Strawberry Cake for a Rainy Day

 

Just when I thought spring was arriving -- with the urge to pull out the sandals and cute floral dresses and take the pupper to the dog park-- it's a cold rainy Friday here in Atlanta. 

The four-legged prince of the household refuses to go potty in the backyard and get his butt wet, and I'm back in cozy sweats and sipping a mug of hot tea. 

When I opened the fridge for some milk (I like my English breakfast tea strong with a spoonful of sugar and a splash of milk), I noticed the strawberries we bought last week at the farmers market. They were meant to top a spinach and feta salad that never got made, because the fruit and vegetable bin is sometimes the place where my good intentions go to die. 

If I was going to use them, something needed to happen FAST.

Enter my favorite strawberry-lemon yogurt cake. It's easy to make and goes perfectly with a hot cup of tea (or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which is what will be happening later today in our house).

The first thing I ever baked on my own was a pound cake when I was 15, and they are still one of my favorite things to make, in many variations.  The Greek yogurt and lemon give this one a nice tang that balances out the sweetness, and it's a great way to use up those strawberries that haven't gone to the dark side -- but that are definitely not looking super bright and fresh.

A 15-minute chcken dinner? Hold my beer...

 

So last week I wrote about the easiest yummy chicken marsala that you can get on the table in 15 minutes. This week I topped myself with this quick and satisfying Cowboy Chicken Salad salad. 

I actually had this for the first time at Tim's aunt's annual Christmas lunch - Linda is a fabulous cook, and there is always tons of yummy food when the Hulseys get together. The version was a meatless side, and even with all the gooey, carb-loaded holiday goodies, everybody went back for seconds. 

I made it this week and added some rotisserie chicken for some protein to make it a one-dish dinner. It seems to be a riff on a Ree Drummond recipe, with a few simplifications.  Seriously, you can throw this together in five minutes, so it's FANTASTIC on a night when you want something super easy and not too heavy. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced rotisserie chicken
• one head romaine lettuce, chopped
• one can black beans, drained and rinsed
• one can corn, drained
• 12-15 ish grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese (whatever floats your boat)
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped (or a few green onions)
• optional - some sliced jalapenos or avocados, fresh cilantro, crunchy tortilla strips

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup each - mayonnaise, barbeque sauce, lime juice, whisked together
• a dash of chipotle hot sauce or powder if you like things a little spicier

Toss everything together in a big bowl, and you're good to go!

Thinking out loud, this would probably be amazing if you skipped the chicken and added some sliced grilled flank steak instead. Keeping that idea for when it's warm enough to break out the grill again!

The Best 15-minute Chicken Dinner!

 

When it comes to cookbooks, I have a bookshelf full, but I tend to reach for a few over and over for my tried-and-true favorites.  The Barefoot Contessa has pride of place with her own shelf. Smitten Kitchen's see a lot of use, and the Southern Living Cookbook is my bible. 

I'm also a big fan of Giada de Laurentiis -- her first cookbook, Everyday Italian, has some of my go-to Italian recipes, including the easiest Veal Marsala ever.  The marsala recipe is in a section on "cutlets" and most of the recipes work interchangeably with thin cuts of veal, chicken, pork or steak. 

Chicken Marsala is in regular rotation at our house. It comes together in no time at all. and if you're lazy like me, it's super easy over some premade mashed potatoes. I like to serve it with french green beans steamed in the microwave and tossed with a little butter, lemon juice, and lemon pepper. Boom! Dinner in 15 minutes. :)

Giada's Chicken Marsala

1 package thin-sliced chicken breasts (why bother with pounding out breasts when you don't have to?)

2-3 tablespoons butter

2-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped (I use a couple of green onions, and use scissors to cut them right into the pan)

2 smashed garlic cloves (if. you haven't discovered Dorot frozen garlic cubes, find them!)

1 package sliced mushrooms (white or baby bella)

1/2 cup marsala

3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

sprig of fresh rosemary

Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook in a large skillet with half the oil and butter until slightly browned. 

Remove chicken to a plate, add more butter and oil to the pan, and saute the mushrroms with garlic and shallot/onion until tender. 

Add marsala and scrape pan. Let it cook down by half, then add chicken broth and rosemary and return chicken to pan.  Simmer for a few minutes longer until the chicken is cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste.

If you want a slightly thicker sauce for your mashed potatoes, you can make 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch slurry and mix in while the dish is simmering. Finish it off with a sprinkle of parmesean cheese if you like.

THE Soup. It's just that good.

 

It's 12 freaking degrees in metro Atlanta right now, so what's a girl to do other than hot tea and soup...

Seriously y'all, I'm kind of obsessed with this soup these days. In my mind, it's THE SOUP -- I've made it five times already this fall and winter, and it's become my lunchtime staple. 

Ribollita is a thick Tuscan vegetable soup, often made to use up stale bread. I had it for the first time at iRicchi, a DC Italian restaurant that has been a favorite of the K-Street crowd for more than 25 years - it was delicious and so thick you could stand your spoon up in it - drizzled with EVOO and sprinkled with fresh parmesan. 

