Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Last summer, I started growing herbs at home - parsley, basil, and mint - and really enjoyed having fresh herbs at my disposal all season long.  This year, I decided to expand my collection to include cilantro, thyme, and rosemary.  That's all well and fine, except every week I have to figure out some way to use a large amount of herbs ready to be harvested!  My first "project" was to use up some rosemary.  I thought it might go well with lemon and some breaded chicken, so I modified an old breaded chicken recipe to create this.

Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken breast, 4 servings
Salt and pepper
Flour, about 1/2 cup
Bread crumbs, about 1/2-1 cup
Rosemary leaves from 1 sprig
Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp
Egg, 1 large
Lemon, 1
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Juice half the lemon.  Save the other half for garnish.
3. In a small bowl, beat together egg, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and rosemary leaves.
4. Place flour in a flat-bottomed bowl.  Place bread crumbs in another flat-bottomed bowl.
5. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Roll chicken in flour, then dip in the egg mixture, then roll in bread crumbs.
6. Spray an oven-proof skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium-high heat.  Cook chicken for 5 minutes, turning once, until the breading is slightly browned.
7. Bake chicken for 20-25 minutes, until done.
8. Serve with lemon for a splash of juice.

Chicken Smothered in Gravy

After two full weeks of dining out, I was desperate for some homecooked meals once we got back to Pittsburgh!  I was also itching to try some new recipes in my collection; I had been so busy the few months leading up to the wedding that I had been cooking the same easy stuff over and over.  One recipe I tried for the first time was this Chicken Smothered in Gravy, which turned out quite good.  I paired it with some rice with bacon mixed in; next time, I might make more sauce.  The recipe is great otherwise!

Chicken Smothered in Gravy

Recipe courtesy of:
Food and Wine (get the recipe here)

Chicken with Spanish Peanut Sauce from Cinco de Mayo Salsas

I have no idea how it took me so long to discover the Pittsburgh gem that is Cinco de Mayo Salsas, but one pleasant Saturday afternoon just as we were wrapping up our shopping at the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District, I decided to take a peek at the back of the market where a large yellow sign on the wall proclaimed "Homemade Salsa Today."

I am a huge fan of mangoes, which was why the Mango Chutney on the right end of the table drew my attention immediately.  Just as I was about to reach for a sample, I overheard owner Arturo Vizzuett telling another customer that he had worked 17 hours the day before making the salsa.  Sure enough, the mango chutney was fresh, and superbly delicious to boot!  We proceeded to sample several other flavors as Arturo provided commentary on each.

Mango Chutney, goes well with white fish

Roasted Red Salsa, a Cinco de Mayo best-seller

Arturo is quite the character.  Originally from Mexico City, he makes his salsa the way his mother and grandmother did back in the day.  Since moving to the US, he has been selling his salsa on the street outside of Enrico's Biscotti in the Strip District for 16 years, as well as a number of farmer's markets in the area.  He recently moved into the Pittsburgh Public Market and is only there on Saturdays, but he laments that many of his usual customers are not aware of his new location, so come January he may be moving back to his old spot on Penn Avenue.

Salsa guru Arturo Vizzuett talks about his salsas with excitement

Talking to Arturo, you can't help but feel a strong sense of enthusiasm and passion for what he does, and he does it tremendously well. He explains that in Mexico, salsas are not used as a dip for tortilla chips; rather, they are used as a sauce for cooking.  It was fascinating to hear him rattle off recipe after recipe after recipe using his salsas.

I was sampling the very tasty Spanish Peanut Sauce, a concoction consisting of roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, onions, roasted peanuts, smoked morita chili peppers, cumin, salt, water, and vegetable oil.  The peppers give this salsa a little bit of a kick, though it is not terribly spicy, but what makes this sauce extraordinary is its smoky flavor that I'd imagine would be difficult to replicate in a typical home kitchen. Arturo explained that when he was a child, every time he smelled the Spanish Peanut Sauce at home, he knew he'd be having chicken for dinner.

