Mini Chocolate Nanner Muffins

My grandad grew up during the Great Depression. This comes out in weird ways sometimes, like in the form of beer can whirligigs or the old TV he always has lying around just in case. My grandad also grows a lot of his own produce. In his later years, he's started growing produce for sport rather than sustenance. My poor grandma is left trying to figure out how to use everything he grows in the kitchen. And she, also a child of the Great Depression, feels the need to bake, cook, freeze, or jar all of it. Corn, berries, zucchini (so much zucchini), and lately champagne grapes (in Southern Idaho! my grandad is both talented AND crazy). My grandma finds a way to use it all, and I have a cache of creative hand-me-down recipes to prove it. But before I get to those, I'll give you a fruit saving recipe for something you probably already have lying around: rotten bananas.

Mini Chocolate Nanner Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 and beat the following together in a large bowl:
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 cup overly ripe bananas, mushed

Add:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Don't over mix! Let your batter stay lumpy as long as all the dry ingredients are wet.

Evenly split batter into a lined mini muffin pan (you'll have enough batter to fill it at least twice). Once the batter is in, put a Hershey's kiss in each, pressing it into the batter until the edges are covered. I usually leave one muffin in the center of the pan kiss-less, at least the first pan per batch, so that I can do a toothpick test or two.

Bake roughly 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Check the mini muffins often after the 10 minute mark if they're still too wet; they're real small and the line between done and burnt is really thin. Pull the muffins from the pan as soon as you can manage to get them out without burning off your fingerprints and let them cool on a wire rack.

If you don't have a mini muffin pan or you just like your muffins normal-sized, you can mix in 1-1 1/2 cups chocolate chips to the batter instead of the kisses to achieve the right chocolate to banana ratio.

Halibut a la Procencal over Mixed Greens

Late last summer we decided to try a subscription to Cooking Light Magazine and we have been far from disappointed.After flipping through a dish makeover edition in some checkout line, we figured 'Why not?' and have been blown away, not only by the
variety of delcious recipes but also the magazine's efforts at promoting cooking and eating in-season.

That said, this recipe was one that we ear-marked and a few weeks ago we found it by shuffling through our tagged magazines. (Seriously, it's ridiculous. Overall the sticky tabs help, but since there is so much that we tag, it's sometimes difficult to find what we're looking for within 5 minutes :)

I hit Reading Terminal for my ingredients, and got about 1 pound of Halibut, asking them to cut the fillet along the blood line into 2 similarly sized pieces. Iovines was next. The recipe calls for bagged salad greens, but I knew we could do better, using some of the ingredients to match the greens to really create a complimentary food profile. I picked up fresh Mustard Greens, arugula, as well as my herbs - fresh thyme and parsley - and then  headed over to the Fair Food Farmstand for a bag of Mesclun and a few shallots.

Much better than '1 package of salad greens' if I do say so myself.

Now to cook. I combined approx 1 teaspoon of herbes de Provence with approx 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt and rubbed it over the tops of the fillets. I heated about 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet and once hot, dropped my fish in on medium heat. It cooks for about 3 minutes on each side, or to whatever specific done-ness you prefer; just be careful not to dry the fish out. I also squeeze a little bit of lemon over the fish and make sure to instead of just using the herb rub on one side of the fish, once I flip it, I sprinkle the same on the reverse. What can I say? I like flavor in my food and not just on one side of the protein.

Remove the fish, sprinkle fresh thyme and parsley on it and cover it with tinfoil. I pop the plate in the oven or in the microwave just so it stays warm.

Finely chop about 1/4 cup of shallots and add approximately 7 teaspoons of olive oil back into the skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots for about 2-3 minutes until they're tender. Remove the skillet from heat, adding about 4 teaspoons of lemon juice, a pinch more of salt (about 1/4 teaspoon), 1 teaspoon of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of Dijion mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. You can omit Kalmata Olives, but I love them and encourage you to leave them in the recipe - finely chop about 4-5 pitted olives and gently stir these in.

