As the rainy spring days fade away and the summer heat envelops the South, my herbs struggle to find enough shade and water to prevent wilting. A small snip here and there for a sauce, biscuit, or soup leaves my herbs looking like a four-year-old accidentally found a pair of kitchen shears. This chicken soup is packed with herbs from my garden and showcases some of my favorite herbs in the garden. While not as delicious as my mother’s chicken pot pie, this one will do.
There is nothing like the perfectly brined and roasted chicken leg with the combination of crunchy browned skin on a cold winter night. This is a one-pot dinner that when cooked perfectly is just as masterful as leather fruit served in the shape of a beetle (RIP Noma). Just because a combination of flavors might seem mundane, doesn’t mean that a symphony of flavors can’t be created that only increase in complexity, and deliciousness, with time.
As a child, I assumed split pea soup was laborious and time consuming-which explained why my father enjoyed the Campbell’s canned version. However, I was delightfully surprised, when I made this soup for the first time, at how terribly easy it was to make.
You might be asking yourself why a Sicilian girl is writing about matzo ball soup. One word. Husband. I wanted to impress my husband and what better way than homemade matzo ball soup. I set out on a quest to find a unique but delectable matzo ball soup.
I love themed dinners and replicating a TV dinner sounded like so much fun. Enter the proverbial meatloaf. I am not old enough to remember the Swanson ads for meatloaf with either tomato sauce or gravy, but I am old enough to remember when airplanes served dinner….in coach. I still have fond childhood memories of this microwavable airplane food dispensed in perfect proportions. I wanted to recreate the element of surprise that captured me during that first in-flight meal.
This recipe made me fall in love with heirloom tomatoes, which are often less acidic than their more traditional counterparts. The soup is more subtle in flavor than your traditional tomato soup and leaves you questioning the true ingredients. It is beautiful accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich and glass of chardonnay.
If you have been to San Francisco’s revered restaurant Gary Danko, then you know the ingredients are the epitome of seasonal foods at their peak. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of enjoying a dinner at Gary Danko with my mom and corn-loving brother. While my mom and I selected scallop and lobster appetizers, my brother ordered the corn soup. I have been trying to replicate this ethereal sweet corn experience ever since.
Cape Cod lobster is worthy of an opera. The sweetness of the tail meat, the tenderness of the knuckles, and smell of briny, salty Cape Cod water that lingers on your palate the next morning. This lobster bisque is my ode to Uncle Frank and my way of ensuring that I waste nothing. After we have enjoyed fresh steamed lobsters, I ensure all the meat is removed from the bodies and the legs have been rolled. The shells get combined with whatever vegetables I have readily available (carrot, leek, celery) and submerged in water to make a stock. The stock yields an extra depth of lobster flavor to the bisque.
