Savoury Table

It goes without saying that I believe all the recipes I put on my blog are really delicious, but sometimes one comes along that stands out above all the rest.   My mother has been telling me for years that this Southern Living butter pecan ice cream recipe is da bomb, but for some reason I never followed through and made it.  My loss, but I have now seen the light and today I hope to enlighten you too. This is some wonderful stuff.

With Father’s Day coming up in a couple of days, I, like many of you out there, am looking for some really great recipes to treat that special dad in our lives.  We will be barbequing lots of good stuff for ours and I can’t imagine any better way to follow that up than with this outstanding decadent dessert.

As you will notice there are eight, count ’em, EIGHT egg yolks, one stick of butter and almost two cups of cream for a little over a quart of ice cream.  How can it not be good?  At risk of you thinking I’m going all Paula Deen on you, I promise to only make this on special occasions like the Father’s Day, the 4th of July or a sunny Tuesday afternoon.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream (from Southern Living Magazine)

I’ve never made or eaten homemade ice cream that is this silky, smooth and delicious.  I followed the ingredients and directions closely with only one small diversion,  I prepared my custard the night before, transferred it to a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerated it over night so I could put it in my little electric ice cream freezer and freeze it the next morning.  I then transferred it to another container and froze it in my home freezer for an additional 4 hours or so before serving, so it was nice and firm.  If you do this, the days of impatient diners eating soupy homemade ice cream are long gone.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
8 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (next time I will probably decrease this to 1/8 teaspoon)
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

Melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.  Simmer about 4 minutes or until butter turns light brown and the milk solids on the bottom of the pan release brown specks.  Set aside; let stand until just warm. Combine milk, cream, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.

Beat egg yolks in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed 1 minute. Slowly add brown butter with specks into yolks, and beat 2 minutes or until mixture is thick and fluffy.

Slowly pour one-quarter of hot cream mixture into the egg mixture, stirring until incorporated. Pour this mixture back into the medium saucepan; add remaining hot cream mixture over low heat, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant spatula until mixture reaches 170° and lightly coats the back of spatula. (Be careful not to let the custard boil or the egg yolks will curdle.) Strain custard into a bowl through a medium-mesh sieve. Refrigerate custard 1 hour or until chilled; stir in the extracts.

Pour mixture into a 1 1/2-quart freezer container of an electric ice cream freezer. Stir in chopped pecans, and freeze mixture according to manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze 4 to 6 hours before serving.

For more great recipes like this, beautiful design ideas and expert gardening tips, visit Southern Living Magazine’s site. 

Mexican Fruit Salad

For some reason I am always taken by surprise by holidays.  They seem to just creep up on me, so when I realized that Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow, I kind of had to put my foot on the gas for this post.  There are actually a couple of Mexican recipes that I’d like to share and I might just get around to it, but I just had to post this one.  When my daughter was a little girl this was her favorite after school snack, so it is a kid pleaser too.  It is simple, refreshing and basically perfect for a celebration meal with a Mexican flair.

6 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 big juicy lime)
3/4 teaspoon chili powder (mild or hot depending on your taste)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
4 cups of assorted fresh fruit, cut into bite size pieces (I love pineapple, watermelon, orange, strawberries, cantaloupe and cucumber)

Place lime juice, chili powder, salt and cilantro in a small container with a tight fitting lid.   Place fruit in a large bowl.  Pour juice over fruit and toss well.  Serve immediately.  Feel free to sprinkle a little extra chili powder over the top for garnish if you like.

Since I featured one of my daughter’s favorites, I thought I’d add one for my husband.  He could eat his weight in this salsa. 

Shrimp Salsa

1 tablespoon oil
8 ounces fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
1/2 medium red, orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Juice of two limes (approximately 1/4 cup)
Splash of water (approximately 1 ounce)
Salt and pepper to taste

Place oil into a medium size frying pan over medium high heat.  Add chopped shrimp to the oil once it is hot.  Sauté for approximately 2 minutes or until it is just opaque.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Place the remaining ingredients into a medium size bowl and toss.  Once the shrimp is cooled, add it to the bowl and toss.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and refrigerate until chilled through.

Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

Makes approximately 2 cups.

About a week ago our pastry chef at work taught a class on vintage cakes. On the menu was a lemon chiffon cake with berries and cream and a caramel cake that was iced with a brown butter frosting. I loved this class not only because of the great recipes, but also because of the memories it conjured.

Just the title of this class brought a flood of recipes to mind. I have posted recipes of several of them here. Oh how I love Oatmeal Cake with Broiled Icing, Chocolate Sheet Cake and Pineapple Macadamia Cake, but one I have neglected writing about, since it starts from a cake mix, is one that I will no longer ignore, the delicious Duncan Hines Sock-It-To-Me Cake.

I’m not really sure about the exact history of this cake, but I first started eating it in the 70’s after my dad was smart enough to marry my step-mom. Being a full-time working wife and mother, she was up on all the best recipes that could be found on the back of a box or in the break room at work. Thank goodness she found this recipe because it is one of my all time favorite coffee cakes EVER, and it is so good that even after 40 years it is still featured on the side of their butter golden flavor cake mix box.

Well, there’s my endorsement. Now for the recipe. There is one thing I have to say before I get to it. No matter how many times I have made this cake, the pecan filling always sinks to the bottom while it is baking. I don’t know why, but it does this.  It still makes a delicious cake, it just doesn’t have that beautiful little swirl like the photo on the box.

Duncan Hines Sock It To Me Cake

1 package Duncan Hines Classic Butter Golden Cake Mix, divided (If this cake mix is not available, I have used a yellow cake mix with good results)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped pecans (I use 1/2 cup)
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Duncan Hines Cream Home-Style Classic Vanilla Frosting (I use a simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk)

For complete instructions on how to mix and bake this cake, click here to go to the Duncan Hines site.

I think we’ve all heard the urban legends about pressure cookers.  The one that always comes to my mind is the pressure cooker that exploded and permanently disfigured the cook before burning down her whole neighborhood and the city of Chicago.  This may be an exaggeration, but at the very least thinking about pressure cookers usually gives most cooks a knot in their stomach. 

Some time ago I went to a cooking class that was all about pressure cooking.  For my own protection I took a seat as far away from the action as I could just in case the top decided to blow off and kill everyone in the room.  The teacher stuffed the cooker with a beautiful piece of beef and an assortment of aromatic herbs and good red wine.  He secured the lid, turned it on and let her rip for about an hour or so. 

After the cooking time, he ran some cool water over the top to ease the pressure inside the cooker and gently loosened the lid (this is when I hit the deck).  He then removed the meat and set it aside to rest while he prepared a silken mahogany colored sauce from the juices left in the bottom.  The result of this fast and easy preparation was one of the best pot roasts I have ever eaten.

I was so impressed that on the way home I stopped and picked up my first pressure cooker.  Since then I have made several delicious meals with it.  If you live at a high altitude this is especially helpful for speeding up the cooking time of dried beans and tougher cuts of meat, but even if you live at sea level, this is just an incredible time saver for busy cooks.

Cooking with steam and pressure is nothing new.  The “Steam Digester” was first developed in France in 1769.  Inventor Denis Papin built this air-tight cooking vessel as a way to cook foods faster.  By 1941 the modern Presto giggle top pressure cooker was present in almost every home in America.  It held a place of importance until the 1980s when it was rivaled by the microwave as the king of speed cooking.

Between the invention of the microwave oven and tales of kitchen injuries, seasoned home cooks packed their pressure cookers away, and young cooks mostly turned their backs on these once loved kitchen helpers.  I never even witnessed anyone using a pressure cooker until my cooking class a couple of years ago.

A few weeks ago I was asked by the folks at IMUSA, USA if they could send me one of their many products to review.  I combed through their extensive website of cooking products, and it was really a hard decision, but I kept coming back to their electric digital pressure cooker.  Although I already had a pressure cooker, this one looked to be light years ahead of mine with its sleek new design and multiple functions.  I just couldn’t resist it.

