Our Meyer lemons are so ripe they’re almost falling off our trees (1 regular and 2 dwarfs), so I’m using lots of things with lemons these days. This weekend I need to make homemade margaritas for a family gathering and I’ll use oodles of them, most likely.

As you’ve read here before, I’m the first to admit that chicken breasts can be challenging for most cooks – you want to infuse them with lots of flavor and also not overcook them so they’re dry. Dry = tasteless. The trick is taking them off the fire/flame when they’re JUST done and not later. It was some years ago that I learned at one of Phillis Carey’s cooking classes, that flattening chicken breasts to a mostly even thickness is one secret to success. Phillis has written an entire BOOK about cooking chicken breasts, so she comes by her knowledge with a lot of experience under her belt. If you have one of these pounders (pictured at left), great. If not, use a regular meat pounder turned on its side – you do not want to pulverize the chicken flesh. You just spread it a little bit, that’s all.

This recipe came from a 2005 Gourmetissue. As I recall, the editorial staff asked  employees for favorite recipes they’d share in the magazine. This one was provided by Food Editor Melissa Roberts-Matar, from her father Richard Roberts. The recipe does not come with any sauce or garnish. Hence, I decided to add a bit of zip to the mixture by sprinkling on a gremolata. Traditionally gremolatais sprinkled on Italian osso buco as a garnish only. But it’s zippy – lemon zest, finely minced garlic and Italian parsley. If used in profusion it could overpower this, so be gentle until you know that you really like it and can handle the pungent garlic. And whatever you do, don’t overcook the chicken.

If you’ve pounded the breasts, you simple put them in a bowl or plastic bag and add the marinade. What’s unique about this concoction is a raw EGG. One whole egg gets whizzed up in the blender with the other ingredients, so the liquid becomes emulsified – looks more like a salad dressing than a marinade. It has some fresh squeezed lemon juice and vegetable oil. It also called for poultry seasoning. Since I didn’t have any, I made my own with dried sage, dried thyme, pepper, marjoram and a dash of ground cloves. So my recipe differs somewhat from the original. The chicken is marinated for at least 8 hours, and up to 24.

If you check on the recipe at Epicurious, you’ll find that a couple of people thought it was dry and tasteless, but most people who made this raved about it. So beware of overcooking, that’s all I can tell you. The chicken is grilled, first searing both sides, then baked (inside the grill) off heat until they’re done. If you don’t mind inserting a meat thermometer into chicken breasts (the absolute best way to know when they’re done) cook them until they reach 155 degrees, and not a moment longer. Whisk them while they’re sizzling hot to a heated platter and serve. Chicken doesn’t need to sit and rest as red meat does.

The gremolata ingredients are added in this recipe at the bottom. Hope you enjoy that – it makes a huge difference. I like lemon-garlic-parsley, so for me I could add a lot of it. You could also serve this with a fruit salsa, but I think it would detract from the delicate lemon flavor of the chicken. If you prefer a sauce, make a savory lemon sauce to go with it. I’d want a clear lemon sauce, probably made with cornstarch, chicken broth, lemon juice, and that would be about it. Or a chimichurri sauce would also go perfectly with this. If you enjoy lemon, you could also give the chicken breasts a little squeeze of lemon just before serving, too. The lemon flavor definitely permeated through the chicken. I might give it the full 24 hours marinating time, next time. Shall I say it one more time? Don’t overcook it, that’s all.
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Just in case you haven’t read or heard about this new Beater Blade gizmo, I’m here to tell you this blade for Kitchen Aid, (Viking and Century too) stand mixers is amazing. All these years I’ve kind of just accepted that some of the batter doesn’t mix much, and you have to stop the mixer numerous times and scrape down the sides. Somebody agreed with most of us cooks (and probably chefs too) that Kitchen Aid missed the mark in the design, and did something about it.

