roasted pear and chocolate chunk scones

One of the saddest things you should probably know about me is that Im a terrible host. I dont mean to be; in my head, Im the kind of person who would find out you were coming over, quickly gather some wildflowers from the side of the road, put them in an old Mason jar, pour-over some coffee from a local roaster, steam cream from an upstate dairy in a spouted glass and pull out something warm and enticing from the oven right as you arrived. In my head, I understand that none of these things are terribly difficult to pull off. In reality, were you to come over right now, youd find a plate of pears (one with a toddler mouth-sized bite removed) and mostly-empty jar of something delicious, but alas, too delicious to have lasted until you arrived, on the table, a colossal explosion of wooden train tracks and fire station parts all over the carpet and a fireman in a time out (What did he do? I asked. He did NOTHING! I was informed. Well, then). Also notable is the absent aroma of freshly-brewed coffee. Upon closer inspection, you might see that I dont actually own any coffee-making apparatus. And not a single warm thing has left the oven this morning; we had stove-top oatmeal for breakfast again.

Seriously, youd revoke my book contact if you saw this place. I might have kept this to myself forever, but I have been found out. I have been found out because in the last month, more strangers have entered my apartment than have in the three-plus years weve lived here. They come under the auspices of writing articles about tiny kitchens or wanting to watch me make a recipe from the cookbook, but I know the truth: they want to see how we really live and when they find out, well, I hope they are relieved because are all of the fruits in your bowl intact? Are no firemen in unjust time outs? Good, youre a step ahead.

Nevertheless, because this is my website and because on my website, I get to try (occasionally) to put my best foot forward, I am going to tell you about the morning two weeks ago that I had two guests over and I actually pulled off hospitality. Mostly. I mean, one person had been here before, thus she knew it was smart to bring coffee in. But these scones were so wonderful that I think they make up for all sorts of things, like the pile of platters and bowls that sit on a corner chair, have spilled out from a cabinet so long ago, we dont even notice them anymore. I started with a recipe for scones Id made a few years ago, but instead of apples, I used pears (not the one with the bite taken out; youre welcome) and instead of accenting it with cheddar, I used chunks of bittersweet chocolate. These enormous roasted pear and chocolate chunk scones assembled the night before, baked directly from the freezer before my morning guests arrived were a revelation; craggy, hearty, a little crunchy, tender in the center, crisp at the edges, gorgeously bronzed and an ideal balance of light sweetness but late-October indulgence. I am not sure Ive ever made anything so good for breakfast guests before, or will ever be so coordinated before 9 a.m. again.

Four days! Until The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook leaves my kitchen and hopefully makes a home in yours. Thats less than 100 hours. This is.. wild. Were getting a little giddy with excitement for the NYC launch on Tuesday evening. Do you think it would be rude to uninvite Sandy? She seems the type that could really wreck a good party, and we dont need any of that.

One year agos: Coming soon!

Roasted Pear and Chocolate Chunk Scones
Tweaked from The Perfect Finish

Makes 6 generous scones; you can absolutely make these a bit smaller and reduce their baking time accordingly

3 firmish pears (about 1 pound or 255 grams)
1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated or coarse for sprinkling
1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) table salt plus additional for egg wash
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (3 ounces or 85 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or chips)
2 large eggs, 1 for dough, 1 for glaze

Heat oven to 375F. Peel and core pears. Cut into 1-inch chunks. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange pear chunks on parchment and roast until they feel dry to the touch and look a little browned underneath, about 20 minutes. Slide parchment paper with pear chunks onto a cooling rack (or onto a plate in the fridge or freezer to speed this up) and cool to lukewarm. Leave oven on. Line baking sheet with another piece of parchment.

Whisk flour, baking powder, 1/4 cup sugar and salt together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Toss in cooled pear chunks, bits of butter, heavy cream and 1 egg. With the paddle attachment, mix the dough on low speed until it just comes together. Dont overmix. Add the chocolate chunks and mix for 5 seconds more.

On a very well floured counter, pat out dough into a 6-inch round. Cut into 6 generous wedges and transfer to baking sheet at least two inches apart (do as I say, not as I did here!). Whisk remaining egg in a small dish with 1 teaspoon of water and a pinch of salt. Brush each scone with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar.

Bake scones until firm and golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve, and pat yourself on the back for your excellent host skills.

