Friends Food Family

Fettuccine with Chicken, Spinach and Feta

Fettuccine with Chicken, Spinach and Feta 

Over the past few months, Jeff and I have been in empty nest mode again. As much as we have 6 children, 4 live out on their own between Foxboro and Quincy, MA, Niantic, CT and Arlington, VA and the other two are in college. Of the two remaining, one goes to the University of Missouri and lives out in Columbia, MO year around, the other is at Emerson College about 40 minutes away. 

When the youngest goes back to Emerson, we only have the two of us and Jeff's mom, who lives next door. Getting use to cooking for three VS five to eight people (in the past) has been an adjustment to say the least. For a long time we would have enough leftovers for a second meal. When I say second meal, I mean 4+ servings.

This past summer, as much as we told ourselves we wouldn't buy any more cookbooks, Jeff started buying some one pan or one pot cookbooks. They have been wonderful because we can come home, make a quick dish and feed about 4 people. This is perfect, leaving one additional serving which is great for lunch during the week. 

This recipe of Fettuccine with Chicken, Spinach and Feta came from a cookbook called One Pan, Two Plates by Carla Snyder. It is a cookbook that has all its recipes based around one cast iron pan. We LOVE it. As much as I haven't reported on many of the recipes, I can say we have made at least 5-7 of them. Not only are the meals delicious, they are fairly easy and the ingredients are ones you will have in your kitchen. I like the cookbook so much that our three girls, and probably my son, are going to get a cast iron pan with the cookbook for Christmas (shhh...don't tell them!).

The other cookbooks we have been using are:

• One Good Dish - David Tanis
• Martha Stewart Living - One Pot
• Sunday Casseroles - Betty Rosbottom

I will be leaning on these books over the next few blog articles. They might be worth investing in, especially if you are looking for easy, delicious dishes.

OK, back to the recipe. The Fettuccine with Chicken, Spinach and Feta was delicious. I will tell you, I had reservations about the dish when we were making it. I was afraid it was going to be bland. The feta and lemon juice do a wonderful job of flavoring the dish. As I was finishing the last few strands of fettuccine, I thought, we definitely need to put this on the "repeat this recipe" list. Having a blog and so many cookbooks, we tend to make one dish and then never make it again. Not because we don't like it, it's just that we like to try different dishes. We do have our standard "go-to" recipes but that list is short.

If you are looking for a very easy, very tasty recipe for lunch or dinner, I can guarantee your family, friends and/or guests will enjoy this dish. 

Do you have a favorite one pot dish or casserole that your family enjoys? Send me the recipe! We would love to try it out.

Ingredients for Fettuccine with Chicken, Spinach and Feta from One Pan, Two Dishes

• 10 ounces of fresh linguine or fettuccine 
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 - 5 ounce bag of baby spinach
• 1 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/3 cup of lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• red pepper flakes, optional

Preparation:

1. In a large stock pot, add water and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to boil and cook pasta according to the directions. You want to cook the pasta to "al dente". Before draining, save 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta, run through cold water to stop the pasta from cooking, put the pasta water and pasta aside.

2. In a large skillet, or your cast iron pan, over medium-high heat, add the olive oil once the pan is hot. Add the onions and saute until the onions begin to soften - about 2 minutes.

3. Add the chicken and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a sprinkle of pepper. Saute until the chicken is almost cooked (about 3-4 minutes) and add about 1/4 cup of pasta water to scape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

4. Add the spinach, stirring and tossing until the leaves are wilted. 

5. Add the pasta to the pan with the 1/4 cup of pasta water, the feta cheese and the lemon juice. Stir until the feta begins to melt a bit. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Add a few red pepper flakes if you enjoy a bit of heat to your pasta. We added about a 1/4 teaspoon.

This recipe will serve 2-3 people.

Tricia White

Cinco de Mayo - Quick and Easy BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

With Cinco de Mayo two days away, I was trying to come up with an easy dish that you could serve as an appetizer if you were going to be having a few people over to celebrate. I love when you can make something in less than 30 minutes and has some bold flavor that can be matched with an icy cold beer or margarita. 

NOTE: A Cilantro Grapefruit Margarita is perfect: 2 cups of white tequila, mix with 1/4 cup of cilantro, let sit an hour and then strain. Mix 1 shot of the tequila with 4 ounces of Izze Sparkling Grapefruit Juice, and squeeze of fresh lime. Shake over ice. Poured into salted margarita. Garnish with lime wedge. Enjoy!

Sorry I drifted, those margaritas are so good! OK, back to the recipe. Let's make this really simple, here are your ingredients:

• 3 cups of cooked, slightly shredded, chicken - we used a cooked store bought roaster chicken
• 1/2 large red onion - sliced in long strips
• a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce - we used Hayward's Pit Bar-B-Que Sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed
• 1 package (8-10 ct.) flour tortillas
• 1 (16 ounce) package of shredded cheese, Mexican blend
• canola oil
• avocado

1. Over medium heat, place 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large frying pan, when hot, add the red onions and cook until slightly soft about 6-8 minutes.

2. Add the chicken, black beans and 1 cup of bar-b-que sauce. 

3. Mix together and cook until heated through. If the mixture is dry, add more bar-b-que sauce.

4. In a second large frying pan, add 2 tablespoons of canola oil and begin building the quesadillas. Fill half of the flour tortilla with the chicken mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Fold the other half over the mixture and place into the frying pan, cook on both sides until the flour tortilla is golden and the cheese is melted.

5. Remove from frying pan and repeat with the other tortillas. 

6. Cut quesadillas into quarters and serve with avocado. 

If you want to kick it up a notch, make some Killer Guacamole and Pineapple Peach Mango Salsa. A few tortilla chips and you are ready for a great Cinco de Mayo Party! Have some fun! 

Tricia White

Chicken Tenders with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Smoked Paprika

Last week, both Jeff and I had late night commitments. It seemed like if we were home for dinner, it was so late we just wanted something easy...like soup. I got home first on Thursday and knew I had to do something with some chicken tenders I had bought earlier in the week. With a big can of chick peas sitting on the counter, I ran "chicken and chick pea recipes" on Google. I was looking for something interesting. I checked a few recipes and then found this one on Epicurious. I was supposed to use bone in chicken breasts but figured I could doctor this recipe a bit and still have a delicious meal. 

The recipe was called Roast Chicken Breasts with Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes and Paprika. I think the thing that sold me was the smoked paprika and cumin. I knew it would have a bit of heat with a real smoky flavor. I also liked that there were only a few ingredients: chicken, tomatoes, chick peas, cumin, paprika, olive oil and cilantro. Pretty easy. But, I will admit, I wasn't paying attention to the order of putting everything together so I had a bit of a mess on my hands, but it still came out perfect.

I finally got everything into a 12 inch iron skillet and in 30 minutes, I had one of the best meals I have had in a while. It was hearty, yet not heavy and extremely flavorful. The chicken was so tender you could cut it with a fork and the chick peas and tomatoes were the perfect complement. Just a little bit of heat and a lot of depth in flavor.

If you are looking for a quick dish was amazing flavor, give this one dish wonder a try. You won't be disappointed.