Spanish Peanut Sauce

And this, my friends, is how his mama made this amazing Chicken with Spanish Peanut Sauce (with a touch of my own embellishments):

Ingredients: 

A small (8-ounce) tub of Cinco de Mayo Spanish Peanut Sauce
Liquid, such as white wine, water, beer, or chicken broth (I used about 3/4 cups)
4 servings of chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper
Your favorite vegetables or potatoes to compliment the chicken

Directions: 

In a large skillet, brown chicken on both sides.  Add the Spanish Peanut Sauce and the chosen liquid.  The liquid is needed to thin the sauce, so watch and adjust the amount as needed.  Then, lower heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes.  Watch that the sauce doesn't burn; add liquid as necessary.

Your house is guaranteed to smell delicious!

That very night, I made this for dinner following Arturo's instructions, and let me tell ya, it was beyond amazing.  In fact, the first thought that crossed my mind was that I wanted to go back right away to get more sauce.  And then I remembered that Arturo is only at the Market on Saturdays, which meant I had a whole week to wait.  Bummer!

You bet I was back at the Cinco de Mayo Salsas booth the following Saturday for more Spanish Peanut Sauce. :)  Methinks I'll be making this chicken again VERY soon.

Chicken with Spanish Peanut Sauce

Click here for more recipes using Cinco de Mayo Salsas, available at the Pittsburgh Public Market during the winter and all around town during the farmers market season.

Links of interest:
Pittsburgh Public Market
Articles about Arturo Vizzuett in the Pittsburgh City Paper and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Roasted Cranberry Chicken

Every time I hear someone complain about the cold weather, I cringe a little.  The truth is, I really don't mind the cold weather.  In fact, I love the festive atmosphere of fall and winter, the delicious traditional holiday food (mmm...pumpkin pie!), and not to mention I was a winter baby, which I think means I am pretty much obligated to like winter.

One of my favorite things about the cooler weather is that cranberries are now back in season!  I have been waiting for months to finally get to make this Roasted Cranberry Chicken - a recipe that has become a favorite since I discovered it last year.  It is easy, requires little prep, and the sauce is sweet and flavorful.  The thyme adds a deliciously fine touch.  This recipe will definitely be making a regular appearance on my dinner plate this fall and winter!

Roasted Cranberry Chicken

P.S. "Natural" lighting of this photo brought to you by the magic of full spectrum light bulbs - a girl's favorite prop for fall/winter food photography!

Recipe courtesy of:
Better Homes and Gardens (get the recipe here)

Olio Fresca Pasta

I'm in love...

...with pasta from Olio Fresca, that is.

I have been making a point to visit the Strip District more often lately, and it was during one of these trips to the Pittsburgh Public Market that I discovered the little stand selling flavored pasta:

Olio Fresca

Customers are invited to try them by tearing off small pieces of the dried pasta and eating it as is.  At $8 per pound, the flavored pasta is a bit of a splurge, but the selection was intriguing I just couldn't resist.  On my first visit, I took home two varieties of the pasta: the Szechuan Orange Linguine and the Wild Mushroom Linguine.

Because the pasta is already flavored, it is entirely possible to simply add olive oil and/or herbs for a quick meal.  Really quick, in fact, because the pasta takes only about 2-4 minutes to cook.  Personally, I prefer my pasta with more toppings.  But in the kitchen I'm a bit helpless if I don't have an existing recipe to follow. So...what to do?  I tried my best to slap together ingredients I already had with additional ones I thought would complement each pasta flavor.

Szechuan Orange Linguine

I prepared the Szechuan Orange Linguine (1 lb.) with a pound of shrimp, some broccoli, about 25 cherry tomatoes, and some crushed red pepper for a little heat.  With the parsley I have growing at home, I added some as garnish.  This yielded about 4-5 servings.  This ended up being pretty good, but could maybe use a little bit of a citrusy sauce to bring out more of the orange flavor.

