Lentil Soup

There is nothing better during the winter than a nice hot bowl of hearty soup. This lentil soup is one of Giada's recipes. I absolutely love her show, and my husband loves her too...for very different reasons though.

I like to let this soup simmer for a few hours before serving. That way, it gets really thick, and all of the flavors have time to come together. This also freezes well.

Here is what you will need:



Step 1: Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery.






Step 2: Add the garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, and sprinkle generously with pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.



Step 3: Add the tomatoes with their juices.



Step 4: Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.



Step 5: Add the lentils and mix to coat.



Step 6: Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.



Step 7: Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.





Step 8: Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.




List of Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 pound lentils (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
11 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
2/3 cup dried elbow pasta
1 cup shredded Parmesan

Arroz con Pollo

Today, we are making Arroz con Pollo, english translation "chicken and rice," but please please resist the temptation to call this chicken and rice. This is Spanish Arroz con Pollo. If my gringo husband can finally learn to call it arroz con pollo, you can too.

This is my mother's recipe, and it probably goes back several generations. Getting recipes from my mom is a lot like pulling teeth. She cooks from instinct, so when giving amounts, she says "oh, you know...a little bit of this..." or "as much as it looks like it needs..." After a few trials and lots of errors, I finally got the recipe just right and somehow made it my own. Please enjoy, and feel free to add your own twist too.


Here is what you will need:



Step 1: Heat the pan on medium-high heat with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil. Chop 1 medium onion and add to the pan when the oil is hot. Sprinkle a generous amount of garlic powder all over the chopped onion (see step 6; I forgot to add the garlic powder in Step 1).



Step 2: Chop up 1 small tomato and add it the pan.



Step 3: Add 1 chicken bouillon cube and 1 packet of saffron.




Stir it around, and it will look nice and yellow like this.



Step 4: Chop up a couple of small carrots and one small red pepper, and throw them in the pan. Stir.




Step 5: Now chop up 1 pound of chicken tenderloins, and once the vegetables have softened, add the chicken to the pan. Continue to move the chicken and vegetables around, so they don't burn.




Step 6: Everyone makes mistakes...I got a little distracted with the photo taking and forgot to add the garlic powder in the first step, so I tossed it all over the chicken. Ideally, you would it add it at the same time as the onion. Whether it is in Step 1 or Step 6, sprinkle a generous amount.





Step 7: Once the chicken has browned, add 1 cup of rice, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over the entire dish, and then add about 3/4ths of a small can of peas to the dish. After letting the rice soak up the flavors for a little less than a minute, I add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of white wine. The older the wine, the better. Turn the heat down to medium.





Step 8: After about 20 minutes, I needed to add another 3/4 cups of water because the water was almost soaked up, and the rice wasn't quite ready. And then, for good measure, after 10 more minutes, I tossed a 1/4 cup of wine (my mother would dissaprove,but I love the flavor of wine).
If the rice still seems a little dry, maybe add another 1/4 cup of water. It really shouldn't need more than that. I let it simmer for another ten minutes until the water was completely absorbed, and then, it was ready to serve!






List of ingredients:

1 lb of chicken tenderloins (no more than 1 lb--we've determined, that's too much)
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion
1 chicken bouillon cube
2-3 carrots
1 small tomato
1 small red pepper
1 packet of saffron
1 small can of sweet peas
garlic powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of rice
1 cup of old white wine

Pumpkin Pancakes

This past fall, I read an alarming article about a possible shortage of canned pumpkin (see Pumpkin Shortage Article). I panicked and immediately bought 10 cans of pureed pumpkin that afternoon---In my head, I was in a race against time against all of the other pumpkin lovers of the world. Was this an over-reaction? yes. Did I need 10 cans of pumpkin? no. But I wasn't taking any chances.

Flash forward to February 2010---I'm snowed in, and as I scour the pantry trying to figure out what to make next, the pumpkin cans that had been sitting there patiently since November called out to me. Then, my husband mentioned how nice pancakes would be on a snowy morning--so VOILA! Pumpkin Pancakes were born. Enjoy!

Here is what you will need:


Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients together---flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking powder.



Step 2: Mix together the 'wet' ingredients--pumpkin, egg, milk, and melted butter.



Step 3: Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.





You should have a nice thick batter like this...



Step 4: Butter the skillet!


Step 5: Use a 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. 2 minutes on each side should do. As soon as you start to see little bubbles form, flip them.



Step 6: Serve with real maple syrup.