The best bowl ever was at a small cafe in San Gimignano on a rainy day in Tuscany. A hot bowl of soup and a plate of prosciutto e melone stands out in my memory as an absolutely perfect meal for the day and time. 

It even makes a great anchor for a dinner party --I've made a big pot of THE SOUP and served it with plates of Italian yummies such as:

• sliced canteloupe and prosciutto
• a salad with arugula, bresaola and shaved parmesan, dressed with olive oil and lemon or balsamic
• a Caprese salad
• precooked arancini (risotto balls with mozzarella - Trader Joe's used to carry)
• an antipasto plate of Italian meats, cheeses, and crackers

Of course my two go-to lady chefs (Ina Garten and Giada de Laurentiis) both have good recipes for this. I've been tweaking things a bit -- mostly to make it easier and still flavorful, and I've settled on this super-easy version of THE SOUP that comes together in just a few minutes with minimal chopping. Especially if you can use a tub of precut mirepoix (chopped carrots, onion, and celery often found in the product department) and some good crushed garlic -- the jarred minced garlic is nasty, but the frozen cubes from Dorot or the tubes in the produce department are great timesavers and taste just as good as fresh.

It's also very friendly to substitutions, so you can use whatever you happen to have on hand. If I don't buy mirepoix, I'll use a medium onion and 2-3 carrots. I don't care for celery all that much, so I don't mind leaving it out. Sometimes I'll add in half a chopped sweet pepper too, if there is one handy that needs to be eaten. And most recipes call for cannellini beans, but I think chickpeas work very well here, and I almost always have them in the pantry. If your deli department sells parmesan rinds, tossing a couple in here while the soup simmers is AMAZING. And if your bread is still fresh, toast the cubes on low heat in the oven or air fryer until they get crunchy.

If you don't add the bread, it's a pretty darn good veggie soup on its own. And I haven't tried it, but I'd imagine that swapping the chicken stock for vegetable stock would still be pretty tasty for a vegetarian option.  

Here's the basic recipe for THE SOUP

• 1 tub mirepoix
• 1 small-medium zucchini, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 tsp italian seasoning
• 1 generous pinch red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste - I use 1/1/2 tsp of each
• 1 32-oz carton low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes (low sodium), undrained
• 1 can chickpeas, undrained - the starchy liquid helps the soup thicken
• 3 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped (or just dump them in)
• 3 cups stale bread, cut into small cubes (less than an inch - this is about half a baguette)

In a dutch oven or stockpot, saute the mirepoix in olive oil until it begins to soften, then add the zucchini and garlic until the veggies are soft but not browned.

Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, broth and seasonings, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and let it simmer for for 15 minutes. Add in spinach and bread. Let simmer another 15 minutes, letting the bread break down. If you want a thicker puree, help things along a little bit with a stick blender. The soup isn't quite as pretty, but I think it tastes even better! Serve with a sprinkle of parm on top. 

Doing the Full Southern

Once again, my New Year's resolution is to flex my writing muscles. As in previous years (see 2016, 2022, etc.) I'll probably write a few things in January, and then the crickets will once again take over.  

Who still reads blogs anyway? :)

I'm happy to close the book on 2023, which will not rank up there with my better years.  But I'm starting 2024 with a healthy-ish little family and a lot of love, so we'll see what the year brings. 

Before settling into a late night of football yesterday, I tried to get ahead in the luck and money department with a Full Southern New Year's Day feast. It was one of those rare meals where everything turned out perfectly, so maybe the luck thing is already working.

The Pig: This Island Pork Tenderloin Salad from Epicurious has been a favorite for years.  I made the wonderful spicy-sweet pork yesterday to go with all the unhealthy sides, and I'll make the salad part tonight to use up the leftovers.

The Peas: Dried peas and the Instant Pot are a match made in heaven. I loosely followed this recipe from Grits and Gouda, but used half chicken broth and half water and added a few chunks of seasoning bacon.

The Greens: This is a good basic recipe for collard greens. I add a spoonful of sugar near the end of the cooking time to cut the bitterness, which I think makes all the difference.

The Cornbread: I wish I could say I made it from scratch, but I used Krusteaz southern-style cornbread mix, cooked in a cast-iron skillet prepped with bacon grease. I've yet to master homemade cornbread that tastes like my mom's, and I haven't yet inherited THE PAN -- a 60-year-old, seasoned-to-black baking pan that is used ONLY for cornbread. It was my grandmother's, then my mom's, and I have already called dibs on it for the next generation.

Mac and Cheese: It doesn't represent anything lucky for the new year, but it was damn good. After years of loyalty to Alton Brown's baked mac and cheese, this recipe has won my allegiance, although I think an extra layer of shredded cheese under the breadcrumbs doesn't hurt. I used 4 cups of hoop cheddar and 2 cups of Dubliner cheese, and it rocked!

It was a great meal, and two great football games followed. It's always a good day when Satan/Saban loses, and if my Dawgs aren't in the championship, I'm happy to root for those other dogs in purple!