Japanese Chicken Soup with Rice

Yeah, I know: you look at this title and think "Really? My kids are going to eat that?" Yes, they will actually. The soy sauce gives this a wonderful salty taste that will appeal to kids, and the sherry adds just a bit of a sweet edge.

This recipe is one of Ellen's (as in, one of the dishes she cooks) and it comes from "Food Adventures," by Elisabeth Luard and Frances Boswell. Ellen has adjusted some of the amounts to make it more kid and large-family friendly.

Japanese Chicken Soup with Rice

2 and 2/3 cups short grain rice

3.25 cups cold water

1 lb boned, skinned chicken breast

5-6 cups chicken broth

2-3 TB soy sauce

1 TB dry sherry

6 medium eggs, beaten lightly

4 green onions, finely sliced

1. Cook the rice in the cold water. If you have a rice cooker, adjust the proportions to meet cooker instructions.
2. Cube the chicken and set aside.
3. Bring stock, soy sauce and sherry to a boil in a medium-sized pan.
4. Add chicken, return to a boil, and cook for six minutes.
5. Pour in the eggs and add all but a spoonful of the green onions.
6. Return to a boil, then turn the heat down and cover, allowing to cook on low for 3-4 minutes.
7. Divide the rice evenly into bowls, then laddle in the broth and chicken. Garnis with green onions.

Family ratings:

Jamie: 10

Lucy: 10

Will, who hates most things: 10

Ellen: 10

Paul, who isn't crazy about soup with bits of meat floating in it: 10

Sitr Fry Pork with Snow Peas

1 1-1.5 lb. pork tenderloin
4-6 oz. uncooked rice noodles (get them in the Asian section)

3 TB soy sauce, divided

1-1.25 cup chicken broth

3/8 cup hoisin sauce (you heard me!)

1.5 TB cornstarch

1.5 TB honey

2 TB sesame oil, divided

2 cups snow or snap peas

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin

1.5 TB minced fresh ginger

1.5 TB minced garlic

1/4 chopped green onions

1. Trim the pork, and slice it thin (1/4 inch thick at most)
2. Mix with 1.5 TB soy sauce. Set aside.
3. Prepare rice noodles according to instructions. Usually this involves soaking in warm water, but who knows these days, right?
4. Combine hoisin sauce, the chicken broth, the rest of the soy sauce, the cornstarch and the honey in a small bowl, stirring until smoothish.
5. Heat your walk. When it's hot, toss one TB sesame oil in and stir to coat. Saute pork 3-5 minutes, until more or less browned. If there's a little pink, no big deal. Remove and set aside.
6. Add remaining sesame oil to wok. Stir in peas, bell pepper, garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for one minute.
7. Return pork to pan. Stir in broth mixture. Simmer for a few minutes until it begins to thicken (no more than five minutes, tops).
8. Remove from heat, stir in green onions, and serve next to noodles.

Family Ratings:

Will, who hates everything: 10

Lucy, who loves everything: 10

Jamie, who thinks he's eating chicken: 9

Ellen, who's not crazy about meat: 8

Paul, who's a big fat pig: 10

Spanish Chicken

The Columbus Dispatch is arguably one of the worst papers in the world: poorly written with a blatant political slant, it makes most weekly small-town papers look like The New York Times. The exception--at least 16 years ago, when we lived in Ohio--was the food section. Over the course of our five years there, I must have clipped two dozen recipes from the "Dog Patch." I've lost a lot of them over the years, but a few have become family standards.

This is one of the latter, written by Sue Dawson. The original recipe called for whole chicken cut up, but I like it better this way, as it shortens the browning period and is less messy. The combination of sweet peppers, salty ham, moist chicken and slight heat is what makes this dish so memorable.

Spanish Chicken (Pollo en Chilindron)

1-1.5 lbs boneless chicken breast, cut into one-inch pieces

1 thick slice of ham (1/4 lb or more) diced

2 TB olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 large sweet red pepper, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes, half-drained

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2-1 teaspoon salt

3-5 good cranks on the pepper grinder

1. Heat half the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken lightly. Be careful not to overcook. You should still see some pink at this point.
2. Remove chicken and set aside. Add garlic, onions, sweet pepper, hot pepper, and ham to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are beginning to soften. Again, do not overcook.
3. Return chicken to the pan. Mix, adding salt and pepper. Add tomatoes.
4. Cook on medium to medium low heat for 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and the liquid starts to evaporate. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Serve immediately with rice or potatoes.

