The addition of curry powder to the chicken salad really punches up the flavor in an unusual but delicious way. The grapes add a sweet pop while the nuts are crunchy and savory. I really like using yogurt along with just a little bit of mayonnaise – there’s enough mayonnaise that it makes the sauce smooth and consistent, but because it’s mostly yogurt it doesn’t pack quite the fatty, caloric punch that chicken salad usually does. 

You will need:
  •1 pound leftover roasted chicken or 2 chicken breasts
  •½ cup greek-style yogurt
  •2 T mayonnaise
  •2 t curry powder
  •¼ cup sliced almonds
  •¼ cup pumpkin seeds
  •1 cup grapes
  •¼ cup cilantro (optional) 

If you don’t have leftover chicken, you can poach 2 chicken breasts instead. Bring 2 cups of water or chicken broth to a boil and add the breasts. Let simmer for 8 minutes then cover and move off the heat for 20 minutes or until the breasts have cooked through. Cool completely.

Cut or shred the chicken into ½ inch pieces. 

Slice the grapes in half. If using, mince the cilantro. 

In a large bowl mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, and curry powder. 

In the same bowl, add the chicken, nuts, grapes, and cilantro. Mix until everything is evenly coated. Serve by itself, in a sandwich, or over dressed greens. 

 
 

This is an easy use for leftover roasted chicken. There’s almost no cooking involved and it comes together really quickly. If you’ve never tried making your own salad dressing before, do it a few times and you’ll be hooked. I can’t remember the last time I bought a pre-made bottle at the store. 

The key to making a good salad is using a variety of flavors and textures. Here the chicken is toothsome and savory, the nuts are crunchy, the tomatoes pop and are tart-sweet, and the creamy cheese has a lovely herb top note. This is complemented by the thyme in the salad dressing, which uses lemon juice instead of vinegar for a more subtle acidic component. 

You will need:
  •Salad greens (not pictured)
  •Grape tomatoes
  •Leftover roasted chicken
  •Walnuts
  •Herbed sheep cheese

For the dressing:
  •3 T olive oil
  •2 T lemon juice
  •1 t Dijon mustard
  •1 t fresh thyme leaves

Add the walnuts to a small skillet and toast over medium heat. It is important not to leave the kitchen while toasting the walnuts because they will know that you’ve left and burn to spite you. They are done when they smell really delicious and toasty.

While the walnuts are toasting, use your hands to shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Cut the grape tomatoes in half. Cut the cheese into small pieces. When the walnuts are toasted, chop them into small pieces. 

Place all the dressing ingredients into a bowl and whisk until combined. Place the salad greens into a large bowl and pour the dressing over. Toss to coat.

Add the tomatoes, chicken, nuts, and cheese. Toss once more to mix, then portion into two bowls and enjoy. 

 
 

While typically I use packaged chicken stock, I like to take advantage of all the leftovers when I roast a chicken and make homemade stock. It really doesn’t compare to commercially available stock. It’s rich, flavorful, and has incredible body and mouthfeel. 

You will need:
  •Bones and scraps from 1 roasted chicken
  •Water

Put the chicken into a pot and pour in 4 cups of water. Take note of how far up the side of the pan the water comes. Pour in another 2 cups of water (6 cups total). Simmer over very low heat, partially covered, until the stock reduces to 4 cups. This will take 2-3 hours. If the stock reduces too much, just add more water and simmer for at least another 30 minutes. Strain the solids out and let the fat rise to the top. If you have a fat separator, use it to separate the fat from the sock. If you don’t have a fat separator, pour the liquid into a tall, narrow container. Refrigerate until the fat is solid, then remove it with a fork. 

This chicken broth makes wonderful chicken soup. Just add shredded leftover chicken and cooked egg noodles. 

 
 

I saw this recipe posted over on The Kitchn about 2 weeks ago and the write-up was so effusive I went and bought a chicken that night to try it out. It was as incredible as promised – so incredible, I made it again a week later. I think my favorite thing about this recipe is that you can easily get 3 or 4 meals out of it: the night you roast it, an unbelievably rich and flavorful stock for later use, salad with leftover meat, sandwiches with leftover meat, etc. To that end, I’ll post recipes over the next few days using up the leftovers from this chicken. 

