Petti di Pollo alla Campagnola

Petti di Pollo alla Campagnola (Chicken Breast Fillets with Red and Yellow Peppers). Sounds fancy for a Thursday night. It was pretty easy to put together. The recipe is from Every Night Italian by Giuliano Hazan.

This recipe serves 6 people, I just made enough for Chris and I. Then I found a recipe from Cooking Light that was similar but instead of the 4 tablespoons of olive oil they used one. And instead of Vegetable oil to cook the chicken in they used Cooking Spray. Here is the recipe from Cooking Light.

Ingredients-

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups onion sliced crosswise

1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips

1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips

2 1/3 cups coarsely chopped tomato

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

20 kalamata olives 

Cooking spray

6 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut in half horizontally 

Method-
Put oil and onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat; cook 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high. Add bell peppers; cook 10 minutes or until bell peppers are tender. Add tomato, salt, and black pepper; cook 7 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Add parsley, oregano, and olives; cook 1 minute. Pour tomato mixture into a large bowl; keep warm.
Wipe pan clean with a paper towel; heat pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add 4 chicken breast pieces; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; repeat procedure with remaining chicken.
Return the chicken to pan; add the tomato mixture, and cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

Chris enjoyed this dinner. I was iffy on it. I thought I over cooked the chicken and the sauce was bland. I did enjoy the zucchini and noodles!

Scarola e Fagioli

Scarola e Fagioli (Escarole and Beans) was what I wanted for my birthday dinner.

 

Yes, today is my birthday. And today is Ash Wednesday which meant we could not eat meat. Not a problem, for me anyway! I saw the recipe for Chicory and Beans on Memorie di Angelina site the other day. I knew that it was what I wanted to have for dinner on my birthday. We also had some of the Foccaccia bread that I made on Sunday and a very nice bottle of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo. This dinner reminded me of something my mom would have made. It was simple and delicious. I could not find Chicory so I used Escarole. The escarole was a good substitute. 

Happy Birthday to me!

“Anthony! Anthony!”

Mary Fiumara of Boston’s North End, famous for her “Anthony! Anthony!” part in the original Prince Pasta commercial, passed away at age 88 on Tuesday, February 2nd.

Tonight we had our meat sauce with Ziti, but they were not Prince brand. Sorry. But I will not have to say I am sorry for the sauce I made. Not a lot of different kinds of meat this time. Just Ground Beef and Italian Sausage. Then there were the meatballs. Delicious!

Best Beef Stew Ever

 "Best Beef Stew Ever."

That is a direct quote from Chris. The recipe was in the little booklet that came with the Crock Pot. A simple recipe that resulted in the "Best Beef Stew Ever."

Tonight was the Super Bowl. Neither of our teams was in it this year but we still watched. Well, I watched until Downton Abbey came on. To start off, or pre-game, I made a hummus from Cannellini Beans, Kalamata Olives, and Capers. Winner! The recipe comes from Jeanette's Healthy Living site.

Ingredients-
1 1/2 cups cooked Cannellini Beans, or 1 can Cannellini Beans, rinsed and drained well
1/4 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper, to taste

Method-
Place beans, olives, capers, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Process until almost smooth.
Gradually pour olive oil through the feed tube.
Add lemon juice.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Now about that stew. So easy!

Ingredients-
2-4 pounds beef chuck stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup four
Kosher salt and pepper
3 cups beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
6 small potatoes, quartered
2-3 onions, chopped
3 celery stalks, sliced

Method-
Sprinkle flour, salt, and pepper over meat. Place meat in Crock-Pot slow cooker.
Add remaining ingredients and stir well.
Cover and cook on Low for 8-10 hours or on High for 5-6 hours, or until the meat is tender. Stir thoroughly before serving. 

The only thing I would change about the recipe is to add carrots. It could have used a little color. 

And I had to make something to go with the stew. I was at the grocery store waiting in the Deli line, one of the circles of hell and was reading an email from Food52. It was a recipe for Slap Grilled Cheese. A focaccia bread sliced in half and filled with cheese and then reheated to melt the cheese. That's what I went with. I made the Jim Lahey Focaccia recipe, starting it last night. Nice. The bread was, of course, delicious and the for the cheese inside I used Sharp Cheddar and Gouda. Yeah, this recipe is a keeper.

