Chicken with Buttery Rice for Magazine Monday!

I was so busy in the kitchen I forgot to snap a shot of the finished product. Here it is from the magazine.



Will I make this one again. No. Was it pleasant and tasty – yes. I think if my stove top didn’t continually set itself on a high heat (no simmer for me…) then I may have been able to brown the chicken, thus making it more appealing to the eye. The coloring was mostly different shades of beige and that took away from presentation. Still good though. So…ok, I have already changed my mind….I will make this again when we get a new stovetop.


Chicken and Rice
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes


3 ½ pounds chicken parts, bone and skin attached
2 TB olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 TB minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ cups white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 TB fresh lemon juice
3 TB jarred capers, rinsed, drained and chopped
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 TB unsalted butter
3 cups cooked white rice

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 TB oil in heavy 5 quart pot. Add chicken, in batches so you don’t crowd, and cook, turning untl brown all over. About 8 minutes per batch.

Transfer to a plate when cooked, leaving fat in pan.

Add onion, garlic and cumin to pot. Cook until done, stirring occasionally. Add wine and simmer until reduced by a third. This should take about 5 minutes.

Stir in broth, juice, capers and tomatoes.

Return chicken to the pot and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through – about 30 minutes.

Stir in cilantro and butter; serve over rice.

Ladies Home Journal, September 2007 issue


I ended up with way too much broth and while it was great doused over rice, I don’t like to waste , and I don’t believe I can use all the leftover juices for anything else now. That is the only negative – maybe freeze the leftover juice……that might work.



Check out Magazine Mondays with Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice.

Coq Au Vin

The beginnings of a great meal...........



An intoxicating aroma as the garlic and mushrooms simmer in Burgundy...



This classic dish was traditionally made with an old rooster, marinated then slowly braised until very tender. White wine may be used instead of red - as in Alsace, where the local Riesling is used (so states my cookbook).

Ingredients........

4 pounds chicken, cut up
1 1/2 TB olive oil
onions, chopped
1 TB butter 1 pound mushrooms
2 TB flour
3 cups dry red wine
1 cup homemade chicken broth
bouquet garni
salt and pepper

Now do all this........

Using a heavy frying pan, brown the chicken (this takes approximately 10 minutes). Transfer to a plate.

Meanwhile heat oil in a large Dutch oven and, over medium heat, add onions and cook, covered, until browned. Stir frequently.

In heavy frying pan, melt butter and saute mushrooms, stirring until golden brown.

Sprinkle onions with flour, stirring for 2 minutes, then add wine. Now add mushrooms, chicken, broth and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

You may also bake it, covered, in the oven at 325 F for the same amount of time.

This is fantastically simple yet elegant. I can imagine us supping in our French country cottage, the shibas underfoot, enjoying life.

Red Pirate Kobe is fan of French food



Sending this to Brenda for her Cookbook Sunday roundup!

On Rue Tatin

On Rue Tatin by Susan Herrmann Loomis



Most times I travel through the written word, through books instead of airline terminals…….so many reasons (I wrote about that issue HERE)

Much of what I enjoy is the detailed descriptions of the sites and history, paired with the local food. From afar I have fallen in love with France, as did Susan Herrmann Loomis. I visited France about 100 years ago when I was a young pup of 21. Culture shock aside, I loved the food, anticipated exploring the cultural differences and it was all an adventure. I had stepped through a looking glass of sorts as this was my first European experience.

The author fell in love with France too. Our similarities? She went to France when she was 20, she was interested in cooking and very interested in the culture and food. But I was an old hippie enjoying what life brought, not seriously looking beyond the next chocolate croissant to be scored in the morning. But Susan……. Susan acquired an apprenticeship at La Varenne de Cuisine in Paris . One girl coasting, another with drive and goals.



Susan and her husband Michael decide to move to France , bringing their small son along. Through a fortuitous turn of events, they are able to purchase a dilapidated former convent in Louviers – This leads to another portrait of Susan’s industrious work ethic. The convent was in awful condition but together, they fixed it up and Susan embarked on a writing and culinary career. She hooked up with Patricia Wells and fell ass backwards into an amazing cooking gig. Wow.

A life as ex-patriots……what a romantic idea. One Doug and I have hashed out over the years, the venue changes periodically but the end result has us living overseas, enjoying all the wines, cheeses, specialty foods of the area …..I guess I haven’t changed too much but have a soul mate that shares the (unattainable)dream.

In this book Susan shares the stories of her family’s adjustment to French culture, interactions with her friends, neighbors and best of all…..recipes!