Chicken Tenders with Chick Peas, Tomatoes and Smoked Paprika

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds of chicken tenders
• 2-15 ounce cans of chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 2-15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper for taste

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In large bowl mix the olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper and garlic with a pinch of salt. 

3. Add the chicken and mix.

4. Add the tomatoes, chick peas and 1/2 cup of cilantro and mix thoroughly.

5. Place mixture into an oven proof skillet.

6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. The mixture will be thick and bubbly, make sure the chicken is cooked through.

7. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of cilantro.

Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken Soup with Pasta and Artichoke Hearts

Lemon Chicken Soup with Pasta and Artichokes - who would have thought of that combination? Leave it up to my son, Brian. He loves good food and gets to try quite a bit of it at the Country Club of Missouri, where he works during the school year. He is a student at the University of Missouri - Columbia. He has been home for the past month and is enjoying home cooked meals.

The other day, as we buckled down for more snow and temperatures below zero, I bought a cooked roaster chicken and decided I'd use it to make some soup. It seems like every week, over the past month, we have been making soup as one of our dinners. It's great because it makes 8-10 servings and after dinner it becomes lunches for the rest of the week.

As I was getting ready to make the soup, Brian brought a box of Stellette pasta from the pantry and asked if I could put it in the soup. He then began telling me about a lemon chicken orzo soup that he enjoys at the country club. "And there are artichokes in it." It made me think...artichokes in a soup? That might be delicious. "Oh, and tomatoes, too." Well, we had all the ingredients so "let the soup experiment begin!". Chop some shallots and garlic, grab the chicken stock, along with a jar (or two) of marinated artichoke hearts, a can of diced tomatoes and a lemon, we were ready to go. 

After an hour, we had lemon chicken soup with pasta and artichoke hearts ready to go and I can say, "It was amazing!" There was a slight tanginess to the soup which came from the lemon and marinated artichoke hearts and it blended so well with the chicken and pasta. A few diced tomatoes added color as well as taste. We finished our first bowl and Brian was back for seconds. I brought it to work a few days later and got rave reviews. Everyone thought it was wonderful, especially the artichoke hearts. This recipe is a keeper, and Friends Food Family is a great place for Brian to find simple recipes when he gets back to school. As much as he made the soup with me, he will fall short on the ingredients in a month or so.

The next time we make the soup, I would like to try it with orzo. Orzo has that rice type of flavor and feel in a soup. I think it could be delicious. This is an easy and quick soup that anyone can make. Hopefully, Brian will be able to re-create this amazing recipe when he gets back to Missouri. Fingers crossed!

Ingredients for Lemon Chicken Soup with Pasta and Artichoke Hearts:

• 1 - 3-5 lb roaster chicken, cooked and chopped (white and dark meats)
• 12 cups of chicken broth (2 -48 ounce boxes of chicken broth)
• 2 large shallots, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-5 sprigs of thyme
• 1 cup of dried stellette, or any other small pasta
• 1 (14-15 ounce) can of diced tomatoes with juices
• 2 (8 ounce) jars of quartered and marinated artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
• 1 lemon, cut in half
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. In a large dutch oven, over medium heat, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, add the shallots and garlic and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are translucent and slightly golden.

2. Add the 12 cups of chicken broth and the chopped chicken. Add the bay leaf, sprigs of thyme and the lemon halves. Increase the heat and bring to a slight boil.

3. Once you have achieved a slight boil, add the pasta. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Stir regularly so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom.

4. Add the tomatoes and the artichoke hearts. Cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper as needed. Remove the bay leaf, sprigs of thyme and lemons before serving.

5. Makes 8-10 servings.

Written by Tricia White 

A Wonderful Southern Staple - Brunswick Stew

When I came home on Thursday night, Jeff had beaten me home and had already stopped at the supermarket. "What's for dinner?", I asked. He handed me a copy of a recipe from Tasting Table called Brunswick Stew. As I read the ingredients, I thought...WOW, this looks delicious...bacon, chicken, corn, green beans, barbecue sauce. Yes, extremely delicious. It had been 10 degrees all week (in New England) and comfort food is the best way to end a bone-chilling day. 

Jeff has belonged to Tasting Table for the past few years and gets recipes once a day. If the recipe looks interesting, he prints it and brings it home. This recipe comes from Chef Suzanne Vizethann of Buttermilk Kitchen, located in Atlanta, GA. Brunswick Stew is a southern staple and I can completely understand why. This recipe is hearty and it has heat, but sweet heat with a real smokiness.

I was saying to Jeff that it reminded me of a "chili" style of stew. The density of the vegetables reminded me of beans. The bacon and barbecue sauce brought depth to the dish and the heat finished that "chili" feeling.

My friend, Lucille, stopped by the following day for lunch and enjoyed a bowl of Brunswick Stew with me. It's so funny how you start talking about how good it is and how members of your family would enjoy this dish. Lucille was saying, "My son would love this..." and I was repeating with, "If my sons, Brian and Michael were home, they'd be enjoying seconds." I'm not sure if it's the mother in us wanting to feed our families delicious dishes or the foodie in us that wants others to enjoy these dishes with us. I guess it's really about breaking bread with friends and family.

The Super Bowl is next weekend and if you are looking for a hearty dish to serve to your football fans, put this Brunswick Stew on your list, there won't be a disappointed fan in the room.

Ingredients for Brunswick Stew (Adapted from Suzanne Vizethann, Buttermilk Kitchen)

1 pound of thick-cut bacon, we used applewood smoked, cut into ½-inch pieces
1/2 cup of butter
1 medium sweet onion (Vidalia), chopped into 1/4 pieces
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
3/4 cup of barbecue sauce, we used Jack Daniels, Original #7
3/4 pound of rotisserie cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 cup of crushed canned tomatoes
3 cups of fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 cups of frozen butter beans or lima beans, we used lima beans
3 cups of chicken broth

Preparation

1. In a large skillet set over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Pour off the fat from the pan and transfer the bacon to a bowl.
3. Add the butter to the skillet; once melted, add the onion and garlic.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 15 minutes.
5. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and simmer for 5 minutes, until the onions are glossy and the spoon leaves a trail when run across the bottom of the pan.
6. Add the barbecue sauce, the reserved bacon and the cooked chicken and stir to combine.
7. Stir in the tomatoes, corn and butter beans. Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer.
8. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the stew for 20 minutes. Season to taste.

Divide into bowls and serve. Enjoy with a big piece of corn bread. This recipe serves 8. 

Written by Tricia White

 

Chicken and Rice Soup with Red Beans

Last year, I kept thinking about chicken and rice soup, but not your average chicken and rice soup, Auntie Agnes' chicken and rice soup. Auntie Agnes was our next door neighbor, she was like a second mother to us (me and my siblings) and was an amazing Italian cook. She taught my mother how to make tomato sauce and it was where I first tried homemade gnocchi. When we were invited to Auntie Agnes' for dinner, you ate what she put in front of us, which my mother found hilarious. If my mother made sauce for dinner, we wanted our pasta plain and if she made chicken and rice soup, we would have picked out the beans. My mother was a really good cook, we were just very picky and we could be picky at home, but not as a guest at Agnes'. 

