Sometimes you just don’t want a heavy dinner to celebrate with family and friends. Here’s a recent celebration dinner we had when we had an early flight over the Easter. We still wanted to get together and have a nice meal, so we opted for an early dinner featuring salad. It turned into a riff on Salade Nicoise, with Chicken instead of Tuna. Simple, clean and worked remarkably well for six people.

Here’s how it’s done:

6 chicken breasts

½ lb of bacon, cooked crisp and cut into small pieces

Your favorite Teriyaki sauce

1 Pineapple

1lb haricot verte

1lb asparagus

1lb small mushrooms, halved or quartered

Chopped tomatoes

1 head Romaine

4c arugula

1 small package marble or fingerling potatoes

Olive oil

garlic

½ c blue cheese

½ c goat cheese

Preheat Oven to 375.

Preheat grill when ready to cook chicken.

Early in the day, marinate the 6 chicken breasts in teriyaki sauce (I prefer Soy Vay). Grill the pineapple.

Clean the greens and spin in a salad spinner. Wrap in a kitchen towel or paper towels until needed.

Toss cleaned, and quartered mushrooms into 1T olive oil and crush one clove of garlic over the mushrooms and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss.

Put mushrooms in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until lightly browned and slightly dehydrated.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the haricot verte, plunge into ice water to cool and retain it’s color. Drain with strainer, dry and chill.

In the same pot blanch the potatoes until fork tender, drain and chill.

Meanwhile, prepare a mustard vinaigrette:

½ c. Olive Oil

1T Dijon mustard

3T Red wine vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

Mix ingredients in a small jar and salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare a large platter by pouring 1T vinaigrette in the bottom and spreading around with a paper towel. Layer the chopped romaine, top with arugula. Put a quarter of the haricot verte on each corner of the platter, fill in with potatoes, tomatoes (if preferred you can toss the vegies in the dressing first). Slice the chicken and pineapple and serve on the top or the side along with the cheeses.

Serve with French bread and good butter.

This turned into a fun and clean eating Easter dinner which can be used for small events throughout Spring and Summer. What could you celebrate with this salad supper?

There is nothing like Spring. Everything seems to come to life overnight. One of the best things here in Colorado are the lilac bushes with beautiful pops of purple and white all over town! As Spring gets into full swing, I like to start bringing new and fresh flavors into my kitchen. We are not quite ready for the farmer’s market, but luckily Trader Joe’s has already shelled peas that were perfect for this soup. It is easily one of the easiest and best things I have made in a long time. Seriously, SO EASY. Inspired by Thomas Keller’s recipe, the color is just beautiful. Keller’s technique for cooking the peas is key here. You boil the peas in water seasoned with lots of salt and sugar. It ends up being almost all of the seasoning for the soup. The Vitamix makes this perfectly smooth and a lovely texture. As you all know, I am a big fan of homemade chicken stock, I replaced the water in the recipe with chicken stock, not necessary, but a little extra depth. The compliment of lemon creme fraiche really brought it to life. This is one that can be served hot or cold. I ate it both ways and it was great either way. If you are planning to serve this as a main course, the recipe serves two, if it is a starter, you could stretch to four servings, but it is easily doubled or tripled. If you use the shelled peas from Trader Joe’s, I think you need 1 bag per person for a meal. Toast up a little garlic toast on the side for a little crunch. I think this would be a great thing for a shower served in pretty vessels. I know this will grace my table again! If you are looking for something new for Spring, give it a try!

English Pea Soup

• 2 10oz. Bags shelled English Peas (or 3 lbs shelled fresh peas or 3 cups frozen peas)
• 3 quarts water
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup kosher salt
• 1 cup water or chicken stock, add half a cup to start and more as needed
• 4 oz. creme fraiche
• Zest of one lemon, plus 1 TBSP juice
• drizzle of good quality olive oil (optional)
• Fresh cracked pepper
• Pea Shoots or Chive for garnish

Bring water, sugar, and salt to a boil in a large pot. Add half of the peas, and boil for 6-8 minutes for fresh, or 4-5 minutes for frozen, or until tender.

Fill a large bowl with water and ice, and have it standing by when the peas are done cooking. Remove the peas from the pot with a skimmer or slotted spoon, and place them directly into the ice bath. This will stop the cooking, and help preserve their bright color. Return the water to a boil and repeat with the rest of the peas.

Drain the cooked peas from the ice water, and add them to a blender or food processor. Add ½ cup fresh stock or water, and puree until completely smooth. If the mixture is too thick to blend, add more water as needed. If you don’t have a powerful blender, you can pass the puree through a fine mesh sieve. (I did not find this to be necessary with my blender, but it might make a silkier soup). Use a scraper or rubber spatula to press all the liquid through. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. I added fresh cracked pepper at this point. You couldn’t see it, but I think it adds something. If the consistency is too thick, add more water to thin as needed. Optionally, stir in a TBSP or so of good quality olive oil, to enhance the velvety texture of the soup and add flavor.

