Recipes » Cooking With Christy

Salsa Verde Chicken Bake

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Dec 052011

This recipe is so easy, it's surprising how good it is. You just line a baking dish with chicken breasts, pour over plenty of salsa verde, bake, sprinkle with some cheese, bake some more, and presto wham-o you're there! Serve over rice to absorb the sauce. It's a little late in the season for fresh tomatillos to make the salsa verde, but it's easily available jarred (look for it in the salsa section, or Mexican food section, of your grocery store) and thankfully with our ginormous tomatillo harvest this summer, we have plenty home canned in the pantry. Many thanks to my dear friend Bruce Maxwell, who came up with this recipe and urged me to give it a try. It's perfect for a midweek meal. Enjoy!

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Fennel Gratin

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Dec 022011

I never used to know what to do with fennel, but these days, I can't get enough of it. Fennel is the most wonderfully versatile vegetable. You can slice raw fennel thin and serve it with a little shaved Parmesan for a crisp salad. Or you can plop it in the oven with a little balsamic and roast it until it gets sweetly caramelized. Fennel has a special affinity for Parmesan, and in this simple gratin fennel wedges are tossed with breadcrumbs, Mozzarella and Parm, and baked until golden brown. A lovely side for lighter fare, such chicken or fish, and would also work well as a dressy side for a holiday meal.

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Italian Meatballs

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Nov 292011

When I was a kid, the only time we ever had meatballs was with spaghetti or in albondigas soup. It never occurred to me that one could simply have meatballs with sauce, until I wandered into an Italian restaurant in San Francisco and ordered some, as an appetizer, or so I thought. To me, meatballs were small little things and three of them would have made a lovely starter for the more substantial entré to follow. Hah! My eyes practically fell out of their sockets when the meatballs arrived. They were almost the size of baseballs. Holy moly. But they were fabulous, and it just meant I had more food to share with my friends.

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Open Faced Turkey and Gravy Sandwich

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Nov 272011

Every year, for as long as I can remember, my parents have prepared a huge (18-20 pound or more) turkey for our family on Thanksgiving Day. And every year, without fail, my mother or father prepares open-faced sandwiches with leftover turkey and gravy for days following. You would think that the day after turkey day, the last thing any one of us would want would be more turkey. But I think on Thanksgiving Day itself, the turkey can take almost a back seat to the sides on the plate. There are just so many sides to choose from. But the next day? It's all about the turkey. And the gravy. The bread is there so you can call it a sandwich and eat it for lunch.

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Chipotle Turkey Pozole

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Nov 232011

Every Thanksgiving, after our grand roast turkey dinner, we fill up a huge stock pot with the turkey carcass and water, and make several quarts of turkey stock for soup. Usually turkey soup is a pretty standard affair, but if you are looking for a soup that might pack a little more punch, I recommend this pozole. It's made with turkey stock, leftover turkey, a little tomato, lots of hominy, and seasoned with smokey chipotle chile peppers in adobo. I've written about pozole before. It's hard to resist this soup, essentially "taco night" in a bowl (but not as messy!). Perfect for a crowd, which can be useful if your family is like mine—lots of siblings and friends who like to stick around because they know the food is good. Pozole is all about the toppings. Just set them out and let people add what they want to their soup.

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Check out our other turkey leftover ideas!

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Stuffed Roast Turkey Breast

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Nov 212011

My father reminded me the other day that Thanksgiving turkey doesn't have to be a whole bird. If your gathering is only few people, and you don't want to have several weeks of turkey leftovers, there's no need to roast a 15 lb gobbler. You could roast just a couple turkey legs if you like dark meat, or if you prefer white, stuff and roll a turkey breast. The following recipe is for just that, a turkey breast, pounded thin, spread with a stuffing of breadcrumbs, bacon, porcini, shallots and dried cranberries, and rolled up into a roulade and roasted.

