Quick pressure cooker chicken chili verde

Really rich flavor!  And pretty quick.

I followed this recipe:  https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/04/pressure-cooker-fast-and-easy-chicken-chile-verde-recipe.html

The recipe has you dump everything into the pressure cooker.  Instead I roasted half the peppers and half the onion at 450 in the toaster oven until it was blistered (though the white onion never did).

We used big thigh/drumstick combos and 15 min in the pressure cooker didn't quite cook them through.  Not sure how to fix this in the future.  We ended up putting it in the oven for another 20 min  (just to be safe).  Then we de-chickened it, chopped it (instead of shredding it) and re-added to the blended sauce.

Note:  This was quite spicy.  Probably need to cut it with rice and/or sour cream or both. 

To re-make:  Consider how to ensure chicken is cooked.  Use fewer serrano's.  Maybe try without roasting (since that's faster) to see if it's still good.

Roasted side things (mushroom, butternut squash, fennel, pepitas)

We had some left-over things because we bought too much, so here's what I did:

1 package brown mushrooms --> Sauteed in ~1 Tbsp butter until no more liquid
1 package TJ's butternut squash --> tossed in goodly amount of olive oil, salt, a little pepper, and some crushed fresh thyme and 1 minced clove garlic.
1 bulb fennel --> thinly sliced and tossed in olive oil + salt + a little pepper.

I roasted the fennel and butternut squash separately at 450 for maybe 15 or 20 min?  As it turns out they were about the same amount of time.

Meanwhile, toasted some (1/2 c?) pepitas in the toaster oven.

Tossed everything together.

Maybe add some kind of cheese??  Not sure what.

Really nice flavors.  The stringiness of the roasted fennel isn't ideal.

Pantry-only, quick Puttanesca

We followed this recipe:
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/02/spaghetti-puttanesca-pasta-week-capers-olives-anchovies-recipe.html

Yes, you have to have anchovies and capers in your pantry, but it's still something you could stock up on and have as a backup.

Result was very flavorful and nice!

Might be nice to figure out what else could go in there besides just pasta.

Slow Cooker Coq au Vin

COQ AU VIN


I made this for Maria's birthday, with an apple-pear pie for dessert . I'd give it 4 stars on the second day and three on the first day (the day Maria ate it, sad to say). Reason is I forgot to put in the bacon! It didn't smell quite right all the time it was cooking, but I couldn't figure out what was just slightly off. (I hoped it wasn't the chicken....|). When I tasted it, I thought, It's flat.... no salt in the recipe was a mistake. So I gave it some of that. I moved the chicken and vegetables into another dish and boiled down the sauce a bit. I added a sprinkling of dried herb. I poured a little heavy cream in it. Only as I was packing everything up to head off to Dobies Jr. did I see the four pieces of extra-thick bacon, nicely sliced and browned, on a dish I'd placed them in until I needed them|...  Such is life with this enthusiastic but inconsistent cook. After the birthday dinner, I put the dish in the freezer for 10 days and was pleased to notice the texture of the dish did not seem to change. The sauce just got better with a slow, bacon-laden warming. This recipe is from Whole Foods. I left out the onion and added 20 small pearl onions, which was in Julia Child"s original recipe. I used this one because |Child also includes a slug of Cognac, which I did not have.

We had a nice, freshly baked crusty whole grain bread with it, which I liked a lot. The first course, several cheeses and several tiny chocolate  truffles, was a nice way to keep our mouths busy, although Maria decided to defer the chocolates to another time. Nadia would never get the idea of "just a tiny bite" her mom said, which is true. She probably would have polished off all the cheese if she'd seen it on the table.|Her reaction to the Coq au Vin was mildly negative. She took a couple of bites and didn't finish the rest. You can never tell with her--there are some surprisingly complex, unusual foods that she has no problem with

Ingredients


8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt plus more to taste
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 slices bacon roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil divided
• 1 (12-ounce) package white or baby bella mushrooms quartered
• 2 carrots chopped
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 large sprigs fresh thyme
• a little ground black pepper

Method

Arrange chicken on a large sheet of waxed paper. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Lightly coat chicken all over with flour and set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until golden and just crisp, 3 minutes. Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside. Discard drippings and wipe out skillet. Melt 2 tablespoons butter (or heat oil, if using) in same skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned all over, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a large plate as done and set aside.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter or oil in same skillet. Add mushrooms and cook until edges begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add carrots, onions, garlic and salt and cook until vegetables just begin to soften. Transfer vegetables and broth to crock pot. Arrange chicken on top. Sprinkle bacon over chicken. Add wine and thyme sprigs. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. Season with salt and pepper, then serve.

Carolyn's Soup

Carolyn's Soup

This has been around for so long I don't remember where I got it. I think it morphed over time, like the Ur-Salad in Dave and Maria's cookbook. The two most important features in the flavor of the broth are the cheese rind and the blended beans. This is a one-pot meal if you serve it with  good bread for dunking and some fruit or salad if you want to get more courses on the table for some reason....


|Ingredients


1 cup pasta (short works best), cooked separately to almost done
Quart of  good quality chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 small onion, chopped
Italian bulk sausage (optional--I often use one hot and one mild raw turkey sausage removed from casing, mixed together.)
Parmesan cheese rind (|cut close to the wedge of parm if using your own, or get one from grocery, such as Whole Foods|)
2-3 chopped carrots
2-3 chopped stalks celery with leaves

(|I buy Trader Joe's mirepoix, which sacrifices the celery leaves but cuts down on time. I separate the onion and cook it first| as directions indicate)

2 to 3 cloves minced garlic (or frozen)
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning, or add extra spices if you have plain|)
1/2 small can tomato paste
2/3 zucchini
2 cups spinach, kale or power greens, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Fresh or dried basil and oregano
Fresh Italian parsley or cilantro chopped to sprinkle on top (optional)
Freshly grated parmesan to sprinkle on top (not optional)

Instructions

Use an 8 to 10 cup pot with heavy bottom and a lid, if possible.

Saute onion, garlic and meat if using until cooked through. Add broth, water, and tomato paste. (The tomato paste blends with the soup better if you start with some hot broth in a separate bowl and blend to tomato sauce consistency before adding to the pot|.)

Add parm rind, heat, then simmer 10 minutes.

Put about 2/3 of the beans with some hot broth in a blender (my preference) or bowl (the tomato paste bowl will do) and blend or mash. Add back to the soup pot.

Add herbs to taste and simmer 10 minutes. (You probably will need 1/2 tsp or so if the tomatoes had seasoning and at least double that if they were plain.)

Add carrots and celery and cook until almost done.

Add pasta, zucchini and spinach and cook until ready to eat. Adjust seasonings. There is no salt and  you will need it if you didn't use sausage, probably

Serve with fresh parm, and chopped parsley or cilantro if you wish.