List of ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon of cloves
1 cup of milk
7 tablespoons of canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1 egg

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

For the past 2 days I have had a bizarre craving for roasted garlic mashed potatoes. And as I stood in line at Safeway with the rest of my fellow Washingtonians (for background, check out this link http://snowpocalypsedc.com), I realized I had forgotten the garlic. How could I possibly survive a 28-inch snowstorm without these garlic mashed potatoes I had been craving? I wasn't sure if I could trust that the people in line behind me would let me back in, but thankfully, the mob mentallity had not set in yet. So to all of those people who let me get back in line, this post is for you (which actually, in that moment, I wished I had cute hot-pink Capital Chef business cards, so I could tell all of those people to check out my post....it feels too soon for something like that---maybe on the blog's 6-month anniversary, I'll reconsider the idea.)

Everyone has their own little touch they like to add to their mashed potatoes, and I have more than one recipe myself. Actually, I have an absolutely explosively fattening recipe that I'll save for another day---a day when I am doing more than just sitting on the couch and watching the snow accumulate on the windowsill. Also, I don't have any fancy potato ricer or food mill or whatever else people call for...I just use a mixer, and I can't really taste the difference.

Here is what you will need:



Step 1. Let's roast the garlic! Oh, this stuff is good, and our entire apartment smells amazing. I actually roasted a little too much garlic, but I'm saving it for a soup I'll be making tomorrow. NEVER EVER throw away roasted garlic. I hear some people just spread it directly on bread like it is some sort of butter spread.
Anyway, Heat oven to 425 degrees. Slice tops off garlic heads. Coat the heads with olive oil, and wrap heads in aluminum foil.



Step 2. Bake for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, and let them cool for a bit. They will look golden and delcious like this.



Step 3. Remove all of the little garlic cloves. I end up kind of just squeezing them out of their shells. Set these aside, and we'll mix them in with the potatoes in the final step.



Step 4: Chop the potatoes and boil them with the chicken broth. I diced them pretty small, so it took only around 20 minutes to cook. Also, I kept the skin on. This is a matter of preference. I happen to enjoy the more "rustic" version.
Just check on the potatoes every 5 minutes or so and if you can easily pierce them with a fork, they're ready. When you drain the potatoes, be sure to set aside at least a 1/4 of a cup of the chicken broth. I did this by draining the potatoes in a colander with a large bowl sitting underneath.







Step 4: Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl, and blend in the cream, butter, and 1/4 cup of chicken broth that was set aside. Now, you can put in more or less of the cream and butter. The honest basic rule of thumb with mashed potatoes is, butter=better. I'm trying to not go overboard though, since this is just a weeknight meal for me and my husband.



Step 5: With a spoon, mix in the garlic. Also, sprinkle the mixture generously with ground pepper.
You can also sprinkle in salt to taste. I actually didn't end up putting any in. I find that by using the chicken broth, it really isn't necessary.




Step 6: Enjoy! But try not be offended if people take a step back when you are talking to them---that was a lot of garlic we just put in there.



List of ingredients:
N.B. This recipe is easily doubled, tripled, etc.

2.5 lbs golden potatoes (other varieties work)
1 large head of garlic (or 2 smaller ones)
6 cups of chicken broth (or enough to cover potatoes)
1 cup of cream (heavy or light, depending on your New Year's Resolution)
2-4 tablespoons of butter
salt
coarse ground pepper

Caramelized Onion Goat Cheese Pizza

Dear Capital Chef,

First of all, I DO love your blog and think you are talented and wonderful. Second of all, I was wondering what is your favorite healthy meal? My husband and I are trying to eat in more to be healthier. Also, I would love the recipe for your favorite paella.

Thank you dearly.

Nutty in Nashville

Dear Nutty in Nashville,

It is almost impossible for me to pick a favorite healthy meal, but there is one recipe that I took from the cooking light website a few years ago that I make at least once a month---caramelized onion goat cheese pizza. It takes only half an hour to make, and most importantly, Mr.Capital Chef loves it,and he does not usually appreciate my "healthier" options.

I will admit that I make a few adjustments. I use a little bit more of everything than the original recipe, but that's usually how it goes when I'm taking recipes from health magazines. Also, I would usually top the pizza with fresh basil, but after this past weekend's "snow storm," the produce section was all out. It tastes just fine without it though.

Sincerely,
Capital Chef

P.S. Eventually, we'll talk paella, I promise.

Here is what you will need:



Step 1: Preheat the oven to 450°. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and cook the onions until they turn golden brown (10-12 minutes).



Like so...



Step 2: While the onions cook, begin preparing the pizza. Chop 1/2 a cup of sun-dried tomatoes and mix with the tomato sauce in a bowl.





Step 3: Spread the sauce on the pizza...



Then the onions...



Then the goat cheese...



Step 4: Place the pizza in the oven for 12 minutes. The onions and the cheese will turn just slightly crisp on the edges.



Full list of ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion thinly sliced onion, separated into rings
1 Italian cheese-flavored pizza crust
3/4 cup bottled pizza sauce
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves
2/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (optional)