When the UPS man delivered my cooker a few days ago, I carefully unpacked the box, drinking in the intoxicating aroma of a new kitchen appliance.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this affordable unit (priced under $100) is not only a pressure cooker, but it also browns, steams and slow cooks.  It has a roomy, non-stick interior cooking pot which is also removable for ease of cleaning.  It comes complete with a cool touch exterior, a lid that snaps firmly and securely into place and a whisper quiet operation.  And to top it all off, it is super easy to program, even for those of us who read instructions only as a last resort.  

For my first dish in this new cooker I decided to make a family favorite, carne guisada which translates to “stewed meat” in Spanish.  Most often made with inexpensive, tougher cuts of meat, it normally requires hours of cooking to break the meat down until it is fall apart tender.  

After browning the meat and adding the Mexican herbs and spices, I programmed my cooker for 50 minutes on high pressure and left it alone to do its stuff.  My result?  A delicious and tender main course that was ready to eat in about an hour.  This was so easy that I am already planning our next pressure cooker meal of corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s day.

Carne Guisada

2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1” cubes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 Poblano pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 medium size chopped chipotle pepper plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from the can
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 bay leaf
2 medium size Roma tomatoes, chopped
12 ounces beer (Dark beer if possible.  Personally I love Shiner bock)
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules

Toss the chuck roast and flour together; set aside.

Heat oil in the bottom of a pressure cooker set to brown or in a large stock pot set over medium high heat.  Brown the meat on all sides; stir well.  Add the onions and peppers and cook for another 5 minutes or so before adding the garlic and cooking for one minute longer.  Sprinkle any flour leftover from dusting the meat over the top and stir well.  Add the cumin, chipotle, cilantro, bay leaf, tomatoes, beer and bouillon; stir well and bring to a boil.

At this time if you are using a pressure cooker, turn the browning setting off.  Cover the cooker with the lid making sure it is properly sealed.  Set the pressure to the high setting and cook for 40 – 45 minutes.  At higher altitudes, increase cooking time to 45 – 50 minutes.

For the conventional stove top method, cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook (stirring occasionally) until the meat is fall apart tender, approximately 2 – 2 – 1/2 hours.

Serve in warm tortillas with your choice of avocado or guacamole, cilantro, sour cream, cheese or salsa.

After thoroughly reading the instructions, I seared my meat cubes in the pot set on the “Brown” setting.

I combined the meat, spices and liquid, closed the lid and set the timer.

In about an hour our Carne Guisada was ready to eat.

One of the best Carne Guisada tacos I’ve ever eaten.  We like ours with avocado, corn salsa and maybe just a little bit of shredded cheese.

 In addition to giving me this great new appliance to review, the generous folks at IMUSA, USA is also giving me one to give to one of my followers.  To enter you must be a public follower and leave me a comment saying you’d like to be entered.

Please leave a separate comment stating each entry or they will be counted as one.  Random.org will choose my lucky winner (so sorry, US residents only) on March 15^th.  Good luck everyone!

*IMUSA, USA provided me with this product and the one to be given away at no charge.  Although very generous of them, the opinion expressed here is entirely mine and completely objective.  

Right in the middle of all the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest hoopla in the last few days prior to my departure for Vegas, I was invited to attend a luncheon at The Seasoned Chef Cooking School here in Denver.  It was a welcome distraction from all of my preparations and anticipation, and I was also very excited to learn about a local product.

The gathering was organized as a way to introduce bloggers, food writers and others affiliated with the food industry to Epicurean Butter. Epicurean butter is a line of grade AA butter that is infused with all natural ingredients resulting in compound butters that can instantly dress up the simplest of dishes.  Developed by Denver Chef John Hubschman, Epicurean Butter comes in 14 different flavors, in both sweet and savory varieties, and are intended to bring gourmet restaurant quality chef preparation to the home cook.

