Braised Chicken with Fennel, Shallot & White Beans

Finally, a little rain in these dry parts! It's much needed, and as grateful as I am for a little downpour I'm even more so for the chance to whip up some fantastically comforting cold-weather dishes. You know, the kind that simmer away all day, filling your house with irresistible savory scents? One pot dishes like soups and stews have been few and far between lately since winter seems to have skipped right over us in "endless summer" Cali. It's difficult to get into a winter state of mind in Santa Barbara, even if it is February. I mean, who wants to break out the crockpot when it's 70 degrees outside?

So I'm making the most out of these next few rainy days and busting out the comfort food all-stars. Tonight I'm going old school and making a homemade mac & cheese with hot dogs. Yes, sometimes I like to get a little trashy in the kitchen. Don't judge. This is edible nostalgia at its best. 

But before that it was this homey chicken dish, slowly braised in white wine with silky shallot halves and velvety white beans in every bite. It's the kind of dish that will make you feel like that snowman in the Campbell's Soup commercial who comes in from the cold and sips on hot soup until he melts back into a little kid. I know you feel me.

serves 2
Ingredients
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 chicken quarters (leg and thigh)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. cubed pancetta
4 shallots, peeled and halved
2 carrots, chopped
1 small bulb fennel, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 14 oz. can canellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 300°. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Arrange the chicken skin side down in the pot and sear for about 5 minutes on each side until skin turns golden brown, then transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce heat to medium and cook the pancetta in the same pot until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain.
3. Add the shallots, carrots and fennel to pot and cook in the pancetta grease, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown and soften, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute or so.
4. Add bay leaf and wine and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen the brown bits. Continue cooking until the wine is reduced by half.
5. Add the broth and white beans and return the chicken and pancetta to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover and transfer to the oven.
6. Braise the chicken for about 45 minutes or until the meat is tender. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a serving platter, reserving sauce in the pot. Discard the bay leaf.
7. Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat until reduced to about 1 cup. Stir in the lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

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Dungeness Crab & Corn Chowder

First thing's first. Today my blog hit a little milestone: it reached 20,000 page views! In some ways that's a small number when you consider the fact that other sites exceed that many page views a day, but then I try to picture 20K of anything- people, dollars, jelly beans...and my mind is kind of blown. It's mucho, you guys.

So I just wanted to put a great big THANK YOU out into the world to anyone who has taken a moment out of their day to pop over into my world for a bit and take a look at what's cooking in my kitchen, which today happens to be a hearty, zesty, yummy (and spicy if you're all about the Cholula like I am) Crab & Corn Chowder.

It comes together in a flash with tons of seafood flavor thanks to the fresh, succulent, Dungeness crab I purchased at the seafood counter (precooked, so no messy shells to deal with). Feel free to dress this chowder up however you'd like, it would be heavenly served up in a sourdough bread bowl, but I'm partial to a sprinkle of crisp, green scallions and a healthy dousing of hot sauce. 

makes about 1 1/2 quarts
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4-6 baby red potatoes, diced
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 dried bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon Old Bay or other seafood seasoning blend
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups whole milk
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
8 ounces cooked lump dungeness crab
2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced
Hot sauce and lemon, to taste

Instructions
1. Heat a stock pot over medium heat and add oil and butter.
2. Add potatoes, celery, onion and bay leaf to the pot and season with salt, pepper and Old Bay. Sauté until onions and celery soften, about 5 minutes.
3. Add flour to pot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and milk and bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until soup thickens slightly, about 5-10 minutes.
4. Add corn and crab meat and simmer soup for another 5 minutes.
5. Remove bay leaf before serving. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with hot sauce, a squeeze of lemon and sliced scallions.

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Heart Bonbons with White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

Since the start of the New Year I've been on a pretty mean health kick. My body needed a break from all the holiday sweets so I've been eating lean and green and sweating it out in the gym nearly every day. Not too shabby, right? But with Valentine's Day around the corner that's kind of gone out the window because I've had a bad case of chocolate brain the last couple of days. I'm not even all that crazy about chocolate, but yesterday I somehow found myself in the candy aisle at Target holding two giant bags of the stuff (Dove Hearts and Hershey Kisses, thank you), completely unable to resist the pretty pink and red foil wrapped beauties. Once I got home I experienced some serious buyer's remorse and sent the majority of them packing off to John's office and safe from my clutches...