If you enjoy the genre of Peter Mayle, Frances Mayes and Carol Drinkwater (I love Carol Drinkwater) – the sort of travel, adventure in settling in another country, foodie type book, then I think you’d like On Rue Tatin.

Many good recipes but let me share the Stuffed Tomato.

Stuffed Tomatoes

3 tablespoons canola oil
8 round medium tomatoes, halved crosswise
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 pound ground pork
1/4 pound ground veal
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Using a melon baller, hollow out the tomato halves, leaving thin cups; reserve the scooped out tomato flesh in a bowl. Set the tomato cups on the prepared baking sheet.

2. In a large skillet, melt the butter in 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the ground pork and veal and season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook over moderately high heat, breaking up the ground pork and veal with a wooden spoon, until the meats lose their pink color, about 4 minutes; don't let them brown. Add the reserved tomato flesh to the skillet and cook until the juices evaporate, about 5 minutes.




3. Transfer the meat mixture to a bowl and let cool slightly. Beat in the parsley, eggs, 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and the Parmesan. Spoon the stuffing into the tomato cups, mounding it slightly. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs over the tomatoes and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil.



4. Bake the tomatoes for about 45 minutes, or until the sides are soft and the stuffing is hot throughout. Set 4 stuffed tomato halves on each plate and serve.

Make Ahead - The baked stuffed tomatoes can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Cover them with foil and reheat in a 350° oven for 10 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 15 minutes longer, or until heated through.

Tackling Bittman: Blueberry Cobbler – Modified……with Peaches!

Bittman’s Blueberry Cobbler – Modified……with Peaches!



The main reason I made a peach cobbler is the direct result of my sweet tooth acting up. We had a nice dinner planned and no dessert in the house. A fine thing if you are trying to watch the calories. But, as I said, the old sweet tooth started putting ideas in my head about a warm dessert to enjoy on a cold winter’s evening.

Scanning the pantry I did not see any quick fixes such as a brownie mix, pudding mix…no mixes…no fast-food kinda dessert choices. Then I spied a can of peaches. A large can of peaches! Yeeeesssss…….because a simple can of fruit = cobbler. I always have butter and flour in the house.

Another bonus of preparing the dessert is….I can participate in Tackling Bittman. This is blog hop with a cool bonus – a chance to win The Food Matters cookbook by Mark Bittman. Girlichef is giving away a book – interested? Check out her link and the giveaway HERE.



My modified recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

3 cups of canned peaches
3/4 cup sugar
8 TB butter (1 stick), cold unsalted, cut into bits
½ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 375 F. Toss fruit with half the sugar and spread n a lightly greased 8 inch pan or 9 inch round pan.


Combine flour, baking powder, salt and remaining sugar in a food processor. Add butter bits at a time and process 10 seconds pulsing, until blended.

Beat vanilla and egg together by hand, add to mixture.

Drop mixture by tablespoons onto fruit, do not spread.

Bake 35 – 45 minutes.

There wasn't much left........



You could substitute any fruit that you like…well, maybe not pomegranate. If you’d like a quick and easy dessert, and you are in my situation of wanting a hot dessert but not having anything available, try this. I found a can of peaches in my pantry and the other ingredients are staples so….that fast, we had a tasty treat after dinner.

Linking this Tackling Bittman to Girlichef and Alex at A Moderate Life
and Couscous and Consciousness.



Reminder......if you haven't done so, check out and enter my Giveaway - click HERE to see that post and enter for a $40 gift from CSN!

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

First off, let me thank Debbie, Domestic Diva and an Anonymous for becoming followers of my blog!

What shall we submit for Magazine Monday...Oatmeal Raisin Bars from Southern Living Magazine



Ingredients...........

1 (18 oz) package yellow cake mix
2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oatmeal
½ cup raisins
¾ cup butter, melted
1 cup chunky applesauce
¼ teaspoon apple pie spice
¼ teaspoon grated lemon rind

Line bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2 to 3 inches to extend over sides. Lightly grease foil.

(That sounds easy, doesn’t it? I was using a stick of margarine to grease the foil and the damn foil kept slipping up. Thought I’d tear it and had mental images of flecks of aluminum hitting a filling in my mouth – youch!!)

Stir together cake mix, oats and raisins in a large bowl. Stir in butter with a fork until mixture is crumbly and dry ingredients are moistened.

Press HALF of oat mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan.