It’s not made by Kitchen Aid, but by a company called NewMetro Design. If you go to the Beater Blade website they make blades to fit 12 models. These are available at some stores. If you do an online search for “beater blade” (mine for the tilt-head is a KA-TH model) you’ll likely find them. Amazon has them too. They’re available for both the tilt-head and bowl lift professional models for Kitchen Aid. The model for the latter is $5.00 more.

This little number works like a CHARM. In this picture above, you can see the opacity of the plastic. The edges are a soft rubber – only the interior frame is hard plastic. It’s not flimsy in the least. And you can see the tiny slit at the bottom – that scrapes the dimple in the bottom of the bowl. I think I paid $24.95 for it, at an independent kitchenware store. I had not seen it except through mail order, up until last week. If you compare the two you’ll notice that the design is certainly similar, but it has rubber edges that scrape the bowl. According to the website, the blade even will gently mix in egg whites for souffles, etc. There are videos at their website demonstrating the uses, although there isn’t one for folding in egg whites. Hmmm; wonder why? I argued with myself that I didn’t need to spend $25 on some kitchen trinket, but am so glad I did. If you’re a baker, you’ll be glad you have one of these. I just wish I’d thought of it myself!

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Just in case you haven’t seen or heard the ads for this HBO series, I’m highly recommending you watch it or record it. The other night was the first in the series, a 2-hour “pilot.” It’s full of the story about Precious Ramotswe, an ample Botswanan woman who decides to open a detective agency. No matter that she’s never been a detective, or owned a business. Jill Scott, who plays the lead, is just wonderful. Absolutely a perfect fit for Alexander McCall Smith’s character he created through the widely published series of books he’s written. Precious is nothing like the stern, man-eating detectives you’ve likely seen on other crime dramas. Instead, she’s sweet and kind, but a resourceful private investigator, using all kinds of wiles to solve her clients’ problems. Extremely well done, and I dare you not to fall in luv with the character. So, watch it, record it, VCR it. Or something. You’ll see a side of Botswana you may never have seen. I’m looking forward to the next show.

photo from the HBO website

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It’s been absolutely ages since I’ve had a strata of any kind. We don’t seem to entertain for breakfast or brunch much anymore, and I haven’t needed to make one of these kinds of things in quite awhile. But my friend Linda (who took a trip to Savannah last year) got this recipe from the Green Palm Inn where she stayed, and raved about it (both the strata and the inn). Linda made this for breakfast when I visited her a week ago – we had it on Saturday morning, then as leftovers on Sunday too. It is absolutely wonderful. A keeper. Linda made it with fewer tortillas (she knows I try to limit carbs), but otherwise it was the same as below. You probably could substitute turkey sausage, and you can use low fat milk. Linda prefers using Tillamook cheddar on this, but use what you prefer, or what you have on hand. But whatever you do, you need to make this.
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A Year Ago: Flourless Chocolate Cake w/Caramel Sauce

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One would think that after making umpteen batches of CC cookies, I’d really be tired of them. Well, remember, nearly all of these are going to a friend of mine who needs to eat them to gain some weight (cookies seem to go down easier than other foods, she says – and only CC cookies, not other types). And hey, I’m doing this cookie testing for the sake of research, right? You know that kind of rationalization, don’t you? Naturally, I do have to taste some of them in the name of quality control, too. Right? Right.

So, if you’ll recall from reading my other posts, my friend Norma really prefers thicker, softer and more chewy (but most definitely not crisp) CC cookies. My last two attempts were moderately successful in that regard – the chewy type, but they were still crispy. I thought perhaps this batch would be better on the chewy scale, since it was in the title. Well, they are chewy, but they’re CRISP-chewy. Not what Norma prefers. For her, these will still have to be dunked in milk. For me, however, they are outstanding – nice mounds of cookie, with crispy edges.

The recipe came from Heather R. (reprinted below by permission) over at Chocolate Bytes (a blog). I subscribe via RSS feed, so get all the updates on chocolate doings there. The title of her post was “The Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie.”