Szechuan Orange Linguine

Wild Mushroom Linguine

For the Wild Mushroom Linguine (1 lb.), I decided to go vegetarian and added sliced portabello mushrooms, onions, and about a 1/4 cup of homemade pesto.  There was probably more in there that I can't remember now, but these were the basic ingredients I used.  Pesto + mushroom = good!

Wild Mushroom Linguine

I went back to the Market soon after for more.  This time, I picked up some Lemon Pepper Linguine and Sweet Potato Fettuccine.  This time, I also resolved to make better notes on how I prepared them.

Lemon Pepper Linguine

Lemon Pepper Linguine

For the Lemon Pepper Linguine, the ingredients I used were as follows (for 1 lb of pasta):

roasted pork tenderloin
12 oz pkg cherry tomatoes
2 tsp capers
chopped kalamata olives
1/4 cup or so white wine
1/2 tbsp pesto
chopped basil
olive oil
splash of fresh lemon juice
pepper

Some of these ingredients were leftover from when I made the Chicken Meuniere with Tomato and Parsley Sauce (capers, olives, white wine) so I made a similar sauce with them adding tomatoes first cooked in olive oil, as well as basil, pesto, and a splash of fresh lemon juice.  Then I topped it up with pork tenderloin seasoned with pepper and oven-roasted to 160 degrees. This was a great combo.

Sweet Potato Fettuccine

Sweet Potato Fettuccine

Finally, I tried the Sweet Potato Fettuccine (also 1 lb.), which I thought would benefit from adding fall flavors like apples and pumpkin pie spice:

2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tbsp butter, divided
1 tsp ground cinnamon, additional for seasoning
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 lb chicken tenders, cubed
splash of lemon juice
splash of white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
1 tbsp grated pecorino cheese
basil and parsley

(Yes, I made even better notes this time!)

For the apples, I borrowed a technique I learned from this Curried Apple Couscous recipe.  I melted 1 tbsp of the butter in a large skillet along with the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in medium high heat.  I then added the apples until they are cooked tender, and set them aside.  Using the same skillet, I heated up the remaining 1 tbsp of butter, seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, and cinnamon, and added them to the skillet, cooking them until done.

Then I added the heavy cream, cheese, splash of lemon juice, splash of white wine, basil, parsley, and seasoned everything with additional cinnamon to taste.  Once the sauce is heated through, I tossed in the cooked apples, and served it with the cooked sweet potato fettuccine.

All four varieties of pasta were delicious and all four of my own recipes turned out to be at least above average; most were actually excellent.  (My favorite of the four was the sweet potato fettuccine.)  Maybe I'm actually better at recipe creation than I give myself credit for, but I also think that these all turned out so well because the pasta themselves were great to begin with.  Thanks, Olio Fresca!  I will be back for more!

Update:  As of January 2012, Olio Fresca no longer sells pasta in the Pittsburgh Public Market.  To purchase Olio Fresca pasta, check out their website for currently available products.  For other recipes, look here.

Links:
Olio Fresca
Pittsburgh Public Market

Chicken Meuniere with Tomato and Parsley Sauce

I don't watch the Food Network (mostly because I don't watch much TV), but once in a while I'd come across a recipe from the Food Network website that looks interesting.  This Chicken Meuniere with Tomato and Parsley Sauce by Giada De Laurentiis is one such recipe that looked easy to make and gave me a chance to use up some of my overgrowing parsley.  And the result was superb!  I particularly loved the sauce and have since adapted it to another recipe.  Don't you just love it when you find a recipe to add to your regular rotation?

Chicken Meuniere with Tomato and Parsley Sauce

Recipe courtesy of:
Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis (get the recipe here)

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Life has been rather busy for me in the past few months, and at times like these, I do less experimenting in the kitchen and stick with old standbys instead that are quick and easy.

A few weeks ago I had a particularly busy weekend and didn't have much time to make food for the week like I normally do.  So I skimmed my recipe collection for something super easy and quick, and came upon this Mexican-inspired dish that I have enjoyed before.  It requires very little preparation, and for the chicken I just get a whole rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, rip out the skin and the bones, as well as the legs for other use (typically immediate consumption :P), and the remaining meat is just about the right amount as specified in the recipe.

