Lazy Chicken Piccata

Hello Readers! I apologize for my week + absence. I have been doing a bit of cooking, but with only 4 weeks to go until baby arrives I have also been experiencing some extreme fatigue.  If I manage to cook dinner, I likely don't have the energy to pick up a camera, photograph and write about it.  

Yesterday was an exception.  I woke up, did yard work, walked the dog, ran errands and cooked dinner!  I haven't had a day that productive in weeks.  I had two leftover chicken breasts from a roasted chicken that I made for dinner on Tuesday night, and I decided to incorporate them into an easy pasta dish.  I actually used a Rachel Ray recipe that I found online for a 'Chicken Piccata Toss'.  The recipe was easy and super delicious-- Trevor and I ate just about the whole bowl.  I added my pre-cooked sliced chicken to the finished sauce and let it heat through before tossing it with the pasta (I used spaghetti).  I also subbed 1/4 cup vermouth for the 1/2 cup white wine, which worked just fine!  I omitted the chives and upped the parsley, and put a big wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano on the table with the microplane because what is pasta without cheese??

Here is RR's recipe, copied below.

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss 
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup chicken broth or stock
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente
Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish

Directions:
Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

Catching Up

Caitlin and I have both been crazy busy, me with a new job and her as she preps for the arrival of baby Bo! But despite the lack of posts, I have been cooking quite regularly! Here are a few dishes from the past week or so.

BLACKENED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH WARM POTATO SALAD

Simple blackened chicken breast cut on the bias with Chuck Hughes' (Chuck's Day Off) Warm Potato Salad. This was a fun twist on your standard nicoise salad - and it made me happy to make a dish from this friendly Canadian.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH ARTICHOKES, OLIVES AND COUS COUS

This was a variation on a chicken dish I made a few weeks back. This dinner incorporated frozen artichokes, olives, capers, lemon and butter for a quick and flavorful chicken.

BEAN AND CORN SALAD WITH ROASTED PORK

Following R's birthday dinner we had a heapload of leftover pork. For our Monday dinner I served over fresh romaine leaves with a simple bean and corn salad.

Ingredients

• Canned Black Beans, rinsed
• Canned Corn
• Sliced Red Onion
• Minced Ginger
• Minced Garlic
• Chopped Cilantro
• Sriracha
• Lime Juice
• Manchego matchsticks (optional)

Combine all ingredients (except for the cheese) and allow to rest in the fridge - the longer it sits, the better it is! (15 m - 1 day)

VEGETABLE FRIED RICE

I had a lot of leftover bean and corn salad, which I used to beef up a simple fried rice.

Ingredients

• Minced Garlic
• Minced Ginger
• 2-3 Anchovies
• Soy Sauce
• Sriracha
• 1/2 Red Pepper, chopped
• 1/4 Yellow Onion, chopped
• Handful Green beans, chopped
• Handful Broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1/2 - 1 c cooked rice
• 2 Eggs, lightly whisked
• Cilantro
• Sesame Oil

Heat your wok or pan up over high heat. Add vegetable oil to the pan. As it begin to smoke, added the minced garlic, minced ginger, anchovies and a swirl of sriracha. Allow to cook for a few minutes, tossing regularly so nothing burns. Add the soy sauce and cook a few minutes more. Add in the remaining vegetables and cook until slightly tender. Make a hole in the middle of your pan and add the rice, lightly patting down. Allow to fry for 4-6 minutes, then toss and cook a few minutes more until the rice is lightly fried. At this point I added in the bean and corn salad (sans cheese) and warmed through. Last step is to make another hole in the middle of the pan and add the eggs, stirring rapidly until cooked. Toss together with a handful of cilantro and a drizzle of sesame oil and serve!

Birthday Dinner

R is a very easy guy to please, but nothing makes him happier then a sandwich from Porchetta! For his birthday dinner on Sunday we moved all the furniture out of our living room and set up the dining room table in the center of the apartment. We had a great dinner with his family with a main course of take-out from Porchetta. To compliment the main course I made a few dishes, each with their own porky flair.

Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Manchego courtesy of Ann Burrell

These were super easy to make and cooked up in just a few minutes, making them a great dinner party dish. Even if you are scared of the sweet savory combo you must try these- they were absolutely delicious! Make sure you have a nice strong cheese to contrast the sweet dates.

Roasted Artichoke with Prosciutto, courtesy of Michael Chiarello

I have to say that this wasn't the easiest thing I've ever made- trimming artichokes is quite a chore because they turn brown super quickly. But the end result was very delicious, and if you can roast the artichokes in advance, it makes for a very easy appetizer.

