Emily's Hot Dish

Oh my goodness do I love meatloaf sandwiches. It’s two comfort foods combined into one hybrid ULTIMATE comfort food. It’s MEATLOAF in a SANDWICH.

If that weren’t enough, we’re topping it with wine-glazed caramelized onions. The flavor, my friends, will bring you to your knees and make you weep.

This is great food for a picnic – it doesn’t require much prep, provided you had meatloaf for dinner last night, you can eat it without utensils, and it’s good at room temperature. 

You will need:

4 6-ounce halibut (or other fish you like) fillets
1 can light coconut milk
1 quart chicken broth
4 shallots, minced
1 T red curry paste (I use the Thai Kitchen brand because it’s not too spicy – it’s widely available. Use whatever you can find.)
1 1/3 cups brown rice
9 or 10 ounces baby spinach
Juice of 1 lime, freshly squeezed
Fresh cilantro
2 scallions, sliced thinly

You will need:
2 cans garbanzo beans
4 cups chicken broth (use homemade if you have it)
1 head garlic plus 4 cloves
2 bay leaves
2 cups greek-style yogurt
bunch mint leaves
¼ cup pine nuts
½ cup feta cheese
2 pita or flat breads

Nadine and I first met over ten years ago when she was my 8th grade earth science teacher and I was her 6th period TA. The next year she coached the Science Olympiad team and a few years later, when she left to teach at another school, we continued to be friends. We lost touch when I left for college, but recently reconnected through Facebook. She has always been a wonderful cook – very intuitive and creative. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her use a recipe book, though she does have a couple on her kitchen bookshelf. Hospitality is never in short supply at Nadine’s house; I know when I see her I will leave with a full belly and a warm heart.

On a recent weeknight I visited Nadine and her family and she made these INCREDIBLE chicken tacos for dinner. She says that they’re easy to make. I don’t disagree, but I will add the caveat that there is a fair amount of prep work involved. The great thing about tacos is you can do almost all of the prep in advance (that morning, the night before, etc) or you can farm it out to kids/guests so you can get dinner on the table pretty quickly. You can also buy a lot of the ingredients pre-prepped (like coleslaw mix instead of a head of cabbage, or pre-grated cheese). The upside is that it’s faster and easier, the downside is that it’s often more expensive and may not taste as good or be as healthy. 

You will need:
  •1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
  •½ onion, diced (save the other half for the salsa verde)
  •3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  •splash white wine
  •½ head cabbage, finely sliced
  •1 lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated (Nadine swears by the Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp, but I really didn’t taste a huge difference between that and the Organic Valley Sharp Cheddar)
  •18-24 corn tortillas
  •1 avocado, diced
  •½ bunch cilantro, minced
  •pumpkin or squash puree (optional, but delicious)
  •1 lime, cut into wedges
  •salsa verde (recipe will be posted tomorrow) 

Begin by heating some olive oil in a large cast iron pan. When the pan is hot add the garlic and onions. When the onions have softened and the garlic is fragrant, push them to the sides of the pan and add the chicken thighs. When they’re cooked on one side, use tongs or a metal turner to flip them. When they’re mostly cooked through, use a metal turner to cut them into small pieces in the pan. When the chicken is fully cooked, add a good-sized splash of white wine and stir to coat. Remove the chicken to a bowl. 

Add some more olive oil to the pan and put in 3 corn tortillas. Put a few tablespoons of cheese on the inside half of each of the tortillas, and then add some pumpkin puree (if using). 

Let the cheese get a little melty, then add a couple tablespoons of chicken to each tortilla. 

Spoon in some salsa verde, sprinkle on some cilantro, squeeze in a lime wedge, and add some avocado to each tortilla. 

Fold each tortilla in half toward the center of the pan.

When the tortilla is cooked to crispy on the bottom side and the cheese is oozy, turn each taco over by flipping to the outside of the pan. Let cook for about a minute more, then remove to a plate. Stuff each taco with cabbage and eat right away while hot and ooey gooey cheesy. 

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. 

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. 

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.