Can all the Bostonians/New Englanders/Northeast Corridorites agree that the rain is getting just a tad old… I’ve only been back for 3 days and it’s already wearing on me, so I can’t imagine what it’s doing to those of you that have been enduring this for a week now.

Which is why, I thought that a little summery, sunshiney pasta dish would be just the thing to make us all feel, if not believe, that the warm weather really is right around the corner.

I know I say this about a lot of things, but Aglio e Olio really is my to-die-for dish. It easily makes the list of top 5 foods I would take with me to a desert island, not to mention the fact that it holds a bit of sentimental nostalgia for me.

Back when I first started cooking for myself (a subject that has been coming up quite a bit recently), aglio e olio was my premiere go-to for weeknight dinners. It had all of the characteristics of a perfect meal:

1. Simplicity
2. Deliciousness
3. It used beautiful fresh ingredients and allowed them to come through
4. It required almost no real skill but still made me feel supremely competent, which is a feat not achieved by most recipes.

It should also be mentioned that there is a very unique synergy to this dish, an alchemy achieved by the blend of ingredients that is hard to achieve when even one is omitted. Luckily, most of the ingredients happen to be staples, so there is no great chance that you will be without one, but do make the effort to use them all, nonetheless.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Algio e Olio, Serves 2

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

½ lb. Linguine

3 Tbls. Olive Oil

6 Cloves Garlic, rough chopped

¼ Cup Parmesan, grated

½ Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1 Lemon, juiced

1/3 Cup Parsley, rough chopped

½ Tsp. Sea Salt

½ Tsp. Pepper

3 Tbls. Best Quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Salt for boiling pasta

Preparation:

Bring a pot of salted water to boil.

Over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil and sweat the garlic for 15 minutes in a large saute pan. (I’m adding a Glossary Page for these terms, but sweating garlic means that you cook it over very low heat to infuse the oil with its flavor; there should be no activity in the pan, no sizzling. The only evidence that anything is happening will be a wonderful, light garlic smell that permeates the kitchen after about 5 minutes.)

Once the water has come to a boil, add the linguine and cook for 7 minutes.

Once the linguine has cooked, drain the pasta, but leave it very damp as the cooking water will help the sauce to glide easily over the noodles.

Toss the linguine into the saute pan, still over the heat. Add the parmesan, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil to the pan and mix well to the coat the linguine with tongs.

Serve with extra parmesan cheese and enjoy!

 
This post is dedicated to my friend, CS. Ever since I added kale to the Oven-Poached Halibut recipe, she has constantly reminded me of how healthful it is, and that we all must eat more kale. And, the thing is, she’s right. Kale is a health super food. According to the World’s Healthiest Foods website, kale has “more nutritional value for fewer calories than almost any other food around.”

It is off the charts for Vitamins K, A & C, and provides a substantial amount of a number of other nutrients, including fiber, calcium, iron, omega 3 fatty acids, and potassium. In short, I’m fully banking on the inclusion of kale in my diet to mitigate, if not negate, the presence of less-virtuous elements in my diet and lifestyle.

As if it didn’t have enough virtues, kale is at its prime during the shift from winter to spring, is a hardy green that will keep in a zip lock bag for at least a few days longer than your typical lettuce, is a cinch to cook, and its deep forest green color gives it eye appeal on your plate.

The following recipe for sauteed kale with garlic can be whipped up in the 5 minutes before you sit down to dinner.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Garlic Sauteed Kale, Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

1 Bunch of Kale, chopped into large pieces

3 Cloves of Garlic

½ Tsp. Salt

½ Tsp. Pepper

1 Tbls. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Preparation:<

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Add the kale, salt & pepper to the pot, covering with the olive oil and garlic. Cover the pot and let cook for 2 minutes.

Uncover the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat, cover the kale with the extra-virgin olive oil, and add salt & pepper to taste.

As I was making dinner the other night, PT jokingly suggested that I start Cooking Heavy magazine, the yummier, more diabolical counterpart to Cooking Light magazine.

Shocked, I stood before the vat of scalding oil, ready to drop the battered chicken in, and asked what would have given him such an idea. “Oh nothing,” he smirked, kissed me on the head, and retreated to the living room.

Now, I will admit that I have a slight predilection for cooking foods that contain cheese, butter, cream, chocolate, more butter, crème fraîche (definitely, crème fraîche), and home-frying does send me into a bit of a frenzy. There’s nothing quite like that first hiss and sizzle, as the food hits the near-bubbling oil, that tells you that you’re in for a treat.