(Note: As I write this, there are so many scenarios and memories of being around and with Auntie Agnes rushing through my head; from the hair salon she owned, to her Christmas dinners and helping her put her earrings on. I wish I could share them all, but I think they would be scattered and probably only entertaining for me. I believe that everyone has a person from their past, that makes them smile when you think about life with them or without them. Even if it has been 20+ years since Agnes passed...)

So,

I was going to make, what I remember of, Agnes' chicken and rice soup. I decided to begin with a homemade chicken broth and that starts with a  whole chicken (3-4 pounds). I placed the chicken in a large pot with

2 medium yellow onions, chopped into quarters

2 carrots

2 stalks of celery

1 bay leaf

3 large cloves of garlic, sliced

Enough water to cover half the chicken

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat until the chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 2 hours. (I used a chicken with an auto pop-up). Once the mixture has cooled slightly, remove the chicken from the pot. Remove the meat from the chicken and place in a separate bowl. I hand shred while I am removing the meat. Take out the carrots and pour the broth through a fine sieve. I try to push as much of the onion, garlic and celery through the sieve. Discard whatever is left (or won't go through the sieve.) You are looking for 8-10 cups of chicken broth. I was short by 2 cups and added boxed chicken broth.

Over medium heat, return the broth to the pot. Cut one carrot into 1 inch pieces and add to the broth. Then add:

2 (14-15 ounce) cans of small red beans, rinsed

4 cups of cooked rice

Shredded, cooked chicken

Allow the broth to come to a boil and and season salt and pepper. Serve hot with a bit of parmesan cheese. A crusty bread would be good, too!

This chicken and rice soup with red beans is absolutely delicious. For me, it has been a wonderful comfort dish that has reminded me of my days of growing up in Quincy, next door to a woman who was passionate about what she cooked. I think Auntie Agnes would be proud that something she made still lingers in my memory.

Is there someone in your life who taught you about food? I'd love to hear your story.

Chicken and Dumplings with Fresh Dill

Can you believe that we are almost at the end of February and we have had little to no snow in the Boston area? Normally, we are making soups and stews for that "warm me up meal" at the end of a cold winter day. Today it was 51 degrees. 

About a month ago, my mother-in-law received her monthly copy of Family Circle magazine and it took about a week before it finally made it's way over to her apartment. While we were doing a quick browse through, we found this great chicken and dumpling recipe that was made with fresh dill. We knew that this would be on our list of dinners for the week.

The recipe was very easy to make and the combination of carrots, celery and leeks created an incredibly tasty sauce for the chicken and dumplings. Instead of this being that "warm me up" meal, all I could think of was summer and fresh dill from our garden. The dill complemented the meal but the best was the flavor in the dumplings.

Almost everyone was home that night, so this recipe easily fed our 6 appetites. There were no leftovers and everyone was talking about how much they liked the dill flavored dumplings. This is definitely a keeper. The biggest request - will you please make it again? 

Ever since we made this dish, I keep wishing for winter to be over and spring to begin. I'm craving the fresh chives, basil and oregano from our garden...and I'm really missing our tomatoes. Is anyone else tired of eating rubbery tomatoes?

If you are looking for a dish with a fresh garden flavor, grab some leeks and a fresh bunch of dill...spring is in the air! (Adapted from Family Circle's Chicken and Dumplings)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds of boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery sticks, trimmed and diced
1 leek, trimmed, cleaned and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons of flour
4 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings:
2 cups of biscuit mix (such as Bisquick)
1/2 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill

Preparation:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Salt and pepper the chicken and place in skillet. Cook until slightly browned, 2-3 minutes each side.
3. Add 4 cups water, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.
4. Simmer 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from liquid (save liquid) and let cool.
5. When cool enough to handle, cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
6. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and leek. Cook 5 minutes or until softened.
7. Sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 3 minutes, add broth and 2 cups of the left-over chicken broth.
8. Bring to a simmer; cook 5 minutes. Stir in chopped chicken.
9. Start making dumplings: in a medium bowl, combine biscuit mix, milk and dill.
10. Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering liquid. Cover pot tightly; cook 10 minutes.
11. Uncover and gently stir in peas and chopped dill.

Yum, Yum, Yum...enjoy!

 

Bon Appetit's Chicken and White Bean Chili

Finally, we are back up and running. I can upload photos and make the blogs look beautiful again!

Last Sunday, we decided to make chili for the big New England Patriots game against the Buffalo Bills. As I was looking for a recipe, I definitely wanted something with chicken and lots of beans, and a little different from our White Bean Chili.

I took out my iPad and used my Epicurious App and found a Bon Appetit Chicken and White Bean Chili recipe with a tomato base from 2005. That's what I love about some of these applications. They don't necessarily give you the most up to date recipe but it does give you lots of recipe opportunities. I read the recipe and figured it was easy, it could simmer during the game and then dinner would be served.

I adapted a few of the ingredients from the original recipe by using chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. I also cut back on the chili powder. For those who like a hot chili, go with the original recipe that calls for 3-1/2 tablespoons (or more) of chili powder. Lastly, I used fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes. I like the heartier flavor of the fire roasted, which worked perfectly.

This chili was delicious, and perfect when the Patriots lost and we had a table full of grumpy people. We had homemade rustic bread and butter which finished the meal. It had the perfect amount of heat and flavor which pleased the chili lovers as well as the picky eaters.

Tomorrow starts another round of college and professional football games for the weekend. Mix up a batch and have it ready for your fans. Oh, and it tastes even better the second day. Enjoy!

GO TEAM!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of olive oil
1-1/3 cups of chopped onion
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2-1/4 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
2-1/2 tablespoons of chili powder
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
2- 15 to 16-ounce cans of white beans with juices
2- 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes, fire roasted in juice
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation:

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until chicken is no longer pink outside, about 5 minutes. Mix in chili powder, tomato paste, cumin, and oregano.

Add beans, 1 cup reserved bean juices, and canned tomatoes. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and chili is thickened, about 25 minutes.

Season chili to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in cilantro and serve.

Green Apple, Avocado and Chicken Salad with a Honey Lime Cilantro Dressing

Fall is definitely in the air as we woke this morning to temperatures of 56 degrees.

But, I love the Fall!

For me, it's a great time of year with the colorful foliage, cool days with warm breezes, and the big 3...Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

To savor the last few weeks of summer, we made a wonderfully delicious salad for dinner that have touches of summer and Fall namely, the last of our garden's cherry tomatoes and cilantro and some freshly picked granny apples from one of the local area farms.

Back a few months ago when I was traveling with my son, looking at colleges, I enjoyed a salad similar to this. When I came home, I was able to create the salad dressing and then added the original salad ingredients plus a few of my own. You could probably call this a "throw in the kitchen sink" salad as you can add some of your favorites also.

Most of the salads we enjoy have the balance of good greens, a meat or protein, vegetables, fruits, cheese, nuts and a dressing that ROCKS! That's probably why we order so many salads at restaurants and don't necessarily recreate them at home.

