When I lived in Portland all by my little old self after college I used to make this very soup in a hand me down pot that I acquired from my mom. Speaking of the old neighborhood, some crazy fool tried to burn it down last week. I’m trying to comfort myself with the fact that my building was at least made out of brick so perhaps he was discouraged in his malicious endeavors by that fact, because as far as I know it’s still standing.

But back to soup. I love this soup! When I first made it I felt like the Queen of the Kitchen. The company I worked for had these Panera Bake sales all of the time so I’d purchase a loaf of slightly stale onion focaccia, heat it up in my rinky dink oven, and happily dip hastily torn pieces into my steaming hot bowl of veggie and cheddar goodness. Then, I’d curl up on my cold cream leather couch (also “borrowed” from my mother) pop in some netflixed Gilmore Girls episodes and suddenly life seemed pretty good for living paycheck to paycheck and charging my blonde highlights, and mental health trips to the mall on my “emergency” Visa.

Vegetable Cheddar Soup (Based on the recipe originally published in Betty Crocker’s Easy Entertaining)

4 tablespoons butter
1 onion chopped
4 carrots sliced
4 celery stalks sliced
3 cups of broccoli florets
1/2 cup flour
10 ounces of sharp white cheddar grated
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups light cream
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
Seeduction Croutons - optional. See below for how I made them.

Heat butter in large dutch oven over medium heat until melted. Cook carrot, onion, celery, and broccoli in butter until softened. Stir flour into the vegetable and butter mixture. Gradually stir in the chicken broth and cream. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils; boil 1 minute. Slowly stir in cheese until melted. Top with homemade “Seeduction” croutons and serve.

Seeduction Croutons

4 small slices of Whole Foods Seeduction bread
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Slice the bread into bite sized squares.
Toss with olive olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Bake until toasted and browned.

I love throwing dinner parties! In fact, next weekend, I’m having a special “unveiling” party for the Limoncello we’ve been making. I have no idea what to make to complement all of that lemony goodness but I’ll figure it out. Thankfully my parties don’t involve the intensely brutal awkwardness that last night’s fabulous episode of The Office berated us with. It’s been so long since seeing a new episode that I think my body and mind forgot how completely uncomfortable it can be to watch. I squirmed and squeeled and covered my eyes in mortification throughout the entire 30 minutes. But I loved every last second of it! What did you guys think? I loved the last scene when Angela smashed her ice cream all over the side of Andy’s car, and of course the fact that Jan made Osso Buco which had to be braised for 3 hours! Ahhh! The torture! It was classic.

When these rolls came out of the oven and I tasted the first one sandwiched with a little butter I almost did a cartwheel. Finally, I’d made a recipe with yeast that actually tasted good!

Time for a quiz.
Which of the following accurately illustrates how Erin feels about baking bread:
A. I famously can’t make bread.
B. I’m impatient and dislike it when recipes take several hours to make.
C. I hate to cook anything with a high mess threshold.
D. All of the above

Give up? Well if you chose “D” you’re right on top of things. However, I plan to make an exception to this raging anti-bread sentiment in the future because I really liked these rolls.

In addition, these pumpkin dinner accompaniments are “Part 2″ of the recipes I made with one can of leftover Libby’s Pumpkin. Those little cans obviously have a lot more possibilities in them than just boring old Thanksgiving pies.

Can of Pumpkin Part 2	Dissolve Yeast & Sugar
Make Dough	Knead & Form Into a Ball
Let it Rise	Shape, Bake & Cool

Pumpkin Yeast Rolls (Originally published in the December 1998 edition of Cooking Light magazine. I halved the recipe as outlined below.)
Makes 12 Rolls

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 package dry yeast (about 1 1/8 teaspoons)
1 tablespoons brown sugar
3/8 cup warm fat-free milk (105° to 115°)
2 1/2 cups bread flour, divided
1/8 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 large egg (Note: Just scramble one egg in a dish and pour half into your recipe)
Cooking spray

Combine the pumpkin and vanilla extract, and set aside. Dissolve yeast and sugar in milk in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 1 cup flour, pumpkin mixture, margarine, salt, vinegar, nutmeg, and egg to yeast mixture; beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth. Stir in 1 cups flour to form a sticky dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover dough, and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Coat muffin cups with cooking spray. Punch dough down. Divide into 12 equal pieces; shape each piece into a ball. Place 1 ball in each muffin cup. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Uncover dough; bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove from pans; cool on wire racks.