On that particular night, I had decided to make my famous (well, famous within an exclusive circle) Fried Chicken. The weather in Boston was starting to make a turn for the better, and I was in the mood for a bit of kitchen pottering – the mindless activity that certain slow-cooking recipes demand in regular increments throughout the day, and which this Fried Chicken recipe fulfills beautifully.

This Fried Chicken is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted, and, as far as I’m concerned, beats any fast food joint by a mile. It’s salty, a little spicy, super-garlicky, and unbelievably crispy. The marinade flavors the meat straight down to the bone and makes it so tender and juicy, it nearly falls off after the first bite.

The one caveat to this meal is that it must be started by noon at the latest, if you intend to have dinner at a reasonable hour, and it more or less chains you to the kitchen. That being said, if you have the time and inclination, this is a fabulously decadent, fun meal to make and serve.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Crispy Garlicky Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

3 lbs. Chicken, cut-up, preferably thighs, wings, and legs

3-4 Cups Peanut Oil

For the Marinade

½ Cup Kosher Salt

¼ Cup Sugar

1 Tbls. Garlic Salt

1 Tbls. Chili Powder

1 Tbls. Cayenne*

3 Heads of Garlic, cloves separated and skinned

2 Bay Leaves, Crumbled

2 Quarts Buttermilk

For the batter

3 Cups Flour

1 Tbls. Kosher Salt

1 Tsp. Pepper

1 Egg

1 Tsp. Baking Powder

½ Tsp. Baking Soda

It may be tedious, but dealing with all of this garlic produces an incomparably flavored meat.

To make the marinade, place the skinned garlic cloves, kosher salt, sugar, garlic salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves in a durable, zip-lock bag. With the flat side of a meat pounder (or anything heavy and flat) pound the mixture, until the garlic cloves are well-smashed into the salt.

Pour the mixture into a large tupperware container (anything non-reactive) and add 7 cups of the buttermilk (reserve the last cup for the batter). Mix well until all of the salt is dissolved.

Submerge the chicken in the mixture, ensuring that all sides are coated well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.  

Place a cookie sheet underneath a large wire cooling rack. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator. Remove the chicken from marinade using tongs and lay on the wire cooling rack. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 2 hours or for up to 6.

The cookie sheet will catch any drips or spills from the drying chicken.

To make the batter, whisk together the egg, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium-sized nesting bowl. Once mixed, pour the remaining cup of buttermilk into the bowl.

Separately, pour the flour, salt, and pepper into a shallow, wide baking dish and mix well. Drop 2-3 pieces of chicken into the flour mixture. Coat the pieces well by either shaking the dish or using a spoon (or your clean hands) to cover the tops with flour. Using tongs, lift the chicken out of the flour and drop into the egg and buttermilk mixture. Again, coat well. Remove the chicken, allowing the excess liquid to drip off and return to the flour mixture. Again, coat well with the flour mixture, using the same method as before. Once fully coated, return the chicken pieces to the wire rack (with the cookie sheet beneath to catch any drips).

Repeat this process with the remaining chicken. You will want to remove any clumps of batter from the flour mixture and tongs before moving on to the next batch, as they will make coating and moving the chicken messier and more difficult.

Once all the chicken pieces are battered and returned to the wire rack, return the rack to the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before frying.

To fry the chicken, you must have a large pot or dutch oven with a diameter of at least 12 inches, a depth of at least 8 inches, and it must have a lid or cover.

Pour the peanut oil to a depth of about 2-2 ½ inches into the pot. Heat over medium-high heat until it reaches a temperature of 350-375°.

Place 2-3 of the chicken pieces, skin-side down, into the oil. Cover the pot. Turn the heat down to medium and fry for 6-8 minutes. The skin will become instantly golden and brown, but will not burn with the extra time.

Once the 6-8 minutes are done, using tongs, flip the chicken to the other side for another 6-8 minutes.**

Check the heat of the oil to make sure that it has not fallen below 325°, which is the magic number for ensuring crispy fried chicken.

Once the batch is done frying, remove the chicken to a plate covered in paper towels. Allow the oil temperature to reach 350-375° again before beginning on the next batch. Continue, using the same method, until all of the chicken is fried.

Nom nom nom...

Plate the chicken pieces, sprinkle a little salt on top (or whip up a nice honey mustard sauce), and serve with a big salad or heaping of sides.