Jennifer Chandler - Simply Suppers: Easy Comfort Food Your Whole Family Will Love

Simply Suppers

Easy Comfort Food Your Whole Family Will Love

by Jennifer Chandler
with photography by Natalie Root

2010 by Jennifer Chandler

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Photos by Natalie Root Photography

Photos are from Photos.com.
Photos are from Brand X Pictures.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010930935

ISBN: 978-1-4016-0059-4

Printed in the United States of America

10 11 12 13 14 WC 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my favorite people to
enjoy supper with:
Paul, Hannah, and Sarah

Contents

C omfort is a gift we give our friends and family when we feed them.

Good food isnt about being gourmet... its about being delicious. In fact, some of our favorite foods are the simplest dishes.

Think about it. Arent there certain foods that make you feel good inside just thinking about them?

Maybe a gooey macncheese, a perfectly roasted chicken, or creamy mashed potatoes? For me, its warm brownies fresh from the oven, a simple grilled cheese sandwich, and my grandmothers eggplant casserole.

Comfort food is all about home cooking. Dishes that warm our souls and put a smile on our faces. Thats what I want for supper. Dont you?

I wrote Simply Suppers to help you put good food on your table. This book includes my tried-and-true recipes that I make over and over again. My wish is that some of the recipes in this book will become your favorites too.

Some of the recipes will be familiar. Some dishes may evoke memories of your childhood. Some may be new to you. But I guarantee they will all taste great. These are the kinds of recipes that you will want to share at supper clubs, pass down through generations of your family, and swap over coffee.

Many of these dishes can be thrown together in minutes; others need to simmer slowly. But all are simple to prepare.

The recipes in Simply Suppers are those of family traditions. So start cooking together. Include your family, friends, and children in the kitchen. And no matter how simple the meal, sit down together, and enjoy the comfort of good food and good company.

Enjoy!

I ts a daily question. Whether eating alone or feeding others, you will ask yourself (or be asked) Whats for supper?

With time at a premium, many of us opt for processed convenience foods or on-the-go meals from fast-food restaurants for dinner. Not only are these choices usually more expensive than homemade, they are often not the healthiest or tastiest.

Simply Suppers gives you an alternative.

It is simple to pull together delicious home-cooked meals if you are equipped with a few strategies.

Be armed with a repertoire of basic cooking techniques. When choosing the recipes to include in this book, I intentionally included a variety of cooking skills. Sauting, pan-roasting, braising, baking, and making sauces are all simple techniques that can be used to make an infinite number of dishes.

Make it easy on yourself and take the stress out of cooking. Use shortcut ingredients, like rotisserie chicken and frozen vegetables. Do whatever you can in advance, keeping in mind that some dishes actually taste better the next day. Make double batches of recipes that freeze well so you will always have a home-cooked meal available in the freezer.

Use the best ingredients. The key to delicious food is simple: use fresh, in-season, top-quality ingredients. And remember, best does not always mean the most expensive. Let flavor be your guide when choosing what goes into your food.

Maintain a well-stocked kitchen (see page xii for my Well-Stocked Kitchen list). Having the right ingredients in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer can make the difference between ordering take-out pizza and having a delicious last-minute meal.

Taste as you go. By tasting a spoonful here and there through the cooking process, you will see if you need to add a little more of something. And always be sure to taste your dish before serving to make sure you dont need one more dash of salt or pepper or a tablespoon of cream or butter to round out the flavor.

Tips

What are the questions you often have when reading a recipe?

What can I do ahead? Can I freeze this? What is a good substitute?

I tried to think of all the different tips and variations that I wished the cookbooks on my shelves offered. Here are six basic tips you will find throughout Simply Suppers that will help you get healthy, delicious meals on the table... even on your busiest day.

Cooking Tips: Detailed information on cooking techniques, substitutes, and Food Facts about the dishes and specific ingredients.

Variations: Tips on how to put a unique spin on a classic dish.

Do Ahead: Tips and strategies to take the stress out of dinnertime.

Time-Saving Tips: Substitutes and shortcuts to save a little time in the kitchen.

Back-to-the-Basics: Recipe modifications for a simpler version.

Freezes Well: This icon lets you know which dishes are perfect for freezing.

30 recipes that can quickly be whipped up in about 30 minutes

Soups

1. Chicken Tortilla Soup

Poultry

2. Barbecue Chicken Drumsticks

3. Chicken la King

4. Chicken Cordon Bleu

5. Chicken Parmesan

6. Potato Chip Chicken Tenders

7. Turkey Burgers

Fish

8. Blackened Catfish

9. Crawfish touffe

10. Pan-Roasted Sea Bass with Chive-Garlic Compound Butter

11. Shrimp and Grits

12. Shrimp Scampi

Beef and Pork

13. Apricot Pork Tenderloin

14. Beef Tostadas

15. Cheeseburger Pie

16. Garlic and Rosemary Lamb Chops

17. Peppered Filets with a Grainy Mustard Cream Sauce

18. Veal Piccata

Pasta

19. Bow-tie Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto

20. Pasta Carbonara

21. Shrimp Alfredo

22. Vongole Clam Sauce

Sandwiches

23. Chicken, Roasted Poblano, and Corn Quesadillas

24. Meatball Sub

25. Reuben

26. Sloppy Joes