You will need:
  •1 whole chicken
  •zest of 2 lemons
  •2 cups milk
  •2 T butter
  •2 T olive oil
  •½ cinnamon stick
  •handful fresh sage leaves
  •1 head of garlic, papery outer skin removed and broken up into cloves with the peel left on

Specialty equipment:
  •dutch oven with lid that the chicken will fit in snugly
  •gravy separator

Preheat the oven to 375. On the stovetop, melt the butter with the oil in the dutch oven. When the pan is hot and the butter is melted, place the chicken in the pan and brown. When the first side is browned, turn the chicken ¼ turn and brown the next side. Repeat on remaining sides so that the whole chicken is golden brown. Remove the chicken to a plate and empty out the fat. 

Return the chicken to the pan breast-side down and add the milk, garlic, zest, cinnamon, and sage. Cover the pan and roast for 1 hour. 

Remove the lid and roast for another 30 minutes. 

Remove the chicken from the oven after it has roasted for a total of 90 minutes. Stand at the stove and pick off the skin and eat it up, sharing it only with people you like a WHOLE LOT.

Remove the chicken to a plate, pull the meat off the bones, and portion between plates. Save the bones for making stock after dinner.

Fish the garlic out from the sauce in the pan and put 2 or 3 on each plate. 

Pour the liquid in the pan into a gravy separator. Pour the liquid out into a gravy boat or pitcher, leaving the fat in the separator. There is no need to strain the liquid – the solids from the separated milk and the wilted sage leaves are DELICIOUS. 

Set the pan back on the stove and put the bones and all scraps in the pot. Don’t wash the pot – all the little brown sticky bits will give lovely flavor to the stock we’re going to make after dinner.

Serve the chicken with the garlic and roasting liquid. 

 
 

One of my favorite things about living in London was the food. This surprises most people when I tell them, but it’s true! There has been a revolution in British cooking over the last generation and it’s no longer tough, overcooked meat alongside mushy, flavorless vegetables. In many English homes you’re as likely to find a curry for dinner as you are bangers and mash. The English also make incredible soups and sandwiches – I loved going into Marks and Sparks or Pret A Manger to pick out a sandwich for lunch. What incredible choices! I don’t know who first thought cheese and chutney would be delicious together, but it was a stroke of genius.

A few years ago my parents were making their annual pilgrimage to London and my mom asked what she could get for me. I asked for a soup cookbook because I’ve always loved the ready-made soup in the grocery stores there and I was eager to try some of the flavor combinations myself here at home. She returned with The Soup Bible, which I’ve been using regularly ever since.

This recipe is heavily adapted from the version in the book. 

You will need:
  • 1 leek
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper
  • small knob fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup frozen peas (not pictured - oops)
  • 3 ounces by weight smooth almond butter
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro, packed medium and rinsed well
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • ½ cup half-and-half or cream
  • chicken thigh or breast - between 4 and 8 ounces 

Specialty cookware:
  • Microplane grater
  • Food processor

Begin by cutting up your vegetables. Leeks can be a bit sandy, so you’ll want to wash it out. The best way I’ve seen to do this is to first cut the dark green from the light green and white part, then to make two long cuts 1 inch from the root end toward the top. You should end up with long strips of leek attached at the root. Holding the root end UP, rinse the leek under running water to make sure any sand or dirt are removed. If you hold the root end down the water will drive any dirt between the layers. After washing cut the leek into ½ inch pieces. 

Rinse the carrots, then cut off the top and bottom and discard. There is no need to peel the carrot as long as it’s been washed. Cut each carrot in half longitudinally, then into narrow 1/8” half-moons.

Cut the top and bottom off the pepper, then slice it in half longitudinally. Using a paring knife, remove the seeds and ribs and discard. It might be a good idea to wear gloves while handling and cutting the pepper. Once I cut up a jalapeno without gloves then rubbed my eye. It hurt so much I contemplated pulling my eye out as a way to stop the burning. Slice each half into matchsticks, then rotate 90 degrees and cut into fine dice.

Using the microplane, grate a knob of ginger about half the size of your thumb. There is no need to peel the ginger first. You should have somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 teaspoon of grated ginger.

Mince the garlic and measure out 1 cup of frozen peas. 

