Some of My Favorite Witty Recipes

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One of the greatest parts about writing this blog is being pushed and inspired to find, create, and cook up new recipes. It’s a challenge, it’s fun, and it brings a little adventure (and many messes) to my kitchen. Because I am always trying out new things, people frequently ask me whether I ever cook the same thing twice. I do! I have my old favorites that I love to make, and there are newer recipes I’ve tried that are so good, I keep going back to them. And if there is a night when I just don’t know what I want to cook (and am sick of take out), I hit the “random post” button in the menu to get some ideas. Here are just some of my favorite things that I love to cook again and again.

Blue Moon, Butternut Squash, and Shrimp Risotto

 

Pinch Me Paella

 

Pumpkin Pasta

 

My Mama’s Roasted Chicken

 

World’s Best Crab Cakes, Once Removed

 

World’s Best Mac and Cheese

 

Man-Pleasing Chicken

 

Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon

 

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A Dog by Many Names

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We love Stella so much that we have given her many nicknames. The names flow naturally for her. They come just as easily as the songs I’ve created for her do… but let’s save those for another time. This post has enough material to embarrass us all for a while! Here’s a sampling:

  • Stella girl
  • Pups
  • Stella Luna Lovegood
  • Pupsicle
  • Stella puppy/pup
  • Spa girl (accompanying song)
  • SG
  • Puppy love
  • Puppy friend
  • Hey, That’s a Fox. (We don’t call her this, but plenty of other people do!)
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Honey Citrus Chicken with Olives

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This Moroccan-inspired chicken is tasty, beautiful, and healthy too.  It’s also pretty simple to make! I made a Moroccan stew a while back, but I used regular lemons in it instead of preserved lemons, so it came out very bitter. This chicken doesn’t require any strange ingredients (although I sometimes see preserved lemons at Whole Foods’ olive bar), and it’s flavorful and succulent. Spice things up with this dish!

To make this meal, preheat your oven to 400ºF.  Then, pat dry one chicken quarter per person (a leg and a thigh are really moist and tasty), and place them skin side up in an oven-proof dish. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Then, dice up a few carrots or beets into small pieces, and sprinkle them in the pot. My beet was really in the holiday spirit with its peppermint stripes! What a surprise to cut into this beauty!

Quarter 3 clementines or other type of tangerine, and throw them into the pot as well. Lastly, add in 2/3 of a cup of green olives. If your olives have pits, remember not to break a tooth later when you’re eating them. I used jarred green olives from Trader Joe’s that are very similar to picholines (my favorite). Green cerignolas would also work well with this dish.

Bake the chicken for 30 minutes. While it cooks, whisk together 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of clementine juice. When the 30 minutes are up, pour the mixture over the chicken. Return the chicken to the oven and roast it for another 10 minutes until it is fully cooked. During this last 10 minutes, cook up some couscous to serve along with it.

Put some of the couscous on a plate and top it with the chicken, clementines, olives, and beets/carrots.  Make sure to drizzle some of the honey-orange mixture from the pot over the chicken and couscous. Top it all off with pea shoots or another delicate micro-green. I hope this dinner makes you feel warm inside. 🙂

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, December 2011.

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