Tasting Spoons

After a weekend of consuming more fried things than I normally eat, I wanted to cook something a bit more simple. Last week I’d purchased a big bunch of Poblano chiles and red bells, just for this recipe. Yesterday morning, while the weather was still very cool, I broiled the peppers and removed the skins. My DH grilled the chicken thighs (that’s what I had in the freezer) which I’d marinated in lime juice, olive oil and garlic, along with some planks of eggplant, and it took just a few minutes to make the sauce. The longest step was browning the onions.

I didn’t really want to use heavy cream, but decided to thin it out 50/50 with fat-free half and half. The only problem with that is that the sauce would be too thin, so I just whisked in two tablespoons of flour to the broth when it was added, and it thickened the sauce just fine. I didn’t have any Jack cheese, so found some soft herby cheese in the refrigerator that worked fine. I used less cheese than the recipe indicated. This was delicious. I liked the sauce, liked the strips of poblanos (they’re very mild; in fact they really have no heat whatsoever), and the cream sauce was quite light. The onions added a nice sweetness to the dish. I happened to have had chicken thighs instead of breasts, but that probably didn’t matter a whit. This is pretty enough to be a company meal – would be especially good with some rice on the side to sop up some of the sauce.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Creamy Chile Sauce

Recipe: adapted a little from Phillis Carey, Fast & Fabulous Chicken Breasts

Servings: 4

CHICKEN:

4 pieces chicken breast halves without skin — boneless, or thighs

6 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

3 whole garlic cloves — minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

CREAMY CHILE SAUCE:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onions — peeled, thinly sliced lengthwise

2 whole Poblano peppers — roasted, peeled, cut in thin strips

2 whole red bell peppers — roasted, peeled, cut in thin strips

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup heavy cream — or substitute some fat-free half and half

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup jack cheese — grated

1.  Trim chicken and pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness (place between two pieces of plastic wrap).  Season chicken with salt and pepper, and place in a flat casserole.

2.  In a small bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, and cumin.  Pour over chicken, turning to coat.  Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

3.  Creamy Chile Sauce: heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Toss in the onions and cook, covered, stirring often, until onions are starting to brown.  Uncover and continue cooking until onions are golden throughout.

4.  Add the roasted and peeled Poblano and red bell pepper strips to the onion and stir in the oregano.  Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Add the cream and broth and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 4 minutes to reduce the sauce and thicken slightly.  Just before serving, stir in the Jack cheese until it melts.

5.  Meanwhile, remove chicken breasts from the marinade and grill 3-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.  Serve chicken topped with the onion-chile sauce.

Per Serving (assuming you use all whipping cream): 586 Calories; 45g Fat (67.4% calories from fat); 32g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 150mg Cholesterol; 297mg Sodium.

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A small calamity happened at my house yesterday. I was replacing one of my cookbooks on the shelf, and all of a sudden there was this shelf shift, a tilt, and nearly every cookbook on that 3-foot wide shelf tumbled to the floor. The good news: not one cookbook landed on my sandal-clad toes. The bad news: the shelf is compromised. My DH said (later) that I simply have too many books on the shelves. Sigh. We’re going to try to fix it, but I don’t know exactly what we’ll do. It’s a custom-made bookcase. I’ll need to contact our friend, Darci the Decorator and see what she can do. But what I ended up doing was stacking the contents of that shelf in myriad places in my kitchen until we figure out what to do about this dilemma. Post-script here: Darci the Decorator called the builder of the shelf, he’s stopping by today to permanently affix the shelves so we’ll not have the problem. Whew.

I knew I wanted to make chicken for dinner. And I had some fresh picked zucchini from our corner farm stand. I have numerous cookbooks on my shelves that I’ve looked at, but never cooked from. I wanted to remedy that! From the fallen cookbook stacks, I chose Diana Kennedy’s The Essential Cuisines of Mexico. This was a Christmas gift to me a couple of years ago (it was on my Amazon wish list), and although I’d glanced through the book more than once, I’d not ever cooked anything. Diana Kennedy is well regarded as one of the authorities of Mexican cookery. She’s written numerous books, and this one is a compilation of some of the favorites from her earlier books, all updated for ingredients and techniques plus lots of new recipes. She’s been called the Julia Child of Mexican cooking, and her book is amazing, really. Ingredients are well defined, history explained, and cultural differences explored. This recipe rendition came from Aquascalientes, from a chef/caterer, Señora Anamaría de Andrea.

