From that point onwards, I knew that this was a group of people who loved food as much as I do. Rabbit is a common protein down in southern Italy and this is a traditional way to eat it from all around this region. I also find it like this in the Campania region. It’s so flavorful and easy and unlike when I have made this previously, down in Puglia they don’t brown it first. My food tour of Puglia with Via Rosa Italy is down to our final day and I can’t believe what we have packed into one week.

This region really is a food lover’s dream. People here are so kind and I feel like it’s still somewhat off the beaten path. There are no crazy crowds like there are in some of the other places and people here are friendly, curious and truly lovely. For those that can’t stomach rabbit, you can replace it with chicken. Also, most rabbit in the states comes frozen. If you aren’t familiar with butchering a rabbit or just can’t bring yourself to do so, ask your butcher to do it. I learned how from watching Youtube videos years ago, which also works.

Rabbit Cacciatore

Serves 4-6

1 whole rabbit - broken down into front legs, thighs, drumstick, flaps and saddle cut into at least 2 pieces (save the rest for rabbit stock)

1 medium yellow onion - sliced

1 1/2 rosemary stems - leaves taken off but left whole

4 fresh bay leaves - or 2 dried

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes - cut into quarters

1/3 good drizzling olive oil

1/3 cup dry white wine

1-1.5 teaspoons of Maldon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Method:

One of the things I love about cooking in Puglia is that they only use good drizzling olive oil. This means that they don’t cook anything on a very high heat as not to ruin the flavor of the oil. This was the second dish we learned where you simply throw almost everything in a pot and be done with it. When I have made this dish in the past there were multiple cooking steps like browning the rabbit. The Pugliese do no such thing.

In a large lidded pan, add the olive oil and then the onion, rosemary, bay leaves, rabbit and cherry tomatoes. Now add the black pepper but not the salt. I noticed here the meat is salted toward the end of the cooking and not at the beginning.

Starting from the cold pan, you bring it to a medium heat and let it start cooking for about 15 minutes. Give it a mix every now and then. Then add in the white wine, cook for 5 minutes until it’s largely gone and now add the salt. Give it a stir and then cover slightly. The lid should be on but not all the way so that steam can escape. Cook slightly covered for another 15 minutes or so stirring it every 5 minutes. At this point the rabbit will be cooked. It’s not fall off the bone, slow cooked but more like roast chicken cooked. You can now further break down the saddles by cutting them in half.

Remove the rabbit and cover to keep warm. In the pan, cook the sauce for another 5 minutes or until the juices are reduced and the tomatoes go jammy. The sauce will be a rich deep red hue and wonderfully savory. Once the sauce is reduced, add the rabbit back in. Coat the pieces in the sauce and it’s ready to serve.

This was insanely good and so simple to make. I love this no browning method and it will be my go to going forward.

Enjoy!

xx Corre

That is my favorite way of cooking. See what’s to hand and what is in season and then go home and make something delicious with them. One of the main reasons why I love to travel is to find new dishes to bring home. I have so many on my list and truly cannot wait to share them with you all. This one was spectacular.

One of the things we learned in this cooking class was just how much good olive oil the Pugliese eat every day. Our guide Angelo said he goes through a bottle of olive oil every 3 days between he and his girlfriend. I was gobsmacked. With 55m olive oil trees here, they only eat and cook with the best drizzling olive oil. But they cook with it differently so as not to ruin the flavor. This dish took less than 30 minutes total and it was simply wow.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

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Lecce is a truly stunning city. I have never seen an Italian city that is so clean, quiet and not crowded. There are no crazy drivers on scooters, cars honking as a form of communication and there is not a line to do anything or a crowd of people anywhere. There isn’t even laundry hanging on balconies, which I have never experienced to be absent in an Italian city. The food is off the charts and I cannot wait to return home and cook these dishes for you all. In the meantime, I have stocked up some recipes over the last few months for times like this. This is an emerald green kale pasta. I used to think that I didn’t really like kale. But then I just realized, I was cooking it wrong. This sauce is not only stunning but it’s a perfect balance of the somewhat minerally kale, salty anchovies and the acid from the lemon that brings it all together. I love this one.

