More soup, please!

Tonight's dinner experiment, based on what I had in the house:

Italian-ish Chicken Soup

-2 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry

-1 quart chicken stock

-2 tbsp. olive oil

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-1 leek, rinsed, sliced vertically and chopped into 1/2" pieces (white and light green parts only)

-1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained

-1 can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained

-1 15 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes

-2 handfuls sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for about 35 minutes or until the juices run clear when pierced with a sharp knife. Let cool.

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add garlic and leeks and cook until translucent. Add fire-roasted tomatoes to deglaze the pan. Add stock, artichoke hearts, cannelloni beans and sundried tomatoes and let sauté for a few minutes, then add stock. Shred cooked chicken and add to the pot. Cover and simmer about 30-40 minutes.

Electric green, part deux

Chive oil

-1 small bunch chives, chopped

-1 cup good extra virgin olive oil

Blitz chives in food processor, then add olive oil in a steady stream with the motor running until you get a frothy emerald mixture.

Good as a marinade for fish, chicken, worked into a vinaigrette, or drizzled on fresh mozzarella.

Electric green soup

Artichokes are one of my favorite things to eat. I had a soup similar to this one at the local coop, read the ingredients on the board, then went home and figured out how to make it. It's worth it to use a yellow bell pepper as it keeps the soup a pretty electric green color.

Artichoke and goat cheese soup

-2 cans artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed well

-1 leek, stem and very top removed, rinsed well

-1 yellow bell pepper

-1 medium yellow onion

-2 smallish gold potatoes

-2 tbsp. olive oil

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-1/2 quart chicken or vegetable stock

-4 oz. goat cheese

-Salt and pepper

-Chives, roughly chopped, for garnish

Chop all vegetables into small pieces. Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add garlic and brown. Add onions and leeks and sauté until tender. Add potatoes and bell pepper and sauté, lid on, for about 15 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and let cook for another 15-20 minutes, until all vegetables are very tender. Place vegetables in a food processor and with the motor running, add the stock in a steady stream until you have a smooth puree. Return soup to pot over a low heat and add salt and pepper to taste and goat cheese. Let goat cheese melt slowly into soup. Serve warm with chopped chives and a drizzle of olive oil over top.

A new favorite vegetable

I always hated brussels sprouts as a kid. My parents love them, and I only remember seeing them eat the little green things boiled. People have been telling me over the last few years that if you pan-sauté or roast them, they become an entirely new vegetable; a magically delicious thing.

I'm convinced now.

Roasted brussels sprouts, leeks and garlic

-1 lb. baby brussels sprouts

-2 leeks

-4 cloves garlic

-Salt and pepper

-Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and rinse sprouts and remove stems. Leave whole and place on a baking sheet. Cut stems and very tops off of leeks, cut in half lengthwise, and rinse well (leeks can sometimes be sandy or gritty). Then chop leeks into 1/2" pieces. Coarsely chop garlic, and add it and the leeks to the sprout pan. Drizzle liberally with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast until golden brown and sizzling, about 25-30 minutes.