For our tasting luncheon, Chicago based Chef Julius Russell, owner of A Tale of Two Chefs, prepared a variety of dishes containing different flavors of Epicurean Butter for us to sample. These dishes ranged from a goat cheese bruschetta, sauteed shrimp, and roasted pork loin to a buttery cake crouton apple concoction that was indescribably delicious.  It was a tasty afternoon to say the least.

Now a couple of weeks later, all the dust has cleared from my trip and I’m settling back into my routine. I am ready to start creating, and all those tubs of butter waiting in my fridge have inspired me to get busy. We were given several recipes to try, but I cannot for the life of me put my hands on any of them. Makes me kind of wonder what went on around here while I was gone.

In the absence of those recipes, I decided to come up with something on my own. After tasting a couple of the butters I kept coming back to the chili lime. The subtle, fresh Mexican flavors reminded me of a dish that I loved and haven’t had in a very long time.

Years ago there was a little Mexican restaurant in Houston that my posse and I used to frequent. On their menu they featured a grilled chicken breast entree complete with mushrooms, onions and a little bit of cheese all swimming in a tasty butter sauce that I absolutely loved.

This little restaurant simply called their dish pechugas de pollo.  After a little research I discovered that pechugas translates to “breasts” and pollo translates to “chicken”, so you can obviously call any breast of chicken dish by this name if you want. I guess this leaves me wide open to do my own pechugas de pollo any way I like.

Since I wanted to really focus on the flavor of the butter, I simplified the ingredients for my pechugas. I used pan seared chicken and the flavored butter mixed with the pan juices to form the sauce. Really all you need is a perfectly cooked chicken breast and a dollop of this butter and there you go, the simple is turned into the sublime in just minutes, just as Chef Hubschman envisioned.

Pechugas de Pollo

2 medium size chicken breasts, approximately 6 -7 ounces each
Salt, pepper and garlic or your favorite seasoning blend to taste
1 – 2 tablespoons light olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Epicurean chili lime compound butter or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, a squeeze of fresh lime juice and 1/8 teaspoon chili powder (mild or medium), plus 2 additional tablespoons for finishing dish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse and pat the chicken breasts dry. Place them between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound thicker end of breasts to even the thickness as much as possible.

Sprinkle both sides of the breasts liberally with salt, pepper and granulated garlic or seasoning blend; set aside.

Pour oil (enough to coat bottom) into a heat proof medium size frying pan (for this recipe I LOVE my cast iron skillet) set over medium high heat. Heat oil until it is shimmering. Add prepared breasts to hot pan and fry them on each side until golden brown.

Carefully transfer frying pan to the preheated oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes or so or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and/or juices run clear. *If you feel that your chicken breasts are cooked through after browning them on top of the stove, you can omit this step if desired.

Remove pan from the oven and transfer chicken breasts to serving plates, cover, set aside and rest for 5 minutes.

While the breasts are resting, add the two tablespoons of Epicurean Butter (or plain butter, lime juice and chili powder) to the hot frying pan to deglaze it, scraping bits up off the bottom with a whisk or fork, being careful not to burn the butter. This should take just about a minute.

Pour equal amounts of the butter sauce over the top of the chicken breasts. Finish with an additional pat of butter and a sprinkling of chopped fresh cilantro if desired. I prefer serving my chicken breasts on a bed of rice to absorb the chicken flavors and butter.

This recipe serves 2, but is easily doubled.

I would also like to try changing this dish up sometime by replacing the chile lime flavor with Epicurean’s Tuscan Herb Butter or the porcini and sage flavor and serving it over pasta.

Just because Epicurean Butter’s home is in Colorado, doesn’t mean it is only available in Colorado. Click here for a list of the many retailers that carry this product.  Don’t see a retailer in your area? Epicurean Butter can also be ordered on line.

We Texas natives are just a bunch of braggarts and we know it.  We have definitely come by that name honestly because we do brag a lot, but let’s face it we have a lot to brag about.  We brew great beer; have beautiful highways, rich history, good music and some delicious food. 