Ingredients-
Foccaccia
Cheddar or comparable cheese grated

Method-
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Slice the focaccia so that you have two equal slabs.
Sprinkle your preferred grated cheese for as little or as much coverage as you'd like between the slices of focaccia.
Weigh the whole thing down with a heavy-bottomed pan—that's right, put a pan right on top of the focaccia—and bake at 375°F for about 8 minutes.
Slice as small as you'd like to serve. 

English Muffin Bread

A snowy day means what? That's right, I make bread. I would have done something like a Brioche or Babka but I was working from home yesterday so I did not have a lot of free time. Well until we lost power. Yeah no power. This bread was suppose to raise about an hour. We lost power at 10:30AM and it came back on at 3:00AM this morning. I baked it after 24 hours of rising. So I suppose these should be called the 24 Hour English Muffin Bread. Anyway it is a delicious way to start the day. I baked the bread in a pan that was my Mom's and it is still one of my favorite bread pans.

 

English Muffin Bread from My Baking Addiction -

Ingredients-
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
cornmeal, to sprinkle in pan

Method-
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and instant yeast; stir to combine.

2. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the milk, water, and oil and heat to between 120°F and 130°F. Make sure to stir the liquid before measuring its temperature. If you don't have a thermometer, don't worry, King Arthur states that the liquid should feel quite hot (hotter than lukewarm), but not so hot that it would be uncomfortable as bath water.

3. Pour the hot liquid over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Beat at high speed for 1 minute, the dough will be quite soft and sticky.

4. Lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, and sprinkle the bottom and sides with cornmeal. I just tossed in about a 1/4 of cornmeal and tilted the pan until the inside was thoroughly coated.

5. Scoop the dough into the prepared pan. I used a rubber spatula sprayed with nonstick cooking spray to level the top of the dough out a bit.

6. Cover the pan (I used plastic wrap), and let the dough rise until it's just barely crowned over the rim of the pan. King Arthur Flour notes that when you look at the rim of the pan from eye level, you should see the dough, but it shouldn't be more than about 1/4" over the rim. This will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour, if you heated the liquid to the correct temperature and your kitchen isn't very cold. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.

7. Remove the cover, and bake the bread for 22 to 27 minutes, until it's golden brown and its interior temperature is 190°F. Mine baked for 26 minutes and it was perfect.

8. Remove the bread from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

Dinner? Lenore and Ralph took us to Dalton's for my birthday (my birthday is Wednesday). Dinner was delicious!!! But it was too dark in the restaurant to take photos but trust me it was a memorable meal. Fried Calamari that melted in your mouth. I had Cavatelli with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe. Loved it! The other dinners were Osso Buco, Short Ribs and Mushroom Ravioli. Everyone was raving about their meals. Yes we will be back!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner*

Last night we went into New York to see our favorite band, The Smithereens. We did not get in until after 2AM. Needless to say I needed a easy recipe for dinner. Enter Lemon Pepper Roast Chicken in a Slow Cooker. I found the recipe on The Little Kitchen site.

 

Easy as pie! I had purchased the chicken on sale at Roberts for $1.98 a pound. Nice price for an organic chicken. Everyone loved this dinner. Even Archie.

I made a couple of changes to the original recipe. Here it is with my changes -

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons salt
2 pinches cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
zest of one lemon, then take the lemon & cut in half
4 carrots, cut into thirds
4 celery, cut into thirds or quarters
1 lemon, quartered   
4 to 5 pound whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel, neck & gizzards removed (if any)

Gravy (optional but too good not to make!)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 white wine
salt & pepper

Method-
Mix salt, cayenne pepper, ground pepper and lemon zest together in a small bowl and set aside.

Chop vegetables and add to a 6 to 7 quart slow cooker.

Prep the chicken
Fold wings back below the chicken. Put lemon pepper spices inside and all over the skin of the chicken. Add the quartered lemon pieces to the inside cavity of the chicken. Taking the lemon you halved, squeeze one-half over the chicken and over the vegetables. Add the two halves on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker.
Lay the chicken inside the slow cooker on top of the vegetables. (No need to add water or broth). Turn slow cooker on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 4 to 6 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked through to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

Remove chicken with turkey lifters and place into a baking dish and broil for 4 to 6 minutes or until the skin is crisp. Keep an eye on the chicken under the broiler it can brown up pretty fast!

Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables from the slow cooker if desired.

Gravy
Remove vegetables and pour chicken broth from the bottom of the slow cooker into a fat separator or use a spoon to remove any extra fat. Strain the liquid.

In skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add flour and mix with a wooden spoon to cook the flour.

Whisk in 1 to 1.5 cups of the strained chicken broth. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 30 to 60 seconds. Add in white wine and stir. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes and season to taste.

The next time I make this I will add potatoes to the Crock Pot. Then it will be a perfect one pot meal!


* From Ask.com
The phrase "winner winner chicken dinner" originates from 1970s casinos that were trying to attract players to underplayed tables. At the time, the most common casino bet was two dollars. Coincidentally, most casinos also offered a standard chicken dinner that was priced just under two dollars. "Winner winner chicken dinner" was called out by dealers when someone won at their tables, indicating that the player had just won the equivalent of a chicken dinner and attempting to attract others to come play at the table to have the chance to win the same thing.

Book Club! And Anginetti Cupcakes!!

We read the book,We Are Called To Rise by Laura McBride. And I would recommend it, but the food was the main attraction for me at tonight's book club meeting.

Kelly treated us to quite a meal. Shrimp Jambalaya! Oh my! The flavors were spot on. I was so busy eating and enjoying the wine I did not get the recipe. Sorry! I will try to get it because I know Chris would love this.

And there were desserts. There was a Cannoli Dip. I have seen the recipe online but never tasted it. What could possibly be wrong with this. Nothing. It was perfect. My only complaint was that the bowl was placed in front of me and I had a hard time not going back for more, more than once. 

 

I brought over Nutella Swirl cookies and Carol brought cupcakes from Sugar Bakery. There was an Anginetti Cupcake. Yes, I said Anginetti Cupcake. And yes, it tasted just like an Anginetti Cookie! It was flavored with anise flavor instead of the orange flavor that I make my Anginetti cookies with. It was a cupcake I will be having again.

 

I am not sure if it was because it was the end of a long work week, but the wine, the dinner, the desserts and the conversations with friends but I do love Book Club!

Snow Day!

It's snowing. Winter Storm Anna. When it snows I bake bread. I started both of the breads I made yesterday. We all have our ways to prepare for a snow storm.

The Jim Lahey No Knead Bread was started yesterday morning. Click here for the recipe if you have not tried the No Knead Bread yet.

 

The Chocolate Babka recipe was started last night. I cut the recipe was cut in half. I did not want 2 large loaves of bread. This week I picked up to small loaf pans, thinking I could make 2 smaller loaves. It worked out nicely. The bread is really good. I did over bake it a bit but it retained the flaky quality. And the chocolate filling, well forgetaboutit! The recipe is from Food & Wine. Click here for the recipe. I had time today to check out the new Bon Appetit, the Bread Issue, and they have a Chocolate Babka recipe. I will have to try that one next.

Then there was dinner. I make a Crock Pot Chili. "Wow!' Yes that was a quote from Chris during dinner. It was the perfect dinner for a snowy day. I found this recipe on Gimme Some Oven blog, I love the name of this blog!

Slow Cooker Chili from Gimme Some Oven -

Ingredients-
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 medium red or yellow onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped (*add more for extra smokyness and heat)
2 (15 ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (**see below for substitution ideas)
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 cup beer or beef broth
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
(Optional toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips or strips, thinly-sliced green onions, sour
cream, salsa, etc.)

Method-
Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion and garlic and cook for about 7-10 minutes or until the beef is completely browned, crumbling the beef with a spoon as it cooks. Drain about half of the excess fat. Then transfer the beef into the bottom of a slow cooker.

Add the remaining ingredients, and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper or seasonings if need be.

Serve warm, with desired toppings.

And I made Homemade Cheez-Its from Food 52 to go with the Chili. You can not eat just one. At first I thought I put in too much salt but heck no! Perfect amount. Next time I will try adding some cayenne pepper.

