you know how when you grow up with something you think that’s just how things are but then you find out it was actually specific to your experience? like how i have these weird things in my mouth called tori, but until the dentist told me that they were weird, i thought that was just what mouths were like.
anyway, i grew up thinking that chicken vesuvio was just regular old italian restaurant food, but i’ve recently learned that it’s actually regional to chicago! so i decided to make some for a little taste of my very cold homeland. if you’ve never had chicken vesuvio before, all you need to know is that the potatoes are so good. so soooooo good.
this recipe is adapted from cook’s illustrated complete cooking for two. in addition to making a few changes to the recipe, i have to double everything because apparently dylan and i eat for four. traditional chicken vesuvio would normally have peas in it, but dylan is allergic to peas and i hate them, so i don’t add them. a more traditional version would also use bone in chicken pieces but i think that’s too much work, so i went for boneless instead.
further note: i tried to do some research about the history of chicken vesuvio, but i ended up at this page of people just arguing a lot and being angry and i started getting sort of sad and overwhelmed so i had to quit. research at your own risk.
Print Recipe
Kate's Chicken Vesuvio
A classic Chicago chicken and potatoes dish that comes together easily in one pot.
it’s been gloomy for a few weeks here in Seattle, so I decided to get some new soup recipes into my rotation and try out this recipe for Pasta e Fagioli. needless to say, it didn’t disappoint.
this recipe is great because it cooks up quickly, only uses one pot, and looks and tastes way fancier than it is.
while we were eating it, a commercial for olive garden came on and dyl said that this food was probably better than olive garden. so there you go. probably better than olive garden.
Print Recipe
Pasta e Fagioli
Only takes one pot and a few minutes of actual work. Great for rainy days.
Sauteé bacon in a large pot or stockpot over medium-high heat until it begins to brown. You don't need to use any oil, because the bacon has a lot of fat. As the bacon cooks, spoon off some of the fat so that your soup isn't too oily.
Add onion and continue to cook until onion softens, 5-6 more minutes. Add in oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
Add in both cans of tomatoes, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom as the tomato juice boils.
Add in chicken broth and water, and bring to a rolling boil. Add in ditalini and cook at a rolling boil for 9 minutes. When ditalini is cooked, move soup from heat and cool slightly before serving (it will be HOT!).
I’m still going crazy for spaetzle. The other night I started off making a mushroom paprikash and spaetzle recipe that I had found online. After mixing up the spaetzle batter and chopping all the mushrooms and onions, I realized that I hadn’t read the instructions well enough and I didn’t have half the ingredients.
So it was time to improvise! I knew spaetzle would be good with mushrooms and onions no matter what, so I just needed some kind of sauce to add richness and flavor and bind everything together.
I found a nice block of Swiss cheese hiding out in my fridge (I had bought it for a recipe I never ended up making), threw together a quick bechamel, and grated the Swiss into it.
The result was like a hearty mushroom-y mac and cheese, except with the tangy flavor of Swiss and the tender springiness of the fresh spaetzle. It was a lot of fun to put together and it tastes great!
Print Recipe
Spaetzle with Mushrooms and Swiss Sauce
Creamy Swiss bechamel, savory sauteed mushrooms, and fresh, springy spaetzle! A hearty treat for a cold night!
Start by making your spaetzle batter so that it's ready to go when you need it. You can find the recipe for that in the link in the description above.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until just beginning to soften, then add in mushrooms and stir to combine. Continue to cook until mushrooms begin to brown and release their juices. Add in minced garlic for the last minute. Once everything is cooked, set skillet aside for later.
In a large saucepan, heat butter until just beginning to foam. Dump in flour and whisk constantly. This mixture will turn into a paste that you'll keep whisking for a minute or two longer until it turns a little brown. Congratulations! You've just made a roux!
Now add the milk by the 1/2 cup, whisking constantly with each addition. Let the mixture thicken for a minute or two on high heat, continuing to whisk so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of your pot.
Dump in the grated swiss, stirring constantly until completely melted and incorporated into a smooth sauce. Set the sauce aside.
Boil your spaetzle, according to instructions. Combine fresh spaetzle, mushroom mixture, and Swiss sauce and enjoy!
I’m finally reading Anna Karenina for the first time (thanks to inspiration from Elif Batuman whose novel The Idiot I recently devoured) and it’s so good! In honor of this book that has been consuming all my thoughts and all my time, I decided to make Russian food.
So, I don’t actually know how authentically Russian Beef Stroganoff is, and I certainly have no idea if it’s something that Anna Karenina herself would have ever eaten (update: I looked it up, and she maybe would have, but it wouldn’t have been anything like what I made), but I do know that this recipe is delicious, super easy, and all comes together in one pot. All of which leaves me more time to keep my head buried in the book.
I got this recipe from this blog called Hip Foodie Mom and I make it all the time. The recipe is perfect and needs no real changes, but I eliminated the cornstarch slurry, because I find that’s usually more trouble than it’s worth. I used 80/20 ground beef because it was cheaper and because the added fat helps to thicken the sauce a bit. If you’d prefer your dinner to be a little bit healthier, serve with a side of green veggies.
Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and cook the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Add in onion and cook until onions are translucent.
Add in ground beef, breaking into small chunks with a spoon, and cook until no longer pink and beginning to brown. Stir in smoked paprika.
Add noodles and beef stock. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally so that all the noodles cook evenly.
When most of the liquid has cooked off, move the pot from the heat, and stir in 1/2 cup of the sour cream. Mix together until incorporated and season with salt and pepper.
Serve topped with chopped parsley and a dollop of the remaining sour cream.
FYI also tastes super good the next day- cold or reheated!
