Cooking Basics: Soup Base

I didn't think I'd be back to the Cooking Basics series so quickly, but we made soup tonight, and so I thought I might as well share!

(Especially since Husband is busy with school stuff and I'm bored.  And there's only so much Les Miserables reading you can do before you start getting overwhelmed.  Have you seen that book?  Nearly a thousand pages!  This parenthetical is really getting long, right?)

Tonight's soup is a Vegetable Chowder.  Super fitting for a light but filling meal.  And even though soup often feels like a winter deal, I like a light vegetable soup for summer, too!  Especially paired with some grilled meats or a fresh salad.

So, here's how a standard soup base goes.  You ready?  I'm ready.

First, start out with your mirepoix.  That's just a fancy French word for your chopped base vegetables, celery, carrot, and onion.  These vegetables provide a good base flavor for everything else you'll add to your soup pot.  So you start with a good sized glug of fat (I usually go with olive oil, but sometimes, when I want to get crazy, I'll add a touch of bacon grease!  Mmm.)  Make sure to salt and pepper at each step!

But since this is a veggie chowder, we're going to need more veggies than your simple mirepoix.  I also chopped up some broccoli and zucchini.  The broccoli went in first, since it's a tougher vegetable, followed by the zucchini a minute or two later, since it is soft and will cook faster than the other veggies.  Again with a little salt and pepper.

Next up, add the flavor!  Herbs and spices and garlic all up in.  I added a few minced garlic cloves, along with some red pepper flakes and thyme leaves.  These herbs and spices will carry a lot of your soup flavor, so don't be too gentle with them!  It's nice to add the herbs and spices and let them saute with the veggies for 30 seconds to a minute.  Everything gets the high heat of the pan to bloom and develop, but a short saute means you won't burn those precious flavors.

Now, add your liquid! Usually, this is some kind of stock or broth.  I almost always have chicken stock on hand.  Remember when I showed you how to do a crock pot chicken stock?  You can make pretty much any flavored stock with this same method.  A fish stock?  Use fish bones!  A beef stock?  Use beef bones!  A shrimp stock?  Use shrimp peels!  You get the picture.  When you're in a pinch, you can use water.  Though the extra flavor of a stock is really nice.  Bring your soup to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.  All the flavors will meld, and your herbs, spices, and veggies will make that broth/water delicious!

But first!  If you want a starch, add it now, before the veggies are completely cooked through.  And by starch, I mean potatoes, pasta, or even beans.  You want to give them plenty of time to soften and soak up flavor, too!  This is where timing comes in to play.  If you're cooking with beans or lentils, those can take upwards of an hour to cook.  If that's the case, you'll want to wait to add your soft veggies (such as broccoli or zucchini) til the beans are mostly cooked through. If you're using small-chopped potatoes or pasta, those take 10-20 minutes, and they can be added after the soft veggies.

Once your veggies (and starch) are all softened, you have a delicious and flavorful soup!  Go you!

BUT, we're not necessarily done.  Oh no.

Want a cream soup?  Of course you do, they're delicious.  Add the cream or milk mixture.  Then continue to let your soup cook for another couple of minutes for the cream to get fully incorporated.

This is also where you can add any cheese or pre-cooked meats or frozen veggies like peas or corn.  You just need to warm those things through, and it will only take a minute or two in that hot, hot soup.  But wait!  If you want a blended soup, do that BEFORE you add the meat.  That's very important.

Lastly, don't forget the toppings.  Have you ever noticed that the toppings MAKE the soup?  Add a little green onion or bacon.  Add some grated cheese.  Add some crispy tortillas or pre-cooked, warmed meat.  Add some fresh parsley or cilantro.  This really is the fun part!

And that's it!  You're all prepared to make a delicious soup.  Any flavor you want!

And here's my vegetable chowder.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Serves 4-6

2 Tbs. olive oil (or bacon grease)

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 carrots, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup broccoli florets

1 zucchini, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

4 cups chicken broth

1-2 potatoes, diced

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1/3 cup grated Parmesan

salt and pepper

optional, shredded cheddar, green onion, and/or bacon for topping

Heat a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the olive oil, then add celery, carrot, and onion.  Season with salt and pepper, and saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add broccoli florets and saute 1-2 minutes longer.  Then stir in the zucchini.  Salt and pepper well.  Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and thyme, and saute for 30 seconds.

Pour in the chicken broth, and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add the potato, lower heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.

