Chicken Piccata

It's been a cold, rain-soaked October day, which would be perfect for a warm bowl of stew and a hot toddy.  But after a day full of library book sales and the Crafty Bastards fair, I came home tired, cold and very hungry.  For dinner I needed something quick and tasty… and something that would also go well with a fresh bunch of arugula and a divine heirloom tomato, both purchased from my trip to the farmers market this morning.  

And thus came Ina Garten from her stately Hamptons stead and delivered unto us: Chicken Piccata!

 

Chicken Piccata, recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home

• 5-6 chicken thighs (I like dark meat, but you can use chicken breasts instead)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/2 tablespoons butter
• Juice squeezed from 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Use three shallow baking dishes for breading the chicken.  In one dish, add the flour.  Egg in the next. And in the last, mix together the breadcrumbs and corn meal.

Place the chicken between two sheets of parchment paper and using a meat mallet, flatten to 1/4 inch thick. 

Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Dip the chicken in flour and shake off the excess.

Dip into the egg, coating the chicken evenly.

Dip the chicken into the breadcrumb and corn meal mixture fully coating the chicken.

Heat the oil and a half tablespoon of butter in a large saute pan over medium to medium low heat.

When the oil is hot and the butter is bubbly, add the chicken.  

Cook for about 3 minutes per side.  The outer coating should be golden brown and crispy.  Like this!

When the chicken is done, put it on a clean plate and keep warm in the oven.

Next prepare the sauce!

Add two more tablespoons of butter to the pan and melt over medium heat.  

 

When the butter is nice and foamy, add in the lemon juice.  

After a minute or two, add in the chicken broth.  White wine can also be used in place of chicken broth.

Bring the sauce to a boil, lower heat and reduce the liquid by half.  

Getting saucy!

When the sauce is reduced, turn off heat and stir in the additional tablespoon of butter.  When the butter has melted into the sauce, serve immediately over the chicken.

Enjoy!

Cooking with Julia Child

For our first wedding anniversary, my husband surprised me with an amazingly thoughtful present: a couples cooking class that paid tribute to Julia Child.  The class, taught at CulinAerie by the delightful Susan Holt, focused on classic French cuisine, and Chef Holt entertained us with her knowledge of and personal experience meeting Julia Child.  

Okay… so I wasn't exactly cooking with Julia Child herself, but she was definitely there in spirit!

The class started with some basic instruction on how to prepare and cook our three course meal of Lentil Salad, Roast Pork with Mustard Cream Sauce, and Crêpes Suzette.  Chef Holt provided sufficient instruction on technique, without becoming overly technical.  It was, after all, a couples cooking class, designed primarily to be a fun, engaging, and entertaining experience for the pair. The meal was simple but full of flavor.  And the experience of cooking together was wonderfully intimate and romantic – despite the presence of 13 other couples!  Plus, they kept giving us wine!  

Here's a breakdown of our meal and some great tips I picked up along the way.

Lentil Salad with Chicory and Chevre

This simple salad of cooked French lentils with chicory (or frisée, endive, or any bitter green), goat cheese and a classic French vinaigrette caused my husband to declare that we should be eating more lentils.  It was so full of nutrients and flavor that I could easily eat this for a meal on its own.  

There are many varieties of lentils, and most commonly this legume is used in Indian cooking. French lentils are a distinctive dark green, and when properly cooked, should be al dente (firm, not mushy).  Lentils are high in protein, fiber and iron, folate and B1 (thank you Wikipedia!) and are a great option for vegetarian dishes.  

Cooking tips:

• These only need to cook for about 25 minutes in simmering water, until just tender.
• You don't really need to add salt, unless you want to add that flavor profile.  
• If you do add salt, you may need to increase the cooking time a bit.

Pork Tenderloin with a Mustard, Tarragon Cream Sauce.  And bacon.

Julia Child, in volume one of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, describes the pork loin as the most expensive cut, but also the most attractive looking.  I am not sure I can comment on its attractiveness, but I do know that this cut of meat can be found at Trader Joe's for around $5, which is about half the price of my local neighborhood grocer.  (I still support the local grocer, just not in the form of buying their pork tenderloin!) 

Roast pork tenderloin is one of my favorite dishes to make because it's simple, flavorful and easy. Just season the meat, sear it on all sides, and let it finish cooking in the oven.  Voilà!

