Blowing Hot and Cold

 I want to apologize for the way this blog always looks but Google's Blogspot with which I am stuck is absolutely impossible to use. It is a horrid program.

Root vegetables are out of the ground, their rich colors piled high on farmers' market tables beside all the winter squash making its debut. And in between the last jewels of summer: tomatoes green and red, eggplants of all sizes and peppers in more colors than Joseph's coat. If there was ever a time to indulge in some fine home cooking, it is right now in the chill before the frost.

For a chilly night,
Autumn Chicken Pot Pie
with leeks, red onion, carrots, celery, bell peppers and baby sweet potatoes topped with a cornbread crust (not on so the photo could show the interior) 4-6 hungry souls*

I made this with two large boneless breasts but I'd prefer 4-5 whole thighs for their flavor. In any event, I recommend slathering the raw chicken with your favorite spice mix: mine for chicken is hands-down Berbere from Ethiopia. Cut the breasts into large bite-sized pieces.

After that, you need 1 large leek, 1 red onion, 2 garlic cloves, 3 medium carrots, 2 stalks of celery, 1 red bell pepper and if you can't find a few baby sweet potatoes from a farm, throw in a 8-10 baby white or yellow or blue potatoes skin on. You will also need 2-3 cups of chicken broth, salt and black pepper and your preferred spices: i loaded this with thyme, rosemary, coriander and a pinch of cinnamon because a pinch of cinnamon revs up everything. (Remember you've got spice on the chicken.) Lastly either flat leaf parsley or cilantro if you like it more peppery.

*If this were spring chicken pot pie, you'd want leeks, purple onion, fresh peas, celery and parsnips, even fresh fava beans.

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cut everything but red pepper into a large bite-sized piece. Slice the pepper into thin strips. Heat 4 tbsp butter in a heavy gauge casserole and when it's melted toss in the onions. If you want to make this super fabulous, you can toss in a pinch of saffron for those onions. When onions are soft and translucent, add the garlic, leek and chicken. Stir fry a minute or two to get the chicken to begin brown.

Toss in your spices, then the rest of the vegetables. Add salt and fresh pepper to your taste. Cover everything with chicken broth. Or vegetable broth. Or water.  Stir to blend. Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and cook 20-30 minutes, until everything is close to tender. Don't go to mush.

Using a slotted spoon, distribute the chicken and vegetables evenly in a deep pie dish. Add chopped parsley or cilantro.  Sift 1/4 c white flour into the pot and whisk it into the liquid. Raise heat on the liquid so it reduces and begins to thicken beyond runny. Pour enough over the contents of the pie pan to just cover.

Using polenta or masarepa or corn meal, make a dough according to package instructions. I always add a tsp of chili pepper, a tsp salt and 1/4 c grated cheese to the dough. If you have a roasted poblano pepper around, smash it in too.  Cover the pie pan with dough, sealing the edges.  Bake at 350º 30 minutes or until crust is crisp and starting to brown.  Let it sit 5 minutes before serving. 

For a warmer moment
Crushed corn Salsa
2-3 ears of corn cut off the cob
2 tbsp butter
1/2 c ricotta cheese
1 roasted poblano pepper
2 tsp corn oil (to thin the mix slightly)
Salt
1 tsp dried oregano

Juice of a lime
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 bunch cilantro
Sauté the corn in the butter until it's richly cooked.  Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor and add the remaining ingredients. Whiz into a paste for dipping your favorite tortilla chips in.

Color on a drab day: Piperade
the all purpose Basque dish shows off the dazzling array of colored peppers right now

serves 4-6

1 large green bell pepper, washed and seeded 1 large red bell pepper, washed and seeded 
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, washed and seeded 
1 sm Poblano pepper, washed and seeded
1 med-lg red onion, peeled 
3 lg garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c olive oil
Fresh ground pepper to your taste
Chopped fresh flat leaf parsley or cilantro, your taste, for garnish
Optionally: 2-3 tomatoes, diced   

Slice peppers into long thin strips. Cut onion into thin rings, cut rings 
in half and break apart. In a large sauté pan, heat oil. Add onion
and oregano and stir-fry on medium heat until onions are soft. Add garlic and peppers. keeping them in a uniform direction. Cook over med/low heat until soft but still bright, maybe 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook until tomatoes break down. Remove from heat and stir in the green garnish to serve.    Here they are centered among roasted baby cauliflower to accompany grilled lamb chops at a potluck.  They can go on a grit souffle, an omelet, a burger, in rice or with sausages.  

Home roasted red peppers with local goat cheese
 Because red peppers are so cheap right now and won't be for long, it's good to indulge in all their vitamin C. If you have a grill, great: roast 'em. If not and you have a gas stove, tend them carefully over an open flame, turning with tongs until they start to blacken. Then you can finish roasting them in the toaster oven or big oven at 425º for 15 minutes. Pop into a brown paper bag, close it and let them sit. Then remove and you should be able to peel off the membrane. Cool the peppers, halve and clean them.  Dress with good quality olive oil, sea salt and a twist of black pepper.





Tradition kicked up a notch: corn and beans for a colorful table
Another dish that's owed to pepper plethora right now.
 serves 4
2 tbsp corn oil
1 sm red/purple onion, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced*
1 Anaheim pepper, diced (this is light green and torpedo shaped and is used to add color and heat)
 3-4 ears fresh corn, cooked and cut off the cobs
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste 

 In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion and both peppers. Sauté just until soft. Add the corn, beans and oregano. Cook to heat through. Season with salt and pepper, Stir in the cilantro leaves and cook another minute. Remove from heat and serve.
 *In this photo I used a red pepper because I had one to use up.

Because you can: roasted baby cauliflower with chimichurri
Buy a baby cauliflower per person or 1 for every 2 people.
Put them all on a baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle salt.
Roast at 425º 12-15 minutes until they have started to brown and are very tender.
Put on a serving platter and slather each with chimichurri. I've posted that recipe in the past. 

    These look large but that plate is bread-and-butter size. The smallest of the lot was maybe 2 1/2".