Simple Chicken Cutlets

Chicken cutlets is a dish I grew up having frequently in my home. It is quick to make, and something obviously any beginning cook should be able to make. In fact, everything on the plate above is very to make and takes just minutes.

Broccoli
I purchased broccoli crowns at the supermarket and cut the up. I steamed them. I put an inch of water with some salt in a half quart pan, and placed a metal steamer inside.

When the water boils add the broccoli. Steam them until they turn a bright green (which is not going to be very long) and fork tender. If you don't have a steamer that is okay, you can cook the broccoli in the pot without the steamer and they will still come out fine. Between 5 and 8 minutes. It may also depend on how much you purchased. It can be as long as 10 minutes.  Butter before placing on the table.

Noodles
For the noodles you should follow the directions on the package. They are all a little different because it all depends on the thickness of the noodle. A little science knowledge from Alton Brown can go a long way. Water and salt is the keep to good noodles.Always add salt to the water. Make sure you cook the noodles in plenty of water. Butter before placing on the table.

Chicken Cutlets
Chicken breasts
all purpose flour
eggs
plain breakcrumbs or panko
canola oil
black pepper
salt
Line everything up in this order.
Clean and prepare the chicken cutlets. Pat dry.
Place some flour on a plate seasoned with salt and pepper.
Beat some eggs in a bowl. If you are cooking 6 or 8 chicken cutlets you will need at least 3 eggs .
Place panko or plain breadcrumbs on a plate.
Start by dipping cutlets in flour. Work to cover thoroughly.
Dip the cutlet in the egg.
Then place the chicken in the panko or plain bread crumbs. Cover thoroughly.
When almost all the cutlets are covered, heat a deep saute pan at medium high heat. When hot add some canola oil.
When the oil is hot and sizzles add the chicken cutlets, cook until the cutlets are browned on both sides, turning once, and make sure the chicken is no longer pink in the middle or 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Note: For this recipe I used large organic eggs, and organic chicken cutlets, treated with no chemicals.

The chicken cutlets were a hit!

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Kalamata-Lemon Chicken

I was born Italian, but  there is a little bit of Greek in me. So when I saw this dish had a Mediterranean style  flavor I couldn't resist. I liked the flavor. It's supposed to be served in a shallow bowl, and trust me, this dish is very easy. I found this recipe on Food.com.


Kalamata-Lemon Chicken
This is a very good Mediterranean style chicken dish that I love (lemon lover here). You just brown the chicken for a few mins and add the rest of the ingredients and place it in the oven while you go about making a salad (or whatever).
4 servings   45 min 10 min prep
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon olive oil
⅔ cup dried orzo pasta
½ cup drained pitted kalamata olives
½ lemon (cut into wedges or chunks)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon all purpose Greek seasoning
hot chicken broth (optional)
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth snipped fresh oregano (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a 4-quart Dutch oven brown chicken in hot oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, turning once.
Stir in orzo, olives, the can of broth, lemon wedges, lemon juice, Greek Seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Cover and bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.
Serve in shallow bowls with additional broth, if desired. Top with snipped oregano.

I also started reading the book, The Route to Family Wisdom by Joan F. Jenks.

The book contains recipes, Meditation, and ways to work with genealogy.
At this time of year, after the recent tragedy, it is good to think about family, past and present.

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Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

Thanksgiving, a time to get together with family to eat turkey and roasted asparagus with hollandaise sauce.  This year I contributed a vegetable to my family thanksgiving. I choose to follow in the footsteps of the Barefoot Contessa with her recipe. It was quite easy and definitely flavorful.

This recipe is from the

English: The logo of Food Network. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise
Copyright 2010, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved
Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pinches of cayenne pepper
2 pounds fresh asparagus
Good olive oil

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 3/4 teaspoon pepper and cayenne in the jar of a blender. Blend for 15 seconds. With the blender running, slowly pour the hot butter into the blender and blend for 30 seconds, until the sauce is thick. (You can leave it in the blender at room temperature for up to 1 hour. If it is made in advance, add 1 tablespoon hot tap water and blend for a few seconds before serving.)

Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and, if they're thick, peel them. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat the asparagus completely. Spread the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast the asparagus for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender but still crisp.

Pour the hollandaise sauce over the warm asparagus and serve.

The Hollandaise and the Asparagus are easy to cook. This is a vegetable that is easy to put together and is an elegant addition, and worth serving for Thanksgiving.

Macaroni and Cheese and Butternut Squash

I am not a big macaroni and cheese fan. I realize this is a colonial favorite dating back to Thomas Jefferson, and there are a large number of families, including my own, who have Kraft Macaroni and Cheese sitting in their pantry. I am proud to say I am not one of those people.

Now if the dish has something like butternut squash in it, that to me is something worth trying.

Cucurbita moschata 'Butternut'. Original description: Courges butternut (Cucurbita moschata) Photo JH Mora, septembre 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I went to Foxglove and Madison Cheese in Madison CT. They were very helpful. 