Some helpful tips:

• Use canola or peanut oil for searing the tenderloin.  The smoke point of olive oil is too low and can impart its own flavors, which you don't necessarily want.
• When searing the tenderloin, put it in the hot pan and leave it alone until it achieves a nice golden brown/almost caramel color on one side.  Only then should you pick it up and turn… Repeat on all sides until it's evenly seared.  You  may need to lower the heat a bit as you go.
• Don't season the meat until just before you put it in the pan, and you really only need to use a little bit of salt and pepper.  The application of salt draws out moisture, so you want to wait until the last minute to apply this.

In regard to the last point, don't confuse basic salt and pepper seasoning with a dry rub or a marinade.  If you are going to use these, Julia Child advises at least 6 to 24 hours of marinating/seasoning time for a refrigerated loin roast.

Another good tip, let the meat rest in the pan, in the braising liquid (in this case wine and chicken broth) so it retains more moisture. Only remove the meat just before you start the sauce.  Slice the tenderloin just as the sauce is finishing, pour on the sauce and serve immediately.  This is the perfect, perfect, perfect temperature!  And the sauce – prepared with mustard, crème fraiche, and tarragon – was so good I wanted to lick my plate.

Oh, and this particular dish was also made with bacon.  And not just any bacon.  Nueske's bacon. Also commonly referred to as the best bacon in America… or at least is should be.  

Pork + Pork = Heaven  

Crêpes Suzette

"Fire in the hole!"  Not just an oft-repeated expression from the fabulous FX series Justified, but apparently the magic phrase of choice for the flambéed Crêpes Suzette!

Crêpes Suzette is a classic French dessert, and while crêpes can be a time-consuming, pain in the ass to make, they're soooo worth it.  Made with a few crêpes, butter, sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and an orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier (if you like more of a cognac finish) or Cointreau…  C'est très magnifique!  

Tips on the art of flambé:

• Never (Jamais!) pour the liqueur into the pan when it's over the flame.  Instead pull the pan off heat and pour in the liqueur.
• Immediately thrust the pan back over heat, tipping the pan toward the flame and thus igniting the alcohol vapors!  All without actually sloshing everything into the fire!
• And don't forget to yell "Fire in the hole!" while doing it!  Because it's fun to get in touch with your inner pyromaniac… and we need atmosphere dammit!  

Got all that?!   

Overall, this was a fun and memorable experience for the both of us.  We both learned new things and had an absolutely, lovely time cooking with and for each other.  And all of the wine didn't hurt either!  Thanks, Chef Holt and CulinAerie for a fantastic meal, and thanks to my amazing husband for a terrific first anniversary!  

Bon Appétit!

Apple, Fig and Bourbon Compote

Autumn, my favorite season, is upon us.  The farmer's market now has apples and cider and all of the things that are perfect and inviting on a cool, crisp fall morning.  While I am not a big fan of apple pie, I do love cooked apples.  This simple apple compote made with a fig spread (use fresh if you have them), a bit of bourbon, butter and brown sugar is lovely when paired with a (cheesy) polenta, or it can serve as a dessert on its own.  It also goes really well with grilled pork chops… wrapped in bacon… Mmm… bacon………..

Things that make me happy: Bourbon, fig spread, brown sugar

Apple, Fig and Bourbon Compote - Recipe inspiration from here!

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large or 2 small apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 2 tablespoons fig spread
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 shot of bourbon – feel free to pour some in the compote, too! ;)

Peel, core and dice the apple.  

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Add the apple and cook for three to five minutes, until the apple just begins to soften.

Add the fig spread and brown sugar.

Mix together until the brown sugar is desolved and the fig spread just begins to thin out.

Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the shot of bourbon… Really, you can add as much as you like… It's really about how much bourbon flavor you want to taste and how long you have to cook it down.  

Back on the heat, stir in the bourbon.  

Bring it just to a low boil and reduce the heat to low.  

Cook the sauce down for another ten minutes or so.  Again, this can cook longer, but I was hungry! 

Serve alone or topped on a slice of grilled polenta.

Enjoy!

