Cavatappi with butternut squash, asparagus, and peas (plus the winner of the Spring Chicken Giveaway)

I once discussed with a friend how there are certain types of dishes that you can make almost anything into. "Pasta, salad, or stir-fry--you can make anything into one of those!" this friend said, and he was right. I'd also add soup to the list. How well these off-the-cuff concoctions turn out is another thing altogether, but with a little skill, knowing your own tastes, and occasionally stealing from other people's recipes, you can often turn out something quite delightful, even with an unusual pairing of ingredients.

Take this pasta I made the other night. I had some peeled and cubed butternut squash from Trader Joe's that I was contemplating roasting, as squash generally wants to be roasted. But then I remembered what a lovely surprise it was last fall when I made this pasta which called for steaming and pureeing the squash into a creamy sauce. I decided to crib Giada's idea for the squash but tweak the other components.

The method is: saute some squash with oil, salt, and pepper. Add some broth, cover, and steam it until soft. Then puree it in a food processor.

When I'd transformed the squash into a bright orange puree, I tossed in some asparagus that I'd roasted separately, as well as a handful of frozen peas, and a pound of cavatappi. But it needed something more. So I rooted around in the fridge and found some ricotta that needed to be used up. In went half a cup, a hefty grating of parmesan, and a little pasta water to make it just right. A sprinkle of chives (my go-to garnish!) and I was done. Not bad for an impromptu weeknight pasta!

There was something else I was going to say...

Oh yes, the winner of the spring chicken giveaway. Thank you to everyone who entered! What fun it was to read all of your responses. I had a hard time choosing with such great entries, but the prize goes to HollowPeas, who wrote:  

I am going to go against the 'flowers and grass and birds' grain here and say my favorite part about spring is the thunderstorms. It is honestly one of my favorite times to spend all day in the kitchen. I crack open the windows so I can hear the rain and the thunder and spend all day baking bread or roasting a chicken, something warm and comforting. The bonus is the next day when it smells like fresh rain and everything is green and vibrant.

HollowPeas, drop me an email with your mailing address and CSN will have your gorgeous Le Creuset roasting pan in the mail to you quick as a wink.

Everyone else, thanks for playing!

Ham and corn chowder

I have a new favorite cookbook.

When a publicist from Abrams Books contacted me to ask if I'd be interested in reviewing HAM: An Obsession with the Hindquarter, the new cookbook from Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, I leaped at the chance. You know I'm a friend of the pig. Well, I guess when you get down to it, I am an enemy of the pig, which is something I am occasionally racked with guilt about. But in any case, I said Yes please! and shortly later this stunning book arrived in the mail.

I spent a day or two pouring over it, ditching my Michael Connelly mystery and the Sunday Times for its elegant, matte pages. Periodically I would hold up a recipe or photo for the husband to admire.

"Doesn't that sound good?" I'd gush. "Doesn't that sound amazing?"

In addition to being straight-up gorgeous, the book is well-written, with enough details to provide substance but not so much that you feel bogged down. The writing style is funny and breezy.

Now, about the recipes. The way recipes are written in a cookbook is directly related to how much I want to cook from it. For example, I have Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. Great book, in philosophy and method. But, I don't care for the way the recipes are written. She doesn't list the ingredients all at the top--instead she intersperses them throughout the directions. I don't like this format, as it makes it likely that I'll miss something for the grocery list. So, although in theory that book is good, I don't use it much.

HAM's recipe are written traditionally, with the ingredients listed at the top and the directions below, clear and concise. It also has groovy side notes, such as ways to "slash your grocery list" or ideas to "round out the menu": a recipe for roasted country ham suggests serving creamy jicama slaw and chile-braised black-eyes peas alongside. There's even a section on throwing a party around a ham (hey, why don't I have friends like this?), with the sides that would go best, like pickled cippolini and fig ginger jam. To drink at your ham party? Ginger pear cosmos and pomegranate caipirinha, of course.