Soup can be warmed on the stove, or chilled in the fridge before serving. When you’re ready to serve, whisk together the creme fraiche, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Serve alongside the soup, or drizzle it over to garnish (you can thin the creme fraiche with a bit more lemon juice, or water, to create a thin enough consistency for drizzling). Serve as is, or garnish with more olive oil & chopped chives or fresh pea sprouts. TA DA! The perfect way to impress your family or guests!

I am always looking for ways to prepare for the week ahead and save myself some time. One of my biggest tips for success is making your morning as easy as possible with make ahead freezer Smoothie Packs. Our Vitamix is easily the most used tool in our kitchen. When both of us are home, we use it at least once a day. I like making green smoothies, but I hate making a mess in the morning. It always feels like a big to-do to get out a thousand ingredients, make sure things are fresh and pull it all together and then get it cleaned up before work. I was finding myself skipping it and opting for a yogurt that was quick and easy on my way out the door.

This is my solution; spend an hour to make 15 Smoothie Packs and stick them in the freezer. I find I don’t have to worry about wasting my fresh greens, I use almond milk or water and am on my way. Each pack makes two smoothies and I throw the extra in a Blender Bottle for the next morning. (Or great to share with someone else. :)) Let me tell you, that is VERY convenient on days when you need to be up and moving early. Those extra early days, I even grind my coffee beans the night before, set up my french press and fill the kettle with water to get myself a shot of caffeine without any fuss.

Now I know not everyone loves the idea of greens in their smoothie. I love that I can get a couple extra servings of veggies in before I start the day. We consider this about the Blue run version of green smoothies. My Green run starter version for newbies would use only spinach and ease into adding kale and other veggies. You will see that I include broccoli and carrots and I swear you will never know they are there. Sometimes I use the stocks of broccoli I am planning to cook and chop them into pieces, that way you are getting more bang for your buck. For a Black Diamond version, add Spirulina, Apple Cider Vinegar, or Cod Liver Oil (or all three!) This is a great way to hide healthy things in your diet, but beware, we have had a few versions that were a little too green.

In most cases, I hit up Costco and Trader Joe’s and get veggies that are already chopped to save some effort. One thing to pay attention to is trying not to let your frozen fruit melt as you build your packs. If you do, you end up with a giant fruitcicle in the bottom of your bags that can be tough to break up. (Trust me, I know!)

My mom makes her own non-green version, which we will share soon. Her’s are equally easy and super tasty!

Enjoy an easy way to get a healthy start to your day!

~Kelly

Green Smoothie Packs

Quart Size Ziplocks

Large Bag each Spinach and Chopped Kale

Variety of Frozen Fruit (4-6 Small bags)

Bananas, Sliced (Optional)

Bag of Broccoli Florets

Bag of Baby Carrots

Vanilla Protein Powder

Hemp/Chia/Flax Seeds (you can throw whole seeds into a Vitamix, for some blenders, use powdered versions)

Almond Milk

Lay out all your ingredients (pulling one or two bags of frozen fruit out at a time). Measure 1 cup of mixed frozen fruit and add to the bottom of your quart size bag. Put a couple broccoli florets and a few baby carrots next. Then add one handful of each spinach and kale. Next add 1 T of your choice of seeds and 1 scoop of protein powder. Carefully remove some of the air as you zip them closed. I tend to measure the ingredients that are high calorie and higher sugar and not worry too much about being exact with my greens. They are a great low calorie way to get lots of great things into your diet.

Put in the freezer as you complete them. (By putting the heavy ingredients on the bottom, when inverted into the blender, they will help push the greens down to the blades).

As needed, pull one smoothie pack out of the freezer and add to the blender. Add 1-2 cups of your choice of liquid. I like almond milk or water. Blend until smooth. Split into two portions, put one in a Blender Bottle in the fridge to be used the next day.

The great things about this is that you can use your favorite things! Whatever you prefer; throw it in! Get creative and adjust to your own taste. We started by replicating our favorite Whole Foods smoothies, and ended up removing the juice as we got used to drinking greens. If you prefer it, use a bit of juice too. All of these ingredients cost me about $25, that is less than $1.75 per smoothie! (The protein and hemp last through many more smoothies). Much better than the $8 Whole Foods versions. I always feel better and have more energy when I start my day with a green smoothie; I hope you enjoy too!

Thanksgiving is one of those meals that it can be tricky to find just the right wine to fit the bill. Do you try to please everyone? Do you try to fit the foods? But there are so many! There are a lot of ways to look at it but the most important thing to keep in mind is that no matter what you are enjoying, you are doing it with those you love. That said, there are things you can do to make complement a great meal.

