Chicky Chicky

One of my favorite episodes of Parks and Recreation is when Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) describes his nicknames for various foods.


I was thinking of it tonight because we made Ina Garten's delicious chicken picatta along with her yummy sauteed garlic spinach for dinner. While the spinach is gone, we have 2 extra chicken breasts that I intend to make "chicky parm-parm" with tomorrow.

Ina Garten's recipes are flawless per usual but if I were to make changes, I would use panko instead of regular bread crumbs (and I did), add capers to the sauce and I think you can cut back on the salt as well.

Chicken Piccata (per the Barefoot Contesssa)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
Sliced lemon, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

African Chicken & Peanut Soup

This soup is delish. Over the summer, I cooked it a few times despite the scorching temperatures in Atlanta - hot soup on a hot day, it's that good. Now that it's fall, I envision making it a staple in the rotation. Today, I am making it for a friend, who recently had a baby. It is healthy & yummy, what's not to like?!

The recipe comes from Cooking Light and I follow it almost to the letter except I use chunky peanut butter and a little extra sweet potato.

African Chicken & Peanut Soup

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled sweet potato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (I use rotisserie chicken)
1 cup bottled salsa (I use Paul Newman's medium chunky salsa)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (16-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 (15-ounce) cans any less-sodium chicken-and-rice soup, undiluted
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (I like crunchy)

Place a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add sweet potato, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and next 5 ingredients (chicken through beans); bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Add peanut butter, stirring with a whisk; cook 2 minutes.

Beer Can Chicken

Back in 2008, we went to Napa Valley with a group of friends for a week. Our excuse: Sam was running the Napa Valley Marathon and needed lots of cheerleaders. In actuality: the marathon was on day 2 of the trip and the rest of the week was spent wining and dining.

We went to a fabulous wine bar in downtown Napa one night, The Bounty Hunter. Annie and I shared the "beer can chicken," which was amazing.

Several years later, I continue to think about that chicken. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was Napa, maybe it was the chicken, whatever it was, it left an impression. As you can tell, Dan was very enthused as well. Naturally, I was thrilled to find a recipe on the internet for said chicken. Granted, the recipe is for 2o-40 chickens, I just cut it down to what I felt was appropriate. The other thing that we did was throw it on the smoker instead of on the grill. It was delicious!

Bounty Hunter Beer Can Chicken
4 pound chicken
1 can of Tecate beer
1 lime

Spice rub:
Chef’s notes: Makes enough for 20-40 chickens. Store it in a ziplock bag.
5 pounds pre-mixed Cajun spice
1 cup fennel seeds
1 cup coriander seeds
1 cup white sesame seeds
1/2 cup dried thyme
1/2 cup dried oregano
1/2 cup smoked paprika
1 tsp. Coleman’s dry mustard
1 tsp. tumeric
“And a few of our own secret spices. Feel free to add any of your own favorites.”
Toast all seeds until you can smell a strong aroma, then allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Grind in a spice/coffee grinder.
Add these and the additional spices to Cajun spice.
Clean and rub chicken with spice blend, 20 to 30 minutes before placing it on the grill.
Place aluminum foil on grill. Open and pour out about one-quarter of a can of Tecate, then place the can in holder.
Place the chicken, cavity down, over the can and holder and pin wings back so they don’t burn.
Squeeze half a lime in the neck of the chicken, and use it to cork the neck to trap in the moisture.
Grill covered on low-medium heat for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer placed between the thigh and backbone reads 165 F.

Or if you smoke it like we did, smoke at 230 degrees for around 5 hours.

Pull chicken off and enjoy!

Keep a Husband Pork Roast

My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Though this recipe has no potatoes in it (you could easily add them), it is one of his favorites. It makes the whole house smell delicious, literally when you walk in the front door, it hits you and it only gets better from there.

Of course, I am joking when I call it a "keep a husband pork roast" - I am far from a 1950's housewife. But seriously folks, this is a great comfort food, Sam loves it, it's easy to make, the leftovers are divine and it freezes well! What's not to like?

I am making for our 3rd anniversary. Sam took me out to a big celebration dinner on Friday night at a fabulous restaurant in Atlanta, so on our actual anniversary, I cooked one of his faves.

Apologies for the lack of photo. . . I really meant to take a picture but it smelled so good, there was no time for that!

Keep a Husband Pork Roast

1 4-6 lb pork loin
2 1/2 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t thyme
1/2 t ground nutmeg

Combine seasoning and rub into meat. Place in 450 degree oven and roast uncovered for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and add the following.

4 carrots, cut in small pieces
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 whole cloves of garlic
few chopped celery leaves
few sprays parsley
3 bay leaves
1 can chicken stock

Cover and bake for 3 hours, basting often. I never do all this but before serving you can, transfer to heated platter, skim fat from gravy, put pan juices and vegetables in blender (remove cloves and bay leaves). Blend and serve in sauceboat to accompany meat. Serves 12.

Brekkie

The inaugural recipes are all about breakfast! These both came to me from Meggie and they are both delicious!

I love these apple muffins. They are not hard to make, they are delicious, and they freeze well!
Apple Muffins
3/4 c oil
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 c flour
3/4 t baking soda
1 t cinammon
1/2 t salt
1 & 1/2 c diced granny smith apples
1/2 c chopped pecans
1/2 c raisins (you can sub craisins if you prefer)

Beat oil and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingrediants. Pour liquid into dry. Stir in apples, pecans and raisins. Spoon batter into 12 muffin papers in muffin pan. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes.

These are the grits that I made last weekend for our brunch. They are delish, I made them the night before so when my guests arrived, all I had to do was pop them in the oven and enjoy my company! Every southern girl should have a good grits casserole recipe in her back pocket!

Tomato Grits
2 C water
1 1/4 C Milk
1 C grits
1/2 C + 1 T butter
1/3 C chopped green onions
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 C of monterey jack cheese shredded
2 1/2 C cheddar cheese shredded
1 can Rotel Tomatoes
2 eggs lightly beaten


Saute onion in 1 T of butter. Saute garlic in 1 T of butter. Cook grits in water and milk, stirring in grits gradually. Cooking times on grits may vary depending on type of grits - best bet is to follow grits instructions and use your instincts! Stir in butter, cook until creamy. Add monterey cheese, garlic, 2 C of shredded cheddar and onions. Add tomotoes and stir. Add beaten eggs. Pour into 8 x 11 x 2 casserole. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Last 5 minutes, sprinkle remaining cheese.