Stir in the half and half, and allow to incorporate for a minute.  At this point, you can use a blender or immersion blender to blend soup, if desired.  I like to use my immersion blender, and go about half way, so there are still some vegetable chunks.  Then stir in the cheeses until melted through.

Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with toppings of your choice.  Enjoy!

We ate this with shrimp grilled over bacon grease.  Oh yes we did.

Cooking Basics: Simple Cheese Sauce

Hey readers!  Lacy and I were talking about what to cook for dinner, and Lacy mentioned that she doesn't make pasta because canned sauces don't taste great (I agree) and she doesn't know how to make a homemade sauce or what recipes are good.  I, on the other hand, love to make homemade sauces!  Pasta is one of my favorites for a really simple dinner.  It's a fallback of mine when I don't have anything else in the house.  Because all you need for a pasta sauce is a few pantry staples.

So, Lacy suggested that I start a "Cooking Basics" series on this here blog.  So you, my fellow readers, can also make delicious pasta a weeknight simple meal!  But let's not stop at pasta sauces.  I'm hoping to also include a soup base, basic desserts, meats (I'll probably get husband on board for that one), etc.  If you have any requests, let me know!

First up?  Cheese sauces!

I'm going with a Parmesan cheese sauce (very similar to Alfredo sauce).

The first step to a basic cheese sauce is to make a roux.  Not La Roux, but a roux.  (But Bulletproof is a super great song, though.  And now I'll listen to that while I finish this post.)

A roux is equal parts of flour and fat mixed together.  The best things to use are all purpose flour and butter, but I have used olive oil as my fat in the past, and that has worked fairly well.  Using any other flour or fat?  I make no guarantees.  But try if it you'd like!

Get the butter beginning to melt in a deep skillet or pot over medium heat, then pour your flour right on top.  Use a fork or whisk to combine the two, (I often have to tilt my pan to keep the melting butter in the same corner as the flour) and let them cook together for a short minute to let the flour taste cook out.

Next step, add your milk or cream.  An all cream dish will be rather heavy (but incredibly delicious, of course) whereas an all milk dish will be lighter, thinner, and won't quite cling to the pasta in the same way.  If you're trying to save calories, go ahead with all milk, but you may need to up the flour amount in your roux, or add additional cheese to add some body to the sauce.

Another calorie saving trick I like is to use all milk, but add a good dollop of cream cheese.  It adds creaminess without all the calories of heavy cream.

In this recipe, I went with half heavy cream, and half 1% milk.  Feel free to use whatever milk or cream combination you have on hand.  Whisk the milk into your roux so that no roux chunks remain and everything is smooth.  If you want to add some spices or herbs, here's the place to do it.  I added a clove of garlic, a touch of nutmeg, and pepper.  Hold off on the salt since cheese, especially Parmesan, can be salty.

Once your roux and milk have cooked together and thickened up, add the grated cheese.  I went with a Parmesan, and for dense cheeses like Parmesan (or Asiago, Mizithra, etc.) you'll want to do about half as much cheese as you did milk (example, 1 cup of milk to 1/2 cup cheese).  For softer cheeses such as cheddar, Gruyere, etc., the ratio is closer to 1 part to 1 part.  For example, when you make cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese, you're usually using softer cheese like cheddar.  Then you'd have about a cup of grated cheddar to a cup of milk.

Whisk the sauce with the cheese until your cheese has completely melted in.  And there you go!  You've made a cheese sauce!

A Parmesan cheese sauce differs only slightly from an Alfredo sauce in that an Alfredo sauce typically does not contain a roux.  It's simply straight cream mixed with Parmesan cheese and garlic.  So, if you're reading between the lines, that means this Parmesan cream sauce tastes nearly exactly like Alfredo, but with less fat.  AND if you go the milk and cream cheese route I mentioned earlier, that's even less calories.  You're welcome.

To serve this pasta, we went with a fettuccine pasta, and ribboned up and sauted some carrots.

Isn't that a cool way to prepare pasta?  I first saw the idea over at TheKitchn, via The Forest Feast, and fell in love.  The ribboned carrots add a nice sweetness and crunch and color.

Both Husband and I are very on board with this sauce and pasta preparation.

You should get on board, too!

Parmesan Cream Sauce over Ribboned Carrots and Fettuccine

Serves 2

3 carrots, peeled

4 oz fettuccine

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. flour

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. heavy cream

1 garlic clove, minced

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 c. grated Parmesan

salt to taste

Use vegetable peeler to peel carrots into ribbon.  Set a deep skillet over medium heat.  Add a glug of olive oil, and saute carrot ribbons for 2 to 3 minutes until just softened.  Season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat. Set aside carrots on a separate plate.