When Chris and I spent a year living in “the burbs” recently one of my favorite places to eat definitely wasn’t fancy, far from it in fact. I really liked to drive over to EO Noodle on Route 9 in Framingham and stuff my face with a huge plate of Beef and Broccoli. Tender beef, crisp broccoli, perfectly steamed rice — who needs decor when your belly is full and the end of meal fortune cookie tells you that “your biggest dream will come true” … in bed (of course).

So I decided to attempt to recreate one of my favorite guilty pleasure meals at home. Like most Cooks Illustrated recipes it was more of a marathon than a sprint. I banged around in the kitchen for quite a while before I finally served up two dishes of food and promptly collapsed on the couch. It tasted good, but not EO Noodle “good.” On the upside I did get to use the super cute Chopsticks for Kids that Chris bought me last Christmas.

Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce for Two (Originally published in the April 12, 2007 edition of Cooks Illustrated)

1/2 pound flank steak, cut into 2-inch-wide strips with the grain, then sliced across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon low-sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
3 medium cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press or minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, minced (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
2/3 pound broccoli, florets cut into bite-size pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on diagonal into 1/8-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons water
1/2 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 medium scallions, sliced 1/2-inch thick on diagonal
Note: I also cooked white rice to serve with the dish

Combine beef and soy sauce in medium bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour, stirring once. Meanwhile, whisk sherry, chicken broth, oyster sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in measuring cup. Combine garlic, ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon peanut oil in small bowl.

Drain beef and discard liquid. Heat 2 teaspoons peanut oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until smoking. Add beef to skillet and break up clumps; cook, without stirring, for 1 minute, then stir and cook until beef is browned around edges, about 30 seconds. Transfer beef to medium bowl.

Add 2 teaspoons peanut oil to now-empty skillet; heat until just smoking. Add broccoli and cook 30 seconds; add water, cover pan, and lower heat to medium. Steam broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes; transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons peanut oil to skillet; increase heat to high and heat until just smoking. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until spotty brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Clear center of skillet; add garlic and ginger to clearing and cook, mashing mixture with spoon, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds, then stir mixture into peppers. Return beef and broccoli to skillet and toss to combine. Whisk sauce to recombine, then add to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 30 seconds. Transfer to serving platter, sprinkle with scallions, and serve.

Note: I highly recommend subscribing to the online version of Cooks Illustrated. The complete recipe for Beef and Broccoli is available only to paid users of the site and includes step-by-step illustrations and countless additional helpful tips.

Did you eat Miracle Whip when you were a kid? Because I did. A lot. I vividly recall having a conversation with my doctor at one point about what kind of sandwiches I liked to eat. My cute response of Miracle Whip and Cheese on White Bread really didn’t seem to impress him very much. Whatever. If I was eating something other than Kraft Dinner, my mom was happy. I was beyond picky as a child. We’re talking plain pizza, plain cheeseburgers, no ketchup, and definitely not nasty mayonnaise.

I was actually such a strong defender of Miracle Whip that when I was in college I got into a heated argument with someone I didn’t even know while out sailing with my cousin and some of her friends. This person claimed that mayonnaise and Miracle Whip tasted exactly the same. I begged to differ. Loudly. In my defense I was most likely sleep deprived, dehydrated, and probably drinking at the time so let that be a lesson to you all. Don’t mess with Erin and her food when she’s in a bad mood.

