Chicken and Potatoes from The Next Food Network Star

Sadly I am back from vacation and I am seriously resenting not being waited on hand and foot. What I would give right now for a friendly fellow to walk by and offer me a drink in a coconut shell...ah well...I guess my cup of green tea will have to suffice.

I spent the morning at the supermarket restocking and I spent last night catching up on my Tivo. I was excited to see that the contestant I was rooting for on The Next Food Network Star, Melissa, took home the title. Aside from being impressed with the fact that she has 4 children under 4 and she still has the energy to want to be the Next Food Network Star I just really like her-she has a very friendly personality.

For her pilot show on the finale she created a "four step chicken" with some rather tasty looking potatoes that I just had to try. The chicken is really just your basic sauteed chicken with a pan sauce so that wasn't what attracted me to her dishes it was the potatoes. She made some delicious looking mini gratins in a muffin tin that I just had to taste.

I only made two slight changes to the chicken recipe: shallots instead of red onion and rosemary instead of thyme. For the potatoes I followed exactly except I did not peel the potatoes...I'm a skin girl. Melissa served the chicken on a bed of spinach-which I love, but I happened to have some beautiful summer squash from the farmer's market so I made that instead.

I could not believe how simple and how delicious the potatoes were.(The chicken was good too, but I sure did love those potatoes). I know that I will be making these potatoes a lot...there are just so many ways that you could change them up: cheddar and a little Southwest seasoning for a Tex-Mex version, perhaps some blue cheese and walnuts to pair with a nice steak.

Delicious!

Rustic Lemon Onion Chicken

by Melissa D'Arabian

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced in half crossways (butterflied, cut all the way through)
1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine, optional
1 cup chicken broth
3 lemons, juiced
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
Spinach "bed", recipe follows
Directions
Season chicken with dried thyme and salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in flour, add to the hot oil and saute until cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest on plate tented with foil.
In same saute pan, over low heat, add onions and fresh thyme and cook until aromatic.
In a measuring cup, measure out wine, if using, and broth, and add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan with the broth mixture until starting to reduce.
Remove the pan from the heat and finish the sauce by whisking in butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Arrange the chicken on serving plates; Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

5-Minute Individual Potato Gratins

by Melissa D'Arabian

Vegetable spray
2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 green onions, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate and serve.

Quick and Easy Sauteed Summer Squash

by me!

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons butter

1 teaspoon minced shallot

1 small yellow summer squash, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil and the butter in a 12 inch non-stick skillet over medium high heat until sizzling; add the shallot and cook until tender.

Stir in the squash, zucchini and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes, using a spatula turn squash over and cook for an additional minute or two, making sure to not let the squash get soft.

Season squash with the salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Barefoot Bloggers Wild Card

Please if you haven't yet (and are so inclined) click on the Crisco link and vote for my Caribbean Chicken with Roasted Jalapeno Mango Sauce!! $25,000 is on the line!

This week for Barefoot Bloggers an interesting feature has been introduced. (BTW for anyone who does not know, Barefoot Bloggers are a group of food bloggers that prepare a delicious recipe created by Ina Garten-The Barefoot Contessa-on two Thursdays of each month). The new feature is a wild card of sorts or as the Barefoot blogger hosts call it backtracking...we're allowed to choose an alternate Barefoot Blogger) recipe as a substitute for one of this month's selections.

I am sooooo relieved! This weeks selection was to have been Tuna Salad (selected by Kate of Warm Olives and Cool Cocktails). There are only two thing I can absolutely not eat and they are Tuna and mayonnaise. This tuna salad does not call for mayonnaise but nevertheless I am using the wild card. I decided to select a recipe that was prepared before I joined the Barefoot Bloggers group-in fact, it was the very first recipe that the group prepared: Herbed Baked Eggs from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris Cookbook.