The batter came together as easily as any regular CC cookies – except the proportions of things were somewhat different (different volumes of brown and white sugar, 1 egg plus an egg yolk). The batter looked just like Tollhouse, but it’s NOT. The cookies don’t thin out hardly at all – they make a nice mound. And they’re baked at 325, definitely lower than Tollhouse. The edges are nice and crispy and the insides are chewy, a bit. Not much, but some. FYI: the recipe made 48 cookies, and took 12 minutes in my oven, using Convection/Bake.

Norma will definitely eat them, but they may not be her favorites. I did hold back a few just to test them after a day to see how they are. Ah-hem. Right? As head of quality control, I’m required to do that, right? All my cookies go into the freezer when I make them, and I actually prefer eating them from a frozen state anyway.

My DH has had several of these cookies, and tells me he thinks they are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Because I only kept about 10 of them, I may have to make another batch. They’re that good. And then keep researching and testing to find a softer one that my friend really likes. Sigh. More CC cookie research in my future. [grin]  And thanks to Heather for the great recipe. She doesn’t remember where she got the recipe, so we’ll credit her for it, for now.

As a result of writing up this post I finally decided to go hunting in my files (remember, I have FILES of recipes, divided up by category, in manila-folder sleeves so they don’t fall out the sides) where I knew I had an article or two about why cookies are thin/crisp/chewy/puffy. Sure enough. I found both. One was from Food & Wine magazine, the other from our local newspaper. I think the articles deserve a write-up of their own – along with photos and taste-tests of the cookie recipes contained within. So, according to both articles, I’ll try two CC cookie recipes that are assured to be soft and puffy. More like what Norma wants. So, stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you like thick, chewy AND crispy cookies, these are your ticket to nirvana. Guaranteed.
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Year Ago: I posted one of my favorite recipes, Grilled Salmon on Watercress Salad

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Last summer we purchased a quarter of a 4-H pig. We have a friend whose children, when they were young, used to raise pigs every year, and since the children have sprouted wings and left the nest, she still allows other 4-H kids to board pigs on her ranch. Over the years, we’ve purchased a quarter of a pig several times – mostly ones raised on her ranch. They’re raised with natural products, no hormones, and with lots and lots of TLC. Only once were we disappointed in the flavor of the meat. This last summer’s pig is the best ever. We ended up buying a quarter of the prized blue-ribbon 4-H pig of the season at auction at the Orange County Fair. She was bigger than most and sold for more than many of them, but we got a bit more meat than usual. We have to pay extra for the slaughtering and butchering, and one of us (the group of 3-4 who have purchased the whole pig) has to drive about 40 miles to pick it up, all packaged and frozen. We order what we want – more or less chops, roasts, ground pork, sausage, one ham roast, per family, etc. and they package it up per our instructions. Now I really need to get busy because the next Fair is in July.

When you buy a 4-H pig, you pay for all the poundage, even though a good percentage of it is discarded, or the butcher uses it for other products. I decline the hooves, skin, fat, organ meat, neck bones, bones in general. In some cultures, I know, those odd pieces are prized. Once I visited an Hispanic market and there were whole pig/hog heads for sale. Eek. Not my cup of pig broth. You may want to  read my original story about Petunia, our first 4-H pig.

So I’d been trying to use up other meat things in the freezer, and we hadn’t eaten any of ’08’s pig. We heard that the loin chops from this pig were sensational. Oh, indeed, they were. They’re huge. Bigger than any pork chops I’ve ever seen at a butcher store. After defrosting them I used some of Michael Chiarello’s Citrus Rosemary Sea Salt on them and they went onto the barbecue. My DH has this lesson down pat – he grilled them about 4 minutes per side, then put them on a rack, on a small cookie sheet (I’d covered the whole thing with foil) and roasted them off the direct heat at about 350 inside the grill, until the internal meat temp reached 150. We tented the meat with foil for about 5 minutes, while I finished the rest of the meal (snow peas sauteed with garlic, and a salad of field greens and radishes). I also made my favorite mango salsa with cilantro to go with the pork. I used frozen mango chunks (from Trader Joe’s), some red bell pepper, some diced green chiles and a splash of rice wine vinegar.