The elements of this dish are remarkably ordinary – chicken, celery, onions, garlic, tomatoes, white wine and grapes. Who would think that combination could be so tasty?  There’s nothing in this that would normally be associated with Mexican (like fresh, hot chiles, chile powder, tomatillos, beans, cilantro). My DH deemed it fabulous. I sautéed some zucchini too (sprinkled with some mild chile powder), and rounded out the plate with one hot flour tortilla apiece. The recipe starts with a whole chicken – I bought pieces instead – and decided after preparing this that once the chicken was cooked and cooled, I’d remove the chicken meat from the bones and just reheat in the sauce. That way you could make it ahead, and you could serve it over a mound of rice if you wanted to, or pile a few pieces, sauce and a few grapes into a flour tortilla. Don’t skimp on the sauce in any way – it’s the sauce that makes the dish – once the chicken is cooked through, you whiz up the vegetables in the blender, then you continue to cook it with the wine and lastly, the grapes.

Mexican Chicken with Grapes (Pollo a la Uva)

Recipe By: slightly adapted from Diana Kennedy’s book, The Essential Cuisines of Mexico

Servings: 8

3 pounds chicken pieces — breasts and thighs, or your choice

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup onions — thinly sliced

2 whole garlic cloves — chopped

2 stalks celery — chopped

2 pounds tomatoes — fresh or canned, chopped, about 4 1/4 cups

1/4 teaspoon thyme — or 6 sprigs fresh

1/4 teaspoon marjoram — or 6 sprigs fresh

2/3 cup dry white wine

1 pound grapes — seedless

1.  Preheat oven to 350°.  Heat a medium-sized Dutch oven over medium high heat.

2.  Add oil and butter to pan.  Brown chicken pieces in fat until golden brown on both sides.  Season with salt and pepper; remove and set the chicken aside.

3.  In the same pan, fry the onion, celery and garlic over low heat for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and herbs to the pan.  Place the chicken pieces on their sides (standing up as much as possible) and place in oven for 20 minutes.

4.  Remove lid and turn chicken pieces over and replace lid.  Continue baking for another 20-25 minutes.  Turn off oven.  Transfer chicken pieces to a warmed serving dish and place the dish in the oven.

5.  Pour the vegetable mixture into a blender and blend (be careful it doesn’t blow off the lid - hold top with a towel) until smooth.  Return this sauce to the pan and cook over medium heat until it has reduced and thickened (sauce will spit some - be careful), about 10 minutes.  Add the wine and continue simmering for about 3 minutes, stirring from time to time.  Add the grapes and continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes until grapes are heated through.  Pour the sauce and grapes over and around the chicken and serve immediately.

COOK’S NOTES: My suggestion is that once the chicken is cooked through (you could do this earlier in the day), allow it to cool enough so you can handle it.  Remove all the chicken from the bones and continue with the sauce as indicated.  When you’re ready to serve, reheat the sauce and add the chicken to the sauce until everything is heated through.  You could either scoop pieces into tortillas and eat that way, or serve on a plate with a carb side dish.  The original recipe calls for cooking a whole chicken, then cutting into pieces after the baking.  My dish was cooked completely on the stovetop, which worked just fine.  I used additional garlic just because.

Per Serving: 386 Calories; 24g Fat (57.7% calories from fat); 23g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 113mg Cholesterol; 132mg Sodium.

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It was just a couple of days ago I was watching America’s Test Kitchen. I use my Tivo to record all the ATK programs. The show is broadcast on a different timetable around the country – i.e., not all shows you’d see are current – they may be year old re-runs. And sometimes the recipes have already dropped off the map when you go to the ATK website. Now I’m only recording new programs, so generally the recipes are available online.

Indian food is something I enjoy very much, although we don’t eat it as much anymore since we try to limit our rice consumption. But this version, shown recently on ATK, of Chicken Tikka Masala sounded so delicious, I had to try it. I’ve made it before, but never this well. The recipe is a real winner. I kid you not. If you enjoy Indian cuisine, you’ll likely enjoy this dish very much.

Chicken breasts are seasoned with ground cumin, coriander and cayenne, then dredged in a mixture of whole-milk yogurt, fresh ground ginger and minced garlic. The chicken is broiled while you make the Masala Sauce, which is composed of onion, more Indian spices, garlic, ginger, one moderately warm chile pepper, crushed tomatoes, and some heavy cream. Oh my. When my DH took his first bite of this his eyes rolled and he went into a bit of food rapture. I made a small amount of basmati rice, lapped some thick slices of the broiled chicken breast on top, and then scooped some of the Masala Sauce on top of that. Then sprinkled with mint (I didn’t have any cilantro on hand). I served it with some eggplant (recipe tomorrow) and a wedge of watermelon.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe By: America’s Test Kitchen

Servings: 6

CHICKEN:

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon table salt

2 pounds boneless chicken — breasts, trimmed of fat

1 cup yogurt — whole-milk preferably

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium garlic cloves — minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)

1 tablespoon fresh ginger — grated

MASALA SAUCE:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion — diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)

2 medium garlic cloves — minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)

2 teaspoons fresh ginger — grated

1 serrano pepper — ribs and seeds removed, flesh minced (see note above), or one large jalapeno

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 can crushed tomatoes — (28-ounces)

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon table salt

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves — chopped (or mint, if preferred)

1.  FOR THE CHICKEN: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres.  Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.  In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger; set aside.

