Roman-Style Chicken

Today I was looking for a recipe that Chris had posted on my Facebook page. Of course, I could not find it so I checked his page to see if it was on there. It was not but I did find this recipe.  Roman-Style Chicken from Giada De Laurentiis.

I made a couple of changes. No garlic was used, I used crushed tomatoes and did not add the chicken broth. Rave reviews were received!!

My version of Roman-Style Chicken

Ingredients-

2 skinless chicken breast halves, with ribs

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus 1 teaspoon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1 teaspoon

2 tbsp olive oil

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 1/2 ounces prosciutto, chopped

2 cups crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup white wine

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves

1 tablespoon capers

2 tbsp cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Method-
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes. 

Add the tomatoes, wine, and herbs. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Add the capers and the parsley. Stir to combine and serve. 

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Chicken and Pastine Casserole

Continuing with the "comfort food" theme tonight we had Chicken and Pastine Casserole. The recipe is from the Giada De Laurentiis cookbook "Everyday Pasta". This was the perfect mixture of pasta, chicken and cheese. The flavors melted together perfectly.

Pastine is one of the things my Mom always made for lunch. She would either add milk or chicken broth or just butter and cheese. That is why this is designated a 'comfort food".

I had to make some changes to the original recipe. I did not mean to I just did not check the pantry before I started. Canned diced tomatoes. Nope. I used crushed tomatoes. Mozzarella cheese. Not enough so I added a little bit of cheddar. And of course, I did not use the garlic.

Click here for the original recipe.

Ingredients-
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice,
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Method-
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Chicken Piccata

Tonight I made one of our favorite chicken recipes. Chicken Piccata was from Giada De Laurentiis. Easy and fast and most importantly - delicious! The vegetable was our go to winter vegetable, Roasted Acorn Squash.


Ingredients-

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

All-purpose flour, for dredging

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 

1/2 cup chicken stock 

1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed 

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped 



Directions- 

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. 

When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other the side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in the same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate. 



Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock, and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to a platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Lasagna Bread (Scaccia)

 

I have to thank Heidi for letting me drive her to her doctor's appointment. If I had not done so I would not have found this recipe. I found the recipe in Saveur Magazine, nice selection of magazines in that waiting room. When I saw the magazine photo I took a photo of it and the directions with my phone. I later found the recipe online, but they were missing the folding diagram that was in the magazine.

I made the dough this morning before I ran out. I got home around noon and it needed a little more time. I let it sit for another 2 hours and the results were perfect.

I rolled the dough out as thin as I could, using my Mom's rolling pin. I added the sauce and the cheese. Let me say a little about the cheese.

 

The grocery store did not have caciocavallo cheese, which I have seen there on previous occasions. I stopped in to the Madison Cheese Shoppe. They did not have it either, but they suggested a Pecorino Tosca and Picante Provolone. I tasted both and loved the combination.

From Saveur Magazine, Lasagna Bread (Scaccia) -

Ingredients -

1 1⁄4 tsp. sugar

1⁄4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 cups durum wheat semolina flour
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
All-purpose flour, for dusting
2 cups whole peeled canned tomatoes in juice
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1⁄2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, roughly chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
8 oz. caciocavallo cheese, thinly sliced

Method-

In a large bowl, whisk 1⁄4 teaspoon sugar and the yeast with 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the semolina flour, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the 1⁄2 teaspoon salt until the dough comes together. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, pour the tomatoes and their juice into a blender and puree until smooth. In a small saucepan, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Pour the tomatoes into the saucepan along with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat, stir in the basil, and season liberally with salt and pepper.