Family Ratings

Will, who likes chicken: 9

Lucy, who likes ham: 10

Jamie, who likes (how weird is this for a five-year-old?) red peppers: 10

Ellen and Paul (who like things that taste good): 10

Pasta Carbonara

There's a T-shirt that says: "You had me at bacon." I'm pretty sure they were thinking of this recipe. It comes from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet, and I've made it so often that when I pick that book up and set it down on the table, it automatically falls to that page.

Pasta Carbonara:

1/4 lb bacon

1 stick (1/4 lb) butter

1 cup milk

2 Tablespoons regular vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 lb short pasta

2 eggs, whipped

1/3 cup of fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to instructions. Drain when slightly al dente.
2. Place three sheets of paper towel on a microwave safe plate. Place the bacon on top, then cover with three more sheets of paper towel. Microwave for 4-6 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium-sized pan over medium-high heat.
4. Pour the milk into a microwave-safe cup or measuring cup. Remove bacon when done, place milk inside, and cook for two minutes.
5. Crumble the bacon.
6. Once the milk is done, add it and the bacon to the melted butter. Switch heat to medium.
7. Add vinegar to mix. Stir lightly, then lower heat to medium low. Cook for eight minutes until more or less smooth. (If the mixture curdles and divides when you add the vinegar, start over. Trust me.)
8. Drain pasta and add to a large bowl.
9. Mix eggs in a small bowl. Make sure cheese is grated.
10. Once the sauce is ready, pour the eggs over the pasta, followed quickly by the bacon/butter mixture. This, in effect, cooks the eggs.
11. Add cheese, toss. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Family Ratings:

Will who hates to admit that it actually tastes good: 8

Lucy. Are you kidding? It has bacon, right?: 10

Jamie. Are you kidding? It has bacon, right?: 10

Ellen, who's not actually that crazy about bacon: 7

Paul, who's not getting any skinnier: 10

Chickpea Pasta

On the face of it, I know, this doesn't look like much. The trick is the combination of celery, chickpeas, and parsley: the three together give this a full, hearty flavor that's very satisfying.

A few notes:

• Use Bush's chickpeas/garbanzo beans. They just taste better.
• Once the dish is served up, adults should feel free to add a pinch more of the pepper flakes.

This recipe is adapted from David Young's wonderful Seasoning: A Poet's Year.

Chickpea Pasta

1 lb bow-tie pasta (or really, any short pasta)

2 cloves garlic

1 stalk of celery

1 carrot

1 small onion

2 TB olive oil

1 can chickpeas

2 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes

2 TB chopped parsley

Small pinch hot pepper flakes

salt to taste (at least 1/2 teaspoon)

pepper to taste (at least two cranks of the pepper grinder)

1. Cook pasta per instructions, draining while it's slightly al dente.
2. As pasta cooks, chop onion, garlic, celery, and carrot into very small pieces.
3. Saute onion, garlic, celery, and carrot in the oil for five minutes, using medium heat.
4. Drain tomatoes and add to vegetables. Simmer on low to medium heat for ten minutes or so until much--but not all--of the liquid disappears.
5. Add chickpeas, parsley, and pepper flakes. Cook for a minute or two.
6. Add salt and pepper, stir.
7. Drain pasta, add to sauce, stirring. Cook for another minute or two.
8. Remove and serve.

Family Ratings:

Will who likes most pastas: 7.5

Lucy who loves chickpeas but doesn't like cooked tomatoes: 7.5

Jamie, who used to be called "garbanzo bean" when he was still in Ellen's belly and isn't quite sure what to make of all our jokes about eating him: 8

Paul and Ellen, who add extra peppers: 10

The First Annual Food That Doesn't Suck Holiday Cookbook Blitz

Here's the idea: you like to cook. Your spouse/mom/boyfriend/kid wants to give you a cookbook for Christmas, but has nooo idea what's good and what's not.

So here's what we do: below, in the comments section, post a short--say, 20-50 word--review of your favorite cookbook. Be sure to include the title, the author, and maybe the publisher. Tell us why you like it, naming a couple representative recipes. See my sample, below.

Then wait a few days, come back, and see what everyone else has posted. Pick and choose, then pass the relevant details along to the shopper in your family, reminding them that cookbooks are one of those gifts that benefits them just as much as it does you!

