Crispy Oven Fries and Roasted Summer Squash

Yep, it's another post about side dishes today! These are good ones, I promise you. The first one I'm going to tell you about is the Double-Baked Oven Fries I made the other night. I found this recipe over on Rachael Ray's website. I remember her making oven fries on her show once that were reportedly "crazy crisp," restaurant-quality french fries. Supposedly, you couldn't even tell they were baked instead of fried! I had to make them for myself to find out if this claim was true.

Even though Rachael Ray is not my favorite celebrity chef by any means, I have to admit that this whole concept is very clever. She uses cooling racks on top of the baking sheets, then spreads the potato slices on the racks. This allows for even heating all over the potato, so it doesn't have a chance to get soggy on the bottom. Then, she double-bakes the fries, at two different oven temperatures, with a brief re-toss in oil and spices in between. The fries do become very crispy, golden, and delicious after cooking them this way. I absolutely loved them; my seasoning of choice was Old Bay this time, but you could use virtually anything you particularly like. The only minor gripe I have with these is that you have to eat them right away, or they do eventually turn soggy. It's no biggie if you're making just enough to serve with no leftovers, though!



It's summer again, so of course that means the summer squash is in abundance around these parts. Sometimes, when I'm trying to figure out what to do with all of it, I become overly ambitious, coming up with ideas that are somewhat elaborate or time-consuming. Often, the easiest preparation is also among the most delicious.



This way of roasting squash just could not be simpler. Just toss sliced squash with some sliced onion, then add oil, salt, and pepper. As with the potatoes, any other spice of your choice could be added. Then you roast the veggies for about 15 minutes at 450 degrees, and you have sweet, juicy, tender summer squash that you barely exerted any effort in producing. Not bad for a lazy summer dinner!

Double-Baked Oven Fries
adapted from RachaelRay.com
makes about 1 1/2 lbs. fries

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. medium Idaho potatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Old Bay seasoning, to taste (any of your favorite spices can be used)
1-1 1/2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with foil, then place an oven-proof cooling rack over the foil on each sheet.

2. If desired, peel the potatoes. Cut each potato into thin fries, lengthwise: the thinner they are, the crispier they will be. Transfer each slice to a large bowl.

3. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, Old Bay seasoning, and olive oil over the potato slices. Toss well to coat all the slices. Transfer each slice to the cooling racks, taking care to leave space between each.

4. Place the fries in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and increase the heat to 425 degrees. Return the fries to the bowl, and toss again. You may add more seasonings at this point.

5. Return the fries to the baking sheets and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until crisp and brown. Serve immediately.


Roasted Summer Squash
recipe by Bri
makes 1 lb. squash

Ingredients
1 lb. yellow summer squash, ends cut off and thinly sliced into circles
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced into strips
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Toss squash and onion pieces in the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange vegetables in a baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until veggies are tender and slightly brown. Serve immediately.

Meatless Mondays: Red Pepper Fennel Soup

Wow, this is two Meatless Mondays in a row! This could be habit-forming. I have to say, I have been enjoying it. I can get a little tired of chicken and then chicken, so it's always great to find ways of preparing meat-free meals that are just as satisfying.

This soup is perfect for filling you up on a cold night. We've been getting hit with some snow this past week, and I tend to crave soup when the temperatures drop (or drop even lower than they were before!). I found this Red Pepper Fennel Soup on Food.com, and it was cited as having come from Rachael Ray's September 2007 magazine. I could not find this soup on Rachael's official website, though, so I have provided the link to the Food.com version down at the bottom of this post with my take on the recipe.



The soup starts with a leek and a bulb of fennel as its base. Since these are two vegetables we love to eat when we can get our hands on them, I figured we were off to a good start. I roasted my own red peppers for this; I feel like it's worth the extra time to do that instead of using a jar of roasted peppers. Fortunately, I actually did have enough extra time to do it this time! That's not always the case.

So you throw in your sliced red peppers, along with a sliced potato, broth, and some seasonings (I added fenugreek because I had just purchased some for the first time the day before I made this. I was looking for just about any excuse to try it out!). Let everything come up to a boil and simmer until the potato has cooked through. Then you pull out your immersion blender and puree the veggies. It becomes so thick and luxurious, and then you make it even more luxurious with the help of some heavy cream. I didn't want too much; the original version called for 1/2 cup, but I just put in 2 Tbsp. It was just enough for me. It made the soup slightly creamy without adding tons of fat.

