Weekly Dish

Or maybe it is. What do I know? Well, I’ll tell you. I do know that three types of apples are on Sweetnicks‘ list of the top twenty most antioxidant-rich foods: Gala, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith. And I know that ever since Ina Garten’s recipe convinced me, applesauce is my very favorite thing to make with a bushel o’ apples.

Before Ina, I never even thought about making my own applesauce. I’d never had any that was homemade, and who eats applesauce besides third graders anyway? And, then my Aunt Prissy gave me The Barefoot Contessa, and my applesauce prejudices dissolved right into the casserole dish with the apples. The texture of the sauce is perfectly chunky-smooth, and the spices add just the right complexity and depth to the apple-citrus combo. Plus, with all of those apples and the juice and zest from 4 other pieces of fruit, it has to have some kind of nutritional punch, right?

Yes, okay, so it has a little butter in it. But I substitute cane syrup for most of the sugar, and I bet that honey would also work. Butter and sugar aside, applesauce still contains all of the vitamin-y goodness of the fruit it’s made of. This batch made a lovely side to go with our roast chicken last night, and it will be the perfect, antioxidant-rich snack for at least another week. Besides, doesn’t it look pretty in the little mini-goblet my mom got me for Christmas?

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Broccoli has never been one of my favorite foods. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure I really ate much broccoli until I was in my twenties (unless you count the kind that comes in a casserole dish smothered with cream of mushroom soup and cheese).

In the first six months we were married, David and I lived in a small apartment downtown in the small Mississippi suburb where I grew up. My soon-to-be sister-in-law Hannah lived just a block away, and during those months, we shared many a meal (and many a load of laundry–Hannah was the only one of us with a washer.) She made this broccoli for us one night, and I have not fixed it any other way since. I love the tangy sauce, the crunchy cashews, and the texture of the not-soggy-but-not-too-crisp broccoli. Most of all, though, I love to make it because it reminds me of the delight of being within walking (and meal-sharing) distance of one of my favorite people (she and David’s brother now live far, far away in Pasadena, California).

If you’re noticing a trend with my vegetable preparation, it is true that I need a bit of sauce to make the vegetables go down smoothly. But in my defense, it makes me enjoy eating them, rather than forcing them down because they’re good for me. And if I were really honest, I would tell you that I’ve not done much forcing since I’ve been cooking for myself. So the sauce is getting me to eat more vegetables, and that’s always a good thing. Right?

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So it’s no secret in my family that I am not a veggie-lover. I was a pretty picky eater as a child, turning my nose up at all sorts of good-for-you vegetables. I am doing better in my grown-up days, but my ventures into cooking veggies have been rather limited. I know what I like, so I stick with that (sweet potatoes, anyone?). But those crazy food bloggers out there have been raving about vegetables in such poetic ways that I think I’ve been entranced.

Whether convinced by Alanna, who cooks a vegetable EVERY DAY, or Stephen, who waxed eloquent about them for nearly the whole month of November, I bought some brussels sprouts at the grocery store on Monday. I already planned to serve roasted squash with the steaks we were having last night, so I thought the addition of some green could hardly hurt. If I ate them, anyway. David was skeptical. Although I don’t have any bad memories of brussels sprouts, he doesn’t like them. Or so he said. So I only bought a few, about a dozen, and decided we’d at least give them a try.

Learning to roast vegetables is one of the things that began to turn around my veggie-hating ways. Ina Garten’s simple, simple method did wonders for my veggie-cooking habits. She says: buy the freshest vegetables, toss them with olive oil and a good bit of Kosher salt and cracked pepper, and roast them at a high heat (400-450) until the outsides are crisp and browned and the insides tender. Most vegetables I enjoy eating these days come in this roasted packaging.

So I found Stephen’s recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Onions, modified it a bit based on what I had in the kitchen, and decided the little sprouts could just go into the oven after the squash had been cooking for an hour or so.

