Creamy Potato-Cheese Soup

A rich soup, cream cheese is the secret for giving it a velvety texture. Substitute Neufchatel cheese which is lower in fat, tastes very similar, and is also very creamy.

3 to 4 T butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 large potatoes, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 1/2 cups milk (or part cream)
4 ounces of cream cheese or Neufchatel
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (3 ounces)
salt and black pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley

In a large soup pot, sauté the onions and garlic in the butter until the onions are translucent. Add the potatoes and carrots and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes longer. Add the stock or water and dill and simmer until all the vegetables are tender.

Puree the vegetables with the cream cheese and milk in a blender or food processor. Return the soup to the soup pot. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cheddar cheese and reheat gently.

Serve each cup or bowl garnished with chopped fresh parsley.

Serves 4 to 6

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Basic Butter Cookies

A simple butter cookie recipe can be the starting point for many delightful creations. Ours have a light, delicate texture and the unmistakable richness of butter.

The basic cookie dough is great baked just as it is or topped with a whole or half nut, a few chocolate chips, or sprinkling of sugar just before baking. However, we have provided directions for three of our favorite variations. Butternut Cookies, Jam Drops, and Pinwheel Cookies.

The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. In the freezer, it will keep for up to 6 months. Thaw frozen dough in the refrigerator for a day before using.

Ingredients for basic cookie dough:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature*
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Equipment: electric mixer (optional); double boiler; baking sheet.

To Make Butternut Cookies:
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

To Make Jam Drops:
1/2 cup preserves or fruit spread

To Make Pinwheel Cookies:
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

With a wooden spoon or an electric mixer, cream the butter until light. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then add the vanilla and beat until smooth. Gradually add the flour and salt, mixing just until the dough ins uniformly smooth. The dough is now ready to chill, shape, and bake or freeze or flavor for one of the three variations below.

At the end of the chilling time preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into 1/4-inch-thick cookies and place them about an inch apart on unoiled baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden. Cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to racks to finish cooling.

For Butternut Cookies:
Stir the chopped nuts into the dough. For the dough into two 6-inch-long cylindrical logs about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours. The dough needs to be firm enough to hold its shape when sliced.

For Jam Drops:
Cover and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. When it is firm, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Gently roll teaspoonfuls of the dough between your palms to form 1-inch balls. It is best not to over handle the dough. Place the balls about 1 1/2 inches apart on lightly oiled baking sheets.

With your fingertip, make an indentation in the center of each ball. Fill each hollow with a scant 1/4 teaspoon of fruit preserves. Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

For Pinwheel Cookies:
Gently melt the chocolate with the sugar and cinnamon in a double boiler. Remove half of the dough from the bowl and set aside. Add the melted chocolate to the bowl and stir to make an evenly colored brown dough. Cut both the dark (chocolate) and the light (vanilla) balls of dough into halves. Wrap each piece in plastic and flatten into a 1/2-inch-thick disk. Chill for at least 1 hour.

On four lightly floured pieces of wax paper, roll the disks into 12-inch squares. Flip each dark square onto a light square, peel off the wax paper, and press lightly with the rolling pin to seal the two dough layers together. You will have two double-layered 12-inch squares. [If the dough is already soft and sticky, refrigerate it for 10 minutes.] Roll up each square of dough, jellyroll fashion, to form two logs, removing the wax paper as you roll. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 1/2 hours, until the dough is firm enough to hold its shape when sliced.

When the dough is firm, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into 1/2-inch-thick cookies and place them an inch apart on lightly oiled baking sheets. Bake until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Makes 60 to 70 cookies
Preparation time: 15 to 20 minutes
Baking time: 15 to 20 minutes per batch
Chilling time: about 1 to 2 hours

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Cinnabons with a Bread Machine

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 T ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll dough into a 16- x 21-inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Serves 12

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Farmhouse Chicken in Vinegar Sauce

In the absence of Alsatian honey-perfumed melfor vinegar use cider vinegar sweetened with a drop of honey to make this classic dish.