2.  FOR THE SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.  Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes.  Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in cream and return to simmer.  Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

3.  While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler.  Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan.  Discard excess yogurt mixture.  Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

4.  Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce).  Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve.

Serving Ideas: Basmati rice or a simple pilaf would be a good accompaniment.  Eggplant also makes a good side dish, with a small wedge of watermelon as a salad.

Per Serving: 416 Calories; 25g Fat (55.0% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 129mg Cholesterol; 751mg Sodium.

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There are still these few recipes to post from the luncheon tea my friend Cherrie and I did a couple of weeks ago. All of these fillings are delicious - I can personally attest. I’m including three recipes, although we only prepared two of them (actually Cherrie made these). But I’m not likely to be posting recipes from another tea anytime soon, so I’ll give you the additional recipe now. Two are for chicken salad, and the other is a buttery ham mousse. Both chicken ones can be made the day before - the ham must be made within an hour or so of your tea, but it’s not difficult in the least.

HAM MOUSSE: this recipe came from Sarah at Our House South County Cooking School (now closed). The class was all about serving a tea, and this recipe was a standout. I must admit, though, that when I first saw the list of ingredients I thought - oh no, we’re not going to like this - it has butter and whipped cream in it. But, I’m here to tell you, it’s fabulous. You won’t eat many of these, of course, as they’re quite rich, but the flavor is delicious, and the texture goes down smooth!

Ham Mousse for Tea Sandwiches
Recipe By: Sarah from Our House South County Cooking School
Servings: 8
1/2 pound ham — country style, if possible, diced
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup butter — room temp
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons chives — minced
8 whole white bread slices — thin, sandwich type
1. Place ham in food processor (dice ham first). Pulse until chopped, then add sour cream, butter and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream. Puree until smooth (but not total mush), then transfer to a medium bowl. Beat the remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the ham mixture, along with the chives. Make sandwiches immediately, or chill for an hour or two.
2. Spread onto thin, soft white or wheat bread, crusts removed, then cut into quarters and serve.
Per Serving: 357 Calories; 30g Fat (74.8% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 100mg Cholesterol; 641mg Sodium.

CHICKEN SALAD WITH SMOKED ALMONDS: Cherrie found this recipe on the net, but it’s from a Gourmet article in 1994. What’s different about these are the chopped smoked almonds on the outside of each sandwich. The actual recipe calls for you to cut each sandwich into two 2-inch rounds (discarding what’s left of each square sandwich) but we thought that was such a huge waste, so just made them in traditional triangles. After filling the sandwiches, you carefully smear a bit of mayo on the outside of the crustless sandwiches, then press them into a small mound of minced smoked almonds. The nuts add a really nice touch and a delicious crunch as we ate them.

Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches with Smoked Almonds
Recipe By: Gourmet | May 1994
Servings: 24
3 cups chicken broth — or water
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken — breasts
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup minced shallot
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon — minced
24 thin slices white bread — thin sandwich type
1/2 cup smoked almonds — about 2 ounces, chopped finely
1. In a deep 12-inch skillet bring broth or water to a boil and add chicken breasts in one layer. Reduce heat and poach chicken at a bare simmer, turning once, 7 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and cool chicken in cooking liquid 20 minutes. Discard skin and shred chicken fine [or mince with a sharp chef’s knife].
2. In a bowl stir together chicken, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, shallot, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Remove crusts from sandwich bread. Make 12 sandwiches with chicken salad and bread, pressing together gently. Cut each sandwich in quarters (triangles).
4. Put almonds on a small plate and spread edges of rounds with remaining 1/2 cup mayonnaise to coat well. Roll edges in almonds. Sandwiches may be made 2 hours ahead, wrapped in plastic wrap, and chilled.
NOTES: The chopped smoked almonds on the outside of each sandwich add a really nice crunch to this - they’re different, not only from that, but also the smoked flavor is unusual.
Per Serving: 189 Calories; 11g Fat (50.9% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 20mg Cholesterol; 302mg Sodium.

CURRIED CHICKEN SALAD: About 10 years ago I threw myself a luncheon tea on a milestone birthday. Since my birthday is in August, it was a very hot day, and not one where we really wanted to be all gussied up with gauzy dresses and floppy hats, but we did it anyway and I merely cranked down the A/C to about 70 degrees. It was fun, as these kinds of events always are. I tested several recipes for a curried chicken salad filling, and this one was, by far, the best of the bunch. I don’t think I’ve made it since, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be served as a dinner salad atop a bed of lettuce on a hot summer’s evening. The recipe started out from an old Palo Alto (California) Junior League cookbook.

