It was Sunday and really cold, great day for comfort food and watching the football games. So, soup is always good and roasted chicken, and I made a my bread.

Cannellini Bean Soup:

I used what I had in the house because I didn't want to go out.

Ingredients:

-1 can of cannellini beans or you could you any other bean (500 g)

- about 2 tablespoons olive oil

-1 shallot, minced

-1 litre chicken stock, I use the low sodium

-about 4 shitake mushrooms

-1 celery stalk, cut up small

-small bunch of kale or spinach ( I remove the stems from the greens) and cut it up

-1 red potato cut into small

-1 red pepper, cut up into small pieces

-cumin, about a teaspoon or so

-salt & pepper

-grated romano or parm cheese

-garlic, 2 0r 3, minced

In a heavy bottom stock pot, heat the pan over medium heat, add the oil, shallot and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the pepper, celery garlic and continue sauteing. Add the spinach till it wilts, then add the potato, broth, cumin. Bring to a boil . Reduce the heat to low and and let it simmer for about another 15 minutes or so, when the potatoes are soft the soup should be done. Garnish with the grated cheese and if you like some crushed red pepper.

Roasted Chicken with vinegar (Pollo con aceto)

-8 chicken thighs or you can use other parts of the chicken

-olive oil

-salt & papper

-2 tablespoon unsalted butter (30 g)

-8 - 10 cloves of garlic

-thyme, about a spring or so

-1/2 cup (120 ml) of vinegar white wine or sherry vinegar

-1 lemon

1. Preheat your oven to 500 F (260C) and place the rack in the lower part of the oven. Season the chicken with salt & pepper and heat about a tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan, then add the chicken skin side down and cook for about 4 minutes until you can lift up and the skin is nicely browned, turn the chicken over and place into the preheated oven.

2. This will take about 25 to 30 minutes.

3. When chicken is cooked, remove and put onto a warm plate and put the pan on the stove over medium heat, add the vinegar and scape the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatular (get all that good stuff on the bottom of the pan, it's call "fond".

4. When this is reduced by half, add a little water and bring back to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, taste for seasoning. Put the chicken back into the pan and turn it oven in the sauce.

5. Remove the chicken to a platter and pour the sauce over chicken, grate the lemon skin (using a raster) over the chicken and squeeze 1/2 of the lemon over the chicken and serve immediately.

Let me know what you think.