Heat the oven to 450°. Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough into a 1⁄16-inch-thick, 26-by-18-inch rectangle, and position the rectangle so that a long side is nearest to you. Spread half the tomato sauce over the middle three-fifths of the rectangle, then sprinkle the sauce with half of the caciocavallo slices. Fold the two plain sides of the dough over so their edges overlap in the middle of the rectangle by 2 inches.
Spread the remaining sauce over the left two-thirds of the dough, and sprinkle the sauce with the remaining slices of caciocavallo. Fold the right hand, plain third over the sauce, then fold the left hand side of dough over, like completing the tri-fold of a letter. Fold the dough crosswise to create a 9-inch-long rectangular pie. Transfer the pie to the prepared loaf pan, pierce the top with the tines of a fork, and bake until dark brown on the top and lightly charred at the edges, about 1 hour. Immediately invert the pie onto a rack, remove the loaf pan and parchment paper, and let the pie cool in this position for 10 minutes. Invert the pie right-side-up before serving.

And we did have dinner tonight! Chicken Piccata. From Giada De Laurentiis. This is one of my go to recipes. Fast, easy and really delicious!

Ingredients-

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped


Method-

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.
 

Grilled Meatball Subs & Barley Salad with Tomato & Herbs

That was one tasty meatball! I started out with a pound of grass feed ground beef. To that I added 2 slices of Italian bread that was soaked in milk, 1/4 cup of minced yellow onion, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese and 1/2 teaspoons of salt and pepper. I combined all the ingredients and shaped them into 1 inch meatballs. They were refrigerated over night. Chris grilled them and the rolls and we heated up some sauce. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese (was sure I had mozzarella!!). Fantastic. The flavors were perfect.

Now about that Barley Salad with Tomato and Herbs, it was suppose to be made with Farro. But I did not have Farro in the house so I substituted Pearl Barley. Another hit! The Farro Salad recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis.

The tomato was our first tomato from our plant on the deck! 

Barley Salad with Tomato and Herbs, adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients -

3 cups water *

1 cup Pearl Barley
1 pound tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 sweet onion (recommended: Walla Walla) chopped
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Method -

Combine the water and barley in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce heat; cook 50-60 minutes. Drain well, and then transfer to a large bowl to cool. Freeze or refrigerate half of the barley for another time.

Add the tomatoes, onion, chives, and parsley to the barley, and toss to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Add the vinaigrette to the salad and toss to coat.

The salad can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Note - * This amount of water and barley make double what you need for this salad,  but the barley freezes perfectly.

Chicken Piccata

  

Tonight we had a family favorite. Chicken Piccata. The recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis. It is fast and fool-proof.

For side dishes we had a vegetable saute. Broccolini, red pepper and zucchini. Love Broccolini!

And we tried something new. Accents Sprouted Quinoa Trio. This was a nice change from rice. It was very light and had a little bit of a nutty flavor.
 

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

  Snow! Again! Really!

Well I worked from home but was not about to head out to the store so dinner had to be made from in-house ingredients. Okay I have a pretty well stocked pantry so it was not difficult to put this together. The hard part was deciding on which recipe to use. There was Lidia's, which used capers (I love capers). And there was Giada's, which used white wine and well I like wine! The recipe is mostly Giada's with the addition of the celery and capers from Lidia. I added whole wheat Cappelini to the sauce. Do not even think the fact that the pasta was whole wheat was even noticeable.

This is what I came up with and wow it was delicious.

Ingredients -
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons
1 shallot, sliced
1 celery stalked, diced
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
¼ cup tiny capers in brine, drained
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves



Method -
Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of salt and red pepper flakes. Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and saute for about a minute, toss, and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a large plate; set aside. Add the shallot and celery to the same skillet, adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the pan, if necessary, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices, wine and oregano. Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Return the shrimp and any accumulated juices and capers to the tomato mixture; toss to coat, and cook for about a minute. Stir in the parsley. Season with more salt, to taste, and serve.

Chicken Piccata and Potato Stacks

A rather busy Saturday means a dinner that is easy to prepare. Chicken Piccata. Always easy and always delicious.

The Chicken Piccata was from Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network website. I love this recipe!

