Spring Seafood Stew with Peas, New Potatoes, and Tarragon by Alison Roman

It’s snowing furiously outside, sheets of snow flying sideways past the buildings of Chicago. It’s New Year’s Day, 2022. It’s most certainly not Spring. And I would far prefer to be watching the Harry Potter Reunion on HBO instead of writing an essay about seafood stew, but so it goes. 

[Okay, confession. I wrote the above sentences, and then decided to close my laptop and watch part of the HP Reunion. It was a great decision. It’s now January 2.]

I was most certainly not looking forward to making this stew. To eat one kind of seafood requires some self-convincing. To eat three kinds of seafood in one dish is almost impossible for me. This recipe calls for clams (mmm), cod (meh), and smoked trout (huh). I called an “audible” (a sports term I inherited through marriage, FYI) and skipped the smoked trout. While the cod turned out alright, it was a little fishy for my taste. Ultimately, I would have been most happy with this stew if it were just the veggies and the clams. But that’s just me! 

The stew comes together in a multi-step process. First, sauteeing the vegetables - celery, shallot, potato - until soft. The recipe calls for leeks, but I somehow missed it when creating my shopping list, so I made do with what I had on hand. Then white wine and bay leaves join and simmer until partially reduced. I poured seafood stock and water into the dutch oven and brought everything to a simmer, letting the potatoes start to fall apart, about 35 minutes. I will just note here that this was my first time purchasing seafood stock, and beforehand, I was nervous. I imagined a liquid that smelled like a fish tank. Well, I was wrong. I took one whiff of the open stock carton and hardly smelled a thing. Which gave me more confidence in what I was about to consume. 

I plopped my scrubbed clams into the simmering stew, along with a cup of frozen peas. Then placed the lid on and waited for the clams to open - about 12 minutes. The final step requires laying the pieces of cod into the broth while trying not to destroy their delicate flesh. I mostly succeeded. The pot’s lid returns once more so the cod can cook through. 

To serve, I ladled the stew into each bowl, followed by a dollop of crème fraiche and a mixture of parsley, tarragon, and lemon zest. I also warmed some slices of homemade sourdough bread for dipping. Just like Alison’s Clams with Cod and Cream (a v similar recipe, by the way) I would gladly count sourdough dipped in the broth as my dinner. 

A final word about “stew” vs. “chowder.” Alison’s recipe notes say that she waffled between whether to call this recipe a stew or a chowder, but ultimately decided there’s no difference before choosing “stew.” Jordan, Margaret, and I kindly, but firmly, disagree. In the words of Margaret: “I associate chowders with corn and seafood. To me, a chowder has to be creamy, usually through the addition of dairy, but sometimes can happen through other means (like maybe pureeing some portion of the chowder?). I’ve never heard of a beef chowder, for example.” If you have further thoughts on this stew v. chowder debate, feel free to comment below. 

199 recipes cooked, 26 to go.

One Pot Chicken with Caramelized Lemon and Dates

I made this chicken on January 23, 2021, along with Alison’s Butter-Tossed Radishes and Garlicky Broccoli with Hazelnuts and Coriander. They were among the very first recipes I made from Alison’s books after receiving them as Christmas presents. Cooking this One Pot Chicken was only my third or fourth time ever roasting a whole chicken, and I reveled in this new skill, and the courage it took to acquire it. (Raw chicken used to really freak me out.)

This early meal provided the inspiration for this project. I had never made a meal using three brand new recipes and found each one to be out of my comfort zone, complex and innovative in flavor, and surprisingly straightforward to cook – all at once. I tasted Za’atar for the first time. I embarked on my first ingredient scavenger hunt to find ground sumac. I’d never thought a flavorful chicken could require so few ingredients. And how many times had I made roasted broccoli before? Alison’s recipe provided a major upgrade to a weekly dinner staple. Never had I learned so much by making a single meal. It was invigorating! 