As many of you know, our family loves to cook. The wonderful man in my life has taken on the challenge of learning the nuances of wine to complement any meal and this year it was Thanksgiving. He decided to begin the meal with Champagne to wake everyone up and start the celebration! In my opinion, it is a great way to begin any meal. We then have a white, a California Red, a French Red, followed by a number of Digestif options to round out the meal. It will be a fun experience to complement our lovely celebration.

If you are looking for a jumping off point to learn about wine I highly recommend Wine Folly. Both the book and the website are very accessible and very easy to read. I find a lot of wine resources very intimidating and over my head and this made me feel like I could understand and took my knowledge to the next level very quickly. Below you will find the pairings to accompany our menu described wonderfully by the aforementioned BF.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kelly

Apertif

Jaquesson Grand Cuvée de Champagne, Cuvée N° 737, Extra Brut                      2009
Champagne, FRA

Champagne is a fantastic aperitif, and it helps to wake up the palate for other food and wine along throughout the night. Jacquesson is a special favorite of ours as it was introduced to us during a celebratory (and one of our earliest) date nights! This Champagne, in particular, is very dry and has intense structure and texture – but real talk: nothing gets things moving like the sound of a bottle of Champagne being uncorked to get a day of food and drink off to the right start.

Entree

Domaine Louis Michel “Montee de Tonnerre”, Chablis 1er Cru                           2012
Chablis, Cote d’Or, FRA

Chablis has had a bad reputation thanks to some mass-produced varieties which usurp the name, but French Chablis is in a class of its own. Traditionally paired with seafood, Chablis is a surprisingly wonderful Thanksgiving white wine, especially with turkey! Although Chablis is a chardonnay, they are notably different from the oak-forward chardonnays. It might be more apt to think of Chablis as a different varietal altogether. These wines are made almost entirely in steel barrels, are often very flinty and crisp, and much more pale and dry than chardonnay. The Montee de Tonnerre in particular derives all of its power from the very essence of Chablis; if your family around the Thanksgiving table were buttery chardonnays, this would be the distant cousin who lives in the lighthouse by the ocean in Nova Scotia.

Williams Selyem “Westside Road Neighbors”, Pinot Noir                                   2013
Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, USA

Williams Selyem produces some of the best wine in California – a title not easily won but certainly deserved. Pinot Noir, in particular, is its forte – produced in a Burgundian style that will feature a lot of light body, high acidity, and explosive cranberry and cherry. This wine is fantastic for cutting through some of the rich flavors of Thanksgiving, and pairs extremely well with other meats beyond turkey. The Westside Road Neighbors is a knockout fruit-forward wine with aromas and flavors that ought to rival even the best side dishes (consider yourself on notice, stuffing).

Paul Jaboulet Aîné “La Chapelle”, Hermitage                                                           1998
Syrah, Northern Rhône, FRA

Richer foods demand a richer wine – and texture is something to consider in this kind of pairing, so it’s great to be offering a much more powerful red counterpart to the Westside Road Neighbors as represented in this Hermitage (or Syrah blend). Considerably more powerful with crushed berries and grill roasted flavors, this wine ought to be able to stand up to a second helping of that smoked turkey this year with relative ease. While other wines might lose out to rich dishes, this Syrah ought to bring them down to earth.

Digestif

Saison Dupont “Vieille Provision”, Belgian Farmhouse Ale                                 2015
West-Hainaut, BEL

Though you might not think it were true, one of the best pairings you can put together with pumpkin pie might very well be Belgian-style beer…if you have the room for it! The lightness of the beer ought to do a number to dessert stuck to the roof of your mouth – and its lightly bitter flavor acts as a capable offset to pie and other desserts.

Lagavulin 16 Single-Malt Islay, Scotch                                                                         NV
Islay, SCT

Figuratively liquid smoke without the fire in the strongest possible terms. If the smoked turkey hasn’t satisfied your smoke cravings, the Lagavulin will seal the deal. This 16-year old Islay will keep you intrigued even after the last dish clears from the table – as well as thankful for a Black Friday that doesn’t involve shopping.

Lorzenzo Inga “Gavi di Gavi”, Grappa Cortese                                                          NV
Piedmonte, ITA

A good digestif aids significantly in the process of digestion – so there’s more utility in this than you might realize! To reduce it down to its simplest terms, an after-dinner drink is anything following dessert and coffee, and grappa is really a standard-bearer of digestifs.

Amaro Montenegro di Bologna, Amari                                                                        NV
Bologna, ITA

For a lighter digestif, the Amari of Italy really will find room to spread its wings in the wake of a Thanksgiving meal. They help settle the stomach and start digestion well, and Montenegro is a light and citrus-forward way to finish without the bite of grappa or the smoke of scotch.