The Anatomy of a Food Gift..the when, how,what and why

Giving...it's what we do, right? We give for birthdays, Christmas, holidays of all kinds, new neighbors and saying goodbye. We thank people for hosting us by giving a gift. We thank our mail carriers, our garbage men, our baby sitters and friends with gifts. We share condolences and hope for a speedy recovery with a gift.What is your go to gift? Is it a box of note cards, a bottle of wine, a knick knack ( oh I don't like that kind)? Do you try to be different all the time? Do you think about who the recipient is before you decide what to give? Do you have people in your life who are impossible to buy a gift for? These are things I think about, deep aren't I?

When it is time for a gift I do all of the above. I have a mental Roll-a-Dex that I store away food ideas for all those people in my life. For the big holidays my services are you usually put to task creating yummy stuff for others to give as a gift. If someone is under the weather, a death, or happy occasions like new baby I love to make meals from start to finish. Meals that the family may not have on an average Tuesday evening. When you move in my neighborhood there will be baked goods. If a friend needs a pick me up it is all about soup and homemade breads. Birthdays, you would think that is all about the cake, not with me. It is a hot pan of sticky buns or delicate scones. Sure I can whip up a cake for the best of them but I am more likely to make you a Coconut Custard pie.

My gift to those around me is always food. Well thought out, food. My favorites to make are(in no particular order) cinnamon raisin bread, soups of all kinds, roasted and stuffed chicken, scones, and Pie.My kids are big givers of my food gifts here are some of their favorites; layered brownie birthday cake, giant pizza cookies  and the yummy mashed up rocky road cookies (aka, Rocky Road hot lips). As for the teachers in their lives it is hot fresh scones first thing in the morning or neatly tied and packaged biscotti for afternoon coffee.

The culture of gift giving is a bit out of control. We give til it hurts (or think we should). Countless dollars spent without much thought, mostly on gift cards, every year. This is not the kind of gift card from someones favorite little shop or for a splurge that you will not allow yourself. This is about the zillions of dollars spent on Starbucks cards, itunes, or video game cards. You can pick them up anywhere; drugstores, grocery stores, gas stations for varying amounts. Can I tell you how many gift cards have made the way into my house where the gift receiver did not have an iPod or video game console? Do not even get me started on the enticing of the young to become coffee drinkers because that shiny green gift card was  at the right place next to the cash register.  Much like the locavore movement make a pledge with yourself to dig deeper when it is time to give a gift. Think of the gift receiver. My best birthday gift ever was a gift about me making time to relax; the trashy books I like to read, relaxing scents and a pillow for my aching neck. It was thoughtful and the givers took time thinking of me. Each time I need to give, I am going to dig into my recipe box and make it something special.

Tomorrow is my Father in Law's 87th Birthday...The best gift I can give him will be a scrumptious
Coconut Cream pie. Here is how I make it.

Begin with a fully baked basic pie crust.

Coconut Cream Pie filling-Coconut custard preparations

Combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and mix. Slowly stir in milk, grated fresh coconut (freezer section) and evaporated milk. Place on stove top on medium heat and stir frequently until until the mixture boils. Stir as it boils for one minute. Remove from heat, take one cup of the warm liquid in a heat proof measure.

Slowly add the warm coconut and milk mixture into egg yolks. Mix well to be sure eggs do not scramble. Add heated egg mixture into the sauce an with the remaining milk and coconut mixture.

Return to medium low heat and stir until thickens and comes back to a boil, boil one minute.

Add butter and vanilla extract and stir until butter is melted.

Pour the custard in the baked pie crust and chill for 3 hours. Top with meringue and toasted coconut before serving.

Pesto Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup...It goes with the change in the weather

This is Virginia and the weather has changed again. It is wet and cold here at the beach. A great day to bake bread and make a big pot of soup. That is were I started this morning. The number one request was for Chicken Noodle. Today, in the cold and rain I put a new twist on the chicken noodle of your childhood memories. There was a brief intention to make a crusty loaf of french bread to go along with my soup for dinner. It was dashed when my oven began beeping and a message flashed across its LED screen telling me to call a repair man. The bread will have to be for the next cold winter day.

Soup should start with a good sweat of aromatic vegetable. I love to start with sweet onions and celery. I prefer to sweat the mirepoix for soup as it cuts down on the need for added oil. To the mirepoix adding fresh herbs or a mixture of dried herbs and spices helps to infuse the flavor through out the the soup through the broth.

My go to vegetables no matter what the soup. If it is in the stock pot these four things will be there nicely diced and ready to build a better soup.

Prepare the basil pesto or a pistou...made for soup.In a food processor add garlic, sea salt, fresh basil leaves and ground black pepper. To this add 1/4 cup olive oil to bring it all together.

Blend  and add additional oil a Tablespoon at a time if needed to create the paste. Above see the beginning of the puree step.

This has the right amount of oil but needs further puree.

The perfect consistency for a Pistou to be added to soup, season the chicken and garnish the finished soup.

Baste 3 large chicken breast with pistou. Roast at 375 for 45 minutes.

The aromatic vegetables are used to start  the sweat process. Flavor is added to the soup  with  a heaping Tablespoon of pistou.  Just enough chicken broth is added so you can see it peek through the celery and onions. At this stage you do not want you vegetables to float.

Next, add the carrots and potato to the stock pot and stir into the translucent onions and celery. 

Once the root vegetables have been added cover the ingredients completely with stock. Here you want enough stock for the veggies just to float. Simmer until potatoes and carrots are just tender..

Roasted Pesto Chicken after  baking.

Dice the chicken in fat pieces(  because I have boys that want to know the protein is in there).

To finish this soup the meat is added and most of the  remaining ( reserve about 1 cup of this final stock), stock and continue  to simmer. The reserved cup bring to a boil and thicken with a whitewash of cornstarch and water. Soup broth is even more luscious when it has a silky thickness. The chicken broth thickens quickly with the addition of the cornstarch and water then add this to the simmering soup. Check the taste for S& P balance..add some here if needed. I cook extra large egg noodles and add then to the soup as it is served. This soup is lovely with shreds of Parmesan.

Pesto Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup:

3 large chicken breast (about 2 lbs)

3 medium sweet onions diced

6 ribs of celery split and chopped

5 carrots split and sliced

2 large potatoes peeled and diced

2 1/2  quarts chicken stock (in a hurry I use store bought)

White wash

1 1/2 T corn starch

3T cool water (stir until smooth and no lumps)

Pistou (Pesto)

4-5 cloves garlic

2 t sea salt

1t black pepper

1 bunch fresh sweet basil

1/4 c olive oil

16 ounce cooked pasta of choice

( Classic egg noodle are shown above)