I still hadn’t fully conceived the structure of the Annie and Alison blog. I had ideas, but nothing I’d formally committed to. I knew taking pictures would be an important element of blogging, but didn’t think to capture a bunch of this meal. Four days later, I put pen to paper in earnest and decided to tell friends and family about the cooking challenge. At which point, I told myself I’d remake this One-Pot Chicken so I could get better pictures. 

Well, here we are almost a year later, only 29 days left of the project, and I still haven’t recaptured this dish. Which I feel just fine about. Alison’s One Pot Chicken is, in my opinion, one of her most recognized recipes. She’s made a Home Movie about it, A Newsletter about it, and there are hundreds of images of other people making it on Instagram. Do I really need to add my own to that library? I don’t think so. 

There’s also not a whole lot more I can say about it that hasn’t already been said in the aforelinkedto media, so I’ll leave my story here: This chicken marks the beginning of one of the best creative endeavors of my life, and for that, it’ll always be special to me. 

197 recipes cooked, 28 to go.

can someone please tell me if they’ve ever successfully captured an appetizing picture of a raw chicken? thx.

Whole-Wheat Pasta with Brown-Buttered Mushrooms, Buckwheat, and Egg Yolk by Alison Roman

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this recipe. Pasta with buttery mushrooms and parmesan is a nice, mildly flavored dinner. It’s filling, pairs well with red wine, and makes for nice leftovers. Egg yolk adds a creamy element, balanced by the nutty flavor of buckwheat groats (Alison’s mark on this classic recipe). Gluten free noodles work just as well here. 

In lieu of a full essay, here’s a haiku: 

Sometimes I don’t have 

Much to say about cheesy 

Rigatoni pasta

193 recipes cooked, 32 to go.

Chicken Soup with Toasted Garlic, Mushrooms, and Celery by Alison Roman

Throughout this project, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how food can heal. Last January, I was physically in need of some serious healing. Rest helped, getting back into an exercise rhythm helped, but food saved me. 

Jordan and I had both been working jobs that left little to no bandwidth for anything beyond them. Rhythms and relationships got thrown to the curb as we flipped the “survival mode” switch to “On.” Meals mostly consisted of pre-made dinners from Trader Joes and Door Dash orders. We ate for fuel, not pleasure. 

Now, I realize that there are seasons in most peoples’ lives when survival mode is the only option. And there’s actually nothing wrong with Door Dash – we still use it today! (I also realize how privileged it is to even have access to Door Dash!) But it wasn’t until I quit my job and gained back the time and energy to cook for us that I started to heal. (You can read more about my thoughts on the importance of cooking rhythms here.)

Making things from scratch, besides the clear health benefits (isn’t it nice to know what’s actually in your food?), has brought great healing in my life. Yes, I was one of those people who started making sourdough during the pandemic. And yes, I actually do have a loaf proving in my oven as I write this. I love making my own bread. Another joy has been saving chicken bones and making bone broth. I first made Alison’s Golden Broth with Turmeric and Garlic, which is also the base for this chicken soup, on the day that I got my second CD-19 vaccine. I decided to make the broth again, and this soup, on the day I got my CD-19 booster shot. Seemed only fitting! 

The broth, bursting with complex flavor, was even better than I remembered. I made two adjustments from last time: I used turmeric root instead of ground turmeric, and used a combination of chicken carcass and turkey carcass leftover from Thanksgiving dinner. Let’s just say I’ll never throw turkey bones away again. 

After spending about four hours making the broth, I turned to the soup, starting with the toasted garlic. Toasted garlic is actually the soup’s topping, but by no means can it be missed. I let the garlic slices turn a warm, golden brown at the bottom of my Dutch oven and spooned them out as they reached peak color, being sure not to take them all out at once so the stragglers could toast, too. (Pro tip: I sprinkled the leftover garlic chips on a pizza the next day, and OH MY!)