Kale Pasta

Serves

Ingredients

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Presale for the standard version of the book is out! ORDER HERE

But the secret I had been keeping was that there are 2 versions of the book! Our standard version and then the Deluxe version. Which is the version that I wanted and my editor told me they couldn’t do with the normal budget of a book. So I begged for a Deluxe version and you guys know I can be persuasive.

Order the Deluxe version here! ORDER HERE

Presale for the Deluxe version is from now until May 22nd only or until the copies run out. There is a limited amount of Deluxe versions available and are ONLY available during the presale. These will not be in book stores or available to buy once they are gone.

Order Deluxe version here - Lido Village Books - this version comes with special illustrations on the inside covers, all copies are signed, the cover is a beautiful deep green archival quality clothbound binding, custom gold foil lettering, gold satin ribbon place marker and checkered marble tile painted edges. It also has a special rounded spine so that it lays perfectly flat when open. It’s as much a Coffee Table book as it is a cook book. Buy the Deluxe version for yourself and the regular version for gifts!

Books will ship November 10th!

I am also forever grateful to you all. For welcoming me into your homes and for letting my wildest dreams of being able to do something I love, for an actual living. I wrote this cook book for you. I was only able to write it because of your support and follows and shares and likes and comments.

Yesterday, just hours after launching to Substack only, we hit the Amazon #1 New Releases. I must say, even I was bowled over by that kind of love and support. Today the book is launched everywhere! Also, we are launching our new website as well. It’s there where you fill find all the places to preorder the book and the information about the Standard and Deluxe versions. Head to www.cocolarkincooks.com for all things going on in the CLC world.

Today I am sharing one of my favorite and most beloved dishes from the book.

Chicken Gaston Gerard

I went down a deep dive when creating my French home cooking series. Many of the dishes I had heard of before, but maybe had not tried. But this recipe was neither. I have since come to learn that many people in France have never heard of it either. It exists primarily in Dijon, and like so many wonderful dishes, it was the result of an accident in the kitchen. The lore has it that the wife of the Mayor of Dijon was cooking for a famous food critic when she accidently tipped over a jar of paprika and it fell into the dish. Paprika is not typically found in French food, so this dish stands out as an anomaly. This is one of the most popular chicken dishes I have ever cooked and is requested by guests and my family all the time.

Serves 4 or 5, one portion per chicken thigh

4 or 5 medium bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon avocado oil or any oil with a high smoke point

1 medium yellow onion, cut into a medium dice

1 teaspoon smoked or regular paprika

2 fresh bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (any vinegar will do except balsamic)

2/3 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1 1/4 cups homemade unsalted chicken stock (page 000)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup grated Gruyere or Comte

1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley to finish

Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt. I like to do this 30 minutes before cooking them. Place them on a plate lined with paper towels. Pat them dry again with the paper towels before pan frying them. Meat must always be bone dry before browning.

In a heavy bottomed oven safe pan, melt the butter and oil on medium high. Once the butter stops sizzling, add in the chicken, skin side down. Brown for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the skin is lovely and golden. Flip them over and brown on the other side for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Now add the diced onion, a pinch of salt, paprika, bay leaves, and thyme and cook that all together for 3 to 4 minutes on medium, or until the onion softens. Next add in the vinegar and crank the heat up to high. Reduce the vinegar to nothing. It should take 2 to 3 minutes. Now add the white wine. Again on high, cook that until it’s reduced by half. Then add the Dijon mustard, heavy whipping cream, and chicken stock. Check it now for seasoning and add in another pinch of salt and black pepper if needed. It really depends on if you use salted broth or not. I tend to always cook with unsalted broth, so I have to add some salt. Remember though that this will reduce, so don’t overdo it.