Do ahead: You can get this recipe all the way to the point where youd bake them, and instead cover the pan with foil or plastic wrap and freeze them overnight. Bake them directly from the freezer in the morning; they should only take a few minutes longer. For longer than overnight, transfer frozen, already shaped, scones to a freezer bag until needed. In both cases, brush the egg wash/sprinkle the sugar on while still frozen, before baking the scones.

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butternut squash salad with farro and pepitas

This was my lunch last week. I know that it may look less like lunch and more like penance, some apology for eating too many squares of salted-caramel-glazed fanned-apples-atop-1000-layers-of-buttery-pastry. I realize that most people think that when you start serving them bowls hearty grains and roasted squash that you might have an ulterior motive, like their thighs. I understand that most people dont believe me when I say this, but it doesnt make it any less true: I dont eat food because its good for me; I eat it because I like it. And this was one of the most delicious lunch salads Ive ever made.

Herein lies my approach to grain salads: I like whatever vegetables Im using in the salad to be the bulk of it, and the grains to be the accent, like a crouton. When you make grain salad this way, you get to appreciate the its texture, and not just lament that its not plush as a mound of fine couscous, something youd hardly notice eating. This, however, does not mean that theyre to be crouton-free; all salads need punch and crunch, and here, it comes from toasted, salted pepitas (though any nut will do), crumbled ricotta salata (though any salty, crumbly cheese will do) and minced red onion that I pickled at the last minute in sherry vinegar.

The salad is not a miracle worker. It did not convince a picky toddler who likes roasted squash and farro separately to eat them together. It did not photograph particularly sharply in the scrap of remaining daylight I had left at 5 pm. And it didnt make this nagging cough I have disappear, or save me from a diagnosis of bronchitis, something Im going to go out on a limb and suggest is not really something anyone hopes to hear a week before their book comes out. But not a single one of these things will matter when youre eating it because its like dividing a big bowl of fall weekend bliss all pumpkin patch orange, golden hay and waning green flecks. You will want it to last and last.

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Comes out ONE WEEK FROM TODAY. I am so excited that I keep spelling book with an extra-dramatic string of Os, booooook, which seems fitting for its pre-Halloween release. You can preorder the book from these stores. The book tour listings are here. And if you cant make it to an event, heres another way to get a signed book. And next Tuesday, were all making candy.

Two years ago: Spiced Applesauce Cake
Three years ago: Cauliflower with Almonds, Raisins and Capers
Four years ago: Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad and Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Five years ago: Gluten Free Chocolate Financiers, Pumpkin Butter and Pepita Granola
Six years ago: Spinach Quiche and Pumpkin Muffins

Butternut Salad with Farro, Pepitas and Ricotta Salata

Serves 4 to 6, generously

Like most salads, this recipe works well as a template, meaning that many of the ingredients can be replaced with likeminded ones with little trouble. You can use other winter squashes in the place of the butternut (or even sweet potatoes), the farro could be replaced with barley, freekeh or another grain of your choice. The red onion could be shallots. The pepitas could be another toasted nut, roughly chopped and the ricotta salata could be feta or soft bits of goat cheese. The sherry vinegar could be a white wine vinegar.

The pearling process removes the inedible hull that surrounds the wheat, and farro is generally sold either pearled, semi-pearled or regular. The pearled will take the shortest time to cook. If youre not sure what you have, just use the cooking directions on the package. Below, I have the cooking times/process for semi-pearled.

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
5 to 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup semi-pearled farro (see Note up top)
1/3 cup toasted pepitas (I used, and love, the salted ones)
3 ounces ricotta salata or another salty cheese, crumbled or coarsely grated (about 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Peel squash, then halve lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Cut squash into approximately 3/4-inch chunks. Coat one large or two small baking sheets with 2 tablespoons oil total. Spread squash out in single layer on sheet. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast until pieces are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cooking time. Set aside to cool slightly.

While squash is roasting, cook farro in a large pot of simmering salted water until the grains are tender but chewy, about 30 minutes. (Since there are so many varieties of farro, however, if your package suggests otherwise, its best to defer to its cooking suggestion.) Drain and cool slightly.

While squash is roasting and farro is simmering, in a small bowl, whisk together sherry vinegar, water, 1/2 teaspoon table salt and granulated sugar until sugar and salt dissolve. Stir in onion; it will barely be covered by vinegar mixture but dont worry. Cover and set in fridge until needed; 30 minutes is ideal but less time will still make a lovely, lightly pickled onion.

