Chicken and Leek Stew, the great de-stressor

There has not been a whole lot of cooking happening in this house lately. As the semester wears on that's pretty normal, but I had a 30 page rough draft due yesterday for a paper I've been working on throughout the semester and I needed to take it easy. We've had a super chilly, stormy couple of days and this sounded like the perfect comfort food. I've made this stew a couple of times and it is, without fail, delicious. It's thick and creamy, which makes it hard to believe that it's fairly healthy. This is also the first time I've used leeks, and I have definitely been missing out. They're a mild onion, kind of like a huge scallion. If you want that instant 'yum' smell in your kitchen, saute some leeks in olive oil - delicious. This recipe is courtesy of Jamie Oliver. I followed all of the directions, though I used fat free sour cream. Oh, and I added garlic. You could make it without, but why would you ever make anything without garlic?

Jamie Oliver's 'Simplest Chicken and Leek Stew'

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts (discard any discolored ends)

1 pkg. cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch pieces

All-purpose flour, for dusting

1 and 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

1 tbsp. chopped thyme

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Aren't the leeks gorgeous!?

Method:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the leeks and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes. Scrape the leeks and mushrooms onto a plate.

2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and lightly dust with flour, shaking off any excess. heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the chicken and cook over moderate to high heat until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken stock and thyme and simmer over moderate heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about one minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the plate with the vegetables.

3 Simmer the stock over moderately high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken, leeks and mushrooms to the skillet and simmer over low heat until warmed through, about 1 minute.

4. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream with the mustard and stir into the stew. Remove the skillet from the heat. Season the stew with salt and pepper and serve.

Serve with: Steamed rice (I used brown).

Savannah-rama, Part 3

Ok, apparently blogger just cannot contain all the photos I want to post. This is nice though, I'm getting to reminisce about my vacation and forget about all the stressful things I'm currently working on. Savannah really was gorgeous though. The trees and flowers there are pretty much the same thing you see in Tallahassee, but we definitely lack the old-Timey charm. We probably bull dozed down all of the old houses to make way for our heinous, phallic capital building.

This old synagogue is the student center for the

Savannah College of Art and Design. They own a

bunch of gorgeous buildings around town and I'm super

jealous that they get to hang out in gorgeous buildings like this.

Savannah has a really active port and we saw this

cargo freighter, it's huge! Suddenly I understand why

customs doesn't quite make it through everything shipped into this country.

Skillz.

The buildings on River Street.

Cool or creepy? Savannah-Rama, Part 2

There were so many gorgeous things to see in Savannah, there's no way I could limit my pictures to one post! One of the more offbeat things we did was walk around the Bonaventure Cemetery, which was featured in the book an film "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." I'll admit, I didn't check out the movie until after our trip to Savannah, but it definitely captures a lot of things about the city. The cemetery overlooks a gorgeous river and is full of amazing spanish moss laden trees and gorgeous tombstones. I know some people get weirded out by cemeteries, but I'm definitely not one of them. I actually lived behind a funeral home for quite a few years, so it takes a lot to creep me out. I'm not too partial to the idea of being buried myself, but cemeteries are kind of nice - they're full of tokens showing the great love people have for one another. Is that weird?

So, readers - cemeteries: cool or creepy?

The fountain at Forsyth Park in downtown Savannah

Hey Ya'll: Savannah-rama, Part 1

Last week was our Spring Break. Ahhh, Spring Break - it's going to be sorely missed when I finally wrap up my seven year stint in college. It won't be missed as much as winter break or summer break, but it will be missed nonetheless. School has been pretty hectic this semester, hence the lack of blog posts. The break was much needed and is already sorely missed. We spent four days in Savannah, Georgia enjoying quality time, sleeping in, gorgeous scenery and good food. It's about a five hour drive from here, so it was the perfect getaway for a few days. I initially wanted to go to New Orleans, but when I got around to my last minute planning I realized that out break coincided with Mardi Gras. Don't get me wrong, Mardi Gras in New Orleans is definitely something that's on the bucket list; however, it's also something that requires more than three days planning ahead.

Savannah is such a beautiful old city. The homes are absolutely beautiful and you just get such a great sense of the history while you explore it. The charm is also nicely augmented by liberal drinking laws - you're allowed to have open containers of alcohol in the historic district as long as they're in a clear plastic cup. Bartenders will ask, "For here, or to go?" when you order a drink, which I must admit is pretty awesome. This, paired with the fact that Georgia gets New Belgium beer made exploring on foot that much more fun. It felt a little strange, but Leon and I both enjoyed walking in front of the gorgeous City Hall en route to River Street while sipping on beer in our to go cups.

