greek orzo, lemon and chicken soup

After my last post about caramelized shallot mac-and-cheese, one AHB reader reminded me that more new year's resolutions are about eating healthier, not necessarily eating more mac-and-cheese. So, I found a great option in my "New England Soup Factory" cookbook. This broth-based soup is full of protein, and the spinach packs in fiber, iron and vitamins, while the lemon adds flavor without a lot of calories. You can go back for a second (or third) bowl and not feel guilty.

Grocery list: 10 cups chicken stock (will include instructions for making this at home below), 3/4 cup orzo, 4 eggs, 3 lemons, 1 cups chopped cooked chicken, 1 pound fresh spinach. For chicken stock, you'll need a 2-3 each yellow onions, carrots and celery stalks, bay leaves, a few sprigs of thyme, half a bunch of parsley, 5 garlic cloves, a

handful of whole peppercorns, and 2-3 pounds chicken thighs (bone-in and skin-on).



To make chicken stock, put all the ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with water. (Peel the carrots and slice into 2-3 inch pieces; chop the celery into thirds; peel the garlic cloves and add whole to the pot.) In addition to the 2-3 pounds chicken thighs, you can add a whole chicken breast (skin-on and bone-in too), but instead of leaving it in for the full 3 hours, you can remove it when it's cooked for 30-40 minutes. This is the chicken you can pull off the bone and then cube to use in the soup. If you were to leave it in for the full 3 hours, it would probably be too tough to use in the soup.



Bring the stock to a slow boil over medium high heat, then turn down the heat to a simmer. If you opt to cook the chicken for cubing this way, remove it with tongs from the stock pot and allow to cool a bit, then peel the meat away from the bones. Return the bones and the skin back to the pot, so it can continue adding its flavor to the stock. Add more water over time if the stock cooks down. Simmer for at least 3 hours. Allow to cool, then strain in a mesh strainer. You can freeze extra stock in ziploc bags too.



Now, for the soup. Measure 10 cups of your homemade stock into a large soup pot, and heat over high heat to boiling. While the stock is heating, zest 2 of the 3 lemons. Juice all 3 lemons. When the stock is boiling, add the orzo and stir. Cook for 5 minutes.



Beat 4 eggs together, then slowly pour into the stock pot while stirring constantly.



The egg will cook immediately into little fluffy string shapes.



Add the cooked chicken, lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh spinach to the pot, and bring the soup back to a gentle boil.



When the spinach has wilted, turn the heat off, and season the soup with salt and pepper.

leftovers for breakfast: turkey bacon and kale scramble

The kale with roasted onion rings was made for this purpose: to try and recreate The Flying Biscuit's bacon-collard scramble. It might not look that appealing (no offense to The Flying Biscuit, but neither does their version - greens scrambled in eggs have a beauty in the eye of the beholder), but it was delicious. Using (mostly) egg whites and turkey bacon made this a healthy option for any day of the week.

Grocery list: leftover kale or collards, eggs, turkey bacon, grated cheddar cheese.



Chop 3-4 slices of turkey bacon, and saute in just a teaspoon of oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.



Add about 1 cup of leftover kale (you might want to run a knife through it to chop it a little more finely) and cook for 1 minute. Whisk 1 egg + 7 egg whites together with a tablespoon of half-and-half, then add to the skillet. Scramble until eggs are cooked, then sprinkle a handful of sharp cheddar cheese over top.

our little secret: easy but impressive leek & ham quiche

If you're having dinner guests on fairly short notice, or want to prepare an easy make-ahead brunch that won't require a lot of fuss while you visit with your out of town guests, let me tell you about this quiche. Growing up, it was always my mom's staple "fancy" food - we made it for Christmas Eve, New Year's, and other festive occasions. Precisely because it can be made ahead (even baked the day before), you never have to follow the recipe exactly, it uses up odds and ends of cheese left over from other recipes in your cheese drawer, and it's impressive enough on a plate. The basic premise is some meat (optional), some vegetable (optional) plus some cheese(s), and several eggs mixed with half-and-half. I made a double batch of leek confit (remember how good it was in Molly Wizenberg's leek tart?), and used up a little fresh mozzarella, fontina & gruyere I had on hand, with a few slices of ham. Perfect.

Grocery list: one pre-made pie crust - the kind you can roll out, not frozen in a tin (or, make your own), 4 eggs, 3/4 cup half-and-half, 3 cups total shredded cheese (I used about one cup each gruyere, fontina and mozzarella), 3 ounces sliced ham, 1-2 cups leek confit. You could also saute mushrooms and/or onions to use in place of the leeks - cook them for about 10 minutes until tender, then allow to cool to room temperature before assembling quiche.