The results were positively divine! What an absolutely elegant and delicious way to serve eggs. I was out of parsley so I substituted fresh sage for the parsley; I'm certain that any herb combination would be wonderful. I would love to try substituting different cheeses-I was thinking of perhaps a Cotija cheese with bits of jalapeno tossed in for a Tex-Mex version.

Herbed Baked Eggs

1/4 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

1/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

6 extra large eggs

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toasted French bread or Brioche for serving

Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6 inches below the heat.

Combine the garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley and Parmesan cheese and set aside. Carefully crack three eggs into each of two bowls without breaking the yolks. (It's important to have all the eggs ready to go before cooking).

Place 2 individual gratin dishes on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon cream and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each dish and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes until hot and bubbly. Quickly but carefully pour 3 eggs into each gratin dish and sprinkle with the herb mixture then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place under the broiler for 5-6 minutes until the whites of the egg are almost cooked. (Rotate the baking sheet once if they aren't cooking evenly). The eggs will continue to cook once you take them out of the oven. Allow to set for 60 seconds and serve hot with toasted bread.

Good Things Come In Small Packages

I know you've heard the proverb: "Good things come in small packages."


Favorite Food Find Friday brings you two such packages:


1. Purdue Chicken's Perfect Portions boneless chicken breasts



2. Emeril's 1 cup sized chicken stock



I have to be honest with you, I hate handling raw chicken. I don't like how it feels in my hand. When I do handle raw chicken, I always have visions of my entire kitchen being shown under that special black light like they use on Dateline NBC or 20/20 when they do those "Germs are all around you" shows-where they show how your entire kitchen has been contaminated with germs from raw chicken. In fact that was probably part of their marketing plan...I can just see them now sitting around the conference table laughing:

"...yeah this would be great for those germaphobic housewives who get freaked out by germ exposure news magazine shows...".
Thanks, I appreciate it.

So why do I love Purdue's Perfect Portions? They are neatly packaged and nicely trimmed. They are just right when I only need 1 or 2 chicken breasts for a recipe-I don't have to cook more than I need and/or I don't have to wrap and package any slippery raw chicken I'm not using right away. You can freeze and thaw only what you need. What's not to love?


Now on to my friend Emeril...I love his stock-it has wonderful flavor He's not actually my friend, but I would like to compliment him (or his food company). I think it was complete genius to create 1-cup sized containers for his stock. It's still available in the larger containers, but when you are making a recipe that only uses a small amount of stock these containers (to steal Purdue's tag) are perfect portions.


Using my two favorite food finds for this week I've made a tasty pasta dish I think your whole family will love...mine does. Have a great weekend!


Pasta with Chicken, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Herbs


1 lemon
2 boneless chicken breast halves
1 pound pasta
2/3 cup of the water used to cook the pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup coarsely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil, drained)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (1 teaspoon dried)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Cut the lemon in half and set one half aside. Place the chicken in a small bowl and squeeze the remaining lemon half over the chicken; let sit for 20 minutes.


Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions; drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the pasta water.

Melt the butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 4 minutes, turn and cook chicken an additional 4 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, basil, salt and pepper to the pan, cover and cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and cut into strips.


Stir 1/2 cup of the chicken broth into the pan with the sun-dried tomatoes and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta to the pan along with the remaining chicken broth and the pasta water; stir to combine well. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Carve the remaining lemon half into thin slices and stir into the pasta.

Barefoot Thursday Herb Roasted Onions

Barefoot Thursday! Barefoot Thursday is the day when barefoot bloggers across the blogosphere whip up a recipe created by Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa. Why don’t you find out more about it by visiting the Barefoot Bloggers…maybe you would even like to join in (I’ll bet you would like it).

This week's recipe was selected by Kelly from Baking with The Boys. The recipe was a simple, elegant roasted onion recipe. I only made a few minor alterations to the original recipe-I replaced the mustard with red pepper sauce (Tabasco) and added some fresh rosemary and dried thyme (I forgot to buy fresh Thyme). I served the onions with grilled sliced skirt steak and drizzled Worcestershire sauce over the steak and the onions just before serving. It was delicious!