We got a good dose of southern hospitality from most everyone we met. Parts of Forrest Gump were filmed in Savannah, including Forrest's narration from the bench while waiting for the bus. The bench itself was put there for the film production and has been moved to a museum though, which makes it much less cool. I would definitely put in a stunt bench for the tourists if I has a say, but I don't. Savannah is also supposed to be super haunted and they have a lot of ghost and graveyard tours, but I just can't really buy into that stuff. I anticipate another post or two with pictures as this one is already a bit out of hand. What are some of your favorite vacation spots?

The Davenpot House, one of the first buildings in Savannah

to be preserved for its historic value. We actually got to go inside,

but I'm sad to say that it was a bit disappointing.

It was a bit chilly during our stay, but Spring was clearly

nudging its way in.

One of the many gorgeous Bed and Breakfasts in the historic district.

I would love to return to Savannah when my budget is a little

higher and stay somewhere like this.

I sure do love flowering trees.

This city really does have a level of charm that I haven't

really seen before. Many of the historic

homes had cute gutters like this one.

How's that for a backyard?

One of the ghost tours runs in this hearse. Tour-goers stand up

in the back while learning about Savannah's spooky stories.

"The Waving Girl," a statue in Savannah on the river front.

Supposedly a girl would stand there every day and

wave to greet the ships coming into port. There is some legend that

she was there every day for 40 years, waiting for her love who

has been lost at sea to return.

The old cobblestone streets by the port.

Cute, but difficult to balance on.

Every home really did seem more beautiful than the last.

The spot where Forrest waited on the bench and

told his life story.

The people of Savannah sure do love Forrest Gump.

The guide on our trolly tour was even an extra, but his scene got cut.

Gorgeous trees, as one would expect.

Forrest Gump isn't the only shrimp loving southerner who is

well known in Savannah. Paula Deen's restaurant The Lady and Sons

is also located there in the historic district, along with The Paula Deen Store,

specializing in all things Paula. I love to laugh at Paula's southern drawl and

love of butter on Food Network. I don't generally cook the types of things

that she does, but we couldn't pass up some of Paula's home cookin'.

"Hey ya'll" is the catch phrase on her sign. Hilarious.

The restaurant is a pretty large, three story place in

historic Savannah. You have to go make reservations

ahead of time and they were totally filled up every day we were in town.

Above is the garlic chive biscuit and "hoecake" that comes with

your meal. Paula Deen is such a naughty genius - they tell you

that the hoecake is great plain, but also prove maple syrup on the

table and urge you to have it that way. Pancakes with dinner -

perhaps not something for everyday, but Paula is a genius.

We both opted for the buffet so that we could sample

all the good southern fare that The Lady and Sons offers. This was

definitely the best buffet food I've ever had - nothing dry or flavorless

the way that buffet food generally is. The collard greens were amazing and

I even loved the creamed corn - which I thought was grits. I never

would have tried it if I knew what it was, but I'll hand it to Paula - she turns out

great food and I'm still working on detoxing from the trip.

Paula's restaurant has to make a crazy amount of money, but it still has that locally owned, down home feel. There are family pictures of the Deens by the elevators and I was particularly ticked when I spotted one of Paula kissing one of her sons on his mouth at his wedding. On the ride up to our table on the third floor Leon entertained the other diners by musing about whether they kept Paula in the basement. All in all, it was a delicious, very diet unfriendly gastronomic adventure.

Award and Stylish Watermelon Cucumber Salad

Life has been a little stressful here the last couple of weeks. I've been pretty busy with school stuff, especially doing research for a large paper I'm writing this semester. I feel badly that I haven't been updating more often and I'm going to try and work on it! I thought that this would be a great study break. My friend Cassie over at Confession of an Average American Mommy gave me the Stylish Blogger Award (Thanks you!). The catch of getting the award is that I must write seven things about myself, so here goes nothin':

• I love Tina Fey. Like, a lot. She's definitely one of my 'strong, independent woman' role models and I have a lot of respect for her. On a less serious note, I also have a picture of Ms. Fey in my bathroom. I had an extra picture frame and nothing to fill it, so I started looking in some magazines for a nice picture to fill it until I found something better. I found plenty of artsy things, but then I saw an advertisement with Tina Fey on a camel. I mean, what could possibly top that? It initially started out as a joke, but now there's no way I can take her down. So, until further notice Tina Fey watches me pee. And there's something priceless about the moment when someone walks out of my bathroom and says, "Is that a picture of Tina Fey on a camel?"

Isn't this stately?

