Chicken Supreme

I am always on a quest to find new things to cook for my husband and I. Cooking the same thing every week gets really really boring in my opinion so I am constantly looking all the time for new recipes. Let me start by saying I subscribe to Daily Candy, an on-line site that sends you a Daily message about "eye" candy that is sometimes useful but mostly is stuff I dream about. Every day I look forward to the Candy no matter what it is. Last week Daily Candy sent me a email Titled "What's for Dinner?" This really intrigued me, I had to find out more about it.


It was all about an on-line web site dedicated to helping you find what you want to eat for dinner based on what you tell, such as meat, veggie, etc. The site is called Gojee, and I suggest you all get a Gojee account. I love it, and I have only used it once. Gojee is all about other recipe blogs and how to find the perfect meal to make for dinner. You see when you find a recipe you like Gojee links you to the blog that the recipe is on so you can view it, print it, etc. The nice thing is you can save your recipes on the Gojee site for later reference and not worry about where you were linked to.


I got very excited about this and set up an account right away, and started searching for new recipes to create. We seem to always have chicken thighs on hand so I thought lets look for a new recipe using thighs. There are so many it was very hard to choose what would be my first one. But there was one that sounded really good that I had to try it ... Chicken Supreme, which was originally from Taste and Tell (blog).

This is how to make Chicken Supreme
5-6 boneless & skinless chicken thighs
3/4 teaspoon of seasoned salt (I used Pappy's Choice)
pinch of paprika
1 cup chicken stock/broth
1/4 cup white wine (I used white cooking wine you can purchase at the grocery store)
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
pinch of fresh cracked pepper
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup sliced mushrooms (10 sliced button mushrooms)
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle thighs with seasoned salt and paprika. Place chicken in a 9x13 baking dish.

In a small bowl combine chicken broth, wine, onions, curry powder and pepper. Pour over chicken. cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 45 minutes, or until chicken is done.

While the chicken is in the oven, heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and saute the mushrooms till tender. set them aside.

When chicken is done remove from oven. Take the chicken out of pan and cover to keep warm. Strain the pan juices and reserve for the sauce.

In a small sauce pan whisk the flour and water, slowly whisk in the pan juices. Cook on low heat and whisk until sauce get thicker. Boil for 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the sauce.

Serve chicken with the sauce.

As you can see we also had some sauteed asparagus with it. It was so yummy!!! we both used the bread to sop up all the sauce left behind on our plates.

YUM!!!

Creamless Corn Chowder

This is one of those recipes that we have been looking for, for such a long time. As you already know my husband is lactose intolerant and seems to like to eat everything that has cream, milk and cheese in it, and regrets eating all those things a few hours later. So every time I find a recipe that usually has dairy in it but can be made without it I jump to make it. For a couple of reasons; (1) to see how good it is without diary and (2) to see if my husband would love it as much as the original.


Sunday morning I was drinking tea & eating toast flipping through the ads in the Sunday paper and came across this recipe in the USA Weekend magazine. For some reason every Sunday I flip through the USA Weekend for celebrity birthdays and the occasional feel good story, and this week for the awesome recipe I found. Since my husband and I both love corn chowder but just cannot eat it because it has too much dairy, this is such a refreshing change to a great chowder. I knew I had to try this recipe and see how yummy it is without cream.

This is what I did ...

Creamless Corn Chowder
2 cups of frozen corn
2 cups of cream of corn (I used one can of cream of corn)
1 large onion, medium dice
1/2 red pepper medium dice
2 large potatoes (I used two large Yukon Gold potatoes) medium dice
salt n pepper
4 slices of bacon (chopped)
1 teaspoon if dried thyme
1 quart of chicken broth/stock
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro

Slice the bacon into small pieces and put in a large stock pot and fry over medium-high heat until crisp (5-7 minutes). Chop the onion and the pepper and season with salt and pepper. Add the onion & pepper to the bacon and saute. After the onions start to sweat add the cream corn and thyme. Stir to combine. Add the frozen corn, potatoes and chicken broth. Let simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with a sprig of fresh cilantro.

This was such a yummy dish, even my husband loved it. He is now waiting for the cold to come so we can eat chowder by the fireplace on a cold winter day.

If you or anyone in your home is lactose intolerant this is a recipe for you, there is so much flavor you will not even miss the dairy.

YUM!!!

Succotash

Let's talk about Succotash today. This is one side dish I really had no idea what it was, not thought I would ever be so much in love with Succotash that I would make it so often. It all started a few months ago I went to all places The Cheesecake Factory for lunch with some family. They had this great BBQ Salmon dish with mashed potatoes and corn with veggies in it. I knew after I ate it I had to replicate it for my husband, because I knew he would love it.

The big question is what is a Succotash ... The definition of Succotash is "boiled corn kernels" in a dish primarily of corn and/or Lima beans/shelled beans, other ingredients can be added to it such as tomatoes, and green or red bell peppers. Because of the relatively inexpensive and more readily available ingredients, the dish was popular during the during the Great Depression, and with today's market going up & down why not try a cheep side dish for your family.

