Chicken Cacciatore

I just wanted to try something new for the children and I was not sure they would eat chicken with a tomato sauce. My son had his friend over and I served this dish. His friend asked me to give the recipe to his mom and my son said "please make this again." Success! Even my daughter, who is a picky eater, ate dinner that night. This recipe is very easy and found in the February 2012 issue of Food and Wine magazine.

2 tbs olive oil

2 pnds skinless, boneless chicken, cut into 2 inch pieces

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tsp finely chopped rosemary

2 tbs tomato paste

1 can peeled Italian tomatoes, pureed, 28 oz

¼ cup water

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Crusty bread for serving

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to skillet and cook over high heat until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, and rosemary to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened and lightly browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the pureed tomatoes and ¼ cup of water. Add the chicken and any juices and bring to a boil.

Cover partially and simmer over moderately low heat until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and serve with crusty bread.

Wine pairing: Earthy, spiced Chianti: 2009 Coltibuono RS Chianti Classico.

Braised Pork with Cherry Gravy

Picture found on foodandwine.com

This dish would be my first try at an overnight marinade dish and all I have to say is "wow." The pork was so tender you could cut through it with a fork, that is the way pork is meant to be. The flavor is delicious. This dish is worth the effort to make. Both of my children loved it. Recipe by Michel Nischan and found in the February 2012 issue of Food and Wine magazine.

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, tied

Salt and freshly ground pepper

5 tbs vegetable oil

6 celery ribs, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

3 large onions, coarsely chopped

¼ cup tomato paste

1 cup dry red wine

6 cups chicken stock or broth

1 cup dried sour cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the pork with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, brown the pork in 2 tbs oil. Remove the pork; pour off the fat. Add 2 tbs of the oil to the pot. Add the celery, carrots, and 2 onions and cook over moderate heat until golden, 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste, wine, and stock; bring to a boil. Add the pork and cherries, cover and braise in the oven for 4 hours. Cool, refrigerate overnight.

The next day, skim the fat from the liquid and remove the pork. Boil the gravy until reduced to 1 ½ cups, 26 minutes. Strain the gravy into a saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Untie the pork and slice into 6 medallions.

In nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbs oil, add the pork and brown well. Serve with the gravy.

Wine pairing: Tart cherry-scented, medium bodied such as Chianti: 2009 Selvapiana.

Fried Rice

This is my own version of fried rice adapted from the foodnetwork.com and courtesy of Tyler Florence.

My daughter came home from her friends and said she loved fried rice. I had never made it before so I found a recipe online and served it to her. She said "yuck peas",so a couple weeks later I tried again, but this time I replaced the peas with mushrooms, which she loves. This version turned out great but I took the cabbage and shrimp out of Tyler's Shrimp and Egg Fried Rice with Napa Cabbage recipe. The nice thing is you can add whatever veggies you like and include or omit shrimp and/or chicken.

6 Tbs peanut oil

2 shallots

1 (2in) piece ginger, peeled and grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

6-8 oz mushrooms, sliced

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

4 cups cooked rice, preferably cooled.

3 tbs soy sauce

¼ bunch scallions, sliced for garnish

½ cup chopped peanuts, for garnish

Heat 2 tbs of the peanut oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium high. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the shallots and ginger stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 2 more tbs of peanut oil, add the garlic and saute until fragrant, saute mushrooms until tender, set aside.

Add remaining oil in wok and when hot, crack the eggs into the center. Scramble the egg lightly, and then let it set without stirring so it stays in big pieces. Fold the rice in and toss with egg until well combined.  Return all other ingredients to dish and season with salt and soy sauce, heat through. Garnish with scallions and peanuts.

Dawn's Tri-tip Marinade and Seasoned Red Potatoes

My best friend, Dawn, had been watching my children one day so that I could go to work and I came home to this delicious meal. My response was "when can you move in?" She is a fantastic cook and throws things together without recipes. These are both her creations and as far as measurements, well, you will have to add to taste.

Dawn’s Tri-tip Marinade

Montreal steak seasoning

Olive oil

Soy sauce

Worcestershire sauce

Red wine vinegar

Cut tri-tip into 1 inch slices and grill or bake to preference.

Seasoned Red Potatoes

Cut potatoes into bite size  pieces.

Put in bowl and stir in olive oil, French seasoning, and pepper to taste.

Spread in one layer on cookie sheet and sprinkle seasoning salt on top

Roast for 30 minutes at 450 degrees

Broil last few minute to crisp and brown tops.

