These are a few of my favorite things!

Insert Julie Andrew's song here. It all began Thursday night, when I realized it was already 6pm and I had no idea what I was making for dinner. Both Bryant & I were exhausted, and I had a whole chicken that had been sitting in my fridge since Monday, begging to be cooked. French chicken in a pot sounded good, so I searched the Internet for a recipe (I've never made or eaten this before, so don't ask how I knew it sounded good, it just did) and decided that no matter what, I was going to make that chicken fit in my pot. The 4 1/2 lb bird barely fit in my 3 qt le creuset, surrounded by chopped onion, celery, garlic, a sprig of rosemary and a single bay leaf. The first 30 minutes left us both drooling, and wondering how we were going to wait the allotted 80 minutes before we could devour the bird. I had just finished cleaning up from the chicken when I was hit with the intense need for pie.

Do you have a pie need? Mine is most certainly a need, and not simply a want. There is no denying it, and no other dessert substitution will do, so I decided to make a blackberry pie. At this point Bryant asked if I knew what it meant to be exhausted, to which I replied that I did which was exactly why I had to make a pie because that was the only antidote to my fatigue. I quickly made the filling and then realized I was completely out of all-purpose flour. Going to the store at this point was out of the question, so I decided to take a gamble and made my crust using 1 1/3 c whole wheat pastry flour and 1 c 00 pizza flour. This turned out to be the perfect crust to compliment the blackberry filling. We ate dinner at 9pm, both amazed at the perfection of the chicken and the pie. I couldn't think of a better meal. On Saturday we spent time with my in-laws who live nearby and my sister-in-law Ginny made what just might be my all-time favorite green salad. This time I was smart enough to write down the recipe, because after eating 3 bowl fulls I realized that I truly need to make this salad on a regular basis when strawberries are in season. What a perfect food week.

I am not a very good food photographer, and this doesn't look amazing from the photo, but if you could smell it you would make it tonight.

French Chicken in a Pot - Cooks Illustrated recipe

1 whole roasting chicken (4 1/2 - 5 lbs), giblets removed and discarded

2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed

1 bay leaf

1 medium sprig fresh rosemary

1-2 to 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat to 250 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken (breast side down) and scatter onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary around chicken. Cook until lightly browned, about 5minutes. Using a large spoon inserted into the cavity, flip chicken breast side up and cook until both chicken and vegetables are well browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, cover pot with foil and then cover foil tightly with lid of pot. Transfer to oven and cook until 160 degrees when a thermometer is inserted into the breast, about 80 to 110 minutes.

Transfer chicken to a carving board (or platter) and tent with foil to let rest for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, strain chicken juices from pot and skim off fat. Pour liquid into a small saucepan and set over low heat. Season to taste with lemon juice and serve with chicken. ***This is so good that I am seriously considering never again cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving because this is far superior to any poultry I have ever had before.

My Blackberry Pie

I call this my pie because it is my favorite. I have never had a pie before. Up to this point when asked about my favorite pie I would answer apple because apple pie and I go way back. It is my favorite pie to bake because it is Bryant's favorite pie to eat. But blackberry pie is my pie. It brings me to pie nirvana, a place full of happiness and comfort. These are weighty promises from a pie, but I only write the truth. The best part of all is that it is made with frozen blackberries, so you can make this any time of the year! I am going to give the recipe for the whole wheat crust because I haven't tried it with the regular crust yet, although I am sure it is sublime.

Crust

1 1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/4 c all-purpose or 00 flour

2 T sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 sticks butter (very cold and cubed)

1/2-3/4 c ice cold milk (I was also out of milk, so I used half and half)

Combine dry ingredients. Rub in butter with fingers or cut in with pastry cutter. When butter is even distributed add milk, a bit at a time, mixing gently with fork until dough just comes together. Form into 2 disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes.

Filling

2 pkgs frozen blackberries, unsweetened (use the best quality! I used 2 10 oz Stahlbush Island Farms pkgs), mostly defrosted and watery juice drained off (about 30 to 45 minutes out of the freezer)

2 T flour

1/2 to 3/4 c sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 to 1 vanilla bean

Toss blackberries with flour. Add sugar, lemon zest, and seeds from vanilla bean. Stir to combine. Let juices macerate and thicken.

Roll out crust, put in pie plate. Fill with berries. Top with crust. Brush with cream (or a beaten egg yolk) and sprinkle evenly with turbinado sugar (adds a lovely crunch). Cut an X in the center of the top crust for those lovely juices to blubble out of while baking. Bake at 400 degrees until juices are bubbling and crust is golden, about 40 minutes. (Oh! Please put your pie on a rimmed baking sheet that has been preheated with your oven otherwise you will have blackberry juice everywhere.) Serve with best quality vanilla ice cream (preferably homemade) or sweetened freshly whipped cream with pure vanilla extract.

Try to make this pie last at least 2 days. It is divine warm, and the lemon really comes out. But let it cool and sit overnight and you can really taste that vanilla bean. I hope you love it.

Ginny's Amazing Strawberry Salad

I have incredible sisters-in-law. My brothers-in-law are pretty good, but these girls have them beat. This salad is but further evidence of Ginny's greatness.

8 c spinach or mixed greens

2 c sliced strawberries

1/4 c sunflower seeds

2 to 3 T diced onion (to taste)

2 T canola oil

2 T red wine vinegar

4 1/2 t sugar

1/2 t dried dill weed

1/8 t garlic powder

1/8 t salt

1/8 t ground mustard

Toss salad ingredients in a large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients (starting with canola and ending with ground mustard) in a separate container. Dress salad and prepare to be blown away. This is delicious!

In other food news, I made a blueberry version of Nana's pancakes today and substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose and added 2 T sugar and 1 c frozen blueberries that I tossed with a bit of flour and sugar. Very good, especially when served with lemon curd.

Speaking of lemon curd, the only reason I have any is because a friend gave it to me for an Easter gift. Isn't that a great idea?!? I am going to do that next year.

Have I posted the recipe for scones? I think so, but today I added a bit of uncooked millet, used whole wheat pastry flour for 1/2 of the flour, and added about 3/4 c frozen blueberries and raspberries. Very good.