Monthly Archive for August, 2010

Chicken Breasts Supreme

Published on August 24, 2010 in Main Courses and Nonvegetarian. 3 Comments


I know, I know, this is not vegetarian. I realize the chicken word may have thrown a few of you, but I’ve decided that I must include this recipe, despite the stated theme of the blog (and if you want to get technical, I did say the occasional non-veg dish would make an appearance under special circumstances).

But oh, how I love this chicken. On our birthdays, we always got to pick our very own dinner menu. This, friends, was my choice starting the year my mom first made this up until, um, well…now. Yes, my mommy still makes me this chicken for my birthday. And I feel special.

The garlicky sour cream marinade (and, okay, maybe the 6 tablespoons of butter) makes these chicken boobs very moist; add that to the crispy coating factor of the bread crumbs and you’ve got yourself a very tasty bit o’ texture heaven. I like to serve this with a nice rice cooked in veggie stock with whatever fresh herb is handy and maybe a handful of sliced almonds or, alternatively, roasted potatoes (or gnocchi, as in the pic, because I had it lying around) and some sautéed spinach with more garlic because at this point, what’s another clove or two? Either eat alone or make sure everyone around you partakes as well. You’ll thank me.

Chicken Breasts Supreme
Adapted from McCall’s Cookbook

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-1/2 cups sour cream or yogurt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoons celery salt
1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

1-1/2 cups breadcrumbs or panko
6 tablespoons butter

Combine the sour cream with the rest of the ingredients and nestle the chicken breasts in there, making sure that each piece is thoroughly coated. Marinate covered for at least 6-8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350º F/165º C.

Pour your breadcrumbs into a shallow pan (a pie pan works well – I don’t have one, so a plate it is for me). Remove each piece of chicken from the marinade (you want some coating on there but not super gloppy or the bread crumbs won’t stick and you’ll have a big ole mess on your hands) and coat with the breadcrumbs. Place the chicken in a 9” x 12” baking dish and dot the tops with 3 tablespoons of the butter.

Bake for 30-45 minutes (30 if you’re using thin breasts, 45 for thicker ones). While the chicken is cooking, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and baste each piece with a nice drizzle of buttery goodness.

Cool for 5 minutes and serve. And don’t forget to scrape up the crispy bits that are stuck to the pan and eat them before anyone clues into what’s happening.

Kid Kitchens

Published on August 18, 2010 in Kids. 2 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I don’t recall having these amazing play kitchens when I was a wee lass. I just saw this one at Garnet Hill (on sale!). Seriously, could this be any cuter? UPDATE: You can get this one at Amazon (it’s not available at Garnet Hill anymore).

And then I realized there were a couple more that had caught my eye. Of course, while we’re still in limbo (i.e., subletting a place with our future home unknown), I’ll have to hold off on buying this or this or this. Drat.

John Derian @ Target

Published on August 17, 2010 in Shopping. 0 Comments

In case you haven’t heard, John Derian is returning to Target (and Target.com) on September 5th with another great collection of housewares and accessories. Lonny magazine did a sneak peek of some of the stuff (the article is on pages 32-35). I’m loving the silhouette coasters and the leaf plates, personally…I’m a sucker for anything leaf-related.

His shop on East Second Street in NY is incredible. Lots of vintage, decoupage, beautiful furniture and textiles and enough knick-knacks to make you lose your mind — all styled to the point where you realize that you want every. single. thing in the store. Dangerous.

Mark your calendars, kids.

And for Gilt Groupe members, there’s some sort of presale thing happening this Friday, August 20th.

Tomato, Olive, Mozzarella Pasta

Published on August 8, 2010 in Italian and pasta. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

It’s hot people. Damn hot. Like so hot I almost don’t want to even boil pasta. But I’m going to because — dare I say it? — I’m getting tired of ordering in. Did I just say that? That’s crazy talk. NYC is my oyster when it comes to delivery. There’s really nothing we can’t get (and I mean nothing). There’s Thai, pizza, sushi, empanadas (oh yes, my porteño friends, but…no. Not yet. I’m not ready.), Chinese, Vietnamese, Cuban…all good and all things I haven’t had in a long time (i.e., while we were in Buenos Aires, with the exception of the empanadas and the pizza, which honestly can’t be compared to NY pizza, sorry). But sometimes you want to know what’s in your food, you know? Right.

So, I made this pasta. You can hardly call it cooking. It’s more in the realm of assemblage. But no matter. It’s delish. Flavorful. Light. Easy. And in terms of raising the temperature of your kitchen, it’s just a few degrees as long as you keep your face AWAY from the pot when you dump that pasta out (note to self). What’s great about the hot pasta though is that it will make the mozzarella all gooey. And then all the flavors start to meld together with the pasta and it gets really dreamy and garlicky and good.

Note: My weirdo husband doesn’t like raw tomatoes (I know, nutjob), so for him I use fresh or roasted red peppers, which are good, but not as good as the tomatoes. It’s summer for crying out loud. Summer = Tomatoes. That’s a fact, Jack.