1 3 1/2-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 T canola oil
6 T butter
8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 shallots, peeled and minced
1 cup cider vinegar mixed with 1 drop honey
1 cup Alsatian riesling or other dry but fruity white wine
1 T tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 T finely chopped fresh parsley

Rinse chicken, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil and 2 tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken, skin side down, and brown, turning once, about 10 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. Repeat procees with remaining chicken. Remove from pan and pour off most of the fat, leaving just enough to thinly coat skillet.

Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and shallots, and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Deglaze skillet with vinegar and wine, scraping brown bits off bottom with a wooden spoon. Reduce vinegar mixture by about one-third, 3-5 minutes, then stir in tomato paste. Return chicken to skillet, pour in stock, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Turn chicken and continue cooking until juices from chicken run clear, about 15 minutes. [If sauce becomes too thick, thin with a small amount of chicken stock or water.]

Remove chicken from skillet with a fork and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high, skim foam from sauce and continue cooking until sauce is thick and glossy, about 5 minutes. Cut remaining butter into small pieces. Remove skillet from heat and whisk butter into sauce. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. [Sauce should be smooth but tart; add additional vinegar if desired.] Return chicken to skillet, turning to coat evenly with sauce. To serve, transfer chicken and sauce to a serving platter and garnish with parsley.

Serves 4

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Roast Chicken

After roasting is completed, turn off the oven, leaving the door ajar, and leave the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. This enables the flesh to relax gently, retaining the juices in the meat and ensuring easy, trouble-free carving and a moist bird.

Ingredients:
4 ounces good butter at room temperature
1 4-lb. free-range chicken
salt and pepper
1 lemon
several sprigs of thyme or tarragon, or a mixture of the two
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Smear the butter with your hands all over the bird. Put the chicken in a roasting pan that will accommodate it with room to spare. Season liberally with salt and pepper and squeeze over with the juice of the lemon.

Put the herbs and garlic inside the cavity, together with the squeezed-out lemon halves—this will add a fragrant lemony flavor to the finished dish.

Roast the chicken in the oven for 10–15 minutes. Baste, then turn the oven temperature down to 375 degrees F and roast for a further 30–45 minutes with further occasional basting. The bird should be golden brown all over with a crisp skin and have buttery, lemony juices of a nut-brown color in the bottom of the pan.

Serves 4

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For the chicken:
4 branches fresh rosemary, bruised
6 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 3 1/2–4-lb. chicken
salt and freshly ground white pepper

For the vegetables:
6 cloves garlic, peeled
6 small new potatoes, quartered
2 bell peppers, 1 red and 1 green, cored, seeded, and cut into 2" squares
1/2 small kabocha squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into 2" squares
2–3 celery hearts, cut in half lengthwise,
then into thirds
2–3 leeks, white part only, trimmed, halved lengthwise, cleaned, blanched for 30 seconds, and cooled in ice water
1 red onion, peeled and halved crosswise, each half quartered
salt and freshly ground white pepper

For the sauce:
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled, blanched for 15 seconds, cooled in ice water, then sliced
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1/2 cup rich Chicken Stock
4 T butter, cut into pieces
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/4 bunch parsley, leaves chopped

For the chicken:
Strip leaves from 2 of the rosemary branches and finely chop. Finely chop 3 of the garlic cloves. Combine chopped rosemary and garlic and oil in a bowl and set aside. Generously season chicken cavity with salt and pepper, then stuff with remaining 2 branches rosemary and 3 garlic cloves. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and rub all over with half the prepared oil. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Rub chicken with half the remaining prepared oil and generously season with salt and pepper. Put chicken, breast side up, directly on an oven rack set in the middle of the oven and set a large roasting pan on an oven rack underneath the chicken. Roast until skin is deeply golden and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, 50–60 minutes.

For the vegetables:
While chicken is roasting, put garlic, potatoes, peppers, squash, celery hearts, leeks, and onions into a large bowl. Add the remaining prepared oil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well. After chicken has been roasting for 25 minutes, put vegetables in roasting pan under chicken to roast until chicken is cooked and vegetables are soft, another 25–35 minutes.

