KC122009 Almond Encrusted Chicken Breast

06292009



Tonight for dinner we had chicken breast encrusted in chopped almonds with steamed brown basmati rice and blanched sugar snap peas. Also a salad with fresh mixed greens tossed with tomatoes, cucumber, green olives, and parmesan, dressed with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.



For the chicken I just quickly chopped the almonds in my food processor until they were a fine grain. I dressed the chicken breast in a hot honey soy sauce and then spooned the almonds over the chicken. I baked in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 24 minutes.



The rice was just steamed in an electric steamer for 45 minutes. I just added a little butter and salt and pepper to it. The sugar snap peas were quickly blanched and tossed with salt and pepper.



And for a quick dessert, I served low fat vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries. I topped it with some of the chopped almonds and grated dark chocolate. I used the left over crepe pieces from breakfast the other day as a garnish.

KC102009 Strawberry Crepes

06282009



This morning for breakfast I made crepes. We got up early to make it to the farmers market before the crowds and bought some amazing Michigan grown strawberries from Bigelow Berry Farms. Our neighbor made strawberry jam recently but one batch didn’t quite jam, it turned into more of a sauce. I used this to top the crepes. I stuffed the crepes with strawberries and cream cheese whipped with lime zest, lime juice, and coffee liquor. I tried to make whip cream using lactose free 2% milk. I figured there’s low fat whip cream it should whip up just the same. It unfortunately did not. I whipped it on varying speeds in a chilled bowl for a long time and all I ended up with was a bubbly bowl of 2% milk. Oh well.



To make the filling I beat about 8 oz of cream cheese at room temperature using the paddle attachment on my kitchen aid. I then added about a teaspoon or so of coffee liquor, beating well until incorporated. I then added the zest of one lime and the juice of one lime. I think this filling would have tasted better with orange or lemon but all I had were limes.



The crepes were from a package. I had to make crepes in culinary school and failed miserably. I could never get them the right shape or consistency. I still had a little trouble with the packaged ones. There were no directions on the package as how to heat them up so I just put them in a lightly oiled skillet on very low heat to brown them. I must have blocked out the culinary school crepe making experience because I heated them before I stuffed them and of course they immediately got hard and so broke into tiny pieces when I tried to roll them. I instead filled them with the cream cheese and fresh strawberries. I rolled them up and placed them flap side down in the pan hoping that the heat would seal them closed and for the most part it did. I cooked them for about 30 seconds on each side on low heat, until they browned. I topped the finished crepes with the strawberry sauce.







Despite all the mistakes in this dish from the jam that didn’t jam, the lime instead of lemon, and even the crepes that broke, I think the meal was fantastic. The whipped cream probably would have been too much anyway. I’ll most likely use the broken crepe pieces and unjammed jam for some lemon ice cream I’ve got in the freezer.

KC112009 Penne Pasta with Sauteed Asparagus, Mushrooms, and Sausage

06262009



Last night for dinner we had penne pasta with sautéed mushrooms, asparagus, and chicken apple gouda sausage.

While the pasta water boiled I chopped up the white button mushrooms, asparagus, and sausage into bite size pieces. I tossed the asparagus with olive oil and salt and pepper.








I first sautéed the mushrooms in dash of olive oil until they lost most of their liquid. I added the asparagus stirring well to incorporate.






Just before I took the pasta off the stove to be drained, I added a couple of spoonfuls of the pasta water to the mushrooms and asparagus. I then added the sausage. These were already cooked so they just needed to be heated through. I also didn’t want the cheese to completely ooze out of the sausage.



Once the pasta was drained I added it to the mushroom mix, stirring thoroughly to ensure all the flavors marry with the pasta.



I served this dish topped with parmesan.

KC072009 Seared Chicken Breast with Apricot Mango Sauce

06252009



Tonight for dinner we decided to have chicken breast. Chicken always stumps me a little. It’s kind of boring and it seems like it has very limited possibilities. I’m always trying to make it interesting. I looked around the kitchen and tried to come up with some ideas. We had just picked up some fruit from the market. Apricots seemed like a good idea, maybe grilled. No can’t grill tonight it’s raining. I remembered that we had some mango juice left over from some popsicles we had made and the last of the scallions were still hanging around in the crisper drawer. I decided to chop up the apricots and make a quick sauce with mango juice, scallions, chicken broth, and a dash of red wine. White would probably be better but I had a bottle of red open in the fridge. I roasted the asparagus picked up from the market with olive oil, salt and pepper and made a simple salad with grape tomatoes, garden greens, and cucumber topped with parmesan, salt and pepper and dressed with pomegranate red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.