When we moved to Colorado almost 10 years ago we came to the conclusion that we were just going to have to adapt our tastes to the local color and bloom where we were planted.  I am so happy to say that along the way we have managed to find some pretty good Tex-Mex and some outstanding beer around here too. By the same token we figured that there were some things that we would just have to enjoy during our visits home like great barbeque and my beloved Blue Bell Ice Cream.  Then a miracle happened. 

A year ago March 14^th my daughter breathlessly called me to tell me she had either had a hallucination in King Soopers or they were now carrying Blue Bell ice cream.  I remembered that my husband had said he had seen a Blue Bell truck one day, but we laughed it off thinking that the poor driver must have taken a wrong turn in Dallas and landed up here.

Wanting to see it for myself, I put on my shoes and headed down to our local store.  Sure enough, there it was in all its glory, rows upon rows of brightly colored round gold and brown rimmed containers teasing me with their country chic names like Peaches and Cream, Banana Split and Homemade Vanilla.  Be still my foolish heart.

With trembling hands I reached for one of my favorites, Pistachio Almond and placed it in my shopping cart.  I pulled away from the ice cream section carefully zigzagging my way through the other people (obviously Texans by looks of their glazed over eyes and gaping mouths) that had gathered around the foggy glass doors in front of the Blue Bell display.  Thinking better of leaving with just one flavor, I turned around  and picked up a half gallon of Natural Vanilla Bean just in case Blue Bell changed their minds and took their ice cream and headed back to Texas.  Well, it’s been over a year now and I am happy to say that you can find Blue Bell in most every grocery store in the Denver metro area. 

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Blue Bell, the company began in 1907 in the town of Brenham, Texas.  Originally, the company started out churning butter using cream that was collected from local farmers.  On occasion when there was leftover cream the butter maker would set about the task of making ice cream in a hand crank freezer which was then sold to a few lucky families close to the creamery.  This new product soon became popular and in 1911 the company began producing it regularly on a larger scale, and the rest as they say is history.

You can now find Blue Bell ice cream in 18 states.  They are the number three blended ice cream manufacturer in America.  They proudly make all of their own mixings that go into their ice cream.  They also source all of their fruits locally so they are used at their peak of freshness.  After all these years they are still family owned, employing 3,000 people nationwide and 70 of those are here in Colorado.

A couple of weeks ago I went with Barb of Creative Culinary and Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch to the Blue Bell distribution center in our area for an ice cream tasting and a tour of their facility (to see their take on this day and their recipes, please click on their links above).  I know, I know, tough job but someone has to do it.   Branch Manager, Kevin McDevitt treated us to several of their ice cream and novelty flavors.  Some were old favorites of mine and some were new ones like Red Velvet Cake, Blackberry Cobbler and the most surprising of all their Sour Apple novelty bars that really had me wanting to take the whole box home.

My daughter’s personal favorite flavor

The banana pops are a surprising 50 calories

Ice cream should be tempered before eating.  To achieve optimum flavor, leave your ice cream at room temperature for a few minutes to soften a bit before scooping it up.

I feel safe to say that Blue Bell’s storage facility is the coldest place in Colorado in the summer.

Blue Bell ice cream is stored and transported upside down so that the ice cream inside can be clearly seen through the window on the lid.

Blue Bell’s motto “We eat all we can and sell the rest” is obviously something that they aren’t joking about by the looks of their breakroom.  I wonder if they have any job openings.

Since July is national ice cream month we thought that this would be the perfect time to experiment with some of the ice cream that Blue Bell was kind enough to send us home with.  It has been really hard deciding what ice cream to use.  I considered a Grasshopper Pie made from their creamy mint chocolate chip.  I also thought about making ice cream bon bons with their newest flavor,  Summer Strawberry Pie, but kept coming back to two of my favorite after dinner ice cream drinks, Brandy Alexander and the always tempting Dreamsicle.

Since both of these drinks are cold and rich they are the perfect super simple summer barbeque dessert.  With just a very few ingredients and five minutes with a blender you will have a new way to treat your diners to an after dinner sweet treat.

Creamsicle
Many people use vodka and triple sec in their recipes but I find them a bit too alcoholic for my taste.  I think this concoction is just right.