Preheat the oven to 400° F (200 °C).

Reduce the cream sauce by a third and then add the chicken back in. Coat it in the sauce. Then place it, uncovered, in the oven for 30 minutes. After 20 minutes in the oven, remove the bay leaves and add in the grated cheese. Back into the oven to cook for the remaining 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and finish with the parsley.

I served this over mashed potatoes and with a side of plain steamed green beans. But it would be wonderful over white rice, egg noodles, roast potatoes, or really any carb you like. A crusty baguette to mop up the sauce is perfect as well.

Enjoy!

xx Corre

Season to Taste is a labor of love a…

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So when Coco asked for Cafeteria Noodles, I said yes. But would she mind if I went rogue with them? I was given a skeptic look and a leading question.. “Ok… but will I like them?” I enthusiastically told her she would love them. Selling cabbage to kids requires one of be very enthused so don’t be shy. I went with a slightly Asian twist with the Gochujang but then again, my kids love anything spicy. These were a huge hit. Both kids, even Coco my more picky eater, had seconds. They also went into their lunches that week. There is something about Cafeteria Noodles that I just love. I lapped up my own bowl and had the leftovers for my lunch as well.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

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I hadn’t made Toad in the Hole in years and after making it this week, I couldn’t figure out why I don’t make it all the time. It’s everything I want in a week night dish. One pan (not including the gravy), easy to make, doesn’t take too long, ingredients that I either already have or are easy to find and literally everyone loves it.

I would add in a side salad just to get some greens in but buttered peas would work well too. Whenever I make anything that even remotely resembles baking and it works out, I beam with pride. This one rose more slowly than my Yorkshire Puddings and I was apprehensive. Would I fail at baking once again? But no. The process works.

Quite a few Americans might not be familiar with this one. But it’s a British specialty and beloved. It’s always served with lashings of onion gravy and you end the meal with a big smile on your face.

Toad in the Hole

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

8 eggs - or 300ml of eggs which came out to 8, if might be more or less for you

300ml of milk - same amount as the eggs

1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt

300ml of plain all purpose flour - same amount as the eggs and milk in volume

1/2 tablespoon duck fat to brown the bratwursts

4 bratwursts (I like Lottie’s brand) (or British bangers if available) - this would also work with up to 6 sausages

2 tablespoons duck fat or enough to coat the bottom of your pan by 1/8’’

Method

Preheat your oven to 400° F convection.

Break the eggs into a measuring cup. For the measurements, I appreciate that you don’t normally measure flour and wet ingredients both in ml. But for this batter and a Yorkshire pudding batter, it’s equal amounts by volume of all 3 ingredients. So I measure the eggs first and then use that as your baseline measurement as 8 eggs might be slightly more or less than 300ml. Then use that amount of milk and flour. I add the eggs to a large mixing bowl and then the milk and salt. Whisk well and then whisk in the flour a little at a time. You will have a fairly thin batter, but trust the process. Let the batter sit for at least 20 minutes or longer is even better.

Meanwhile, in an ovenproof baking pan, begin to heat the 1/2 tablespoon of oil/duck fat on medium high heat and brown the brats on both sides. This should take about 2 minutes per side. Set the brats aside. Add the remaining duck fat to the same baking pan and place in the oven for 10 minutes to get the oil and the pan piping hot. Once the baking pan is heated, remove it from the oven, add the brats back in, and pour the batter directly over the brats. Then into the oven for about 40 minutes. Do not open the oven during this time! (If you DO open the oven door, the batter won’t inflate.) After about 40 minutes, you will be left with a Yorkshire pudding that is puffed and golden and studded with bratwursts. If you find that the Yorkshire pudding is getting to dark, the turn the heat down to 375 for the last 10 minutes. If you bring the Toad in the Hole out too early, it will deflate so even though you might be tempted, don’t do it.

To serve, plate up with 1 bratwurst in each serving. Top with this incredibly rich and tasty Onion Gravy.

