Crispy Skinned Chicken, spinach salad and green beans with mushrooms and tomatoes.

Crispy-Skinned Chicken Breasts with Vinegar-Pepper Pan Sauce

Courtesy "America's Test Kitchen"

Serves 2

Kosher salt and pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Pan Sauce

1 shallot, minced

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

½ cup chicken broth NOTE: made with bones removed from chicken breasts with onion, carrot and celery also added mushroom stems from another recipe.

¼ cup chopped pickled hot cherry peppers, plus ¼ cup brine

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, chilled

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Place 1 chicken breast, skin side down, on cutting board, with ribs facing away from knife hand. Run tip of knife between breastbone and meat, working from thick end of breast toward thin end. Angling blade slightly and following rib cage, repeat cutting motion several times to remove ribs and breastbone from breast. Find short remnant of wishbone along top edge of breast and run tip of knife along both sides of bone to separate it from meat. Remove tenderloin (reserve for another use) and trim excess fat, taking care not to cut into skin. Repeat with second breast.

Using tip of paring knife, poke skin on each breast evenly 30 to 40 times. Turn breasts over and poke thickest half of each breast 5 to 6 times. Cover breasts with plastic wrap and pound thick ends gently with meat pounder until ½-inch thick. Evenly sprinkle each breast with ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Place breasts, skin side up, on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

Pat breasts dry with paper towels and sprinkle each breast with ¼ teaspoon pepper. Pour oil in 12-inch skillet and swirl to coat. Place breasts, skin side down, in oil and place skillet over medium heat. Place heavy skillet or Dutch oven on top of breasts. Cook breasts until skin is beginning to brown and meat is beginning to turn opaque along edges, 7 to 9 minutes.

Remove weight and continue to cook until skin is well browned and very crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip breasts, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until second side is lightly browned and meat registers 160 to 165 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer breasts to individual plates and let rest while preparing pan sauce.

For the Pan Sauce:

Pour off all but 2 teaspoons oil from skillet. Return skillet to medium heat and add shallot; cook, stirring occasionally, until shallot is softened, about 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Increase heat to medium-high, add broth and brine, and bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in any accumulated chicken juices; return to simmer and cook for 30 seconds. Remove skillet from heat and whisk in peppers, butter and thyme; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce around breasts and serve.

Recipe from Chelsea's Messy Apron  From Crow (Sanda)

Ingredients:

5 ounces fresh spinach (half a 10 ounce bag)

3/4 cup chopped celery Note used some bean sprouts and a stalk from celery heart.

3/4 cup dried cranberries Note used dried sour cherries

1 can (15 ounces) mandarin oranges - or fresh Cuties or Halos

1 large Granny Smith Apple

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 cup pecans Note used sweetened walnuts. 

Optional: Feta cheese & Orecchiette (little ears) pasta

Dressing:

4 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2-4 teaspoons white sugar - Or use Honey to taste or Stevia

1/8 teaspoon each: paprika, onion powder

1 tablespoon poppyseeds

Throw it all together!

ONE PAN BALSAMIC CHICKEN TipHero Nov 2015

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Italian salad dressing

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

1 1/4 lbs chicken breast tenderloins Note used only two tenderloins from the crispy skinned chicken recipe from above.

2 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp Kosher salt and pinch freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed of tough ends, chopped into 2-inch pieces

8 oz sliced mushrooms

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

Instructions:

1. Mix together dressing, balsamic vinegar and honey in a measuring cup.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil and sauté the mushrooms for 4 minutes until they have started to brown, then add the green beans and cook for another 4 minutes or until the green beans are crisp-tender.

3. Remove the vegetables from the pan, add the remaining oil and the chicken tenders. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until brown on each side. 4. Remove from the pan. Add in the sauce and stir for a couple minutes until thickened into a glaze consistency. Add the chicken, green beans, and mushrooms back into the pan and add the tomatoes. Stir to coat everything evenly with the sauce.

Hungarian Goulash & fresh Egg Noodles with a salad was dinner tonight.

SLOW COOKER HUNGARIAN GOULASH

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef chuck roast or stew meat, cubed

• 3 cups low-sodium beef broth

• 2 yellow onions, roughly chopped

• 2 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup water

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 tablespoons paprika

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons dry mustard

• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1 Combine beef, onions, potatoes and garlic in slow cooker.