(Okay…I followed directions to the letter but this pan seemed way too big. So it was a thin layer of oat mess. Maybe that was correct. It was hard, as in problematic not firmness)

Stir together applesauce, apple pie spice and lemon rind. Gently spread over the oat mixture in pan. Sprinkle evenly with remaining oat mixture.

Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour.

Lift baked bars from pan, using foil sides as handles. Place on cutting board and cut into bars.

Now I see the wisdom of making a foil base because they did lift out nicely. The pan still needed washing but it wasn’t caked up with butter or oats. Easy.

These are a bit similar to the Apple Raisin Bars I made last December. Recipe is HERE and it did not involve a cake mix. Similar, but I liked the ones from last December better than these.

Southern Living magazine has some good recipes but I am not convinced all are tested prior to publication. I will stick with Cooks Illustrated!

This is a Magazine Monday submission for Cream Puffs in Venice


Vote for it on Foodista too if you like it :)
Easy Oatmeal Raisin Bars

Pasta alla Puttanesca

Before I talk about a delicious pasta dish, I would like to remind you to enter my Giveaway - click HERE to see that post and enter for a $40 gift from CSN!

OK, on to important stuff - pasta!

Pasta alla Puttanesca, a classic dish popular in Calabria and Lazio (according to Williams Sonoma's book The Essentials of Italian Cooking) but also served in many American households.



I grew up south of Philadelphia , a small suburb called Brookhaven…which bled into Parkside, Upland , Chester ….all little communities of their own….most teeming with first and second generation Italians. So…I know this dish. Heard about it, tasted it many times…growing up in a proverbial melting pot of cultures and tastes that enriched my childhood.



Ingredients needed.....adjust according to taste!

¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can plum (Roma) tomatoes, drained and chopped
Sea salt and ground pepper
6 to 8 olive oil packed anchovy fillets, chopped
¼ cup chopped pitted Gaeta or other Mediterranean-style black olives
2 TB chopped capers
2 TB chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pound penne or other pasta

Heat a large frying pan and warm the oil. Add garlic and red pepper and saute – about 2 minutes

Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and bring to a simmer.

Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened up….about 20 minutes.

Add anchovies, olives, capers and parsley and simmer 1 minute.
Meanwhile, get your pasta water to a boil, salt it, and add your pasta of choice. I used Barilla Penne.


When the pasta is cooked, ladle out 2 scoops of pasta cooking water. Nice starchy stuff.

Open the wine...a Chianti would obviously work well....but we had this bottle of Goats do Roam (love the play on words) and we enjoyed this one with the pasta.




Add drained pasta to sauce in the pan, toss over low heat. Adjust the consistency with the cooking water if needed.

Bello! Serve with green beans sauted in olive oil with bacon and warm bread.





Ciao!

This is a candidate for Presto Pasta Nights so I'll be linking up with the guest host - Girlichef. Go check out PPN and Girlichef...you'll be glad you did :-)

Swiss Linguine Tart

Is it time for Presto Pasta Nights already? Here is another little gem of a cookbook I found hidden in my pantry. It's called Meatless Meals.

I made a good mess putting this dish together but...worth it!



Ingredients..........

½ cup butter, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
Thinly sliced French bread
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Dash if nutmeg
2 ½ cups milk
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
8 ounces linguine, cooked and drained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
1/3 cup sliced green onions
2 tablespoons fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
2 plum tomatoes, each cut lengthwise into eigths

Get ready to rock your cheese loving world !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melt ¼ cup butter in saucepan and then add garlic. Cook a few minutes and then brush half your garlic butter in a 10-inch pie pan. Line your buttered pan with the French bread slices to form a crust. Now brush the rest of the garlic butter on the bread. Make sure you have the bread slices lined up so you have a 1 inch overhang.



Bake in preheated 400 F oven for 5 minutes. Take it out. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F.

Melt remaining ¼ cup butter in saucepan. Stir in flour and seasonings. Gradually add milk, cooking and stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Now stir some of the mixture into the beaten eggs and add that egg mix right back into the sauce.

See how it thickens up – looks delicious!

Take the sauce off the heat and set aside.

Now – take your cooked linguine and combine it in a large bowl with 1 ¼ cups Swiss cheese, green onions and basil.

Pour sauce over the linguine mixture. Toss to coat.

Pour this fabulously cheesing pasta mixture directly on to the French bread. Arrange tomatoes on top and top with remaining Swiss cheese.



Bake for 25 minutes in 350 F. Let it stand about 5 minutes after removing it from the oven so you can slice big wedges.

Look at the layers of pasta and creamy cheese.....



