What does one do with one fennel bulb?

Usually when I lament the challenges of my CSA box, it’s along the lines of “What am I going to do with all this [insert vexing vegetable here]”? But sometimes just the opposite can be problematic – what to do when you only get ONE of something? Most recipes call for a pound of this or two to three of that. But when you’re staring down one, lonely vegetable, it’s hard to figure out what to do. Sometimes my solution is to trade that odd vegetable with something else in the swap box; hoping that someone else can use my one to make two. But it’s a rare occasion when we get fennel and I wasn’t about to give that up. Solution? Thinly slice it along with a sweet onion and caramelize it. That simple combination works wonders on top of a burger, as a condiment on a steak or veggie sandwich or folded into an omlet. My next hill to climb? The pesky one-off kohlrabi...

Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

Well Done Burgers Done Well

shown here topped with caramelized onions & fennel, avocado and brie

Slow-Cooker Chicken Stock

I finally broke down and purchased a slow cooker that I had in my Amazon wish list for almost a year. It’s been close to a month since it arrived all shiny-new and stainless steel and, funny thing is, the only thing I’ve made so far is chicken stock – lots and lots of chicken stock. It’s become a joke now in our house that I’m stocking up on stock (you can never have too much homemade chicken stock). Making stock in a slow cooker cannot be any easier. And after doing some research online and reading up at Cook’s Illustrated, I determined that you don’t need a lot of ingredients to end up with a really flavorful, full-bodied stock. Throw some chicken (wings, backs and/or necks), an onion (with the skin, adds a nice golden-brown color), garlic, salt and bay leaves in a slow cooker, set it to cook and forget about it. Eight hours later (or four hours on high), you’ve got yourself three quarts of homemade stock that you can use within a week or freeze for up to three months.

For safety reasons, it’s always a good idea to cool down soups, stocks or stews before transferring them to the refrigerator. Putting hot-off-the-stove foods directly into the refrigerator can increase the interior temperature to more than 50 degrees – which is unsafe for all of the food inside. You can let the food cool down on the countertop for an hour and then transfer to the refrigerator. Or, you can cool it down more quickly with a cooling paddle. A Rapi-Kool Food Chiller, or cooling paddle, cool sauces, soups, stews, and other hot foods quickly and easily. It allows you to insert a shaft of cold directly into the core of the food. You can find cooling paddles at restaurant supply stores online such as Ace Mart, item number KATRCU-64.

Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

Slow-Cooker Chicken Stock

French Onion Soup with Cheese Croutons

Fall weather has officially arrived here in Chicago – chilly nights, breezy and cool days. I love fall weather and I love fall food. This French Onion Soup has a deep, dark broth that is a result of the caramelization of the red onions in the first step. As an alternative to the layer of goopy, greasy cheese, serve with cheese croutons for dipping, sopping and scooping up the soft, flavorful broth and onions. Put away the flip flops, cozy up in slippers, and enjoy a bowl of this comforting fall weather soup.

Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

French Onion Soup with Cheese Croutons

Fresh Tomato Salsa

This is prime, peak season for tomatoes and they’re the perfect ripeness and flavor for an outstanding fresh tomato salsa. The key to a chunky texture, rather than a soggy salsa, is to let the tomatoes drain in a colander for 30 minutes to purge excess water. Then simply toss with the other ingredients, season with lime juice, salt, sugar and a pinch of pepper.

Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Roasted Ratatouille

Admittedly, this recipe is about one week late. Last week’s box contents were a perfect mix for ratatouille – eggplant, zucchini, garlic, onion, and parsley. But many of you, like me I suspect, have vegetables that hang around the week after and this is a perfect recipe for clearing out your refrigerator. There are a lot of variations and styles of ratatouille and everyone has their favorite. I am a big fan of roasting and I like my vegetables to remain separate and distinct, so this version is perfect for my tastes. You can serve this bruschetta-style on toasted bread with goat cheese. Or, as a side dish to fish or poultry, warm or room temperature.

As I was researching this recipe, I discovered a little tidbit about eggplants that I never knew: there are male and female eggplants! Females have more seeds and some people find them more bitter than their male counterparts. Who knew? You learn something new every day.

Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

Roasted Ratatouille

Well Done Burgers Done Well

There’s a hard core group of burger purists out there that are probably horrified at the title of this post. Well Done Burgers! Never. Burgers are to be medium (at most) if they are to be enjoyed and appreciated at all, they say. Here’s the deal: I like a medium/medium-well burger as much as the next person – if I’m at a restaurant where someone who’s experienced is doing the grilling. Too often, I’ve started off grilling with the best of intentions, only to find that the burger is either (a) undercooked and I have to throw it back on the grill or (b) overcooked and dried out. So, when I tried this recipe, I hit the jackpot.

I can’t claim that I had anything to do with this recipe – not even the catchy name. This is a Cook’s Illustrated recipe that was put to the test, tried, retried and refined until they got it right. And they did. These burgers stay moist and flavorful even when grilled to well done. And they’re so forgiving, that if you leave them on for a minute or two extra, here and there, they don’t suffer. These are my go-to entertaining burgers when I want to hang out with my guests instead of manning the grill and being overly concerned about “who gets the medium-rare burger?”...

You might be wondering, what does a burger have to do with a vegetable share box. That’s where the toppings come in. I piled this one with caramelized fennel and onions (from this week’s box) along with avocado and brie. Decadent and delicious.

Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

Well Done Burgers Done Well

Zucchini Pancakes

The key to great zucchini pancakes is the thickness – too thick, and the outside is nicely browned, while the inside is still gummy and undercooked. But spread thin, the pancakes cook up nice and crisp on the outside and cooked through on the inside. I especially liked the addition of the grated onion in this recipe – it made them more potato-pancake like, especially when you serve them with sour cream and chives. Another winning recipe from Barefoot Contessa at Home.

Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

Zucchini Pancakes

White Bean, Kale and Chorizo Soup

We usually think of soup as a fall and winter comfort food. But it’s also a great summer food. All of the cooking is done on the stovetop – no oven to heat up the kitchen. And most soup recipes always make enough for leftovers – perfect for when you would rather be outside in the garden rather than in the kitchen.

The other upside to making soup in the summer is the great variety of seasonal vegetables you have to choose from. This White Bean, Kale and Chorizo Soup makes use of the kale, onions and carrots that are fresh and plentiful at this time of year. It’s hearty, rich and bursting with beautiful color.

The recipe calls for a parmesan rind. It’s an optional ingredient, but it really adds a nice creamy and rich flavor to the soup. If you don’t happen to have a leftover parmesan rind sitting in your fridge (which many of us don’t), you can find them in the gourmet cheese section of Whole Foods. And if you don’t have a Whole Foods available to you, try checking with your local specialty cheese shop or grocery store.

Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

White Bean, Kale and Chorizo Soup