To go alongside, you whip up some homemade pita chips in the oven. It's so easy; I do it every now and then, experimenting with different ways of seasoning them. This time, they had a mix of salt, pepper, fenugreek, and some fennel fronds on them. I overcooked them by a minute or two, so they were slightly charred. I thought that was actually pretty good in this case, since it matched well with the charred red peppers. I thoroughly enjoyed this meal, and was plenty full after one bowl. All that, and it was meat-free! Not shabby at all.

Red Pepper Fennel Soup

adapted from Food.com

makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

2 roasted red peppers, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 leek, thinly sliced crosswise (white parts only)

1 small fennel bulb, with fronds, bulb finely chopped and fronds chopped for garnish

1 (1/2 lb.) potato, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp. fenugreek, plus more to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

3 pita bread, split and cut into wedges

2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium Dutch oven, heat 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add the leek and chopped fennel bulb and cook until lightly golden, about 10 minutes.

2. Add all the roasted pepper strips except 4-6, leaving the remaining 4-6 for garnish. Add in the potato, broth, salt, pepper, and 1/2 tsp. fenugreek and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the potato is tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place the pita wedges on a baking sheet and toss with the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper, a few fennel fronds, and fenugreek seasoning over the wedges and toss to coat. Toast in the oven, 6-8 minutes, until crispy. Set aside to cool.

4. Once the potato in the soup has softened and cooked through, use an immersion blender to puree the soup (or puree in a blender, in smaller batches). Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper. The soup can be served hot or cold, with the reserved red pepper strips and fennel fronds on top for garnish. Serve the pita chips alongside, for dipping.

Mini Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup

I wanted to post about this soup I made last week because we're heading into January, and I think we could all use something light, yet satifsying, right about now. I feel so weighed down by decadence after all those Christmas treats I've been inhaling this December. Not that there is anything wrong with holiday decadence! But going into the long winter months ahead, I feel like you can never have too many new soup recipes under your belt.

I adapted this one from a Rachael Ray recipe for stoup. That is her silly, made-up word for a soup that is almost as thick as a stew. Since I do not believe in calling soups or stews stoups, I chose to rename my version based on the changes I made to the original. Instead of using a combination of Mini Meatballs and Gnocchi (thereby making Rachael's a double dumpling stoup), I chose to go with mini meatballs and orzo, a pasta I absolutely love in soups. For some reason, I am not a huge fan of rice in soup, but I love noodles in there, so I feel like the small, long-ish shape of orzo is a good compromise.

The mini meatballs are made of ground chicken, and they have just enough Italian seasoning and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to make them super flavorful and creamy. That creaminess permeates the broth of the soup, making it feel richer and luxurious without adding a ton of extra calories. It's delicious and healthy; a perfect winter meal!

Mini Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup

adapted from Rachael Ray

makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

4 stalks celery, chopped

2 medium onions, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 fresh bay leaf

Salt and pepper

6 cups chicken stock

1 pound ground chicken

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

1 egg

1/2 cup Italian-style bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/4 lb. orzo

Crusty bread, for mopping

Directions

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat; add olive oil. Once oil is warmed, add the celery, onions, carrots, and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, until the veggies are soft. Add the chicken stock to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, place the ground chicken in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add garlic, nutmeg, egg, bread crumbs, and cheese. Combine the ingredients with your hands, then roll into walnut-sized meatballs (mine may have been a bit smaller than this) and add to the soup. Wash up, then add the orzo to the pot and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat once the pasta and meatballs have cooked through and allow to sit for 2 minutes more. Remove the bay leaf, and serve in bowls with crusty bread on the side.

Spaghetti Carbonara

I have my ever-changing opinions about Rachael Ray. Sometimes she drives me nuts. Sometimes I feel indifferent to her. Other times, like the other night when I made this Spaghetti Carbonara, I feel grateful to her. After all, it was only after watching her on The Food Network about 4 years ago that I became inspired to learn how to cook, once and for all. She seemed so passionate about cooking, and wanted to share that enthusiasm with her audience. Nowadays, I'm every bit as enthusiastic as she seemed to be when I first watched her. I love talking food, I love making food, and of course, I love eating food!

This Carbonara is one of the very first Rachael Ray recipes I had ever made. I had never eaten Carbonara before, but her way seemed very simple and quick, which I loved about it. The first time we did try this, I was in pasta heaven. As I have professed plenty of times, I just adore pasta, and eggs are right up there with it. Put them together, and you have a winner in my book.