The fact that Succotash is so easy to make, makes it a perfect side dish in our house... and have I mentioned that my husband loves corn.

My Succotash is made this way
1 -1 1/2 cups of frozen corn
half red bell pepper diced
half zucchini diced
1 tablespoon organic butter
salt-n-pepper to taste

Mix the ingredients in a small sauce pan. Put on stove top on high, and stir constantly till butter is melted. When butter is melted cover and turn off heat. The steam from the corn will keep the veggies warm till you eat them.



The nice thing about Succotash is all you need is corn and diced veggies and you can make it your own. when you make your own ... share it with me, I am always looking for new veggies to add to my corn.

YUM!!!

Roasted Beef, Mushrooms and Barley Soup

It is the middle of of one of the hottest summers on record and for some reason the other day I was craving hot soup. Sometimes when I crave soup I just open a can and heat it up over the stove and slurp away. This week was different than other summer days ... I wanted real home made soup, that was quick and hearty. (I was also just at a family party and everyone was talking about my cooking and why have I not posted anything in a while. It in a way inspired me to make this soup also.) But I digress ... back to the original recipe.

This was a soup that I originally found in Everyday Food Magazine and it looked so easy and so yummy I had to give it a whirl. It only has 5 real ingredients!!! Funny how I sound like a TV show on Food Network all of a sudden. But it is is true. It seriously only has 5 ingredients that make this one of the easiest, hearty and flavorful soups you will ever eat, in my opinion.

Beef, Mushroom & Barley Soup
1 lb. of beef chuck cut into 1" cubes
1 lb. of button mushrooms (steamed and cut in half)
1 cup of chopped onions (can be anything shallots, red, vadalia, pearl or white)
salt n pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 cups of beef broth
1/2 cup of quick cooking barley

On a cookie sheet spread out the onions, mushrooms, and beef to make one layer. Drizzle the olive oil over it and season with salt n pepper, in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes to brown .

Remove form the oven and transfer to a dutch oven or stock pot. Add the barley and the beef broth. Bring to a boil and simmer till barley is soft, approximately 12 minutes.

I have made this soup for many family & friends and they have all been very happy with the dish. This is one of those dishes that is so much better the next day and the day after.

Try this one ... it takes less than an hour and is so easy.

YUM!!!

Stuffed Turkey Breast

One thing everyone should know about me is I love to shop at Costco for crazy things like toilet paper, paper towels, and poultry. Yes poultry!!! I find that Costco has great chicken and turkey, and at such good prices it is sometimes hard for me not to purchase it when I am shopping.

A few weeks ago I was having coffee with some friends, and we were talking about all the ways we make turkey, from stuffed, to glazes, to fixings with it. Then the turkey breast came up in conversation. I had never thought to make just a breast before. The brain started working. The idea I had was what if I butterflied the turkey breast and stuffed it with stuffing and wrapped it in bacon, and bake it. You know anything in bacon tastes good.

That is exactly what I did. My husband helped me with the butterflying of the meat. When my husband was in high school he was a part time butcher at a small grocery store, where he learned how to cut meat like a pro. After the turkey was cut I pounded it a bit to tenderize it and make it flat. Next the stuffing was added (I used mt own recipe for homemade stuffing with pecans & dried cranberries). This is when it gets tough ... the stuffing must be placed in a log like shape at one end of the breast. Then roll the stuffing inside the turkey.

This was really starting to look good but it needed something to make it really juicy. That would be bacon. I used a half a pound of maple cured bacon to wrap the complete exterior of the rolled breast. We also used skews to hold the roll in place while cooking. A 1 - 1 1/2 cup of chicken stock was added to bottom of the pan for some liquid on the bottom of the pan, and a medium onion diced and added to the bbroth for flavor.

This is what it looked like when it came out of the oven. We let it rest for a few before cutting it so the juices would stay in the meat.

When the turkey was cut it was a perfect pinwheel. The maple flavor of the bacon and the tart dried cranberries in the stuffing give each bit of this pleasing to the palette.

This was the first time I made this dish and was a bit nervous, because I was having a few friends over for dinner that night and was hoping it would be good. As it turns out it was great and one of our guests said "this is something I would have expected to get at a restaurant." that made me feel so good.

Note to Self: Get another turkey breast on my next trip to Costco.

One last thing to mention is that when the turkey came out of the pan and they was "juice" left behind I strained and de-fatted the liquid put it in a small sauce pan, added 2-3 tablespoons of unsalted butter and a tablespoon of flour and whisked to make gravy. The gravy helped to tie the entire dish together.

YUM!!!