In a large bowl, mix together butternut squash, farro, red onion and its vinegar brine, the crumbled cheese and pepitas. Toss with 3 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil, use the 4th one only if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings. Eat now or later. Salad keeps in the fridge for up to a week.

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Farro and Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe - 101 Cookbooks Balsamic roasted butternut squash, deeply toasted walnuts, and nutty farro come together in this salad inspired by the countless farro salads I enjoyed while on the ... Bitchincamero Food blog Miami ... Butternut Squash & Mushroom Chicken Pot Pie October 11th, 2011 Filed under: entree, recipe Tags: butternut squash, casserole, chicken, mushrooms Healthy Recipes and Meal Ideas Trying to find healthy and delicious recipes? Food Network makes that easy with their collection of low fat, low calorie and low carb recipes. roasted butternut and corn salad + garden herbs The First Mess So I was perusing the catering menu on Ottolenghi's website (you'd be surprised how much time I spend Roasted Delicata Squash Salad Recipe - 101 Cookbooks I used my friend Molly Watson's recipe as a jumping off point here, and ended up with a roasted squash salad of sorts. It uses the pretty, scalloped-edged cross-cuts ... holiday detox salad: shaved brussels, kale, cabbage, & broccoli ... acorn squash stuffed with a warm farro and pine nut salad; raw fudge brownies with a vanilla raspberry puree; pumpkin & beet salad with a carrot ginger dressing Ingredients-for-Health: Farro Several months ago, we went to one of our favourite restaurants, Provence Marinaside. As you enter the restaurant, many of their menu items are on display, deli style ... chopped salad with feta, lime and mint smitten kitchen A home cooking weblog from a tiny kitchen in New York City. The place to find all of your new favorite things to cook. spicy squash salad with lentils and goat cheese smitten kitchen A home cooking weblog from a tiny kitchen in New York City. The place to find all of your new favorite things to cook. Recipes Whole Foods Market Make this simple yet tasty recipe and enjoy for dinner or for lunches throughout the week. Substitute black beans or pinto beans or use a combination of your favorite.

apple mosaic tart with salted caramel

My husband likes to joke that every other comment on this site in the month of October is, Help! I went apple picking and I brought home 20 pounds of apples and I dont know how to use them up! Its not true, of course; its every five or six comments. We mostly have a giggle about it because we didnt know how one could go to an apple grove and not realize that 20 of apples is an impossible amount to munch your way through, no matter how enthusiastic of an apple-eater you might be. Furthermore, seeing as quite often, only one apple type is ripe at a time, which means youre youre not likely bringing a mix home that might sustain your interest from apple to apple, ad inifinitum. So, you know where this is going. Guys, we went apple picking last weekend and I brought home almost 15 pounds of apples! What do I do with them?

I am kidding, mostly. I have a few ideas for them. The first 6 pounds went to the largest batch of applesauce, ever, half of which is in the freezer for my resident Applesauce Junkie. The next few pounds were munched on, happily. A few pounds are on the table in a bowl, though I think Ramona Quimby must have snuck in because I keep noticing single, tiny bites taken out of each (because the first bite is the tastiest). Next, well, this happened. And once this happens, I think youre going to be glad you have a bunch of pounds of apples left, because this is the kind of stuff that calls for a repeat performance.

Are you taking submissions for your new favorite dead simple fall dessert? I understand that competition in this arena is pretty fierce. Ive already shared Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls this month, and I dont expect you to throw them over so quickly in the Winning October Bellies and Minds race. If it helps, you can relegate them to the breakfast category. Of course, that still leaves the Simplest Apple Tart. But every five or so years, well, I think there should be a new simple apple tart in town, and I think it should be this one.

This tart is, in essence, a French apple tart, a simple affair involving puffed pasty, thin slices of apples fanned this way and that before they are dotted with butter, sprinkled with sugar and baked in the oven until they sodder together into an puddled-apple-butter-caramel fusion that is entirely greater than the sum of its parts. The only places I take issue with these tarts is in their linear approach to apples (I prefer, and consider it futile to resist, the stunning look and fanning pattern of Lady Ms Apple Tapestry Tart) and in the finishing step, where a little jam (usually apricot or something chosen for its light color, but never its flavor harmony with the fruit below it) is melted to form a glaze that is brushed over the tart after it finishes baking. Apricot jam has no place on my apples. Surely, I reasoned, there are other ways to melt sugar into a glaze, maybe even a deeply cooked, caramelized one with coppery burnt sugar notes and a bit of sea salt and maybe if you let it bake into the apples for a few final minutes in the oven something really wonderful would happen and

The result is a mosaic of fall apple bliss. Heres where Im supposed to say You wont believe how good just puffed pastry, apples, butter, sugar and salt can taste together, but friends, I think you would believe me, that you do, you get it. And that is exactly why you have to make this this weekend.

