Bacon, Broccoli, Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Emmenthaler Crustless Quiche

My first repeat, which I first made on February 24. This evening’s version had leftover bacon (of course) and steamed broccoli, with the new addition of roasted red bell pepper (yum) and Emmenthaler (honestly, because it’s cheaper than Gruyère... note to self: not as flavorful). I made this at 2:00 because everyone was happily sleeping, or at least quiet in his or her room, and it seemed like my best window. Does anyone else make dinner that early? Important survival tactic, I think, if you want homemade dinner every night and are surrounded by needy small people. Made early or on time, still tasty and very satisfying. 

Flash Chicken Sauté with Cider and Almonds, Brussels Sprouts & Yukon Gold Potatoes

To encourage myself to introduce more variety into our meals, I’ve been keeping one cookbook I want to cook from more on the dining room table (along with the food dictionary, which is crucial for the inevitable food questions that arise, like what exactly is a tangelo?).

If you know me at all, you’ll understand that this is a huge personal challenge for me, because I like everything in its place, and books don’t live on the dining room table. Anyway... during meals, I flip through the chosen book as we chit chat, and together Sophia and I choose something new we’d like to try.

This is the most recent recipe selected by Sophia from The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper. I suspect she picked it because in the picture, the chicken is featured with fresh green beans. Green beans aren’t in season yet, so I instead served roasted Brussels sprouts (don’t knock ’em if you haven’t tried ’em) and roasted Yukon gold potatoes, which were delightfully crispy and perfect for soaking up extra pan sauce.

The recipe called for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but out of frugality I instead used organic boneless skinless thighs. This substitution necessitated additional cooking time, but otherwise the flavor was still excellent. The pan sauce, which you make from reduced chicken broth, cider vinegar and butter was simple yet delicious, and the final product was topped with a sprinkling of coarse chopped roasted, salted almonds. Yum! I declared after dinner that I now want everything with cider pan sauce and almonds! Actually, come to think of it, this is the second recipe I’ve written about featuring cider pan sauce. Perhaps this is becoming a thing?

The only reason the dish didn’t get five stars is that the sauce is still very thin, even after reduction. Next time, I'll either reduce the chicken broth more up front or let the finished sauce reduce further before adding the butter. Otherwise, this was flavorful, with a rich yet lively sauce. Seems kind of “fancy” for a weeknight dinner, but was actually quick and easy.

Grandma Guglietta’s Marinara with Turkey Meatballs

Two hours and 1,000 sauce splatters later, we just sat down to Grandma Guglietta’s marinara (this is Eryc’s Italian grandmother, Sophia’s great-grandmother) with turkey meatballs from Joy of Cooking.

This used to be my absolute favorite sauce, and it is wonderful for thick, rick gravy, especially over Lorraine’s crepe-like manicotti. However, we’ve recently become accustomed to the sharp, bright flavors of The Splenid Table’s smoky tomato sauce, and now this sauce disappoints in its just-what-you’d expect-edness (no, this is not a word... what word am I looking for?).

The turkey meatballs were also good, fine, but not nearly as good as they were when my mom made them for us December 21, 2006. Of course, we were snowed in with Grandma Lee after a record 36 inches, so everything may have tasted better then!

I will say that the meal was yummy in a comfort food sort of way, but not a good use of two hours of my life and not worth the sauce splattered kitchen.

U.S. Senate Bean Soup

I am a huge fan of the St. Vrain Historical Society’s annual Pumpkin Pie Days. In fact, I have been known to insist that it’s my favorite holiday. Yes, I know it’s not actually a holiday, and no, it’s not really my absolute favorite, but it definitely ranks.

What is Pumpkin Pie Days? During Pumpkin Pie Days weekend, the Boulder County Fairgrounds main building is filled with dozens of stalls crammed with antiques, and the fine women and men (mostly cute grandmas and grandpas) of the St. Vrain Historical Society serve a wonderful meal of vegetable and bean soup, buttered rolls and pumpkin pie with whipped cream (Ben, you’ll be pleased to know that I rewrote this sentence just to avoid the Oxford comma!). The meal is fabulous, and I wait all year for this most favorite of Longmont public events.

In an effort to approximate the wholesome soup of PPDs, I turned to my favorite resource for classic all-American recipes—The Joy of Cooking. The closest recipe I found is U.S. Senate Bean Soup. Why the funny name? This soup has been on the menu of the U.S. Senate every day for over 100 years!

Of course, I modify the recipe to make it as close as possible to the PPDs soup. First, instead of using a ham hock, which usually yields very little meat, I save the end of a spiral cut ham in the freezer. To make the soup, I thaw the ham, cube as much meat as can be removed and use the remaining hock to make the broth. Much better ham flavor and more satisfying pieces of ham. I also add carrots, use more water than recommended for a thinner soup, leave the peels on my potato and leave the beans intact when the soup is done (as opposed to mashing as recommended in the recipe).

The batch I made this evening is for lunches this week. I feel like we need hot, homemade food for lunch at least every other day, so I try to make some kind of soup each week, often on Sunday—for some reason, we call this practice of cooking on Sunday for the upcoming week “secret cooking.” (The other days we have sandwiches and veggies, leftovers or, on really special days, Elia’s burritos!)

The soup is so delicious, so hearty and wholesome and so reminiscent of my wonderful Pumpkin Pie Days! Now, where’s my pie?

Pork Chops, Fingerlings & Artichokes

After a luxurious Saturday evening out at Terroir in Longmont with new friends, I felt we needed a delicious but simple dinner tonight while we prepare for a new week. Even though I work from home, I’m still prone to the Sunday night blues, and a healthy, home-cooked dinner is a good way to turn my mood around. 

I sautéed center-cut boneless Coleman pork chops in butter and olive oil (from Joy of Cooking), then simmered them quickly in a pan sauce I had in the freezer. For side dishes, I roasted organic Colorado fingerling potatoes in olive oil and kosher salt and steamed artichokes.

I don’t remember the source of the pan sauce... it was leftover from a dinner in early January. I need to find it soon because it was delicious!

[Pan sauce mystery solved! Mom made it with a pork tenderloin when she was here taking care of us right after Joseph was born. The recipe for pork tenderloin with apple dijon pan sauce is from About.com. Thanks, Mom!]

A simple but beautiful meal and a perfect end to a wonderful three-day weekend.

Bacon, Broccoli & Gruyère Crustless Quiche

This is a perennial favorite in our household. I probably make this once a month, usually as a vehicle for leftover bacon. (How we manage to have leftover bacon is a mystery!). 

I’ve adapted this over time from the original recipe in the 1997 Joy of Cooking, my favorite resource cookbook (a controversial rewrite of the original Joy). I make the bacon Alison’s way (15-20 minutes at 400 degrees on a foil-lined baking sheet) and steam the broccoli for three minutes some time mid-afternoon so that the dish can come together quickly for an easy dinner.

Authentic Gruyère is essential. I’ve finally learned that it’s always worth the money to spring for “real” cheeses... they impart so much more flavor and you subsequently need less of it. 

This dish is tasty comfort food and never fails to satisfy. It's also at least somewhat healthier than quiche with the (yummy) crust.