So to that balance, I give you a Chicken Salad with Green Apples and Avocados and a Honey Lime Cilantro Dressing. (The Honey Lime Cilantro dressing ROCKS!) This is easy to put together and allowed my family to mix and match what they liked into the salad. Rotisserie chicken, apples, avocados, dried cranberries, sugared walnuts and crumbled goat cheese, were the products of choice so I let them mix and match to their likings. Think of the endless possibilities if you added strawberries, grapes, oranges, feta cheese, sliced almonds, celery, carrots...find your flavors and mix away.

What is your favorite ingredients in a salad? And what kind of salad dressing makes it all come together?

Ingredients

Salad

1 - 2-3 lb. rotisserie chicken, chopped or torn into bite size pieces

1- 12 ounce container of baby spring mix greens

2 avocados, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 green apples, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 package of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1- 6 ounce container of crumbled goat cheese

1 package of dried cranberries (Craisins)

1 package of sugared walnuts

Dressing

4 tablespoons of honey

Juice of 2 freshly squeezed limes

1 tablespoon of lime rind

3 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup of olive oil

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Place greens into individual bowls, add chicken, apples, avocado, cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries, goat cheese and sugared walnuts. Add a few tablespoons of dressing to cover the mixture. This salad can feed 4-6 people.

 

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with Fresh Tarragon

 

Yes, we survived Hurricane Irene. Having lost power for three days, unloading the refrigerator and freezer, cooking on the grill, playing games by candlelight and showering with cold water, this experience was tolerable. Nothing we would want to be doing on a regular basis, thank you!

Since last weekend, the mornings and evenings have been slightly cool. We have written about comfort food and our love for many different types of risotto. Jeff made it home first the other night and decided to blend a few different risotto recipes with some ingredients that needed to be used up. We had some fresh celery and tarragon from the garden and some dried porcini mushroom that needed to be used.

With a little bit of tweaking and our comfort with mixing and matching our ingredients for risotto, he came up with this chicken and mushroom risotto with fresh tarragon. One of the interesting things he did was use a different type of risotto rice. There are three types of risotto rice: 1. arborio, which we use all the time. 2. carnaroli, which we used in this recipe and 3. vialone nano. These are the best rices for risotto because they absorb liquids better, release more starch and can give the dish a creamier consistency.

We always use arborio which tends to give you a creamier consistency with this rice. The carnaroli is not as creamy, but definitely worked with this dish. The risotto was loaded with chicken and mushrooms and the slight taste of tarragon was a great combination, slightly licorish...so delicious.

It was nice to have some comfort food this week. It made us feel like home again and with eating out and cooking with minimal resources, this was a perfect dish to celebrate electricity and a need for some good old fashioned home cooking!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil

4 tablespoons of butter, separated into 2 tablespoons/2 tablespoons

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic, chopped 

1 stalk of celery, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

2 cups of carnaroli rice

1 -1/4 cups of white wine

1 - 6 ounce package of dried porcini mushrooms

6-7 cups of chicken broth, placed in a medium sauce pan and heated to a slight simmer

1 - 3 pound roaster chicken (cooked, store bought), loosely chopped or pulled into pieces

1 cup of grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons of butter

2 teaspoons of freshly chopped tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Place 7 cups of chicken broth in a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Once the broth is heated, place on a slow simmer.

2. In a large heavy sauce pan, over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the olive oil. Add the scallions, garlic and celery and saute until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the rice and dried porcini mushrooms and cook for about 1 minute, allowing the mixture to become incorporated. Add the wine and allow the mixture to boil off.

4. Start adding chicken broth by the ladle full. We normally begin with 2, allowing the mixture to be covered slightly with broth. Stir to mix the broth into the mixture. Reduce the heat to low and continue to add ladle fulls of broth as the mixture becomes less moist and the broth is absorbed.

5. Stir periodically to keep the rice from sticking and mixing the additional chicken broth. This process will take about 15-20 minutes. As you get near the last few ladle fulls of chicken broth, test the rice. You want it to be creamy but still have slight firmness. Add the chicken and tarragon, once incorporated add the last 2 tablespoons of butter and parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Take off the heat. The mixture may get a little sticky, just add a little of the chicken broth. You may have 1/2 to 1 cup left. When I package the remaining risotto for leftovers, I add a little chicken broth to the top to keep it slightly moist and easier to reheat.

Strawberry Summer Salsa with Tequila Lime Chicken

 

Part 2 of our Saturday "Pick Your Own" Strawberries at C.N. Smith Farm.

After picking 10 pounds of strawberries and starting the evening with a Strawberry Limonada, it was time to get serious on adding strawberries to our dinner menu. I decided to work the strawberries in as a condiment to the grilled chicken we would be serving. This past year, we have taken advantage of a few great summer salsas that contain a combination of tasty fruits, peppers, red onions and a flavorful dressings that complement the ingredients.

I found a strawberry summer salsa which they suggested be served with grilled chicken. It comes from a little recipe book called  "The Best 50 Salsas" by Christie and Thomas Katona. We have found some great quick salsa recipes whether combining fruits, vegetables or both!

We are having people over tomorrow and I am already eyeing a peach salsa to use with our Killer Guacamole.

I found an easy Tequila-Lime Marinade, which was to be used on flank steak, butfigured it would be fine for chicken. The marinade came together in 5 minutes and since the tequila was out we might as well use it. I found the recipe on the Food & Wine website as Tequila-Lime Marinated Flank Steak. I've still got my eye on using it the next time we serve steak.

The chicken was delicious and the strawberry salsa was amazing as a dressing. We ended up serving it with white jasmine rice which was perfect. We kept dipping our chicken and rice in the fruity salsa. It was light and perfect for a warm Saturday evening dinner with our fresh, locally picked strawberries and some homegrown mint and cilantro.

This is nice as a side dish for chicken or white fish. Get out there while you can still pick your own strawberries, at least in New England, and enjoy the taste of locally grown produce! 

Strawberry Summer Salsa 

Ingredients:

2 cups of diced strawberries
1/2 cup of chopped red onion
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 japeleno chile, finely chopped
1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients. Cover and chill.

Tequila Lime Marinade

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons Spanish olive oil
3 tablespoons tequila
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 small Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
2 pounds of boneless chicken breast, sliced thinly, approximately eight pieces.

Preparation:

In a large bowl or 1 gallon resealable bag, combine the ingredients.
Add the chicken and toss to coat completely with the marinade.
Cover (or seal) and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more.

Grill chicken to desired wellness. We usually go 3-4 minutes each side, depending on the heat intensity of the grill.

Serve chicken with salsa on the top or side. White jasmine rice is a great side dish for this meal.

 

Gourmet Magazine - Turkey Cutlets with Cilantro-Almond Sauce

 

About 7 years ago we started clipping recipes. They would come from magazines, newspapers and cookbooks. We would cut them out thinking we could make them...someday. With all those great ideas, we started a recipe box. For a while, we relied on our recipe box for dishes that would eventually become our favorites. Today, before we go grocery shopping we will pick out some recipes and meal plan for the week. With hectic schedules and quite a few mouths to feed, planning means we look forward to dinner.

Having cooked many different recipes over the past 18 months, we find we never make it back to our favorites (or the recipe box). The other day, Jeff and I were saying that we were actually having a tough time trying to figure out what to make. We pulled out the old recipe box for ideas.