To prepare the squash, I roast two at a time, so I can serve some for dinner as a side dish and have enough leftover for soup later on. I also like to pair butternut and acorn squash, instead of using only one. Acorn squash can tend towards the watery side, and butternut squash is usually fleshier, so for a puree, they complement one another nicely. For flavoring, I like to enhance the squash’s sweetness with dark cane syrup. Cane syrup is a little like unsulphured molasses–dark and thick but without the bitter bite to it (and it’s made right here in Louisiana!). Since basalmic vinegar would go in the glaze for the brussels sprouts, I added a drizzle of it to the squash too, and used the syrup in the sprouts’ glaze in place of the brown sugar. These tricks ensure that if my squash accidentally bumps into the brussels sprouts on my plate, all will end well in my mouth. No cacophonous collisions of flavors that don’t play well together.

The steak recipe is one of my Aunt Cindi’s, from the famed Aunt’s Recipe Book. She uses flank steak, but I couldn’t find any at my grocery, so I used what my butcher labels “finger steaks” instead. I think it’s a sirloin cut, sliced into thick, finger-like portions. The cilantro pesto is quick and light and adds a nice bright flavor to the meat without adding significant fat and calories (like a cream sauce does).

See, I’m trying to be healthier? And guess what? We ate it all. And it even tasted good. The brussles sprouts needed the glaze to go down without a fight, but even David said they tasted good. Who knew?

I’ve written up the recipes in order that you have to cook them–the squash needs about an hour and a half in the oven, brussels sprouts about half an hour, and the steak cooks in under 15 minutes.

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One semester of my life as a PhD student has officially come to a close, and I could not be happier. Well, I guess if it was my last semester as a PhD student and graduation was in my near future I could, possibly, feel happier. But this semester’s end brings with it the Christmas season, which I dearly love, and the promise of visits with family and friends I have not seen in a while, whom I have missed.

And, of course now I have time to go into my cooking-baking-holiday frenzy with full gusto! No papers to distract me, no students to correspond with, no grading to do. Blissful, undistracted cooking. Here’s what I have planned: tonight, my friends from Missouri, Casey and Christy are coming over for a kind of farewell holiday dinner (we will be going our separate ways for the holiday break), and so before they head all the way up to Missouri and Illinois, where their family lives, I am cooking them a southern feast. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato pie. The weekend’s food festivities include more people I love: my girlfriends from college, Patty and Lydia, are headed down for a visit. We do have going-out plans, of course, but for their arrival on Friday, I promised to cook a meal, which you will have to wait until Monday to discover!

Before heading to Mississippi, my kitchen will be full and busy and happy, just the way I like it. My favorite part about cooking during this season is that most of the food I cook I’m making to give away or feed to someone I love. I hope to share many of those recipes with you in the coming days.

Today’s recipe comes from Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge’s scandalous but delicious cookbook Intercourses, a rice salad that would be the perfect side dish to take to a dinner party, or main course to serve for a light lunch. It is better the second day, so I like to make enough to have on hand for a quick leftovers lunch. It is very flexible too; you can serve it warm, cold, or at room temperature. I liked it best at room temp.

I hope you all are enjoying this holiday season–I’d love to know what you are cooking!

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Poor sweet potato. With so many nutrients and such a delectably sweet, creamy flavor and lovely orange color, what do we typically do to you? Whip you up with a lot of butter, sugar, and eggs, and bury you under a layer of marshmallows. What a way to treat one of nature’s sweetest vegetables.

I love sweet potatoes. Granted, I first learned to love them buried under marshmallows at family gatherings. Since I started cooking them on my own, though, I’ve tried to learn how to capture their goodness in more creative (and more health-friendly!) ways.

To begin, I’ll tell you how I cook sweet potatoes to have with dinner. Of all the ways I fix them, simply roasting them in the oven until the outside is crispy and the inside is super-creamy is my absolute favorite. I could eat mounds and mounds of these at a time. I usually cook several at one time because the cooked potato has so many different uses.