I have a feeling I'll be making this a regular rotation in the next few busy months!

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Recipe courtesy of:
Cooking Light (get the recipe here)

Chicken Fusilli with Pesto

Back in July I started growing my own herbs.  I was finally fed up with buying a whole bunch of fresh herbs only to use a little bit before it would go bad.  The final straw was the day I trekked to five different stores before I was able to find fresh mint, and even so, only a small packet of it.  Problem was, I was never known to have a green thumb.  I have never had a garden in my life, nor did my parents, and I promptly killed the first thing I ever tried to grow - potted roses that R. got me for our first Valentine's Day.

But the one thing that gave me some hope was an orchid plant that a friend gifted me three years ago that is, miraculously, still alive, even after the traumatizing event of moving it to three different temporary apartments en route from DC to Pittsburgh.  I thought maybe I was finally ready to tackle something that required more frequent care than once-a-week watering.

I started with some basil and parsley, and eventually added mint to my patio herb collection as well.  (More on the mint in a later post.)  The basil had grown some during the three weeks I had them before I left for Italy.  But still, did I have a surprise waiting for me when I got back after 12 days!  The basil had grown so much I hardly recognized them as my own!  Wow-ee!  I'm so lucky to have friendly, wonderful neighbors who took such good care of them while I was away!

Basil (July 12, 2011)

Basil (August 9, 2011)

But the biggest surprise was the parsley.  My first pot looked horrible when I first got it:

Parsley (July 12, 2011)

And when half the parsley dried out after just a few days, I seriously thought it was not going to survive, so I bought another one:

Parsley (July 17, 2011)

And this is what I found on my porch when I came back from Italy:

Parsley (August 9, 2011)

Yep, the one on the left is the original pot I had.  It was beyond belief that not only was it still alive, but it was thriving, after being so close to certain death.  The pot on the right is the newer one, and it, too, grew like a weed while I was away.  I am so proud of my babies!

But now, what to do with this much herb?  R.'s mom suggested that I make pesto.  She listed the basic ingredients, but just to be sure, I consulted a recipe online to get the relative proportions right, and added parsley as well like R.'s mom suggested.  And so last weekend, I set out to make my first pesto ever, with herbs I grew myself!  I couldn't be more proud of me.  I know for many people this isn't such a big deal, but it really marked a significant step for me.  Just three years ago I barely cooked anything beyond spaghetti with meat sauce, and now I have gone from a self-proclaimed plant-killer and non-cook to making pesto with basil and parsley I grew on my own patio.  (*tear*)  I feel as if I have achieved a whole new level of foodiness.

Pesto

And it's awesome pesto to boot!  So now, what was I going to do with all this pesto?  I decided the most efficient way to use up a lot of pesto is to serve it with pasta:

Chicken Fusilli with Pesto

It is a simple recipe, really.  Fusilli, thin-sliced thicken, cherry tomatoes, tossed with pesto and topped with toasted pine nuts.  But it's very good, if I may say so myself! :)  The full recipe can be found in the link below.

Full recipe (both pesto and pasta):
Download here

Chicken Satay Stir-Fry with Orange Scented Jasmine Rice (Rachael Ray Recipe)

I discovered this Rachael Ray recipe a few years ago and it's one of the best things I've ever made!  While Rachael Ray lists this recipe under "30 Minute Meals," it really takes a lot longer than that if you lack the luxury of having kitchen minions doing all the chopping for you (or maybe I'm just slow). :-/  However, once you get down to it, it's not that difficult to make, and totally worthwhile.  The first time I tried this recipe was also one of the few times R. and I cooked together, and we were both blown away by the result.  R. even called it "restaurant quality"!  Personally, I love the orange-ginger combination, and throwing orange zest in the rice was just an absolutely brilliant idea.  I have a sweet little rice cooker, so instead of following the directions on the recipe, I just put the orange right in with the rice, and it comes out perfectly every time.  Yum!