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Suzanne’s Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

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Nov 202011

From the recipe archive, first posted 2006. Enjoy! ~Elise

My friend Suzanne performed an experiment with her family and me. She baked two pumpkin pies, one using the purée and recipe from a can, the other using purée she made from a ripe sugar pumpkin. Each of us received two slices, one from each pie, without knowing which was which. The winner? The adults clearly preferred the pie made from scratch - it had a richer flavor (possibly due in part to added spices). One child preferred the pie made from the canned purée, the other two had no preference. Needless to say, everyone finished both of their slices, and the whipped cream too!

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Creamy Green Beans and Mushrooms

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Nov 192011

About this time of year a lot of people come to this site searching for green bean recipes. We have several, but most of them are geared to the summer, when we have a bountiful supply of fresh green beans. I wanted to make something that would work well with fresh or frozen beans, so we could enjoy it during any season. In this recipe, green beans are first lightly boiled (I used frozen), then tossed with cremini and shiitake mushrooms and onions that have been sautéed in butter. Finally, sour cream is added to bring everything together. If the sour cream seems odd, think of this as a stroganoff. With green beans.

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Walnut Maple Pie

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Nov 172011

Where my parents live in Sacramento, their house is surrounded by huge walnut trees. The housing development is in what was formerly a commercial walnut orchard. When I was younger, the trees blanketed the neighborhood with shade in the blazing hot valley summers, and in the fall, all of us kids spent weekends picking walnuts. We harvested 500 lbs of walnuts a year, just from our five trees. These days the trees are getting old, two of them are already gone and the other three are just hanging in there, not really producing much. Still, we have a special affinity for walnuts. Growing up, pretty much any recipe calling for pecans we would just substitute walnuts. Which is how I first started making walnut pie. At its simplest, it's just a pecan pie for which you swap out the pecans for walnuts. But walnuts can be a little more bitter than pecans, so for this particular version, I've decided to use a dark maple syrup instead of the more commonly used corn syrup. The sweet maple flavor helps to balance whatever bitter edge the walnuts may have. Like our pecan pie, this walnut maple pie is not overly sweet. I'm quite pleased with it (my parents both call it a winner!) and hope you will be too.

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Giblet Gravy

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Nov 152011

My love affair with giblets started probably around age 5. That's when my mom would cook the gizzard with her chicken soup, and then fish it out just for me. It was so chewy and good. I loved it. I would get the heart too, but it wasn't nearly as good as the gizzard. Later I graduated to the neck, which one simply could not eat quietly. No, to enjoy the neck one had to grip it with both hands, and slurp, chew, and suck, and then slurp some more. Now as an adult, when my mom cooks a chicken, she'll save the liver just for the two of us to have sautéed in a little butter, for a snack. So in my opinion, giblet gravy, a gravy made with the choicest pieces of the bird, is the queen of gravies. So full of wonderful flavor from the giblets and drippings. You can make gravy from the giblets of either a turkey or a chicken, though I think it's more usual with a roast turkey. The giblets are bigger, and there's more meat to put in the gravy.

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Duchess Potatoes

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Nov 122011

Duchess potatoes. Welcome to old school, fancy schmancy mashed potatoes. So, tell me. Who is the duchess for whom these potatoes are named? Or is it just the pattern of browned ribbons and waves that are reminiscent of a frilly shirt or silly hat that gives these potatoes their name? Who knows. Duchess potatoes are a rather precious way of serving mashed potatoes; they've been piped in decorative swirls, usually formed into individual portions, painted with butter, and browned in the oven. They taste great. I think it has to do with the butter. And the cream. And the way that both the tops and bottoms get browned. They're actually rather addictive.

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Sautéed Kale with Tahini Sauce

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Nov 102011

Oh my, this is a good one. I never would have thought to pair kale with tahini (thank you to my friend Peg for the suggestion), but it's great. Sort of reminiscent of a popular Japanese dish with spinach and sesame gomasio. The slightly bitter green kale does a happy dance with the acidic lemon and salty richness of the tahini sauce. Very easy to pull together. Would make an excellent addition to a Thanksgiving or holiday spread. Enjoy. (And as my dad says, eat your greens!)

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Roast Chicken with Grapes

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Nov 092011

Updated, from the recipe archive. First posted 2004.

