking something extra fragrant, you can smell it as soon as you step off the elevator. It only gets stronger as you go down the hall. Cookies, cupcakes, chicken broth, homemade bread… I can only imagine.

I’m surprised we don’t get more random knocks at the door, hoping that we’ve got extra.

That’s ok though, I’d much rather be the stinky neighbors than the noisy neighbors (and we have our fair share of noisy neighbors). Oh the joys of communal living.

I’m sure this particular dish drove our neighbors crazy. Whenever you’ve got pork and onion and fennel simmering away, there’s no stopping the wonderful smells from wafting where they will.

We managed to score some fresh local italian sausage, sold in bulk (ie: not in the casings), which was perfect for this dish. It made for an incredibly rich and robust sauce, that was surprisingly delicate at the same time. Perfectly spiced, and lovingly simmered until the flavors were happily entwined.

Maybe next time we’ll share with the neighbors.

spaghetti with fresh soppressata

Makes 6 servings. Recipe from Food & Wine.

INGREDIENTS:

4 garlic cloves
1 1/3 cups dry white wine
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
One 28-ounce can plus one 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed, with their liquid
Salt
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS:

In a blender, puree the garlic with 1/3 cup of the white wine. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the sausage, fennel, black pepper and crushed red pepper and knead lightly to combine. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the sausage mixture and cook over high heat, breaking up lumps with a spoon, until lightly browned, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup of wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until nearly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and their juices to the pan and season lightly with salt. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 5 cups, about 40 minutes.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until just al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss with the grated cheese, basil and parsley. Add the reserved cooking water and toss the pasta over moderately high heat, until nicely coated, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

yellow summer squash and corn soup

Summer, I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.

I’m going to miss your evening light. Even now I can see it slowly slinking away earlier than the night before.

I’m going to miss your markets. Your festivals. Your weekend events. Bare feet and flip flops. And ice cream. Lots and lots of ice cream.

Granted, I’m not going to miss your stifling heat and suffocating humidity, but that doesn’t make me love you any less.

But what I’m really going to miss the most is your bounty. Your ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs, sweet summer corn. Heck, I’ll even miss your influx of summer squash, which I’ve admitted before is not my favorite thing in the world.

But I will miss that squash for opportunities like this one. The fact that I am neither a squash lover nor a soup person in any sense of the word should tell you something; the fact that I went back for seconds of this light and creamy summer soup should incite you to act. Don’t complain about week after week of yellow abundance; savor that summer squash while you still have it. It’ll be gone before you know it.

yellow summer squash and corn soup

Yield: 2 to 3 servings

Total Time: 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound yellow summer squash
2 ears corn
3 large shallots
2 large garlic cloves
1 fresh jalapeño chile
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 1/2 cups water

DIRECTIONS:

Cut summer squash crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Shuck corn and, working over a bowl, cut kernels from cobs. Halve cobs. Chop shallots and mince garlic. Wearing rubber gloves, chop chile, with seeds if desired.

In a 5-quart heavy kettle combine all ingredients (including cobs) except water and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Stir in water and simmer mixture until squash is very tender, about 15 minutes. Discard cobs. In a blender puree mixture in batches until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to another bowl. Season soup with salt and pepper. Divide soup between 2 bowls and garnish with corn, chiles, cilantro, small dollops of sour cream, and squash.