But the real reason I love this cookbook is because I want to make almost all of the recipes. Such as: pork cracklings, ham and potato savory cakes, shirred eggs in prosciutto cups, and stewed mussels with jamon, serrano, chickpeas, and saffron. And perhaps as my last meal, as I'm sure that's what it would be, someone could make me the brie, grits, ham, and apple casserole.

But for my first attempt to cook from HAM, I decided to keep it basic: Ham-and-Corn Chowder.

This soup is divine. Creamy, rich, and full of salty ham and sweet corn, it's brightened by lemon zest, which is genius, and given earthiness by marjoram. But the real kicker is making the beurre manie and slowly thickening the soup with it at the very end. The result is a velvety, dreamy soup you simply want to inhale.

HAM is a winner and I highly recommend you check it out. And if you make that grits casserole, please invite me over.

Ham-and-Corn Chowder
from HAM: An Obsession with the Hindquarter

3 T. butter, two softened to room temperature and set aside
12 oz. smoked, wet-cured ham, chopped
3 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels (I used frozen)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, chopped
2 t. minced fresh or 1 t. dried marjoram (I used dried)
1 t. finely grated lemon zest
1/2 t. celery seeds
1 c. dry white wine or vermouth (I used vermouth)
3 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 t. salt or to taste (the cured ham is quite salty)
1 t. pepper
2 T. flour

1. Melt 1 T. unsoftened butter in a large soup pot or saucepan. Add chopped ham and cook, stirring often, until frizzling and quite fragrant, about 3 minutes.

2. Stir in the corn, onion, and potato. Cook, stirring often, for 3 more minutes.

3. Add marjoram, lemon zest, and celery seeds, and continue cooking for about 20 seconds. Pour in the broth and wine. As the soup comes to a simmer, use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the interior surfaces of the pot.

4. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the potato bits are meltingly tender, about 45 minutes.

5. Stir in the cream, salt, and pepper. As everything simmers for a couple of minutes, use a fork to mash the flour with the 2 T. softened butter in a small bowl until the mixture is quite uniform. (This is the beurre manie.)

6. Stirring all the while, drop this butter mixture by dribs and drabs into the simmering soup, taking 6-8 additions to get the whole paste added and stirring well after each before adding the next. The whole process should take about 3 minutes. Taste for salt, add more if necessary, then dish it up.

Spring chicken, and a giveaway!

As many of you know, blogging can lead to some surprises. Most importantly, I've found it to be a creative outlet that I clearly needed but didn't know I needed. It's also introduced me to a wonderful international community of like-minded, food-obsessed folks that I have found to be nothing but welcoming and warm, when all you hear about the Internet is that they're creeps.

Perhaps most surprising of all to me is that it has led to some freebies!

For one thing, cookbooks. I have two at home that were sent to me recently that I'll be reviewing for you shortly. For another, sometimes people contact you to do a giveaway.

Not long ago, a nice lady named Jessica contacted me from a company called CSN. CSN runs all sorts of websites to meet all kinds of needs. From dog beds to corner tv stands, you're covered. They run the website cookware.com, which is where I picked my giveaway prize from, natch.

It was tough to choose from so many lovely items, but the one I finally settled on was a 12 x 9.5" Le Creuset baking dish in cobalt blue... this one. Isn't it pretty?

Everyone should have a dish like this, one that can go from oven to table. It's fabulous for lasagnas, gratins, or roasted chicken with honey, cherry tomatoes, and rosemary, which I made earlier in the week.

I've been making this recipe for years. How many? I don't know. Six or seven. It's delicious, a breeze, and works every time. Sometimes I make it for company, sometimes just for us. People love it. Make it! But don't do it with skinless chicken breasts like I know some of you might be thinking. That's ridiculous. The skin gets crispy and brown from the honey and olive oil. Follow the recipe and thank me later. Serve it over rice to soak up all the lovely sauce.

To win this gorgeous baking dish, all you need to do is leave a comment telling me what your favorite thing about spring is. This might be a good way to scare out some of you readers who don't like to comment!  I'm on to you, you know.  Just kidding. I'm a little shy in real life myself.

The best response wins, with the winner announced on Friday, April 16. Good luck!