Chicken? Fish? Hamburger? Pork chops? What about turkey cutlets? That's something different. Really haven't done any recipes with turkey cutlets. The recipes seemed interesting...why not! And what a refreshing change. I don't think we have had turkey since Thanksgiving. The Turkey Cutlets with Cilantro-Almond Sauce was a Gourmet magazine recipe from July 2006.

The cutlets worked up quickly and cooked on the grill within 6-8 minutes. The combination of ingredients seem crazy but I promise, you will enjoy every delicious bite. With or without the sauce, the cutlets are incredible. As you can see, we served ours with white jasmine rice and a roasted corn bean salsa. Everything worked.

As always, the family was our test audience and everyone loved the meal. They all commented on how nice it was to have something different, especially when chicken is a staple that can be over used. With cook-outs coming this weekend, instead of grilled chicken, try the grilled turkey. It's refreshingly good!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of red-wine vinegar
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon of dried hot red-pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin of olive oil
1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
4 (1/4-inch-thick) turkey breast cutlets (about 1 1/4 lb)

Preparation:

Whisk together vinegar, garlic, red-pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until salt is dissolved. Add 3 tablespoons oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined well, then whisk in almonds and cilantro.

Prepare grill for cooking with hot charcoal (high heat for gas).

Whisk together coriander, cinnamon, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a shallow bowl. Turn cutlets to coat in spice mixture. Grill turkey, turning once, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to a platter.
Spoon almond sauce over turkey.

Cooks' Note: If you aren't able to grill outdoors, turkey can be cooked in a hot lightly oiled well-seasoned large (2-burner) ridged grill pan over moderately high heat, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 6 minutes total.

 

Shellfish and Chicken Paella with Saffron Rice, Chorizo and Green Peas

 

Over the weekend I ask our Facebook Fans, or should I say our "likers", what they were craving. Alison Moriarty, who works with me, said she was looking for a good paella recipe. Jeff and I had been talking about making a paella and this gave us reason to look for and make the request.

After laboring over a few recipes, we decided on Bobby Flay's Shellfish and Chicken Paella with Saffron Rice, Chorizo and Green Peas. It had everything we wanted to see in a paella...chicken, chorizo, and an assortment of seafood. It also called for arborio rice which is similar to Bomba rice, used in traditional Spanish paella.

Paella is definitely a mix of different meats, seafood and vegetables. Depending on your likes and dislikes, I'll leave it up to you on what you would like to add or subtract from this recipe. The recipe calls for lobster and we struggled with whether we wanted to include it, mostly for cost. There are quite a few ingredients in this dish and many comments suggested leaving the lobster out and including scallops. In the end, we did add both the lobster and scallops. We also used boneless chicken thighs rather than the whole chicken parts and they cooked up easily and were delicious in the paella. We did add more shrimp (16 versus 8). In total, for seafood, we had lobster, scallops, mussels, little neck clams (12), shrimp and squid.

We were joined by Brian and Sharon (good friends of ours...think Bitch Bags and Romex Construction - they created our kitchen), along with Jeff's parents and our daughters, Danielle and Kristen. It was a great evening of glasses of wine with an incredible paella. I was able to figure out why there was a lemon aioli added to the dish. As I was tasting the paella before the aioli, it was a little fishy tasting (which I didn't mind). With the aioli mixed in, it separated the flavors and removed that fishy taste. There was a clean taste when you ate the chicken, chorizo and seafood. Each had its own distinct flavor, making the dish absolutely DELICIOUS! Everyone had different reasons for loving the dish. "The chicken was moist and flavorful", "the chorizo was amazing", "the lobster was tender and flavorful", "the rice was delicious" and "I loved the peas in it!".

For all the work necessary for this dish, it was well worth it. Allow yourself a few hours for preparation which may include cooking some of the ingredients ahead of time. It's like every meal, dish or dessert we make...when we have an audience of people enjoying what we serve, it is worth every moment it takes to prepare, cook and deliver the dish.

Thank you, Alison, for making the suggestion. It puts another great recipe into our library of dishes! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Lemon Aioli:
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
*2 egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3/4 cup olive oil
Freshly ground white pepper

Paella:
4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 cups chicken stock, divided
Large pinch saffron
12 littleneck clams, scrubbed
1 (2 1/2-pound) whole chicken, cut in 8 pieces or 4 legs and 4 thighs (dark meat)
1/2 pound chorizo, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/4 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups Arborio (paella) rice
12 mussels, debearded and scrubbed
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tail on (we used 16 shrimp)
1/2 pound of scallops 
4 baby squid, cleaned and sliced into rings, tentacles reserved
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
2 cooked lobsters (1 1/2 pounds each), tails in the shell, split lengthwise, claw meat in the shell or out, as desired
Freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish
1/2 cup Lemon Aioli (we used all of it)

Preparation:

For the aioli:

Place the garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, egg yolks, lemon juice and zest in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Slowly add the oil, drop by drop at first, until thickened. Season with salt and white pepper, to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the paella:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the tomatoes in a small baking dish and drizzle with the honey, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and salt and pepper, and roast until soft. Set aside.

Bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan and add a large pinch of saffron. Put about 1/2 cup of the stock in another saucepan, add the clams, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook just until the clams open; remove the clams from the liquid and set aside, reserving the liquid.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a very large skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add to the heated pan. Cook until browned on all sides. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate. Add the chorizo, onion and garlic and saute until chorizo has browned and the onions are translucent.

Add the rice, about 7 1/2 cups of the chicken stock, the reserved clam liquid, and any juices from the chicken and bring to a simmer. Nestle the chicken in the rice and let cook, uncovered, until the rice is quite al dente, about 15 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer-the rice on the bottom of the pan should form a dark brown crispy crust by the end of the cooking time. If the stock is disappearing too quickly, just add a bit more of the remaining 2 cups.

Add the mussels, shrimp, scallop, squid, and peas. Cook until the shrimp are pink and the mussels open. Add the lobster, clams and roasted tomatoes and heat briefly. At this point, you should still be able to see liquid bubbling gently; it will settle when you turn off the heat. Fold in the parsley and lemon aioli and mix until combined, season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Tasting Table's Braised Chicken with Apricots, Olives and Herbed Couscous

 

Recipe adapted from Michael's Genuine Food: Down-to-Earth Cooking for People Who Love to Eat, owner of Michael's Genuine.

HAPPY 200 TO US!

Since November 2009, we have been blogging as Friends Food Family. Today is our 200th blog post which is a huge milestone for us. Can you imagine? We have made 200 different recipes over the past 16 months. Our family doesn't usually get to taste the same dish twice...well sometimes. But really, I don't think anyone is complaining.

What I love about our 200th recipe is that we are trying to step out of our comfort zone. Since Christmas, we have been trying some French recipes and the next two blogs will have recipes with a Middle Eastern flair. (Cinnamon, mint, cilantro; it sounds like an odd combination but trust me, it's really delicious.) We have also been making different breads with yeast and learning how to make pie crust from scratch.