Combine your greens in a medium to large sized bowl and toss with your dressing. Make sure you toss it well so that the shallots and olives don't end up at the bottom of the bowl and left out until you're scraping the bottom toward the end of your meal.

And that's it. Serve the fish on the warm greens and voila! Pure deliciousness. We also had some fresh french bread with our dinner.

Greek Chicken & Orzo

This is the perfect dish that knock a powerhouse punch to your taste buds. Not only is it delicious, but it's one of those easy dishes that once served, your guests won't believe it didn't take hours. Well, it did take hours, but the slow cooker takes care of the time; most of the necessary preparation comes in the form of herbs, spices, the orzo, and browning the chicken.

Lightly coat the slow cooker with a non-stick spray; I don't really like to use a lot of this stuff, so I generally spray a paper towel and quickly wipe along the inside - just enough to ensure the food doesn't stick.

Cut 2 medium green bell peppers into thin strips, and along with 1 cup of a chopped onion (I like the sweet vidalia) toss these into the crock pot. Take 8 chicken thighs, and while a bit of olive oil is heating in a large saute pan, give them a good rinse, pat them dry and toss them in the pan, browning on both sides. Remove to a plate and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken and the juices that collected on the plate into the crock pot and cook on High 3-4 hours or Low 5-6 hours.

When you have about a half hour left, transfer the chicken to a plate, cover, and crank the crock pot to high. Stir in 8 ounces of uncooked dry orzo, 1/2 cup of water, the juice and zest of one medium lemon (not a tiny one, folks, a big one!) and some salt and pepper.  Add the chicken and the collected juices back into the crock pot and cook for approximately 30 minutes, or until the orzo is tender.

Plate. Top with crumbled feta and fresh chopped parsley. Serve. Devour.

Salmon with Cilantro-Yogurt Sauce, Red Pepper Basmati Rice, Summer Squash and Zucchini

We recently subscribed to Cooking Light magazine and when I came across a variation of this dish, I decided to try it out. Am I ever glad I did - it is simple, light, and mouthwatering. The original recipe called for Arctic Char and coconut jasmine rice, but since I'm a real rebel, I used salmon, made some basmati rice and sauteed summer vegetables. 

For the cilantro-yogurt sauce, combine 1/2 cup of 2% Greek Yogurt, 1/4 cup of finely chopped and peeled cucumber, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, the juice of one lime, and a bit of salt. Chill.

 Bring 1 cup of basmati rice, a dash of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red peppers to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Dice one red bell pepper and set aside; once the rice has finished cooking, mix this pepper into the rice and stir before plating.

While the rice cooks, heat a smidge of olive oil in a medium sized frying pan. Add garlic, salt and pepper in a  and toss 1 sliced summer squash and 1 sliced zucchini, stirring  frequently. Heat a large frying pan and add the salmon fillets, seasoned with salt, pepper, and the juice of 1 lime each. I squeezed the remainder of the limes into my vegetables just for fun.

After dishing the fish, vegetables, and rice with diced bell pepper, spoon the cilantro-yogurt sauce on the fish and rice. Serve and devour.

Apple and Sage Pork Chops

This photo and recipe come from McCormick, the American food company specializing in spices. My Librarian and I stumbled upon a few of these pre-packaged meal spice packs while cruising through the supermarket one night. Generally the spices we use are fresh, save for a few dry spices we buy at one of the markets, but this recipe card really intrigued us, not least of all because the pork looked absolutely divine. These things come with a recipe card that you can keep handy for future dishes and the pre-measured spices necessary for the dish on said card. We figured what the hell, right?

The package included 1 1/2 teaspoons of Rubbed Sage, 1 teaspoon of Minced Garlic, 1 teaspoon of Thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of ground All-Spice, and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. There were a few things we would need to add so we made a note of the things we had at home, that which we would need to grab, and headed over to the meat section to select our boneless pork chops.

Later that week, we were ready. Per the instructions, we mixed 1 tablespoon of flour with the entire spice packet and 1 teaspoon of salt in a bowl. The recipe asks you to sprinkle - honey, I don't really sprinkle - so I took each of my 4 pork chops and lightly dredged into the mixture.

