New England Clam Chowder

I am a soupaholic. I admit it. Spring, summer, fall, or winter…soup rocks. I think that the winter months bring out everyone’s craving for the hot, sometimes thick, slide down your throat and make you all warm inside type of meal that can be eaten with a spoon and out of a bowl.

Unless of course, you decide that soup doesn’t rock. Maybe you’ve eaten rocky soup. I’ll never forget the very first time I attempted to make a fabulous surprise dinner for my family. The meal just wouldn’t be fabulous unless I had 29 courses, one of them being soup.

It was supposed to be navy bean soup with ham and bacon. I love those too. Navy beans, that is. Anyway, I didn’t have a recipe book or anything with instructions. And I certainly didn’t want to ask anyone for help for fear of ruining the surprise. Geez…how hard could it be? Even a five year old could figure out how to make navy bean soup with ham and bacon…duh. So here’s what I did.

While on my secret shopping mission, I picked up a large package of Michigan Pea navy beans, some ham and a package of bacon. Dinner would be served around 5:00 p.m. that evening.

Around 4:30 p.m., I opened the package of navy beans, poured them in the pot, added the ham lunchmeat, opened the bacon, and poured in some water. Covered it with the lid and turned on the heat. That’s it folks. No salt, pepper…nothing.

Around 5 something or other, it was time to show off my wares (so to speak). Well, at first you could have heard a pin drop. I was all smiles and gushing over my impressive meal when all of a sudden…I started hearing “WHAT THE @&%# is this?” And one family member started spitting and a small gray rock landed on the table. Another started spitting out his mouthful and said that it was all rocks (but they were only uncooked beans…sheesh, such a teeny tiny little mistake). I mean, can’t a person get a break? I tried didn’t I?

No one sued. Or asked for leftovers. Or ate anything that I cooked for a loonnngggg time. Go figure.

Here’s my delicious and quick (well... sort of quick) New England Clam Chowder recipe that I promise will keep you in the good graces of your family and out of court.

Your Ingredients: (about 4 servings)

6 slices bacon, cut into small pieces (use your kitchen shears)
1 cup diced yellow onion
2 cups celery, thinly sliced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 (6.5 ounce) cans of minced clams, drained and broth set aside
Clam juice (8-ounce bottle)
3-cups diced potatoes
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Celery Soup
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half and half
2-tbsp butter
1/2-tsp Old Bay seasoning
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

PLACE a medium-size heavy soup pot over medium heat, add bacon pieces, and sauté until almost crisp.

WHEN bacon begins to crisp, add the onion, celery, garlic and bay leaf and sauté until bacon is crisp and onion and celery are translucent.

ADD the broth from the drained clams along with the bottle of clam juice to the mixture.

ADD the diced potatoes, cover, and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir the potatoes occasionally to prevent sticking.

ADD the minced clams, cream of celery soup (do not add water), heavy cream and half and half. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.

STIR often and simmer for about 10 minutes.

ADD butter, Old Bay, salt, and freshly ground black pepper according to taste. (remember that the clam juice contains salt).

DISCARD the bay leaf and turn off heat. Allow the soup to rest (in the pot on the stove) for about 15 minutes.

LADLE the chowder into warmed bowls and serve with crusty bread or chowder crackers (you know, the little round soup crackers).

Always Enjoy!

Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil Focaccia Toast

This recipe makes an excellent appetizer for a crowd of 50 or for just one. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it’s really yummy.

I could eat about 10 of these myself. Especially while I’m reading. There is nothing better. Except if you’re reading and eating while you’re lying down in bed. Then you get crunchy crumbs all over the fresh sheets and your spouse might kick you out of the bed and ask you to eat your toast on the porch. Well what if it’s cold? What if your dog won’t even go out on the porch?

Once again, Your Smiling Chef will come to your rescue so that you don’t have to eat your toast on the porch without the dog for company. Here’s what you do:

On the evening that you plan to eat these delicious focaccia toast points, toast several pieces of regular bread separately. Crumble up the toast until you have about a quart of crumbs. Bleach them (so they’re invisible against your white crispy sheets).

Then all you have to do is sprinkle the crumbs on your spouse’s side of the bed before they get in. You lie down on your side and read your book. When they get in and start complaining about something crunchy under them that they can’t see, look at them as if they’ve lost their mind.

Tell them that they should go out on the porch and try to refresh their mind before you have to call someone. When they leave, just grab your toast, savor the taste, and read your book in peace. Simple wasn’t it?