Curried Chicken Salad
Recipe By: Adapted from a Palo Alto Junior League cookbook
Servings: 4
3 medium chicken breast halves
1/4 cup celery — minced
2 tablespoons green onion — minced
4 teaspoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons chutney — minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons almonds — minced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper — to taste
1. Poach/steep the chicken: place chicken breasts in a saucepan and add water to barely cover. If you choose, you may add flavoring (onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, etc.) to the pot. Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pan and set aside for about 30 minutes. Remove chicken breasts to a dish and allow to cool; save chicken broth for another use, or discard.
2. Meanwhile, mince the celery, green onions, chutney and almonds. Mince the chicken breast meat and add to mixture, along with lemon juice, curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. Add mayonnaise, stir gently to mix thoroughly, then refrigerate overnight, if possible, to allow flavors to blend. Before serving, taste again and add salt or pepper as needed.
3. May be used as a cold salad, or as a filling for sandwiches (use raisin bread, preferably, or raisin nut).
NOTES : If the chutney does not contain any raisins, add about 1-2 T. of golden or black raisins to the mixture. This makes a very tasty filling for tea sandwiches. And you may use low-fat mayo in this. The curry provides tons of flavor so you don’t miss the traditional mayo.
Per Serving: 376 Calories; 24g Fat (57.3% calories from fat); 24g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 74mg Cholesterol; 160mg Sodium.

Separate PDF printer friendly recipes: ham mousse,   chix salad w/almonds,   curry chix salad

I remember, back in the mid-1990s, when chicken chili arrived on the food scene. We were in the thick of trying to revamp our old favorites (mostly with beef, veal, even lamb) into more healthy versions featuring chicken (ground or cubes) or turkey. The first time I made turkey meatloaf let’s just say that I was under-whelmed. But many creative cooks have figured out ways to give ground chicken and ground turkey a lot more flavor, yet look like those old beef favorites. For awhile I tried mixing half chicken/turkey and half beef in things like meatloaf. Then I got fed up with the lack of texture and flavor and went back to all beef versions. We just didn’t eat them very often.

But chicken chili is an altogether different animal, so to speak. It’s really not exactly chili. At least this one is almost more like a thick soup or stew, but with all the trappings of chili. This has all the stuff we like – beans, meat protein (chicken instead of beef), chiles, chili powder, cumin, then you serve it with all the usual garnishes (in this case: sour cream, grated cheese, cilantro and salsa). I even added a bowl of crumbled-up Fritos to the chili garnishes to add some crunch. There is more than an average amount of butter in this dish. I used what was called for, but wonder if it would taste just as good with less. As our friend Bud says, fat is the sled on which flavor rides. Maybe because there are so many sort-of bland things in this, the butter becomes a necessity. Next time I will try it with less. I also think this will serve more people than the recipe indicated. Although, the crew eating this were all very hungry from a hard day’s work (see below).

The recipe was in the February, 1996 issue of Gourmet magazine. It’s from “The Kitchen for Exploring Foods,” (a catering company) in Pasadena, right in our neck of the woods. You can find the recipe on epicurious.com easily enough, and read the 186 reviews (the 10-12 I read all raved about it). If you have made any of my recipes, just trust me on this. The chili is gosh-darned good. I made a double batch (I was feeding a crowd) so purchased 3 very large, whole chicken breasts, bone and skin attached, roasted them in the oven (400 for 35 minutes), then cut off the meat and into small chunks. The chicken does NOT get simmered in the chili for any length of time – you don’t want the chicken to give up its flavor and moisture to the soup, so add at the last minute and just heat through.

Our son and his wife were moving back into their house a few days ago (it’s been about 13 months for the major remodel to be completed). My DH was there to check off the boxes and furniture as the movers brought them in the door. I offered to bring a meal for the family helping – Karen chose dinner. But, the caveat was they have no cooktop or oven yet (the wrong one was delivered, and now they must wait another week or two for the right one to arrive) so I had to bring dinner in a crock pot or something else that could be plugged in. Chili seemed like the easy choice. Basically a one dish meal with a salad and dessert. See cook’s notes at the bottom of the recipe for more details. My changes are marked in RED.

White Chicken Chili

Recipe By: Gourmet Magazine, Feb, 1996

Serving Size: 6 -8

1/2 pound dried navy beans — picked over

1 large onion — chopped

1 cup celery — chopped

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup chicken broth

2 cups fat free half-and-half

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce — or to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt — or to taste

1/2 teaspoon white pepper — or to taste

8 ounces canned whole mild green chilies — drained and chopped

2 pounds chicken breast, no skin, no bone, R-T-C — cooked and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese — grated, about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup sour cream

8 ounces corn kernels — canned or frozen [optional]

1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder [optional]

1 1/2 teaspoons New Mexico chile powder [optional]

Garnish: fresh cilantro, more grated cheese and sour cream

Accompaniment: tomato salsa, Fritos

1. In a large kettle soak beans overnight in cold water to cover by 2 inches.  Drain beans in a colander and return to kettle with cold water to cover by 2 inches.  Cook beans at a bare simmer until tender, about 1 hour, and drain in colander.