Bring a pot of water to boil, salt the water well, and add in the fettuccine pasta.

In the same deep skillet you used for the carrots, over medium heat, add the butter and flour, and mix together with a fork to create a roux (or a paste).  Allow to cook for 30 seconds to a minute.  Pour in the milk and cream slowly, whisking as you go to combine the roux with the liquid evenly. Add the garlic, nutmeg and pepper.  Let cook for 3-5 minutes until slightly thickened.  Add the cheese and whisk well til the cheese is melted through.  Taste, and add salt if necessary.

By this time, your fettuccine should be just al dente.  Drain, and add the noodles to your sauce, allowing to cook for another minute.  Add in your reserved carrots, and combine well with sauce and noodles.  Serve with a little fresh Parmesan right on top!

And remember to submit your ideas for any cooking basics you want to learn!

Goat Cheese Marinara and Veggie Spaghetti

Or Spring Spaghetti, if you will.

 Except that it's now June, and totally approaching onto summer months.  Thankfully, I think this pasta is very fitting for summer, too!

And listen, I know that pasta dish isn't the prettiest thing you will have ever seen.  I'm still mastering the whole "taking expert photos of food on my phone in really crappy dim kitchen lighting" thing.  Also, does creamy pasta ever photograph well?  Don't answer that.

But look at these pretty vegetable pictures!

Those ears of corn up there were the first ones of the season.  I saw them at the store and got so excited, I nearly squealed.  And then I sent husband an overly excited text shouting about fresh corn and cantaloupe.  When I got home later, he was like, oooohhhh, fresh ears of corn!  That makes more sense.  When I was like, excuse me? he explained that he thought I was getting excited about fresh frozen corn or some crap like that.  Who does he think I am?

Clearly he has learned nothing about me.  I care nothing for frozen vegetables.  Fresh on the other hand?  Fresh, I will get overly-excited about it.

Can you even believe the Farmer's Market will open in Salt Lake this weekend?!  It's like my birthday and Christmas combined.

But oh right, this pasta.  This creamy and fresh tasting spaghetti.

The goat cheese is what gives the sauce it's creaminess.  I'm not sure that's actually any healthier than a big glug of heavy cream, but I like to think it is.  Plus, so much more tangy flavor!

And in case you're wondering, I took a short cut and didn't make my own tomato sauce.  But when you have something as flip-your-lid good as this stuff?:

You won't want to make your own either.  Seriously, this Silver Palate San Marzano marinara is killer.  Like Grim Reaper proportions of killer.  You'll pay a bit of a pretty penny to obtain it.  But it's worth it. And if you're only feeding two, like me, it goes a really long way.  Try it at least once.

Goat Cheese Marinara and Veggie Spaghetti

Serves 2

1 corn cob

4 oz. spaghetti

5 stalks asparagus

1/4 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 oz. goat cheese

1/2 c.  marinara sauce

olive oil

salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Prep your corn by peeling back the husk (but don't remove) and removing the silk.  Rub olive oil on the corn ear and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Return husk over corn, and place in the oven directly on the rack.  Allow to bake for 15-20 minutes, turning once, or until the corn is soft.  (Alternately, this can be done on an outdoor grill.  Or use frozen corn!  Heaven knows I have a bag in the freezer at all times for these situations.)  When corn is finished, remove the husk and cut the kernels off the ear.  Set kernels aside.

Meanwhile, while corn bakes, bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it well, and add the spaghetti.

Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces.  Bring a shallow pot (or deep skillet) of water to boil (about one inch of water), salt the water, and allow the asparagus to par-boil for 3-5 minutes until just softened.  Drain and set aside.

Just about now, your spaghetti ought to be just al dente.  Drain, reserving some pasta water.

Wipe out your shallow pot/deep skillet, and put over medium heat.  Add a glug of olive oil and your chopped onion.  Season with salt and pepper and allow to soften and become transparent, a couple of minutes.  Then add your garlic and saute for 30 seconds.  Add goat cheese and a tablespoon or two of pasta water.  Melt the cheese into the pasta water to form a creamy sauce.  Then stir in the marinara, and mix well.  Add the corn, asparagus, and cooked pasta, mixing together  (I like to use tongs).  Let cook together for a few minutes so the pasta soaks up some of the sauce and everything warms through.  If the sauce gets too thick, you can add another dash or two of pasta water.