Now a critical reader might say: "...eh, it looks like you burned the onions"

And to that I might quickly respond: "...yeah, well, I meant to do that-a crispy onion is a tasty onion thank you very much."

After finishing, I found myself wishing I had tossed the warm onions in a mixed field greens salad with a bit of goat cheese and some walnuts...I guess I'll have to make them again! The original recipe is here.

Lightly Spiced Herb Roasted Onions (adapted from Ina Garten's recipe)

2 red onions

1 yellow onion

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon red pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

pinch dried thyme

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup good olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the stem end of each onion and carefully slice off the brown part of the root end, leaving the root in tact. Peel the onions and slice into wedges. Place the wedges in a large ovenproof skillet.

Whisk together the lemon juice, Tabasco, rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Gradually add the oil, whisking to combine. Pour the dressing over the onions in the skillet and gently toss to coat. Place the onions in the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes. Stir the onions once during roasting.

Linguini and Oreos

Tomorrow is National Linguine Day. I’m not sure when or why it originated, but a day devoted to pasta sounds like a good idea to me. Don't panic-I did not create a recipe combining linguine and Oreos; we ate linguine for dinner and for dessert we had an Oreo vs. Hydrox cookie showdown. But now that would be creative...linguine with an Oreo cookie mole sauce perhaps?

Since my first attempt at cooking eggplant a few days ago, I’ve made a few kinds of eggplant dishes and this one-Roasted Eggplant Linguine with Smoked Mozzarella-was a favorite. I only made enough for two, since my son decided that he was going to make homemade pizza for himself and the other two kids.

Just a few words about the Italian seasoning grinder that I’ve included in the recipe…I love this stuff. Not too long ago, McCormick came out with spice grinders: seasoned salts, peppers and pizza seasoning. The Italian seasoning (originally called Pizza Seasoning) incorporates garlic and spices and I have found that it comes in very handy when you don’t have any fresh garlic in the house. It gives a mild garlic flavor without overpowering. Of course you can go ahead and substitute fresh garlic if you have it on hand, but in a pinch the Italian seasoning comes in mighty handy, it's great for seasoning pastas, omelets, sauces and pizza. You can find the spice grinders in the supermarket spice section.

Roasted Eggplant Linguine with Smoked Mozzarella

1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 inch dice
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
Pinch red pepper flakes
6 ounces linguine shaped pasta, cooked al dente according to package directions
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon McCormick Italian Seasoning Grinder
1/2 cup diced smoked mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spread the eggplant in a single layer on a large baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until eggplant is golden brown.


While the eggplant is cooking combine the tomatoes, basil, rosemary and red pepper flakes with the remaining salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Heat the broth in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the pasta, tomato mixture and the eggplant; cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the pizza seasoning and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top.

Yield: 2 servings

For dessert, we decided to have an Oreo vs. Hydrox cookie taste test.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Hydrox Cookies, the original cream filled chocolate cookie, Kellogg’s (the current owner of the Hydrox brand) decided to bring the cookies back.

I remember as a kid not really liking Hydrox cookies too much-I thought they tasted too waxy and tasted ironically like imitation Oreos. This incarnation of the cookies I think tastes ok. While each of us in the family were able to identify the Oreo and identify the Hydrox, it wasn’t because of the taste, it was because of the crunchiness of the chocolate wafer (the Hydrox cookie is crunchier). Ultimately the Oreo cookie won (3 to 2) because the chocolate taste of the Oreo wasn’t too overpowering. I’m pretty sure if we had thrown a double stuffed Oreo in there it would have been unanimous…what could beat a double cream filling?

Barefoot Thursday

OK so I had to tweak it a bit. There is no question that the Barefoot Contessa's recipes are almost always something I enjoy, but this time around I decided to tweak it a bit. Blame it on my kids because they don't like dark meat chicken (unless it's well hidden in a casserole-and I can be oh so clever). So in the interest of making something everyone will eat and in the interest of not being wasteful with food, I tweaked.

