Cozy (Quick) Chickpea Stew

I am officially declaring January to be the start of Bean Season. I'll wait while you put that on your calendar. I'm not big on resolutions, but after a month of December excesses I always feel the need to recenter emotionally and in terms of my stomach. Beans help with the second part of this recentering. They give me what I need (in practical terms: protein and fiber) without the excesses of the previous month. (I’m looking at you butter, sugar, roasts, and stuffing).

I love cooking my beans from scratch, and making fancy bean dishes, but at least at the start of January, I'm not really up for that kind of work. This is the absolute easiest bean recipe and it is great reheated so this is an easy lunch to take to work and heat there or to eat at your own kitchen table. Even better since it's high in fiber and in protein so it will keep you feeling full without making you groggy. (Maybe that's an overshare, but that’s my experience). Make this and you're going to feel better about everything (If only for the 10 minutes while you eat it).

Note about Canned Sauce and Canned Chickpeas

I almost always use canned sauce and canned chickpeas for this recipe. That said, it's even better with homemade varieties. If you want to make your own vodka sauce and cook a pot of beans, go for it. When using canned sauce I really like Carbone brand vodka sauce, but just note that it is high in sodium. Feel free to use your favorite brand.

Note about Different Canned Vodka Sauces

Some canned vodka sauces require you to add cream and some are already creamy. I prefer using a brand that is not already creamy because then you can control the amount added. If you use a creamy variety, then omit the addition of whole milk or half and half.

Note about Two Versions of Instructions

I've included two versions of instructions. The first is for when you want to eat this meal right away, the second if you plan to keep it for lunch or dinner later on.

Cozy (Quick) Chickpea Stew

takes 10 minutes, makes 2 servings. Doubles easily.

Ingredients

1/2 Can (24 ounces ) Vodka Sauce

1 Can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

3-ish ounces washed baby spinach (about 3 handfuls)

1 Ounce Parmesan cheese grated.

1/3 Cup whole milk or 1/4 cup half and half (or more to taste) *See note above

Red pepper flakes to taste

TO MAKE AND EAT IMMEDIATELY

STEP ONE

In a small/medium sauce pan heat 1 can chickpeas, roughly 12 ounces sauce, and a pinch of red pepper flakes over medium heat. Bring to a. boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in 1/3 cup milk or 1/4 cup half and half and simmer 1-2 minutes longer. Then fold in roughly 3 ounces of spinach stirring until spinach is gently wilted.

STEP TWO

Portion into two bowls and finish with grated Parmesan cheese or other hard cheese and sprinkle on more red pepper flakes. Leftovers will keep about 2-3 days.

TO MAKE FOR A FUTURE MEAL

STEP ONE

In a small/medium sauce pan heat 1 can chickpeas, 12 ounces sauce, and a pinch of red pepper flakes over medium heat. Bring to a. boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in milk or half and half and simmer 1-2 minutes longer. Then remove stew from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

STEP TWO

In two microwavable containers portion out about 1.5 ounces of spinach in each. Top spinach with slightly cooled stew and then grate 1 ounce of Parmesan cheese on top. Store covered in fridge until ready to warm in microwave. (Up to 3 days later).

STEP THREE

Based on my microwave: Microwave for about 1 minute, then stir and microwave about 45 seconds more.

Bourbon Balls

The less I drink alcohol, the more I love desserts with tongue-tingly alcohol flavors. These Bourbon Balls are deeply satisfying. They are boozy and toasty with a touch of chocolatey richness. If you like boozy desserts, then you're going to love these.

The original recipe (basically an ingredients list) comes from a very stained and sticky handwritten cookbook at my mother's house. I've added some instructions and updated the recipe proportions here to match the amount of vanilla wafer cookies in a standard eleven ounce box. (Back in the day I used to sit around and count-out 60 wafers). I make these bourbon balls every year because "some people" have made it known that, "if I do not show up with bourbon balls, maybe I should just stay home--just kidding!--sort of." So, be careful who you make these for or you may find that you're never allowed to arrive empty handed again.