I dressed the chicken with olive oil and lemon pepper and let it rest at room temperature while I preheated oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and got a cast iron skillet hot on high heat on the stove top. I seared the chicken on both sides for two minutes each. I then turned off the heat and added 1 2/3 cup of chicken broth. I baked the chicken in the oven for about 15-20 minutes depending on how thick the chicken is. Mine were very thin fillets so I cooked them for 15 minutes. While the chicken was baking I chopped the scallions and apricots, removing the pits. Once the chicken was done baking I let it rest for about 5 minutes out of the pan. I squeezed a quarter slice of lime on each piece of chicken. It the same skillet on high heat I added to the remaining broth the diced apricots and scallions and cook for about 1 minute stirring constantly. I then add about two tablespoons of mango juice and a dash of red wine and cook for about another 2 or 3 minutes until the sauce thickened. I removed the sauce from the heat and served it over the chicken breast.













The asparagus just got a quick toss in some olive oil and salt and pepper before going into the oven. I put it in before I started the chicken to ensure a crispy texture.



I never use store bought dressing for salad. I think it’s easier and it taste better to just toss it with some oil and vinegar. I always use extra virgin olive oil but I like to try different kinds of vinegar. For this salad I used an acai pomegranate infused red wine vinegar. I cut up some cucumber and tomatoes and tossed it with fresh greens from the summer garden, parmesan, salt and pepper.

KC042009 100% Whole Wheat Bread

A couple of years ago I bought myself the Bread Bible and have been regularly making a great white sandwich loaf. The recipe makes two loaves and calls for NINE (!) tablespoons of butter so of course it is delicious. It is however, a time consuming recipe. It takes all day so I’d only make it on Sunday. It makes two loafs which usually lasted about a week, sometimes week and a half. Whatever became too hard to eat was made into French toast. But I know that I should be eating more whole grains. Whole wheat bread at the store is dry and full of high fructose corn syrup. Any half way decent whole wheat bread is pricey and goes bad rather quickly. I picked up some whole wheat flour with the intention of making another time consuming recipe from the Bread Bible. There was a simple recipe right on the King Arthur package so I thought I would try that one before taking all day with the more complicated recipe. I changed a few steps around using techniques from the bread bible, like putting in a small pan of ice at the bottom of the oven to keep the bread moist while it bakes. I didn’t cover it with foil either like the package suggests. I used honey in my bread instead of molasses or maple syrup, two other suggestions on the package. Honey gives it a subtle sweet flavor without changing the color of the bread. I also use my Kitchen Aid stand up mixer instead of a bread machine or hand kneading. Below is the simple recipe I use to create the bread.

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tsp lukewarm water
1 1/3 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup canola oil
¼ cup honey
3 ½ cups King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
¼ cup nonfat dry milk
1 ¼ tsp salt

Mixing: dissolve active dry yeast packet in lukewarm water. In Kitchen Aid bowl, add all dry ingredients. Add canola oil and then honey. Use the same measuring cup as the oil so that the honey will slide out easily. Add the yeast dissolved in water. The yeast always sticks to the bottom of the cup I dissolve it in so I save the measured 1 1/3 cups of water until after I add the yeast. I pour the water in to the cup to get out the remaining bit that sticks to the bottom.

Using whisk attachment stir on 2 until dough is combined and starts to leave the side of the bowl. With dough hook knead on 4 until dough completely leaves side of bowl, about 6-8 minutes.




Transfer to a large greased bowl. I like to use Pam Baking Spray. Cover with plastic and allow dough to rise until puffy and about twice its bulk, about 60 minutes.


Shaping: Transfer dough to a large greased cutting board. Pound out the dough slightly with your fist and fold into an eight inch loaf. Start with the left and right sides then the top and bottom, kind of like an envelope. Place the loaf into a lightly greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan. Cover it loosely with greased plastic wrap. It’s a lot of greasing but the dough is very sticky.




Baking: In a preheated oven place the bread in the middle rack of the oven and a pan with a cup of ice on the floor of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn bread around and bake for 20 more minutes. The bread’s internal temperature will be 190 degrees Fahrenheit when done. I never check the temperature of my bread. I just look for a golden brown crust and use a good thermometer to make sure my oven temperature is spot on.

Let the bread rest on cooling rack in the pan for about 5 minutes, then turn the pan over to let the bread out and rest on cooling rack for at least an hour before cutting into it.


This recipe makes one loaf. I sometimes sprinkle the top of the loaf, just before baking, with old fashioned oats. I use a wooden bread slicer and a long serrated knife to cut the bread. I always cut it as I need it and keep the rest in a sealed plastic bag in a dark dry part of the kitchen to ensure freshness. I usually make a loaf about once a week.

KC092009 Pasta with Sauteed Greens and Tomatoes

06182009



I had a lot of greens come in at once in the summer garden; spinach, arugula, and radish greens. I thought these would be great sautéed and topped over penne pasta. For some added flavor I pan fried chopped bacon, sautéing the greens in the same pan, drained of most of its bacon grease, along with grape tomatoes, and fresh basil. I served it with a simple salad made from ingredients from the garden.