Sorry this is not the best pic in the world and does this gravy NO justice because it’s utterly delicious.

Onion Gravy

Yields about 2.5 cups

Ingredients

1.5 tablespoons duck fat

2 medium yellow onions, sliced

1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt

1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves finely chopped

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

7 ounces beef demi-glace (I like Fond brand)

14 ounces beef stock (again, I like Fond brand) - if using a non seasoned beef stock, add more salt

2 tablespoons beurre manié (equal parts butter and flour)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Method

In a lidded pan, heat the duck fat on medium heat. Add the onions and stir to coat them with the fat. Add the Maldon, cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring several times. Then add the thyme and black pepper and cook for several more minutes. Add the demi-glace, the beef stock, and the beurre manie. Then simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes on medium low to reduce and thicken the gravy. Stir occasionally. After 30 minutes, add the Worcestershire sauce and the onion gravy is done.

Enjoy!!

xx Corre

Welcome to Coco’s Crush list where I give a handful of my all time favorite products with little to no explanation. Some I have been using forever and some might be new. None are sponsored.

1. Summer Fridays Jet Lag Masque - keeps your skin moisturized at 35,000 feet

2. Ruti Tux Blouse - Immediate outfit glow up with one top

3. Masseria Olive Oil - each press has it’s own flavor and bottle

4. Supergoop Sunscreen - been using this light weight sunscreen for years

The garlic is in this sauce goes soft and sweet and delicate. It’s Heaven for garlic lovers. I also love how easy this one is. A handful of ingredients and the end result is just perfection. So without further ado…

Chicken Creme d’Ail

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

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I love digging through old cook books and finding dishes from both a far way locale and from a far away time. This soup is just that. It harks back to something your Grandmother would have made you. Full of flavor and simple ingredients, but only a handful.

This is Serbian Dill Soup and I got comments from people saying that they German and Polish Grandma’s also made this soup. It’s light and easy and perfect as we welcome Spring. I love food that is as satisfying as this soup. It means that a simple bowl of soup will not only fill my empty stomach, but will also fill my cup metaphorically speaking. I enjoyed this as a light lunch, but it’s also a perfect first course.

Serves 4

Ingredients

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I thought about that for a minute and agreed. One of my favorite places is the kitchen. It relaxes me. It inspires me. People gather round and ultimately, we all come together and eat in the kitchen. My style isn’t rushing or cutting corners and some dishes will bubble away for hours. While there is always a spot in my line up for something quick and easy, a lot of the things I love to make take a minute and I love to celebrate those too. This is one of those dishes. It’s a bit finnicky and has some steps, but the end result is stunning, delicious and worth it.

Leek Terrine

Serves 6

Ingredients

Butter for the terrine (about 1/2 teaspoon)

5-6 leeks

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 anchovy fillets

2 cloves microplane grated garlic

1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves

1 teaspoon Maldon salt

1/4 cup rose wine

Puff pastry

Egg wash of 1 egg and a tiny splash of water

1 teaspoon finely chopped chives to finish

Method

Butter your terrine baking dish with the softened butter. Cut off the root ends. Then remove the outer layer of each leek by running the tip of a sharp knife along the length of the leek, just through the first layer. Remove that outer layer and cut off the top where the green starts. Wash each piece clean and dry well. You are going to use these thin layers to line the baking dish to encapsulate all the leeks. Mine took around 4 of them. Use these leaves to line the bottom and sides of your terrine in a flat, overlapping fashion. Feel free to trim them to fit your baking dish. Now cut the remaining leeks to fit the baking dish going the short way. Cut the leek to fit and then either soak it in water and dry it standing upright on some paper towel or if they are really grimy, run them under water upright so the water is going through the leek. Then again, dry them standing upright on some paper towel. Now fit them snugly into the baking dish. You will make 2 layers and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 300° F convection.

