Chicken in a Love Nest

I love recipes like this. They really speak to what makes the food blogging community so great. I found this recipe on a random trip over to Gorgeous Gourmet blog . While perusing Lisa's blog I came across this recipe, which she had gotten from a roofer working on her house who shared her passion for cooking. So from one roofer to her to me comes this delicious, easy and elegant recipe idea for chicken! It's just kind of cool to me how food blogging can instantly connect people - people you may never even meet! So I guess I have to thank Lisa and John the roofer for this chicken recipe.

Each one of us can keep the basic recipe and make our own adaptations. For example, Lisa wrapped her chicken in puff pastry. I had some phyllo dough in my freezer so I wrapped my chicken in that. I also subbed lemon juice for the white wine since I don't have any wine on hand at the moment being 7 months pregnant.
It is so fun to share recipes and try out new ones and put your own twist on them all at the same time. Without a food blog, I would have never found this recipe! Now it will become one of our go-to meals. I even think it could be served to company or done as an appetizer version for a party. There are so many possibilities. But the best part is, I'm going to a bridal shower this weekend and they are asking for everyone to bring a recipe for the bride. I've decided this one will be my contribution. It's so easy to adjust for two or 20 people, not too expensive, and not too difficult but makes a beautiful presentation. I hope your blogging and blog-reading has lead you to some great recipes! Enjoy!

Chicken in a Love Nest
adapted from Gorgeous Gourmet

2 chicken breasts (cut in half if you decide to make 4 portions)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons butter, melted (keep separate from other butter as this will be used for the phyllo dough)
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced (use any kind you like, I used baby portabellas)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
A splash of white wine or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
10 sheets of phyllo dough
4 thin slices of provolone cheese or any cheese you prefer or have on hand (Lisa used brie originally)

Pre-heat oven to 375°F with the oven rack in the middle.
Pre-heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season the chicken breasts with salt, freshly ground black pepper, thyme. Add the seasoned chicken breasts to the hot skillet to brown, about 2 minutes each side, until nice and golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined platter and reserve.
To the same skillet, add the 2 tablespoons butter and the mushrooms. Cook until slightly brown and tender, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the Dijon mustard and wine, and cook until there is almost no liquid left in the pan. Remove the mushrooms from heat and reserve.
While the mushrooms are cooking, place the phyllo on a clean and flat work surface area. Using your melted butter and a pastry brush, brush five sheets of phyllo each with butter and stack. Then do the same for five more.
Place 2-3 slices of cheese in the middle of each sheet of puff pastry and top with a chicken breast.
Spoon some mushrooms over the chicken, then fold it up into a neatly formed package: Fold two opposite points of the phyllo in towards one another over the chicken breast, pinching lightly to secure. Repeat with the other two points of the diamond, pinching gently to make all that all the seams are sealed shut.
Brush the oustide of each packet with butter or olive oil and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down. Transfer to the oven on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes, until the dough is a beautiful golden brown. Serve warm.

Blueberry-Cornmeal Muffins

When I was younger, my mom and I used to make the boxed blueberry muffins often on Sunday mornings. I always thought they were pretty decent, especially coated with a pat of butter or two. In recent years though, I've really tried to make baked goods from scratch only. It cuts down on the amount of baked goods I eat since it takes much more effort but it also ups the quality of course. Nothing beats homemade baked goods.

I saw these Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins in my Essentials of Breakfast and Brunch Cookbook from Williams-Sonoma . This was a Christmas present from my husband and since he loves big breakfasts on the weekend I can't help but think it was kind of present for both of us. It really has some wonderful recipes inside and beautiful pictures to boot. Anyway, I had bought a pint of blueberries at the grocery store with the intention of just adding them to my daily yogurt, but then I had a craving for hot, sweet blueberry muffins.

These were a slight twist on the traditional muffin because they had the added texture of cornmeal. So it was kind of two muffins in one! Blueberry and corn muffins. A cinnamon-sugar topping adds a spicy sweetness to these muffin tops as well so don't skip that step! They were easy to mix up and even easier to eat. I froze the batch so I could enjoy them all week. If you have a little extra time this Sunday, be sure to make these yummy treats. Enjoy!

Blueberry-Cornmeal Muffins


6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup fine ground cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Butter 12-standard muffin pan cups or line with paper liners
In a bowl stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and brown sugar. Set aside.
By hand: In a large bowl whisk the eggs until blended. Whisk in the milk and butter. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Do not overmix. Fold in the berries.
By Mixer: In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk and butter and beat on low speed just until blended, Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until moistened. Do not overmix. Fold in the berries with a rubber spatula.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for two minutes, then turn out onto the rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. (My note: Or freeze in an airtight bag once the muffins have cooled to enjoy longer. Just thaw in microwave for 45 seconds each.)