While I waited for the pasta water to boil I chopped up the tomatoes and basil and tossed with salt and pepper. I set the cast iron skillet over high heat and while it got hot I chopped about 3 strips of bacon. I fried the bacon until it began to crisp but was still soft. The bacon created a lot of grease. I turned the heat off and drained almost all of the grease. I left just a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. Leaving in the bacon I put the pan back over medium/high heat. I added the tomatoes and basil, stirring it regularly; I cooked it for about two or three minutes.





While the pasta cooked I added the greens to the tomatoes and bacon and sautéed on medium/low heat until wilted but not soggy. Before I drained the pasta I added about a tablespoon or two of the pasta water to the greens. I added the drained pasta to the greens and turned to low heat, stirring well to marry all the flavors, for about two or three minutes.



For the salad I tossed together fresh greens, radishes, tomatoes, and cucumber, topped with parmesan and dressed with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and finished with a dash of salt and pepper.



I served the pasta topped with parmesan cheese.

KC082009 Mushroom Soup with Whole Wheat Croutons

06162009


I made a simple lunch today from some left over boxed mushroom soup by Imagine Organics and the mushrooms leftover from the filet mignon dinner. I also had about a quarter of a loaf of whole wheat bread that I let sit out over night to get hard. I used this to make some hearty croutons.

I didn’t have a lot of soup left over so I stretched it out with a little milk and chicken broth. I also added a splash of red wine for flavor. While the soup was heating up on the stove top, I sautéed the mushrooms in about a tablespoon of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper, I added a splash of red wine and chicken stock to the mushrooms as well. I made sure to stir the soup often and kept the heat low so that it wouldn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the mushrooms were sufficiently sautéed I tossed them into the soup cooking for about 2 minutes longer, giving the flavors a chance to marry.



While the soup and mushrooms cooked I quickly and coarsely cubed the bread into bite size pieces and toasted them in a toaster oven until very brown. I didn’t add any seasoning to the croutons because the whole wheat bread already has such a hearty, nutty flavor.
I served the soup topped with the croutons, crumbled blue cheese, and some freshly cracked black pepper.

KC032009 Turket Salad with Champagne Vinegar

06152009



For lunch today I made a simple turkey salad. I used what I found in the pantry. There was a can of Valley Fresh White Turkey packed in water, a jar of capers, a can of Great Northern white beans, and half a red onion in the fridge. I drained the water from the can of turkey and tossed it into a large mixing bowl, breaking it up in to shreds with a fork. I drained the beans in a strainer and rinsed them thoroughly. I let them drain while I chopped them red onion finely and tossed it in with the turkey. I drained the capers and tossed them in as well. The capers only need to be rinsed if they are packed in salt. I then added the beans. I dressed the salad with about a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil and about a table spoon or two of Champagne vinegar. I tossed combining all ingredients thoroughly and then added salt and pepper to taste. I served it on a toasted whole wheat hamburger bun and topped with Manchego cheese. I had vegetable chips and a simple fruit salad on the side.

KC022009 Chicken Breast Stuffed with Manchego Cheese and Prosciutto

06252009


Last night for dinner we had chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto and Manchego cheese. It was served with roasted carrots, steamed sugar snap peas, and a fresh mixed green salad topped with strawberries, walnuts, and blue cheese, dressed with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

To make the chicken, I first preheated the oven to 450 degrees.

I then pounded out the chicken breast with the smooth side of a meat mallet.

I laid one piece of prosciutto flatly over the chicken breast and, with a vegetable peeler; I thinly sliced 2 or 3 pieces of Manchego over the prosciutto.

I then rolled up the chicken breast like a rug, starting with the narrowest and rolled it towards the other end. I used three tooth picks to keep in closed, one on the top and one holding closed each end, keeping the cheese from oozing out while cooking.

In a heavy cast iron skillet, I heated about a table spoon of olive oil. Once the pan was very hot I added the rolled chicken breast and seared on both sides for about two minutes each.

I turned off the heat and added about 2 cups of chicken broth before putting the pan in the oven, baking the chicken for about twenty minutes.

After twenty minutes I removed the chicken from the pan and cooled for about ten minutes. While the chicken cooled I simmered the remaining broth on low. I added diced green onions and about a tablespoon of red wine letting it simmer for about a minute. I then added a tablespoon of butter and a teaspoon of AP Flour whisking until it became a golden smooth gravy. I served the gravy over the chicken.

To roast the carrots I first coated them in a light layer of olive oil and add salt, pepper, and Herbs de Provence. I roasted the carrots in a deep metal roasting pan at 450 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them. I like mine brown and even a little charred on the outside. I put the carrots in before I start working on the chicken to time out perfectly. The peas were fresh from the Royal Oak Farmer's Market so they needed no help in the flavor department. I just blanched them quickly in hot water and salted and peppered them to taste.




For the salad I used fresh greens from our garden and the first strawberries of the Michigan season bought at the Warren Farmer’s Market. I tossed in raw walnuts, blue cheese, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper.


The smoky prosciutto flavor complimented the tangy melted flavor of the Manchego and the sweetest strawberries of the season went perfectly with the rich balsamic and blue cheese.