Katie Webster's Macaroni and Cheese and Butternut Squash

Makes 6 servings, 1 generous cup each. Active Time: 45 minutes. Total Time: 1 hour.
4 cups cubed butternut squash, about 1 ¼ pounds
2 cups whole-grain macaroni, 8 oz.
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
2 shallots, chopped
3 cups low-fat milk, divided
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
6 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese, about 2 cups
3 tablespoons whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs, such as Ian’s
½ teaspoon paprika
Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
Meanwhile, bring several inches of water to a boil in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer attachment. Add squash and steam, covered, until very tender 8 to 12 minutes. Mash about half of the squash in a small bowl and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook macaroni 2 minutes less than package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot, and cook, stirring often until softened and starting to brown, 1 to 3 minutes. Add 2 cups milk and bring to a simmer. Whisk the remaining 1 cup milk, mustard, rosemary, white pepper and the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk the flour mixture into the simmering milk, whisking constantly. Continue to cook just until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from the heat.
Whisk the Gruyere cheese into the thickened milk mixture until it is melted. Add the mashed squash and whisk until combined. Stir in the macaroni and the remaining squash. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish.
Mix breadcrumbs with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Add the paprika and stir until evenly moist and bright orange. Sprinkle over the macaroni. Transfer to the oven and bake until bubbling hot and browned on top, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Calories: 401. Fat: 15g. Sat Fat: 6 g. Protein: 19g. Fiber: 6g. Sodium: 499mg.

Fresh out of the oven

This recipe gives you a good reason to give Macaroni and Cheese. The best macaroni and cheese you can have is macaroni and cheese with butternut squash.

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Panko-Crusted Salmon

Tonight for dinner I had sockeye salmon for dinner. It was yummy. Here it is...

The original recipe came from Tracey's Culinary Adventures.
Here is the recipe...

Panko-Crusted Salmon

adapted from Barefoot Contessa, How Easy is That? by Ina Garten

⅔ cup panko breadcrumbs	4 (6-8 oz) salmon fillets, skin on
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley	2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
grated zest of 1 lemon	1 tablespoon canola (or vegetable) oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil	lemon wedges, for serving

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine the panko, parsley, lemon zest, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl.  Add the olive oil to the bowl and stir until all of the crumb mixture is evenly coated with the oil.
With the salmon fillets skin side down on a work surface, use a pastry brush to spread the mustard generously over the tops of the fillets.  Season the fillets with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, then distribute the crumb mixture evenly over the fillets and press to adhere.

Place the fish in a pyrex baking dish. Brown the crust in the oven for about 5-7 minutes.  Take the fish out of the oven and cover the pan with aluminum foil. and place it back into the oven. Bake in the oven for another 5 to 7 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven, and let rest for 5-10 minutes.  Serve with the lemon wedges.

We really enjoyed the dinner. Hands down it was better than last night's Shepherd's Pie.

Bistro Chicken and More Writing on the Homefront

I made a new Chicken recipe -- Bistro Roast Chicken and Thyme. I do not know where I found the recipe but I found it totally enjoyable.  It is from "150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken and 50 Ways to Roast It" by Tony Rosenfeld, $14.95). This recipe is made with fresh lemon zest and thyme.

You know what comes next is this instance. You mix on the ingredients and you let the chicken rest for 24 hours in the refrigerator -- and yes I couldn't believe this -- uncovered.

The next day you combine thyme, butter and lemon zest in a bowl. This you will with dabbing all over the chicken. Put half a lemon in the cavity of the chicken while you hold onto the other half.

The big thing is when you serve it you are suppose to use the juices from the chicken and lemon juice from the other half of the lemon.

It tasted fabulous and was nice and juicy.
Here is the recipe.

BISTRO ROAST CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND THYME                 Serves: 4

Prep: 10 min (plus overnight standing time)                   Total : 1 hr, 30 min

1 chicken (3½ to 4 pounds),	1 lemon, cut in half
rinsed and patted dry with paper towels	3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2½ teaspoons salt	1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon black pepper

Sprinkle 2½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper all over chicken, including cavity.

Place rack in a pan and put the chicken on top. Let it sit for 24 hours uncovered, in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Set an oven rack in the middle position. Finely grate lemon zest and set it aside.

In a small bowl, combine the butter, thyme and lemon zest. Using a brush, dab butter between the skin and breast meat, taking care not to break the skin. Spread remaining butter all over the bird and inside the cavity. Push a lemon half into the cavity. Reserve the remaining half.

Set chicken breast side up on a rack in a large roasting pan. Roast until the breasts are nicely browned, about 25 minutes. Gently flip the bird (using tongs to clutch the inside of the cavity and side) and cook  until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 to 170°F, about another 20-25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest 5 to 10 minutes, breast side up. Carve and serve with a drizzle of accumulated juices and a squirt of lemon juice.

From "150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken and 50 Ways to Roast It"  by Tony Rosenfeld (Taunton, $14.95). 539 calories (60% from fat), 36 grams fat  (13 grams sat. fat), 2 grams carbohydrates, 50 grams protein, 152 mg  sodium, 179 mg cholesterol, 33 mg calcium, 0 grams fiber.

I wrote an article which a continuation on Being on Humira: Part 2 from my experience in hopes that it will help some people; and an article on Ice Cream By the Pint and why I enjoy buying them buy the pint. The one article I couldn't resist writing about was Ten Inch Hero, which stars Jensen Ackles of Supernatural, which I feel is a definite keeper and I feel I have to get it for my DVD collection along with The Invention of Lying. 

Until next time,

Cassandra