Naturally I just had to make something heart shaped and pretty and chocolatey myself. It's been quite awhile since I've broken out my ice cream maker, I kind of missed it. So I thought:

ice cream+chocolate+hearts=  Heart Shaped Chocolate Bon Bons!

I made these over the course of two days: the white chocolate raspberry swirl ice cream and the raspberry sauce were prepared the night before to ensure proper freezing, and I melted the chocolate and assembled the bonbons the following morning. It got a little messy, I'm not going to lie. But what do you expect when dealing with dipping things in melted chocolate? I'm not kidding when I say that this recipe is a true labor of love...the steps definitely require some patience, but that's what makes it all the more fitting as a special Valentine's Day treat for your loved ones.

makes about 18 bon bons
Ingredients
for the raspberry sauce:
1 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. water

for the white chocolate raspberry swirl  ice cream:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
4 oz. white chocolate
1/4 cup raspberry sauce

for the chocolate shell:
12 ounces dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. heavy cream

Special Equipment: heart shaped candy molds (or silicone ice cube trays, which is what I used)

Instructions
1. To make the raspberry coulis, bring raspberries, sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sugar has dissolved, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool and transfer to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth, then pass through a mesh strainer pressing with a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible Discard seeds and set sauce aside for later use.

2. To make the ice cream heat the milk in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles begin to appear around the edges of the pan. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt together in a separate bowl until mixture turns thick and pale yellow. Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolks, continuing to whisk, then place the entire mixture back into the saucepan. Simmer over medium low heat, stirring constantly until custard thickens and temperature reaches about 170 degrees.

3. Place white chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot custard through a mesh strainer over the white chocolate chips. Let stand for a few minutes, then stir until the white chocolate has completely melted. Add vanilla extract and place over an ice bath to chill the custard to room temperature. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

4. When the ice cream has frozen transfer it to an airtight container, layering the scoops with spoonfuls of the raspberry sauce and swirling it throughout the ice cream. Fill candy molds or ice cream trays with ice cream, cover and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour.

5. To assemble the bonbons, melt the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove bowl from pan, stir in butter and heavy cream and let sit for about 20 minutes, until chocolate is cool but still melted. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and place in the freezer.

 6. Working quickly, remove one heart shaped mound of ice cream from the mold, (leaving the others in the freezer) and dip it into the melted chocolate, using a spoon or your fingers to quickly coat the ice cream in the chocolate. Transfer to the baking sheet in the freezer. Repeat this process until all the bonbons have been dipped in chocolate, then freeze for at least 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm. If the chocolate begins to harden simply reheat and allow to cool slightly once more before continuing. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

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Root Vegetable Gratin

I have a little crush on gratins. I love all the pretty layers. I love the savory scent of them baking in the oven. I love saying gratin in a fancy French accent. And I looooove stuffing my face with them, obvsies. But I think what I love most about any sort of gratin is that it turns a side dish from an afterthought into something quite special. 

Sure, anyone could just steam up some green beans willy nilly or chuck some potatoes into the oven to serve alongside their main course, but taking the effort to whip up a gratin always shows that extra bit of attention in the finished product, instantly taking your meal from meh to marvelous...

Just look at the gorgeous ombre layers in this Root Vegetable Gratin- it's like sunset. On a plate. Who wouldn't be impressed by that? You know what else I love about this gratin in particular? It's one of the few that I've come across that isn't a total gut bomb. The cooking liquid is mainly low-fat, low-calorie chicken or vegetable broth with a mere smidge of heavy cream added for good measure, instead of being entirely cream based as many gluttonous gratins so often are. Sigh. A judicious amount of cheese is included as well; just  a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan sprinkled on top is all you need to get that cheesy fix.