Oh, my goodness. Were those chops ever good. So juicy. Unbelievably tender meat. Now, I know, you can’t go to the corner market and buy 4-H pig loin chops. Neither can I. But, you can contact somebody in 4-H in your area and see if you could buy a part of one. I recommend it.

What I posted a year ago today: Vermont Cheddar Cheese Bread

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This recipe has been living in my to-try file for . . oh, gosh . . . since 2003. It came from a Phillis Carey cooking class that I didn’t attend, but my friend Cherrie did, and she photocopied the recipe for me to try. It was a class utilizing citrus, and wow, does this recipe every qualify (orange juice, orange segments and lemon juice). I bought some citrus (blood oranges, Naval oranges, yellow limes) at a farmer’s market in Carlsbad the other day. The blood orange segments were so beautiful on this finished chicken dish. And they made for a lovely-colored sauce too.

I can’t tell you this one is easy or quick. There are several steps, all requiring different pans and a bit of food prep too. But I’ll tell you for sure, this was gosh-darned good. My DH wanted to know all about what was in it (something he ordinarily doesn’t ask). He did grumble a bit when he got to the sink after dinner and saw the rather large mound of plates, bowls, pans, lids, knives, measuring cups, whisks, juicer, etc. he had to wash. And that was just for the entree alone.

For a variety of reasons I did change the recipe somewhat. Read down below the recipe for my Notes. But I’ll definitely make this again – if you were to do it for guests, it does require some prep at the last minute. I served this with fresh steamed broccoli florets and drizzled just a bit of the orange rosemary sauce over them too.
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A year ago: Monterey Scalloped Potatoes (a perenial favorite, with Jack cheese)

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It was a few weeks ago that my friend Linda sent me an email raving about a new recipe for a lemon chicken soup. She said she’d made it twice in just a few days. Then again the following weekend. And then again because I was coming to visit. The recipe is gosh-darned EASY. Really. And you’d almost swear there is cream in it, but there is NOT. Linda had prepped the chicken ahead of time, and it probably took her about 20+ minutes to make the soup from beginning to end.

The lemon is the THING in this soup. You absolutely can’t eliminate it. No matter what. Linda uses Meyer lemons, but probably any lemon juice will do – just taste and add more if needed. Meyers are sweeter than regular lemons, so adjust accordingly.

The recipe originally came from Ellie Krieger (of Food Network fame) but it was published (apparently) in Taste of Home. I couldn’t find the original source recipe, but found many, many comments about this soup. My friend Linda has added a lot more thyme to it, and she varies the amount of broth or water also. Add more fluid to suit your taste.
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A year ago: Applesauce Spice Cake with Caramel Glaze – oh my goodness, I’ve made this probably 10 times in the last year

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Over the years I’ve posted several recipes from my friend, Linda. Specifically, her Carrot Cake, Bombay Chicken, her Corned Beef, and her daughter Kris’ cocktail, Hot as Haiti.  So I knew when I went to visit her over this last weekend that we’d be eating well. Indeed, we did. I’ll be sharing several of Linda’s recipes this week. The second night I stayed with her she made this stir-fry of ground turkey with fresh green beans and red bell peppers. It was scrumptious. When she told me some time back about how addictive this dish is, I didn’t quite believe her. I’m sorry that I don’t have any of the leftovers to enjoy tonight. As I’m typing this post, my mouth is watering.