Steakhouse Pasta

I love The Pioneer Woman.  Not only does she manage to be witty, warm and genuine, but her food is nearly always flawlessly wonderful.  It looks good, it tastes good, most of it is stuff I have or can easily find, and she provides great step-by-step instructions.  I'm fairly certain that her blog post on "How to Cook a Steak" is at least 50% of the reason why I am married today.  So when I stumbled upon her "Steakhouse Pizza" post the other day, I pined for it.  I am talking serious pining.  Steak AND Pizza?  How could it get any better?!  Drooling may also have been involved. Drooling… Pining.  Same thing.

After fantasizing about the steakhouse pizza nearly all day yesterday, I decided to pick up the necessary ingredients after work.  And then on the train ride home, I remembered that our oven had gone out the night before.  Crap on a stick!  

So instead of Steakhouse Pizza, we had Steakhouse Pasta.  It was still quite tasty and a great substitute for when you don't have an oven, and your grill is far too tiny for cooking a pizza. Stupid tiny grill!  Anyway… Thanks, PW, for some amazing inspiration.

Steakhouse Pasta

For the steak and onions:

• 1 flank or skirt steak
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced into thin strips
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

For the sauce:

• 1 jar Spaghetti sauce – I used Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic Marinara, but when I have more time, I usually make my own
• 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

For the pasta:

• 1/2 pound linguine
• 1-2 teaspoons salt

Toppings:

• Steak sauce
• Freshly grated or shaved parmesan - or whatever cheese you prefer as a topping.  I used a three-cheese blend of asiago, fontina, and parmesan.
• 1 tomato sliced thinly (optional)
• Basil leaves (optional)

Begin by caramelizing the onions.  To do this properly it takes about 35-45 minutes.  I use a recipe from Ina Garten for this… It's full proof and the flavor is amazing.  Every time.  

In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil together until the better is melted.  

Add the onions and thyme, tossing to coat with the butter and oil.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, sweating the onions.  

In the meantime, season the steak with salt and pepper and set aside.

Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 25-30 minutes, until the onions are caramelized and golden brown.  Stir occassionally and make sure the onions aren't sticking.  Also, if the onions are browing too quickly, reduce the heat.  You definitely want to cook low and slow and avoid burning the onions. 

In the last two minutes, add the red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar, scraping any bits from the pan, and season with salt and pepper.  

While the onions are cooking, start boiling the water for the pasta, adding a teaspoon or two of salt for seasoning.

In a large sauce pan, over medium-low heat, combine the marinara sauce, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.  Cover.  Stir occassionally.  Reduce heat if necessary.

You can cook the steak in the same pan you used for the onions (setting the onions aside), or use a grill, or a grill pan and cook while the onions are starting to slow cook.  

Add another tablespoon each of butter and olive oil to the pan, melting together, and cook the flank steak over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes (for medium rare), flipping half-way through.  Set aside and let rest for ten minutes.

When the water is boiling, add the linguine and cook for about 7 minutes.  Add a cup of cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain when ready to serve.

Slice the steak thinly, and if desired toss it back in the pan for another minute with the caramelized onions. 

 

To serve, top the linguine with pasta sauce, steak, caramelized onions, a little bit of steak sauce, the cheese, and maybe some fresh basil.  I also added some fresh tomatoes on the side, which was tasty.

Enjoy!  Even if it's not pizza… 

Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon Butter and Sweet Corn

I've been thinking about the sugar snap peas at Graffiato for a couple of weeks now…  Light and buttery with a hint of lemon.  Served with a tomato pesto and goat cheese.  Cooked perfectly, they were simple and fantastic.  

So for dinner tonight, I set out not so much to recreate this dish – because hell, I'm not Mike Isabella – but to be inspired by it.

Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon Butter and Sweet Corn

• 1 ear of corn
• 2 cups of sugar snap peas, with the ends snapped off
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• Juice squeezed from half of a lemon

Bring water to boil for the corn and snap peas.  

Boil corn and peas for about 3 minutes.  Rinse in cold water.  

Remove the corn kernels from the cob.

Melt the butter in a saute pan, over medium heat.  

Add the peas and toss to coat with the butter.  

Squeeze the juice over the peas and toss again.

Add the corn and toss all ingredients together.

Remove from heat and serve.  You can top this with a little bit of goat cheese if desired.  I tried it and it was good, but not necessary.