2 In a small bowl, whisk together paprika, brown sugar and dry mustard and set aside.

3 Pour beef broth in a large bowl and stir in dry spices and tomato paste. Once dissolved, pour mixture into slow cooker and stir everything together.

4 Season generously with salt and pepper, then cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender.Note: you could also cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours.

5 During the last 30 minutes, whisk flour into glass of water and stir into goulash.

6 Cover and cook on HIGH for another 30 minutes, then serve hot.

Recipe adapted from A Farmgirl’s Dabbles

Fresh Egg Pasta

Recipe courtesy of Lidia Celebrates America

Lidia Bastianich shares Italian and Irish wedding traditions when she attends her niece's wedding celebration in New York City in Lidia Celebrates America: Weddings: Something Borrowed, Something New. Here are Lidia's tips on how to make fresh pasta.

"Most countertops and work surfaces are built at a height that is comfortable for chopping and mixing. The best height for kneading any kind of dough is slightly lower—at about hip level, where you can really get your weight into the kneading process. If you have a convenient surface at such a height, use it to knead dough. If not, any countertop will do—just stand back a little from the table so you’re pushing out, not down, on the dough. My grandmother’s method for kneading dough is a little different that most—she taught me to dig my knuckles into the dough in between rounds of gathering and pushing the dough. I pass that method along to you here. Even if you prepare the dough in a food processor, I suggest you finish kneading the dough by hand. Once you develop a feel for the right consistency of pasta dough, you’ll never lose it. You’ll be able to make adjustments to the kneading time or the amount of flour or water to work into a dough each time you make it." 

--Lidia Bastianich

Ingredients

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour, or as needed

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

Warm water as needed

Directions

1 Spoon 2 ⅔ cups of the flour into the workbowl of a large capacity food processor fitted with the metal blade. Beat the eggs, olive oil and salt together in a small bowl until blended. With the motor running, pour the egg mixture into the feed tube. Process until the ingredients form a rough and slightly sticky dough. If the mixture is too dry, drizzle a very small amount of warm water into the feed tube and continue processing. Scrape the dough out of the workbowl onto a lightly floured wood or marble surface. (To mix the dough by hand, see the Note below.)

2 Knead the dough by gathering it into a compact ball, then pushing the ball away from you with the heels of your hands. Repeat the gathering and pushing motion several times, then press into the dough, first with the knuckles of one hand, then with the other, several times. Alternate between kneading and ‘knuckling’ the dough until it is smooth, silky and elastic—it pulls back into shape when you stretch it. The process will take 5 to 10 minutes of constant kneading, slightly longer if you prepared the dough by hand. (Mixing the dough in a food processor gives the kneading process a little head start.) Flour the work surface and your hands lightly any time the dough begins to stick while you’re kneading.

3 Roll the dough into a smooth ball and place in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least one hour at room temperature, or up to 1 day in the refrigerator before rolling and shaping the pasta. If the dough has been refrigerated, let it stand at room temperature for about an hour before rolling and shaping.

Tips/Techniques

To Mix the Dough by Hand:

• Pile 3 cups of flour in a mound on a marble or wooden surface. Make a well in the center of the mound, like a crater in a volcano, all the way to the work surface. Beat the eggs, olive oil, and salt together in a small bowl until the eggs are foamy. Pour them into the well. Beat the egg mixture with a fork while slowly incorporating the flour from the sides of the crater into the egg mixture. The more flour you incorporate, the thicker the egg mixture and the wider the well will become. Continue beating until the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a fork. If the dough becomes too thick to mix with a fork before almost all of the flour is incorporated, drizzle a tiny amount of the warm water over the egg mixture and continue mixing. (It is possible you will not need any water at all.)

• Flour your hands well and knead the remaining flour into the dough until a rough and slightly sticky dough is formed. Shape the dough into a rough ball and set it aside.

• Sprinkle your hands generously with flour, rubbing them together to remove any remaining scraps of dough from your skin. Scrape any dough and flour from the kneading surface and pass all these scrapings through a sieve. Discard the scraps in the sieve and use the strained flour to continue kneading the dough.

• Make sure your hands are clean and flour them lightly and knead the dough as described above.