Note about Bourbon: I have made this with almost every kind of bourbon (from bottom shelf to top shelf), and I highly recommend a lower proof (80-90 proof) bourbon for this recipe. My favorites are Four Roses and Woodford Reserve, but you should use whatever brand you like, just be aware that a 100 proof bourbon can overwhelm the other flavors and leave you with a medicinal tasting dessert.

Note about Vanilla Wafer Cookies: I use Nabisco brand Nilla Wafers Cookies in the bright yellow box. I'm sorry to have to give you a name brand for this, but it's what I've always used. I have thought about making my own vanilla wafers to use for this recipe, but I haven't yet. I will update this recipe if I ever do.

BOURBON BALLS

Makes about 50. Takes about 1 hour to make. Needs about 24 hours to rest

Ingredients

3 cups pecans

6 T cocoa powder (any type)

11 oz box Nabisco brand 'Nilla Wafer Cookies (about 88 wafers)

1/4 cup light corn syrup

6 oz (3/4 cup) bourbon

1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

STEP ONE

Chop 3 cups pecans into roughly 1/4 inch pieces. Then place chopped pecans in a large frying pan over medium low heat and toast. Stir occasionally for the first 2-3 minutes. Once your pecans start to smell and take on color stir them continuously until they are evenly browned. If your nuts start taking on too much color and are in danger of scorching , remove them from heat and stir and cool slightly, then return to a low heat to finish toasting. This should take about 5-8 minutes. Set nuts aside.

STEP TWO

Crush your wafers. There are two ways to do this, either put wafers into a large mixing bowl and then use a heavy cup to crush the wafers in the bowl. OR using a food processor pulse your wafers until they are the size of large panko breadcrumbs with some larger pieces mixed in. If you used a food processor, pour crushed wafers into a large mixing bowl. Using a cup and a mixing bowl will give you more uniform results than the food processor. I'm lazy so I usually use the food processor.

STEP THREE

Add your toasted nuts and 6 tablespoons cocoa powder to the crushed wafers and mix to combine. Then pour 1/4 cup corn syrup and 3/4 cup bourbon over the nuts and wafer bits and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

STEP FOUR

Once you have a wet mixture and no more dry bits of wafer, you're ready to roll the bourbon balls. Pour powdered sugar into a bowl or on a larger plate. To prevent the dough from sticking, coat your palms with powdered sugar and roll the dough into walnut sized balls, then roll them in powdered sugar. Rest them for 24 hours in a covered container before serving.

Bourbon balls will last about 7 days when covered and stored on the counter and longer if stored in the fridge.

Buy, Borrow, Skip

I am not a chef, a food critic or someone who preps a show-stopping meal every weekend. I am a home cook trying to navigate the politics of the table (in all the sense of the word). These reviews reflect my love of easy baked goods and my need to get dinner on the table at 6:30. The three questions I ask when I read a cookbook are:

Utility: are most of the ingredients, pans, and cooking strategies easily obtainable?

Ease of Use: is the book (and are the individual recipes) well organized and readable?

Appeal: does this book inspire me to get into the kitchen?

With these 3 questions in mind, I recommend:

Buy: purchase the book

Borrow: get it from a friend or your library whenever you’re in the mood

Skip: Have a cup of tea and relax instead

I do not receive any proceeds from these reviews. I have not received free copies of these books. I do not receive commission from any of these links. 