In a saucepan, melt the butter. When the pan is hot and the butter is bubbling, add the leeks, carrots, ginger, and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the leeks and carrots are moderately soft. Add the garlic and 4 ounces of almond butter and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes more. 

While the leek mixture is cooking, cut your chicken into small pieces. 

When the leek mixture is soft and smells delicious, scrape it into a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the cilantro to the mixture and process until everything is in very very small bits and is an even consistency. 

Meanwhile, put the pieces of chicken into your saucepan and put the lid on. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.

Scrape down the sides of the food processor. Replace the lid and add the chicken broth through the feed tube in an even stream while the processor is running. Turn it off once all the chicken broth is incorporated.

Tip: most feed tubes have a hollow plunger with a hole in the bottom. Leave the plunger in the feed tube and pour the broth into the plunger. It will come out the hole in the bottom in a steady stream. 

Tip: Use a Sharpie to mark on the chicken broth carton how much is remaining. Because this carton holds 4 cups and I used 2, I know that there are 2 cups remaining. Then remember to put the leftover chicken broth in the fridge, because you’ll feel dumb if you come downstairs in the morning and you’ve left the carton of chicken broth you so carefully marked out on the counter all night long. Not that I would know anything about that. 

Once the chicken is cooked, pour the contents of the food processor back into the saucepan, taking care not to dump the blade into the pan and splash soup all over yourself. Not that I’ve done that or anything.

Bring the soup back up to a simmer, stirring frequently. When the soup is hot, remove from the heat and stir in the cream or half-and-half. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro. Serves 3. 

To vegetarianize: replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth or water. Omit chicken or replace with fake chicken.

To veganize: replace butter with olive oil. Replace chicken broth with vegetable broth or water. Omit chicken. Omit cream.

To kosherize: Replace butter with olive oil. Omit cream. Use kosher chicken and chicken broth. 



This recipe is my entry for the April 2009 Hobo Monday over at Thursday Night Smackdown. It can be made for $2.22/serving. For more a more detailed cost breakdown, please read this post. 

 
 

These mashed potatoes are everything that a mashed potato should be: fluffy, smooth, creamy, and starchy with a slight tang and buttery richness. I started making them several years ago for a Cook's Illustrated Thanksgiving (this is a traditional Thanksgiving where all the food is made from Cook's Illustrated recipes) and now it’s the only way we ever have mashed potatoes. The recipe is easily scalable so you can make a lot or just enough for two. It reheats well, so I always make enough for leftovers. If you’re making a large and complex meal, you can easily make this ahead and keep it warm in a crock-pot. 

You will need: 
  ● 1 pound potatoes
  ● ⅓ cup buttermilk
  ● 3 T butter
  ● salt

Specialty cookware: 
  ● standing mixer with paddle attachment
  ●potato ricer

The best potatoes for this are Yukon Gold. If you can't find those, another medium-starch potato will be fine. Avoid high-starch potatoes like Russets (traditional "baking potato" potatoes).

Begin by placing a large pot of salted water on the stove. Do not boil the water yet. First, peel and dice the potatoes into 1" pieces. Place the potatoes into the cold water and turn the heat to high. 

While the potatoes are boiling, melt the butter. When it is melted, slowly whisk in the buttermilk. It's ok if the cold buttermilk causes the butter to harden into little bits. Set this mixture aside. 

Boil the potatoes until they are cooked through, about 18 minutes. You will know the potatoes are done when they break apart when a paring knife is inserted. Drain the potatoes in a colander. 

Place your potato ricer over the bowl of your stand mixer. Fill the ricer with cooked potato pieces, then press them through. Repeat until all the potato pieces have been riced. 

Pour the buttermilk/butter mixture over the riced potatoes. Fit your mixer with the paddle attachment and mix the potatoes and dairy until homogenous and fluffy. Serve piping hot. 

 
 

Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables. It has a subtle, slightly nutty flavor and really does well in the oven. Because it’s fairly neutral, it’s easy to pair with other flavors. Here I’m tossing it with smoked paprika, but you could just as easily use curry powder, garam masala, minced garlic, or really any spice that you want. I buy my smoked paprika from World Spice Merchants. If you can’t find it at your local grocery store, you can buy it online. It tastes quite different from normal (Hungarian) paprika. It has a lovely smoky flavor that has depth and interest. Try using it on deviled eggs or dusted on top of creamy soup! 