Jeff and I both receive recipes from the Tasting Table. They arrive daily and give us ideas for dinner especially when there is chicken or beef in the refrigerator and we are not sure what we are making for dinner. He received this Braised Chicken with Apricots, Olives and Herbed Couscous recipe and figured we had everything at home but the fresh mint and cilantro. A quick trip to the grocery store on the way home and we were ready to go. This was going to be something totally different.

As Jeff started dinner, the more ingredients he incorporated the better the house smelled. Even though I'm not a green olive fan, I couldn't wait to try this dish. The worse part was having to wait an hour for the chicken to bake.

The meal was delicious. The chicken thighs were tender and the sauce was sweet with a hint of sour. The couscous was incredible with the mint, scallions and cilantro. It complemented the chicken dish nicely. Even my fussiest eaters returned for seconds.

It's funny with all the meals we have cooked, everyone has learned to taste a little of everything...to the amazement of actually enjoying something new.

When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone and tried something new? The results can be very rewarding.

Ingredients:

¼ cup of canola oil
½ cup of all-purpose flour
4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 12)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1½ cups of pitted green olives
1 cup of dried apricots
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
3 cups of chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 cup of fresh orange juice
1 cup of couscous
6 scallions, white and light-green parts only, thinly sliced
1 cup of fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons of coarsely chopped mint leaves
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375° and arrange a rack in the center.

In a Dutch oven or large ovenproof pot, warm the oil over high heat. Spread the flour on a large, shallow plate. Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken lightly in the flour, tapping off the excess. Working in batches, sear the chicken until browned all over, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Add the carrots, onion and celery to the drippings in the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 of teaspoon pepper and the olives, apricots, cinnamon and stock. Add the chicken and arrange so the thighs are covered with liquid. Pour any drippings on the platter into the pot. Bring to a boil, then
cover and bake for 1 hour or until the chicken is fork tender.

In a small saucepan, bring the orange juice, ½ cup of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the couscous and cover. Let stand until the couscous is soft, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the scallions with the cilantro and mint.

Remove the chicken from the oven and stir in the butter until melted. Transfer the couscous to a serving bowl and fluff with a fork. Fold in half the scallion mixture. Sprinkle the remaining scallion mixture over the braised chicken and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Thomas Keller's Chicken Pot Pie

  

Last weekend, we spent most of Sunday preparing meals for the rest of the week. We had a turkey dinner in mind as well as using up the last of a roaster chicken we had cooked earlier that week. As we looked through books to figure out what we would make, Jeff pulled out Thomas Keller's "ad hoc at home". This is a great cookbook with delicious recipes, stories and instruction. He came across a chicken pot pie and that was as far as he needed to go. I love chicken pot pie! And so do my kids.

I used to buy Willow Tree Pies...which are delicious, but I like chicken pot pies with potatoes, onions, carrots, celery and peas. I want a meal when I have a piece of pie, not have to make the side dishes. If you do find a chicken pot pie with vegetables, I find there isn't much meat.

As I read the recipe it seemed a bit more intensive than I thought, especially since we had to make our own pie crust. As much as I don't mind making a crust, I can be lazy when it comes to pastry dough. Why can't I just use Pillsbury Ready-Made Pie Crust? It's really pretty good. Thinking I needed to take this pie crust on, I rolled up my sleeves, took out the flour and started making dough.

It really wasn't that hard and before I knew it, I had two disks of dough in the refrigerator chilling as we finished the filling for the pie. The dough chilled for an hour, I rolled it out with ease and before I knew it, the crusts were rolled the filling was in place, we covered the pie and folded the edges. Two holes for the steam and a brushing of a beaten egg across the top and we were ready to go.

As you can tell, it came out perfect (both inside and out). What I loved was the fact that the chicken pot pie wasn't swimming in sauce. As you ate the pie, you tasted the chicken, the potatoes, the onions, the carrots...and the crust was flaky, buttery...delicious. As you can tell the first sitting ate half the pie and the second sitting almost finished it. As we saved the leftovers, bickering had started as different people claimed a piece for the following days lunch.

If you have the time, consider making the crust, the time spent is well worth it. If you don't have time, purchase a ready made crust see how good this chicken pot pie is. The taste and the time spent to make the recipe are well worth it!

Ingredients:
Pie Crust
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 sticks of butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
About 5 tablespoons of ice water

Preparation:
Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Then add the butter and toss to coat with flour. With your hands or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour, tossing and incorporating any pieces of butter that have settled at the bottom of the bowl, until the butter pieces are no larger than a pea. Drizzle 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of ice water over the top and, using a fork, mix the dough until it holds together when pinched: add the remaining tablespoon of water if the dough is very dry. Knead the dough until it is completely smooth and the butter is incorporated. (I used all 5 tablespoons)

Divide the dough in half, with one piece slightly larger than the other (the larger crust will be the bottom piece). Shape each half in a 1 inch thick disk. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for atleast one hour, or up to a day. (if the dough does not rest, it will shrink as it bakes.)

If the dough is too hard to roll, let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes or pound it a few times with a rolling pin. Lightly flour the work surface and rolling pin. Lightly dust the top of the large disk with flour and roll it out to a 13 to 14 inch round about 1/8 inch thick: roll outward from the center, rotating the dough frequently and adding a little flour to the work surfaceor dough as needed to prevent sticking. Fold the dough in half and transfer to a 9 to 10 inch pie plate, gently easing the dough into the corners and up the sides.

Roll out the second piece of dough in the same manner, to a 12 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate both doughs for 15 minutes.

Makes one 9 to 10 inch double crust pie.

Chicken Pie Filling:
1 cup of 1/2-inch pieces red-skinned potatoes
1 1/4 cups of 1/2-inch pieces carrots (cut on the diagonal)
12 white pearl onions
3 bay leaves
3 thyme sprigs
24 black peppercorns
1 1/4 cups of 1/2-inch pieces of celery (cut on the diagonal)
2 cups of shredded cooked chicken

Bechamel Sauce:
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
3 cups of whole milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
Pinch of cayenne

1 egg, beaten

Preparation:
Roll out the dough, place one piece in a 9 or 10 inch pie plate and the second on a baking sheet, and refrigerate.

Put the potatoes, carrots, and onions in separate small saucepans with water to cover and add 1 bay leaf, 1 thyme sprig, and 8 peppercorns to each pan.
Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and simmer until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Drain the vegetables, discard the bay, thyme, and peppercorns, and spread on a baking sheet. Cut the onions in half.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice water. Blanch the celery until just crisp-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
Drain, transfer to the ice bath, and chill just until cold. Drain and add to the baking sheet with the other vegetables.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes; adjust the heat as needed so that the mixture does not brown. Whisk in the milk, lower the heat to keep the bechamel at a gentle simmer, and cook, whisking often, until the sauce has thickened and reduced to about 2 cups, 30 to 40 minutes; move the whisk over the bottom and into the corners of the pan to be sure the bechamel doesn't burn.

Position the oven racks in the lower third and center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Strain the bechamel through a fine-mesh conical strainer into a spouted measuring cup. Season with salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, and cayenne.

Remove both doughs from the refrigerator.