December 2024 Cookbook Recommendations

Everyday Harumi: Simple Japanese Food for Family and Friends by Harumi Kurihara, 2009 Buy

I know little about Japanese cooking, but that was not a hurdle when cooking from Everyday Harumi. The recipes are incredibly simple and easy and most work perfectly. We loved the Tofu “Steak,” and I don’t think I could have had an easier recipe to learn how to make egg drop soup. These recipes remind me, in the best possible way, of Martha Stewart recipes: the ingredient list is limited, the instructions are clear and the steps are all separated. In fact, by the end of my time reviewing this book, I had the confidence to go to the internet to figure out how to make the flavors just a bit more complex. This is a selling point because it means that it starts with simple, quality recipes and, as I gained confidence, I began using it as a building block and then look elsewhere to complicate things. I found one error in Kurihara’s cookbook, and that was the recipe for Dashi. It was convoluted and I screwed it up the first time, then the second time realized that the ingredient amounts are way off. This was, however, the only error that I found. So, on the whole, you can pick this book up and cook from it right away and be guaranteed success. The only reason to pass on Everyday Harumi is if you are already well-versed in Japanese cooking. If you’re interested in Japanese meals but don’t have a strong backgrounding Japanese cooking, this is the book for you.

New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian by Freddie Bitsoie and James O. Fraioli, 2021 Borrow

 I was excited for this book because it promised me that I could work with “Native” American ingredients but not be confined by them and that these Native American inspired recipes would use ingredients that I can (mostly) find at my local grocery store. But, as a whole, the number of errors in the recipes made this book a bit of a disappointment. My family wanted to love the bison chocolate chili, but the proportions of the chocolate were off. In fact, my gut told me that the proportions were wrong and I used less chocolate than the recipe called for, but still it was so overpowering and so sickly sweet that no one in my family could eat it. Next, I made the Sumac Navajo Lamb with onion sauce. It also had some glaring errors. There was no way that you need 1 cup of sumac to cover a 3lbs lamb roast, so I used 1/3 cup. (I found a version of this recipe published in the Washington Post where the amount was updated to1/3 cup). That said sumac and lamb paired well, and, while I also had to adjust the ingredients in the onion sauce, the flavors were lovely. My advice is to check this book out if you’re looking to take your cooking in new directions. You can explore with seasonings, learn a bit about how to cook with game and still have most of the ingredients will already be in your pantry. But proceed with caution, and follow your kitchen instincts when working with Bitsoie’s recipes.

Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat, 2017 Buy

Since this book has a pretty vocal following, I had not intended to review it; however, I was talking to someone at Trader Joes about what would be a good cookbook for someone trying to learn something about cooking (and not just about following recipes). Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat is the book that I recommend hands down. There are a few books similar to Nosrat’s for instance: Start Here by Sohla El-Waylly (2023), and The Flavor Equation Nik Sharma (2020) among others, but Nosrat’s book is the best. It’s the easiest to engage with and, of the three, Salt Fat Acid Heat is the one that has changed my cooking the most. Read her book and you’ll understand how salt, fat, acid, and heat “work” and you’ll have a cook book with recipes you understand. Norsat has the best chocolate pudding, the best blue cheese salad dressing and the best weeknight green bean recipe. And now you’ll understand WHY they are the best, as well as how to adapt these recipes as needed. If you like cooking and want to learn more about how cooking “works” but you don’t want to be overwhelmed by too much information, then this is the book for you.

Ina Garten: A Memoir: Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten 2024 Borrow

If you’re currently shopping for Christmas presents for home cooks who grew up watching Garten, this book will have a certain amount of appeal. Unfortunately, beyond the lovely photos of Ina and Jeffery Garten, Be Ready When the Luck Happens has few pearls that the reader will want to return to. The first part of the book focuses on Garten’s early life and is both painful and plodding. You get the impression that she (understandably) didn’t want to share about her traumatic years at home and that she remains at a distance in her account of those years. The story picks up a bit when Garten buys her very famous store: Barefoot Contessa, and you might chuckle a little as Garten describes her early forays into the tv world. But even this part of the book is fairly dry and superficial. Go buy one of Ina Garten’s fantastic cookbooks. Reserve her memoir at the library and don’t begrudge the time you’ll spend waiting to get it. There won’t be any spoilers.