Chicken Satay Stir-Fry with Orange Scented Jasmine Rice

Recipe courtesy of:
Rachael Ray on the Food Network (get the recipe here)

Country Style Pot Roast Chicken with Sherry

Several months ago, my parents excitedly presented the three of us each an autographed cookbook called "3 Chefs: The Kitchen Men" featuring recipes by Michael Bonacini, Massimo Capra, and Jason Parsons - three chefs who have a cooking show together on Canadian TV that I know nothing about because I don't exactly have access to Canadian TV.  Since then, I have come to learn that these three are celebrities of sorts in the culinary world.  Michael Bonacini, in particular, is the Bonacini half of the Oliver & Bonacini enterprise that operates several restaurants in Toronto - one of which, Auberge du Pommier, is high on my wishlist.  I remember flipping through the cookbook when I first got it and being somewhat intimidated by the recipes, so I stashed it away and kind of forgot about it.

Prized cookbook autographed by Massimo Capra

Fast forward to last week.  My family was looking at venues for a party we are to host next year, and one of the venues under consideration is catered by Oliver & Bonacini.  Not surprisingly, I was rooting hard for this venue, but alas, for a number of reasons we are going with a different place.  Catering by my dream team was not in the cards after all.  To soothe my disappointment, I decided to fetch my 3 Chefs cookbook and try one of Michael Bonacini's recipes, as if that would somehow make up for my loss.  Well, some people practice "shopping therapy;" I call this "cooking therapy."

I decided to try the Country Style Pot Roast Chicken with Sherry because it seemed less intimidating than all the other recipes.  Instead of a whole chicken, I decided to use only chicken thigh because that's the part of the chicken I like best anyway.  I also had to substitute a couple of the ingredients because I couldn't find them at my local store.  Instead of sherry vinegar, I just used plain old red wine vinegar, while pearl onions were replaced by chunks of Vidalia onion (about 2 onions).  Of course, the following week I went to McGinnis Sisters and saw pearl onions there, when I no longer needed them.  Go figure.  In any case, the cooking itself wasn't too bad, although I had to split the batch in half because my pot wasn't big enough to hold 3.5 lbs of chicken plus all the other ingredients.  And the result?  I was floored.  Bonacini is so successful for a reason - the guy can come up with a darn good recipe.  Everything from the tartness of the juice and the articoke hearts to the slight crispiness of the chicken skin from broiling was divine.  I will most definitely have to try this again soon.

Chicken in the pot

Country Style Pot Roast Chicken with Sherry

Dinner is served!

Recipe courtesy of:

The 3 Chefs: The Kitchen Men cookbook; an online version can be found here

Chicken Tikka Masala (Aarti Sequeira Recipe)

Ever since I attended Aarti Sequeira's cooking demo back in March, I had wanted to try some of her recipes.  Indeed, this was one of my goals for the summer.  I finally had the opportunity to do so last week when I tried her Chicken Tikka Masala, and all I can say is WOW!  It was by far one of the best things I've ever produced in my kitchen (and I've never made Indian food before).  Probably even better than what I've had at Indian restaurants, and R. was equally blown away as well.  The curry sauce was absolutely the perfect blend of tomatoey-tangy goodness with hints of ginger, garlic, and peppers.  Aarti's directions are also easy to follow.  Really, this dish made me feel Indian!  I can't wait to try more of her recipes...or make this one again.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe courtesy of:
Aarti Sequeira on the Food Network (get the recipe here)

Honey Jalapeno Chicken with Sesame Soba Noodles

I came across this recipe from a friend's blog a couple years ago and I've been a big fan of it since the very first time I tried it.  The soba noodles are seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, and pickled ginger, which is just a heavenly combo, and I love rotisserie chicken and how well it goes with the honey-jalapeno-cilantro sauce.  The ease of preparation wins another bonus point from me!

Honey Jalapeno Chicken with Sesame Soba Noodles

 

Recipe courtesy of:

Food Network (get the recipe here)