Roll out the crush into a pie dish. Spread 1 cup of cheese on the bottom, followed by diced ham. Evenly distribute leeks (or the mushroom/onion mixture).



Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the ham and leeks. Whisk eggs and half-and-half with salt and pepper, then pour over the filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes, or longer.



Quiche is done when you can gently shake the sides of the pan and the inside giggles without appearing liquid-y. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before you slice it. The eggs will continue to cook during this period, and the inside will firm up, so don't cut too early or your quiche slices will look messy.

leek tart with goat cheese

I really am loving Molly Wizenberg's (AKA Orangette) "Cooking Life" column in Bon Appetit. She is such an incredible food writer - she's so over the top with her descriptions (I can relate). Her column in the October 2008 issue was probably my favorite, featuring 2 recipes in 1, for leek confit and a leek and goat cheese tart. Based on her recommendation, I was putting leftover leek confit on everything for days (including scrambled eggs - who would have guessed?). The tart was perfect, even though I used fresh goat cheese instead of aged.

Grocery list: (for the leek confit) 1/2 stick butter, 4 large leeks; (for the crust) 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar, 1.5 cups AP four, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 stick butter plus 1 T; (filling) 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 crumbled goat cheese (original recipe calls for aged goat cheese, such as Bucheron).



Make the crust by pulsing the flour and salt with butter (cold, and cut up into small cubes) in a food processor, until it has the consistency of coarse meal. Mix 4 T ice water with the cider vinegar in separate bowl, then add this slowly to the machine while it's running. The dough should start to make clumps (if not, add another T or 2 of ice water). Remove from the processor, shape into a ball, wrap with saran wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Roll it out on a floured surface, and transfer to a tart pan. As you can see, I only had a pie pan, so this technically was a leek pie...



Cover your crust with foil, and fill it with dried beans or rice (to weigh down the crust). Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; remove the foil and weights and continue to bake until it's golden - another 20 minutes or so. Allow to cool while you work on the filling.



To make 2 cups of leek confit (you'll only need 1.5 cups for the tart - the leftovers are great with scrambled eggs!), chop the leeks in half lengthwise, then into 1/4 inch slices. Wash thoroughly. Put 1/2 stick of butter in a dutch oven and melt over medium-low heat. Add the leeks (about 5 cups washed and chopped), plus 2T water and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook on low, stirring every few minutes, for 25 minutes. Uncover and allow any excess water to cook out - about 3-5 more minutes of cooking time.



Whisk the egg + 1 yolk with the milk, cream, and a pinch of salt.



Spread 1/4 cup crumbled cheese over the bottom of the tart, then pour 1.5 cups of leek confit over. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top, then pour the milk and egg mixture over top. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees. You'll know it's done when you shake the pan and the middle of the tart is jiggly but firm (not liquid-y) - yes, these are scientific terms. I also had a bit of crust around the rim that I worried would burn, so I covered the edges of the pan carefully with foil, like you do with an apple pie. It turned out great this way.

weekday breakfast: egg white omelet

Making a healthy breakfast only takes me about 10 minutes. It may seem like that's 10 minutes you don't have in the morning, but if you invest there, you won't have to take extra time out mid-morning to go get a snack or another coffee. I also take one morning (or Sunday afternoons) to prep the ingredients for several breakfasts at once, so it's even easier to just grab a handful of veggies and throw them in the pan.

Here's a version of an egg white omelet I've been making this week - but you can switch up any of the ingredients. My mom was actually just telling me about her omelet du jour, a greek-inspired version with feta, sundried tomatoes, spinach, tomatoes and red onions. I'll try that one next.



First, I dice up a couple slices of center cut bacon, and fry those in a pan for 3-4 minutes, till they are almost done. Then, I add 3-4 sliced button mushrooms.



After they've cooked for 3-4 more minutes, I add a couple handfuls of fresh spinach. The spinach only takes a minute or 2 to wilt, then you can add the eggs (or egg whites, if you prefer).