And quite possibly the best part of all- root vegetables like the sweet potato, butternut squash and rutabagas used here possess the magical quality of being SO good for you (hello fiber, antioxidants and minerals, get in my belly!) yet tasting rich and indulgent, like something you probably shouldn't be consuming in large quantities without a major repentance session on the treadmill. And that's totally crushworthy in my book.

adapted from Food & Wine
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
1 butternut squash neck (2 1/4 pounds) from a large butternut squash, peeled
1 medium rutabaga (2 pounds), peeled and halved lengthwise
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan
*Special Equipment: Mandoline

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice the potatoes and squash lengthwise 1/8 inch thick with a mandoline. Slice the rutabaga crosswise 1/8 inch thick.
2. Spray an 8x12 baking dish with cooking spray. Begin to layer the strips of vegetables as follows, making sure to season each layer: first spread half of the potatoes on the bottom layer, overlapping them slightly. Proceed with half of the rutabaga, then the squash, also overlapping. Repeat until al of the vegetables have been used. Pour the broth over and around the vegetables.
3. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the vegetables are almost tender when pierced.
4. Remove the foil and pour the cream over the gratin. Bake for about 30 minutes longer, until the liquid has reduced and thickened.
5. Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle parmesan over the gratin and broil 3 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, or until cheese begins to melt. Let the gratin stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

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Profiteroles

I'm going to tell you a little secret. When it comes to my weekly meal delivery service, sometimes I will offer certain dishes on my rotating menu with the hidden agenda of making a little extra for myself, because it's something I'm personally craving. Is that bad? I don't think so.

As a personal chef I take pride in offering food that I would (and do) eat myself, because I don't really see the integrity in doing it any other way...I enjoy being able to present food to my clients that I am excited about, and I love being able to say with absolute confidence, "It's so delicious! When you're finished you're going to wish you had more!" And how would I be able to say that if I hadn't tried it?

Most of the time the food I'm excited about is colorful and vibrant; chock full of fresh, seasonal produce and energizing nutrients to fuel the body. But I'm only human, you see, prone to temptation just like everyone else. And sometimes what I want is a sugary, creamy, chocolatey dessert that's not even slightly good for you in the least bit.

Enter profiteroles, a classic French pastry made out of a dough known as choux which is hollow on the inside (and light as a cloud), filled with vanilla bean pastry cream and topped with rich chocolate ganache. Sinful, yes, but dainty enough to enjoy one or two without inducing too much guilt. I shipped most of these beauties off to clients, but kept a few for myself to take home, photograph and then promptly devour over the kitchen sink. Not so dainty of me, I know.

makes about 12 profiteroles
Ingredients
for the choux pastry:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup water
2 eggs, beaten, plus 1 egg, beaten separately (for egg wash)

for the vanilla pastry cream:
1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp. sugar, plus 1 tbsp. sugar
1 egg yolk
1 egg
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. butter
1 vanilla bean pod, split and seeds removed

for the chocolate ganache:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. butter

Instructions
1. Make the pastry cream. In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, being careful not to scald. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
2. Whisk together the egg yolk and egg in a bowl. Add the remaining tablespoon of sugar and cornstarch, whisking until smooth. Gradually add milk in a thin stream, whisking constantly.
3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and add vanilla beans and pod. Cook over low heat, stirring often until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Take care not to let the eggs curdle. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Remove vanilla pod, transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.
4. Make the choux. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and set aside.
 5. Add the butter and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly add the flour mixture. Return to heat and stir constantly until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the pan- this should only take about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. Transfer the dough to an electric mixer and beat on low speed for a couple of minutes to release the steam from the dough. Add the 2 beaten eggs and continue to mix until the dough is smooth and shiny.
7. Spoon or pipe 12 mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spaced a couple of inches apart. Smooth the top of each mound by lightly tapping with a wet fingertip. Gently brush the remaining beaten egg  on the tops of the dough with a pastry brush.
8.  Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking for an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until the shells are golden. Turn the oven off and open the oven door slightly for about 10 minutes to let the shells dry out a bit more. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Make the chocolate ganache. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized heat proof bowl and set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth.
10. To assemble the profiteroles, slice the tops off of each pastry shell, fill with pastry cream and replace the top. Drizzle with warm chocolate ganache. Serve immediately.