2. In a 6-8 quart heavy pan cook onion and celery in 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat until softened.  Remove mixture and set aside.

3. In same pan melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour.  Cook roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes.  Have broth and half-and-half ready beside the stove before beginning next part (otherwise lumps will form in mixture).  Stir in onion mixture and gradually add broth and half-and-half, whisking constantly.  Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until thickened.  Stir in Tabasco, chili powders, cumin, salt, corn and white pepper.  Add beans, chilies, chicken, and Monterey Jack and cook mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, 20 minutes.  Stir sour cream into chili. If chili is too thick, just add chicken broth to thin it down a little bit.

4. Garnish chili with cilantro and serve with salsa, cheese and more sour cream. 

Cook’s Notes: I made a few changes to the original: (1) I used fat-free half and half instead of the real stuff. In this kind of preparation, nobody would possibly know the difference; (2) I added corn, just because; and (3) I like using a mixture of chile powders (ancho for flavor but no heat and New Mexico specifically) so I changed the amounts there and I added one more teaspoon of cumin just because I like the stuff.

Per Serving: 707 Calories; 33g Fat (43.1% calories from fat); 52g Protein; 46g Carbohydrate; 11g Dietary Fiber; 167mg Cholesterol; 616mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain (Starch); 6 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 5 Fat.

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It was a week or so ago and my daughter, Dana, mentioned to me in a phone conversation that she’d had a really, really tasty chicken dish at her sister-in-law’s home. She thought I’d like it too. A few days later Dana made it herself, and again, raved about it profusely, and the next morning she faxed me the recipe.

Now, the recipe came via Dana, via Ahnalinn, via her friend Laurie. But, after doing a tad bit of sleuthing on the internet, I found out the recipe was actually from Sunset Magazine, in 2004. Sunset does some great stuff. Maybe, in 2004, I hardly knew what panko was, so didn’t know what a great addition it is (now) to my pantry. And I likely didn’t clip out the recipe because of that.

Why do we use panko, you ask? Because when you bake with it, the crumbs stay crispy. I read just recently what it is that the Japanese producers do to make it that way (i.e., how’s it different from American or European style bread crumbs), and maybe it was the way it was torn or pulled, or something. Anyway, the panko crumbs don’t soak up fluid the way ordinary bread crumbs do. So it stays crisp. At least more crispy than the traditional.

The chicken does have three steps (coating, baking + sauce), but they’re easy steps, so don’t be dissuaded from trying this. I did slightly pound the breasts, a Phillis Carey tried and true technique that’s always worked for me – you want to make each breast about the same thickness, so the thinner parts don’t dry out. Then you dip them in a mixture of butter, Dijon and garlic. Then you dip those in a panko, parsley (actually I didn’t have any parsley so that was eliminated in mine) and grated cheese mixture, then you bake them in a terrifically hot oven. While the chicken is baking, you mix up the easy sauce – mayo, mustard, sesame oil and a tiny squirt of soy sauce. That’s it.

I served it with Brussels sprouts, a few tomato slices, and some wild and brown rice. Absolutely delicious. Moist, tender, and the crust was nice and crispy. And the sauce, well, what can I say, but it was so easy and really good. Thank you to Dana, Ahnalinn and Laurie.

Dijon Chicken with Panko Crust

Recipe By: Sunset, 2004

Serving Size: 8

1/4 cup butter — melted

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic — peeled and minced or pressed

1/2 cup panko — Japanese bread crumbs

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (I happened to use Pecorino instead)

1 1/2 tablespoons minced parsley

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

DIJON SAUCE:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil — (or up to one tablespoon)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1.  Preheat oven to 500. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, mustard and garlic. 

2.  In another bowl, mix panko crumbs, parmesan cheese and parsley. 

3.  One at a time, turn chicken breasts in butter mixture to coat completely; If chicken breasts are very thick it is good to pound them; dip rounded side of the chicken breast in panko mixture.

4.  Place breasts crumb side up in a 10-by 15-inch baking pan, sprayed with non-sick cooking spray. [I used a Sillpat-lined pan.]

5.  Bake chicken until crumbs are golden and breasts are no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test),about 15 minutes; may take longer, depending on the size of the breast. 

6.  Serve with Dijon sauce: In a bowl mix mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sesame oil and soy sauce: makes 3/4 cup sauce. 

