Chicken Stoup Provencal

Veggie 911
The last few weeks have been full of merriment, which has left me and mine way too full. Don’t get me wrong, we had a lot of fun. But, to be frank, there weren’t too many vegetables on the buffet table unless they were paired with cream and butter. And, our bodies are feeling, well, sluggish.

It goes without saying that I have been making lighter more veggie-forward meals since Christmas (With a brief pause for more gluttony on New Year’s Day). Even the kids were on board. This tells you something since my dudes are usually all meat all the time.

The first thing I made was this Chicken Stoup Provencal recipe inspired by Rachel Ray. I have made it a few times and every time it is a hit. She calls it a stoup, a cross between a soup and a stew since there is less liquid than in a soup but more than in a traditional stew.

The use of Herbs de Provence is what makes this recipe. And it is non-negotiable. The stoup comes together quickly for a weeknight meal to warm your bones. Something most welcome after the recent rains…

Chicken Stoup Provencal
Adapted from Rachel Ray and The Food Network
Yields 4 to 6 servings Read more…

Savory Loaded Shortbread Cookies

Short(bread) Debate
Now that Christmas has come and gone and you find yourself with a little extra time, I offer up something to occupy your brain while you stare out the window in a post-holiday stupor. Does a cookie need to be sweet in order to call it a cookie?

There are plenty of examples of so-called cookies that are so borderline in their sweetness—you could call them more of a cracker or biscuit than a cookie. Shortbread is the perfect one. All you need to make shortbread is flour and some sort of fat. Typically, that fat is butter which gives the shortbread most of its flavor. Sure, there is sugar added but the overall taste leans more towards butter than sugar. And yet, most people would still consider it a cookie.

Shortbread gets its name from the crumbly texture. The fat, usually butter, inhibits the formation of long wheat protein (gluten) strands when mixed with flour thus its famous melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.

So, by that reasoning, if all you need to make a crumbly cookie is fat, who is to say you couldn’t do it with, say, bacon fat? You would still have the same occurrence with the lack of gluten development. And, in theory, the same texture. But, does the bacon fat automatically mean the shortbread is now more of a cracker?

These are the kinds of things that run through my head at weird times and have people avoiding me at parties. Or perhaps I have been watching too much Lessons in Chemistry…

Either way, I’m whipping up some of these Savory Loaded Shortbread Cookies if only to start the debate.

Savory Loaded Shortbread Cookies
Adapted from Cookies: The New Classics by Jesse Szewczyk
Yields 24 Cookies

Cheddar cheese, fresh chives, and bacon combine in this savory cookie. It takes full advantage of all the flavors of a stuffed baked potato by swapping a buttery shortbread base for the standard russet.

They make a wonderful appetizer that is infinitely easier to manage than a baked potato. Read more…

Molasses Spice Cookies

Viking Christmas
According to Ancestry.com, I am 84% Scandinavian. This is no great revelation because I grew up amongst of a bunch of very tall, sometimes grumpy, frequently loud, frustratingly stubborn, hard-partying Vikings on both sides of the family.

Holidays with this crowd as a kid were a lot of fun because no one loves barely controlled chaos more than a kid. The adults had different views. I thought it was great.

My grandmother was one of nine kids born to a couple of Danes who found themselves in California at the turn of the 20th century. Though they embraced their new country and refused to speak in their native tongue once they arrived, they did manage to keep a few of their traditions going.

We still have Ebleskiver every Christmas morning, though how my great-grandmother managed to feed that many people with one pan that only makes 7 at a time boggles my mind. (We continue to use her pan but have added a couple more.) And we still enjoy treats with a lot of the traditional warming spices of winter: cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, cardamom, and, of course, ginger.

I love a good chewy ginger cookie. But, I really only eat them around Christmas time, so they are, in fact, a treat. In all honesty, these wouldn’t qualify as a traditional Danish cookie except for the spices, though I don’t think Julemandon (Santa Claus) would object to these being left for his midnight snack.

Glӕdelig Jul!

Molasses Spice Cookies Recipe
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
Yields about 22 cookies

These Molasses Spice Cookies have a nice crisp edge and soft interior. The warming spices and molasses flavor make them perfect for your holiday cookie tray. Read more…

Scottish Fruit Slice

Slice of Home
I love to travel. But, I haven’t done much of it recently because, well, life. Sure, we’ve done the requisite Hawaii and Mexico trips as well as some fantastic national parks. But, we haven’t done what I consider real traveling. To me, real traveling is when you find yourself in a new country where you can soak up all of the culture and get to know the people. And the food.

I mean, it’s always about the food, right?

Fifteen years ago, I went to Scotland. It was magical. If you have done any traveling and have had the happy experience of feeling like you have come home that is what being in Scotland was like for me. While I have some Scottish blood in my veins, it is a very small part of my heritage. Although I do have quite a bit of Viking blood which kind of works historically.

I spent a little less than two weeks exploring Edinburgh, Loch Lomond, the highlands, and the islands—eating and drinking my way through some of the most beautiful scenery on earth. The best salmon I have ever tasted was served in a tiny place on the river Spey. The salmon melted in your mouth. Literally melted. I haven’t been able to recreate it, but I do dream about it…often.

Another tasty bite that I have been trying to recreate is a pastry that I purchased from a bakery on the square in the town of Portree on the island of Skye. The Scottish Fruit Slice is essentially two layers of shortbread with a spiced fruit filling in the middle. I have spent the past 15 years trying to find a recipe for it.

Part of the challenge in finding the right recipe was that not only is this treat known by a multitude of names, there are also widely varying versions based on where it is made. What I know as a fruit slice is also known as Fly Cemetery or Fly Cake names which, frankly, diminish the cravability. Also, what I enjoyed on my trip is, no surprise, the Scottish version. Other versions, i.e., the English version, use puff pastry instead of shortbread for the layers.

I like the sturdiness of the shortbread which makes it much easier to eat cookie-style alongside a whisky-spiked cup of tea. The shortbread also holds up better in my Christmas cookie box which this year, I am excited to say, will have some fruit slices in them because I finally found the right recipe!

Scottish Fruit Slice Recipe
Yields 12 servings

This easy Scottish Fruit Slice recipe of shortcrust pastry filled with juicy currants is one to add to your repertoire. It’s quick and simple to make and works well for holiday cookie trays, bake sales, and afternoon tea. Feel free to add a splash of Scottish whisky for an extra flavor. Read more…