butter loves company

new york food blogger and lifestyle influencer

one skillet chicken and saffron rice

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This chicken and saffron rice in my new cast iron skillet instantly spirited me back to weeknight dinners my mom used to make when I lived at home. The fall-off-the bone chicken, the yellow sticky rice enhanced by the mysterious flavor of saffron, the pops of green peas and the salty Spanish pimiento stuffed olives. Not to mention, the crispy burnt bits of rice that get stuck to the bottom of the pan during cooking—everything about it reminded me of my mom and full-blooded Portuguese grandmother. I don’t know if the dish is traditionally Portuguese, but it was our Portuguese.

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Chicken and Rice recipe from the book “How to Cook Everything,” this one-pot recipe a weeknight staple you’ll want make over and over. Saffron can be a bit pricey, but it really only takes a pinch to flavor the whole dish. I always find mine at a discount at TJ Maxx or Homegoods. Your senses will be shocked at how just a little bit of the red threaded spice will transform the flavor, color and aroma of plain white rice. If you can’t find saffron you can still make this dish successfully. Feel free to experiment with different spices or veggies you have hanging around.

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One Skillet Chicken and Saffron Rice
Adapted from Mark Bittman

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: About 1 hour
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2–3 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken (thighs, breasts and/or drumsticks)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon hot Spanish paprika, optional
2 medium onions, diced (I diced this while the chicken was cooking in step 1 to save time)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I also minced this while the chicken was cooking; one point for efficiency!)
1½ cups short- grain white rice
Pinch saffron threads*
3½ cups water, chicken stock or vegetable stock, or more as needed
1 cup frozen peas
½ cup Spanish Manzanilla Olives

Instructions:

  1. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken skin with salt, pepper and the paprika—if using. When the oil is hot, add the chicken skin side down. Sprinkle the bottoms with salt and pepper and cook undisturbed—adjusting the heat so it doesn’t burn but is consistently sizzling—until the pieces release easily from the pan, 5 to 10 minutes. Then turn and rotate the chicken every few minutes to brown evenly. Once the chicken pieces brown, let cook for another 5 to 10 minutes then remove them from the pan.
  2. Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium and pour or spoon off the oil until only about 2 tablespoons remain. Add the onions to the pan and cook—stirring frequently—until they soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and rice and stir to coat the rice with a nice glossy sheen. Crumble in the saffron threads, if using.
  3. Return the chicken to the pan, add the water and stir gently to combine everything. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat so it bubbles gently but steadily. Cover the skillet and cook undisturbed for 20 minutes—then check the rice and chicken. The goal is to have the liquid absorbed, the rice tender and the chicken cooked through. If the water has been absorbed but the rice is not cooked, add another ¼ cup water and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. The meat is done when a quick-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 155–165°F.
  4. Remove the skillet from the heat. Taste the rice and salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the peas and olives then cover the pan again and let it sit for 5 to 15 minutes. Serve.

* If you don’t have saffron you can still make this dish, but I would encourage you to use the 3½ cups of stock versus water to add more flavor to the rice.

cacio e pepe

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cacio e pepe pasta recipeA simple, cheesy, creamy, peppery Roman pasta dish on your table in 20 minutes.

I would rather clean the bathroom than do a load of laundry. Call me crazy, but it’s true! I hope fellow Laundromat goers can relate.

Luckily for me, my super cool roommate (boyfriend) is a laundry fanatic. At this point, I’ve been banned from doing said roommates laundry because of my “poor technique.” Even just last night, I attempted to help fold some shirts from the mountain of warm, clean clothes, only to catch my fold jobs being refolded at the turn of my head *ahem*.

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So, to thank my resident laundry-pro for his hard work—and as an attempted peace offering for leaving chap stick in a pants pocket that went through last week’s wash *gulp*—I wanted to make a tasty weeknight dinner that he could enjoy.

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He is a big pepper person, so if you are too, you will love this simple, cheesy, peppery Roman pasta dish.

Even non-pepper people will love this. Hey, even picky kids would probably love this as a take on mac and cheese.


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Called Cacio e Pepe, literally meaning cheese and pepper in Italian, this minimalist pasta dish is so great because it is made with just 6 ingredients and its deliciousness is on your table in 15–20 minutes. Like I often do, I read a Shaq-sized handful of recipes for Cacio e Pepe before making it myself. The key to this creamy, cheesy, peppery-spiced pasta is in the technique. You’ll heat the pepper in a small bit of oil first to help develop its flavor. You’ll use the starchy pasta water to make the sauce; coupling it with a little bit of butter and a generous portion of finely grated, sharp Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. I used fresh bucatini because there is a fabulous fresh pasta shop near my apartment, but feel free to use dry. If you can find it, I strongly recommend bucatini (spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center). I served it with some simple sautéed kale to make myself feel better. I mean, we did just have this cake.

The result is a restaurant quality dish that even the busiest novice home cook can master and impress with.

I loved this so much I made it two days in a row because I was so excited to share it with you.

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cacio e pepe
Author: Adapted from Maialino via The Family Table Cookbook
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: Makes 2 main servings or 4 starter courses. Recipe can easily be doubled.
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon table salt
  • ½ pound pasta (any shape you like, though long spaghetti-like pasta works great.)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ tablespoon medium-course fresh ground black pepper (if you don’t really like pepper, reduce to 1 teaspoon)
  • 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
  • ½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus ¼ cup extra for garnishing
Instructions
  1. Bring 6 cups water and the salt to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the pasta, stir, and cook until just al dente; the pasta will be reheated for a minute or two later on (keep in mind, when using fresh pasta cook time will be a few minutes shorter than dry).
  2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pepper and warm for 1 to 2 minutes to release its flavor. Ladle ⅔ cup of the pasta cooking water into the skillet with the pepper and remove the pan from heat.
  3. When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the pepper/pasta water skillet. Return the pan to medium-high heat, add the butter, and cook, stirring constantly until the butter has melted completely. Remove from heat and gradually sprinkle the cheese over the pasta, stirring the pan until the cheese is fully incorporated and forms a creamy sauce. Taste the sauce and add more pepper if you’d like.
  4. Serve immediately topped with the remaining grated cheese.