• I love bubble baths. Nothing is quite as relaxing for me as lighting a candle, soaking in a warm tub with nice perfumed bubble bath, reading a magazine and sipping on a beer or glass of Riesling. I seriously suggest you try it.
• I'm too hard on myself a lot of the time, and I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of you ladies are too. It's good to want to be the best, but try not to tear yourself down too much while you're working on it - whatever "it" is. When you're feeling a little too wrapped up in your faults, try to remember all of the awesome things about yourself.
• I hate when my friends from back home assume that I spend my days hanging out beachside. Tallahassee is in the panhandle area and about two hours away from a decent beach.
• I've never been outside of the United States. I have always had a really deep desire to travel abroad, but it hasn't quite worked out yet. One of my great fears is that I'll never get to see as many things around the world as I want to.
• I'm not super neat. I love having a clean, perfect living space; however, the clutter always resurfaces pretty fast. I recently read that you should devote fifteen minutes a day to tidying up and I really want to strive to do that. I know for some of you that's probably instinctual, but I have a bad habit of letting things get a little too cluttered before I start trying to tidy up.
• I like thinking about my smart vs. dumb characteristics for the humor value of how they cancel each other out. Example: I like to stay informed about current events and read the news most days. I also like to read National Geographic, New York Times magazine and The Economist. However, I can also tell you very detailed information about the most recent seasons of The Real Housewives and Beverly Hills and Teen Mom (...and Teen Mom 2).

Speaking of stylish, check out this Watermelon Cucumber Salad! I know this isn't something that everyone will want to try, but if it piques your interest then you should definitely give it a shot! I got a pretty good watermelon the other day, but this is definitely something that will only be more delicious as the warmer months come on. It's already in the low 80s around here, so I'm already getting into a summer state of mind.

Watermelon Cucumber Salad

You can make as much or as little of this as you want. I made a good sized plate of it for myself for dinner a few days ago, but you could do a larger scale version. All you need is equal parts of diced watermelon (seedless preferred) and peeled, seeded, diced cucumber. Toss the two with very thinly sliced red onion. Whisk together some lemon juice and olive oil (about a 3:1 ratio with the size varying depending on how much you want to use. After combining those ingredients, top with feta or goat cheese and sprinkle with fine sea salt. It's delicious, healthy and refreshing. I promise.

Chicken Pita Sliders

I saw these in Food Network magazine and knew that I had to make them. I'm a big fan of any mediterranean type food and they're way too cute to pass up. But of course I started looking at the recipe and decided to do things a little differently, which ultimately ended up in me doing something almost entirely different. But they were awesome and I highly recommend that your try my recipe, or Food Networks, or you could put your own spin on it! I had previously seen the mini pitas at our grocery store and thought they were adorable, but wasn't sure what I could do with them. If you can't find the little pitas don't be discouraged, these would be equally delicious as full sized burgers stuffed inside half of a regular sized pita.

Chicken Pita Sliders

Ingredients:

For the chicken patties:

1 pkg. (about 1.5 lbs) ground chicken breast

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup Italian bread crumbs

3 cloves minced or pressed garlic

2 tbsps. olive oil

salt

pepper

16-20 mini pitas

For the Veggie Relish

1/2 of a large cucumber, diced and seeds removed

1 small tomato, diced and seeds removed

1/4 red onion, diced

1 tsp. vinegar (white or red)

1 tbsp. olive oil

Splash of white wine

1 tbsp. mint, julienned

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

For the Tzatziki:

6 oz. plain, fat free Greek yogurt

1/4 cup grated, peeled, seeded cucumber

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

splash of white wine

salt, to taste

fresh pepper, to taste

Method:

1. You'll want to make the tzatziki and the vegetable relish a little bit ahead of time because they both get much more flavorful after sitting in the fridge for at least an hour.

2. For the Tzatziki: after grating the cucumber put it in a towel and squeeze out any excess moisture. Whisk all ingredients together and taste to check flavor. Cover and refrigerate.

3. For the relish: Make sure to get a fine chop on the tomato, cucumber and onion. Mix together to incorporate. Whisk the salt, pepper, oil and vinegar together separately then pour over the relish. Sprinkle the julienned mint, stir again then cover and refrigerate.

4. Mix the ground chicken and all of the other ingredients together by hand until everything is incorporated. How large you make the patties depends somewhat on how large your pitas are. You may want to do a trial run and make sure that you've got a good size figured out. Cook the chicken patties in a moderately hot pan drizzled in olive oil. They'll cook pretty quickly, so keep an eye on them. My patties were probably about the size of half-dollars.

5. Stuff chicken patties into the pitas and serve with the relish and tzatziki on the side.

Note: I made these for a party and did a double recipe. I did end up having some of the chicken mixture left over, but I made two big chicken burgers with it and Leon and I enjoyed those a couple of days later for dinner.