Southern Braised Greens with Bacon courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

This dish was very easy to make and R loved them. I however realized that I don't like collard greens, but prefer mustard or a more bitter green.

Out & About: Good Friday

R's birthday weekend kicked off with lunchtime cocktails and sliders at the Russian Tea Room, followed by dinner at Wolfgang's Steakhouse on Park Ave. Great kick off to a fabulous weekend!

RTR TASTING OF THREE MINI "POJARSKI" BURGERS WITH HERB FRIES

Salmon, avocado, tomato and cucumber with rémoulade and pickled onions

Veal with Comté cheese, wild mushrooms and melted onions

Kobe beef with black truffle, Gruyère cheese, caramelized onions and foie gras

IVAN THE TERRIBLE

"With a reputation this bad, it better be good. Canadian Rye whisky marries the herbaceous legend of Green Chartreuse and Bacardi Rum in a ménage à trois that proves being terrible is good." RTR.com

FRESH OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL

STEAK FOR TWO

Image courtesy of foodgps.com

Ugli

Much like the shad roe I recently bought- this was unappealing that I had to buy it! This Jamaican fruit called Ugli is a about the size of an orange and has a mushy texture. After Googling it I discovered it was a hybrid formed from the orange, tangerine and grapefruit families. I was pleasantly surprised that it's thick mushy peel was hiding a sweet and light fruit - absolutely yum!

Corn and Clam Chowder

While spring is descending on NYC, it's still pretty chilly here - so while my mind is thinking warm weather food, my stomach is looking for something warm and comforting! A light clam and corn chowder is the perfect meal for this in-limbo season.

CORN AND CLAM CHOWDER

Serves 2

Cook time: 30 mins

• 4 Bacon Slices
• 1 Small Yellow Onion, finely chopped
• 2- 3 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• 1/2 lb Fresh Clams, chopped
• 1/4 - 1/2 c light cream
• 2 1/2 ish cups Chicken Stock
• 2 Medium Sized Potatoes, cubed
• 2 Ears Corn, kernels removed
• Ramps, thinly sliced (optional)
• Hot Sauce

Start out by crisping up your bacon in a thick bottomed pan. Remove to paper towels to drain. To the bacon grease add the onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme and saute for five or so minutes, until the onions are translucent. Net, add the chicken stock, cream and bay leaf. Cover and allow to simmer for 15 or so minutes, then flavor with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and simmer until fork tender. Lastly, add the corn, clams and ramps and simmer for another minute or two before serving. If you want a little added pizazz, pick up a few cockles and add at the end, they'll open up really quickly and give the soup a nice presentation. Garnish with crumbled bacon and hot sauce and serve immediately.

This was SUPER yum and made great leftovers for work the next day. I was also reminded out incredibly cheap clams are and if your fishmonger will shuck and chop them for you - it's a great time saver!

Shad Roe

I created this post on March 28th and have yet to post because I can't figure out how to get the pictures off of my camera...grrrr. So I'm publishing this post in it's out-of-date format because I have to share, even if they aren't available in-store anymore. In attempt to give you the full feel of this delicious dish I borrowed pictures from fellow bloggers whose photos look very much like mine. Please check out their blogs so I don't feel guilty for sourcing :)

Photo courtesy of One Vanilla Bean

Last week the fish section in my grocery store was selling something very scary/interesting- shad roe. While I had no clue what to do with it, I knew I had to buy it!

Photo courtesy of Southern Gastro

After doing some Googling, I discovered that shad are a herring type salt water fish that spawn in fresh water at the start of spring. The roe is a prized delicacy and their appearance in markets signals the start of spring! The recommended cooking method is to gently saute because the sacs of roe can easily burst, not only burning you but splattering your kitchen with grease and fish eggs (yuk) Referring to a Washingtonian.com recipe, I chose to do a simple caper, butter sauce and serve with toast (like a pate).

I separated the two sacks and dredged in milk, then flour. I heated up canola oil and butter in a saute pan over medium heat and cooked for three minutes on one side, then flipped and placed in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. As a WARNING, even if you are being careful, some of the sacks will still burst and splatter (think bacon grease burn). To avoid a splatter burn, hold a lid over the pan when you are handling the roe.

Once the roe were firm to the touch I removed and kept warm, then added capers, S&P and milk to the pan, whisking well until combined. I poured this over the roe and served alongside a squeeze of lemon, roasted red onion and garlic toast.

