The Ungourmet: blogger aid

As some of you may already know, I am a member of Blogger Aid. Blogger Aid-Changing the Face of Famine is a group of bloggers determined to aid in the relief of world hunger. To find out more or to band together with us, please click on the link above.

Blogger Aid has a wonderful program called View and Review. It is an opportunity for members to view cookbooks generously provided by various publishers and food purveyors. We are then able to prepare some of the scrumptious recipes and write up a blog review.

I was thrilled to receive The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern from
Clarkson Potter Publishers. This cookbook is right up my alley. It's just bursting with simple but delightfully fresh and flavorful southern inspired recipes. The photographs are spectacular as well.

It was difficult to choose which recipes to prepare for this review. They are all so tempting! I finally settled on Whole Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Onions and Butternut Squash Soup with Rosemary.

Whole Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Onions

1 large yellow or white onion, quartered
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pound Yukon Gold or other waxy yellow potatoes, cut into 1 1/2" pieces
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
One 3 1/2 pound whole chicken, giblets removed, rinsed and dried inside and out
1 large lemon, halved
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine

Heat oven to 425 degrees with rack positioned in the middle of the oven.

Combine the onion, carrot, and potatoes in a medium cast iron skillet or 2 quart oven proof baking dish. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of the salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, and toss until evenly coated. Place the chicken, breast side down, on the vegetables and squeeze one lemon half over the back of the chicken. Season the chicken with 1/2 tsp of the salt and 1/4 tsp of the pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, then remove briefly from the oven.

Lift the bird, pour the broth and wine over the vegetables in the pan, and move them around a bit with a wooden spoon. Using two set of tongs, flip the bird over so that it is breast side up. Squeeze the remaining lemon over the chicken and season with the remaining salt and pepper. Roast until the skin is nicely browned on top, about 40 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables and spoonfuls of the lemony pan sauce.

I loved being able to roast the chicken right in my cast iron pan. It had a wonderful lemon flavor and was juicy and delicious. I will make this one again for sure.

The next recipe is Butternut Squash Soup with Rosemary. I think this would be a wonderful start to any Thanksgiving dinner!

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
1/3 cup finely diced country or Serrano ham
1 tbsp minced garlic (about 3 large cloves)
One 2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch dice (4 cups)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 cup whole or low fat buttermilk, plus more to garnish
Freshly ground black cracked pepper, for garnish

Pour olive oil into a 12 inch skillet set over medium low heat. Once the oil warms, addd the rosemary, ham, and garlic and stir constantly for about 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant but not browning.

Turn the heat to low, add the squash, and stir to about 30 seconds to coat the pieces with oil. Let cook for a minute linger, still stirring. Then add 3 cups water and cover the skillet. Turn up the heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Turn down heat so that the liquid is simmering, stir in the salt, and cook, covered, for 7 minutes, until the squash is tender but not dissolving into the soup.

Using an immersion blender or transferring to a food processor (in batches if necessary), blend the soup until just a few chunks of squash and ham are still visible in the puree. Add the buttermilk and stir to incorporate.

Serve in large bowls, and as a final touch, loosely stir a tbsp of buttermilk into each, leaving a trail of white. Season with a grind of black pepper.

This is a lovely soup! If you have vegetarians coming over for Thanksgiving you could leave out the ham. I think it would be every bit as terrific.

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I appreciate being able to be a part of such a worthwhile organization and to have had the opportunity to view and review this beautiful cookbook!

Blogger Aid has a new cookbook coming out very soon. It has loads of amazing Blogger Aid member recipes inside and the proceeds go toward such a worthwhile cause. Please look for it on Amazon.

Thanks for stopping over today and please be sure to go take a look at
Blogger Aid-Changing the Face of Famine. You'll be glad you did!!

I recently became a member of Blogger Aid...Changing the Face of Famine.

We live in a country with an abundance of fabulous food! Yet, there are so many men, women, and sweet little children going hungry. This is a world wide issue and it should not be happening! Thankfully, Blogger Aid was started as a way for bloggers to unite and to help make a change for the better.

One really terrific thing going on right now through Blogger Aid is BBFF (Blogger Aid Best Friends Forever). It is a way for fellow Blogger Aid members from different countries to get to know each other, share recipes, become friends, and band together to help reduce, even eliminate, hunger.

I am thrilled to be pairing up with Giz from Equal Opportunity Kitchen. Giz has a wonderful blog which she co-authors with her lovely daughter, Psychgrad. Psychrad was married this past June. Giz and her daughter share a close relationship. Giz also has a son who is an actor, writer, and director and is also the Artistic Producer of a theatre festival in Toronto. She and her son are planning to write a play together. Doesn't that just sound exciting!!

Giz also has the most adorable doggy named Casey. If we lived closer to each other I would love to doggysit. My black lab Sophie would love to play!

One more thing I learned about my new BBFF is that she is a talented jewelry maker!

The recipe I chose to make from Giz's blog are these wonderful Thai Lettuce Wraps! My husband and I gobbled these right up and are longing for more!

I only made a couple of changes to the original recipe. I used ground chicken instead of beef, used butter lettuce and sprinkled a little bit of toasted sesame seeds over the top.