Your Ingredients:

2 squares of herbed focaccia bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Dijon mustard
Finely shredded mozzarella cheese
2 large tomato slices (thin)
4 large basil leaves, washed
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste


PREHEAT oven to 400ºF.

LAY the focaccia squares on a foil-lined baking sheet

BRUSH the squares with olive oil.

SPREAD a little Dijon mustard on top.

SPRINKLE mozzarella on top.

ADD a tomato slice to each square.

ADD 2 basil leaves.

SPRINKLE a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper.

TOP with a sprinkling of mozzarella.

BAKE until lightly toasted, about 5-7 minutes and slice diagonally to make triangle points.

SERVE with homemade tomato soup and say aah!

Always Enjoy!

Little Chocolate Cookies

Kristen requested this recipe to pacify her sweet tooth. I hope that Kristen shares these cookies with her chocolate lover friends…it’d be a shame to hide them!

I hope you enjoy them Kristen!

Your Ingredients: (makes about 4 dozen little cookies)

2 sticks butter, room temperature
1-cup granulated sugar
1/2-cup golden brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2-tsp pure vanilla extract
2-cups all-purpose flour
2/3-cup good quality cocoa
1-tsp baking powder
1-tsp baking soda
1/2-tsp salt
12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

PREHEAT oven to 350ºF.

IN the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy.

IN another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to blend well.

ADD the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until well blended.

REMOVE from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and chunks.

FORM cookie dough into walnut-sized balls and arrange balls on ungreased cookie sheets about 2-inches apart.

PLACE the filled cookie sheets, one at a time, into the preheated oven on the center rack.

BAKE cookies for 8-10 minutes. (if you’d like a softer cookie, bake for around 7-8 minutes)

REMOVE from the oven and allow cookies to set for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a cookie cooling rack to cool completely.

Always Enjoy!

Tandoori Chicken Recipe

I've always enjoyed sampling recipes from different geographical locations in this huge, wonderful world we live in. Of course, there are many, many cuisines that I haven't had the pleasure of tasting. Fortunately though, this isn't one of them (although I use chicken breasts).

Let me know when you try this. Anna's instructions are also very easy to follow.

Note: If you'd like to accompany this fabulous dish with Anna's Spicy Lentil Curry recipe, CLICK HERE.

Always Enjoy!

Onion Sandwiches

Happy New Year Everyone!

Boy, have I got a recipe for you today. But you can only eat it while you’re by yourself, that’s why the recipe only serves one.

Now, if your significant other happens to catch you in the act, you have nothing to worry about. Your mouth will be full and it would be impolite to talk in this manner. So just keep your mouth closed and nod in a vertical fashion. But if the answer is no, please don’t nod. Just shake your head from side-to-side in a horizontal fashion. They’ll get your drift.

But what about when you’re finished eating? How will you be able to keep from speaking? Aha! As usual, Your Smiling Chef will come to your aid.

Here’s what you do. Grab the nearest dishtowel and wrap it around your head, securing the vertical points around your head and tie a bow at the top at the most northern part of the tippy-top of your forehead. Hopefully the towel will have some sort of design that matches the attire you’re wearing.

Then you will take the dishcloth and stuff it into the side of the lateral left horizontal angle that will be at approximately 45-degrees from your tippy-top. Now you’ve got it made.

You can scribble on a napkin beginning your sentence at the eastern portion (since you'll be writing upside-down) and jot down, “I don’t know when I’ll be able to talk to you honey. I bit down on something and now the westerly region of my oral cavity is swollen and possibly infected. Please don’t come too close.”

And that, my dear friend, is the very best remedy for onion breath.

Your Ingredients: (serves one)

4 slices of soft white bread
mayonnaise
2 bibb lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry with a paper towel
1 large Vidalia or red onion, washed and sliced into thick rounds
salt
freshly ground pepper

USING a large round biscuit cutter (approximately 3-1/2-inches in diameter), cut out rounds from each slice of bread to make 4 rounds for 2 sandwiches. Save the edges for the birds.

SLATHER tons of mayonnaise on each round.

PLACE each lettuce leaf on 2 bread rounds.

PLACE 2 thick round slices of raw onion on each of the bread rounds.

SPRINKLE with salt and freshly ground pepper.

COVER both sandwiches with the other 2 bread rounds.

SERVE to yourself and make sure that there are dishcloths and dishtowels nearby. If you need a compass or ruler for your measurements, keep those handy too.

Always Enjoy!