For the sauce:
Heat oil, garlic, and rosemary in a small pan over medium heat until garlic begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add stock and simmer until reduced by half, 8–10 minutes; discard rosemary. Whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, then add lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add parsley just before serving.

Transfer vegetables and chicken to a deep platter, remove kitchen twine, then pour sauce over top.

Serves 2-4

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Pan-Roasted Chicken with Madeira Sauce

Brining the chicken for this dish before cooking yields remarkably tender and savory meat.



For the chicken:
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
1 cup white wine vinegar
2 T freshly ground black pepper
1 T mustard seeds
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
6 cups ice cubes (about 1 lb.)
2 boneless skin-on chicken breasts
2 boneless skin-on chicken thighs

For the sauce:
4 T extra virgin olive oil
4 whole chicken wings
10 whole black peppercorns
5 shallots, finely chopped
5 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup madeira
2 cups chicken broth

Brine the chicken: Bring sugar, salt, vinegar, pepper, mustard seeds, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and 12 cups water to a boil in an 8-quart pot. Remove from heat; let cool for 10 minutes. Add ice and refrigerate brine until well chilled. Submerge the chicken pieces in the brine, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Make the sauce: Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken wings in a single layer and cook, flipping once with tongs, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the peppercorns, shallots, 2 sprigs thyme, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are soft, about 2 minutes. Add the madeira and cook until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a broil, and reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced to 1/4 cup, about 25 minutes. Skim fat from the sauce and strain sauce through a fine sieve into a 1-quart saucepan; discard solids. Set sauce aside and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove chicken pieces from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Heat remaining oil in a 12" ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken skin side down and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the remaining thyme sprigs and transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook until chicken is almost cooked through, about 15 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and cook until skin is crisp, 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. To serve, spoon some of the sauce onto 4 plates. Halve thighs and cut breasts into 1" slices and fan out on plates. Spoon remaining sauce over top of chicken.

Serves 2

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Brick Chicken

Using a brick wrapped in aluminum foil to press down on a partially deboned chicken as it cooks in a skillet reduces cooking time and yields an especially juicy, crisp bird.

1 3–4-lb. chicken, halved, backbone, ribcage, and thigh bones removed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T canola oil
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 T lemon juice

Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 10" skillet over high heat. When oil begins to smoke, add the 2 chicken halves to skillet skin side down. Place another 10" skillet, right side up, on top of chicken and gently place a heavy brick (or several soup cans in it; weight should be at least 20 pounds).

Reduce heat to medium-high and cook chicken until the skin is golden brown and crisp, about 18 minutes. Remove the top skillet and weight, flip the chicken halves with tongs, and pour off excess fat.

Add the chicken broth and lemon juice and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the chicken's thigh registers 160 degrees, about 3 more minutes. Serve chicken with pan sauce.

Serves 2

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Preserved or Confites Tomatoes

4 tomatoes, cored and peeled
6 T extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs thyme
4 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Halve tomatoes crosswise and gently squeeze out seeds.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the oil into a medium baking dish, add tomatoes, cut side up, drizzle with remaining 4 tbsp. of oil, and sprinkle with sugar and salt. Season with pepper.

Scatter thyme, bay leaves, and garlic into dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn tomatoes cut side down and bake, turning them every 1/2 hour, until soft but not falling apart, about 5 1/2 hours more.

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Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

A side dish, mixed into cold or hot pasta, served on grilled or toasted bread as antipasto, interleaved with fried eggplant slices, or as a pizza topping.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 T fresh rosemary leaves
3 T fresh parsley
2 28-ounce cans peeled whole san marzano tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Pour 1/4 cup of the oil into a large non-reactive baking pan. Add onion, garlic, rosemary, and parsley. Toss, then spread evenly on bottom of pan.

Gently squeeze tomatoes to release excess juices, then place in pan in a single layer. Drizzle with remaining oil. Sprinkle with sugar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place in oven and bake for 3 hours.

Serves 4

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