Until a few years ago I still used Miracle Whip in chicken salad, much to the horror of many. But slowly I started to come around and now I’m a proper “grown-up” with proper mayonnaise in my fridge. So when Ina Garten ordered me to use “good mayonnaise” in her Contessa Chicken Salad, I managed not to let her down. I know in food blog land we’re always making sweeping claims that this dish or that bread is “the best thing ever.” I think we’re all pretty much immune to adjectives and “foodie speak” at this point, but at any rate I’m going to implore you to try this recipe. Just once. It’s really very very good and I can definitely see how they used to get away with selling it for the ridiculous amount of $20 a pound at the original Barefoot Contessa Store.

Contessa Chicken Salad (Originally published by Ina Garten)

2 split (1 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on (1 1/2 pounds) (Note: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It’s all good!)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup walnuts halves
1/2 cup good mayonnaise (Note: I used light mayo)
1/2 cup sour cream (Note: I used light sour cream)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves, divided
1 cup green grapes, cut in 1/2
Lettuce leaves, for serving (Note: I gave in to temptation and bought some really good bakery made white bread. Mmm…white bread.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside until cool.

When the chicken is cool, remove meat from the bones and discard the skin and bones. Cut the chicken into a 3/4-inch dice.

Meanwhile, place the pecans and walnuts on a separate sheet pan and toast in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool.

For the dressing, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Fold in half the chopped tarragon leaves.

Place the diced chicken in a bowl, add the pecans, walnuts and grapes. Pour the dressing over the chicken and toss well. Sprinkle the remaining chopped tarragon leaves on top, and serve on a bed of lettuce leaves.

Confession time: until I made this creamy risotto dish I’d never purchased or even used a vanilla bean before. I know — total baking blasphemy! Last month, after I read Amanda Hesser’s book, Cooking for Mr. Latte, I really wanted to bake the Vanilla Bean Loaves. Especially since they were based on a recipe from the High-Rise Bread Company right here in Cambridge. Unfortunately, the sticker shock of purchasing all of the vanilla beans needed to make something that I might not even like bordered on the ridiculous. So back on the shelf went those little dainty Whole Foods bottles, and off I went to find cheaper treasures, like Maple Wallaby Yogurts.

Inevitably though, as chance would have it, I became mesmerized with a Giada De Laurentiis recipe that called for the simple addition of a vanilla bean. This caused me to completely cave to my inner need for gourmet greed. A quick stop by Williams-Sonoma on my way home was all it took. Afterwards, I felt strangely satisfied knowing that my tiny vial containing two skinny black pods would soon become a “secret ingredient” in that evening’s dinner. The bean didn’t let me down. The hint of vanilla played off the sweetness of the squash nicely. I was a little worried that it might taste too much like rice pudding, but that definitely wasn’t the case. In the end I actually cooked some spicy turkey sausage and crumbled it into the risotto for a little extra protein, and I absolutely loved being able to see the small dots of fragrant vanilla decorating the squash and rice.

Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto (Originally published by Giada De Laurentiis)

4 cups vegetable broth (Note: I used low sodium chicken broth)
1 large vanilla bean
3 cups peeled cubed (1-inch wide) butternut squash, about 12 ounces
2 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon
3/4 cups finely chopped onion (from 1 onion)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives (Note: I used thyme)

In a medium saucepan, warm the broth over medium-high heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and add them, and the bean, to the broth. When the broth comes to a simmer reduce the heat to low. Add the butternut squash to the simmering broth and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. (Note: I actually cooked my squash cubes for about 15 minutes. It took quite a while for them to become tender.) Using a slotted spoon remove the butternut squash to a side dish. Turn the heat on the broth down to very low and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition to of the broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Discard the vanilla bean. Turn off the heat. Gently stir in the butternut squash, Parmesan, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and salt. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chives (Note: or thyme). Serve immediately.