Sunday supper

A week ago this Sunday night, Jack and I were touching down in Chicago after a family visit to Cleveland. Already travel-weary, we arrived home to what Jeremy and Jossie had been dealing with for 24 hours - a gas leak in our yard. The heat was off in our house and there were gas levels registering in our basement. I ran through our cold house (42 degrees) to grab a few things for all of us for the next morning, and then we retreated to a kind friend's house. The local gas company's trucks were idling outside, their orange lights constantly flashing in the icy-cold winter's night.

Everything is fine now, but we had a brief vision of what it's like to feel unsafe in your home. Not awesome. Three-year-old Jossie keeps telling us she's so glad we're all home and I agree.

I've spent this weekend pulling the house back together and found a home-hearty meal for Sunday night that is not time-intensive but provides some great aromas from the kitchen. And you roast the chicken atop the vegetables, which makes the vegetables so tender and delicious. It also calls for only 1/3 cup of dry white wine, so there's plenty left over for dinner (a big plus in my kitchen). Serve with a nice green salad and some hearty bread:

Roasted chicken breasts with sweet potatoes
From the super-awesome cookbook: Keepers: Two Home Cooks Share Their Tried-and-True Weeknight Recipes and the Secrets to Happiness in the Kitchen

4 sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds total), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
4 chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds total), patted dry
1/4 cup dry white wine

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, with a rack in the middle position. Put sweet potatoes in a large roasting pan, sprinkle on the the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss until well combined. Spread the potatoes out in a single layer and set aside. (Note: Instead of 4 sweet potatoes, I used an assortment of 1 garnet yam, 2 russet potatoes and 3 carrots - the yummiest parts were the yam and carrots.)

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, rosemary, lemon zest and juice, and season with salt. Gently loosen the skin from the chicken breasts and rub the mixture between the skin and meat. Season the chicken with a little more salt and pepper, then put skin-side up in the pan on top of potatoes and roast for 20 minutes.

Gently toss the potatoes, sliding the ones under the chicken out and vice versa. Pour the wine over the chicken and continue to roast until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes more.

Transfer the chicken to a plate, tent with foil to keep warm, and let rest for 5 to 10 more minutes. If the potatoes aren't tender yet, return to the oven. When they are soft, toss them again, scraping up caramelized bits o nthe bottom of the pan. Serve the chicken with the potatoes.

Go-to meal: Roast chicken with caramelized shallots

Girlfriends come through again. This recipe is from my BFF, Amy, who's gone above and beyond the call of friendship - she is a wonderful and kind soul.

Roast chicken with caramelized shallots
Serves 4 to 6

Adapted from French Farmhouse Cookbook (Workman) by Susan Herrmann Loomis
I use a whole chicken cut into eight pieces; two legs, two thighs, and I cut each breast piece in half, crosswise, keeping the wings attached. You could also just use eight of your favorite chicken pieces.

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 large shallots, peeled and minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
One whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
one generous handful of coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC).
2. In a large baking dish, one which will hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer, mix the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, shallots, and some salt and pepper.
3. Toss the chicken in the mixture, so they’re completely coated with the shallots. Turn the chicken pieces so they are all skin side up.
4. Roast the chicken for about twenty minutes, until it starts to brown on top. Turn the pieces of chicken over. Scrape any juices and shallots over the chicken that may be clinging to the pan, and bake for another twenty minutes, or until the pieces of chicken are cooked through and the shallots are well-caramelized.
5. Remove from oven and toss in the chopped parsley, then serve.

Go-to meal: Beef Barbacoa

I almost thought I wouldn’t post a recipe today but another girlfriend pulled through for me. Here is a recipe from my friend Alissa:

Beef Barbacoa

Please note: I actually browned the beef, deglazed the pan and then transferred everything to a crockpot. I cooked it until the meat fell apart and then followed the recipe the rest of the way.

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

1 t. dried oregano

3/4 t. kosher salt

3/4 t. ancho chile powder

1 (2 1/4-lb) boneless chuck steak, trimmed

Cooking spray

1 cup water

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 T. fresh lime juice

1.      Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2.      Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; rub oregano mixture evenly over beef.  Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add beef to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.  Add 1 cup water and garlic to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Cover and bake at 300 for 3 hours or until beef is very tender.  Cool to room temperature.  Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

3.      Skim fat from surface of broth.  Remove beef; shred with 2 forks.  Return beef to pan; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Simmer mixture 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates; stir in lime juice.  Reduce heat to medium, and cook beef 3 minutes or until crisp in spots.

4.      Serve in soft taco shells (corn or flour) with queso fresco or sour cream.

Go-to meal: Moroccan sweet potato tagine

As I've mentioned before, friends and family have been so generous with their love and support to Jeremy and me this past week. My friend Sarah, a fellow fundraiser, knows that I'm trying to post at least one new recipe per week, so she shared this new family favorite with me. She's a great person, a wonderful friend and is one of my fellowing founding board members of the Development Leadership Consortium (and our current fearless leader and chair). She left amazing biscotti and banana bread at our condo a few days ago for Jeremy and Jack and has been keeping me entertained through emails. Thank you, Sarah.

So without further adieu...

Moroccan Sweet Potato Tagine
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (this can be increased or decreased depending on your love of garlic)
 

Spices: I was generous with all these spices. 1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

4 sweet potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces (or squash if you have those)
3 carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup vegetable broth
14 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
14oz can tomatoes
1/2 cup raisins
dried apricots (about 10-15)
toasted pine nuts

1. In a pot, sauté onions and garlic until soft but not brown.
2. Add spices and cook a few minutes. Stir in sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and broth, and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.
4. Add chickpeas, tomatoes and raisins, and simmer, covered, until the potatoes, squash and carrots are tender (about 30 minutes).

Does dessert count?

So a week ago, I made my pledge to post a go-to meal every Monday. I tried this shepherd's pie recipe last night - it was okay but not blog-worthy. It used practically every pot in my house, seemed pretty unhealthy (we didn't do the blue cheese) and my mashed potatoes were kind of gloppy. Overall ho-hum. But Mommy saves the day! I made The Barefoot Contessa's lemon yogurt cake for dessert and got rave reviews from my biggest fans. I loved it because it doesn't require a mixer:

Lemon Yogurt Cake


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (we used no-fat and it worked fine)

1 1/3 cups sugar, divided

3 extra-large eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Go-to meals start today

So my sister-in-law graduates from law school this spring, and her boyfriend graduates from business school. Not that they will have a ton of free time on their hands as busy professionals, but they are looking for more weeknight dinners in their lives. They've inspired me to start a new Monday post - for the next 52 weeks, I'll post a good go-to meal for a weeknight; whatever keeps you busy, you surely need more go-to meals in your life.  I'm still formulating my guidelines, but here's what I've got so far:

• Takes no more than 45 minutes to complete (may require some prep work on Sunday, like marinating).
• It doesn't "hide" ingredients - I really don't like the idea of being deceptive with kids - hiding vegetables in baked goods, etc. I say this as a mother of a good eater....if #2 is a picky eater, I may change my tune!
• Is relatively healthy and definitely contains some vegetables.
• A good option for kids and adults alike.

I'm mailing in my first Monday meal because besides my resolution to eat good food, my other resolution is to celebrate daily joys. And tonight, I'm celebrating my friends' kindness - our nannyshare friends (and friends way beyond the nannyshare) are bringing over dinner, which is greatly appreciated by this 7-month pregnant mama whose husband is out of town.  

So without further adieu, check out this family favorite: crispy beef with broccoli. This can be made with chicken and firm tofu as well. If you'd like to submit your favorite weeknight dinner, please email me - I'd love to feature you.