Cooking
Ottolenghi’s Potato, Apple and Gruyere Pie: Every once in a while I find a recipe that I call “life-changing” - this is one of those! It’s like scalloped potatoes and french onion soup had a baby! I didn’t have an oven-safe skillet so I just did this in a 9-inch round cake pan and baked it fully (covered with tin foil). I accidentally skipped the step where you mix the potatoes, apples, herbs, and butter together and just layered it all, and it turned out a-ok! I also hand sliced everything because I don’t have a mandolin - also a-ok! I also missed the step where you flip it onto a plate - woops. FYI corn flour = corn starch in this case. Make this!! It would be perfect as a side with Thanksgiving.
Other things I cooked:
Roasted pork loin chops: I picked up some lovely pork loin chops from my butcher, and baked them in a 400F oven in a cast iron with shallots, dates, sliced apples, thyme, and sage, with some grainy mustard rubbed on them. The pork juices made a lovely pan sauce with all the little bits. Super delicious!
Ultimate Rice Krispie Squares: An oldie but goodie from the archives of my site - I didn’t have potato chips or pretzels so just made these as a chocolate chip/skor combo. A great nostalgic treat.
Squash Ravioli with Spicy Arrabbiata: on days I don’t really feel like cooking I like to have frozen stuffed pasta from my local Italian market on hand - this week I had their squash ravioli with their jarred spicy arrabbiata sauce. Topped with some fresh ricotta and basil!
Homemade Chicken Soup: one of the things my mom makes best is homemade soup - I only dream of making soup as good as her in my lifetime. The key to her soup is time - letting the bones simmer to make a broth for almost the whole day if possible. I had a chicken carcass in my freezer from this summer, which I had separately chopped the leftover meat from into another freezer bag. I simmered the bones in a large pot of water with celery, carrots, onion, sage and thyme for 6 hours, then strained out the bones and veggies. I then sauteed finely diced onion, celery, and carrots with salt, pepper, summer savoy and Bell’s seasoning, then added in my broth, the chopped chicken, frozen peas and carrots. To adjust the seasoning I did a couple of splashes of Worchestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar to brighten it up. I cooked my orzo separately so that the noodles won’t oversaturate while in the fridge. Topped it with some fresh dill and lemon zest. The soup was delicious and I know it will only get better in the next few days.
Drinking
The Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon. I was gifted this wine and wowie was it delicious. Definitely a splurge bottle but worth it.
Reading
How to untangle yourself from a world obsessed with Diet Culture.
Following
@grandbabycakes - I saved her dutch oven pot roast recipe, looks so good with the twist of pesto!
Listening
Using
Since soup / braising season is here, I’m using my dutch oven lots! This is my fav brand, I bought this one back in 2017 - it’s way more affordable than Le Cruset or Staub, and works just as well.
Thinking
About how homemade soup is the gift that keeps on giving! So many servings. The chicken soup I made yesterday yielded 4 servings for my fridge for lunches this week, 3 servings for my freezer for future me, plus a pint of chicken broth for another soup adventure. It takes patience but is so worth it.
Laughing
Have a great week,
Kaleigh