In a large skillet, I cooked the pork chops on medium heat until browned on both sides and promptly removed and put them on a plate tented with foil. Next, 1 medium thinly sliced onion was cooked for about 3 minutes (or until tender), followed by 2 thinly sliced red apples. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Finally, stir in 1/2 cup of apple juice, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and the rest of the seasoned flour until well mixed. Return the pork chops and any collected juices to the pan and bring it all to a boil. Reduce to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes or until done.

We served with a side of apple mashed potatoes and it was delightful.

Flounder, Asparagus & Vidalia Onions Roasted in an Herb Butter Rub Served with Orzo, Dressed in a Lemon Butter Sauce

Clearly Summer is the time for fresh, light, and citrus. This dish requires a bit more preparation and can get complicated, in part due to my making two separate sauces - the herb butter which the fish, onions and asparagus cooked in and the lemon-butter sauce which I made to serve over the fish, veggies, and pasta.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and start with the herb butter. In a bowl, beat 4 tablespoons of softened butter with a fork. Add 2 teaspoons of minced fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, 1 tablespoon of fresh minced thyme, 1 teaspoon of fresh minced chives, the zest from 1 lemon, the juice from two lemons, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Using a dab of extra virgin olive oil, I oiled a 9x13 cooking dish and layered the bottom with 2 or 3 thinly sliced vidalia onions, then the asparagus. Generously rub down the flounder fillets with the herb butter and lay on top of the onions and asparagus.

The flounder will cook pretty quickly depending on thickness; to avoid overcooking I generally go with 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Toss it in the oven. Put on the water to boil for the orzo.

Once your fish is nearly finished, move on to the lemon butter sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat in a small saucepan with the zest from 1 lemon. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of flour and cook, stirring until the mixture just begins to color. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and the juice from 1 lemon, wisking vigorously to smooth out any lumps or chunks. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Once the fish, onions and asparagus, and orzo have been plated, pour the sauce over and serve.

Trout Amandine

Instead of fillets of fish I asked my fish poacher for two trout, gutted, de-boned, and beheaded. Laying each fish flat, skin side down on the pan, I seasoned each with salt, pepper, and a bit of fresh lemon zest before I set them in the oven at about 350 degrees.

Turning my attention to the almonds, I chopped about 1/4 cup and added them to an already heated frying pan. You'll want to stir them frequently so they toast rather than cook and burn, for approximately 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a plate.

Wipe out the frying pan and add 4 tablespoons of butter, the juice from one lemon, and about a quarter cup of minced fresh flat leaf Italian parsley. Stir in the almonds and season with a bit of salt and pepper.

At this point the fish should be thoroughly cooked, tender, and moist. Once the fish have been plated, spoon the sauce over. I served it alongside fresh orzo that boiled with a bit of butter and lemon in the water and fresh brussel sprouts.

Nada to Gourmet Basil-Lemon Butter Chicken

Okay, so it wasn't actually gourmet, but it was pretty impressive given that I wanted to cook something tasty and flavorful but had neglected to grab anything. This happens a lot, I would imagine and what I can advise is to scrounge around in your cabinets and garden, maybe even your freezer, for easily paired components for your plate. In this case, I had hastily taken the chicken breasts out to thaw before leaving for work and confronted the question mark when I got home. I attacked our wilting basil plant and finely chopped what was left. We had two lemons sitting in the basket with a few potatoes. I squeezed the juice of both, added some zest to the basil, and two tablespoons of butter to a saute pan. Once the 'sauce' was viscous, I tossed in a handful of the end of some Parmesan cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper. A few leftover baby red potatoes diced also went into the pan.

While the main course was simmering under a lid, I pulled the rest of a bag of frozen green beans and cooked, drained, and tossed with a bit of butter, salt and pepper, serving alongside some leftover bread I warmed in the oven to soften, and Voila! The sauce was absolutely divine, just the perfect amount of tangy which was great on the potatoes and chicken as well as a dipping sauce for our bread.

Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Quesadillas

I know what you're thinking - why, during this, the sixth heatwave of the summer for those of us on the East Coast - are you even suggesting cooking? The truth is that even as the mercury climbs, we still need to eat AND since this is a stovetop dish, it won't even heat up your kitchen more than maybe two or three degrees.

I took two chicken breasts and diced them into bite size pieces and sauted them in a wee bit of olive oil. This is pretty flexible - you can add some cumin, cayenne, garlic, salt, and chili powder to give it a kick, leave the chicken out altogether for a veggie dish, or just keep the chicken in its natural juices.

Once the chicken is cooked through, add about 6 ounces of sliced button mushrooms (I went with brown baby bella mushrooms). Once tender, add about 2 packed cups of fresh baby spinach until the spinach is wilted. Generally I warm my tortillas in the toaster oven while the mushrooms and spinach are cooking so when everything is finished, the monterey jack cheese that you will sprinkle on the bottom half of each, melts quicker. Layer your chicken-mushroom-spinach mix on top of the cheese and fold the tortilla in half to enclose the filling, pressing closed firmly.

Wipe out your frying pan with a paper towel and add each quesadilla to the pan one at a time, cooking until each is golden brown on each side. You can brush each with some oil, but I've found it isn't necessary. Plate, top with some sour cream and salsa fresca, and serve.

Butternut Squash Risotto & Pork Chops with a Rosemary-Vinegar Sauce

This dish is the perfect plate of chilled weather comfort food and the risotto itself will yield enough to feed a small country. The butternut squash risotto can also be served by itself as a yummy vegetarian entree without the pork tenderloin or, if you really want to go all out, with a tofu cutlet drizzled in the rosemary vinegar sauce. The undertaking of this dish is a bit laborious although totally worth the time.

Starting with the risotto, bring 7 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (I prefer the chicken broth) to boil in a large saucepan. Cover. Reduce heat to low. In another large pot, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, adding 1 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion, sauteing until tender. Add your 2 pound butternut squash - peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into about 1/2 inch dice - with 1 1/2 teaspoons of chopped fresh rosemary.

Once the squash is coated with butter and rosemary and slightly tender, add 2 cups of arborio rice and stir for about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine and simmer until it evaporates. Add your 7 cups of broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the risotto is creamy and slightly soupy. If needed you can add more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to maintain the consistency, stirring occasionally.

Once it has the proper consistency, stir in 4 cups packed baby spinach,1/2 cup of heavy cream, and 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a large bowl, sprinkling 1/2 teaspoon of fresh rosemary on top before serving.

Right about now is when you're probably wondering at which point will you have time to make the pork chops and the rosemary-vinegar sauce. I recommend prepping the pork chops while prepping the squash dish and cooking in a large skillet at the point where you are bringing 7 cups of broth to a boil for the risotto. It seems to work out pretty well, time-wise, and neither dish sits for longer than necessary.

Sprinkle 4 large boneless pork tenderloins on both sides with 3/4 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary, salt and pepper. Coat each with flour, shaking off any excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cloves of sliced garlic. Saute. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Add pork to skillet, sauteing until brown and cooked through. Transfer to plate tented with foil.

Add 1 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup dry white wine, 1/3 cup heavy cream, 4 teaspoons of raspberry or red wine vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary. Bring the sauce to a boil until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, stirring often. Season to taste with salt and pepper, pouring any collected pork juices from plate back into skillet to stir into sauce before serving. Spoon over tenderloin, serving with risotto.

Herbed Chicken Parmigiana over Spagetti, with Garlic Bread

This is a dish that is simple enough to make and that can result in mouth-watering taste bud satisfying traditional comfort meals, however, it can also go terribly wrong and end up no better than an imposter at highway rest stop buffet table.

Hey, paison! I won't let you down and leave you with a gummy, greasy plate. What follows is my recipe for a great dish that is a delicious, no-fail take on the traditional plate that should immediately take you back to your grandmother's kitchen. You're not Italian, let alone have never had an Italian grandmother? I'm sure you have some sort of imagination; work it out. Just whatever you do, please don't think of those Olive Garden commercials, mmkay?