3 large scoops Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean ice cream
4 ounces orange juice
1-1/2 ounces Amaretto
Place all ingredients in the bowl of a blender and blend for 10 seconds until smooth and creamy.  Serve in a wine glass with an orange twist and a straw.

Makes 2

Brandy Alexander

Bartenders and purists will notice that this is not the original recipe for the classic drink originally just known as an Alexander which consists of gin, cream de cacao and cream.  Personally I think this version is much better.

2 large scoops Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean ice cream
1 – 1/2 ounces brandy
1 ounce dark crème de cacao
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
Grated chocolate or a sprinkling of nutmeg to garnish

Place the ice cream, brandy, crème de cacao and chocolate syrup in the bowl of a blender and blend for 10 seconds until smooth and creamy.  Pour into martini glasses, garnish and serve.

Makes 2

This is the first time I have had the time or inclination to write a blog post in over two weeks. This move has really taken its toll on my blogging time. The past 14 days have been totally devoted to maintaining an immaculate house, showing it to strangers and looking for a new place, much less cooking anything that has an aroma or setting up my camera to take photos of it.

I’m really not complaining at all. Downsizing is something I have wanted to do for a couple of years now. Where I once wanted a house big enough that we could all spread out, I now want cozy and compact . . . and two less toilets to clean.

The house we have settled on is in an older part of town and was built in 1962. It has had only one owner for all these years, and as my husband would say, it is built like a brick shithouse. I guess that is good because he smiles the smile of a lucky man when he says it.

It needs lots of cosmetic work, but that is exactly the kind of house we were looking for. Ever since we married we have dreamed of buying an old neglected house and turning it into something special and now is the time. I would like to apologize in advance if you’re not interested in hearing about staining concrete and removing overgrown shrubbery because it is coming.

Before all that goes down, we have to say goodbye to the house we are living in now. It is new and bright and tight, and I know I am going to miss it. It is one lucky family who is going to get to move in here and I know it is going to be emotional when we turn the keys over to them. It is a happy house that we have filled with love and cherished memories and I wish the same for them. Now it is time for us to make memories in a new place.

For some reason when we put our house on the market two weeks ago I agreed to include my 2 year old refrigerator in the sale. Someone please kick me next time I agree to something like this. Not only does this mean I’m going to have to fit a new refrigerator into my renovation budget, but I also have to empty and clean the heck out of this one, so I am starting now.

To get going, I decided to finally thaw a chicken that has been hanging around in the freezer for a couple of months now. As it worked out, the same day I pulled it out of the freezer, Faith from The Kitchn happened to write a rave review about  Jamie Oliver’s recipe for Chicken in Milk.  She said it was the best chicken she had ever eaten, so I shared it on my Facebook. Seeing this post, a couple of well trusted cooking friends said that while good, they had both had better. With these two conflicting reviews, I knew I had to try it for myself.

My own verdict surprised even me. Even though I totally trust my cooking friends, I so wanted to fall in love with Jamie’s recipe. With Faith’s recommendation, I felt sure that this was going to be my new go to recipe. Well, I have to give this one to my cooking friends. Although very good, I’m still in love with Roasted Chicken With Bacon and Forty Cloves of Garlic, but I invite you to make Jamie’s tasty recipe and decide for yourself. With just a few easy ingredients, what the heck. You never know you might find yourself in camp Faith and fall in love with it.

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk

1- 3 pound chicken
Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
Olive oil
1/2 of a small cinnamon stick (mine was about as big around as a drinking straw)
1 handful of fresh sage (my sage died weeks ago, so I just used my whole dried leaves)
Zest of 2 lemons
10 garlic cloves
2 cups whole milk

For Jamie’s method, please click through to his site here.

Since I wanted to give a fair review on this recipe I followed Jamie’s recipe very closely with the exception of using my dried sage instead of fresh, and since it is me, I draped the top of my chicken in bacon. I also used Faith’s recommendation of covering the chicken for half of the cooking time and leaving it uncovered for half.