Beer Braised Beef with Onion Dumplings

I bought this new cookbook a couple months ago because it was on sale. This is the first dish I made from it and it was very good. I felt it was a little too sweet because of the allspice and cloves, I would recommend a slight reduce on these spices if you don't want it tasting too sweet. I also omitted the dill from the dumplings because I have not found a taste for dill in recipes yet. The dumplings and the braised beef with beer is delicious.

Beef:

4 Tbls vegetable oil

3 pnds boneless chuck (fatty rather than lean), cut into 1 ½ inch chunks

¾ cup all-purpose flour

2 pnds onions, coarsely chopped

½ pnd carrots, thickly sliced

3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

½ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 bottle (12ozs) dark beer

1 tbls tomato paste

1 tsp salt

Dumplings:

6 tbls unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

½ cup buttermilk

2 tbls chopped fresh dill

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup fine fresh bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 5-7 quart Dutch oven or heavy bottomed saucepan, heat 2 tbls of the oil over medium-high heat. Dredge the beef in the flour, shaking off the excess. Working in batches (this is so the meat browns, rather than steams), cook the meat until browned all over, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the meat to a bowl.

Add the remaining 2 tbls oil to the pan along with the onions, carrots, and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the thyme, allspice, cloves, beer, tomato paste, salt, and 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Return the meat to the pan. Cover and place in the oven. Bake for 1 ½ hours, or until the meat is tender. Place the pan on the stovetop.

Dumplings:

In a small skillet, heat 1 tbls of the melted butter. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the buttermilk, dill, and 2 tbls of the melted butter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk mixture. Stir the dumpling mixture gently until moistened.

In a shallow bowl, stir the remaining 3 tbls melted butter into the bread crumbs. One at a time, drop the dumpling mixture by rounded tablespoon into the crumb mixture and turn to coat. Drop the dumplings onto the simmering stew, spacing them evenly. Cover the pan and simmer the stew until the dumplings are tender and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Spicy Oven Fried Chicken

My best friend Dawn gave me The bon appetit fast easy fresh cookbook for my last birthday.

My favorite recipe in this book, that I have tried, is this Spicy Oven Fried Chicken. It is very simple to make and bursting with flavors. My children love the taste. I have used boneless chicken breast with or without skin. You can reduce the cayenne pepper if you want it less spicy; it does have a kick. Don't omit the melted butter because that adds crisp to the final dish.

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

2 tbs Dijon mustard

4 garlic cloves, pressed

2 tsps salt, divided

1 ½ tsps cayenne pepper, divided

12 chicken pieces with skin and bones (4 breasts, 4 thighs, and 4 drumsticks)

1 cup unseasoned dry breadcrumbs

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup all purpose flour

2 tsps dried thyme

½ tsp paprika

3 tbls unsalted butter, melted

Whisk: buttermilk, mustard, garlic, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp cayenne in large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and chill at least 3 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Place: 1 rack on each of 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, flour, thyme, paprika, remaining 1 tsp of salt, and ½ tsp cayenne in medium bowl. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Working in batches, add chicken to breadcrumb mixture; turn to coat. Arrange chicken pieces, skin side up, on racks. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat: oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle butter over chicken; bake until crisp, brown, and cooked through, about 50 minutes.

Wellesley Fudge Cake

I bought a new magazine a couple weeks ago. Chocolate Desserts from Cook's Country TV Show.  I've made the fudge, brownies, and chocolate cake recipe and the only one worth posting so far, in my opinion, is the Wellesley fudge cake. The frosting is so good and the cake moist.

Cake

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¾ cup hot water

½ cup (1 ½ oz) dutch-processed cocoa

16 tbs unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 tsps vanilla extract

Frosting

1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

8 tbs unsalted butter, cut in half and softened

½ tsp salt

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 inch square cake pans. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in bowl; set aside. In small bowl, whisk hot water with cocoa powder until smooth; set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until incorporated. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk, until combined. Reduce speed to low and slowly add cocoa mixture and vanilla until incorporated.

Divide batter evenly between pans and smooth top with spatula. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans 15 minutes, and then turn out onto wire rack. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Frosting:

Heat brown sugar, ½ cup evaporated milk, 4 tbs butter, and salt in large saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around perimeter of pan, 4-8 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened and turned deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Slice remaining butter into 4 pieces and stir in with remaining evaporated milk until mixture is slightly cool. Add chocolate and vanilla and stir until smooth. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar until incorporated. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.