If you like cheese – you will love this recipe. Promise.



I will send this to the Claire at Chez Cayenne, the host this week at Presto Pasta Nights. If you have a pasta dish to share, contact Clare this week. Also sending this to Hearth and Soul.

Carolina Barbequed Pork – The Lazy Way

This was DElicious!



Cleaning out the tiny pantry area where I have stacks of pasta, cocoa cans, canned tomatoes and you name it…there sits a small wire basket with all sorts of tiny cookbooks and user manuals for various kitchen equipment. While flipping through the stack, I came across the user manual for my Rival Crock pot….and it has recipes.

This is one that I tried…and we all like it.

Carolina Barbequed Pork – Slow Cooker Style

You’ll need……..

2 onions, quartered
2 TB brown sugar
1 TB paprika
Salt and pepper
One 4-6 pound boneless pork butt or shoulder roast
¾ cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 ½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon garlic salt

Place the onions in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Combine brown sugar, paprika and salt and pepper.


Rub this all over the roast, shoving it into all crevices, all over.



In a bowl, combine the vinegar, Worcestershire sauce,, red pepper flakes, sugar, and garlic salt. Whisk it until blended. Drizzle this over the roast.



Cover: Cook on LOW for 10 hours or on HIGH for 6 hours. I went with the high option.


After it’s cooked you may chop it or shred it…serve however you like it!



This was a good recipe and I can tell you….if you step out of the house for awhile the aroma when you return will get your taste buds working overtime.



This was delicious! Another good thing about this meal is it stayed moist. We stored it in the fridge with all the juice from the crock pot and this kept it very moist. Two dinner meals and two lunch meals…….best bargain on time expenditure and low cost ingredients. The most expensive item was the roast.

I am happy this user booklet was rediscovered………now I need to try the Chicken Provencal Stew.

If you care to join me, Monday is National Bittersweet Chocolate day (according to my Food Network calendar) and I will be participating by making a chocolate pie.

Enjoy!

The Italian Slow Cooker cookbook

The Italian Slow Cooker cookbook, by Michele Sciolone, is my latest library checkout and what a hit it’s been.



You can recreate traditional Italian dishes, soups and desserts in a crock pot – perfect for anyone with a busy schedule. Michele Sciolone is the author of many cookbooks, a cooking instructor and an Italian culinary tour guide.



The recipes in this book are intended for slow cookers with a 5 to 7 quart capacity. If you are a household of two, as we are about to be, the extras may be frozen for a quick dish later on.

We tried Chicken and Orzo Soup

Ingredients.......

8 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 medium celery ribs, chopped
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½ inch chunks **
2 medium zucchini, chopped
1 cup orzo (or another pasta you like)
1 cup thawed frozen peas
Salt and pepper
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

**NOTE: I am not a fan of the breast meat as it tends to dry out too quickly for me. I used chicken thigh meat – wonderful choice!

In slow cooker. Combine brother, onion, carrot and celery. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.

Add chicken, zucchini, orzo and peas. Cook for 30 minutes or until orzo is tender and the chicken is cooked through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and serve!

I halved the ingredients because it's just the two of us…..Tristan ate one bowl, but the rest came to work for our lunch.

The orzo cooked in the slow cooker was incredibly tender and fluffed up. It was like having tiny dumplings…must be the lengthy (and low heat) cooking process from using a slow cooker. You’ll be amazed if you cook orzo this way – promise!

Mushroom Soup with Marsala

An elegant soup for company or just a family serving prior to placing a roast beef dinner on your table


Ingredients needed........

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup hot water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 pound button mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 ½ cups beef broth
2 cups water
Thyme
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup Marsala
¾ cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper



Place dried porcini in a bowl with hot water. Let stand for 30 minutes. Lift porcini out of water and squeeze to extract juice. Save the water and filter through a coffee filter if it seems gritty. Set water aside, chop porcinis.



Melt butter in a skillet – then add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally until tender (about 10 minutes). Stir in garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Scrape the mixture into a slow cooker.

Add porcini, the soaking liquid, button mushrooms, broth, water, thyme and tomato paste. Cover and cook on low
6 to 8 hours. Just before serving stir in Marsala and cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.



A nice winter soup – warm the bones.

I will be linking this up to Brenda’s Cookbook Sunday series and Pasta Presto Nights! Fun blogs, both of them…go check them out and better yet, join in the fun with a dish of your own.

Cheers!



This is definitely one I will send to Presto Pasta Nights (that orzo...Mmmmm)



Enjoy!