Pork Belly here, Pork Belly there, Pork Belly EVERYWHERE!

I may be a little behind the curve on this one, but I'm starting to notice a trend at many local restaurants. Pork belly dishes are showing up left and right on menus around town! Being someone who loves most every pork product derivative, this has intrigued me. Especially because, I'd never really heard of pork bellies outside of the old movie Trading Places . Have you seen this? Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd involuntarily trade social status, but unite in the end to combat two scheming old financial cronies who trade frozen orange juice and you guessed it, pork bellies, on the stock market.

Now prosciutto, bacon, pancetta, lardons, bacon, pork loin, pork chops, sausage, bacon, and in case I didn't mention it bacon, are all part of my regular culinary vocabulary. But pork belly was a new term to me.

First there was the question of what is it? I mean it seems self-explanatory, the belly of the pig. However, there's really more to it than that.

Fortunately, my adventurous husband decided to take this new menu item on head first while we were dining at Baltimore's Cinghiale a few months ago. He did ask the waiter for a quick description of pork belly first of course - you don't go blindly into an entree that costs $30! The waiter described it as one of his favorite things on the menu, cracklin' crispy slab of pork. In my opinion though, he left out some very important details.

A quick google search brought up this very informative article that describes the much-traded stock market commodity as "Bacon in its raw, uncured state, pork belly is the fattiest part of the mature hog, thick stripes of pure white fat and rosy meat." So basically, it's fat. A thick slab of it to be precise. In fact, it's the fattiest cut of the pig you can find. And the fanciest of restaurants in New York has embraced this cut, which was apparently already well known amongst southern cooks, according to the article! It's not surprising though that southern cooks knew what to do with a slab of pure white creamy pig fat before the rest of the country.

Despite it's revival and adoption by mainstream restaurant culture, after my husband's chewy slimy experience with pork belly I think it's one part of the pig I'll be perpetually passing on. I mean honestly, to us it was like being served the part of the meat that one usually cuts off! It was greasy, very rich and just had the chewy consistency of eating, well, fat. Even the so-called crispy parts were too rubbery for my tastes!

Our experience aside, diners must be lovin' the lard because good ole' pork belly has been creeping into local restaurant fare quite a lot recently. From ethnic to American-style restaurants, pork belly has crossed all borders.

For example, Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia features an Espresso Rubbed Pork Belly served with cheese grits and an au jus sauce. They've obviously kept the southern-style to this dish.

In Baltimore, the popular new B&O American Brasserie serves a crispy pork belly cassoulet style, flavored with sage. New Baltimore hot spot Blue Hill Tavern features a pork belly appetizer with red cabbage, apple compote and calvados syrup - it sounds like a gourmet version of Peter Brady's "Pork chops and applesauce". And an old Baltimore favorite, The Brewer's Art offers a Roasted Berkshire Pork Belly appetizer that is accompanied by a sweet potato biscuit, chestnut puree, port-soaked dried cherries and natural jus.

With all this exposure lately of pork's soft underbelly, I tried to encourage my husband to maybe give it another try - even though I myself will stay far away from it. But he said it's hard to go back to a food that never sat right the first time - and wasn't cheap to boot. So while the popularity of this pig fat is a slight mystery to us, obviously others are enjoying it. Have you tried pork belly? What is your take on this fatted pig product? Or have you ever fried up pork belly in your own kitchen? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Rustic Pizza Bianca

Ok I might have added the "rustic" bit - only because I needed some reason to make my misshapen pizza sound more legit. Therefore, it's not oddly shaped, it's...wait for it...rustic. I'm just not very good at getting the dough to make a perfect circle, what can I say? Oh well. Anyway, I made this yummy pizzeria-style pizza for dinner one night this week and it was simple, full of garlic flavor and hit the spot just right. The baking method outlined in this recipe really ensures a crisp crust without burning the fresh cheese topping. It has you preheat the pizza pan and then bake the crust first without the cheese and then add the cheese and place it back in the oven to melt the cheese. I found this genius because I have burnt fresh mozzarella on the top of a pizza many a time, trying to get the crust underneath crispier. I'll remember this method next time I'm using fresh mozzarella.
By the way, please excuse my awful photos. One of the bulbs for my lightbox lights has burnt out and it gets dark out way before we eat dinner in these parts so I'm left with poor lighting situations on a cold winter's night. Very annoying.
But back to the pizza! I found the recipe in an old (we're talking January 2009) issue of Gourmet Magazine. I have made white pizzas before from my own recipe, but I just thought I'd try theirs and see how it measured up. This white pizza gets it's flavor from a garlic and olive oil base that is topped with fresh mozzarella and chopped rosemary. It really thrives on the simple pairing of flavors.
I served it with a Caesar Salad recipe from Annie's Eats .