Two years ago: Cauiliflower and Parmesan Cake
Three years ago: Apple Cider Doughnuts
Four years ago: Meatballs and Spaghetti and Mollys Apple Tarte Tatin
Five years ago: Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Six years ago: Wild Mushroom Galette

Apple Mosaic Tart with Salted Caramel

Puffed pastry is a wonderful thing to keep around in your freezer. It comes at all price points, but I do think that the best ones contain only butter, not shortening. DuFour is my favorite brand; it is an investment that you will be able to taste in every bite and this is the kind of tart where youll really be able to tell. If you buy some for this recipe, buy two. Youll thank me next week, when you need to make it again.

Be ye not intimidated by homemade caramel. I promise, it can be so simple. You dont need water, corn syrup, a pastry brush or exclamation point-ed nerve-wracking admonitions to not stir. You just put some sugar in an empty saucepan, turn the heat up and wait a few minutes. It will melt; it always does.

Serves 12 (It should be sliced like this earlier version, not the final one I hastily photographed here.)

Tart base
14-ounce package puff pastry, defrosted in fridge overnight
3 large or 4 medium apples (about 1 1/4 punds)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small bits

Salted caramel glaze
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or salted, but then ease up on the sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt (or half as much table salt)
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Heat your oven to 400F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Ideally you would use a 1015-inch jelly roll pan, as I do here. A smaller pan will make a thicker tart (and you might need fewer apples). In a larger pan, you can still fit a 1015-inch tart, which I think is the ideal size here.

Lightly flour your counter and lay out your pastry. Flour the top and gently roll it until it fits inside your baking sheet, and transfer it there. Try not to roll it any bigger than youll need it, or youll have to trim, which means youll have to sprinkle the trimmings with cinnamon-sugar and bake them into cookie-sized segments for snacks. And that would be terrible.

Peel the apples and cut them in half top-to-bottom. Remove the cores and stems (I like to use a melon baller and/or a pairing knife). Slice the apples halves crosswise as thinly as you can with a knife, or to about 1/16-inch thickness with a mandoline. Leaving a 1/2-inch border, fan the apples around the tart in slightly overlapping concentric rectangles each apple should overlap the one before so that only about 3/4-inch of the previous apple will be visible until you reach the middle. Sprinkle the apples evenly with the first two tablespoons of sugar then dot with the first two tablespoons butter.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges of the tart are brown and the edges of the apples begin to take on some color. If you sliced your apples by hand and they were on the thicker side, you might need a little more baking time to cook them through. The apples should feel soft, but dry to the touch. If you puffed pasty bubbles dramatically in any place during the baking time, simply poke it with a knife or skewer so that it deflates. This is fun, I promise.

Meanwhile, about 20 minutes into the baking time, make your glaze. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt your last 1/4 cup sugar; this will take about 3 minutes. Cook the liquefied sugar to a nice copper color, another minute or two. Off the heat, add the sea salt and butter and stir until the butter melts and is incorporated. Add the heavy cream and return to the stove over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until you have a lovely, bronzed caramel syrup, just another minute, two, tops. Set aside until needed. You may need to briefly rewarm it to thin the caramel before brushing it over the tart.

After the tart has baked, transfer it to a cooling rack, but leave the oven on. Using very short, gentle strokes, and brushing in the direction that the apples fan to mess up their design as little as possible, brush the entire tart, including the exposed pastry, with the salted caramel glaze. You might have a little leftover. Whatever you do, do not spread it on a sliced apple for a snack. Trust me.

Return the apple tart to the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the caramel glaze bubbles. Let tart cool complete before cutting into 12 squares. Serve plain, with coffee or tea, if youre feeling grown-up or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if youre feeling particularly indulgent.