Per Serving: 319 Calories; 21g Fat (58.6% calories from fat); 29g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 90mg Cholesterol; 478mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 4 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

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Several years ago I was confused about a lot of the (east) Indian cooking spices and methods, so when Suneeta Vaswani taught a class at Sur la Table, I signed up. She was a delightful teacher. Very informative and easy to understand. Among the things she made at that class, this was the standout in my book. It happens to be a favorite in her family. My recollection is that she mentioned whenever she’s off teaching classes her husband always wants this – if he can have this available for his dinner, he’s a happy man. So, it’s a staple in her freezer. I also bought her Easy Indian Cookbook, which I’ve used several times. I don’t cook Indian food very often, although my DH and I both like it very much. She’s recently published a new book, which is already going for a 2nd printing apparently.

Truly, this dish is simple. Really simple. First you get out the sauté pan you’ll use (make sure you have a lid to fit this one) and the ingredients are mixed right in the pan itself and allowed to sit for half an hour before cooking. It’s merely a mixture of nonfat yogurt, a bit of cornstarch, minced ginger, garlic, a Serrano chile pepper and salt. You roll the chicken thighs around in this thick mixture and let it sit. Just like that. Then you put the pan over the heat on the range, and begin slowly cooking the chicken. It does not get browned, just heated and slowly cooked. Then, at the end, you actually sauté some cracked peppercorns for about a minute, then those get poured into the sauce. Garnish with some cilantro and you’re done, except for spooning some of the scrumptious sauce over basmati rice. Oh, is that ever good, I’ll tell you.

The yogurt separates during the cooking process – it is a little off-putting when you see it, but the sauce comes together in the end. You can cook this without a lid, but how much sauce you get depends on how much the fluid evaporates. You’ll need to be your own judge about that. I like the sauce, but the nonfat yogurt is the thinnest, and doesn’t firm up much. That’s why I’ve been using Greek (strained, thicker) yogurt for this the last several times. I prefer it because it sticks better to the chicken (see photo), but it’s likely not traditional.

Indian Pepper Chicken 

Recipe By:  Suneeta Vaswani

Serving Size: 8

12 whole chicken thighs without skin — bone-in preferred

2 cups nonfat yogurt

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 whole serrano pepper — sliced in half

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups fresh cilantro — chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon black peppercorns — freshly cracked

1.  Rinse chicken and pat dry.  In a large saucepan stir together the yogurt, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, chilies and salt.  Add chicken and mix well, then allow to sit in the pan for about 30 minutes, at room temperature.

2.  Cover the pan and bring it to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce the heat and simmer, shaking the pan occasionally and turning pieces once to ensure even cooking, about 30-35 minutes.  The yogurt will curdle - don’t worry, that’s how it should be, and it will be fine when it’s finished.  If there is too much liquid, increase the heat and leave pot uncovered to reduce it down.

3.  Reduce heat, shaking pan occasionally, until there is about 1 cup of liquid and the chicken is fork tender and no longer pink inside.  Stir gently if needed.  Scatter the chopped cilantro on top.

4.  In a very small saucepan heat oil over medium heat.  Add the cracked peppercorns and cook (sizzling) for about 1 minute.  Pour this into the chicken pot (it will sizzle more when it hits the liquid) and stir gently.  Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Per Serving: 196 Calories; 8g Fat (35.6% calories from fat); 24g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 87mg Cholesterol; 669mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat.

Cook’s Notes: I’ve used both bone in and boneless thighs. Also have used non-fat and full fat yogurt too. I prefer the Greek yogurt (it’s thicker) although it doesn’t make as much sauce. Don’t be disturbed by how the yogurt separates during the cooking process – the water separates from the milk solids, but will be reabsorbed as it cooks. And, if you happen to freeze this, make sure there’s enough sauce to completely cover the meat - keeps better that way. If you don’t like the heat, eliminate the chile pepper and the cracked pepper, although I think you’d lose a lot of the personality of this dish by doing that.

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Last week I purchased a new cookbook (ah yes, yet another one). It happened to have been on sale, marked down to less than half price. Because the author was David Rosengarten, I wanted to check it out. I didn’t have any of his cookbooks, but certainly admire his knowledge. This particular book, about entertaining, is called David Rosengarten Entertains, Fabulous Parties for Food Lovers. The book is divided into types of dinner entertainment (like a Spanish paella dinner, a Texas BBQ, a Zorba style Greek dinner, pizza in the backyard, etc.). Each chapter contains everything from a general discussion of the entertainment, the recipes, how to set the table, music to play. That kind of thing. I like the book – the menus are relatively simple, and the ideas for making the table settings different and mostly easy. He also includes a list of resources at the end of each entertaining chapter (mostly online resources) for not only foodstuffs, but table settings items, to bring some flair to your dining table.

But in the first chapter he talks about how entertaining (in general) has changed over the decades. How we – now – feel the need to impress, to make a “wow” dinner. I am certainly guilty of all of that. I wish I could prepare a simple dinner and just make the companionship of friends the focus, rather than the food. Rosengarten tries to simplify an entertaining event and have it still be a “wow” but not a back breaker for the cook.