The first step is to buy good sweet potatoes. They are in season right now, and the local ones here have been fabulous. I like to buy the small or medium-sized ones (the ones in the photo above are a little bigger than I like); they cook faster and tend towards the creamy side. The really huge ones can sometimes be stringy. For dinner, I’ll roast about 4 medium-sized potatoes, cut into chunks, and then place 3 or 4 more on the cookie sheet whole, to cook at the same time and to use in other recipes.

Garlic-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Scrub the potatoes you’re planning to cook and dry with a dishcloth. Cut about 4 of them into large chunks–I slice the potatoes into thick circular sections (about 4-5 per potato) and then quarter those sections. I also like to leave the skin on to retain the earthy flavor, but you can peel them if you like. Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic per potato. Spread the cut potatoes on the cookie sheets, making sure that each piece is lying flat on the sheet (no overlapping). Drizzle with olive oil and use your hands to turn them in the oil to coat. Sprinkle liberally with Kosher salt, cracked pepper, and the minced garlic pieces. I leave some extra space to bake a few whole potatoes for other recipes later in the week. Roast the potatoes for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring and turning the cut pieces about half-way through. Check the whole potatoes; they should pierce easily with a fork. The cut potatoes should be crispy and golden. Serve as a side for any meat dish, and reserve the leftovers for other uses (recipes to follow, I promise!)

After yesterday’s beer soup and beer bread, I decided maybe I should continue using beer in my cooking. It seems rather fall-ish to do so; plus, David only buys the non-light kind, which has entirely too many calories to just drink. (As you can tell from my cooking, I like to spend my calories on what counts: food). When I started planning this menu, I thought it would be perfect because Abita, a Louisiana brewery, has just put out a beer called Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale. One dollar from every six-pack purchase will go to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, so why not support the cause by using the beer to cook with? Well, I am a little early; the beer isn’t on shelves yet. But it will be! And when it is, if you are so inclined, here’s almost a week’s worth of meals based around the brewed liquid. The Fleur-de-lis is a golden ale, and I used Abita Golden for all of these recipes; the substitution should work just fine. If you can’t get your hands on Abita, any medium-bodied golden beer will do.

These sandwiches are a cinch to throw together, and I love the combination of buttery avocado and salty, crunchy bacon. The onion rings take a little more time, and do NOT omit the rising step for the batter; it won’t puff properly in the oil if you do. I don’t make too many–they don’t keep well, and I am inclined to eat as many as I make, all in one sitting. Beware–they are addictive!

Spicy Beer-Battered Onion Rings

3 medium onions, sliced thickly

Milk

1 cup flour

1 cup beer

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1 t. chili powder

1/2 t. cumin

Canola or vegetable oil

Seasoned salt

Mix the flour, beer, and spices; let sit for at least an hour. Soak the onions in milk meanwhile. Drain the onions; dry with paper towels. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a saucepan. Dip the onions in the batter, and fry until deep golden brown. They will start to float to the top of the oil when done. Drain on paper towels and season immediately with seasoned salt.

Turkey-Avocado Clubs

Sliced turkey

1 avocado

4 slices bacon

Spinach leaves

White cheddar cheese, sliced

Spicy Beer Bread

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange 4 bread slices on a cookie sheet; top with cheese. Toast until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the bacon. Top with sliced turkey, bacon, avocado slices, and spinach leaves. Makes 2 sandwiches.

AUTUMN REVERIE

Monday, October 10, 2005

Paper Chef #11: Pecan-Crusted Cinnamon Duck with Gingered Pear-Cherry Compote and Maple Sweet Potato Grits

For this month’s Paper Chef competition (the brainchild of Owen at Tomatilla!), an internet version of television’s Iron Chef, Stephen at Stephen Cooks asked entrants to compose a dish based around 4 ingredients, centered thematically around fall, my favorite season of the year.

Fall in the South tends to come suddenly, dropping gusts of cool air at the last moment, just when we’ve given up hope that the daytime temperature will ever drop below 85. Summer lasts so long here that by the time fall finally arrives, even if it dips in and out until Christmas, I am so grateful that I spend every possible moment outdoors. One of the delights of the season in this corner of the world is that the green of summer remains long after the crisp nip in the air drains the hot, heavy humidity of summer. The vegetation in these parts still glistens with life under the more temperate autumn sun, and the combination of the charged zip in the air with the still-warm kiss of the sun puts a sparkling spring in my step and in my hopes for the days to come every single year.

