1 Whole Chicken = 3 Meals
+ 1 pound of ground chicken and the Apple Tart you can make for the holiday even if you’re terrible at baking
Lots of new readers this week
HELLO! And happy you’re reading along. This newsletter is a very à la minute (I promise you’ll spot typos and grammatical errors) chronicling of what I’m cooking and eating that week. I’m cooking for two hungry men (one 36 year old and one 19 month old), occasionally a hungry grandpa and my very pregnant self. Aside from all those hats, I’m a food stylist and recipe developer. So basically everyday I’m either in a kitchen of a photo studio on a photo shoot OR I’m in my own kitchen in New Jersey. My goal on bringing you into the fold of my kitchen, is to nudge you to cook more and hopefully spark inspiration on what to eat. I myself get into ruts and need such inspiration.
What’s the deal with the paid subscription?
Every Friday morning you’ll get this free version of the newsletter, which in itself is awesome and full of food content. In an effort to churn out food content weekly, there is a paywall on some of the content. If you’re a paying subscriber ($5/month OR $40/year) you’ll receive a second email later in the morning with the actual recipes in it. This week it’s The Plan for a Whole Chicken & (an incredible) Apple and Almond Tart just begging to be made for Thanksgiving. PLUS a bonus email with the Grocery List & Equipment for the Gingerbread House newsletter to come in a few weeks. So glad you’re here, let's get into it…
Italian Wedding Soup
Chicken soup has been in the back of my mind for a few weeks. I’m big into classic chicken soup flavors, but made with really high quality ingredients. With a dish this simple, you gotta go for the best stuff you can afford. Organic pasture-raised chicken, the good imported pasta made with Italian wheat (I happen to find this at Whole Foods in ABC shapes and caved for Dean) , organic veggies, etc.. We went to the farmers market Saturday morning, and I saw some really good looking whole chickens. So that’s when my mind went to soup. BUT I also know I have this pound of ground chicken in my freezer that I vowed to use this week. So then my mind went: Ok, I’ll use the meat from the whole chicken for other meals, the carcass to make the stock for the soup and the ground chicken… mini meatballs for Italian Wedding Soup! Ok, we have a plan!
Later this morning paid subscribers will get TWO emails. Yep, TWO this week. The first is the breakdown of how I got the following meals out of 1 whole chicken + 1 lbs of ground chicken.
Italian Wedding Soup (this was majorly toddler approved)
Roasted Chicken Legs (seriously, this brining method is easy and makes THE JUICIEST chicken you’ve ever had)
Chicken Sandwiches all week
The second email is a shopping and equipment list for the future Gingerbread House newsletter, coming in the next two weeks. Anyone who intends to follow along and wishes to make said gingerbread house, can start taking inventory of what they’ve got and what they need to get. The house lasts a long time (probably years) and makes a beautiful holiday decoration. That “how-to” subscriber-only newsletter will be coming soon, so those ambitious readers can get started. If you’d like to subscribe click the button below.
Apple & Almond Tart (seriously easy, no special equipment, mostly store-bought)
Here’s maybe the most valuable recipe subscribers will receive this week. Hosting Thanksgiving? Traveling to Thanksgiving? Asked to bring dessert? Staying home and eating apple tart in bed? If you’re doing any of those things this recipe is what you should make. It’s HIGH impact and flavor and WOW factor, but it’s made with store-bought puff pastry and the rest of it does not require any fancy equipment. It starts with buttery puff pastry that's layered with an almond filling, shingled with thinly sliced apples, cinnamon sugar and baked until golden. You can stop there and it’s amazing. But I’m also including three easy options to really gild the lily if you so desire. This is the recipe that you’ll make over and over.
What I’m Loving This Week:
Pasta with Broccoli: A simple pasta dish that ANYBODY can make, and make well. We’ve had this twice in the last week for a few reasons. 1. It’s fast and delicious 2. Broccoli is very inexpensive and lives in the fridge for a long time. It’s even inexpensive at the farmers market, which is where I’ve been buying it 3. When I’m not so passively aggressively telling everyone they need to eat more vegetables and less meat, this is an easy sell. Chop up a BIG head of broccoli into small (i like really small) florets- I try to aim for just as much broccoli as pasta. 50/50 ratio. Boil the pasta. In a big pan: Plenty of olive oil, add in all the broccoli and start cooking it down. Once it’s a little soft, add in a bunch of chopped garlic (more than you think). Stir and keep cooking. Now for some liquid: either a big splash of chicken stock or the starchy pasta water will work too. If you’re just using water I’d add a knob of butter. Once the broccoli is nice and soft, toss in the al dente pasta, a big pinch of salt and a BIG sprinkling of either parm or pecorino. Stir everything together so the hot pasta absorbs some of the liquid. Done!
Eggplant Cutlets: Super simple, big crunch. I made a big batch of these and we reheated them over the course of 2 or 3 days. Pat started dipping them in that Whole Foods Harissa Mayo I wrote about a few weeks ago. Sliced eggplant > flour > egg > panko. Sheet pan lined with parchment + olive oil drizzled or sprayed on the bottom + eggplant + oil drizzle or spray on the top. 425° for 15 minutes on each side.
Eggnog: but not just any eggnog. On Saturday at the farmer’s market, I couldn't resist a glass jar of organic creamline eggnog. WOAH. It’s nothing like the too-sweet-who-knows-whats-in-it stuff you get in a carton at the store. This is super creamy, not super sweet, spiced right. WOW. I poured it in my coffee every morning and added it to the egg wash for french toast. Did I also drink it right from the bottle while standing at the fridge? It’s my house, so YES.
Wishing everyone a fun and healthy Thanksgiving. We’re traveling to see family and yes, I’m making this apple tart. For next week I’m planning to bring you some vegetable forward recipes that are “the opposite of Thanksgiving”. Until then XO Liv