Weekend Roast Beef and Potatoes

This dish is really really easy, but because of the cooking time, it's probably best for weekends. I grew up eating this roast beef. I suppose some readers of Bon Appetite will be offended by my use of dried french onion soup as a spice, but given the choice between hanging out with those folks and hanging out with the woman who birthed me, raised me, and continues to give me emotional support, I'll go with my mom a good 58% of the time.

I'm not really sure what to call the cut of meat you want to get for this dish: in Wisconsin, where I grew up, you just went to the meat counter and asked for a "beef roast." Down in Virginia, where I am now, there's top shoulder roasts and round roasts and beef butts and bottom round shoulder beef butts. Basically what you want is a nice hunk of meat (3-4 lbs.) that's got some fairly serious marbling to it. Too lean a hunk or too skinny of a piece will lead to a dried out roast.

Speaking of dry, one key here is to make sure the tinfoil wrapped around the roast is air-tight. Crimp and double-crimp all of the seams, and if you poke a hole in the foil by mistake, either start over or double wrap with another sheet. Seriously: miss this step and your roast will have the taste and texture of dried dog food.

Just in case, I've included a recipe for "gravy" here that uses the juice from the roast. I know it's not true gravy, and that if I'd read more cook books and cooking magazines I could put together a really fantastic concoction that would make even Julia Childs happy. But you know what? I drive 100 miles a day to and from work, have three kids ten and under, and just don't have the time or patience. And besides, this au jus stuff that I make tastes pretty good . . .

Finally, feel free to just make the roast and skip the potatoes, or just make the roast and the potatoes and skip the gravy. Whatever works for you.

And my apologies to the vegetarians in the crowd: I've yet to find a suitable soy-based substitute for a 3 lb. lump of meat. Coming soon though: a chick-pea pasta that'll knock your socks of.

The Roast Beef

1 3-4 lb beef roast with good marbling

1 envelope dried onion soup (I usually go with Lipton)

A really big sheet of tin foil, large enough to wrap around and tent over the roast

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Rinse the roast and pat dry with paper towels
3. In a baking pan with lay out the sheet of tinfoil
4. Pour half the envelope of dried onion soup onto the foil
5. Situate the roast onto the foil
6. Pour the rest of the soup mix on top of the roast
7. Very very very carefully seal the roast in the tin foil. Be sure all seams are air-tight, and that the foil tents over the top of the roast. If possible, also leave a little space on the sides of the roast as well.
8. Cook for 2.5 hours.
9. Remove from oven. Carefully open the foil from the top, avoiding the steam and preserving the juices if you wish to make the "gravy" (below).
10. Cut and serve.

The Roasted Potatoes

1-1.5 lbs small potatoes (new or red are fine)

Salt to taste

Olive oil or Olive-Oil Cooking Spray (e.g., Pam)

1. Clean the potatoes and cut in half (or quarters, if they're large)
2. Throw into a pot of water.
3. Heat to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. Test with a fork. If your fork can go in easily, they're ready for the next step. If not, let them go for another 5 minutes and test again.
5. Drain the water from the potatoes. Spray cookie sheet with olive oil.
6. Arrange potatoes, cut face down, on sheet.
7. Spray very lightly with olive oil. Or don't, if you don't feel like it.
8. Sprinkle with salt.
9. Roast for 45 minutes, turning once if you think of it.
10. Remove and serve, slathered in butter.

The "Gravy"

The juice from roast beef from above.

2-3 Tablespoons of flour

A large pinch of dried rosemary, crumbled between your fingers

Fresh-ground pepper to taste

1. Pour the beef/onion juice from the tin-foil into a frying pan
2. Spoon maybe half a cup of juice into a small bowl and mix with the flour until pasty and smooth.
3. Pour the mix back into the frying pan and whisk. If it's still a bit thin, repeat step 2 with another 1-2 tablespoons of flower.
4. Turn heat to medium-high.
5. Crumble the rosemary into the sauce.
6. Add pepper.
7. Heat until it begins to thicken.
8. Serve with potatoes and roast.

Family Ratings

Lucy, who loves potatoes, loves roast beef, and loooooves onions: 10

Will, who often leaves the table to get a toothpick: 8

Jamie, who also loves potatoes, but only if you let him have as much butter as he wants: 10

Ellen, who grew up eating roast beef and roasted potatoes in England and isn't a fan of beef: 6

Paul, who grew up eating this stuff: 10