To make the sauce, start to heat the heavy whipping cream on medium heat. Add the anchovies and garlic, thyme leaves, and salt. Stir to dissolve the anchovies and to prevent the cream from scorching. Bring just to a boil and remove from the heat. Off the heat, stir in the rose wine.

Make a Bain Marie that will hold your terrine with clearance on all sides. Place the terrine in the Bain Marie and fill with boiling water so that it comes up halfway up the terrine. Pour the sauce over the leeks, cover with parchment paper, and then weigh it down with a kitchen weight. Then into the oven for about 2 hours. It takes a long time at a low heat for the leeks to become perfectly soft and tender. If you rush this process, you will have stringy leeks. I moved the weight from one side to the other a few times during the cooking process, but largely I just left them as is.

After 2 hours, remove from the oven and from the Bain Marie and drain off any liquid that has collected in the terrine. I do this by keeping the weight on top, holding down the terrine and then gently pouring off any liquid. This will keep the puff pastry crisp. Increase the oven temp to 400° F. Cut 2 layers of puff pastry to fit the terrine. Brush with the egg wash. Then into the oven again for 15 to 20 minutes, until the puff pastry is crispy and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit, or put the terrine in an ice bath to expedite the cooling. The terrine will be served at room temperature. When the terrine is cooled enough to handle, gently unmold it onto a serving plate. You will want to run a thin knife all along the inside of the terrine to ensure if comes out easily. Even with that, I will still nervous it wouldn’t slide out but it did! Cut slices lengthwise (so you will see the cross sections of the leeks) and finish each serving with finely chopped chives. Use a serrated knife to GENTLY cut the slices. The leeks are so soft at this stage and you will want to go slowly in order to not break up or ruin the look of the leeks. Then cut each of those long slices in half.

This is a fairly rich dish so one slice served with a handful of peppery arugula lightly dressed with olive oil and lemon juice and some shavings of Parm is all you need.

This is a show stopper on the plate. The beautiful layers of leek are stunning and a testament to the time and care you put in to make this dish.

Enjoy!

xx Corre

Soboro Don is a perfect example of the simple, healthy and straight forward dishes that I am quickly learning are the backbone of Japanese home cooking. Also, they are light. Most have little to no added fat. I am a big believer that fat is flavor. I will always choose a ribeye over a filet. So the lack of added butter, oils or other dairy fats in these dishes somewhat confronts and confuses my more Eurocentric food mind. It’s a lovely reminder (for me) that flavor comes in many forms.

I am on my Japanese cooking journey with a fairly healthy arsenal of pantry staples from my local Asian grocery store. I created a list at the bottom of this to help anyone just starting out on what they can stock up on.

Soboro Don

Serves 2 hungry people

Ingredients

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This is an ideal sauce for someone dipping their toe into the cooking world. It requires no real knife skills and is kind of a dump and go situation. After the cooking, the blender does all the hard work for you.

Sauces like this are ideal for someone who doesn’t have the time to sit in the kitchen stirring or watching a pot. I used this sauce for a pasta dish one night and then with the Sicilian fish meatballs on another night. You can even use part of the sauce, blend it with the onions and guanciale you removed, and have a creamy soup for another meal. It’s versatile, delicious and easy which means I reach for it again and again. Also, who doesn’t love getting multiple meals from one pot?

Anyone-Can-Make Pasta Sauce

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

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Italians Nonnas are famous for wasting nothing and using all parts of animal or vegetable. While often I use parts of the vegetable that appear less useable for my stock pot, this week I made a pasta sauce out of them.

Fennel tops. The beautiful long and wild emerald hued hats to a bulb of fennel. Most good markets and farmers markets will have the fennel intact and too often I see people discarding the top. But here is where we go wrong. So often the tops of carrots, radish, turnips, etc can all be used rather than tossed. So in the spirit of the Italian Grandma, I made fennel top pasta.