Ingredients
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

The Potato Stacks were much easier than I thought. I used my Mandoline and popped this in the over in no time. I found the recipe for these at Jughandles Fat Farm blog. First time at that blog. Lots of good stuff to read there.

The vegetable was green beans. Blanched, a little olive oil and salt and pepper. 

Chicken Piccata

Tonight we had what was suppose to be last Saturday night's dinner. Chicken Piccata, Rice Balls, Roasted Butternut Squash. All three dishes were delicious. For the chicken I used the Giada De Laurentiis recipe on the Food Network site. Simple to prepare.

The butternut squash was tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and thyme. It roasted for about 40 minutes, stirring it half way through.

The rice balls were in the freezer and I served them with a quick marinara sauce.

Some 2005 Ecco Domani Chianti and we are ready for the weekend... is there a game on this weekend?

 Yes the Puppy Bowl!

And I had to share who was behind the scenes as I am snapping photos of our dinner tonight...

Giada De Laurentiis's Chicken Piccata

Method
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.
Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Pappardelle Pasta with Swiss Chard, Bacon and Ricotta Cheese

For some reason I wanted Swiss Chard for dinner tonight. So I googled Swiss Chard and pasta and found this recipe on Cinnamon Girl Recipes blog. I could not find the pasta at the store so I made my own. I used the recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Pasta. There is nothing better than homemade pasta.
Here is the recipe. I cut this recipe in half and there was plenty for the 2 of us.

3 cups all purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp olive oil


Place the flour in the bowl of a food processor. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the salt and olive oil to the eggs and stir to combine. Add the egg mixture to the food processor with the flour and pulse to combine the ingredients, scraping down the sides once or twice. Continue, with the machine running. until the liquid is evenly distributed, about 1 minute. The dough should stick together if pinched between your fingers and be cornmeal yellow in color. Some of the dough will be clumping together, but it will not form a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gather the dough into a ball and knead gently until the dough is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes before rolling and shaping as desired.

Lucy loves to watch me make pasta!

So for the rest of the dinner I followed the Cinnamon Girl recipe. Only change was I added some bacon, you welcome Chris! Did it need the bacon? No! We both loved the meal. And with Lent coming up and we try not to eat meat on Fridays this recipe will be repeated, no bacon of course!

And when you visit Cinnamon Girl Recipes check out the Recipe Index! Yum...

Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops and Farro Salad

This was supposed to be Grilled Shrimp and Scallops but a large band of rain came though our area. So let's heat up the saute pan! I had the scallops and shrimp marinating in olive oil, lemon juice, salt. pepper and Cholula Sauce. I tossed them in the saute pan until both the shrimp and scallops were cooked.

 

The zucchini and yellow squash were sauteed in olive oil and butter with salt, pepper, parsley and basil.

Now about that Farro Salad. I got the basic recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. I did not use garlic (surprise!) and in place of chives I substituted scallions (scallions were a lot cheaper).
This was a delicious meal. It was nice light and so simple to make!

Chicken Piccata, Zucchini, Quiona and Walnut Rosemary Bread

Walnut Rosemary Bread! Today I worked from home so I started to make the bread before Chris left for work.By mid afternoon it was in the oven. Oh the house smelled so good. I found the recipe in a Cooking Light magazine.

The Chicken Piccata is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe from the Food Network. The chicken was so tender and the sauce was perfect.

The Zucchini was a simple saute in olive oil and butter and seasoned with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and thyme.

 

The Quiona recipe was from Eating Well. Rinse 1 cup quinoa in several changes of cold water. Bring quinoa and 2 cups water or broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 15-20 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Makes 3 cups.
I wanted to add something to the Quiona. I went to the Food52 Food Pickle. I typed in that I was making Quiona as a side dish and asked if anyone have any suggestions to spice it up. I got a suggestion to add toasted pine nuts. Well I happened to have pine nuts which I toasted and added to the Quiona along with some Parmesan Cheese.

Just a fantastic Friday night meal... oh but what are all those dishes in the sink...