You will need:
  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika

Begin by cutting the cauliflower into bite-size pieces. The easiest way to do this is to turn the head upside down and cut each floret off the stem, then cut each floret into smaller pieces. 

Place all the pieces of cauliflower in a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Use your hands to toss the cauliflower so that each piece is coated in oil. 

Sprinkle the smoked paprika over the cauliflower. Use your hands and toss so that each floret is coated in paprika. 

Spread the cauliflower into a single layer on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake in a 375° oven for 30 minutes or until tender. 

 
 

I shop at Whole Foods. 

There are a number of reasons that I choose to buy my family's groceries there, including but not limited to the customer service, the availability of organics, the quality of the food, the selection, and the price. 

That's right, the price. 

Perhaps I should back up a bit. Over at Thursday Night Smackdown, Michelle has a feature she calls Cheap-Ass Mondays. In thinking about launching my own site, I wondered if any of the food I cook would be eligible for that feature. Her requirements are that the food feed two people for less than $5.00 or four for less than $10.00. 

I figured out the per serving cost for a few of my favorite recipes and wasn't too surprised to find that I was spending more than $2.50/serving. After all, I buy organic produce, meat, and dairy and I shop at Whole Foods. 

So I decided to figure out how much it would cost to buy ingredients at Safeway instead. The results surprised me: Safeway was MORE expensive, both in the per-serving cost AND in the total outlay necessary, than Whole Foods! Not only that, but at Safeway I was "buying" factory farmed chicken, and at Whole Foods almost all the ingredients were organic and they were more local! 

The recipe I was shopping for is Chicken Almond Soup from The Soup Bible. Here is the ingredient list I used:
  ● 4 ounces chicken thigh or breast meat
  ● 4 ounces almond butter
  ● 1 leek
  ● 1 T grated fresh ginger
  ● 1 cup frozen peas
  ● 2 carrots
  ● 2 cups chicken broth
  ● ½ cup half-and-half
  ● large handful fresh cilantro

I'll post the entire recipe soon, but right now I'm most interested in the varying costs to make it. I calculated four different shopping scenarios - entirely at Whole Foods, entirely at Safeway, the cheapest possible way, and the way I usually do it. 

From most to least expensive: 

Entirely at Safeway, the ingredients necessary for three servings of the recipe would cost $9.63, or $3.21 per serving. You would have to actually hand over significantly more at the register, though, because to get the cost of the chicken down, you have to buy a four pound "value pack" that costs $3.49/lb. The almond butter is also most expensive here, with a one pound jar ringing up at $7.99! 

If you buy all the ingredients at Whole Foods, you'll spend $8.73 for 3 servings, or $2.91 per serving. Chicken is more expensive here, but you do have the advantage of being able to buy only what you need. If a single chicken thigh is too heavy, the butchers will actually cut it in half for you! You'll spend a dollar more for the chicken (thighs are about $5.50/lb) that you consume, but at the register it will only cost you $2.75. I was interested to find out that the produce was less expensive at Whole Foods: leeks are sold for $2.99/lb here, compared to $2.99 EACH at Safeway. When you consider that one leek weighs about 6 ounces, Safeway seems like a ripoff! The almond butter is also less expensive at Whole Foods - $5.99 for a jar. 

The way that I typically do the shopping, 3 servings will cost $8.24, or $2.75 per serving. I save a little bit of money by buying my chicken broth in bulk at Costco and picking up almond butter at Trader Joe's for $4.99/jar. My version is still organic, but slightly cheaper. 

The cheapest possible way means going to four different stores: Whole Foods for the leeks and ginger, Safeway for the cilantro, peas, carrots, chicken, and half-and-half, Trader Joe's for the almond butter, and Costco for the chicken broth. Total cost? $6.66 for three, $2.22 for one. Of course, there's also the time and fuel cost of shopping at multiple stores to consider. 

My verdict: For my family, it makes a lot of sense to shop at Whole Foods. The overall costs for the types of ingredients I buy (think fresh produce, frozen produce, meat, dairy, cheese, etc - not a lot of processed stuff) are not much higher than they would be at Safeway (and probably lower than QFC!). At the same time, I believe that the ingredients are of a higher quality, healthier for my family, and better for the environment. 

