Three-Day Weekend Corn Chowder

From Dish Nicole:

This past weekend was Presidents’ Day weekend and I went upstate for some R&R. February has been full of 30th birthday parties, including yours truly’s, and I needed the rest and relaxation. I really really enjoyed the extra day off from work as well. As I was heading back to good old NYC, I took a mental inventory of what I left behind in my fridge that could possibly make a quick and easy Monday night dinner. Knowing I had some Idaho potatoes and frozen corn, I decided on corn chowder. It also happens to be one of my boyfriend’s favorite soups; I left him behind on my weekend excursion so this helped me to get back into his good graces.

Here is what you need for the corn chowder:

3-4 cups of frozen sweet corn
3 small Idaho potatoes- peeled and diced into ¾” cubes
2 stalks celery- diced
2 medium sized carrots- diced
1 medium sized onion- diced
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups of whole milk (or you can go the cream route for a thicker creamier soup)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt & pepper (teaspoon each)

To start, heat the olive oil and butter on the stove over medium heat. Once melted add the celery, carrots, onion and thyme and let them soften for about 10 minutes. Next you will want to dust the vegetables with the flour and mix until they are coated. At this point you can add the stock or broth and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling add in the diced potatoes and the milk and bring back to a rolling boil. You will want to let the soup boil for about 15 minutes to let the potatoes breakdown. You will notice the soup thicken at this point as well. Now you can add in the corn and turn the soup down to simmer for another 10 minutes or so. Add in the salt and pepper (use more or less depending on your taste) and the pinch of cayenne (I like my soup with a kick so I added an extra pinch of the cayenne). That’s all there is to it!

The next step in the process is serving up this soup piping hot with some crusty bread. It really was the perfect ending to a nice long weekend.

Ginger Pork Loin and Lemony Pea Tendrils

From Dish Jodi:

The night after Valentine’s, we made up for the previous night’s pasta and pizza binge at our local italian joint. The people watching on Valentine’s Day was amazing; the 50 year old guy fussing over wine, while his 20-something date stared into oblivion; the guy who clearly forgot to make reservations who stands silent and sheepish while his date freaks out, demanding to be sat at every (reserved) table she can see from the front desk. And our waitress, bless her soul, who was so terrible that the rest of the staff had to help her out. I hope she got to go home to a sweet Valentine to make up for her stressful night.

But anyway – tonight it’s back to simple and healthy. I LOVE pea tendrils, pea shoots, even peas themselves. Sweet, crisp and I feel like I’m filling my body with vitamins with every bite. Some bright marinade on a pork tenderloin and a lemony saute of green goodness and it’s the perfect light dinner.

Ingredients
1/2 C Soy Sauce
1/4 C Lemon Juice
2 T Grated Fresh Ginger
1/2 t Red Pepper Flakes
1 T Butter
Olive Oil
Quarter of a red onion, sliced thinly
Big Bunch of Fresh Pea Tendrils
1 T Grated Lemon Zest
Squirt of Lemon Juice

Mix soy sauce, ginger, pepper and lemon juice in a large bowl and marinate the pork loin in it for a least a half an hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Heat up a large pan on the stove with oil, and sear outside of loin. Then put pan and loin in the oven for 15 minutes or until cooked to you liking. Let rest.

While the meat rests, melt butter and a few more bloops of oil in a pan (I am just using the same one, wiped out) and toss in the onions. Cook until soft. Toss with pea tendrils til they are wilted. Throw in grated zest and big final squeeze of lemon juice and toss.


Plate the greens and top with slices of pork. Enjoy.

Winter Panzanella

From Dish Rachelle:

For our Grammy watching party of two, the Boy made his famous chili, and I pitched in by making my favorite side for it: sweet cornbread. While we were able to freeze half the batch of chili for a rainy day, baked goods are not so easily preserved. A loaf of cornbread, which doesn’t stay fresh for long, is a lot for two people to consume, and though we did our best to “disappear” it before it turned stale and crusty, we had a few less-than-appetizing slices left sitting in our kitchen. Cut to Valentine’s Day dinner: as a starter, I had a warm butternut squash salad with salty braised radicchio that I loved. I decided the next day, when I was eating alone, to turn my old cornbread into new croutons, and concoct a winter panzanella salad for one.

For this salad, you prepare all the components separately and then toss them together. This means you can make a lot of everything and then store it in various containers so your leftovers will be fresh, and not a bready, soggy mess.

You’ll need:
Sweet cornbread croutons (see directions below)
1 butternut squash, seeds and strings removed and cut into pieces for roasting
2 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces
6-8 large brussels sprouts, sliced lengthwise into thin pieces
½ red onion, sliced thin
2 tblsp. red wine vinegar
1 tblsp. apple cider
olive oil
S&P

Preheat oven to 350. Splash some olive oil on a baking sheet and season your butternut squash pieces. Roast them for 20-30 minutes, careful to make sure they don’t overcook – ideally, the squash will be fork tender but not falling apart, so that it’s easily cut into squares. Remove cooked squash from the oven and let cool.

I used this sweet cornbread recipe, but substituted sour cream for butter, because that’s what I had in the house. It gave it a dense, spongy texture, which turned out to be perfect for croutons.

Cut stale cornbread into small, evenly sized squares and season liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper, tossing carefully to coat. Spread squares on a baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes at 325, turning them once to make sure they cook evenly (and aren’t burning).

While croutons are baking, put your sliced red onion in a bowl with the red wine vinegar and the apple cider. Let onions soak for about 15 minutes.

Sauté the brussels sprouts in a frying pan with the bacon, adding a little olive oil to the pan if the sprouts stick. Cook until tender and season with S&P.

Remove croutons from the oven, and let cool 5-10 minutes so that they’re extra firm. While they’re sitting, remove the skin from your cooked butternut squash with a knife or your fingers. Cut the flesh into evenly sized small squares.

When you’re ready to eat, add 4-5 tblsp of olive oil to your onion mixture, season with S&P, and whip with a fork to combine (the amount of olive oil you use depends on how “stiff” you like your vinegar-based dressing).

OK! Dinner time. In a large bowl, add squash, croutons and brussels sprouts in vaguely equal amounts. Spoon on as much onion dressing as you like, and toss well.

Recipe inspiration from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted from Michael Chiarello’s version for the Food Network.