Roasted Tomato Soup

Over the weekend, the sun was shining and the temperature hit 80 degrees.  Despite the beautiful weather, I decided to make hot soup.  Dave was arriving home on a late flight in from a long weekend trip so I thought a pot of soup on the stove would make a nice late dinner.  I also happened to have a pound of cherry tomatoes on the counter.  A long roast of the tomatoes with some garlic and onion.  Pureed with stock and a roasted red pepper for additional sweetness.  A bit of smoky paprika for warmth and a splash of cream for richness. Simple, simple soup.  Oddly perfect on a warm spring night.

Roasted Tomato Soup
serves 2

1 lb cherry tomatoes
1 yellow onion, sliced into wedges
4-5 small garlic cloves, peeled
olive oil
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2-3 large chunks of jarred roasted red pepper (or 1 fresh red pepper, roasted)
1-2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or broth)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
splash of cream

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or brush with a bit of olive oil.  Dump the tomatoes and onion wedges onto the pan.  Drizzle heavily with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper. Toss with your hands until the tomatoes and onions are evenly coated with oil. Place the garlic cloves on a small square of tin foil, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, seal up like a package and place on the sheet pan with the tomatoes and onion. Roast for 45 minutes or until the tomatoes and onions are softened and brown and the garlic is caramelized and fragrant.

Transfer the tomatoes, onion and garlic to a medium sized soup pot and add the roasted pepper and one and a half cups of the stock.  Heat over medium-low heat until warmed through. Using an immersion blender (or by transferring soup to a traditional blender in small batches) puree the soup until it is to your desired thickness, adding more stock if necessary.  Add the paprika and more salt and pepper to taste.  Allow the soup to simmer over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes.  Before serving, add a splash of cream and stir until blended into the soup.

Tomatoes, garlic and onion.

Tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper before their roasting.

Sweet, spicy and delicious.    

Elderflower Lemonade

It feels like spring today.  The sun is out, the weather is unseasonably warm and the birds are chirping.  Normally, such a grand day would call for a strong and icy cocktail, but since I'm not partaking in alcohol for the next 3 months (sigh), lemonade it is.  Not just any lemonade, but lemonade spiked with elderflower syrup. Elderflower liquor is one of my favorite summertime cocktail mix-ins so I thought it only appropriate to use a non-alcoholic elderflower syrup in this drink.  I buy mine (in bulk) at Ikea, but there are quite a few other brands available for purchase online.  The syrup lends a floral note to this lemonade and its sweetness takes the place of sugar.  Tart, freshly squeezed lemon juice, some sparkling water and lots of ice.  Springtime in a glass.

Elderflower Lemonade
makes 2 glasses

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup elderflower syrup (or to your taste)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sparkling water
lemon wedges for serving
ice

Combine all ingredients, except lemon wedges and ice, in a cocktail shaker or pitcher and shake or stir until combined.  Divide between two ice-filled glasses, garnish with lemon wedges and enjoy.

Note:  This lemonade would also be quite delicious mixed with a few ounces of vodka or gin.

All the fixings for a springtime drink.

Bubbles and elderflower syrup.

Floral, tart, sweet and refreshing.

Southern Style Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwich

Though many prefer to sleep in on the weekends, every once in awhile I like to wake up early to prepare a special breakfast.  In this case, I woke up early on a Sunday morning to bake buttermilk biscuits and to fry some chicken for one of the most delicious breakfast sandwiches I've ever eaten.  This may seem like an arduous task for a lazy weekend morning, but these sandwiches are completely worth the work.  On a recent trip to Portland, Oregon, we visited the incomparable Pine State Biscuits and this sandwich is an adaptation of one we devoured there.  Huge, freshly baked buttermilk biscuits topped with juicy, fried chicken breast and smothered in honey, mustard and dill pickles.  This sandwich is really an amazing thing.  Completely worth the early alarm clock on a Sunday morning.

Southern Style Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwich
Makes 2

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cups buttermilk
freshly cracked black pepper
2 eggs
3-4 dashes of Tabasco hot sauce (or whatever you have)
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
peanut oil for frying
2 freshly baked buttermilk biscuits (see recipe below)
2 tsp butter
dill pickle chips
dijon mustard (you can also use a grainy mustard)
Tbsp (or more) honey


The night before you make your sandwiches, marinade your chicken.  In a large resealable plastic bag, add the buttermilk and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper.  On a cutting board, slice the chicken breast in half, running your knife parallel to the cutting board to create two thinner chicken breasts.  Add the chicken to the bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, prepare the chicken.  In a shallow bowl or baking dish, whisk together the eggs, hot sauce and a splash of water.  In another shallow dish, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and allow most of the buttermilk to drain off.  Dredge each thin breast in the egg mixture and then immediately coat in the flour mixture.  Repeat the process one more time with the egg and flour to make another layer of breading and place the breasts on a plate. Refrigerate chicken while you get your oil ready.

In a cast iron skillet or dutch oven, add two inches of peanut oil.  Using a candy or deep fry thermometer, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees.

Remove the chicken breasts from the refrigerator and carefully place them in the hot oil.  Fry for approximately 8 minutes or until they turn a deep golden brown and are cooked all the way through.  Remove cooked chicken to a paper towel-lined sheet pan or plate to drain and cool a bit.

Split a freshly baked buttermilk biscuit in half and spread the insides with a teaspoon of butter.  Place one of the chicken breasts on the lower half of the biscuit, spread it with a bit of mustard and top with a generous drizzle of honey. Top with 4 or five pickle slices and finish with the top half of the biscuit to make a sandwich.  Continue assembling the other sandwich and serve piping hot.

Buttermilk Biscuits
adapted from this recipe
makes 8 large biscuits

5 cups sifted all purpose flour (sift before your measure)
1 Tbsp cream of tarter
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 stick + 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, very cold and sliced into chunks
2 cups buttermilk, cold
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 500 degrees with a rack in the upper third position.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and kosher salt.  Add the cold butter and rub the mixture between your fingertips until the butter chunks are approximately 1/2 inch in size. Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture and gently stir with a rubber spatula until the dough just comes together.  At this point the dough may still be crumbly.

Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead 8-10 times, until the dough comes together.  If the dough seems a bit too dry at this point, add a few more teaspoons of cold buttermilk and continue kneading.

Form the dough into a flat disc and roll out to 3/4 of an inch thickness.  Gently pierce the dough with a fork at 1/2 inch intervals, covering the entire surface. Cut biscuits with a 2 1/2 to 3 inch round cutter and re-roll the scraps to make 8. Arrange on the baking sheet and refrigerate the biscuits for 10-20 minutes.

Brush the tops of the refrigerated biscuits with the heavy cream.  Bake biscuits for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown on top and baked all the way through.  Serve while still warm.

Brush the unbaked biscuits generously with heavy cream to make them gloriously golden and flakey.

Fry your chicken until golden.  A thermometer ensures that your oil is always at the optimum temperature. 

Honey is truly the secret star ingredient in these sandwiches.  I love to use orange blossom honey, but any will do.

Freshly baked biscuits.  Ideally, bake the biscuits while you're frying the chicken.

Sweet, salty, crunchy and delicious.