Notes:

• This doesn't need to cook for very long in the saute pan.  The peas should be tender, but still have a bit of crispiness to them.  
• You can serve this slightly chilled, but in that case, olive oil would probably be more suitable than the butter.
• Another good option for this would be to grill the corn and steam the peas in a foil packet with the lemon juice and butter.  I would love to try it this way the next time.  On a weekend. When I'm not getting home from work at 7 pm.

This was served with chili-lime shrimp and risotto.

Enjoy!  With a nice glass of Prosecco…

Grilled Cheese. Now With Bacon.

How can I possibly make a grilled cheese more unhealthy?  Add bacon.  

Grilled Cheese with Bacon

• 2 slices bacon
• 2 slices rye bread
• A slab of butter, approximately 1 tablespoon
• Cheese (I'm lazy, so I used a slice of American cheese. But you should feel free to experiment with one or more unprocessed cheeses.) 

Fry up the slices of bacon and when crisped to your liking remove from the pan and set aside on a paper towel to soak up the excess grease.  

Off heat, remove the bacon grease from the pan.  

Tip: Store bacon grease in a jar and use it for making popcorn later on.  It gives it an awesome smoky flavor.  Thanks to Kat for enhancing my life with this bit of knowledge!

Over medium heat, melt about half a tablespoon of butter in the pan.  Add a slice of bread.  

Top the bread with cheese and after about 30 seconds, add the bacon (break into pieces first). Top with another slice of bread.  

After another 30 seconds or so, remove the sandwich with a spatula and add the other half tablespoon of butter.  As it melts, flip the sandwich back into the pan. 

Remove after a minute or so… or when the bread has turned crispy and golden on both sides.  

Mmm… bacon…

For the record, I did eat a peach after this monstrosity.

Enjoy!  With or without tomato soup, but definitely not without the bacon.

Polenta.

About two or three years ago I read a Mark Bittman post in the New York Times about polenta for breakfast. The way he described it, like a buttery, creamy porridge improved only with a soft egg on top, it sounded like heaven…  Drooling, I decided my dinner for that night would be inspired by that article.  

Not knowing what the hell I was doing in the kitchen, I tried making the dish with cream of wheat, in the microwave no less, and I was stunningly disappointed by how disgusting it was.  Since that time, I have been a little gunshy about actually trying to make polenta, so I've stuck with the tubes that you can find in most grocery stores, which will do…… But little did I know what I was actually missing.

Tonight I decided to conquer my fears and try again.  This time with actual cornmeal.  And other than one minor splash burn, it was unbelievably easy to make.  No more polenta tubes for me! 

This simple side was a nice complement to baked chicken with squash, zucchini and cherry tomatoes.  Maybe next time I'll try it with an egg.  And some bacon.  Maybe some kale.

Polenta

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• Almost 2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt, if desired
• 2 Tbsp butter

Bring the chicken broth and water to a boil.  

Gradually whisk in the cornmeal, making sure to get out as many lumps as possible.

Reduce heat to low, and stir frequently, but not constantly, for 15 to 20 minutes or until thick and smooth.

Stir in butter and salt.  If you're waiting for other things to finish cooking, you can just chop the butter and place it on top of the polenta, then put the lid on the pan.  It will melt on its own and you can stir it in just before dishing it up.

Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Chicken with Damn Good Sauce

This is loosely based off of Ina Garten's Chicken with Shallots recipe found in How Easy Is That?

I like my name better.  :)

Chicken with Damn Good Sauce

• 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin on
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced in strips

For the sauce

• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2-3 Tbsp cream
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 3 Tbsp butter, diced

Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 Tbsp butter.  

Fry the chicken skin side up for 2-3 minutes.  Turn and fry skin side down for another 3-4 minutes. Chicken should be barely golden brown.  

Turn the chicken back, skin side up. Add the onions to the skillet and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked through and juices run clear.  The onions will caramelize in the process, and will make the sauce better.

When the chicken is done, remove from the pan and set aside.  Drain all but about 1 Tbsp of the fatty juices from the skillet.

Add the white wine and lemon juice and reduce over medium-high heat.  The liquid should reduce a bit over half-way.  

Add the cream, a dash of salt and pepper and bring to a boil. 

Remove from heat and stir in the diced butter until melted.

Immediately serve the sauce over the chicken.

Enjoy.  And try not to lick your plate.

Toffee.

Toffee… in April?!?  Abso-freaking-lutely.