You can count on one hand the number of Asian recipes on my blog. Asian-inspired? Many. True stir-frys. Uh. Not many. But this one’s a keeper. The original recipe came from Cooking Light (in 2006) and was made with ground pork. Somehow over the couple of years (the iterations from Linda’s daughter Kris’ friend Lisa, to Kris to Linda) it’s been altered some, additions were made, and a different dish was made. Be sure to prepare it in a nonstick skillet or wok (the turkey will stick otherwise). You could add your own different veggies (like celery, onion, mushrooms, perhaps) but don’t change the green beans. It’s the sauce that makes it – that gives it the addictive quality. This dish is sweet – that I’ll tell you right off the top. If you don’t enjoy sweet entrees, this just may not be your Chinese cup of black tea. When I make it, I’ll probably eliminate the sugar and perhaps add less Hoisin (because I don’t like really sweet entrees). In the below recipe I reduced the amount of dried red chiles – but if you like the hot stuff, by all means add more.
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A year ago: Kurobuta Ham with Mustard Sauce

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Honestly, I’m not eating all these cookies I’ve been baking lately. Most have gone to a friend who needs them right now, and last week I thought I should give her yet another type of CC cookie. CC cookies are what she craves, so CC cookies it is! Plus we were going to a book group meeting the other night and I thought it would be nice to take a little something to Jean, the hostess, who made a fabulous St. Patty’s dinner for us book-groupies (Jean and Jack are Irish, and made Scotch Eggs, scones, lemon curd, quiche, desserts, plus gallons of Irish Coffee). Jean reads my blog (thank you, Jean) and is always telling me how much she craves some of the food I prepare and write up here on my blog. She loves sweets, so I thought I’d take her some of these cookies.

I’d marked the recipe over at Eggbeater (a blog) about 2 years ago, but hadn’t ever gotten around to making them. What makes these unique are cardamom and dark brown sugar. Well, I have to admit, I didn’t HAVE dark brown sugar, but I surely do hope that light brown won’t have spoiled the recipe. I had everything else on hand, and whipped these up in no time flat.

For my first time around I chose to use regular chocolate chips rather than some of the high-priced chocolate bar-type Shuna recommended – I wasn’t a bit concerned that I wouldn’t LIKE these – I was sure I would – but the next time I’ll definitely use the “good stuff” in them. As I’ve likely said way too many times, there aren’t many chocolate chip cookies I’ve met that I haven’t liked. And in this case I didn’t think either Norma or Jean would care that I used Nestle’s instead of an expensive 65% chocolate chip/chunk.

Shuna shared a funny story about these cookies – about how she used to make them for the kitchen staff, but in time they became a regular, then she kept the batter in the refrigerator at all times. Those are the kinds of credentials that make for a good formula. Shuna recommends using parchment paper on the cookie sheets, so the chocolate doesn’t burn. The batter is soft – softer than usual – but worked just perfectly when baked.

I’m not going to write up a separate post about the book we reviewed, but will just mention that it was REALLY interesting. Gripping. Riveting. Couldn’t-put-it-down kind of read. Called Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan. Several in our book group read it last year, raved about it, so we included it in our book reads for ’09. What a story. It’s the fictionalized account (but based on the real events) of the affair between Mamah (pronounced may-mah) Borthwick Cheney (a married woman with 2 young children) and Frank Lloyd Wright (also married, with 6 children). In the 1905 timeframe in Oak Park, Illinois, the affair was absolutely scandalous. Off the charts scintillating. Nearly the ruin of Wright’s career. Both left their respective spouses (AND children) and escaped to Europe for about a year, madly in love with one another, where they lived together. Mamah’s husband eventually granted her a divorce, but Wright’s wife refused. So marriage wasn’t in the cards for them. Wright had designed and built a house for the Cheneys (that’s how they met). Eventually both returned to the U.S. and Wright built a home an hour or two away from Chicago where they could basically hide. That’s Taliesen, the famous home, in the woodlands of Wisconsin. What happens after that I just can’t tell you. You really have to read the book. Despite the subject being infidelity, I found this book compelling nevertheless. And what happens is chilling. Enough said. Buy the book. Read it.

The cookies? Sweet. Flatter than some. Caramely. Chocolate-y. Crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. Overall: good. Will I make them again? Well, maybe. I might try them with the expensive ingredients. I couldn’t taste the cardamom, so would increase it in the recipe below. I also chilled the dough, which made it easier to spoon onto cookie sheets. And next time I might add chopped walnuts to the dough too. But then, I like nuts.
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