To Roll Fresh Pasta Dough Using a Pasta Machine:

• Cut the dough into six equal pieces, flour them lightly and cover them with a kitchen towel. Working with one piece of the dough at a time, shape it into a rectangle about 5 x 3 inches. Set the rollers of the pasta machine to the widest setting and pass the pasta rectangle through the rollers with one of the short sides first. Fold the dough in half and pass the same piece of dough through the rollers, short side first, a second time. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. Flour the dough pieces very lightly as you work—just enough to keep them from sticking to the rollers. Continue rolling the pieces of dough in the same order (so they have a chance to rest a little between rollings), decreasing the width by one setting each time, until all the pieces of dough have been passed through the next to thinnest setting on the pasta machine. Don’t pull the dough sheets through the machine as they get longer or you will stretch the dough sheets out of shape, but support them lightly from underneath as they emerge from the rollers. Keep the pieces of dough that aren’t being rolled covered with a towel. If you find the dough is very elastic, rest it 5 to 10 minutes, then continue. When all the pasta has been rolled into sheets, let them rest, completely covered with lightly floured towels, about 30 minutes before cutting them.

To Roll Fresh Pasta Dough by Hand:

• Cut the rested dough into four equal pieces and cover them with a clean kitchen towel.

• Working with one piece at a time, roll the pasta out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle approximately 10 x 20 inches, if you plan to cut fettucine or tagliolini. Dust the work surface lightly with flour just often enough to keep the dough from sticking; too much flour will make the dough difficult to roll.

• If the dough springs back as you try to roll it, recover it with the kitchen towel and let it rest 10 to 15 minutes. Start rolling another piece of dough and come back to the first one once it has had a chance to rest.

• Let the pasta sheets rest, separated by kitchen towels, at least 15 minutes before cutting them.

To Cut Fresh Pasta Dough:

• For Fettucine: If your pasta machine has cutter attachments approximately ½-inch wide, use them to cut fettucine. If not, cut them by hand as follows: Cut each sheet of pasta into 10-inch lengths. Brush the sheets lightly with flour and roll them up lengthwise. Cut the rolls into ½ inch strips. Unroll and set the strips and toss them lightly to separate them. Form little nests with the pasta strands and keep them on a baking sheet lined with a lightly floured kitchen towel until you’re ready to cook them.

• For Tagliolini: If your pasta machine has cutter attachments approximately ¼-inch wide, use them to cut tagliolini. If not, flour and roll them as described above and cut the rolls into ¼ inch strips.

Variation: Fresh Spinach Pasta:

• Wash 6 cups (lightly packed) stemmed fresh spinach in plenty of cool water, changing the water if necessary, to remove all traces of sand and grit. Drain the spinach well and transfer it, with just the water that clings to the leaves, to a large pot. Cover the pot and place it over medium heat. Cook, stirring the spinach once or twice, until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes after the water in the bottom of the pot begins steaming. Drain the spinach and let stand until cool enough to handle.

• Squeeze as much liquid from the spinach as possible with your hands. (The drier the spinach is, the less flour the pasta dough will absorb and the more tender the finished pasta will be.) Combine the eggs called for in the recipe and the squeezed spinach in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until the spinach is finely chopped.

• Proceed as above, substituting the spinach-egg mixture for the eggs called for in the recipe. It is likely the spinach pasta dough will take a little more flour during mixing and kneading than egg pasta dough, even if you have been very careful to squeeze out the water.

Chocolate Cloud Cake

For the last 5 or so years around mid Feb. I made a Chocolate Raspberry Torte but this year I decided to try something different.  Both are flourless cakes but this one is topped with whipped cream instead of raspberry syrup and raspberries.  The recipes for both cakes are listed below to show the differences.

CHOCOLATE CLOUD CAKE         Serves: 8-12   Nigella Lawson

for the cake

9 oz bittersweet chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)

9 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)

6 large eggs (2 whole, 4 separated)

¾ cup superfine sugar

2 tablespoons cointreau (optional)

grated zest of 1 orange (optional)

for the cream topping                    Note the whipped cream does not have any sugar added and I thought that was a mistake so I               added about a quarter cup.

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cointreau (optional)

½ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder (for sprinkling)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/350ºF.

Line the bottom of a 23cm / 9 inch springform cake tin with baking parchment.

Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or a microwave, and then let the butter melt in the warm chocolate.

Beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with 75g / ¼ cup of the caster sugar, then gently add the chocolate mixture, the Cointreau and orange zest.

In another bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the 100g / ½ cup of sugar and whisk until the whites are holding their shape but not too stiff.

Lighten the chocolate mixture with a dollop of egg whites, and then fold in the rest of the whites. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool the cake in its tin on a wire rack; the middle will sink as it cools.