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:) Crafty Mama Food, crafts, and more Food, crafts, and more ... A couple weeks ago I made an Angry Birds game to bring to my nieces birthday party. Apple - Start Apple hot news, launches, apple events, movie trailers and iTunes this week. cookster - AARP about AARP. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps people 50 and over improve the quality of their lives. Crunchy Carmel Apple Pie Recipe - ABC News When the leaves start turning colors in the fall, Marsha Brooks of Carmel, Ind., knows it is time to start baking her Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie. Fleur de Sel (Salted) Caramel Macarons - honeyandsoy Food Adventures A crisp, chewy meringue sandwiched with sweet caramel with bursts of salty fleur de sel. Whiskie Business: Spiced Apple Walnut Cake with Caramel Buttercream Can you tell I like spices? This might be the third recipe I've posted with "spice" in the name! I've said it before and I'll say it again - there is truly something ... Salted Caramel Apple Tart Tatin Recipe : Anne Thornton : Recipes ... 5 hr 55 min; Nonstick vegetable oil spray; 1 cup sugar; 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter , cut into small cubes; Crystal flake sea salt (recommended: Maldon); 7 to ... Zentan - Downtown - Washington Urbanspoon Zentan, Asian Restaurant in Downtown. See the menu, 12 photos, 7 critic reviews, 17 blog posts and 9 user reviews. Reviews from critics, food blogs and ... Life's Simple Measures: Caramel Swirl Hunks Yes, Caramel Swirl Hunks. And they are everything you would want in a bar and more. HUGE, chewy, chocolatey, and full of globs of dulce de leche [a.k.a ... Recipe Index smitten kitchen smitten kitchen. About; Apple Recipes; Archives; Book; Breakfast; Celebration Cakes; Chocolate; Comment Guidelines

pancetta, white bean and chard pot pies

For the last month or so, my cookbook had been on a boat, an image which delighted me to no end. I pictured it heading to a dock at the edge of a continent, like Arya at the end of Book 3 of Game of Thrones, and hoping that someone would give it passage. I imagined it splashing through waters rough and calm on a long journey, like the one depicted in Lost and Found. And then I imagined it arriving at the shipping docks, unloaded by the likes of handsome Nick Sobotka in Season 2 of The Wire (er, hopefully under happier circumstances), its container being fitted to trucks or rail cars and heading to a warehouse where it would tap its feet impatiently until October 30th arrived and it could finally come out and see you.

And now you know the truth: the inside of my head mostly looks like pages from picture books and scenes from HBO. I dont know how I hid it so long.

The first printing did indeed arrive at a warehouse in Maryland last week, but lest you think authorship has any privileges, I have seen but three copies of the book, one that I was allowed to hold briefly on QVC, one that was quickly snatched up by my parents, and a third one disappeared at my husbands office for a while. The good news is, nobody hates it. The bad news is, people are kind of mad at me. When did you make this and why didnt we get any? they ask and oh man, scrambling for answers is getting uncomfortable. My husband asked me this about a vegetarian taco dish that the babysitter and I completely inhaled the second I got the photo I needed, and decided to keep this information to ourselves. (Soo busted.) Theres a potato salad I didnt share at all, just tucked away in the fridge and had for lunch for a perfect few days. (Im not sorry.) And the giant pancake? Well, its not my fault that the toddler was too smart to share it all eight times I made it for him for breakfast.

However, there is one dish that my husband pauses and sighs, remembering favorably, just about every time it comes up, and that is this one, Pancetta, White Bean and Swiss Chard Pot Pies. It spun out of my firm belief that if youre limiting you pot pies to chicken, well, youre missing some excellent opportunities. Pot pies, at their core, are the ultimate cooler weather comfort food and what makes them grand has little, in my opinion, to do with chicken. Beneath the lid is a velout-like sauce, which is a fancy way of saying a broth thats been thickened and enriched a little with a butter-flour roux. In short: its broth made much more decadent, and just about anything you add to it will be made ten times as delicious by its environment. In this case, I wanted an earthy fall stew, with some greens, beans and a little pancetta for smoky richness, though you can absolutely skip the pancetta if youre looking for a vegetarian dish. The lid is the flakiest pastry I know how to make and together in the oven, your pies will bubble and bronze their way to an unforgettable dinner, the kind of thing, in individual portions, thatd be mean not to share. Especially if people will eventually find out.