This was absolutely delicious! It had the texture somewhere between sausage and pate, and had a meaty, rich flavor. It tasted more like sausage then fish, only revealing it's identity with a slightly fishy (in a good way) flavor at the back of your palate.

Corn & Black Bean Salad

Grilled Chicken and Corn & Black Bean Salad

Trevor's new apron, courtesy of my father.

The beach!

Last week I left Trevor on his birthday (bad wife!) to go down to Florida for one last vacation before baby.  I bobbed around the pool in my polka-dot maternity tankini, played with my cousins, and ate very well.  Why I can't enjoy a Treasure Coast fruit plate every day for lunch I'll never understand. 

I returned home to a painted nursery, a new kitchen faucet (which looks amazing!), and a hungry husband who only managed to feed himself fast food and "scrambled eggs standing up over the stove" while I was gone.  Monday night I made a savory swiss chard, gruyere and brioche bread pudding, along with an easy favorite: the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin.  Tuesday night I was craving some fresh veggies, and believe it or not we already have fresh corn at our grocery store.  I marinated some chicken thighs in a mixture of cumin, lemon and lime juice, garlic, cayenne, and olive oil.  Trevor kindly fired up the grill and we ate our chicken with another easy favorite: Corn & Black Bean Salad.  I was out of cilantro so I subbed fresh parsley.  This salad is fresh, simple and always delicious.  The recipe is very basic and open to a multitute of variations: sub green onions for red, throw in some cherry tomatoes or sliced avocado just before serving, or try adding fresh jalapeno for a little kick! 

Corn & Black Bean Salad

Serves 4

4 ears corn, cut off cob

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 red bell pepper, cut into a small dice

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 a red onion, cut into a small dice

Dressing:

1/2 teaspoon cumin

pinch of cayenne

1/2 teaspoon salt

juice of 1-1 1/2 limes

4 tablespoons olive oil

Mix dressing ingredients together and toss with salad.  Let sit refrigerated for 20 minutes or so, and then season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  

Out & About: Barney Greengrass

This Saturday was one of the warmest we've had in NYC so R and I walked through Central Park to the Upper West Side for brunch. After wandering for awhile and worrying we were going to end up eating bar food, we stumbled across Barney Greengrass. This 100-year-old store and restaurant serves a wide array of fish specialties: smoked sturgeon, gravlax, herring and anything else you can think of! Granted, this cash only restaurant is expensive for the average bear....but if you are looking for a special treat without a lot of pomp and circumstance - this is your place!

We ordered the Smoked Fish Deluxe Platter for 2: Sturgeon, Nova Scotia Salmon, Kippered Salmon, Sable and Whitefish. Everything on the plate was delicious but I especially loved the smoked sturgeon. We ate the fish on bialys with cream cheese, yellow onion and tomato - yum yum yum!

We took home a few leftovers, which I mixed with cream cheese, red onion, celery and lemon juice for a tasty pre-dinner dip later in the weekend.

Spaghetti with Goat Cheese, Pine Nuts and Asparagus

I had a bit of cooked chicken leftover from my dinner on Tuesday, which I decided to incorporate into a simple and delicious spaghetti dish.

SPAGHETTI with GOAT CHEESE, PINE NUTS and ASPARAGUS

• Pine Nuts, rough chopped (optional)
• Asparagus, thinly sliced lengthwise
• Lemon
• Garlic, minced
• Rosemary, minced
• Red Onion, minced
• Cooked Chicken, rough chopped (optional)
• Goat Cheese
• Chicken Stock (optional)

Start by getting your pasta cooking.

Next, toast the pine nuts over low heat until browned, then rough chop and set aside. Raise the heat in the pan and add the asparagus, drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with S&P. Cook for 4-6 minutes until tender but still crisp. Remove to a plate and dress with a bit of lemon juice, keep warm. Drizzle a bit of olive oil into your pan and add the garlic, rosemary and onion. Saute until everything is tender and fragrant. Add the chicken to the pan along with a swirl of chicken stock (or pasta water) to deglaze the pan. Stir in the goat cheese crumbles and a hefty dose of pepper, salt to taste. When the pasta is al dente, add to the pan with a bit of pasta water (if needed) and finish cooking in the sauce. At this stage I also added a bit of parmesan and butter to round out the flavors. Serve topped with the asparagus and pine nuts.

This was very yum but I found the chicken distracting. Mostly it was in there to add some heft to the dish because I hadn't eaten anything all day - next time I would leave out and let the asparagus and rosemary speak for themselves!