You'll need:
3-4 chicken breasts
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and Pepper
Panko Bread Crumbs
Fresh Minced Parsley
Fresh Minced Basil
8oz Mozzarella
Grated Parmesan Cheese

There are a few important things to note that will come up as I outline the recipe. The first is that instead of using any old breadcrumb, get yourself Panko Breadcrumbs. These are lighter and airier, generally associated with Japanese cuisine. These are important to use because if you think back to all of the not-so-great chicken parm dishes, I bet you found it to be gummy and chewy. This was probably in part due to the breadcrumb selection. Buy some plain panko and I promise you won't regret it because you won't end up with a gummy cutlet.

In a bowl combine the breadcrumbs ( about 3/4 cup), parsley, basil (about 1 tablespoon of each) salt and pepper (about a 1/4 to 1 teaspoon of each) and about three tablespoons of parmesan cheese. It's all an approximation to what you like. While you're getting this ready and lightly tossing it with your fingers, get a skillet nice and hot on the stove. After dipping each breast in the eggs, dredge them through the breadcrumb mixture. On the skillet, brown each side of each breast, setting aside once done.

This is the second important detail to note. The breadcrumb-herb-parmesan mixture before browning is what I have found to be pretty key in the overall completeness of the dish. The chicken needs to be browned, clearly, but the crispy panko crumbs embedded with fresh herbs are sealed in with a crispy parmesan crust before being baked.

Once your chicken breasts are ready, place them in a dish and cover them with sauce, and the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Clearly a homemade Italian Sauce would be eccellente, but sometimes we don't always have the time on hand to create it. I suggest taking your favorite marinara - I actually prefer a Basil Marinara and an Arrabiata Sauce blended 1:1; this gives the dish the smooth marinara with a spicy kick.

Bake the dish uncovered at 375 degrees until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is bubbling. At this point, get your garlic bread ready. Personally, I like to take two small loaves of baked ficelle and slice them down the middle. Slather on butter, generously sprinkle garlic bread seasoning from The Spice Terminal at Reading Terminal Market and top it with fresh grated parmesan cheese. Toss it in oven alongside your dish.

Allow the dish to sit and cool for about ten minutes before serving it on top of Spagetti along with that delicious fresh garlic bread, and Voila! un pasto perfetto!

Shrimp Scampi over Pasta

I love me some shrimps, though unfortunately My Librarian, having grown up in a surfer town, does not like the shrimp, nor other family members of what she calls "sand bugs." Though she implores me to cook my "sand bug" food whenever I get a hankering, I don't when we eat together as I would feel guilty and am perfectly content to cook my shellfish when she is absent at the dinner hour. I made this dish last night while she was at work and for the duration of the meal, was in shrimpy heaven.

I used cooked frozen shrimp since I think the blue uncooked shrimp are gross looking. Using some olive oil and two cloves of garlic, I heated the skillet before adding my shrimp, which, by the way, I had marinated in the juice of one lemon for about thirty minutes beforehand.

As the shrimp were heating, I added 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of sea salt, stirring everything occasionally. While the shrimp were cooking, I started the water to boil my spaghetti. Once the shrimp were turned for even cooking, I added about three tablespoons of butter to the skillet, stirring as it melted down. Then I added some dry white wine and the juice of one more lemon to taste. (The wine and butter combination is tweak-able to taste; just keep dipping your finger in the sauce as you stir to achieve the flavor you desire.)

Once the dish was complete, I tossed the spaghetti and the shrimp with the pan sauce in a medium sized bowl. After plating my dish, I topped it with fresh chopped parsley.

Chicken Gorgonzola over Red Potatoes and Fire Roasted Vegetables

Trader Joe's has a frozen meal that is "chicken gorgonzola" but I'm not really a fan of the meal-in-a-box, so I decided to recreate the dish. I stuffed the chicken with some gorgonzola cheese and then melted down some gorgonzola with butter and lemon and poured that over the potatoes and fire roasted onions, green peppers, and red peppers. Once the chicken was ready to cook with the other components, I chopped fresh parsley and rosemary and sprinkled the herbs across the top along with a dash of salt.