This newsletter is sponsored by Thrive Market

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Fennel Top Pasta

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 fennel plants, bulbs trimmed and coarsely chopped (tops left whole)

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, left whole

2 anchovy fillets

1 dried red chile broken up into pieces (or a pinch of chili flakes)

1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt

2 large spring onions (the kind with the large bulb) or 1 medium yellow onion - roughly chopped - if using spring onions use the whole onion, if yellow onion don’t worry about spring onion tops

1 teaspoon capers, rinsed and patted dry

3 long strips of lemon peel

Salt for cooking fennel tops (about a teaspoon)

16 ounces of pasta - I used a short spiral kind to cling to the sauce

Salt for pasta water

A splash of pasta cooking water for the blender

1/4 cup microplane grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (if using pregrated, use less)

Splash of pasta cooking water as needed to finish the sauce

Lemon zest to finish

Flavorful olive oil to finish

Parmigiano-Reggiano to finish

Finely sliced basil leaves to finish

A squeeze of lemon juice to finish

Method

Separate the fine, feathery green tops from the fennel and set aside. Take the bulbs and trim them and then coarsely chop them.

In a lidded pan, begin to heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the whole garlic cloves, anchovies, and dried red chile and cook for 3 minutes to soften the garlic and dissolve the anchovies. Then add the chopped fennel bulbs and the Maldon salt and mix to coat everything with the oil. Add the chopped spring onions (bulbs and green tops), the rinsed capers, and the strips of lemon peel. Cover and continue to cook on medium low for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until everything is soft.

Meanwhile, cook the fennel tops in salted boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes until they are mostly soft. Drain the tops and let them air dry for a few minutes.

Now put the fennel tops and the softened veg in your blender and blend until smooth. You will probably need a splash of pasta cooking water to get the blender started. You need to use a high-powered blender to produce a smooth sauce. An immersion blender will leave the sauce stringy. Blend on high for at least 1 minute. Anything less and you will have strings from the fennel tops. Then return the sauce to the pan.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water that is as salty as the sea until it is just under al dente. Stir the Parm into the sauce. Add a splash of pasta cooking water and stir to begin thinning out the sauce. You want to create a silky texture. Add the al dente pasta to the sauce and finish cooking it in the sauce.

Finish each serving with lemon zest, a drizzle of flavorful olive oil, a sprinkling of Parm, finely sliced basil leaves, and a squeeze of lemon juice. This pasta is beautiful, light and packed with flavor. The fennel goes sweet when cooked like this and creates a flavor unlike anything else.

Enjoy!

xx Corre

Welcome to Coco’s Crush list where I give a handful of my all time favorite products with little to no explanation. Some I have been using forever and some might be new. None are sponsored.

1. My favorite apron

2. A true kitchen work horse - Le Creuset Oval Casserole Dish

3. My daily body moisturizer - Salt Air Santal Body oil

4. Beautiful and sturdy every day dinner plates

There is nothing more frustrating then going out to eat, spending a small fortune and getting in your car mumbling to yourself, “ I could have cooked better at home”. We have all been there and if you are anything like me, it seems to be happening more frequently. These 2 dishes are restaurant worthy, but you won’t be spending hours in the kitchen. Not all of my dishes are fast… we all know I love a slow cooked dish. But these ones are. They are big on flavor and short on cooking and prep, which means we can as easily roll these out for a week night as we might a Saturday night dinner party.

Pan Seared Branzino with Onion and Fennel Slaw

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

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I went with an Asian twist here, but it can easily be done in the French manner with garlic, parsley and poached in white wine and broth. It can go down the Italian route with cherry tomatoes, garlic, chili flakes and white wine. You can give it a Spanish flair but sautéing some chorizo first and then adding poaching liquid to that beautiful golden hued fat that cooks out. I am confident almost any food culture has a version of this that would be delicious.