Chocolate Stout Cake

Happy Birthday Trevor!

Today is Trevor's 29th birthday, or more importantly, his last birthday as a non-dad.  We had some friends over for dinner last night and Trevor happily grilled up three racks of ribs (2 St. Louis, 1 Baby Back) for his birthday dinner.  I contributed a German Potato Salad and a green salad with some carrots from our garden.  I also baked a birthday cake... a dense, chocolatey bundt cake droozled with chocolate ganache.   I am not a frequent cake baker so I was nervous about how this was going to turn out.  Fortunately, it turned out DELICIOUSLY.  I followed a recipe I found over on Smitten Kitchen which was adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe and halved to fit a bundt pan.  I think my bundt pan may be on the small side as this was too much batter for my pan by about a cup.  Be sure to have a gallon of milk handy, along with some fresh strawberries for serving.  

Chocolate Stout Cake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Cake Ingredients:
1 cup stout (I used Imperial Stout)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter + 1 tbsp for buttering your bundt pan
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Ganache Ingredients:
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso granules
Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour or spray a bundt pan very thoroughly.  Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 35-50 minutes (orig. recipe says 35, it took me about 50). Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache.

Ganache: 

For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of cooled cake.

Paprika Roasted Chicken with Cannelleni Bean, Artichoke and Cous Cous Salad

R is in London all week, which means I'm fending for myself. I figured it was a good opportunity to fine tune some "dinner for 1" options, because nothing is more difficult then portioning out dinner for one, you always end up with too much food! This simple dinner incorporated some fresh, but mostly canned, goods- which means you can use half a can and save the rest for another meal!

PAPRIKA ROASTED CHICKEN WITH CANNELLENI BEAN, ARTICHOKE AND COUS COUS SALAD

Serves 1-2

• 1 Chicken, halved and butchered into segments (wing, thigh, breast)
• Paprika (optional)
• 1/4 Red or Yellow Onion, finely chopped
• 1 - 2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
• Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/4 can Cannelleni Beans
• Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes (about 4) plus 1-2 tbs liquid
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• Balsamic Vinegar (or wine)
• Chicken Stock
• Frozen Artichokes
• Cous Cous, large version
• Parsley, for garnish

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

I decided to buy a whole chicken and break down, but you could just as easily purchase it already butchered, it just costs more. First, I cut it down the middle, cutting alongside the main back and front bones. I wrapped up one half, then broke apart the other pieces into the breast, thigh, wing etc. I wrapped all of the dark meat, to use the breast for cooking. I cut the breast in half, patted dry and seasoned the skin-side with salt, pepper and paprika.

Next, I heated up a saute pan with olive oil over medium-high heat. I added the chicken, skin side down, and cooked for 3-4 minutes or until crispy and browned. Remove to a plate. Lower the heat in the pan and add the onions, garlic and rosemary. Saute for a few minutes, then add the cannelleni beans, tomatoes and mustard. Saute for 3-4 minutes, then deglaze the pan with a swirl of chicken stock, 1-2 tsp balsamic and the artichokes. You'll want the liquid to come up to about 1/4 way up the chicken. Bring to a simmer, then add the chicken back into the pan and roast (covered) for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven when the chicken's internal temperature is near 165 and the juices run clear. Pull the chicken out of the pan and keep warm. Return the pan to the stove top and bring to a simmer. Add enough cous cous so that there is about 1/2" liquid covering it, if needed add more stock. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until tender. Toss in parsley, S&P and a dash of butter to taste.

This was delicious! While it might sound like a lot of work, the fact that there is barely any prep (other then butchering the chicken) makes it a pretty hands off meal. It also was great texturally, the pearly cous cous blended really well with the more meaty cannelleni beans. But the best part was that I've finally figured out how to make roasted chicken breasts look gourmet, just required a little cut down the middle and joila!

Healthy Antipasto Salad

This weekend I went up to VT to do my hair trial for the wedding...it was SUPER fun. Well, it was fun to hang out with my mom and sister. Anyways, it reminded me that I'm getting married and should make an effort to eat vegetables alongside my daily dose of wine and sweets so I can fit into my wedding dress. In the spirit of being a bride, instead of ordering Chinese as we usually do on Sundays, I made myself a healthy and filling salad.

I combined sliced celery, cubed carrots, cherry tomatoes, chopped capers and chopped parsley, then dressed lightly in a mustard lemon vinagrette. I served over romaine with thinly sliced raw asparagus, tuna, olives and marinated artichoke hearts. Delicious and healthy!