Transfer to plates, top with a little extra goat cheese, and serve!  With some lovely toasted crusty bread, because that would be amazing.

Fresh Apple Muffins with a Twist

I'm a big fan of apples, so when I saw The Amateur Gourmet's post on raw apple muffins, I was intrigued.  In my mind, I didn't think that a thousand apples pieces and only a little muffin batter would hold up as something delicious.

But I also saw a lot of variation possibilities with this recipe, so I went for it.

And vary it up, I did!  Partly because I enjoy experimenting, and partly because I didn't feel like going to the store for extra supplies.  Laziness can certainly spur on creativity (though I'm sure a lot of people might argue that with me.)

Also, I just really like rubbing things into sugar.  So I decided to make up some rosemary sugar to throw on those chopped apples.  It's like Christmas!
I mean, it looks like Christmas.  It tastes a bit more like an earthy but light autumn-time treat.

Sub in some apricots for raisins and toasted hazelnuts for walnuts, and we're in business!

A flavor party in my mouth.  I'm one of those people that gets bored by eating the same things over and over.  Sometimes I even get bored within one meal if the meal is too one-note.

These, my friend, are not one note.  Party. in. your. mouth.

So many flavors that you will never get bored.  Promise.

Fresh Apples Muffins
Yield, 12-18 muffins (depending on how much you fill the tin)
Inspired by Marion Cunningham's recipe, via The Amateur Gourmet

4 apples
3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. roasted hazelnuts, chopped
1 c. dried apricots, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and grease 18 muffin tins.

In a small bowl, rub sugar and rosemary together for about a minute until the mixture gets really fragrant.  Set aside.  Core the apples, and chop into a small dice.  (Note: I used two gala and two granny smith apples, unpeeled.  Feel free to use your favorite apple, and peel them if you want!)  Mix the apples and rosemary sugar together, and set aside to meld the flavors.

Whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla until well blended.  Sprinkle the flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt over the wet mixture, and then mix well to incorporate. Pour the batter over the apples and mix well with a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or your hands. (Alternately, the original recipe calls for the wet mixture to be mixed with the apple, and then the dry part to be mixed  and sprinkled over after.  I didn't do this because... I didn't read the recipe thoroughly.  Either way works!)

Sprinkle the chopped apricots and hazelnuts over the apple batter, and give it another mix to incorporate.  Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

They are amazing served warm out of the oven.  To store, I kept mine in an air-tight container in the fridge, and they were also delicious cold right out of the fridge.

These can be frozen if you can't eat that many muffins right away!  I froze half of mine, and they were just as good after a thaw in the fridge.

Happy Apple Baking!

Non-Tea Chai-Spiced Coconut Ice Cream

Okay, so this one IS a recipe post.  An ice cream recipe post, to be exact.  And I know this doesn't always apply to a lot of people, because not everyone owns an ice cream machine.  But it is worth the purchase, I promise you.  There's nothing quite like eating ice cream that you made yourself.  And you can make it EXACTLY how you want it--all of your own desired flavors.  It's so. much. fun.

I once made a thin mint ice cream.  It was exactly as delicious as you'd imagine.

And I'm envisioning a s'mores ice cream... The recipe idea hasn't quite been perfected yet, but you'll be the first to know.  Of course.

I'm a non-tea drinker.  Partly because it's against my religion, but in larger part due to the fact that I think most teas, even the ones we Mormons CAN drink, taste like watered down herbs.  If I'm in the mood, that can work.  But I'm rarely in that mood.

That being said, I once had a sip of a chai tea (a kind that we are asked not to drink), and I about died because, of course, it was delicious.  I tried to make spiced milk that tasted like chai tea soon after that experience, but I think I hadn't quite mastered the art of a steamer and it came out terrible.

But!  I'm better at cooking now.  And I found this recipe for chai coconut ice cream, and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  And so!  I made my own version that was non-tea.

Bonus:  my version is also lower fat and lower sugar.  You're welcome!  Although, I did change the sugar content a little bit.  The original recipe called for all honey, and I used some honey and some brown sugar, because honey can get expensive when you're just throwing cups at a time into recipes.  And I'm into saving money.

Non-Tea Chai-Spiced Coconut Ice Cream
About a quart (we got about 10-12 servings)
Adapted from Cookie and Katie

1 can full fat coconut milk
1 can lite coconut milk
1/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. honey
1/3 c. plus 1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix together all ingredients in a large pot.  Warm it over medium heat on the stovetop, and whisk vigorously until all spices are incorporated, sugar and honey is dissolved, and any solid coconut cream is completely melted into the mixture.

