Escarole and White Bean Soup

When I find fresh escarole at my local market I  break out in a dance. You just don't see it very often. I have been waiting to try this Italian classic soup. I like cooking my own beans. You can impart all kinds of lovely flavors into them. So, first take one cup of dried white beans and place them into a sauce pan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. You will then shut off the heat and cover. Let it stand for one hour. Now drain the beans and place them back into the sauce pan. Now add water to cover. Place into the pot a fresh bay leaf, two cloves of garlic, half an onion, one stock of celery and one carrot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Cook for about one hour. Now shut off the heat and add two teaspoons of kosher salt. Let stand while you make the soup.


For the soup you will need one onion diced, one leek diced, one celery stock diced, and two small carrots diced. You will also dice three slices of smokey bacon. Add all the ingredients into a cast iron pot with some olive oil and brown. Now add two minced cloves of garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Sauté for a few minutes and then add seven cups of good quality chicken stock to the pot. Drain and rinse the beans removing and discarding the vegetables. Add the beans to the pot. Add one large bunch of fresh chopped escarole to the soup pot. Bring to a boil and taste for seasoning. Serve the soup topped with Parmesan cheese.

Campanelle and Butternut Squash

I came upon an interesting recipe that used grated butternut squash. This is my spin on the recipe. It is really quite delicious. I think kids would like it too, as it melds well with the pasta and cheese.

For the parents, I would suggest a lovely wine from Vaucluse in France. The vintage is a 2012 from Domaine De La Becassonne. Located near Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhône, where 90 perent of the region's wine is red, Domaine de la Becassonne has an unusual distinction, it is devoted entirely to the production of white wines. Its Côtes du Rhône Blanc is considered one of the best whites of the southern Rhône. The owner Andre Brunel, who produces great reds at his other estates, feels that the cool microclimate and sandy limestone soils delivers bold, plump notes of yellow apple and fresh cut pear. It is very reasonably price at around thirteen dollars.

Start out by grating two and on half cups of butternut squash. A food processor makes quick work of this. Now put a large pot of salted boiling water to the boil for the pasta. You will then dice a small onion and mince a clove of garlic. In a frying pan, place two tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Saute the onion until it is soft and light golden brown. Now add the garlic and butternut squash and saute. Add 1/4 up of the Cotes Du Rhone to further cook the squash.

To the mix add one eighth a teaspoon of star anise, 1/4 teaspoon of Herbes De Provence, one eighth teaspoon of chipotle chile pepper, grated fresh nutmeg, freshly cracked black pepper and salt. Add one half a pound of the Campanelle to the boiling water and cook until done. I just keep on checking to see. Add the drained pasta to the sauce pan. Add some reserved pasta water and butter to finish the dish. Top with shaved Parmesan.

Baby Bok Choy with Ginger & Garlic

When one has a lot of activities, we tend to not eat right. This is my go to quick and health recipe for when I am in  hurry. The vegetable will give you one hundred percent of your daily requirement for vitamin A. It also takes five minutes to make. Put some rice in a rice cooker and you have a meal ! Bok choy is really an under use vegetable in the west. The Chinese have been eating the white cabbage for five thousand years. Like all cabbage it needs a bit of sweetness. My trick is to add two teaspoons of dark brown sugar to the stir fry.

Begin by chopping up your baby bok choy. Separate the leaf greens from the root in two. Mince one shallot, one garlic clove and about two teaspoons of freshly minced ginger. In a saute pan heat up about a tablespoon of peanut oil to smoking point. Add the shallot and saute until lightly brown on the edges. At this point you will add your garlic and ginger. Saute a few minutes and now add the root ends of the bok choy. Then add two teaspoons of dark soy sauce,  one teaspoon of sambal oelek, two teaspoons of dark brown sugar. Now add the green leaves an saute a minute. Serve over steamed basmati rice with a little butter.