Scatter the vegetables and chicken into the pie shell. Pour the bechamel over them. At this point, if the top crust is too hard to shape, let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes. Moisten the rim of pie shell with some of the beaten egg. Cover the filling with the top crust and press the edges of the dough together to seal. Trim away the excess dough that overhangs the rim. Brush the top crust with the egg. Cut a small vent in the center of the dough with a small cutter or the tip of a paring knife to allow steam to escape.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the crust is a rich golden brown, 50 minutes to 1 hour. If necessary, move the pie to the center rack during the last 10 minutes of baking to brown the crust. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 10 minutes.

Cut the pot pie into 6 wedges and serve warm.

 

Sticky Chicken Wings

 

Are you looking for a great appetizer to serve at your next football gathering, tailgate party or family cookout? I have a recipe that has three ingredients and is guaranteed to become a party favorite...STICKY CHICKEN WINGS.

I can't remember where the actual recipe came from but, I think it was Cousin Dave who borrowed it from his mother, Auntie Ree-Ree. I probably cook mine a bit differently than they do, but the results are still the same...(sticky) finger lickin' good!

They are so good, they fall into the category of addicting. Sweet and Salty, a perfect balance. It's like the old Lay's potato chip commercial, "Nobody eats just one". It's really one after another after another!

To start:

5-6 pounds of frozen chicken wing parts

Place these in a large roaster pan.

Mix:

3 cups of brown sugar

3 cups of soy sauce

Place these ingredients in the bowl and mix well. It will be very thick and syrupy. Pour this over the chicken wings. Stir the wings so that they are evenly covered with the marinade. Cover with aluminum foil.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place in oven for one hour.

At the end of the first hour, remove the foil. Turn all the chicken wings over. They will be floating in the sauce. Cook for 30-45 minutes or until the wings become golden or slightly blackened. remove from oven and pour 1/2 of the liquid from the pan. Turn over the wings and cook for another 30-45 minutes to a dark golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

And no fighting over the last wing!

Apologizes for the picture which is a bit blurry....maybe it was my sticky fingers taking the picture!

 

Southern Living's White Bean Chili (with Chicken)

 

It's official, football season is upon us. We love this time of year as the days get shorter and the nights get colder because it means we start making some of our seasonal football favorites. The first being Southern Living's White Bean Chili. We found this recipe in our Southern Living Favorites Cook Book from 2007 after we had a request for chili that didn't have a "red" meat base.

What an incredible find!

The chili is thick and chunky with bite-sized pieces of chicken. The base is a combination of seasonings and blended white beans and the white shoepeg corn gives the taste of kernels fresh off the ears. The best part are the green chile peppers. They give the chili a spicy taste without much heat.

It's a great dish for those who don't care for spicy chili. With some of the picky eaters at our house, this is a meal that everyone enjoys.

With Fall upon us and football games to attend, this is a great time to make a hearty chili for your next indoor or outdoor sports crowd.

Ingredients

• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 8  skinned and boned chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3  cups  water
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 2  teaspoons  ground cumin
• 1  teaspoon  chili powder
• 1  teaspoon  pepper
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 4  (15-ounce) cans cannellini or great Northern beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
• 1  (14 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
• 1  (16-ounce) package frozen shoepeg white corn
• 2  (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chiles
• 3  tablespoons  lime juice
• Garnish: fresh cilantro sprigs


Preparation

Sauté chopped onion in hot oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat 7 minutes; add garlic, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes.

 

Stir in chicken pieces, and cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is lightly browned. Stir in 3 cups water and next 5 ingredients; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, 10 minutes or until chicken is done.

Place 2 cans of beans in a blender; add broth, and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.

Stir bean pureé, remaining 2 cans of beans, corn, and chiles into chicken mixture in Dutch oven; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in lime juice just before serving. Garnish, if desired.

 

Cook's Charcoal-Grilled Lemon Chicken

 

For the past two weeks I have hesitated to post this recipe. Not because we didn't like it, but I am the slowest typist and the recipe was quite detailed. Things have been a bit crazy around here and until we get into our September "back to school" routine, I feel like I am pressed for time. So, tonight I talked my son, Stephen, into typing the recipe and then I could add the storyline. (Thank you, Stephen!)

I am now very excited to tell you about this recipe because many of the chicken recipes we create and report on are made with boneless chicken breasts. This can get a bit boring. You forget how good the whole chicken really is...thighs, wings, drumsticks and breasts.

Having quite a few mouths to feed, we decided to try this recipe. It was in the Cook's Illustrated, Summer Entertaining 2010 Magazine. Jeff made it the first time with the Pasta and Squash with Tomatoes, Basil and Pine Nuts recipe which I blogged about two weeks ago.

To begin...huge, huge, hit! Charcoal grilled, lemony, garlicky...finger lickin' good!

Not only were people grabbing for different pieces, everyone remarked at how nice it was to have something other than the chicken breasts. Then, the leftovers turned out to be even better the next day. The lemon-garlic flavor was more pronounced than the night before. Whether eating the chicken cold off the bone or peeled to make sandwiches, our family talked about that meal for days.

As summer is winding down and cook-outs become less and less, I thought I could share this recipe with you for two reasons: 1. The weather is supposed to be wonderful this weekend, giving you an opportunity to give this recipe a try. 2. You can serve this hot or cold, meaning...great for Fall tailgating.

Check out the recipe and give it a try...be the hit of the gathering!

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup kosher or 1/2 cup table salt

2 whole chickens (about 3 1/2 pounds each), cut into drumsticks, thighs, breasts, and wings; backs reversed for another use

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, minced and made into paste

1 cup juice from 5-6 lemons

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried

Preparation:

1. Dissolve salt in 2 quarts water, in large bowl or two gallon-size zip lock plastic bags. Add chicken parts (seal zip-lock bags, if using), and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove chicken from brine, rinse very well, dry thoroughly with paper towels, and season with pepper.

2. About 30 minutes before cooking, light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 quarts, about 100 briquettes) and burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Build modified 2-level fire, arranging coals over two-thirds of grill, leaving one-third empty. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes. Grill is ready when coals are medium-hot. Scrape grate clean with grill brush. Lightly dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate.

3. Heat olive oil and garlic in small saucepan over low heat until garlic starts to sizzle but not color, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; combine garlic and lemon juice in large, shallow, nonreactive 13 by 9-inch baking dish or similar pan; set aside. (Dry herbs may be added to garlic-lemon mixture at this point; fresh herbs should not be added until just before coating chicken.)

4. Grill chicken skin side down on hotter side of grill, pulling chicken over to cooler side if flare-ups occur or if skin starts to char, and flipping and moving pieces to ensure even cooking, until chicken is dark golden brown and registers between 160 and 165 degrees on instant-read thermometer for breasts and 170 and 175 degrees for thighs, drumsticks, and wings (about 15 to 20 minutes). Transfer chicken pieces to lemon sauce and roll to coat completely. Return pieces to cooler side of grill; heat until lemon sauce flavors meat, about 5 minutes longer, turning each piece and brushing with sauce once or twice more. Return chicken to pan and coat in lemon sauce once more; serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy!

William-Sonoma's Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas

 

Friday was quesadilla and mojito night. Nothing better than a minty refreshing drink with some great finger food. Jeff found this recipe in a cookbook I purchased a while back called William-Sonoma Weekend - Food Made Fast. The recipe was called Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas. Hands down, the easiest meal to make and HEALTHY! I know many of my recipes don't give nutritional value, but look at the ingredients...fresh and basic.

