I am falling behind with my writing. Last week the weather was too good to stay inside all day and my garden needed a lot of attention toward getting it started. Besides I am retired as should get to do what I want when I want to. So article posting took a back seat last week.
I am working on several articles that are requiring a bit more work than anticipated. I am being reminded of how much effort goes into research, writing, editing and such to get article ready for consumption by others. I keep reminding myself that I used to do this regularly but then I had a great bunch of people in support.
So while I work on getting my articles ready, I will revert back to my other interest – good food and have gathered a few recipes for May Day. Take a look and try some of these out.
Crispy Chicken Thighs With Spring Vegetables
The rich and zesty pan sauce is what makes this simple, seasonal supper something you’ll want to eat again and again.
Recipe
- Total Time 45 minutes
- Yield 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 small bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
- 1 pound baby new potatoes, halved if larger than ½”
- 1 bunch radishes (about ½ pound), halved
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon anchovy paste, or 6 fillets, finely chopped
- ½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces, divided
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 450°F. Using kitchen shears, remove bones from chicken thighs, keeping skin and flesh intact; discard bones. Season chicken all over with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.
- Step 2
Toss asparagus, potatoes, radishes, 2 Tbsp. oil, and remaining 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a large bowl. Transfer everything but the asparagus to a rimmed baking sheet and roast 15 minutes.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, grease another rimmed baking sheet with 1 tsp. oil. Heat remaining 1 tsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Working in batches, sear chicken skin side down until skin is crisp and golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Transfer skin side up to prepared sheet. After all chicken is seared (reserve fat in skillet), transfer baking sheet to oven and roast until chicken is cooked though, 8–10 minutes.
- Step 4
When you open oven to roast chicken, remove baking sheet with vegetables, arrange asparagus over potatoes and radishes, then continue to roast until asparagus is crisp-tender and potatoes and radishes are well browned and tender, 8–10 minutes more (it should take the same amount of time to finish as the chicken).
- Step 5
Meanwhile, carefully pour off excess fat from reserved skillet, leaving browned bits on the bottom. Add garlic, anchovy paste, and 1 Tbsp. butter to skillet and cook over medium heat until garlic is softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine, scraping up browned bits with a spatula or wooden spoon, and continue to cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice. Add remaining butter one piece at a time, swirling and stirring after each addition to fully emulsify sauce. Stir in 1 Tbsp. parsley.
- Step 6
Transfer chicken and vegetables to a platter, then pour sauce over. Top with more parsley before serving.
Note
You can keep the bones in your chicken thighs if you prefer—roast in oven 12–14 minutes instead of 8–10.
Simple One-Skillet Chicken Alfredo Pasta
One of the reasons I like to cook mostly healthy food is so I can justify the occasional dish like this one. Plus, any one-skillet meal where the pasta cooks right in the sauce is a gift in my book.
Recipe information
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- Kosher or coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 4 cups chicken broth, preferably low-sodium
- 1 package (1 pound) penne rigate or ziti
- 1 1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream or half-and-half, warmed
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 2
Melt the butter in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, in batches if necessary, and sauté until nicely browned on the outside, but still a bit pink inside, about 4 minutes (the pieces don’t have to be browned on all sides; two sides is fine). Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.
- Step 3
Do not clean the pan! Those brown bits on the bottom of the pan are going to add flavor to the sauce. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté over medium heat until you can smell it, 30 seconds. Turn the heat to high, add the chicken broth, and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen up all of those delicious caramelized bits. Bring to a simmer, lower to medium heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pasta, stir well, and simmer until the pasta starts to soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in the warm cream and the browned chicken with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, most of the liquid has been absorbed, and the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes more.
- Step 4
Stir in the Parmesan until well incorporated, and adjust the seasonings.
- Step 5
Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the parsley, if desired. Serve hot and pass extra Parmesan at the table.
Alfredo Add-Ins
- Step 6
When you add the Parmesan in Step 4, you can add any of the following to the pot, alone or in combination; stir over medium heat for another minute or two.
1 tablespoon puréed chipotles in adobo sauce
4 cups sliced mushrooms, sautéed
3 cups lightly cooked tiny broccoli florets
2 tablespoons fresh herbs, such as oregano, thyme, or parsley
Or, you can serve up portions of Chicken Alfredo Pasta for those who like it plain and simple, and add proportionate amounts of any of the add-ins to the pot.