I read this introduction with in depth paragraphs about the epochs of the “dinner party.” I got a kick out of seeing myself – my style of cooking – as it has evolved since the 1960’s when I first began entertaining. He nailed it in discussing these epochs. So, for your edification, here’s, in brief, what he had to say:

• Epoch One: 1950-1975: “What Sounds Good.” Serving beef Wellington with pate to your guests meant you “loved” them.

• Epoch Two: 1975-2000: “What Looks Good.” Plating was number one – not the plates themselves, although they too could be important, but the food appearance. Many a home kitchen became a workshop for stacking, towering, drizzling and rim-dusting. Quality wasn’t of primary importance. The hosts were striving to captivate the eye.

•  Epoch Three: 2001 to today: “What is Good.” Respect your guests by serving high quality ingredients, in simpler preparations, great bread, good olive oil.

Definitely, I need to take his advice to heart. Seems like nearly every dinner party I throw I overdo it. Make one too many dishes. And even though I start the food prep a day or two ahead, usually I end up being tired and weary before the guests arrive.

So, all of the above is to bring you to this recipe today. Serving chicken as an entrée is usually toward the bottom of my lists when I think about entertaining. I always think chicken isn’t fancy enough. Maybe okay for a very casual dinner, with family or close friends, but not for an all-out elegant dinner, even if the dress may be casual. Here in California guests almost always come in casual (maybe dressy casual) attire – unless you tell them otherwise. But I still may do a more elegant dinner with sterling silver and crystal glasses lined up above the plates, salad and bread and butter plates.

This recipe definitely fills the bill, though, as an elegant entrée. It’s stuffed – so it’s pretty to begin with (Epoch two). Certainly, from the title, it sounds good too (Epoch one) It has a delicious sauce that drizzles over the chicken and the side carb can help soak up the extra because it’s so darned good. This would make a very lovely entertaining entrée. It’s also delicious, which is the most important (Epoch of today). So, thank you, David Rosengarten, for refocusing my entertaining style.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Spinach, Ricotta and Gorgonzola with a Lemony Mustard Sauce

Recipe By: Phillis Carey, cooking instructor

Serving Size: 4

STUFFING:

10 ounces frozen spinach — thawed, drained, squeezed

1/2 cup ricotta cheese — whole milk or part skim

1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese — crumbled (not pre-crumbled)

4 slices bacon — cooked, crumbled

salt and pepper to taste

1 large egg

SAUCE:

2 cups chicken broth — boiled down to one cup

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons Italian parsley — chopped

CHICKEN:

4 pieces chicken breast half without skin — boneless

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  For stuffing: combine squeezed spinach, ricotta and gorgonzola and bacon in a medium bowl.  Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the egg to the mixture and stir to combine.

2.  SAUCE: Combine the reduced chicken broth (or use concentrate and make it thicker strength to start with) and wine in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook down THAT mixture by half.  Whisk in the mustard and lemon juice.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

3.  CHICKEN: trim and pound chicken breasts to an even 1/4 inch thickness.  Divide filling evenly among the chicken breasts, spreading it over the center of each.  Fold in sides and then roll up chicken.  Secure with a skewer.  Dredge chicken in flour to coat, shaking off excess.  Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 2 minutes per side.

4.  Transfer chicken to a casserole dish and pour the sauce over the top.  Cover with lid or foil and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Cook’s Notes: If you don’t like Gorgonzola, try Feta, or a smaller amount (half as much) Parmesan.  The chicken can be stuffed earlier in the day but not cooked at all (refrigerate).  You can brown the chicken about an hour ahead, then finish the rest of the meal.  The sauce is thin, so if you prefer a thicker sauce, add some flour to the saucepan when finishing up the sauce before it’s poured onto the chicken.

Per Serving: 496 Calories; 27g Fat (50.8% calories from fat); 46g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 169mg Cholesterol; 1117mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 6 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 3 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

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Last week when my friend Cherrie and I attended a cooking class in San Diego, the instructor, Phillis Carey, mentioned another recipe in the course of conversation, saying that it was one of her very favorites. That she can eat it once, twice, three times in a row, it’s so good. It was similar in style to a recipe she made at the class. My ears always perk up when I hear statements like that – a cooking instructor mentioning one of HER favorites.

Since I have Phillis’ cookbook, Fast & Fabulous Chicken Breasts (only available in and from the stores where Phillis teaches), when I got home I looked up the recipe. Since I had all the necessary ingredients, I made it for dinner. Oh my. Oh my. It was absolutely scrumptious.

It’s like the ubiquitous cream of mushroom soup, except it’s the real thing – a cream sauce with mushrooms. And bacon. And onions. And the delicious paprika in the sauce itself. Of course, the use of cream can make almost shoe leather taste good, but this is a really, really lovely preparation. I used half and half, not cream, and it seemed perfectly rich enough. And I used half-sharp paprika, which gave the sauce a bit of bite.