I made this for an office potluck as a dessert topping for my coworker's "special brownie sundaes." Don't ask me what he meant by "special" though they were pretty damn awesome.  The toffee (in addition to the whipped cream, ice cream and homemade hot fudge sauce) provided just the right touch to finish things off.  Plus, it was good in the morning with coffee… And bribes… And we pretty much just snacked on it non-stop all day.  Hey… we're programmers.  We need sugar.  :)

Toffee, recipe from: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/dessert/recipe-mailing-toffee-005521

• 1 lb (4 sticks) butter (I strongly recommend Land O'Lakes because it seems to have the right fat content and really holds up well.  I have tried Trader Joe's butter and it separates every time.  It's good butter… just not for candy making.)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (I use bourbon flavored.  It's awesome.)
• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (be sure to use something that tastes really good as is as this will be part of the topping.)
• 1 or 2 cups sliced almonds
• Parchment paper (for lining the pan)

In a deep cast iron skillet, over medium high heat, begin melting the butter.  

As the butter begins to melt, stir in the sugar and salt.

Using a wooden spoon, continuously stir at a steady and  fairly rapid pace until the color turns a golden, nutty brown.  It will probably take about 20 minutes.  So… you might want to stretch before and after.  :)  Also, as the toffee progresses, I turn the heat down to medium or just above medium.  It's just my preference…  

Oh, and be careful not to let it burn.

As you are stirring you may notice that the sugar butter mixture will creep up the sides and begin to stick.  (see next photo)

You can either use a wet pastry brush to keep the sides clean, or just be diligent about scraping it back down with the wooden spoon.  It's kind of hard to stir steadily and rapidly AND brush the sides with a pastry brush… At least it is for me.  :)  

Keep stirring… 

Oh, and don't let your husband take the photos…

When the color is right, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  It may sizzle.  That's okay.

Carefully (after wrapping your hands and arms in super thick fireproof mitts) pour the toffee into an approximately 10×15 in sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Spread the toffee out until it's even.  Allow to cool for about five minutes.

Sprinkle the chocolate onto the toffee.  When it starts to look a little glossy spread the chocolate over the toffee with a spatula.  

Sprinkle with sliced almonds.  Gently press the nuts into the chocolate to help them set.

Allow to cool and set for about 6 to 8 hours then break up into chunks.

Enjoy!  With or without the special brownie sundae…

Banana Bread

Banana Bread is a staple in my kitchen, so much so that I even have a special pan I purchased expressly for the purpose of making minature loaves of banana bread!

See, isn't it lovely?  I call her Hilda… (Thank you Pampered Chef!)

I'm very particular about eating overly ripe bananas, which for me, is basically anything without a slightly green tint to it, so making banana bread is a really good way to keep them from going to waste.  (So is making a smoothie, but that's another post for another day!)  It makes my husband happy, and it's also useful for bribing friends to watch your cat when you're out of town for the weekend.  (Thanks, Amanda!) 

Banana Bread

• 1 and 3/4 cup flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter (chop up into small 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces to make mixing easier)
• 3 ripe bananas (most recipes say to mash these, but I find that if you slice thinly, the mixer will mash for you; also unlike spouses, concurrent jobs, etc., three really is better than two)
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 2 eggs
• splash of vanilla extract, if you so desire (I tend to use this more often when I'm short 1 banana)
• optionally, handful of chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together ONE cup of the flour, the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the butter, bananas and milk.  Mix on low speed for about a minute and then upgrade to medium for another minute or so.  At this point, the butter should not really be chunky and the bananas should be well mashed.

Add the remaining 3/4 cup flour, eggs, the optional splash of vanilla, and resume mixing until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated and things are looking happy and feeling good (maybe another minute or so).

Stir in the chopped walnuts and pour batter into a large loaf pan, or divide batter into a quartered loaf pan like Hilda.  

If using a large loaf pan, bake for 50 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees.  Otherwise, the quartered loaf pan takes approximately 32 minutes.  

When finished baking, allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes; remove from the pan and finish cooling on a wire baking rack.  

If your husband hasn't devoured the bread by the time it's fully cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and foil, and store overnight in the refrigerator.  This really helps lock in the moisture and though it's hard to resist eating it fresh out of the oven, it really will taste a lot better the next day.  

Slices can be reheated for about 10 or 15 seconds in the microwave, and slathered with butter.  And that's not optional.

Enjoy!