Our household loves any type of Mexican food and as much as they love our chicken enchiladas, we have a new recipe to add to our list of "regulars." We made it with our Killer Guacamole and added some warmed black beans. With all the other compliments, salsa, sour cream and shredded Monterey Jack cheese, everyone continued to build their quesadillas to their liking.

The flavor was great with the moist roasted chicken, wilted fresh spinach and mushrooms. The Monterey Jack cheese was a perfect blend to these fresh ingredients. Crunchy tortillas, fresh veggies...they were delicious.

If you have had a long week (or a short one because it is only Monday!) and are looking for a quick and easy meal for dinner, pick up these ingredients and presto! Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons corn oil

6 ounces fresh button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

2 cups packed baby spinach

2 cups shredded roast chicken, homemade or purchased

8 flour tortillas, each 10 inches in diameter

2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup salsa, homemade or purchased

PREPARE THE FILLING: In a large, heave fry pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and chicken and saute just until the spinach is wilted, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl.

ASSEMBLE THE QUESADILLAS: Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas, spooning it onto half of each tortilla and leaving a 3/4-inch border uncovered. Sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Fold the tortillas in half over the chicken mixture to enclose loosely.

COOK THE QUESADILLAS: Wipe out the fry pan with a paper towel and return to medium heat. Brush lightly with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Working in batches, add the quesadillas to the pan and cook until golden brown on one side, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a large spatula, carefully turn the quesadillas and cook until golden on the other side and the cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes more.

Divide the quesadillas among 4 plates and serve. Pass the sour cream and salsa at the table.

Chicken Marsala - Emeril Lagasse Style

  
Sometimes you need one of those recipes that you can use on a regular basis, knowing it is easy to make and always delicious when served. That would be Emeril Lagasse's Chicken Marsala. This is a family staple for us. When you have a package of boneless chicken breasts and you don't have a clue of what to do with them, pull this recipe out. The time it takes you to boil water and cook either egg noodles or rice, this dish is ready to serve.

My suggestion is to make the Emeril's Essence ahead of time and place it in an air-tight container. That way, it's always ready to go. There are a few basic ingredients, which are probably sitting in your cabinets, and before you know it, dinner is served. 

The chicken always comes out tender and the sauce is a wonderful topping for the chicken as well as the noodles. My kids love it and sadly, no left-overs for lunch.

 
Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows

2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake)

3/4 cup Marsala

1 cup chicken stock 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions:

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

Emeril's Essence: Creole Seasoning

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Giada's Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs

 

Sunday morning I was taking inventory of our many cookbooks. Each week we try and pick out recipes for dinner and create the grocery list according to the ingredients. The past two weeks have been hectic at the house and I feel like we have eaten out more than in.

I was looking at all of our Giada DeLAurentiis cookbooks and realized I haven't made much from one of her newer cookbooks, Giada's Kitchen New Italian Favorites I flipped through the book and immediately found some recipes I liked as well as some recipes she recently prepared on her show. Last night we started with Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs. Be prepared, this could be "Giada Week" as we have two more meals from the book and a dessert. What's a week of delicious meals without dessert!

This was a fairly easy recipe to put together and it finished in one big pan. I love anything that has chicken meatballs because they are very mild and juicy. They always remind me of Italian Wedding Soup. The combination of ingredients were delicious with the three cheeses and fresh cherry tomatoes. I also liked the fact that it fed a family of six, no problem. My only suggestion for this recipe is to add some additional bread crumbs to the meatballs. They are very wet to work with. Even with the additional bread crumbs (maybe 1/4 cup more), the meatball mixture will still remain wet.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound orecchiette pasta 
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 3/4 cup grated Romano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, hot
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 8 ounces bocconcini mozzarella, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

• Preparation:

  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

  In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, and the salt and pepper. Add the chicken and gently stir to combine.

  Using a melon baller (or a teaspoon measure), form the chicken mixture into 3/4-inch pieces. With damp hands, roll the chicken pieces into mini meatballs.

  In a large (14-inch) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook without moving until brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and brown the other side, about 2 minutes longer. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tomatoes are soft and meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl and add the Parmesan. Toss to lightly coat orecchiette, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Add the meatball mixture, mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of the basil. Gently toss to combine. Garnish with the chopped basil.

Chicken Soup with Couscous and Craisins

  
We were making dinner the other night when my son was looking for something quick because he was heading to the movies. Knowing that dinner wasn't going to be ready for another hour, I looked in the pantry and found some CousCous Grande and then headed to the refrigerator. There was a container of chicken left from Giada's Garlic and Citrus Chicken (which I'll blog about this weekend); I should probably do something with that before we throw it out.

I grabbed some carrots, celery, a shallot, garlic and presto...chicken soup.

But, I was thinking, whenever we make CousCous Grande, I make it with craisins. What if I put them in the soup? So, I chopped a quarter cup of craisins and put them into the soup. For all of you who are making faces, if you like cranberry sauce on your chicken or turkey, I bet you'll like craisins in your chicken soup. Look at the recipe for Danielle's Chicken Salad, we mixed chicken with craisins.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped,

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped

2 cups of CousCous Grande (Marrakesh Express)

6 cups of chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves

1/4 cup of craisins (chopped)

Preparation:

Heat a large sauce pan on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add the garlic, carrots, celery and shallot. Cook about 5 minutes until the vegetables slightly softened. Add the chicken and couscous. Cook for 2-4 minutes until the couscous is slightly browned. Add 4 1/2 cups of the chicken broth, thyme and chopped craisins. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer until all the broth has been absorbed and the pasta is soft to the bite.

Remove from heat, place couscous mixture in a bowl and pour 1/3 cup of chicken broth on top. This can be served as a one dish pasta meal or soup. I took the mixture for lunch the following day, without the broth.

So, if you like what you see, try it, if not, send me your favorite chicken recipe and I'll feature yours!

Now, enjoy your chicken soup!

Pan-Seared Chicken with Tarragon Butter Sauce

During these cold winter nights, it's nice to come home and put together an easy and tasty dinner. We found this Pan-Seared Chicken with Tarragon Butter Sauce recipe in an old 2005 Gourmet Magazine. (It sounds funny mentioning Gourmet Magazine since they are no longer in print.) The toughest part of this recipe is chopping a shallot and some fresh herbs.

This dish has the richness of butter yet doesn't taste heavy. The lemon juice and tarragon balance the flavor perfectly. We served the dish with roasted garlic and olive oil couscous.

Add this to your recipes of quick and delicious!

Ingredients

1/4 cup finely chopped shallot (1 large)

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/3 cup dry white wine

2 lb thin-sliced skinless boneless chicken breasts (also called cutlets)

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/8 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Cook shallot in 1 tablespoon butter in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add wine and boil until most of liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté chicken in 3 or 4 batches, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer as cooked to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.

Return shallot mixture to moderately low heat and add remaining 3 tablespoons butter, 1 cube at a time, whisking until incorporated. Remove from heat and whisk in tarragon, parsley, lemon juice, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken.