A Good Old Fashioned Family Dinner - Chicken Piccata

You have to love a good old fashioned family dinner. Growing up my family sat down to the table and ate dinner together every single night without fail. This is a traditional I plan to carry on as Greg and I begin our own family. So, I was excited this Saturday when my family came to stay and I had the opportunity to cook for them. It was the first time that I had ever hosted my family in my own home. It was really one of those moments where you begin to realize that you’re actually turning into a legitimate “adult.”

Soup's on!!

Needless to say I wanted the first dinner I served them to be memorable. After much deliberation I settled on Chicken Piccata with grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes (there was also a gratuitous amount of yeast rolls – If you’ve never tried them, do so immediately!!).. I realized after the fact that this is the exact menu that was served at our wedding.

Why yes, I can eat the whole package by myself.

The Chicken Picatta was delicious. I’ve made it on a couple of occasions, but I by far enjoyed this recipe the most. I had never grilled asparagus, but that also turned out extremely well and was very simple.

Chicken Picatta

My Rating: 5/5 *****
Cook Time:25 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
* 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
* 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
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 cup chicken stock (can substitute 1/2 cup dry white wine)
* 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
* 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
* Sliced lemon, for serving

Directions
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.

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 Asparagus

My Rating: 5/5 *****
Cook Time:8 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
* 1 pound fresh asparagus
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Trim asparagus. In a small bowl, combine oil, garlic, zest and paprika and stir with a fork. Lay asparagus side by side on a large grill pan and brush with oil mixture. Cook about 5 minutes or until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Mashed Potatoes

 

My Rating: 5/5 *****
Cook Time: 30 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
* 6 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Heat 1 inch water (salted if desired) to boiling in Dutch oven. Add potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cook 25 to 30 minutes or until tender; drain. Shake pan with potatoes over low heat to dry.

Mash potatoes in large bowl until no lumps remain. Beat in milk in small amounts, beating after each addition (amount of milk needed to make potatoes smooth and fluffy depends on kind of potatoes used). Add butter, salt and pepper. Beat vigorously until potatoes are light and fluffy.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

It's time to introduce the next competitor in the holiday cookie challenge! The peanut butter blossom. This particular cookie has been a holiday tradition for many years. However, I must say that until this past week, I didn't even know what they were called. I referred to them as those little cookies with the Hershey's kisses on top. It would seem that they do in fact have the name, but really the name isn't as important as the fact that these cookies are absolutely delicious, especially for all of you peanut butter lovers out there.I hunted down a recipe and I must say that thy turned out quite marvelously. I definitely give these cookies 5 stars and I plan to bake them for many Christmases to come.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Yummy Hershey Kiss type cookies. 

My Rating: 5/5 *****
Skill Level: Beginner
Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients
    * 48 Hershey's Kisses
    * 1/2 cup shortening
    * 3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
    * 1/3 cup granulated sugar
    * 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
    * 1 egg
    * 2 tablespoons milk
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    * 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1 teaspoon baking soda
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * Granulated sugar

Directions
   1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.
   2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
   3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
   4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Indian Cooking Series Part 1 - Embrace the Indian Food

Yes, embrace the Indian food. You may think that Indian food is too spicy for you and maybe you've never even tried it, but there is Indian food out there for everyone and it's not all super spicy. For those of you who already love Indian food, I hope you enjoy these recipes. And for those of you who aren't quite sure, I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

Oh the possibilities.

I made my own chicken curry for the first time last night. It's usually my go-to dish in any Indian restaurant. I was very pleased with the results. I also made Aloo, a potato based dish, which is one of my father's staple Indian dishes.

First, a note on curries. The chicken curry I made last night involved three different pre-prepared Indian spices. For the wedding I was given an awesome set of spices from http://www.penzeys.com/, but you should be able to pick up any of these spices at your local Indian or international grocery store.

I love me some curry.

Hot Curry Powder: turmeric, cayenne red pepper, coriander, ginger, cumin, fenugreek, white pepper, cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and Tellicherry black pepper.

Sweet curry powder: turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, nutmeg, fennel, cinnamon, white pepper, cardamom, cloves, black pepper and cayenne pepper.

Garam Masala: Moroccan coriander, Tellicherry black peppercorns, cardamom, Korintje cassia cinnamon, kalonji, caraway, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.

If you can't get to an Indian store, you can always make your own:
Hot Curry Powder:  http://www.food.com/recipe/madras-curry-powder-174350
Sweet Curry Powder: http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/curry-powder-spice-and-seasoning-blends-135075

Chicken Curry

     Ingredients
    * 1 lb. chicken breast
    * 4 TB. vegetable oil
    * 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
    * 4 inch section fresh Ginger, peeled and grated - or 1 tsp. Ground Ginger
    * 4 cloves Garlic, minced, or 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
    * 1 tsp. Sweet Curry Powder
    * 1 tsp. Hot Curry Powder
       (It should also be fine to use 2 tsp. of hot curry powder if you don't have any sweet curry powder)
    * 1 1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
    * 1 tsp. salt
    * 1 /2 Cup plus 2 TB. water, divided
    * 15 oz can of tomato sauce
    * 2 TB. yogurt (increase this if you prefer the dish to be milder)
    * 3 hot green chillies - split, not cut up (optional - only for those who like it hot)
    * 2 TB cilantro - for garnish

Directions
Place all dry spices (except salt) in a small bowl, cover with 2 TB. water, let stand while chopping the chicken into bite-sized pieces, mincing the onion, grating the GINGER and finely mincing the GARLIC. Heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add onion, plus GINGER and GARLIC if using fresh. Fry, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until onions start to brown. Spoon in the curry-water mixture, stir quickly. The mix will become quite dry, keep stirring until everything is a smooth paste, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken pieces, saute quickly for a few minutes until well coated, then add water and tomato sauce, salt and chillies (if using), stir well. Reduce heat to a simmer cover and cook 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Remove a couple TB of sauce to a small bowl then add yogurt and stir well. Return the mixture to the pot and stir well. If desired, garnish with cilantro

Aloo

Ingredients
* 8 potatoes
* 2 onions (thickly chopped)
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 4 cloves garlic
* 4 tsp black Indian mustard seeds
* 4 whole red chilies (do not chop)
* 5-8 curry leaves
* 2 tsp. tumeric
* 4 tsp. salt
* 5-8 TB cilantro
* 3-4 green chilies (add more chillies for more heat)
* 1/2 cup water

Directions
Peel and chop onions. Chop cilantro. Peel garlic (use full). Peel and boil the potatoes (about 20 minutes). Cube the potatoes. Add the oil to a deep pot. Heat at medium until simmering. Add the red chillies and mustard seeds. Next add the garlic and curry leaves. Move around in the pan to flavor the oil. Then add the onions and cook until they become translucent. Add the tumeric and salt, stir. Then add the potatoes, cilantro, and green chillie peppers. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Super Gooey Chocolate Drops - Fancy

Last night I baked my first holiday cookie of the season, which is the focus of this blog post. The cookie I chose to attempt first is the Super Gooey Chocolate Drop. I know, it sounds amazing right? At least if you're a chocolate lover, which I am. Only one word can be used to describe this cookie - Fancy. Yep, it tastes fancy. So if you're looking for a simple chocolate chip or shortbread cookie this is not it. However, if you're looking to impress a food critic or the judges on Top Chef you're good to go.

These ladies are fancy like my cookies.

The cookie's taste is literally multi-dimensional. It starts out with a rick taste of chocolate, the middle incorporates  the taste of cherry, ending with an after taste of cinnamon. Sounds crazy right? It's a taste explosion in your mouth. I read the reviews after making the cookie and noted that several of the ingredients caused debate. The first of these was the cinnamon. Some love it, some hate it. Greg was a fan of the cinnamon and thought it cut the chocolate nicely. Another point of contention was the cherries. Greg was not as much a fan of this aspect, however I like it (but I also love cherries, so I'm biased). The verdict is if you want a simple chocolate cookie, just cut out both the cinnamon and cherries. However, if you're looking for something a little more out of the ordinary, leave the recipe just as it is. It will be sure to raise some eyebrows and it will certainly land you some points in the creativity (aka "Fancy") department.

Super Gooey Chocolate Drops

Festive, no?

My Rating: 4/5 **** (To tell the truth I'm not quite sure what to make of them - but they are tasty)
Cook Time: 15 min
Level:Easy
Yeild: about 2 dozen large cookies

Ingredients
    * 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
    * 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
    * 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
    * 1 cup packed light brown sugar
    * 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
    * 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    * 4 large eggs
    * 2 tablespoons buttermilk
    * 1 cup all-purpose flour
    * 1/2 cup natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's or Scharffen Berger
    * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon  

       If you don't like cinnamon or are just looking for a chocolate flavor - reduce or leave out entirely.
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 11 ounces (1 bag) semisweet chocolate chunks
    * 1 cup dried cherries. optional

        If you don't like cherries, don't add cherries.

Directions
Position racks in the lower and upper third of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. (If you don't have 3 pans, simply cool the pan between batches.)

Put the butter and the unsweetened and semisweet chocolates in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat at 75 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir and heat again until melted, up to 2 minutes more. (Alternatively, put the chocolates and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching the water, and stir occasionally until melted and smooth.)

Stir the light brown and granulated sugars and vanilla into the chocolate mixture with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs and buttermilk and beat vigorously until thick and glossy.