This was a creamy Caesar dressing, whereas I think I prefer the oil-based Caesars. I topped my salad with pecan-raisin bread croutons, which added a nice, sweet note to the savory dressing. I had this in a restaurant once and really liked the contrast of tastes. Overall, the dressing was pretty good, but I think in the future I'll stick with the traditional Caesar salad dressings without mayonnaise. I always seem to like them better.

Pizza Bianca
Gourmet Magazine


1 large garlic clove (I used 3)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (I might have used 2 tbsp)
1 lb store-bought pizza dough or make your own
1/2 lb cold fresh mozzarella
1 tbsp rosemary leaves (I used 2-3 tbsp)

Put a large heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of oven then preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt and then stir together with the oil. Roll out dough onto a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly prick the dough all over with a fork. Stir garlic mixture and brush evenly over dough. Slide dough from parchment onto hot baking sheet. Bake until the top is puffed and pale golden in patches, 6 to 10 minutes. Prick any large bubbles with a form and flatten. Meanwhile, thinly slice mozzarella and pat dry. Remove crust from oven and arrange the mozzarella on it in 1 layer. Sprinkle the rosemary on the top. Bake until the edge of crust is deep golden and cheese is bubbling and golden in patches, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with crushed red pepper and grated Parmesan if desired.

Barefoot Bloggers: Baked Shrimp Scampi

I absolutely loved this dish, chosen by Jill of Insanely Good Food! It was an easy and very tasty way to prepare shrimp scampi. Just throw all the ingredients together in one baking dish and bake! I couldn't eat shrimp scampi without the pasta though - and this recipe makes the perfect amount of buttery garlic sauce to pour over a bowl of pasta. I went one step further though and made homemade spaghetti noodles. What a labor of love! I think making homemade pasta is so much fun, but it's definitely a bit time consuming.

You have to let the pasta strings dry out a bit and I also found that you have to separate the strings as they come out of the machine, which was a bit of a pain. The reward is so worth the effort though. Tender, perfectly al dente pasta cooks up in half the time as the boxed variety. If you have a pasta machine or are thinking of getting one take my advice and do it. Fresh is best - I'm telling you, it will be hard to go back to boxed pasta after you spoil yourself with fresh!
I followed Ina's recipe for the shrimp exactly, except I did leave out the panko bread crumbs since I was tossing it with the pasta. I don't think they would have served their purpose the same way. I also added in a pint of roasted cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes made a nice bright addition to the pasta dish and added a tartness to the sauce. Go here to see what the other Barefoot Bloggers thought of this recipe. Enjoy!

Baked Shrimp Scampi
Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

•2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
•3 tablespoons good olive oil
•2 tablespoons dry white wine
•Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
•12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
•4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
•1/4 cup minced shallots
•3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
•1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
•1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
•2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
•1 extra-large egg yolk
•2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
•Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

Happy Valentine's Day - Andes Candies Cheesecake!!!

Oh yes. This is bad. Really bad. If you're like me you can eat a handful of Andes candies in a sitting and then justify by claiming you were trying to maintain fresh breath.

When I was in college, one of the local restaurants made an Andes candies chocolate mint pie. My roomates and I would go to the restaurant just for a thick slice of this pie with vanilla ice cream. I really wanted to make a version of that, but when I came across this Andes Candies Supreme Cheesecake my search came to an end. What could be better than creamy cheesecake ribboned with the flavors of chocolate and mint?? Classic yet creative! This cheesecake baked up beautifully. I used a water bath, even though the instructions didn't call for one. I am notorious for having cracks in my cheesecake - they still taste good but those cracks sure are disheartening. The last thing I wanted for Valentine's Day was a crack in my cheesecake!! Not good. So I labored with the foil to create a secure water bath and it was worth it.

Just wrap the bottom of your springform pan securely with about four pieces of foil - this will ensure that the water won't leak into your cheesecake. Then place your cheesecake in a larger pan. The only larger one I had was my roasting pan. And then fill up the pan with hot tap water until it reaches up about 1/3 of your cheesecake pan. Then bake. When removing it from the oven, you may want to remove your cheesecake from the water bath while in the oven so you don't splash or slosh hot water on yourself or on your cheesecake. Then remove the pan with the water after it has cooled.