I normally cook 6-8 egg whites for me and A - with him getting about 2/3 of the entire omelet. Anyway, once you pour in the eggs, stir them a few times slowly, so that the eggs that have started to stick to the bottom get shifted around. This will help them cook more evenly. After about a minute or two, even out all the fillings and half-cooked egg whites so it's flat and in the right shape. From this point, you won't have to do anything, just leave it alone for a couple minutes (turn down the heat to medium-low if you don't want the eggs overcooked on the bottom). Add cheese if you like, then fold in half. I'll serve this with a slice of wheat toast (with peanut butter and jelly for extra energy!) and I won't be hungry again for hours.

burger review: gourmet magazine's aussie burger

I think I recently read about Aussie burgers in several places (other food blogs? - no google blog search can help me find this so far), and then it popped up again right in the July issue of Gourmet magazine. In my quest to eat every possible combination of burger toppings at least once in my life, this went to the top of the list of recipes to try from this issue. I like the grilled pineapple, but think it could be better utilized as a contrast to something spicy - maybe like a jerk sauce for the burger, or spicy jack cheese? We all agreed that the sliced beets are just too weird; they add sogginess and stained fingers without a lot of flavor. The "chile mayo" (just chile paste, mayo and ketchup) was definitely great, and could be used to dip fries and onion rings in if you were making them and didn't feel the fat content was quite high enough... And the fried egg was absolutely fantastic. Next time I'll try that with bacon and cheese (which would actually be a burger called "the coronary bypass", as made famous by the Vortex restaurant here in Atlanta).

There's no real recipe here, so the typical "grocery list" I usually include is basically all the ingredients you'd use to assemble the burgers. I like to make my burgers with ground sirloin, about 1/3 pound meat for each patty. Other ingredients: pineapple (sliced, then grilled), sliced beets, lettuce, tomato, one fried egg per burger, and plenty of chile mayo slathered on both sides of a toasted bun.



Side note: chile mayo is simply equal parts mayo and ketchup (1/4 cup each made enough for 4 burgers), plus a teaspoon of chile paste.

one more thing to love about weekends: ABLT egg sandwiches

Bacon, egg whites, lettuce, heirloom tomato slices, mayo, extra sharp cheddar, all on a toasted bun. How could you NOT have the best Sunday ever?

orangette's gruyere souffle (AKA julia child's everyday souffle)

I recently purchased the May issue of Bon Appetit magazine to read on a flight. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have a new featured column by Molly Wizenberg, who writes the wonderful Orangette blog. I love how she tells a story when describing an experience with a certain food, and then transitions into a specific recipe -- so captivating. Anyway, she presents her modified version of Julia Child's "everyday souffle" recipe, which of course I had to try myself. It wasn't quite as easy as Molly claims, but her reassurances made me want to try it in the first place, so I don't mind being oversold a tiny bit. As far as souffles go, it's as simple as they get -- just gruyere cheese mixed into the base.

Grocery list: whole milk, 4 egg yolks, 5 egg whites, grated parmesan, butter, AP flour, paprika, nutmeg, gruyere cheese.



Make the egg yolk base first. Start by heating 1 cup of whole milk in a small saucepan over low heat (just to get it warm and steaming -- not boiling). In a medium heavy saucepan, melt 2 1/2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add 3 T flour and whisk until it foams, about 3 minutes. Don't let it brown. Remove the pan from heat, and pour in the warm milk, whisking till it's smooth. Return to medium heat and continue to cook and whisk continuously for 2-3 minutes.


Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Add yolks one at a time, whisking in between to blend each one. Scrape all of the souffle base into a large bowl and allow to cool to lukewarm.


Next, you beat the 5 egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer for a few minutes until stiff peaks form (you'll know when they are stiff peaks by shutting off the mixer and pulling the beater out of the whites, and if little sharp peaks form that don't fall over, the whites are perfect -- I found it took about 3 minutes). Fold one quarter of the whites into the base. Add 1 cup of coarsely grated gruyere, then fold in the rest of the whites in 2 separate batches.



Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prep the pan by buttering a 6-cup souffle dish, then add 2 T grated parmesan cheese. Rotate the pan around so the parmesan clings to all the butter in the bottom and on the sides of the pan.


Pour the batter into the dish, place in the bottom third of the oven, and immediately turn the oven down to 375 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes, till the top is golden brown and the souffle has risen and only the center moves slightly when the dish is shaken. **Do not open the oven door or disturb the souffle at all in the first 20 minutes. For the explanation of why this is important, you'll have to read Molly's interesting article...

eggs benedict

While on vacation in Anguilla, I decided to try eggs benedict for the first time. I'm not a big fan of egg yolks, and other than eating around what some people consider the "best part" of a poached egg, I loved them. When I suggested to my boyfriend that I might try them at home, he was skeptical -- why try something so involved, so unhealthy? Ahh, a challenge -- can I make eggs benedict, and at least a little healthier than the original? Of course, and it wasn't nearly as involved as I thought it would be. It'll be part of the weekend brunch rotation from now on...

Grocery list: whole wheat english muffins, canadian bacon or ham slices, eggs, butter, texas pete hot sauce, vinegar.



Start by slicing and toasting all the english muffins, and pan fry the ham slices in a nonstick pan (using no oil) over medium-high heat. Flip after a few minutes, till brown on both sides, and lay 2 slices of ham over each slice of english muffin. To make it easier to poach the eggs, find 4 ramekins and crack an egg into each one (this will allow you to get all the eggs into the water at the same time). It's good to get this prep out of the way -- it will all cool to room temp, but when you add the hot egg and hollandaise later it will all warm back up to perfect.



Fill a large saucepan with water 1 1/2 - 2 inches deep, add a splash of white vinegar, and bring the water to a gentle boil. Set up a double boiler for the sauce: using a small saucepan with a shallow layer of water, find a glass or stainless steel bowl that will fit into the top of the saucepan so the bottom doesn't touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer -- it will heat the contents of the bowl and cook it indirectly. To the bowl, add two egg yolks, 1 T of warm water, salt, and a few splashes of texas pete hot sauce. Whisk well to start, and continue to stir every minute or so for about 5 minutes.



To poach eggs, you want to carefully slip whole eggs into the boiling water all at the same time, which is why you want to crack all the eggs into individual bowls ahead of time. Slip all 4 eggs into the water at the same time. Cook for 3 minutes (longer if you want the yolks cooked a little more), then remove carefully with a slotted spoon. The first one I placed on a paper towel to absorb the water, but it can get stuck easily. After that trial and error, I just removed each egg with the slotted spoon and patted the spoon against the paper towel -- doesn't dry the egg completely, but it also doesn't destroy it in the process.



To finish the hollandaise sauce, melt 4 T of butter, then slowly pour that into the bowl with the sauce, whisking at the same time. Add a poached egg on the top of the ham and english muffin, the pour the hollandaise sauce across the tops. Garnish with a little bit of chopped parsley, if you're feeling overly ambitious.

ham and gruyere quiche

Quiche is a dish that I make fairly regularly, especially in the spring and summer, and I never really follow a recipe. The gist is basically start with a crust, put whatever cheese(s) and other filling in the bottom, then cover with egg mix and bake until it's set. I haven't found a combination of fresh spring vegetables and good quality cheese that I don't like. So when I saw an article recently (in Elle Decor, of all places) about it being the "season for quiche" now that it's spring, it reminded me that it's time to have a little brunch get-together.

I followed the article's recipe somewhat, because I have never made a crust as light and airy as this one was described. The foundation is phyllo dough, paper thin sheets of dough that you have to glue together with egg wash. I tried this to see if the challenge was interesting, and even though I now know I can make a phyllo crust for quiche myself, I probably will stick to the old fashioned southern pie crust in the future. It has a more solid, salty, dense texture, which I prefer. But I'll walk you through this one anyway, because phyllo crust is just good to know about...

Grocery list: phyllo dough (I found this in the freezer section of WF, a single box of 20 sheets), 8 eggs, 1 c half and half, ham, gruyere, goat cheese, 1 roma tomato, 5 T breadcrumbs, about 3 cups uncooked rice.



Lay one sheet of phyllo down on the counter. Beat a single egg in a bowl, and brush a little egg wash on the surface of the dough. Sprinkle 1 T plain breadcrumbs over. Add another sheet of dough, and repeat the layers (dough + egg wash + breadcrumbs) until you have 6 total sheets of dough, ending with dough on top.



Take your pie plate and set it on top of the dough layers. With a pointy knife, cut the dough *about an inch wider than the perimeter of the pan*. This is important b/c the dough shrinks when you cook the crust, and if you cut it to the exact size to start with it will shrink and not cover the bottom of the pan.

Take the dough layers and put in the bottom of your pie pan. Lay down a sheet of parchment papers, then cover with the uncooked rice, to weigh down the paper. Bake 12 minutes at 350 degrees, remove from the oven to cool (remove the rice and paper first), and turn the oven down to 300 degrees.

Grate a handful of gruyere and crumble an equal amount of goat cheese. Slice a handful or 2 of ham (virginia ham is perfect -- you can ask for 1-2 thick slices at the deli counter). Sprinkle the ham & the cheeses in the bottom of the crust. I prefer to slice the roma tomato and arrange the slices around the pan so when it cooks, each piece of quiche will have a slice of tomato right in the center.



The egg mix is 4 whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk, beaten together with 1 cup half and half and a pinch of white pepper, tiny pinch of cayenne, and salt and pepper. Pour this over the toppings and bake for at least 45 minutes. You'll know when it's done because the top will be golden and the egg mixture "set" -- i.e. if you shake the pie dish a little, it shouldn't be liquidy in the middle.

Let set on the counter for 10 minutes or longer before slicing and serving.