This is what I eat when I am trying to eat lighter. After months of eating slow cooked stews and dishes that are heavy on the potatoes and cream… I enjoy to transitioning to lighter fare in the warmer months. I was lucky to find affordable local Pacific halibut, which was $17/lb rather than $42/lb but if you can’t find that then sub in cod, orange roughy, branzino, seabass or any white flaky fish you have available. Salmon could work as well, but I prefer the flakiness of a white fish. But whatever fish you choose, you have a quick, light and truly flavorful meal waiting for you.

Poached Halibut

Serves 3

Ingredients

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While I created these for Easter, they are great all year round. Some dishes feel like special occasion dishes as they combine looks and flavor but I would serve these to a small dinner party as easily as I would have these on a holiday table.

The days are starting to grow longer and with that often comes with a new energy. The darker days of Winter are firmly behind us and for me, Spring always brings a pep to my step. I feel less tired, more motivated and it also sparks a creativity that I am not sure I have felt since before I shot the book. Someone asked me the other day how I stay creatively motivated when I cook so much and make so much content. The honest answer is, I don’t. I have creative lulls like anyone. I have days when I don’t want to do anything. Days when cooking feels more like work than the creative outlet it’s always been. I still show up and push through, but it’s hard. But there is something about the changing of the seasons, that renews that creative spark. I am excited about what I am going to cook next and the new ingredients that are showing up at the farmer’s markets every week. Not sure I have a point here aside from that everything is cyclical. If you feel a little down, know that everything swings on a pendulum and you will go back up again.

Romaine in an Herby Dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, microplane grated

2 anchovy fillets

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

7-8 large fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons flavorful olive oil

2/3 teaspoon Maldon salt or a very large pinch

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey

4 teaspoons finely chopped chives to finish - 1 for each head of romaine

3 radishes, cut into thin matchsticks to finish

Fleur de sel to finish

4 heads of romaine, one per person, any blemished outer leaves removed

Method

Place the dressing ingredients in your blender. That would be the garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, basil leaves, olive oil, salt, pepper, heavy whipping cream, and maple syrup. Blend for about 30 seconds, or until very smooth. A strong blender is needed or else you will have a separated dressing from the cream and lemon. Pour the dressing into a shallow large bowl.

Now take each head of romaine and swirl it in slow motion through the dressing. Work it to get dressing into and between all of the leaves. Place each romaine on a dinner plate and finish with finely chopped chives, radish matchsticks, and a sprinkling of fleur de sel. Provide each guest with a fork and sharp serrated knife and let the fun begin.

*I used prewashed romaine. If you don’t have that, then soak the heads of romaine in a large bowl or sink to clean them. Then hand dry them after.

Recipe #2

Creamy Potatoes al Forno

Serves 4-6

16 small to medium waxy potatoes - peeled and quartered

1 teaspoon duck fat, butter or oil

1 teaspoon Maldon salt

1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

1/2 small yellow onion - finely sliced

3 cloves garlic - finely sliced

3 anchovies - chopped

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 fresh bay leaves

1/3 to 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream - this amount depends on the size of your baking dish - cream should come up to just under the potatoes by about 1/2’’

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley to finish

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Oil or butter your lidded baking dish. Then add in the potatoes, rosemary, onions, garlic, salt and anchovies. Give it a good mix with your hands. Tuck in the bay leaves and then top with the heavy whipping cream. You want the cream to come up to just under the potatoes, about 1/2’’ under. Use a spoon and spoon over the cream mixture on to the top of the potatoes. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Now uncover and give it all a good mix with a spoon and then dot with the butter and cook uncovered for a further 25 minutes. At this point the potatoes will be golden and bubbling on top. Sprinkle with the parsley and then let sit for 5 minutes to allow any excess cream to soak into the potatoes. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

This is sooo good and so easy and so little prep. It is a crowd favorite.

Enjoy!

xx Corre

This is what I imagine my (imaginary) Italian Grandma making me on a Friday night when she came over to babysit. It’s that kind of dish. The kind of dish that reminds you of a time in your life when things were less complicated and more carefree. I don’t mind that life ebbs and flows and there are good times and bad. But it’s nice to know that when the seas do darken and get choppy, there are still Stuffed Shells.

