The New Chef's Journal

A couple weeks ago my girlfriend and I went apple picking at the Stribling Orchard in Markham, Virginia. If you're looking for a place to go apple picking near DC, I'd recommend it. It's a beautiful spot and all of the fruit I've gotten there has been excellent. Their store also has delicious baked goods, salad dressings, salsa and bbq sauce. The recipe I got from the Food Network calls for 6 Jonagold apples, which are a hybrid of Jonathan and Golden Delicious. Since the orchard didn't have any Jonagolds, I just used 3 Jonathans and 3 Golden Delicious. I made the crust using Amish butter from the Agora Farms stand at Eastern Market. Amish butter was recently recommended to me and I was amazed at how much better it tastes that Land O' Lakes or Country Crock. It's great on bread and it really enhanced the flavor and texture of the crust. Ingredients Piecrust: 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup shortening 6 tablespoons cold water, plus 5 table

Now that its turning into Fall and getting a bit cooler I've really been craving soup. The surprisingly good chicken and corn chowder from Harris Teeter inspired me to try and make my own. This recipe comes from Cooking Light magazine via myrecipes.com. The recipe suggests that you should be able to have this recipe on the table in half an hour. It took me a little bit longer than that, but it was still quick and convenient. You could definitely make this on a weekday night for dinner. The soup wound up very rich and flavorful, especially considering its lighter chowder using 2% milk instead of half-and-half or heavy cream. Ingredients 2 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped celery 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breast halves) 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears) 1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon

This recipe is one that I've made several times for company and I'm always happy with the results. The recipe comes from Giada De Laurentiis. Giada is a great resource for me as I'm fairly obsessed with pasta. The sauce in this dish is a pink cream sauce that's subtle but very flavorful. This is one of my favorite dishes to cook. I served the pasta with a simple salad of mixed greens, chopped walnuts, dried cranberries and goat cheese, with a creamy balsamic vinaigrette. Ingredients 1 pound penne pasta 1/4 cup olive oil 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, and deveined 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning 1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, roughly chopped 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 cup white wine 1/3 cup clam juice 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup grated P