While moist and tender and pleasant in flavor, the chicken wasn’t as flavorful as I thought it would be. The curdled milk solids and aromatics do make a sauce of sorts, but not as vibrant and enjoyable as I had hoped . . .  even with my bacon on top.

My recommendations? Well far be it from me to try to improve on Jamie’s recipe, but when he says to season your chicken, season it really, REALLY well inside and out. Next time I might even cut one of my zested lemons in half and stick it in the cavity. The milk curdles anyway so why not kick up the flavor with some more lemon. And while I’m at it, I loved draping it in bacon. Everything goes better with bacon in my opinion.

Brown seasoned chicken well on both sides.

Place browned chicken snugly in a baking dish that is big enough to accommodate all the ingredients. This is the point that I draped my chicken in a couple of pieces of thin sliced bacon.

Shhh, don’t tell Jamie that I draped his chicken in bacon. I learned this trick from Delia Smith years ago and in my opinion it makes any chicken or turkey better.

I had planned to slip my next Something From Nothing post into this slot, but then an emergency happened, so that post will have to wait just a couple more days.  The emergency I’m speaking of came in the form of a large drum of Hatch chiles roasting outside my local Whole Foods. How the heck did it get to be Hatch chile time? Seems like it was just the end of school and then the 4th of July and now wham-o, it is almost September.

This kind of threw me into a mild panic because as much as I love late summer’s Hatch chiles, I love mid summer more, and Hatch chiles mean fall is coming.  I think one reason I get so excited about them is that our fresh produce season is so short, so when good, fresh things show up in the produce section, I celebrate it.

If you’re not quite sure what the big hullabaloo is all about, Hatch chiles are peppers that are grown in New Mexico’s Hatch Valley which stretches north and south along the Rio Grande River.  The soil and growing conditions in this area contribute greatly to the consistent and desirable flavor of these chiles which range in heat from mild to quite hot.

So, OK, I’ll get a grip on myself and come to terms with the fact that fall is around the corner.  That means that I have lots of good summer recipes to blog about and not much time to do it, so I better get busy.

One of my favorite recipes that really combines some of the greatest things about this time of year is my favorite little green chile dip.  This dip is a harmonious combination of roasted Hatch chilies, Gilroy garlic, green onions, sharp cheddar cheese and cilantro, all stirred in a smooth and creamy sour cream mixture. We really love this stuff and I think you will too.  So grab a handful of chiles and get roasting!

Green Chile, Cheese and Onion Dip

2 medium size green chiles (Hatch, Anaheim or Fresno), approximately 4 ounces
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2/3 cup sour cream
2 green onions, light and dark green parts thinly sliced across
1 small bunch cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped (about 1 packed tablespoon)
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (I love toasting cumin seeds then crushing them)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Place chiles on the flame of a gas grill or gas burner on a stove. This can also be done by placing them on a non-stick pan under the broiler element of the oven.  Watching carefully, cook until the outside skin blisters and turns black, turning them to cook on all sides.

Remove and place hot chiles in a paper or plastic bag to steam for 5 minutes or so.  As soon as the charred skin becomes soft, remove the chiles from the bag and gently scrape off the skins with the edge of a knife.  Chop chiles; set aside.

Place cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream in a medium size bowl.  Add the chopped chiles, onions, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper; stir well.   Fold in cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Serve with vegetables or chips.

January 23rd is officially National Pie Day, but true to form I missed it. Thinking that math geeks and food geeks should peacefully coexist, I’m going to celebrate March 14th, Pi Day, with a pie to make up for it.

I think it is obvious by now that I love great food that is easy, or you could also say, I love easy food that is great. No matter how you put it, this little recipe is both. It is a shortcut version of a pie is normally pretty simple to make anyway with a filling made up of marshmallow cream, whipped cream and creme de menthe, but this recipe cuts it down even more. This version does away with those ingredients and replaces the filling with mint chocolate chip ice cream, which by the way, since it is the star of the show, I recommend you buy a really good brand.