Big book-signing news!: As excited as I am to get the book tour started, I, too, am bummed that Im not going to be able to do signings in all of the cities I would like this fall. There isnt enough time. There isnt enough me! So, we have been working feverishly behind the scenes to find an arrangement that would allow people who cannot get to a tour destination to buy a copy full of my chicken scrawl signed by me. Weve teamed with the delightful McNally-Jackson bookstore in Soho and they have created a custom ordering page wherein you can request your personal inscription. If you order by Wednesday, October 24th, the book will ship on its release date of October 30th. Order by Tuesday, December 4th to receive in time for Hanukkah and by Thursday, December 20th to receive in time for Christmas. Quantities are limited by, frankly, my crazy travel schedule this fall but if for whatever reason theres no way I will be able to keep up with the orders (and yes, I would absolutely file this under Good Problems To Have!) we will let you know. Whee! [Here's the page with everything you need to know.]

Book previews: This is the third of four cookbook previews I am sharing on the site in advance of its publication date, October 30th. The first was Cinnamon Toast French Toast and the second was Fig, Olive Oil and Sea Salt Challah. I wouldnt say Im saving the best for last (these recipes are like children; I could never have a favorite!) but oh man, the one that comes next has been almost unbearable to know about for two years and not tell you yet. You can sneak another preview in a few publications, such as The New York Times, which ran an adaptation of the books Leek Fritters over the summer. O Magazine ran an adaptation of one of the books birthday cakes for grown-ups this month and over on Amazon, you can already thumb through the book. But promise you wont yell at me, okay? I really did mean to share.

Two years ago: Apple and Cheddar Scones
Three years ago: Jalapeno and Cheddar Scones
Four years ago: Acorn Squash Quesadillas and My Familys Noodle Kugel
Five years ago: Hello Dolly Bars and Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette
Six years ago: Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons

Pancetta, White Bean and Swiss Chard Pot Pies
From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

The pancetta, while adding a lovely, smoky base, can be omitted to make this vegetarian. In fact, I went back and forth many, many times about removing it so that this could stay in the vegetarian section, but in the end, decided it easier I leave the choice to you. For a vegetarian version, simply skip the pancetta and cook your vegetables in 2 tablespoons olive oil instead of 1. You can replace the swiss chard with any green you have around, from a hearty spinach to kale, adjusting the cooking time accordingly to make sure it wilts a bit before going into the oven to finish cooking.

As you can see from the photos, I really dont own soup crocks. I have debated the value of purchasing some many times of the years, but you must trust me when I say I dont have room for a single extra dish I dont already own in my life right now. Instead, I just use two-cup bowls we already have that are ovenproof. (When buying a dish set, I always look to see if they are ovenproof, as you never know when this will come in handy.) If you dont have ovenproof soup bowls, you can always make a large version of this in a casserole dish with one big pastry lid.

Weekday night tip: Make a double batch of the stew and lids. Keep them separate and for two to three nights, you can ladle what youd like into bowls, roll out lids and bake them to order.

Serves 4

Lid
2 cups (250 grams) all- purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
13 tablespoons (185 grams or 1 stick plus 5 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, diced
6 tablespoons (90 grams) sour cream or whole Greek yogurt (i.e., a strained
yogurt)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) white wine vinegar
1/4 cup (60 ml) ice water
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Filling
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
4 ounces (115 grams or 3/4 to 1 cup) 1/4-inch-diced pancetta
1 large or 2 small onions, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
Thinly sliced Swiss chard leaves from an 8- to 10-ounce (225- to 285-gram)
bundle (4 cups); if leaves are very wide, you can halve them lengthwise
3 1/2 tablespoons (50 grams) butter
3 1/2 tablespoons (25 grams) all- purpose flour
3 1/2 cups (765 ml) sodium- free or low- sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups white beans, cooked and drained, or from one and a third 15.5- ounce
(440-gram) cans

Make lids: In a large, wide bowl (preferably one that you can get your hands into), combine the fl our and salt. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut them up and into the flour mixture until it resembles little pebbles. Keep breaking up the bits of butter until the texture is like uncooked couscous. In a small dish, whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, and water, and combine it with the butter-flour mixture. Using a flexible spatula, stir the wet and the dry together until a craggy dough forms. If needed, get your hands into the bowl to knead it a few times into one big ball. Pat it into a flattish ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the fridge for 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Make filling: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium- high heat in a large, wide saucepan, and then add the pancetta. Brown the pancetta, turning it frequently, so that it colors and crisps on all sides; this takes about 10 minutes. Remove it with a slotted spoon, and drain it on paper towels before transferring to a medium bowl. Leave the heat on and the renderings in the pan. Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil if needed and heat it until it is shimmering. Add onions, carrot, celery, red pepper flakes, and a few pinches of salt, and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are softened and begin to take on color, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute more. Add the greens and cook until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with the additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer all of the cooked vegetables to the bowl with the pancetta, and set aside.