Rachael's method goes like this: cook up some pasta, and then cook some pancetta in oil (which I think is redundant; I mean, why would you cook fatty pork products in oil?). Throw in your crushed red pepper, garlic, and white wine to deglaze the pan. Then, you temper 2 egg yolks by adding a bit of hot pasta water to them. This allows you to add in the egg yolks without cooking the egg to a scramble. You toss the pasta with the bacon and oil, then pour the yolks in and toss very well to heat the eggs through and make them almost creamy. So simple, so delicious! Throw on some grated cheese and parsley, and you have dinner!

I made my most recent version more of a one-dish dinner by adding a healthy handful of peas and fresh spinach. All the major food groups were represented here! I also used bacon in place of pancetta, because I think we just like the flavor of bacon a bit more. Instead of frying the bacon in oil, I baked it up in the oven, crumbled it, and then added it to the pan just before the garlic and red pepper. This would be great with shredded chicken, or shrimp, and I've seen Carbonara made with cream and other luxurious ingredients, too. For my money, this version just can't be beat. It's one of those back-pocket recipes that I've made countless times, thus negating my desire to never make the same meal twice. It's that good!


Spaghetti Carbonara
adapted from Rachael Ray
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb. spaghetti
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 lb. bacon
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
5 or 6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 large handful fresh spinach (frozen can be used; just thaw and drain well)
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional, I omitted)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place bacon strips on a cooling rack that has been set over an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 17-20 minutes, until bacon has fully cooked. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate, and then chop once cool enough to handle.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water, add the spaghetti, and cook according to the package directions. Before draining water, reserve 1 cup of pasta liquid.

3. While the spaghetti cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and chopped bacon; heat for 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and loosen any bits from the bottom of the pan.

4. In a small bowl, beat the yolks, then add about 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. This tempers the eggs and keeps them from scrambling when added to the pasta.

5. Drain pasta well and add it directly to the skillet with bacon and oil. Add the peas and spinach and allow them to heat through. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Toss rapidly to coat the pasta without cooking the egg. Remove pan from heat and add a big handful of cheese, plenty of pepper, and a little salt. Continue to toss and turn the pasta until it soaks up the egg mixture and thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired, and extra cheese.

Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac

I'm always looking for new incarnations for buffalo chicken. We've done buffalo lasagna, buffalo dip, buffalo potato skins. I've also made Rachael Ray's Buffalo Chicken Chili. As it turns out, this recipe is just like her chili, but taken to another level. Instead of just serving up the buffalo chili in bowls with chips and other garnishes, you toss the whole pot with a pound of pasta, and then top the whole thing with cheese and slip it into the oven to cook a bit longer. Voila; chili mac!



This recipe makes a mountain of food! Seriously, I think it made enough for us to have it for dinner maybe four times, along with side dishes, before we ran out. It would be great to make for company (as long as they like buffalo), served with bread and salad. If I had to change anything about this, it would be to increase the heat level. I felt like I couldn't really taste the buffalo sauce as much as I would have liked to; it got lost somewhere amid all the tomato sauce and cheese. It still had a kick, though. The kids had a hard time eating it because of the spiciness. Andy and I loved it, though!

The original recipe can be found here. I did change a couple things, so I'm leaving my version of the recipe below.

Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac

adapted from Rachael Ray

serves 6-8

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, finely chopped
5 large cloves garlic, finely minced or chopped
1/2 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 bay leaves
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups chicken stock or broth
1/4-1/2 cups buffalo wing sauce (use your own personal discretion here)
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 lb. short-cut pasta, any shape (I used these cute tennis racket shapes)
3/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
1. Place a large pot of water on high heat, bring to a boil. Add pasta, cook according to package directions, and drain. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Meanwhile, place a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil to the pan, then the chicken, browning on all sides (about 8-10 minutes). Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, chili powder, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to the chicken. Cook veggies, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add chicken stock and scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the hot sauce and crushed tomatoes and bring up to a boil. Simmer the chili for at least 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.
3. Add the pasta to the chili and toss to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish and sprinkle the pepper jack and blue cheeses evenly over the top. Cover with foil, then bake for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees.
4. Remove the casserole dish from the oven, remove foil, and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbly. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over the top. Let stand a few minutes before serving.