Apple, garlic, & sage roasted chicken

Chicken, whole, rinsed, fat trimmed	1
Butter, room temperature	¼ cup
Garlic bulb, ½ cloves minced, ½ cloves crushed	1
Lemon zest	1 lemon
Apple, Granny Smith, cored, chunked	1
Sage, fresh, rubbed and torn	10 leaves
Salt
Pepper, freshly ground

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a small bowl, combine butter, minced garlic, and lemon zest.
3. In another small bowl, combine apples, sage, and crushed garlic.
4. Place rinsed chicken in roasting pan.
5. Cut slits in skin on both sides of the chicken, and insert fingers to loosen the skin from the meat.
6. Divide and stuff butter mixture under skin through the holes, rub any remaining on surface of skin.
7. Stuff apple mixture inside the chicken.
8. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
9. Cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes
10. Remove foil, continue baking, basting occasional with juices, until meat registers 165°F.

Slow-cooker wild mushroom soup

Mushrooms, wild (morels, ceps, porcini), dried	½ cup
Chicken or vegetable stock, hot	2 ½ cups
Butter	2 tablespoons
Onion, finely chopped	1
Garlic cloves, crushed	2
Mushrooms, trimmed, sliced	1 pound
Flour, all-purpose	1 tablespoon
Nutmeg, freshly ground
Thyme, dried	¼ teaspoon
Madeira or dry sherry	4 tablespoons
Black peppers, freshly ground
Salt
Crème fraîche or sour cream	4 tablespoons
Chives, fresh, chopped	Garnish

1. Strain dried mushrooms with cold running water to remove any grit, and then place in your slow-cooker.
2. Pour half of the hot stock over the mushrooms, and cover with the lid; set to HIGH.
3. Melt butter in large pan over medium heat.
4. Add onions, and cook 7 minutes, until soft and golden.
5. Add garlic and fresh mushrooms, and cook 5 minutes.
6. Sprinkle flour over the mixture, grate some nutmeg, and add the thyme.
7. Cook 3 minutes more, stirring continuously.
8. Stir in Madeira or sherry and the remaining stock, and season with salt and pepper.
9. Bring to a boil, and then transfer to the slow-cooker.
10. Cook for 1 hour, and then switch the cooker to LOW; cook for 3 to 4 hours more, or until the mushrooms are tender.
11. Ladle the soup into a food processor or blender, and process until smooth.
12. Reheat the soup until hot, and then stir in half of the crème fraîche or sour cream.

Cioppino

Olive oil	¼ cup
Onions, yellow, chopped	2
Bell peppers, red, chopped	2
Garlic cloves, minced	4
Bay leaves, broken in half	2
Tomatoes, diced	29 ounces
Wine, dry red	¾ cup
Wine, dry white	½ cup
Oregano, fresh, chopped	2 tablespoons
Thyme, fresh, chopped	2 tablespoons
Fish fillets (halibut or monkfish), cut into 1-inch chunks	¾ pound
Clams, small, scrubbed	1 pound
Crab claws, or other lump crabmeat	1 pound claws ½ pound lump
Shrimp, large, peeled, deveined	20
Tabasco hot sauce	½ teaspoon
Salt
Black pepper, freshly ground

1. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
2. Add the onions and bell peppers; sauté until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic; sauté for 30 seconds.
4. Add the bay leaves, tomatoes, and red and white wines; bring to a simmer.
5. Partially cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.
6. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
7. Add the oregano, thyme, fish, and clams. Discard any clams that do not close to the touch.
8. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
9. Add the crab and shrimp, cover, and cook until the shrimp and fish are opaque throughout and the clams have opened, 3 to 4 minutes.
10. Discard any clams that failed to open.
11. Stir in the hot sauce, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recipe from William-Sonoma's Essentials of Slow Cooking.

Thai curry seafood stew

Curry powder	1 tablespoon
Coconut milk, unsweetened	13.5 ounces
Ginger root, peeled, grated	3 tablespoon
Limes, large, rolled, juiced	2
Water	½ cup
Carrots, shredded	1 ½ cups
Purple cabbage, shredded	1 ½ cups
Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped	1
Thai basil	1 bunch
Oyster sauce	2 tablespoons
Salt	Pinch
Sea scallops	1 pound
Butter, unsalted	¼ cup
Olive oil	4 tablespoons
Garlic cloves, peeled, coarsely chopped	5
Clams, littleneck or mahogany, rinsed in salt water until runs clean	1 ½ pounds
Shrimp, large, cleaned, deveined	1 pound

1. Preheat slow cooker for at least 20 minutes on High.
2. Add curry powder and coconut milk; whisk to combine.
3. Stir in ginger, juice of 1 lime, and water.
4. Stir in carrots, cabbage, and onion.
5. Cook for 3 hours on High (6 hours on Low).
6. During last half hour of cooking, add remaining lime juice, oyster sauce, salt, and basil.
7. In a heavy sauce pan with a lid, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil with garlic over medium heat.
8. Add clams and garlic, and cook, covered, until opened. Discard any that do not open. Add to slow cooker.
9. Melt remaining butter over medium-high heat in sauce pan.
10. Sauté shrimp and scallops until just cooked, turning as shrimp turn pink and scallops turn golden brown. Add to slow cooker.
11. Season to taste, and garnish with more freshly torn basil. Serve over rice.

Fried chicken

Chicken, cut into pieces	3 to 4 pounds
Kosher salt
Flour, all-purpose	3 cups
Garlic powder	2 tablespoons
Onion powder	2 tablespoons
Sweet paprika	2 tablespoons
Cayenne	2 teaspoons
Black pepper, freshly ground
Buttermilk	1 quart
Chili sauce, hot	2 tablespoons
Peanut oil
Thyme, fresh	¼ bunch
Rosemary, large sprigs	2
Garlic head, smashed with husk	½

1. Place chicken in a large bowl. Cover the chicken with water by 1 inch; add 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water used. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. In a large shallow platter, mix flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne until well combined. In another dish, combine the buttermilk and hot sauce.
3. Drain the chicken, and pat it dry.
4. Dredge the pieces, a few at a time, in the flour mixture, dip them into buttermilk and then flour again.
5. Set aside and let the chicken rest while you prepare the oil.
6. Place about 3 inches of oil into a large deep pot; it should not come up more than half way.
7. Add the thyme, rosemary, and garlic to the cool oil, and heat over medium-high heat until oil registers at 350 to 365. Remove herbs and garlic.
8. Working in batches, carefully add the chicken pieces three to four at a time.
9. Fry, turning the pieces once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 12 minutes, and then drain.

Key lime pie

Crust
Graham cracker crumbs	1 ½ cups
Sugar	2 tablespoons
Butter, melted	5 tablespoons
Filling
Sweetened condensed milk	14 ounces
Egg yolks	4
Key lime juice, freshly squeezed	½ cup + 2 tablespoons
Topping
Heavy cream	½ cup

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until well combined.
3. Press mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch (4-cup) glass pie plate.
4. Bake crust on middle rack of the oven for 10 minutes; cool on a rack.
5. Whisk together condensed milk and yolks until well combined.
6. Add juice, and whisk until well combined (thickens slightly while mixing).
7. Pour filling into the crust, and bake for 15 minutes.
8. Cool pie completely on a rack (filling will set as it cools), and then chill, covered, for 8 hours.
9. Whip cream until stiff peaks form; serve atop pie.

Variation: Trying my first key lime pie tonight without key limes due to lack of availability. To compensate, I added 1 tablespoon of lime zest to the juice-yolk-milk mixture.