One of the first things I ever learned to cook on my own (post college quesadillas) was roast chicken. It's actually crazy easy, given that all you really need to do is to just salt the chicken, put it in a pan and put it in a hot oven for an hour or so. My brilliant inspiration, or at least I thought so at the time, and I still think it produces a terrific result, was to chop up some seedless grapes and use them to stuff the chicken. The juice from the grapes bastes the chicken on the inside. The addition of onions, lemon, and rosemary provide aromatics for the chicken. When done, the cooked grapes, along with the onions and lemon act almost like chutney, when eaten with the chicken.

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Spicy Pork Stew with Chickpeas and Sausage

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Nov 072011

Is it stew weather? I think it's finally stew weather here at least. This morning a thick, chilly fog bank settled on the northern central valley and didn't lift until after 10. We actually made this stew in early summer, but it was too hot in most of the country to post it. But it looks like the 80 degree days we've been having this last month are finally behind us, and now is the time for a warm, spicy, hearty stew. This pork stew is inspired by the flavors of Spain, with chunks of pork shoulder, chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, parsley and paprika. Smoked paprika too, which adds just a touch of smokey flavor to the stew.

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Pumpkin Gingerbread

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Nov 012011

This has to be the weirdest fall ever. High seventies on the first day of November. Beautiful and sunny, though the wind has picked up a bit. The gusts come and go, stirring up leaves from the trees, so it's beginning to at least feel like autumn. Trick-or-treaters paraded through the neighborhood last night, leaving a trail of candy wrappers and smiles. Mr. Jack-o-lantern is still sitting on his perch (maybe we'll light him up again tonight!). We almost always have extra pumpkin sitting around this time of year, either puréed and in cans, or fresh. Two of my favorite sweet quick breads are pumpkin bread and gingerbread. This recipe (an experiment really) I'm delighted to report, happily combines the two—pumpkin and gingerbread. Spicy, molasses-y, pumpkin-y. Easy too. Happy fall!

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Ancho Chile, Shrimp, and Pasta

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Oct 272011

You know one of the great things about being a home cook? You can basically do whatever you want in your kitchen. Mix up cuisines. Pair unlikely foods. As long as it tastes good and you like it, no great uber-chef in the sky is going to look aghast and tell you you can't do what you've just done. Thank goodness! Case in point, this quick and easy pasta dish from my friend Peg Poswall. Ancho chiles (dried poblano chili peppers) are distinctively Mexican. Parmesan? That would be Italian. Tossed together with pasta and shrimp? Huh?

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Quinoa con Queso

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Oct 252011

One of my favorite foods is quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), a grain-like seed native of South America. It's a lot like couscous, but nuttier in flavor, and smoother on the tongue. It's also high in protein and completely gluten-free. You can make a pilaf with it, or use it for stuffing, or just eat it plain. I recently stumbled upon a recipe for quinoa with queso fresco in this book, and then found many other variations online. As I played around and experimented with this recipe I had two revelations. The first is that quinoa tastes great with milk poured over it. The second is quinoa tastes great with cheese (queso).

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Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce

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Oct 242011

Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce

Updated from the recipe archive. Originally posted in 2004.

We first posted this recipe years ago, it came from my dear friend Heidi H in Carlisle, Massachusetts. I think she got a version of it from the Boston Globe. With apple season upon us, it is timely again. This is a quick and easy chicken dish for a mid-week meal. Apple slices cook alongside chicken breasts and everything comes together with a simple honey mustard sauce.

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Older Entries Newer Entries

Cooking With Christy

Salsa Verde Chicken Bake

Fennel Gratin

Italian Meatballs

Open Faced Turkey and Gravy Sandwich

Chipotle Turkey Pozole

Stuffed Roast Turkey Breast

Suzanne’s Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

Creamy Green Beans and Mushrooms

Walnut Maple Pie

Giblet Gravy

Duchess Potatoes

Sautéed Kale with Tahini Sauce

Roast Chicken with Grapes

Spicy Pork Stew with Chickpeas and Sausage

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Ancho Chile, Shrimp, and Pasta

Quinoa con Queso

Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce

Cooking With Christy

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