For those just rolling their carts into my aisle, what I'm talking about is my recipe for Barefoot Thursday-a day that rolls around twice a month when some 100 Barefoot Bloggers prepare a delicious recipe created by none other than the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) herself. Today's recipe was selected by Stefany of Proceed with Caution. She selected The Barefoot Contessa's recipe for Butterflied Chicken-her recipe as published by Food Network can be found here.

I used your ubiquitous boneless chicken breasts (sorry, boring, I know) instead of the whole deboned chicken called for in the recipe. I tossed the chicken, garlic, lemons etc. in a large zipper top plastic bag and let it marinate for a few hours before tossing it on the grill. To zip it up a bit, I made a Creamy Cracked Pepper Lemon Buccatini on the side. Yummy.

Rosemary-Lemon Grilled Chicken (adapted from Butterflied Chicken by Ina Garten)

6 boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness

1 lemon, very thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a zipper top plastic bag and shake to completely coat the chicken; marinate for at least an hour.

Preheat a gas grill to medium high heat. Remove the chicken (leaving any lemon slices on the chicken) from the marinade. Discard marinade. Grill the chicken 8 minutes total, turning occasionally. Serve with the Buccatini-recipe follows.

Creamy Cracked Pepper Lemon Buccatini

1 pound Buccatini shaped pasta (you may use fettucini or linguini)

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups skim milk

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Regina cheese

1 lemon, very thinly sliced

1 tablespoon capers, drained

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium sized sauce pan over medium high heat. Whisk in the flour, pepper and salt; cook for 1 minute or until lightly browned and bubbly. Stir in the milk and cook, stirring, until boiling and slightly thickened-about 5 minutes. Stir in the Parmigiano cheese.

Drain the pasta and transfer to a large bowl; stir in the lemons, the Parmigiano sauce and the capers. Serve immediately.

Please remember to vote for my recipe in the Evening Category at Dole!!! See the above right hand sidebar for information! Thanks!

Rosemary-Cheddar Potato Frittata

Not everyone has a green thumb.

Some people, and I must count myself among those people, can't grow anything. My mother (Rosemary) had a serious green thumb-we're talking Johnny Appleseed on crack green thumb; she could literally toss some seeds onto the ground and a few weeks later would have a spectacular garden. Not me. Frankly I'm just grateful we have a lawn.

Thankfully this time of year supermarkets are overflowing with the fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs that other green thumb blessed individuals have grown so that people such as myself don't have to feel so bad for our green thumb deficiencies. Today I picked up some fresh, fragrant rosemary-my favorite herb for many reasons: its pungent flavor, it's herby Christmas-tree like smell but mostly because it reminds me of my mother and her incredible green thumb.

Here are some tips for selecting fresh rosemary in the supermarket:

• Make sure the leaves are a bright green with no black leaves.
• Look for stalks that are tender and not brittle.
• Fresh rosemary should have a strong evergreen like smell.
• Fresh rosemary stalks make great skewers for grilling, just look for firm stems.
• If your supermarket doesn't have fresh rosemary and you need to substitute dried, use 1 teaspoon of dried for every tablespoon of fresh.

Rosemary-Cheddar Potato Frittata

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups 1/2-inch diced potatoes

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup diced extra sharp cheddar cheese

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a shallow 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, shallot, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the rosemary. Spread the potatoes in an even layer in the pan. Cook the potatoes, stirring frequently, until tender-about 20-25 minutes.

Preheat a broiler.

Stir in the eggs, cheddar cheese and the remaining tablespoon of rosemary; reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and place under the broiler for 5 minutes or until very lightly browned on top.

Run a rubber spatula around the edge of the pan to loosen, then slide the frittata onto a serving plate; cut into wedges to serve. Garnish if desired with additional rosemary.

Yield: 8 servings