Make sauce: Wipe out the large saucepan; dont worry if any bits remain stuck to the bottom. Then melt the butter in the saucepan over medium- low heat. Add the flour, and stir with a whisk until combined. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring the whole time, until it begins to take on a little color. Whisk in the broth, one ladleful at a time, mixing completely between additions. Once youve added one- third of the broth, you can begin to add the rest more quickly, two to three ladlefuls at a time; at this point you can scrape up any bits that were stuck to the bottom theyll add great flavor.

Once all of the broth is added, stirring the whole time, bring the mixture to a boil and reduce it to a simmer. Cook the sauce until it is thickened and gravylike, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the white beans and reserved vegetables into the sauce.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Assemble and cook pot pies: Divide the filling between four ovenproof 2-cup bowls. (Youll have about 1 1/2 cups filling in each.) Set the bowls on a baking pan. Divide the dough into four pieces, and roll it out into rounds that will cover your bowls with an overhang, or about 1 inch wider in diameter than your bowls. Whisk the egg wash and brush it lightly around the top rim of your bowls (to keep the lid glued on; nobody likes losing their lid!) and drape the pastry over each, pressing gently to adhere it. Brush the lids with egg wash, then cut decorative vents (smaller than mine, please, as they led to lots of draping) in each to help steam escape. Bake until crust is lightly bronzed and filling is bubbling, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Do ahead: The dough, wrapped twice in plastic wrap and slipped into a freezer bag, will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge, and for a couple months in the freezer. The filling can be made up to a day in advance and stored in a covered container in the fridge.

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chicken noodle soup

There are about as many recipes for chicken noodle soup as there are people who enjoy it, which is everyone. Well, everyone but me. I understand that announcing that one does not like chicken noodle soup is tantamount to saying that one dislikes comfort, thick sweaters on brisk fall days, well-padded shoes for long walks and sips of tea from a steamy mug. I get this. But in my defense, I am not the one who broke it.

I cannot take responsibility for delis that keep a batch of soup at a low simmer 24/7, until the noodles are gummy and the bits of chicken taste like death itself. I find it depressing that few recipes on the first three pages of Google results for chicken noodle soup image that one might want to make it from scratch, that an old fashioned chicken noodle soup recipe on one of the largest food websites out there has you begin with eight cans of low-sodium chicken stock. I am equally suspicious of chicken soups that have you cook the chicken to a point beyond repair and then discard the meat, because my inner Depression-era granny (frankly, outer, too, on days where I don my aforementioned thick cardigan and padded shoes) would fall over at the thought that people cook a chicken only not eat it, and therefore, maybe so should we. I am uninspired by soups that have you cook the chicken so briskly in the name of saving it for later leaving just a pale, weak broth behind. And with this, what happened is what always happens when I attempt to explain in great detail why I have no love for a certain dish: I ended up making it anyway.

A few things led to this: First, I finally summoned enough common sense to realize that saying you dont like an item because the readily available versions of it are no good is like saying you dont like tomatoes because in January, the groceries only sell pale orbs that are more dehydrated watermelon in texture than tomatoes. Surely tomatoes arent to blame for whats been done to them. The second was that my son came home from preschool with a terrible cold that he quickly passed to his father and it bothered me more than it should that I didnt have a go-to recipe for the universes most beloved remedy. And if this wasnt enough motivation, over the weekend the weather plummeted from a gorgeous 77 degrees to a windy, rainy 52 and soup is suddenly the only thing that makes sense.

In the kitchen, I did things my way, which is to say, minimally. The broth is just chicken and onions, with a confetti of vegetables added at the end where their flavor remains bright. The noodles are wide and winding, for those (okay, probably just me) who could never keep those slippery, skinny ones on their spoons. But, for me, the real triumph was giving the chicken parts and onion a saute a trick I picked up from Cooks Illustrated, that picked it up from Edna Lewis before adding water to make the soup. This deepened flavor base makes for magical soup, with a bronzed color, more robust flavor and significantly reduced prep time. This was my A-ha! moment. With all of the blustery, cold days to go this winter, everyone, even the previously reistent, deserves to have a homemade, from-scratch chicken noodle soup that can be pulled off in just about an hour in their back pocket.

