Seattle Cooking Club

(posted by Ashley H.)

I have a funny story about this recipe. A really funny story. I’m not sure if I will be able to make it to our next cookbook meeting, but I sure hope to. Trust me. . .this story is definitely better told in person.

On to the delicious pot pies. Recipe can be found on page 163 in the cookbook.

First up, make your filling. Brown your pancetta and set to the side.

Next, cook your onions, carrot, celery, red pepper flakes, and salt.

Add your garlic and chard for the last few minutes. Look at this beautiful Swiss chard.

The veggies and pancetta get transferred to a large bowl and next you make your sauce. Melt your butter, add flour. Whisk in broth. Cook until thickened. Combine sauce with white beans and add to all of the goodies waiting in that large bowl.

Assemble and cook pot pies. Eeeks! I did not make my own “lids”! Horrible, I know. I used frozen pastry puff (gasp!). A couple of reasons behind that: I am scared to attempt my own dough; and first and foremost, I’m a little bit lazy. I’ll get there someday but for now pastry puff was quick, easy, and still really delicious.

Drape pastry over edge of bowls. Brush egg wash over tops and bake for about a half hour.

A very tasty meal. Although I’m not sure if I will be making this again. You’ll understand once you hear my story.

(posted by Ashley H.)

This recipe is on page 143. I was a little hesitant to try this at first but was intrigued after reading Deb’s notes/thoughts on it. She agreed that the thought of spaghetti squash and tacos was “weird” but I’m so glad she created a recipe like this. If you can get yourself past the expectation of the meat taste that traditionally comes along with the first bite of a taco you will be pleasantly surprised. We loved this recipe and will definitely be making it again.

First, prepare your squash. I roasted mine in the oven with some olive oil and salt & pepper.

Once the squash has cooked and cooled shred it and mix it in a bowl lime juice, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and salt.

And lastly, assemble your tacos. Deb suggests heating corn tortillas on a dry, heavy skillet and then layering black beans, spiced squash mixture, crumbled queso cheese, red onion, and cilantro.

This is an incredibly easy dish to throw together. And a creative one, too!

(posted by Ashley H.)

I have never made a carrot soup before. Admittedly, I have never even tried a carrot soup before. This one is worthy of keeping in your fall/winter soup rotation. Carrot soup by itself? Not awesome. Carrot soup with tahini sauce and crisped chickpeas? Amazing.

For the chickpeas I just used a 15ounce can. Drain and pat dry. Then toss with olive oil, salt, and cumin and bake for 10 to 20 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

Mine came out looking like this.

Peel and dice two pounds of carrots. Saute these in olive oil with onion, garlic, coriander, and salt & pepper.

After veggies have softened add broth and simmer for 30 minutes. Then puree soup until smooth.

The lemon-tahini sauce is truly amazing. You just whisk together tahini, lemon juice, salt, and water until smooth and a yogurt-like consistency. This process starts off a little tricky since the tahini is so thick but stick with it and soon it will all mix together perfectly.

Like I said, I would definitely make this again. One thing though: my chickpeas had great flavor but they never actually turned “crispy” and I’m not sure why. I made sure they were patted dry before I popped them in the oven and I even left them in there ten minutes longer than recommended. For some reason they were chewy – definitely not crispy. If anyone has any tips/advice, please let me know! (This recipe can be found on the Smitten Kitchen blog.)