Stephen’s call for autumn-inspired cuisine, had it come just a week earlier, would have found me dripping with sweat and wondering if southern Louisiana would ever cool off. Luckily, though, the seasonal drop in temperature came just in the nick of time. It was a lovely 70 degrees when David and I headed out Saturday morning for the Red Stick Market, armed with the ingredient list and our imaginations.

The required ingredients for this month’s competition are: DUCK, PEARS, GINGER, AND NUT BUTTER. I grew up in a family of hunters, so wild game appeared frequently in our meals this time of year. My dad usually cooks duck on the grill with cinnamon, and its simplicity is hard to beat. For my creation, I borrowed the cinnamon from him (which I think he might have borrowed from my Aunt Emily), and picked up a pound of pecans from Buddy Miller of Plantation Pecans, both to use for the requisite nut butter component and to add a southern flair to my preparation. Pecan-Crusted Cinnamon Duck Breasts were soon ready to be hatched.

I marinated the breasts overnight in red wine and balsamic vinegar spiced with ginger, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. I made a pecan butter from slow-roasted pecans, cinnamon,  butter, and a little maple syrup, which I lathered onto the duck. Next, I rolled the breasts in chopped pecans and dredged them in flour. To achieve a crispy brown layer on the outside while preserving the tenderness of the meaty inside, I seared the breasts in a skillet for a couple of minutes per side and then finished by roasting them in the oven.

For the sauce and presentation, I wanted to find a way to incorporate the rich autumn hues of red and orange, while using the good fat from the duck to flavor the dish. I decided on a ruby-colored sauce, which I made by simmering the pears in some of the red wine marinade, along with dried red cherries, shallots, and lots of spice. I used that mixture to deglaze the pan after the ducks were finished cooking, which resulted in a sort of rich, saucy compote. To remain true to my southern roots, I served the duck on a bed of grits, colored orange and flavored by whipping them with roasted sweet potatoes and long strands of orange zest. I finished the dish with crispy red onion strings, which served as a nice contrast, both in flavor and texture, to the sweet, soft potato grits.

So how was it? Well, it was fabulous. The combination of flavors and textures–the spiciness of the ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice; the rich buttery subtlety of the roasted pecan butter; the crispy texture of the onions and the duck’s crust; the sweetness of the pears and cherries; the savory duck itself with just a hint of wildness–left us reveling in the complexity of every bite. I have to confess–the Sweet Potato Grits were a surprise. I was fully prepared to junk the idea if it turned out to be too strange, but the mixture of the sweet potatoes and grits makes for a light and fluffy compliment to the fuller, stronger flavors in the duck and sauce. The crispy onions were just the right topping.

This is really not my method of cooking–as you who read often know, I usually try to make our meals in an hour or less; I rarely have time to spend coddling and cajoling ingredients to come together over the span of two days. I have to say, though, I loved every minute of it. It was relaxing, almost, to take my time with the food I was making (who knew?!).

David and I set a card table in our backyard, just before the sun went down, and enjoyed the last of our first autumn Sunday by savoring every bite of the delicious flavors of the season.

Here is the step-by-step recipe:

Pecan-Crusted Cinnamon Duck

4 duck breasts, skin on

Marinade:

2/3 cup red wine (I used Pinot Noir)

2 T. balsamic vinegar

2 T. maple syrup

1 cinnamon stick

8 whole cloves

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 t. fresh rosemary, chopped

1 t. minced ginger

1 t. Kosher salt

Sprinkle of cracked black pepper

Pecan Butter:

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cups pecans, roasted

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

2 T. maple syrup

Coating:

1 cup raw pecans, chopped finely

Flour as needed

Cinnamon

Ground black pepper

Kosher salt

Olive oil

1/4 cup red onion, sliced paper-thin

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a shallow baking dish. Trim any hanging fat from the duck breasts and score the skin by cutting a diamond pattern into it (be careful not to cut all the way to the meat). Add the breasts to the marinade, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Grind the roasted pecans in a food processor until very, very fine. Add cinnamon, syrup, and butter, and process until smooth. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the butter for the Sweet Potato Grits. Season the flour with cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Make an assembly line with the plate of flour, a shallow dish with the pecan butter, and a plate of the pecans. Dip each breast in flour, then butter, then in the chopped pecans, and then in flour again. Place the coated breasts on a plate and cover tightly. Refrigerate while you prepare the sweet potatoes, grits, and sauce.

 Heat a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat with a teaspoon or so of olive oil. When the skillet is hot but not smoking, fry the onions in the oil until brown and crispy. Remove; set aside. Add the breasts, and sear for about 2 minutes per side. The coating should be brown. Place the skillet in the oven, and roast the breasts for about 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees, until it slices easily but it still pink in the middle. Turn the breasts halfway through roasting.

Remove the breasts from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

Gingered Pear-Cherry Red Wine Compote

Leftover marinade

1 pear, diced

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup red wine

1/4 t. ground allspice

Zest of 1 orange

Pan juices from roasting the duck

2 shallots, minced

1 tsp. ginger, minced

Strain the solids from the marinade and discard. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and add pear, cherries, sugar, wine, allspice, and orange zest. Simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes, until the fruit is very soft. Reduce heat to low and keep warm and covered until duck is ready. Reheat the pan juices over medium; add the shallots and ginger and cook until both are tender, a few minutes. Add the fruit-wine mixture, scraping any brown bits from the bottom, and cooking and stirring until the mixture thickens. Taste for seasoning.

To serve: Place a scoop of the sweet potato-grits on each plate. Slice the breast diagonally, and arrange against the mound of grits. Pile a nest of fried onion strings on top of the grits. Top with sauce, and sprinkle with ground nuts and chopped rosemary to garnish.

Looking over the last week’s posts, it occurred to me that everything I have written about has had something to do with color: a color-coordinated salad on Monday, purple pasta on Tuesday, the green stuff on Wednesday, and yesterday’s white pizza. Anyone who knows me would tell you that bright colors are sort of an obsession. I hate to move, but when we bought our house here, one of the most exciting things was planning what colors to paint all the rooms. Yes, we (really I should say David here; all I did was pick out the colors) painted every room a different color. While I was defending my thesis in Jackson, David camped out in our empty house here in Baton Rouge and painted for four days straight, bless his heart. But it makes me so very happy to come into a brightly colored space. No offense to anyone who loves beige, but I think I might be severely depressed if all of my walls were a pallid shade of dust. So what is with the photo above then, you ask? Well, I don’t know. I should have sprinkled some paprika on the hummus, at least, to spice things up a little bit.

But don’t let the blah appearance fool you; this Greek fare is very flavorful. The spinach pie was originally meant to use up leftover spinach, but it turns out I didn’t have enough and had to cook more anyway. The onions for this recipe really need to be cooked before they go into the filling, so cooking the spinach too is no big deal. The filling comes together pretty quickly, but I will warn you, working with phyllo dough is a little bit tricky. I tend to tear it easily, but it still tastes good, so I’m not extra careful. The trick is to use it immediately, or else it starts to dry out and break. So don’t take it out of it’s wrapper until you’re ready to put it in the dish. As for the hummus, it’s one of our favorite snacks, and I like it simple. Beans, garlic, olive oil, and a little bit of lemon is all I put in mine, but it takes many flavors well, so feel free to experiment. I make it ahead of time so I can have a snack while I’m cooking. Be careful, though, it’s very filling!

Very Simple Hummus

2-4 cloves garlic, depending on how garlicky you like your hummus

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 a lemon

Kosher salt

Process the garlic cloves until they’re finely chopped in a food processor. Add the beans, olive oil, juice from the lemon, and about a half a teaspoon salt. Blend until the consistency is just a little bit chunky (check out the photo for how I like mine). Add more olive oil if you want it to be smoother. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Serve with soft pita bread.