*Also here is the link to last year’s Easter eggs in case anyone wants the instructions on making those before Sunday.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

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This Alfredo cheat recipe is adapted from one of my thrifted books. A creamy pasta sauce made only of slow cooked onions? I was intrigued. I added fennel as the sweetness of slow cooked fennel lends perfectly to this dish. The end result is something that I can eat every week, rather than 1-2x a year as I do with the real deal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

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This is one such dish. This one is fairly different than Jamie’s but the sentiment is the same. You will have to wrap your head around the sauce having small delicate curds in it. Or not and strain the sauce. But, however you do it, you will enjoy it. The sauce is delicate and light yet also deeply flavorful. The chicken cooks breast side down and becomes so tender and the leg meat falls apart. Beyond that, you have the fennel. Which becomes sweet and almost kinds of melts. All in all, it’s achingly delicious.

*Coco’s Bi-Monthly Crush List at the bottom of the recipe.

Chicken in Milk

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, spatchcocked along the breastbone - I love this method as it means you don’t remove anything from the chicken

1.5 teaspoons Maldon salt for the chicken

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon algae oil or avocado oil

1 large fennel bulb, cut into fairly thick flat slices

Long strips of lemon zest taken from 1 large lemon or 2 smaller lemons

5 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoon grated horseradish, fresh or jarred - if jarred go with 1 tablespoon

5-6 stems of tarragon

5-6 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

2-3 cups whole milk (or enough to cover the chicken by about two-thirds)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon Maldon salt for the sauce

Method

After you have spatchcocked the chicken along the breastbone, press down on it to flatten it as much as possible so that it will lie flat in your large ovenproof baking pan. Salt both sides of the chicken. Melt the butter with the oil in your pot and place the chicken skin side down. On medium high heat, begin to brown the chicken. This will take about 5-6 minutes. Then flip the chicken and brown the cut side for a further 5 minutes. When the chicken is golden brown on both sides, remove it to a pan and set aside briefly.

Preheat your oven to 325° F convection.

Using the same pot, go down with the aromatics, starting with the fennel in a flat layer. Then add the rest: lemon zest, garlic cloves, horseradish, tarragon, thyme, and bay leaves. Next, return the chicken, skin side up, onto the bed of aromatics. Pour in the whole milk until it reaches about two-thirds of the way up the chicken. Dust with the black pepper. Add the salt to the milk, bring it just to a boil and then baste once before going into the oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours. The pan should be uncovered. Go in and baste the chicken with the developing sauce every 20 minutes.

Your chicken will be golden on top, bubbling and gorgeous, and the meat will be fall-apart tender. To present the chicken, separate the pieces and arrange on a large serving platter. Cover with the sauce and its softened aromatics. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves, but everything else will contribute to delicious bites, so please don’t strain the sauce unless you really can’t handle the curds. The out-of-this-world flavor will more than make up for the looks.

This is a really easy dish to make as it requires less than 15 minutes of prep/pre-oven cooking and then the oven does the rest.

Enjoy!

xx Corre

Welcome to Coco’s Crush list where I give a handful of my all time favorite products with little to no explanation. Some I have been using forever and some might be new. None are sponsored.

Coco’s Crush List

1. One of my Favorite skin care products - Paula's Choice Exfloliator

2. Best pestle and mortar with cork bottom so doesn’t move while grinding

3. Fond Bone Broth - finally a store bought bone broth that tastes like the real deal

4. Best Potato Ricer - your chest muscles will never burn again ricing potatoes

I remember eating Stuff Shells in Providence back in the day. They were stuffed with a spicy sausage and covered in a velvety béchamel and then baked until golden on top. Needless to say, they were delicious. But what if I stuffed leeks instead of shells? The end result is this decadent and savory dish that truly makes your taste buds sing.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

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