Tomato, Olive, Mozzarella Pasta

1 lb. pasta, any kind (I like penne)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
3/4 lb. fresh mozzarella, cut into chunks
2/3 cup pitted olives (I like kalamata), halved
A big handful of fresh basil, chopped
Black pepper
Salt
Parmesan (optional)

Put the garlic and olive oil into a serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, mozzarella and olives to the bowl and stir to combine. Add the basil and salt and pepper to taste. You can do this while you’re boiling the pasta or for more flavor, do it an hour or so ahead and just let it sit. The garlic and olive oil will really start to flavor the other ingredients nicely.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add it to the tomato mixture. Stir to combine and let sit for a bit to let the pasta take on some of that delicious flavor.

And if you’re feeling giddy, grate some fresh Parmesan on top. What the hell…it’s summer.*

* I don’t really know what that means. Technically, if it’s summer, there’s a possibility that you’re wearing a bathing suit, so some people may think adding more cheese to a dish is a bad idea. I suppose my thinking is that summer is a time when you shouldn’t have a care in the world, you don’t wear shoes, you drink nice rosés, and you really shouldn’t worry about a little extra cheese. OK. Glad we got that settled.

Grilled Polenta with Mushrooms, Walnuts & Gorgonzola

Published on August 1, 2010 in Grains + Rice, Italian and Side Dishes. 0 Comments


I’ve had a bag of polenta sitting around in my cupboard for awhile now, and I finally just couldn’t stand it anymore. I know. That’s not a very good way to start this post. You see, the reason for my reticence was not necessarily the time and attention polenta requires — and it does require some attention, although not CONSTANT attention, which you may not realize. I think it’s because I have a rather fond polenta memory that I was afraid to sully. I once had a really delicious polenta dish; it was grilled polenta triangles with sautéed mushrooms and gorgonzola cheese (and I don’t even really like gorgonzola cheese, so you know this was something special). I can’t even remember where I had this dish, so it’s not like I can even go back to the place and have it again. And yes, I know lots of restaurants serve something like it and I could probably find it somewhere, but it’s my mental block and my story, so there.

Anyway. I decided that once and for all, I was just going to suck it up and attempt to make this dish. I consulted one of the two cookbooks I brought with me to Buenos Aires (which happen to be the two cookbooks I now have with me in this lovely sublet), Alice Waters’ On Simple Food (for the record, the other is Julia Childs’ What to Cook). Alice made it all seem very above-board and straightforward, so I thought, Hey, I can do this.

And I did. So, it wasn’t my best dish ever. And maybe the polenta didn’t really want to harden up and let me grill it properly. I think it was because I didn’t have enough butter, so I was forced to add some olive oil after cooking the polenta. (And yes, I sometimes spontaneously decide to make things and start cooking them before actually confirming I have all the ingredients.) And maybe it sort of crumbled and didn’t get all nice and crispy. But I got through it and got ‘er done (name that movie – if you have a small boy, you should have seen this movie at least 275 times by now).

And it was very tasty. And I realized I could’ve just used soft polenta and not gone for the second step where you spread the cooked polenta onto a cookie sheet and let it sit in the fridge and then take it out and grill it (this whole waiting for food thing is really overrated*). But I was on a mission. A slightly misguided, unprepared mission, but that’s okay. That’s what cooking is about. Taking chances. Trying something new. Making mistakes. And still creating something edible and even, thankfully this time, tasty.

NOTE: This recipe makes a lot of polenta. A LOT. You can eat half right away (see below), while it’s soft, and then use the hardened other half for this, which will serve two hungry people (or, you know, us) as a main.

Grilled Polenta with Walnuts & Gorgonzola

Polenta:
cups polenta
cups water
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
Salt
Pepper

Topping:
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 shallot, minced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bellas, but a mixture of portabella, shitake and/or cremini would be nice)
1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
1/2 cup white wine (something decent please)
Salt
Pepper
3-4 tablespoons Gorgonzola, crumbled
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Bring the water to a boil. Slowly pour the polenta into the water in a thin stream, stirring constantly with a whisk. Continue whisking and cooking the polenta for a few minutes on medium heat. As the polenta starts to thicken, switch to a wooden spoon. You want the pan to be just bubbling on the surface a tiny bit. You don’t have to stir constantly, but give it a good stir every few minutes. If it seems really dry, add additional water (I ended up adding probably another cup of water in total).

Once the polenta is done cooking, take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan. Pour the polenta onto a sheet pan and smooth the top (like you’re frosting a cake). Let the pan cool a bit on the counter, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.

Cut to…your lovely pan of hardened polenta.

To make the topping, melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook for a minute or two, then add the garlic. Cook another minute, then add the mushrooms and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Once the mushrooms have cooked down and are soft, add the wine. Turn the heat up to medium high and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, letting some of the liquid evaporate.

While the mushrooms are cooking, cut the polenta into triangles (or whatever shape you like) and heat up a cast iron grill pan. You can also use your broiler or fry the triangles if you’re in a pinch; with the grill, you’ll get the nice grill marks, but it’s not essential. You just want to get the outside crispy.

Pile three or four triangles on a plate, overlapping them to add some height. Spoon the mushroom mixture over the polenta. Add the walnuts and gorgonzola and another grind of black pepper. If you really want to get fancy, you can fry whole sage leaves and toss that on top.

* So rather than wait, I stole a good chunk of the soft polenta and tossed it with some tomato sauce, parmesan cheese and walnuts and ate that first. Two for the price of one.