I've also seen a couple more formal studies about the cost of produce in Seattle. The Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance has a roundup of several of these, and they show the same results - produce (especially organic) is less expensive at Whole Foods than it is at QFC. 

I think the reason that Whole Foods has a reputation for costing your "Whole Paycheck" is not because comparable food there is actually more expensive, but because they carry higher-end items that other stores simply don't carry. It's difficult to resist the attractive displays of artisan cheese, bakery bread, convenient and oh-so-delicious prepared food, etc. I know that every time I go in, even with a list, I ALWAYS walk out with something I wasn't planning to purchase. 


However. Whole Paycheck? Hardly. 

 
 

Last week when we were at Whole Foods, we noticed that organic zucchini and yellow squash had returned. Granted, they were grown in California and Mexico and normally I would prefer to buy local and in-season produce, but it's been a long, cold, grey winter and we were ready for a taste of spring. And also bacon.

I had just watched the squash episode of Jamie at Home and couldn't wait to make his carbonara again. That show is straight-up food porn: close-in shots of him tenderly handling produce, tossing things together, and finally the money shot when he unloads the creamy, steaming mixture into an eagerly waiting serving dish. I made the carbonara last fall when his book first came out with zucchini at the very end of its season and it was incredible, so I thought it would be a good inaugural recipe for this site. It's best with small and tender zucchini, but if all you have are the gigantic ones you can make do by scraping the seeds out and cutting them into smaller pieces. 

You will need: 
  ● 1 pound penne (I used whole wheat)
  ● 4 slices thick-cut bacon
  ● 4 egg yolks
  ● 6 small summer squash - about 2 pounds in all
  ● ½ cup heavy cream or half and half
  ● A few sprigs fresh thyme
  ● 1-2 ounces good-quality parmesan cheese
  ● About a tablespoon of olive oil
  ● Salt and pepper

Because this recipe comes together pretty quickly toward the end, I think it's best to prep everything at the beginning so that it's all handy and ready to go when you need it. There are three main components to this dish: the pasta, the zucchini/bacon, and the sauce. For the pasta, put a large pot (ideally this pot holds a gallon of water with some room to spare) of heavily salted (like, at least 2 tablespoons) water on to boil. While the water is heating, we'll prep the other two components. Don't put the pasta in to cook until everything is cut up and ready to go. To make the sauce, you should first separate the egg yolks from the whites. 

The best way to do this is a point of contention in our house.  

The correct way is to tap the egg firmly on a flat surface such that it cracks. 

Then, empty the entire egg into a clean hand positioned over a bowl, sink, or compost bucket. 

With your fingers slightly separated, jiggle the egg gently so the white slips between your fingers and the yolk remains in your hand. Deposit the yolk into a medium bowl and repeat with the remaining eggs. After you have separated the yolks, grate the parmesan cheese.

I prefer to use a Microplane grater. It creates a puffy mound of finely grated cheese that will melt quickly and uniformly. 

Next, mix about half the cheese with the egg yolks and the cream. Set this mixture aside while you prep the zucchini and bacon. 

Cut the top and bottom off the squash. Cut each in half longitudinally, then slice each half at a 45° angle about ³⁄₈of an inch thick. Each piece should be about the same size and shape as your penne.  

Cut the bacon equatorially into ¼ inch pieces. It’s easiest to do this if the bacon is quite cold – go ahead and stick it in the freezer for 10 or 15 minutes first. 

Remove all the leaves from the thyme. 

In a large skillet, heat a small amount of olive oil. When the skillet is hot and the oil is shimmering, add the bacon. 

At this point your water should be boiling, so go ahead and put your pasta in a cook for the length of time on the package. 

When the bacon is cooked through and crispy, add the squash to the pan. Stir it frequently. 

Cook it until it is soft with some brown spots. Add the thyme. 

While the zucchini is cooking, get your colander ready to drain. I like to put a measuring cup in the colander so that I remember to reserve some of the pasta cooking water. 

At this point your pasta should be cooked through. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, then drain. Quickly add the pasta to the skillet with the zucchini, bacon, and thyme and remove from the heat. Stir to combine, then add the cooking water and egg mixture. Toss to combine and serve with the remaining parmesan sprinkled on top.