The finale to this cheesecake is topping it off with a creamy chocolate mint sauce - made from, you guessed it, Andes Candies! Then you can decorate the top as you see fit with extra candies.

My Valentine will certainly enjoy this cheesecake. Thank the LORD that Lent follows Valentine's day! I will need some motivation to give up chocolate - and even more motivation to finish this cheesecake all up by Wednesday. Happy Valentine's Day!! I hope you're spending it with loved ones and celebrating the true reason for this holiday, true love, romantic or otherwise, commitment and a reminder of our daily blessings. Enjoy!

Andes Candies Supreme Cheesecake
www.tootsie.com, Andes Candies section

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 package (4.67 oz.) Andes® Crème de Menthe Thins chopped (28 candies) or 1 cup Andes® Crème de Menthe Baking Chips
Andes® Crème de Menthe Thins (28 candies)
3 tablespoons whipping cream or milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325° F.

Crust: Mix crumbs and 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Add butter; mix well. Press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 325° F, 10 minutes.

Filling: Beat cream cheese and 1 cup sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; mix on low speed just until well blended. Stir in 1 cup Andes Baking Chips or 1 package of chopped Andes Candies (28 pieces); pour into crust.

Bake at 325° F, 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife between rim of pan and cheesecake. Cool to room temperature.

Topping: 4 Set aside 10-12 candy pieces, for decorating top of cake. Place remaining Andes Candies and whipping cream in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high 45 seconds. Stir until candies are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour over cheesecake, spreading to cover surface and drizzle down sides of cheesecake. Decorate with reserved Andes Candies.

Set: 5 Refrigerate cheesecake 3 hours or until serving time.

We had an unexpectedly heavy snow storm one Saturday about two weeks ago - which is becoming a usual weekend happening in these parts lately - and fortunately I had gone to the store earlier that day with preparing this dish in mind. I had a whole weekend to cook, after many nights of take-out and spontaneous cracker and cheese dinners. We had spent countless evenings working on the beautiful mural below so it left little time for cooking and dinner preparation. So once the mural was done, I set out to the grocery store with a list a mile long and several meals in mind for the upcoming weekend days and nights. I found this fancy-sounding meal in one of my favorite cookbooks and it sounded easy enough to pare down for two people, yet challenging enough that I wouldn't be bored making it.

I did have one slight problem with this recipe and it revolved around the cream sauce. Every time (and yes I did it twice and threw it out twice before I switched methods) I added the cream to the champagne it curdled up. My cream was fresh so I knew it wasn't because it had spoiled. I think it was just the heat or the alcohol. Either way, I decided to go ahead and reduce the champagne, but I added the cream to the blender with the peppers and other ingredients and then added it to the champagne. No curdling! So once success was finally achieved, I moved on and served up this delicious chicken over top of some simple roasted asparagus. This meal was fancy enough for a our date night in or to serve to company. Or maybe you could make it for that special holiday coming up? You know the one - it's pink, red and covered in chocolate! Either way, it's worth all the work and many steps to make this yummy meal. Enjoy!

Prosciutto and Walnut-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Roasted Red Pepper and Champagne Cream

The Wine Lover Cooks With Wine, by Sid Goldstein

For The Chicken
3 tbs olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups grated monterey jack cheese
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 tbs minced fresh sage
1 tb minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper
8 chicken breasts
8 thin slices of prosciutto

For the Cream Sauce
1 tsp olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
1 tb minced shallots
2 cups champagne or other sparkling wine
3 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
2 large red bell peppers roasted (or an 8 oz jar of roasted red peppers)
2 roasted garlic bulbs
2 shallots, roasted and peeled
1 tb balsamic or red wine vinegar
salt and pepper


In a medium saute pan or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the cheese, walnuts, sage, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Place each chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a mallet until evenly 1/4 in thick. Remove from the plastic wrap and lay each piece of chicken on a cutting board. Cover each chicken breast with 1 slice of prosciutto. Divide the onion mixture evenly over the prosciutto. Roll up each chicken breast jelly-roll style, securing it with toothpicks, and season with salt and pepper.

To make the cream: In a medium saucepan, heat the 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the champagne and cook to reduce to 1/4 cup. Add the cream or half and half and cook to reduce to about 1 cup. Strain and set aside.

In a blender of food processor, combine the roasted bell peppers, roasted garlic, roasted shallots and vinegar. Puree until smooth. With the machine running, drizzle in the 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400. In a large ovenproof saute pan or skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Saute the chicken in batches if necessary, until golden brown on all sides. Remove the toothpicks. Transfer to the oven and bake until opaque throughout, 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, sliced the chicken roll and top with the champagne cream sauce.