Spinach Pie with Pine Nuts and Feta Cheese

1 yellow onion, diced

Olive oil

Any leftover Lemony Spinach

2-3 cups fresh spinach leaves (or 1 pkg. frozen spinach)

1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 egg, beaten

2 ounces feta cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Phyllo dough, about 10-12 sheets total

1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cook the onion in olive oil (about a tablespoon) until very soft. Add the uncooked spinach, chopping it with kitchen scissors as you add it to the skillet. Turn and wilt, adding more spinach as you go. Add any leftover spinach you have (you should end up with 2-3 cups of cooked spinach when all is said and done, but there’s no magic amount). Remove the spinach-onion mixture to a large bowl and add the artichoke hearts and pine nuts. Mix thoroughly and whisk in the egg.

Get out the phyllo dough and butter, along with a square or round casserole dish. Brush individual sheets with butter on both sides, and lay them in the dish. Let some hang over the edge on all sides (so you have to do some overlapping). Do this with about 6 sheets of dough. Quickly pour the filling on top of the dough. Butter 4-6 more layers for the top, and roll the sides together to seal. Brush the top with more butter so it will brown nicely. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Mom, look! Do you see all of those green things on my plate? I ate them, every one.

I used to not like vegetables. Especially green ones. There’s a semi-famous story in my family that involves me at the dinner table refusing to eat my green beans, claiming I would be sick if I did. Like all good parents would, mine did not buy that plea, and forced me to eat them anyway. And I threw up. On the table, or so the story goes. My mom still claims I willed myself to do it. Of course, this is the same woman who doesn’t believe in medication of any sort; once when my brother was home with a severe toothache, he had to take some Midol we found in my sister’s purse. It was that or whiskey.

Medication or not, I have learned to like green vegetables. Or at least some of them, if they’re cooked the right way. These two, lemony spinach and Parmesan zucchini, are pretty unobtrusive as green vegetables go, and they complement this buttery lemon catfish dish quite nicely. The catfish recipe comes from Come On In!, which I received as a wedding gift from four separate people. Obviously, it was meant to be a staple in my collection. The zucchini is Ina Garten’s, from Barefoot Contessa Family Style, and it remains one of my favorite ways to prepare this abundant vegetable. The spinach is the basis for the spinach pie filling later in the week, but it is also good by itself.

Additionally, Eileen in the wine department at Calandro’s recommended a buttery Chardonnay to accompany this meal, and as usual she was right on target. The Mark West Chardonnay from Sonoma was a perfect match for the subtle citrus and butter flavors of this meal.

Crunchy Catfish with Lemon Butter Sauce

4 thin catfish fillets

2 eggs, beaten

2 T. water

1 cup butter-flavored crackers, crushed

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 T. Greek seasoning

2 T. butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix the eggs and water in a shallow bowl. Combine the crackers, cheese, and seasoning on a plate. Dredge the fillets in the eggs and then coat with the cracker mixture. Place in a greased casserole, and drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for about 30 minutes.

For the sauce:

1/2 stick butter

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup green onions, sliced

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter over low heat; add the green onions and juice. Season to taste, and simmer for a few minutes. Serve over the fish.

–From Come On In! by the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi, 1991.

Lemony Spinach

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

3 cups fresh spinach leaves

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Saute the garlic slices in olive oil over medium heat. Add the spinach, a handful at a time, stirring until it wilts. Keep adding it until it is all wilted. Add lemon juice and season well with salt and pepper. Reserve any extra for the spinach pie later in the week; if you know you’re going to make it, you can even double this recipe and be a step ahead.

Zucchini with Parmesan Cheese

1 yellow onion, diced

2 medium zucchini, sliced and quartered

Butter and olive oil, 1 T. each

Salt and pepper

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Cook the onions in butter and oil over medium heat until the onions begin to brown. Add the zucchini slices in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. You want them to brown on both sides, which they won’t do if you put too many of them in the skillet like I did. Sprinkle with lots of Parmesan cheese when they finish cooking, and serve with more on top. Serve this meal with a nice, buttery Chardonnay, and enjoy eating your green vegetables.