Pour into a bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes.   Be sure to taste it at this point and make any adjustments you like, whether you want to taste more spice, or make it a little sweeter.  Refrigerate the mixture until completely cooled through, usually at least an hour or two.

Whisk the cooled mixture, and pour into your ice cream maker.  Follow the directions of your ice cream maker accordingly.  Once frozen through, transfer into a tupperware and keep in the freezer for the ice cream to set up further.

We served this alongside some coconut butter cookies, and that was incredible.  I'd also recommend mixing in some crumbled ginger cookies, if you like a good crunch in your ice cream.
Husband said he thinks this should be served over a brownie, but I think that's just because, for him, a dessert isn't a dessert without chocolate.

Enjoy!

Smoky Cheddar and Green Onion Biscuits

Happy Monday, lovelies.

I've brought you lovely cheesy carbs for the first day of this week.

I'd ordered a pizza stone from my awesome Pampered Chef neighbor clear back in January after making some naan, and finding out how necessary the stone is.

And then I promptly forgot.

But I ran into that neighbor over the weekend, and we finally exchanged money for stone!

And then, on Sunday, with buttermilk, and cheddar, and green onions floating around in my fridge,

and visions of this recipe floating around in my head,

and hopes and dreams of breaking in my pizza stone,

Husband and I busted out the biscuits.

And I made them heart shaped for you!

 But not because I'm actually that cute.

It's because a heart is literally the only cookie cutter shape I have.

 (Ignore the top right guy.  He's just all the leftover dough mashed together.)

Maybe I should get a new cookie cutter shape.

Cheddar and Green Onion Biscuits

(as adapted from Smitten Kitchen here)

Yields approx. 16-18 biscuits (depending on cutter size!  Your yield could be smaller)

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

2 tsp. sugar

1 Tbs. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika*

9 Tbs. chilled butter, cut into chunks

3/4 c. buttermilk

2 green onions, chopped

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever looks right to you!)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix together flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and paprika in large bowl.  Add butter, and using fingers (or a pastry blender if you're fancy), incorporate butter into dry mix.  You're done incorporating when the mixture looks a bit like coarse meal.

Add buttermilk, and stir together until it turns into a rough dough.  Add chopped green onion and the cheddar, and use your hands to mix everything together well.

Transfer the dough onto a nice floured surface, and pat it out until you have an approximately even  1/2 or 3/4 inch tall dough.  Cut out your biscuits with whatever shape your heart desires.  Even a nice tall glass would work!  Be sure to push your cutter straight down for nice flaky edges.

(Alternately, you can just grab 1/4 c. size fistfuls of dough and shape them into rough circles, for drop biscuits that look like that odd guy out up there.)

Transfer biscuits to your pizza stone (I greased mine, since it's brand new and can still stick!), or to a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet.  Give them some space to grow!  Bake until golden brown on the tops, about 12-15 minutes.  And enjoy!  While they're still warm and the cheese is still gooey, preferably!

*P.S. A note on the paprika.  Smoky paprika is changing my life!  It's incredibly delicious and fragrant.  And it's absolutely worth a new spice purchase.  However, if you aren't willing to buy it, regular paprika is great, or just completely omit it.

Look at those layers!

This recipe made a lot more than we expected!  We put about 9 or so cut biscuits into a ziploc and they're in the freezer, just waiting to be baked.  Yum.  Bake them up according to the same instructions above.  You can put them in the oven still frozen; just give them a few extra minutes of baking time.

Seared Chicken with Mushroom Gravy

Need a yummy and comforting dinner plan for tonight?  Husband and I were hungry this past Sunday, and since we don't shop on Sundays, we had to work with what we had on hand.  Because he likes to cook meats, and because I like to cook up things like sauces, this is what we made.

If you keep chicken, mushrooms, and rice on hand, you are set to make this dinner right away!  I mean, you also need to have milk and flour.  And spices.  And maybe some chicken stock (but not necessarily). And olive oil...  But that's it!

Mmmm, white gravy.  Okay, I know some people don't like mushrooms.  I'm not sure I can quite understand them.  Is it the texture?  The taste?  Those happen to be two things I love about mushrooms!  They add a certain earthiness to meals, and if you can get them properly sauteed, with that rim of deep brown?  Forget about it!