 

pea, fennel and leek soup

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pea, fennel and leek soup recipe 1A recipe for a light, healthy, pea, fennel and leek soup. Fennel adds a subtle anise flavor to the sweet leek and pea puree; completed with sharp, salty, shaved Parmesan.

Sometimes it scares me how similar my mom and I think: I buy lots of fennel on Saturday, and she has the family over for a fennel filled, porchetta on Sunday (wrapped in prosciutto, no less). The bright green, feathered tips of the fennel—the fronds—were generously rolled into the meat, like cinnamon in cinnamon buns. While I like fennel, the thought of making another heavily fennel flavored dish seemed like it could be overload for one week. I needed to use my fennel in a more subtle way (call me a fennel-phobe, I can take it).

What resulted was an adaptation of the Fennel, Lettuce, and Pea soup recipe from Giada de Laurentiis’ Feel Good Food.  I had no lettuce, so I subbed with leftover leeks that didn’t make it into my boyfriend’s St. Patrick’s Day boiled dinner. To keep the fennel light in the soup, I omitted the fennel seeds she had called for, instead adding a bay leaf for flavor during the cook time. The result was a creamy, nourishing soup with a gorgeous sea foam green color. You’ll love this recipe if you’re looking for a friendly introduction to this licorice-flavored vegetable. The bright, sweet pea soup balances the anise flavor enough to please both sides of the fennel divide; the lovers and the skeptics. Of course, feel free to add another ½ or full fennel bulb if you’re entertaining a group of fennel fans.

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pea, fennel and leek soup
Recipe Type: soup
Author: adapted slightly from Giada de Laurentiis, Feel Good Food
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A recipe for a light, healthy, pea, fennel and leek soup. Fennel adds a subtle anise flavor to the sweet leek and pea puree; completed with sharp, salty, shaved Parmesan.
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 small shallots, diced
  • 1 medium fennel bulb, chopped (about 2 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, cut into ¼ inch slices
  • One 10-ounce package frozen petite peas (about 2 ¼ cups)
  • 2 cups low-salt chicken broth, plus extra, as needed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • shredded parmesan, for garnishing (optional, only, not really)
  • fennel fronds, for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
  1. Melt the butter in a heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and fennel. Season with the salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the leeks and continue to cook until all the vegetables are almost tender, another 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in the peas, broth, and bay leaf. Bring the soup to a boil. Cover; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the bay leaf from the saucepan and discard.
  2. Using a blender, or immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. If using a standing blender, take the saucepan off of the heat for 5 minutes and then blend just 1 cup at a time. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Thin out the soup by adding 1 tablespoon of extra broth at a time, if needed.
  3. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and a pinch of fennel fronds.

 

carrot ginger soup

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I’m not sure what it is, but this week I have caught myself on the train daydreaming about sweets on more than one occasion. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if the people I ride the train with could hear my thoughts. Yesterday, the woman on my left would have heard a buttery biscuit stuffed with juicy, roasted strawberries and whipped cream; and this morning, the man on my right, a moist, nutty carrot cake with rich cream cheese frosting and a fudgy chocolate brownie with salty caramel sauce. I’m not sure what it is, but I think maybe, just maybe, these ‘sweet thoughts’ are my brain’s attempt to resist all of the “New Year’s” diet advertising flooding TVs, magazines, and websites.

Because I too indulged a bit over the holidays, today I’m surrendering myself to the “New Year, new you” campaign with a light, easy, veggie focused dinner. I do love veggies and their ability to make you feel great.

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I chose this Carrot Ginger Soup for a number of reasons:

    1. I really like making soup because I think the leftovers are perfect to bring to work for lunch.
    2. It has very few ingredients and requires only a couple of dishes and one pot, which is something those of us without dishwashers love.
    3. Carrots have been long associated with eye health, and anyone around me knows that I have been obnoxiously complaining about my weakening vision. If I tell my boyfriend, Greg, one more time that I can’t see the score on the TV, the same TV I told him I couldn’t see the score on the night before, and the night before, and the night before, I fear even the best gentleman may change the locks on the door!

So, with that, I give you the Carrot Ginger Soup I’ll be enjoying the rest of the week. It’s not necessarily groundbreaking, but is a great addition to the weeknight rotation a few times a year and would also be excellent as a first course at a dinner party.

I promise I’ll also post something sweet this week to satisfy my cravings (and maybe yours!). If I don’t, I’m afraid next time I might daydream so long I miss my stop!
Step 3

Step 3

Step 4

Step 4

Voilà!

Voilà!

Carrot Ginger Soup
Recipe Type: Soup
Author: Butter Loves Company
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 onions, peeled and chopped
  • 2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sour cream or Greek Yogurt, for serving (optional)
  • Scallions or chives, sliced thin, for serving (optional)
Instructions
  1. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, cover and cook over low heat until tender and lightly colored. About 25 minutes.
  2. Add carrots, ginger and 4 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil.
  3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 30 minutes.
  4. Either puree soup in batches with a blender or food processor or use an immersion blender right in the pot. Blend until smooth. If using a blender, return the soup to the pot.
  5. Add soy sauce and 1-2 additional cups chicken broth to reach desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with sour cream and scallions or chives.

 

Hi! I'm Jenna, founder of butter loves company. From holidays to Tuesdays, let's find a way to make every meal special.
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