In another bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, cinnamon and salt together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks and dried cherries, if using.

Drop the batter in heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets--a small ice cream scoop is ideal for this. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart. Bake until the cookies set but are soft and fudgy on the inside, 12 to 15 minutes - I found they take at least 15-16 minutes to bake.

Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Serve.

Store cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to a week.

Recipe courtesy of:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/super-gooey-chocolate-drops-recipe2/index.html

Holiday Cookie Challenge

Through the years I watched my mother cook batch after batch of holiday cookies for various Christmas and cookie swap parties, but to tell the truth I've never made too many myself. In fact, although I love cookies, I can only claim two stellar recipes. One of which has been passed down by my mother. Those recipes will follow.

That's me - Cookie (and desert) Monster.

So, I've decided to initiate a Holiday Cookie Challenge. I plan on trying out several new and traditional cookie recipes and will report on the overall favorites. Warning - If you're coming to any of my Christmas parties, you'll probably be a guinea pig. I would love it if anyone has amazing recipes of their own that they would post them here or send them along! I love a good cookie. The fact is I have more experience cooking than I do baking, unless Betty Crocker cake from a box counts, which I hardly think it does. . .

Baking for cheaters, such as myself. Why can't my cake be as good as yours, Betty Crocker? Why??

In my mind baking requires quite a different set of skills than cooking does. In baking you have to be very precise and I think can turn awry more quickly. But in any case I'm excited to improve upon my baking skills and there is nothing quite like baking something from scratch (if it turns out well anyhow).  I will start off by providing you with two of my personal favorite cookie recipes.

My Chocolate Chip Cookies

COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE!!

Ingredients 
* 1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
* ¾ cup granulated sugar
* ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
* 2 ¼ cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* ¼ teaspoon salt
* 1 package (12 ounces) Semi-Sweet real chocolate chips

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375 F
2. Beat margarine, sugars, eggs and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chips and walnuts.
4. Drop by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto un-greased cookie sheets.
5. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks. Makes 6 dozen cookies.

My Mom's Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Buttery Goodness.

Ingredients
* ¼ c. shortening
* ¼ c. butter, softened
* ½ c. peanut butter
* ½ c. granulated sugar
* ½ c. brown sugar, packed
* 1 egg
* 1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour
* ¾ tsp. baking soda
* ½ tsp. baking powder
* ¼ tsp. salt

Instructions
Mix first 6 ingredients thoroughly. Blend in remaining dry ingredients. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Flatten in a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Makes about 4 dozen.

Mmmm Lemony - Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

I have an obsession with Lemons. Lemon flavored foods, candies, deserts, you name it. I also love the color of lemons. Even my wedding reception was yellow and gray and decorated with, you guessed it, lemons. Needless to say, this dish was right up my alley.

Best Candy Ever.

This being said, if you're not as into lemons as I am you might want to cut back on the lemon juice
and lemon rind a bit. Remember you can always serve wedges of lemon along side the dish when it's plated.

Cute and yummy.

So the recipe is as follows (my changes and suggestions can be found in red):

My Rating: 5/5 *****
Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Easy

Ingredients

    * Vegetable oil
    * 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
    * 3/4 pound linguine
    * 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
    * 2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
    * 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
    * 1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
    * 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    * 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
    * 1/2 lemon, zest grated
    * 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
       I only used a single lemon - You might even want to reduce that to 1/2 lemon.
    * 1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
    * 1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
       I like it hot - so I increased this to 1/4 teaspoon and would probably add more next time.

Directions

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

Recipe courtesy of:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/linguine-with-shrimp-scampi-recipe3/index.html

The Beginning

As most people just getting out of college, I've had little experience in the kitchen. Not because of a lack of interest, but more due to a lack of time and energy. Up until recently my diet consisted of Tony's Pizzas, Kraft Macaroni (not the off brand stuff), and Lipton's dehydrated soup. 

Don't Knock It - It's the Cheesiest

It shouldn't taste better than the stuff in the can, but it just does.

How can you say no to $2.00 of pizza goodness?

Now, being newly married and having more free time, I've taken it upon myself to expand my cooking horizons. And maybe one day I'll be able to cut these "dietary staples" out for good. I know that the road won't be easy. For the wedding I was given a couple of beautiful cook books that  I'm proud to own, but scared to death to cook out of. The recipes are daunting to say the least and include ingredients I've never even heard of, let alone ate. However, we all have to start out somewhere. The purpose of this blog will be to wade through the throngs of both online and cookbook recipes to find the best of the best for your everyday chef. I'll start posting some of my favorite recipes and personal specialties. I'll also try to give suggestions for improvements on pre-existing recipes I come across. Hopefully I'll inspire more timid young cooks, such as myself, to push aside their fears and enter into the broader culinary world.