We used chicken thighs.  Here's the thing about chicken thighs.  They're about 80% more flavorful than breasts, but all that flavor is coming from the considerable amount of fat in that area of the chicken (hey, chickens, they're just like us, right?  Or me, at least.)  So if you're counting calories, it might be smarter to go the breast route.  But, I'd say to be sure to pound them out flatter and season them well.  You'll need a little olive oil to cook them.

Seared Chicken with Mushroom Gravy
Serves 2-4 (depending on how hungry you are)

1 c. Rice
2 c. Chicken stock or water
6 Crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 c. Milk (I used whole)
2 T. Flour

4 Chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
Thyme
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Nutmeg

Pour chicken stock or water, and rice, into a pot and set over high heat until it comes to a boil.  Then cover and reduce heat to low.  Let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until rice absorbs liquid.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees.  Season chicken thighs well with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Sear them in a large pan over medium-high heat, about 3-5 minutes per side, until you get a nice golden crisp on the outside.  Transfer them to a baking sheet, and cook through in the oven.  It shouldn't take too long to finish them up.

Back in the pan over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons olive oil, and the mushrooms.  (You may need to cook them in two batches.  Be sure not to overcrowd the pan, or else the mushrooms will steam rather than saute.)  Season well with salt and pepper, and saute until the edges are golden brown. While you saute, if the mushrooms drink up all the olive oil and look dry, drizzle a bit more over the top and keep cooking.  Once browned, put half the mushrooms on a plate, and keep the other half in the pan.

Scoot the mushrooms to the side of the pan, and on the other side (tilt pan a little if necessary), add a tablespoon of oil and the flour.  Combine with a fork until a paste is formed and cook for about 30 seconds.  Pour in the milk slowly and mix to combine.  Add a pinch of nutmeg, and a bit more salt.  Let milk come to a simmer and thicken up to a good gravy consistency.  This should take just 3-5 minutes of cooking.*

Now you're ready to assemble!  We like bowls in our house.  Put a serving of rice in the bottom, your seared chicken on top, and spoon the gravy over top.  Finish with the reserved sauteed mushrooms and a crack of pepper.  I'd also suggest a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley if you have it!

*If milk does not thicken, you can use a cornstarch slurry.  Mix 1 T. corn starch well with 1/4 cup cold water; pour a spoonful into gravy and let cook for a minute.  If it doesn't begin to thicken,  add just a bit more.  You don't want to pour it all in at once or it will turn into a thick gloopy mess!

Almond Chocolate Kringle

You. guys.

I just... I can't even explain the beauty of kringles.  And the magic (and danger) of finally learning how to make laminated dough pastries.   I can make my own croissants!  Croissaaaaaaants.

And kringle.  You can learn all about kringle from Joe Pastry right here.  He has quickly become my favorite baking intellectual and among the top of my list for food bloggers.  His blog is smart.  He just spells out the WHYS of baking and pastry making.  Why you have to knead and roll, how to do it, which way to turn the dough.  He's brilliant.

Alright, so clearly, my pastry is not as beautiful as Joe's. But the flavor is buttery and rich, and the texture is crisp and flaky.  I never knew I could do this in my home kitchen.

The dough is pretty standard.  You've got your milk and yeast; flour, eggs, sugar, and salt.  Make it into a good dough ball (not like that shaggy mess above.  That's only halfway done.)

Ooh, but the fun part comes with the butter.  See the picture above on the bottom right?  That.  is butter and flour, pounded together with a rolling pin.  You take all your aggression out til your butter is a near play-dough consistency from the flour being incorporated.

And THEN you fold the giant butter pat into your dough.

Isn't that cool?  That right there, plus a whole lot of rolling and folding to follow, is how your croissants and flaky pastries get so flaky!  I love the chemistry and science of the kitchen.

Joe fills his kringle with a raisin filling, but in this house, we're more of a chocolate family.  But you can't put straight chocolate into a pastry that needs to be baked so long!  It'll seize up.  So that creamy layer you see?  That's an almond cream.  And I topped that with mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.  It was the perfect combination for our tastes.

Joe also tops his kringle with sliced almonds, which is beautiful.  But we didn't have them.  So the first time around, I went with a simple streudel.

Look at this crisp, flaky, almond-cream-filled, chocolatey beauty!

And guess what's awesome?  Joe's recipe makes enough dough for TWO kringles.  Because we so quickly finished the first kringle, I made the second a mere few days later.

And we topped the second one with a simple mixture of ground toasted almonds and walnuts.

I could eat this every. day. for the rest of my life.