–From Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten, 2002.

In the Aunt’s Recipe Book, there are two entries for Roast Chicken, one from Aunt Em and one from Aunt Prissy. Aunt Emily’s says, “Mine’s better than Prissy’s so make this one.” Aunt Prissy’s says, “Mine is much, much better than Emily’s so do use my recipe.” What’s a girl to do? When I first started cooking after I got married, I was not too fond of the idea of a whole chicken. The first time I bought one, armed with my two competing recipes, I removed the plastic packaging and sat the naked bird in the sink. I obediently followed the aunts’ instructions: “Wash chicken inside and out. Pat dry.” There was just one problem: all this gross stuff came out of the bird when I ran the water through his cavity, and I had the water on too high, so chicken juice splattered all over my face. When I set him down, it looked like he was standing in my sink looking at me. It was all too much for my delicate constitution at the time–I burst into tears and threw the bird away. I’m much braver now, but if a whole chicken intimidates you, don’t worry, you aren’t the only one.

If you can conquer your fears the first time, cooking a whole chicken is an easy way to kill two meals with one bird (pardon the pun!) The tender, roast breast meat is delicious with a bit of the pan drippings drizzled over it; I like to pair it with rice and a vegetable. These roasted carrots are crispy on the outside and sweet and soft on the inside, and the subtle flavors of the rice pilaf complement the chicken nicely without overpowering it. Once you get the chicken prepared, the rest of the meal comes together pretty quickly, but make sure the bird is good and defrosted–a frozen chicken takes a long, long time to cook all the way through, which I know from the last time we had dinner at about 10:00.

My Roast Chicken (a combination of the aunts’ techniques)

1 whole chicken

2 lemons

2 cloves of garlic

Several sprigs rosemary

Olive oil

Lemon pepper

Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the innards and neck from the chicken. Gross, I know, but just reach in there and pull them out. Like pulling off a Band-aid, the quicker you do it, the less it hurts. Wash the chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Place the bird in a roasting pan, and coat with olive oil, rubbing the oil into the skin. Pierce one lemon several times with a knife and place it, along with the garlic cloves, inside the cavity. Slice the other lemon thinly. Place the lemon slices and rosemary sprigs under the skin on top of the breasts–you might have to use a knife to separate the skin from the meat. Season the whole bird with salt and lemon pepper. Roast, breast side up, for between an hour and an hour and a half. The chicken is done when its temperature reaches 180 degrees, or when the juices run clear. Baste occasionally with the pan juices.

While the chicken is cooking, you can prepare the carrots and rice. For the carrots, I buy the package of baby carrots, and place them on a cookie sheet, whole. Toss with lots of olive oil, Kosher salt, and cracked pepper. Roast in the oven with the chicken for about 45 minutes to an hour. The carrots’ skins should shrivel and begin to crust around the edges. Then, you can take your time with the rice pilaf. I learned the technique from Sara Foster’s Rice Pilaf for All Seasons in Fresh Everyday; this one is my variation.

Minted Orange Rice Pilaf with Pine Nuts

1 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 cup pine nuts

Zest of two oranges

1 1/2 cups jasmine rice

1 cup orange juice

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup chicken broth or water

Kosher salt and cracked pepper

1 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet or saucepan. Sauté the onion and garlic until both are soft but not brown. Add the pine nuts and half the orange zest and cook until nuts are fragrant, 3-5 minutes. Add the rice, and cook while stirring for another 3-5 minutes, or until the rice is coated with the butter and oil, sliding around the pan easily. Add the liquids, and salt and pepper well. Bring the mixture to a boil; then, reduce the heat so that it’s simmering. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in half of the mint leaves. To serve, top each serving with reserved orange zest and mint leaves.

After dinner, debone the chicken and reserve the leftover meat. Even better, talk your husband into doing it (the best, of course, is if he offers, like mine does. Thanks David!) You can use it for all kinds of things…like the pizza tomorrow!