With only four ingredients, ANYONE can make this pie and be proud to serve it, and because it is green it is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. Honestly, I found the hardest part about making it was keeping everyone out of the box Teddy Grahams I bought for the crust. So, whether you don’t like to cook, are just learning how to cook, or you’re a little bit lazy like me, this recipe is an amazing addition to your repertoire.

Frozen Grasshopper Pie

1 – 10 ounce box chocolate Teddy Grahams cookies (or chocolate graham crackers)
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 – 1/2 quarts mint chocolate chip ice cream, slightly softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place cookies in a food processor and process to fine crumbs (I know it’s hard to crush those cute little guys, but you can do it). This can also be done by placing the cookies in a zipper seal bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.

Remove 1/2 of a cup and reserve for topping.  Pour the remainder into a large bowl. Add sugar and butter; mix well to combine.

Spray a deep dish pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour crumb, sugar and butter mixture into the pie plate and press an even layer as possible on the bottom and sides. Place into preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Spoon ice cream into the cooled crust, gently pressing down as you smooth it into an even layer over the bottom and sides with the back of a large spoon. Sprinkle with the reserved crumbs, cover and return to the freezer for at least an hour so it can harden.

To serve, cut with a warm, sharp knife (this is best done by dipping the knife into a glass of warm water and wiping it dry before each slice). Serve as is or with whipped cream and a drizzling of chocolate syrup.

Serves 8 – 10

I’ve been a bit lax about posting this past week due to a mini staycation that I’ve been enjoying.   You see about every year at this time my step-mom stops in for her yearly visit.  I love every minute of the time we get to spend together and wouldn’t dream of interrupting it by doing anything that remotely resembles work of any kind.

I’d like to at least be able to post about the wonderful meals I cooked for her, but unfortunately that’s just not going to happen.  When she first arrived I cooked a couple of simple meals, welcoming her into our home, but as the days rolled by and I thought her sufficiently impressed, we started eating out more and more. Nothing fancy mind you, just whatever we felt like and happened to be close by as we shopped and hung out.

The week flew by and it was over before we knew it, but we saved her last day to do a serious TJ Maxx roundup.  We have some pretty great stores in my part of Denver and I’m a bit more than sure that in addition to seeing me and the grand kids, they are a big reason that she flies up here.  She just might be the original “Maxxinista”.

Just so we wouldn’t be distracted by hunger pangs, we stopped by my favorite breakfast place, The Original Pancake House, for a bite before we hit the sale racks.  All I can say about our meal was that it was a testament to the old saying that it is the simple things in life that count. Thank goodness after building up their French toast to her, we were not disappointed.  It was so hot, crispy and delicious that I knew I’d have to head home and figure out the recipe so I could share it here with you.

So now that the party is over, rested and refreshed, I got back in the kitchen and started creating once again.  Thank goodness my maiden voyage back into the kitchen was a complete success and I was able to get pretty darn close to the taste of that original dish.  So if like my mom, you don’t have one of these restaurants anywhere near you, you can still share this really special meal with those you love too.

Cinnamon Almond French Toast

3 tablespoons powdered (or superfine) sugar
About 1/4  – 1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons light olive or vegetable oil
2 – 3 tablespoons butter
8 slices bread (thick sandwich sliced or French Bread)

Combine the powdered sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside until ready to use.

In a medium size shallow bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, vanilla extract and almond extract. Pour the almonds into a plate, spreading out to a thin layer that is big enough to cover the surface of the bread.

Prepare a medium size frying pan by pouring in a tablespoon of oil and a tablespoon of butter and preheating it over a medium high heat.  You will need to add the remaining oil and butter a bit at a time as you fry batches of the remaining bread.

Taking one slice of bread at a time, quickly dip each side of each slice of bread into the egg mixture. Then coat one side of the bread in the sliced almonds by gently setting it on top of the almonds on the plate and lightly pressing it.

Immediately place prepared bread into the preheated frying pan (bread should sizzle as you place it into the pan). Cook for approximately 2 minutes on each side or until it is golden brown, carefully turning it so that you don’t knock off the almond coating.  Remove from the pan and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Serve immediately with warm maple syrup.

Serves 4 – 8