I know I’ve mentioned paprika here before, but if any of you are new to my blog, I’ll just mention that the paprika you buy at the grocery store (always store in the refrigerator, by the way, because it gets bugs otherwise) bears so little taste resemblance to the real thing, you’d be amazed. Buy a better paprika. Having visited Hungary and having enjoyed some of their paprika-influenced cuisine, I learned that paprika is just a wonderful flavoring agent. And coloring agent too. The pinkish tinge you see in the photo is from the paprika. What we Americans think of paprika is a very bland red powder that has virtually no flavor. But there are lots of different kinds of paprika out there, including the sharp (hotter) and half-sharp (in between), which I use regularly in my cooking. Certainly, if all you have is regular, go ahead and use it. But next time you have to buy some, get a good brand, or order it from Penzey’s, my favorite herb and spice supplier.

On to the recipe. Sorry for the detour, but I needed to get on my paprika bandwagon there. This recipe is VERY simple. Once you cut up the onion and mushrooms and gather the ingredients around you, it comes together in nothing flat. Only about 20 minutes of cooking. Hardly time to make a salad or boil some noodles or rice to serve with this.

First you flatten (pound) the chicken breasts to an even thickness, season, then brown in a bit of butter. Brown the mushrooms, then the bacon and onions, and make the cream sauce. Add everything back into the pan and cook JUST until the chicken is cooked through (so it’s still tender and moist) and serve. Cinchy. This is going onto my fix-this-often list. My DH loved it (well, he adores chicken with mushroom and cream sauce anyway). I served it with a bit of fresh zucchini on the side. I didn’t make a carb, but am sure it would wonderful with noodles, or mashed potatoes or rice.

See Cook’s Notes at the bottom of the recipe.

Chicken Breasts with Bacon, Onions and Mushrooms in Creamy Paprika Sauce

Recipe By: Phillis Carey, Fast & Fabulous Chicken Breasts

Serving Size: 4

2 whole chicken breasts, no skin, no bone — halved

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 pound mushroom — sliced

3 slices bacon — chopped

1 cup onion — chopped

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon paprika — regular of half -sharp

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream — or half and half

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1. Trim chicken breasts and lightly pound between two sheets of plastic wrap to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook 2 minutes per side to brown lightly. Remove chicken to a plate. Stir mushrooms into drippings in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove mushrooms to plate with chicken.

3. Add bacon to skillet and cook over medium heat until crisp. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Add onions to bacon fat and cook for 4 minutes to soften. Stir flour and paprika into onions and then stir in the chicken broth, cream and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

4. Return chicken, mushrooms and bacon to skillet, turning to coat with sauce. Simmer chicken, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, turning over once.

Per Serving: 484 Calories; 34g Fat (62.7% calories from fat); 33g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 173mg Cholesterol; 421mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 4 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 6 Fat.

Cook’s Notes: Ideally, have all your ingredients ready when you start cooking, as it comes together quickly. Maybe not enough time to still chop and mince. Don’t overlook the pounding of the chicken breasts to an even thickness – they cook more evenly. You can use half and half instead of cream.

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After having beef, corned beef, a casserole and crab, we were ready for some chicken. I flipped through more of my to-try recipes and this was the ticket. I had all the ingredients, which made it an instant winner! And it had citrus (it calls for lime juice; I had lemons instead), garlic and cilantro. If I’d started it several hours ahead, or even overnight, it likely would have been even better. But I did it at the last minute. It was delicious. I really enjoyed the garlic (6 cloves for 4 servings . . . wow), and the tang of lemon juice.

The recipe came from Sunset, in March of 2006, submitted by Cheryl Brown of Englewood, Colorado. The recipe blurb said Cheryl and her husband Rick once owned a restaurant in Littleton, Colorado, and this dish was a popular favorite.

Cook’s Notes: Start this a day ahead to get the best garlic flavor. Remember to pound the chicken so it’s mostly an even thickness (you’ll get more evenly cooked chicken). Use the remaining lemon juice in some rice to give it a nice zip too. A great combination.

Cilantro Chicken

Recipe By: Sunset, March 2006

Serving Size: 4

2 pounds boned and skinned chicken breast halves — 4 pieces

1/4 cup lime juice — or lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

6 whole garlic cloves — chopped

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.  Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness (about 1/2 in.) and place in a shallow baking pan. 

2.  In a small bowl, mix lime juice, cilantro, garlic, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Pour over chicken and turn pieces to coat evenly.  Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or overnight. 

3.  Lay chicken on a grill over medium heat (you can hold you hand over the surface only 4 to 5 seconds) and cook, turning once, until no longer pink in the center, 4 to 6 minutes per side.

Per Serving: 307 Calories; 6g Fat (18.9% calories from fat); 53g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 132mg Cholesterol; 416mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 7 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

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