Aprile's European Resturant

I know I have not blogged in a while about my cooking, baking or eating out. Lots has been going on in my life that took precedence over blogging. I also became very disillusioned by some about my blogging that a needed break was good for the soul to get myself back on track. Now that I am back my blog will be including more "Eating Out" places. Eating out is such a huge part of our life that it should show more here in my blog. I will still be posting recipes of yummy things that I make but also talking about all those good chefs out there that sometimes don't get the recognition they deserve. Hope you enjoy ... The other day my husband was asking me where I wanted to have dinner that night. To be totally honest I love to cook but the days I work I really have no desire to rush home, make dinner, and clean up. When I could have someone else do all the work and totally enjoy myself.

It was a Friday night, Date Night to be exact and a new restaurant opened a few months ago in my town. And since I am very into eating local, even if that means keeping the business in town I am all for it. The place is called Aprile's European Restaurant and it is located in an old mill building right on the train tracks, with a river running right next to it. Very lovely setting.

This location has been a restaurant for a long time but all the other ones seemed to have failed after a couple of years. Many times I tried to eat there when it was something else again and again but it just was not good. From the moment we walked into the new Restaurant there was a good feeling. Many folks dining in the open dining room, the wait staff bustling around delivering food and drinks to all those eating. We knew this time this was going to be a good place to eat. We found two seats at the bar and settled in for our experience.

The Restaurant is very Italian so it was going to be a red wine night, we chose the Cigar Box Malbec and it was very good choice. We then moved on to the stuffed mushrooms (they were stuffed with spinach and cheese). There was not one left when we were ready for our main course.

I got the Chianti Braised Short Ribs with Cipollini Onions, Asparagus Tips, Red Bliss Mashed, Braising Jus. I have this theory that anything braised (ie cooked low and slow) has to be yummy since much care has to be put into it since it takes so long too cook. The meat was so tender and the veggies were like candy. Even the lady who sat next to me got the same thing after seeing mine. We both could not figure out why we had a knife on our plate since it was not necessary to cut the meat with, so I dubbed it "plate decoration."

My husband got the Parmigiana Eggplant Breaded and Baked with Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella Cheese Accompanied with Linguine. Which is what he gets when we eat out since i do not like Eggplant but he does.

We also decided to share dessert. This is very much out of the norm for us, my husband does not like chocolate or sweets for that matter. The funny thing is I can get him to eat Tiramisu. That is exactly what we got. It was such a good ending to a very good meal, we left none behind.

Dinner was so yummy from start to finish I had to talk about it more than a Yelp post or a Tweet. If anyone is in the Merrimack Valley/Chelmsford MA area and is looking for Italian food try Aprile's European hopefully you will love it as much as we did.

Phyllo-Wrapped Brie

This time of year so many of us are entertaining and going to parties. And when the hostess says can you bring something to share? You have no idea what to take or what will others like.

A few years ago I was hosting a dinner party and I wanted to make something different, but was totally had no idea what to make. After much Internet searching I found the perfect appetizer ... Phyllo-Wrapped Brie. I found it on Better Homes & Garden website, a place I would not normally look at, but it looked so good in the picture I had to try it.

This is what I did ...

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
4 medium onions, cut into thin wedges (about 2 cups)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup crushed pecans
8 sheets (17x12 inches) frozen phyllo dough, thawed
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1 round of Brie
4 tablespoons of apricot spreadable fruit

Melt the 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large saucepan. Add onion. Cover and cook over medium-low heat about 10 minutes or until onion is tender and golden, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle sugar over onion. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes more or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in pecans & set aside.

Work with one sheet of phyllo at a time, keeping remaining sheets covered with plastic wrap until needed. Lightly brush one sheet of phyllo dough with some melted unsalted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo dough on top of the first sheet, and brush with unsalted butter. Repeat with two more sheets of phyllo, brushing with unsalted butter.

Slice round of Brie in half horizontally, keeping it in its "wheel" form. Place bottom half in center of phyllo stack. Spread with 2 tablespoon of the apricot spreadable fruit; top with one-half of the caramelized onion-pecan mixture. Top with other half of Brie, 2 tablespoon spreadable fruit, and another one-half of onion-pecan mixture. Wrap phyllo up and over filling, pleating phyllo as needed to cover and slightly twisting phyllo on top. Brush phyllo with unsalted butter.

Place one wrapped Brie round 13x9x2-inch baking pan/cookie sheet. Cover and chill up to 24 hours. Bake in a 400 degree F oven about 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with Melba thins. Makes 12 servings.

This has been a hit every time I make this dish. I would love to have taken my own picture of this, but it is eaten up so fast. A close friend of mine calls this "heaven on a plate." That is how good this is.

There are a few variations you can do to this recipe. Such as you can use any shape Brie you can find, they all come out yummy. Also if you do not like pecans you can also use hazelnuts or walnuts. (We love pecans so where ever we can use them, we do.) Another thing you can do is serve it with sliced apples, sliced pears and bread, but I have found that the Melba thins work the best because they are so hard they hold the brie and yummy goodness much better.

You may think that this looks hard to make but there is so much room for not perfect when it comes to the phyllo dough. Please try this you and your guests will love this.

YUM!!!