Make Ahead
- Step 7
While it’s certainly reasonable to thrill over a meal of reheated leftover Alfredo pasta, either warmed on the stovetop or in the microwave, this dish is best when it’s made just before serving.
Young Carrots With Spring Onions, Sumac, and Anchovies
Various vegetables respond wonderfully to this preparation, especially when they are young and delicate and have just hit the market. Here carrots get a bracing wake-up from the combination of bright, lemony sumac, funky anchovies, and sweet spring onions. When spring onion season
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound young carrots, scrubbed
- 2 spring onions, split lengthwise in half (discard any dry or discolored tops)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a few pinches for the herb sauce
- 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 1 garlic clove, grated or minced
- Juice of ½ lemon, plus a squeeze
- 8 anchovy fillets
- 1 cup croutons
- 2 teaspoons ground sumac
Preparation
Covered-pot carrots and spring onions
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 300°F, with a rack in the middle.
Toss the carrots and onions with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Lay them out in a single layer in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot with a lid. Cover the pot with foil and seal by placing the lid on top of the foil.
Transfer the pot to the oven and cook the vegetables, first checking after 30 minutes for doneness by poking one with a metal skewer. When the vegetables are done, the skewer will slide in and out easily; as soon as they are tender, remove them to a plate to cool. Cut the cooled carrots lengthwise in half.
Herb sauce
- Step 2
Mix together the remaining two teaspoons of oil, parsley, mint, garlic, and a pinch of kosher salt in a small bowl.
Put it together
- Step 3
Toss the carrots and spring onions with the herb sauce and the juice of the ½ lemon. Lay the carrots and spring onions out on a serving plate. Drape the anchovies over them. Scatter the croutons over and shower with the sumac. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Many consider fresh rhubarb a spring ingredient, a colorful harbinger of the changing seasons. So, this may be a bit early as we are still changing seasons.
Recipe
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes plus cooling
Ingredients
Cinnamon-Sugar Crumb Topping
- ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into ¼” pieces
Pie Filling and Assembly
- ¼ cup heavy cream (to glaze the crimped pie edges)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 3 cups hulled and quartered (lengthwise) strawberries (approximately 1 lb. strawberries)
- 3 cups trimmed ½”-thick slices rhubarb (approximately 4 large rhubarb stalks)
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
- Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Preparation
Cinnamon-Sugar Crumb Topping
- Step 1
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender or a fork, incorporate the butter by “cutting it in” to the flour until the butter forms small, pea-size pieces. Chill.
Pie Filling and Assembly
- Step 2
Place rack in the center and preheat oven to 375°F.
- Step 3
To prepare the pie shell, on a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll out one disk of dough with a rolling pin until it forms a 10″ circle. Reserve the second disk for another use. Fold the circle in half, place it in a 9″ pie plate so that the edges of the circle drop over the rim, and unfold the dough to cover the pie plate completely. Crimp the edges of the pie dough as desired and dock the bottom of the dough with a fork. Brush the rim of the pie shell with heavy cream to create a golden-brown finish. Refrigerate the pie shell while you make the filling.
- Step 4
To prepare the filling, in a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, and salt. Place the strawberries and rhubarb in a large bowl, and sprinkle with the sugar mixture, making sure all of the fruit is thoroughly coated. Immediately transfer the strawberry-rhubarb filling to the pie shell (if left sitting too long, these fruits will create a lot of juice, resulting in a soggy pie) and dot the filling with the butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar crumb topping over the strawberry-rhubarb filling, covering it completely.
Step 5
Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Transfer the pie plate to a wire cooling rack and allow the pie to cool and set for at least 2 hours before serving.
This pie is best served at room temperature or warmed to 350°F for about 10 minutes. It will keep at room temperature overnight and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes:
If the top of the pie turns dark before the juices have started bubbling around the edges, loosely drape a piece of aluminum foil over the pie dish to shield the crumb from burning. And about that bubbling: Don’t even think about pulling the pie out of the oven until you see it happening. Your thickeners (the cornstarch and tapioca) need that benchmark to reach their full setting potential. Similarly, This is a pie that benefits from some time outside the oven. To cut a neat slice, wait until the pie cools completely. Serve with vanilla ice cream or a big dollop of whipped cream.