The dish cooked for about forty five minutes at 350 degrees and came out incredibly well. The gorgonzola that I stuffed into the chicken melted and was absorbed by the breast to give it a lovely tenderness that complimented the rest of the dish.

Green Curry Chicken, Potatoes, and Onions over Brown Rice

We love us some curry, especially the Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce from Trader Joe's. Though the simmer sauce is delicious, it is just that - a sauce, so we tend to add a few touches here and there to make a hearty-quick-and delicious-perfect-for-a-weeknight meal. Yes, I know - it's from a jar! True. But sometimes you don't always have time to make a curry and you want something tasty, cost effective, time efficient, and healthy.

Chop two good sized potatoes with a small onion and sauteed these together with a bit of vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is thicker than olive oil, but you don't need much - just enough to moisten your pan, really. Toss rock salt, cumin, and fresh minced ginger into the mix, stirring every now and then. Setting aside the potatoes and onions, saute two diced chicken breasts until nearly done, adding one jar of Trader Joe's Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce and the potatoes and onions. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally. We like to serve it over brown rice, but jasmine rice is tasty too. Total time? About thirty minutes.

Roast Chicken with a Rosemary-Orange Butter Rub, Sugar Snap Peas & Sweet Corn, Mashed Potatoes and Pan Sauce

The Rosemary-Orange Butter was a success and this is definitely something we plan on repeating.

Mix 3/4 of a stick of softened butter, 1 shallot, 4 teaspoons of minced rosemary and 1 tablespoon of zested orange peel. When zesting, rotate your orange often as you don't want to include the pith - that's the white skin between the peel and the fruit - with the peel.

Use your fingers well with the skin - you want to be careful not to break the skin apart, but insure that you are able to get the rub inside throughout the chicken across the breast, thighs, and wings. I seasoned the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper and stuffed it with peeled boiling onions and the two oranges, sliced, zested and their juices squeezed over the top of the chicken, along with the remainder of the butter rub. Figure that half will go under the skin, half across and over the chicken, again paying attention to the thighs and wings.

I almost didn't make the pan sauce from the giblets, but I decided that I couldn't really call myself a foodie chef and avoid touching organs. As it was, they were all nicely wrapped in butcher paper stuffed inside the chicken so really, I didn't have to touch them - I just dumped them into a saucepan. adding 3/4 cup of dry white wine and 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, along with a chopped onion, 2 carrots, and 1 celery stalk.

When the chicken was nearly done, I steamed the sugar snap peas, started the sweet corn, and strained the potatoes to prepare for the mashing. As the chicken was setting, I mashed the potatoes and strained the sauce after adding the chicken roasted pan sauce. Total prep and cook time, from raw chicken to heaping plates was approximately an enjoyable 3 hours.

Challah French Toast

My Librarian and I picked up some tasty Challah Bread last week since it was in abundance for the High Holiday. We couldn't resist the pretty squishy knots that tempted us from every bakery shelf. They were oggling us, begging to be purchased.

On a lazy morning last weekend we made Challah French Toast. L mixed the eggs, cinnamon sugar, vanilla extract, and milk into a bowl and I snuck some bread off the cutting board while the pan heated up. Dip and Soak. Browned on each side, tossed on a plate and topped with powdered sugar, and breakfast is (or, in this case, was) served.

Pan Seared Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms with Mashed Potatoes

Autumn truly is my favorite season. I find that the endings and beginnings of two seasons can be wonderful occassions to combine the resources of in-between seasonal produce into a meal. I knew I wanted something that was earthy and warm, but not too heavy. After reviewing some of the items I had picked up the previous day I got a few ideas, rolled up my sleeves and dove in.

Before searing or cooking anything in a large pan, I let the oil heat on low in the pan with the herbs and spices, allowing them to absorb the heat and bring out more of their natural flavors. In addition to some fresh minced garlic, I added crushed red pepper flakes, fresh thyme, chopped basil, black pepper and rock salt. For good measure, I tossed in a pinch of The Spice Corner's Olive Dipping Mix for good measure.