Book, book, book: As promised, I populated the Book Tour & Events page over the weekend with three new events, one quite close to my hometown and two others at beloved stores. I also added as much detail as I could about each stores policies as to whether you can bring an outside book in to be signed. At each event, these rules will vary and I hope that this makes it as transparent as possible. Finally, stay tuned next week, when I will announce another way to get books signed by me, even if you live far from the cities Ill be heading to. Guys, the book release is getting so close (20 days)! I really hope we get a chance to meet. Whee!

Two years ago: Roasted Eggplant Soup
Three years ago: Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp
Four years ago: Beef, Leek and Barley Soup
Five years ago: Arroz Con Pollo and Gazpacho Salad
Six years ago: Lemon Pound Cake

Chicken Noodle Soup

While the recipe below makes what we consider a dreamy classic chicken noodle soup, feel free to just use it as a template. Cant bear a chicken stock without garlic or leeks? Add them. (I sometimes use two onions, because I like that flavor so much with chicken. One could be replaced with leeks.) Only like stock made with light or dark meat? Go for it. Want to use different vegetables? Were big fans of cauliflower and green bean segments in here too; for aesthetics, I try to dice the vegetables so theyre all the same size chunks. Do you have a toddler thats averse to soup? Try using 4 ounces noodles. It makes for a heartier, noodle-heavy soup, and all of those noodles are an excellent distraction. Bored of noodles? Spaetzle, rice and other grains would be delightful here.

If you have time to bring your chicken to room temperature before getting started, all the better for the browning step.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-pound chicken, in parts or 3 pounds chicken pieces of your choice
8 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large carrot, diced (1/3-inch)
1 medium parsnip, diced (1/3-inch) (optional)
1 large celery stalk, diced (1/3-inch)
3 ounces dried egg noodles, I prefer wide ones
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley

Prepare broth: In a large (5-quart) heavy pot over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onion and saute it for 3 to 4 minutes, until beginning to take on color at edges. Add the chicken pieces (if too crowded, can do this in two batches), making little wells in the onions so that the parts can touch the bottom of the pan directly. Cook chicken parts until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Add water, bay leaf, table salt and some freshly ground black pepper and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and skim any (sorry for lack of better term) scum that appears at the surface of the pot. Simmer pot gently, partially covered, for 20 minutes.

Transfer chicken parts to a plate to cool a bit before handling. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl (ideally, with a spout) and pour soup through it.

If your pot looks grimy and youre fanatical about having a clear soup, you can give it a quick wash before returning the broth to the pot. You can remove a bit of fat at this point, if it looks necessary. Bring the broth back to a simmer.

You may be tempted at this point to taste it and add more salt. I know this because I do it every single time, adding another teaspoon, and every. single. time. I regret this as it is too salty in the end. So, proceed with any re-seasoning with caution.

To finish and serve: Add diced vegetables and simmer them until theyre firm-tender, about 5 minutes. Add dried noodles and cook them according to package directions, usually 6 to 9 minutes. While these simmer, remove the skin and chop the flesh from a couple pieces of chicken, only what youre going to use. You wont need all of it in the soup. I usually use the breasts first because theyre my least favorite and benefit the most from the extra moisture of the soup. The remaining parts can be slipped into an airtight bag in the fridge (I recommend leaving the skin on for retained moisture until needed) and used for chicken salad or the like over the next few days.

Once noodles have cooked, add chicken pieces just until they have rewarmed through (30 seconds) and ladle into serving bowls. Garnish with dill or parsley, dig in and let it fix everything that went wrong with your day.

Do ahead: If planning ahead, the point where you strain your chicken broth is a great place to pause. Refrigerate the chicken broth until the next day. Before heating it and finishing the recipe, you can easily remove any solidified fat from the surface for a virtually fat-free soup. Then, you can cook the vegetables and noodles to order, adding the chicken only so that it can rewarm (and not overcook!). If making the broth more than a day in advance, you might as well freeze it. I recommend freezer bags with as much air as possible pressed out. Freezing the bags flat will make it easier to stack and store with other frozen soups, and the bag will only require a short soak in warm water to defrost.

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