Leaving the garlicky oil behind, I threw in two large shallots, thinly sliced into rings. They spent just a few minutes getting loosely crispy before the mushrooms joined. I really liked how the soup maintained a distinct, but subtle shallot flavor, especially with all of the other potent ingredients in this recipe. For that reason, I would strongly caution against substituting shallot for a different kind of onion, as some are wont to do. For the mushrooms, I used a combination of oyster, shiitake, maitake, and lobster, all found at Whole Foods. After roughly five minutes of releasing lots of steam, I poured in the broth and brought it to a simmer so the shallot and mushrooms could infuse the broth. 

Two days before, I made Alison’s Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken. I saved the bones for this broth, and the leftover meat for this soup! A true Laura Ingalls Wilder moment. The chicken and celery need only a few minutes to warm through in the broth before the soup is ready for bowls. Before serving, I mixed in a half teaspoon of fish sauce, which made the broth all the richer. Alison says it’s optional, but I think it should be mandatory. 

I took Alison’s side note seriously and made brown rice noodles to go along with the soup, which made it more filling and hearty. I topped each bowl with cilantro and the toasted garlic chips. Wow, what an incredible soup. My serious compliments to the recipe creator! I recently ate at an up-and-coming ramen restaurant in Chicago called High-Five Ramen. Their broth may be the best ramen broth I’ve ever tasted. And Alison’s broth truly rivals it! It even got better with age – leftovers were a highlight these last few days. 

Three days after my booster shot, I tested positive for CD-19. Instead of driving to see family, our Christmas will be spent in quarantine. Food can’t heal everything, but I’m grateful to recover with Jordan next to me and lots of time to cook the remaining recipes for this project. 

Merry Christmas Eve! I wish anyone reading this a safe holiday, filled with wonder and good food. 

192 recipes cooked, 33 to go.

Tiny Creamy Pasta with Black Pepper and Pecorino by Alison Roman

I really enjoy tiny kitchen things. Tiny forks for eating grapes, tiny spoons for eating ice cream, tiny knives for cutting fancy cheese, tiny cups for juice, tiny plates for biscuits, and tiny bowls for everything! (I have four of them and affectionately call them my ‘mini bowls’ in a very particular voice intonation). 

So of course I was giddy when I saw a recipe for tiny pasta! Now, GF tiny pasta is hard to find. The best I could do were these tiny pasta shells by Jovial, which let me say, were delicious. I couldn’t tell they were GF - they held their structure, toasted nicely in the pot at the beginning, and their texture was like authentic pasta, no mushiness or mealiness to be found. 

I made this warm, wintery meal for my mother and sister who came to visit me in Chicago. It was a perfect weekend together, full of Christmas-y activities, including wearing matching pajamas. After spending much of the day walking around in the cold, our final evening consisted of this tiny pasta in my apartment with the heater on blast. 

It’s a simple and surprisingly creamy endeavor. In my Dutch oven, I toasted sliced garlic (from two extraordinarily large cloves!). Soon after, the pasta joins and the goal is to toast the shells in the garlicky oil so they develop a slightly nutty flavor. Once I could smell the toasting pasta, I added salt, lots of black pepper, a cup of finely grated Parmesan (this works if you don’t have pecorino) and several cups of water. The water needs to simmer for about 22 minutes, until fully absorbed and reduced to a creamy, cheesy sauce. Alison instructs us to stir frequently, which encourages the pasta to release its starch, thickening up the sauce and turning the water an opaque white. 

I plated (or should I say bowled?) the pasta and topped it with chopped chives and more black pepper. On most days, I would have chosen to add the raw egg yolk like Alison, but on this day, I just wasn’t in the mood. I served the pasta alongside Alison’s Raw Broccoli Salad with Shallots and Peanuts — a vegetable dish that completely surprised me. That one’s coming up next. 

This pasta is like a sophisticated, slightly more complicated mac and cheese, and it still only takes 25 minutes. Let’s just say I won’t be making regular mac and cheese again any time soon.

185 recipes cooked, 40 to go.