Turning up the heat, I pan seared the chicken first, and in the same pan, I brought the heat down just a bit and added the shiitake mushrooms from Oley Valley Mushrooms, left whole but for the stems which I removed. Sauteing both the chicken and mushrooms, I started to mash my potatoes, which had come to a boil.

Served with a salad of wild spicy arugula tossed with parmesan cheese from this post, the end result was a relatively simple, healthy dish which had the earthy tones of Autumn I was seeking.

Salmon and Spaghetti Limone with Brussel Sprouts

We stumbled upon a great tiny Italian restaurant in the Lower East Side last winter and one of the dishes we ate was a simple Spaghetti Limone, which we loved and then realized we could easily make to accompany some of our dishes.

This is a quick and easy delicious after-the-gym-after-a-long-day meal that is filling and flavorful and doesn't take too much time at all to prepare. We took the salmon fillets, laid a couple tablets of butter under and on top of the fish in glass cookware and squeezed the juice of one or two lemons, depending on the size of the fillets. Bake.

Boil water and cook your pasta. Drain. Dump the pasta back in the bowl and add a half of a stick of butter with two to three lemons (again, according to the amount of pasta) and stir, mixing evening, tossing the pasta over to ensure even distribution.

The fish will take about thirty minutes at 375 degrees. Generally it's done and ready within 25, but I like a nice crisp on the top and edges, so I leave it in the oven a little longer before pulling to cool. As the fish is cooling, you should be nearly done or done with both your spaghetti limone and your steamed sprouts, which you can start once your pasta water begins to boil.

Plate. A dash of oregano on the pasta and Buon Appetito!

A is for Arugula

Arugula is an annual green, a member of the Brassicaceae family. It's great for salads and actually fairly easy to grow from seed. I got two bags of Baby Arugula last Saturday at the Fair Food Farm Stand and we munched on it all week in simple side salads.

This bunch from Paradise Organics in Lancaster, PA was wild, which gave it a slight spicy kick, which I love. The wild arugula paired with a simple vinaigrette (extra virgin olive oil and juice of fresh lemons) was a great side to some of our dinners this past week. As a standalone, I added some dried cranberries and some leftover chicken breast to be heartier and tossed it all together with some fresh parmesan.

Arugula is a great source of Vitamins A and C, rich in potassium, and even considered be an aphrodisiac (!). Though its origins trace way back to the Roman Empire, it was all but adopted as the USofA's official salad green in the mid 1990's. Generally used as a salad green, it has limitless possibilities - cooked, added to pasta sauces and meats, pizza, and even made into pesto...

For Arugula Pesto, take a bunch of arugula and remove the stems. Pan brown three or four large garlic cloves in olive oil. Finely chop the arugula and add the garlic cloves, a 1/2 cup of fresh parmesan and chopped arugula to a blender or food processor, and on a low setting, blend while adding 1/2 a cup of olive oil. Remember to taste the sauce frequently as you add more of one ingredient or another.

The Garlic Plate: Baked Mashed Blue Potatoes with Parmesan and Mozzarella, Green Beans, and Chicken

I truly love my garlic press and cook with fresh garlic whenever possible. With this dish, I indulged my love of Allium sativum. I took a few locally produced blue potatoes and boiled them until tender. In a bowl I added milk, some parmesan and mozzarella, a dash of rosemary, a couple of tablespoons of butter and then, using a hand mixer, mashed them.

However, the mozzarella posed a bit of a problem with it's taffy like consistency so I decided to hand mash and then bake the potatoes at 375 degrees for about twenty minutes, sprinkling the top with some fresh grated parmesan. The result was an almost casserole like potato pie. The mozzarella softened and spread and the parmesan hardened and formed a nice crisp on top.

I sauteed the chicken breast in garlic, olive oil, italian herbs, rosemary, lemon and white wine while the fresh and local greens were sauteeing in olive oil and fresh garlic. Once plated, I tossed a dash of rock salt on the green beans and the chicken and Voila! My garlic glands were ready to be sated.