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Brown Butter & Sea Salt Muffins

I'm a sucker for any sort of browned butter situation. If I'm out at a restaurant and I see brown butter anything on the menu, no need to continue browsing. I will have that, please. There's just something about taking an already perfect ingredient such as butter and transforming it into a totally different (yet equally perfect) entity that gets me every time. 

I think I also enjoy the languid, meditative process involved in making browned butter. So often I will whiz through my cooking lickety-split, balancing four or five different tasks at once in order to maximize efficiency. But browned butter forces you to slow down, because if you have too much going on I can promise that you will forget all about that little pot of butter melting away quietly in the background, and all of a sudden- poof! In a split second you're left with blackened, burned, ruined butter. So I take comfort in the fact that as long as you stay close by, practice a little patience and give it the occasional stir it will result in fragrant, nutty caramelized, buttery goodness every single time.

One of my favorite brown butter desserts is a tart with fresh fruit that I've made countless times, but this time I was in the mood for something of an individually sized nature. I decided to whip up a batch of muffins with brown butter, walnuts and a touch of Maldon Sea Salt- another ingredient that has me completely enamored, but I'll save my sea salt sonnet for another time. I added it to the batter of course, but also sprinkled a little on top of each muffin, and guys. Let me tell you, I went crazy for those little muffin tops! The brown butter flavor just explodes out of the top thanks to those delicate, crunchy flakes of salt.

Clearly there's already a sufficient amount of butter in these muffins so I opted to spread mine just with a simple dollop of fresh mixed berry jam. Personally I think that's all they need, but hey, if you want to add a smear of butter to your muffin, go crazy. No judgement.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Maldon sea salt, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a regular sized muffin tin with liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to brown. Remove from heat.
3. Combine flour, baking powder and sea salt in a bowl. Strain brown butter into a separate bowl and add sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Whisk to combine, then add dry ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Fold in walnuts, then divide evenly among muffin cups and garnish the tops with additional sea salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool slightly before serving.

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Black Bean Soup with Avocado Crema

When the craving for Mexican food hits, it hits hard. It's not something that is easily ignored, nor is it something that I can feel great about eating, but I do it anyway because I know the craving won't subside until I give in. The other day after a long hike with John left us feeling ravenous and quite deserving of something yummy, we bit the bullet. We binged on baskets of warm tortilla chips, a super-sized guacamole and like, three refills of the free black bean and corn salsa at Carlitos, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Santa Barbara. It was all well and good until our fajitas arrived and we were so stuffed we could hardly make a dent in it. Tragic.

Although we were more than happy to take home the heaps of leftovers (including the chips and salsa that we didn't manage to inhale), it got me thinking that the next time I felt a Mexican craving coming on a lighter situation was in order. This black bean soup is just that, with all the flavors I could want but  minus the food coma afterwards. It's rich in fiber and protein, and the smooth consistency makes it easy to digest. I also opted to substitute traditional sour cream with Greek yogurt, which is something I always do when making Mexican at home. It cuts on fat and calories, and I promise you will hardly notice the difference. Finish it off with a zesty avocado crema and a dollop of fresh pico de gallo. It makes the dish more so much more fun, like a little fiesta for your mouth.

makes about 6 servings
Ingredients
for the soup:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 bay leaf
2 14 oz. cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup Greek yogurt

for the avocado crema:
1/2 of a ripe avocado, mashed
1/4 cup Greek Yogurt
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1 tsp. lime juice
pinch of salt

Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add garlic, carrots and scallions and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots begin to soften (about 5 minutes).
2. Add broth, cumin, bay leaf and black beans to pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and puree soup using an immersion blender until smooth.
3. Season with salt and pepper and add Greek yogurt, stirring until fully combined.
4. To make the avocado crema, combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
5. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with avocado crema and pico de gallo, if desired.

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