Homemade Cheez-Its from Food 52-

Ingredients-
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
7 1/2 ounces (about 3 1/2 cups) finely grated sharp cheddar
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Method-
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and cheese and pulse until very well combined. Add 2 tablespoons water and pulse until the dough is just wet enough to hold together when squeezed. Add up to 2 tablespoons more water if necessary.

Divide the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Press each half of dough into a flat square, wrap well, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Working with one square at a time, roll the dough out to a scant 1/8-inch thick. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut the dough into 3/4 inch-wide strips. Then cut the dough in the other direction to make 3/4-inch squares. Use the flat end of a wooden skewer to poke a hole in the center of each square. Freeze the dough until firm, 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Brush half a sheet with the egg white and sprinkle with salt. Use an offset spatula to gently break the egg washed dough apart and place the squares on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until puffed and set and browned on the bottom, about 14 to 16 minutes. (Make sure to cook them well so that the finished crackers are crisp. Completely frozen dough may take a few extra minutes to bake.) Transfer the parchment with the bake crackers onto a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining frozen crackers. Store the cooled crackers in an airtight container. 

Short Rib Farrotto with Carrots and Parsnips

I like Farro. Chris likes Short Ribs. Perfect recipe. And how! Time intensive? Yes. But it was a rainy day so lets just say I got a lot of cooking done. This recipe is from Food & Wine. I had a $20 coupon for Robert's Food Center (Thank you Maureen!) Yesterday I did my shopping and there will be meat showing up alot.

The dinner, while not a quick fix, was a meal that is very filling. Spoiler alert- We will be having this again tomorrow night!

Of course I left out the garlic but the broth was something special. I had beef broth in the freezer for the last time I made short ribs. When I took it out of the freezer to thaw I knew this would be good!

Short Rib Farrotto with Carrots and Parsnips from Food & Wine-

Ingredients-
1 quart low-sodium beef broth
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds well-trimmed boneless grass-fed beef short ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Fine sea salt
Pepper
2 thyme sprigs, plus 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
2 garlic cloves, crushed
8 cipollini onions (3/4 pound), peeled and quartered
1 large carrot, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large parsnip, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) unpearled farro
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving


Method-
In a medium saucepan, combine the beef broth with 1/2 cup of water and bring to a simmer over high heat. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm.
   
In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Add half of the short ribs to the casserole, spreading the pieces out, and cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned meat to a plate. Repeat with the remaining short ribs.
   
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the casserole. Add the thyme sprigs, garlic, onions, carrot and parsnip and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the farro and the browned short ribs. Add the wine and cook until evaporated, stirring and scraping the bottom of the casserole, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the warm broth, cover partially and cook over moderately low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Repeat this process twice, adding 1 cup of warm broth each time and cooking for about 15 minutes between additions, stirring occasionally.
   
Increase the heat to high. Add the remaining 1 cup of warm broth, 1/2 cup at a time and stirring constantly, allowing it to be absorbed before adding more. Cook the farrotto until creamy and the farro is al dente, about 5 minutes longer. Remove the casserole from the heat and discard the thyme sprigs. Stir in the butter, chopped thyme and the 1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano. Season the farrotto with salt and pepper and serve hot, passing additional Parmigiano at the table.

The farrotto can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Gently reheat, adding broth or water as necessary.

And today I had an observer....

Blood Orange Vodkatini

Wednesday is my favorite day to read the local daily paper. The New Haven Register. My Dad worked there for 49 years (He retired before reaching the 50 year mark because they would not let a WWII vet take extra time to go to a reunion). After that I boycotted the paper for quite a while.

Wednesday is the day they have the food section. Today I saw the recipe for a Blood Orange Vodkatini. The recipe is from Susan Russo, who writes for the Oneforthetable.com. This was my first visit to that site. Lots of good stuff there. I will be visiting it again. But as I was reading the post for the Blood Orange Vodkatini I saw that the recipe came from Food Blogga. Yes, that is the blog where I found the Ricotta Pie recipe and that Stuffed Artichoke recipe!!! Again, another delicious recipe!

So here is the recipe from Food Blogga-

Ingredient-
3 ounces vodka, preferably Ketle One (I used Absolute)
1 ounce Grand Marnier
1 1/2 ounces fresh blood orange juice
 
Method-
Add ingredients and ice to a cocktail shaker. Shake under your fingers feel frozen. Strain into a chilled martini glass.