When you are ready to eat, place the still tin-bound cake on a cake stand or plate for serving and carefully remove the cake from its tin. Don't worry about cracks or rough edges: it's the crater look we're going for here. Whip the cream until it's soft and then add the vanilla and Cointreau and continue whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff.

Fill the crater of the cake with the whipped cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake, and dust the top lightly with cocoa powder pushed through a tea-strainer.

This torte is really really rich.

Chocolate Raspberry Torte          12 servings

1 cup unsalted butter

1 pound semisweet chocolate

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon almond extract

6 eggs, separated and at room temperature

TOPPING

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

3 cups fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 10-inch round cake pan, line bottom with parchment paper, spray oil on the parchment and dust with flour. Over low heat, melt butter with chocolate. Remove from heat. Combine sugar with cocoa and whisk into chocolate. Whisk in sour cream, extract and egg yolks.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks and fold into chocolate one third at a time. Turn mixture into cake pan, set it in a large roasting pan, and pour in enough hot water to go 1 inch up sides of cake pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 40 to 50 minutes; the center will appear soft and the sides firm. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Refrigerate cake overnight.

The next day, remove cake from pan. Invert a plate on top, then flip pan over. Peel off parchment paper. Spread raspberry jam over top, then smother with raspberries. To make clean slices, use a knife warmed in hot water, then dried with a towel; clean knife and repeat for each slice.

(From “Angels in My Kitchen: Divine Dessert Recipes” by Caryl Westwood, Celestial Arts.)

Slow cooker chicken in milk and Potatoes Romanoff

Aimee’s Slow-Cooker Chicken in Milk Prep Time: 20 minutes  Cook Time: 4 hours  Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

1 4 to 5 pound roaster chicken

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon cooking oil

8 garlic cloves, peeled

2 cinnamon sticks

2 cups 2% milk

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Zest of two large oranges

Instructions

1 Season the chicken all over with the salt and pepper. Melt the butter and oil in a heavy bottomed pan and brown the chicken on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the browned chicken to a slow-cooker, breast side down.

2 Pour off all but 2 teaspoons of oil from the pan and add the garlic and cinnamon. Cook it for about 2 minutes, then transfer to the slow-cooker.

3 Pour the milk, thyme, and orange zest into the slow cooker and use a spatula to mix well and make sure the chicken is well coated. Cover the slow cooker and cook on High for 4 hours, or Low for 6 hours.

   Strip House Potatoes Romanoff

Twice-baked potatoes take on bold new dimensions of flavor in a rich, creamy gratin with shallots and cheddar cheese. This dish is one of the signature sides at Strip House, a steakhouse in New York City’s Greenwich Village. The potatoes need to be baked a day in advance, so plan accordingly. 

Ingredients:

3 large russet potatoes, about 2 lb. total, unpeeled and scrubbed  

3/4 cup minced shallots 

2 1/2 cups grated white cheddar cheese 

2 tsp. kosher salt 

1/4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper 

1 1/2 cups sour cream 

Preheat an oven to 425ºF. 

Wrap each potato in aluminum foil and pierce several times with a fork. Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove the foil and let the potatoes cool to room temperature. Place the potatoes on a plate, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

The next day, preheat the oven to 350ºF. 

Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the potatoes, including the skins. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle the shallots, 1 3/4 cups of the cheese, the salt and white pepper on top. Using your hands, gently toss the mixture together to combine, then fold in the sour cream in 2 additions. 

Transfer the potato mixture to a 1 1/2-quart gratin dish; do not compress. Sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup cheese on top. Bake until the potatoes are hot and the cheese is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serves 6.

Krizman's

One day last month, I came across a 'Best of Kansas City" site and while looking on it I found Krizman's as the best sausage place with lots of very good reviews, especially for Polish and 

Brats.  I noticed that they had been around for 75 years and were locate about 4 blocks down the street where I grew up on Strawberry Hill.  I determined to go there someday and today was the day.  I got some Brats, kraut and Povitica bread.  Then I asked what else was good and the guy said that if I liked to smoke food, that their BBQ roll was popular.  Arthur Bryants got it from them for their restaurants.  The Brats were cooked and shriveled the BBQ rolls were raw and needed about an hour in the smoker.  By the time I cooked the Brats with the kraut, they were plumped up and juicy.  They were very good indeed. 

I cooked the kraut and brats for about an hour on low with a couple of small onions, fresh garlic, chicken stock, caraway seeds.  The onions, garlic were cooked in oil until soft then the rest of the ingredients added and simmered, covered for about 45 minutes.