A Fresh Take on a Classic

Tonight's dinner didn't come from a recipe, it just sort of evolved from what I knew I wanted and what I found. It started with the idea of using my current favorite salad *arugula, prosciutto, dried chopped date and shaved parmesan with a semi-sweet tart vinaigrette; but making it into a complete dinner by adding a simple grilled chicken breast and serving the salad on top as is common in Italian restaurants. The salad itself is a really good combination of flavors: bitter fresh arugula, salty, dry prosciutto, sweet chopped dates, parmesan and also chopped pecans. (Thanks to Chef David DiGregorio, my favorite Italian chef)

But then I started thinking that it might be more interesting if I put chicken and prosciutto together. My thoughts naturally turned to Chicken Saltimbocca, the classic Italian chicken, prosciutto and sage dish, usually served with a lemony wine sauce. This wasn't quite the dish I wanted though, I still was thinking of my dinner salad. So I decided to prepare the chicken breast "saltimbocca" style but serve it with a tart vinaigrette and the arugula and date salad.

The chicken is prepared according to this recipe from Bon Appetit. Basically you just pound it thin and lay thin slices of prosciutto across the top. They just stick, no problem. The whole thing is dredged lightly in flour and then the chicken is browned in oil prosciutto-side down in a saute pan. It browns in about 4 minutes, gets flipped and cooked until it is cooked through (165 degrees,) about another 4, depending on the thickness of the chicken.

A vinaigrette is prepared and tossed with some arugula and thin-sliced dates. (I've pointed you to the vinaigrette that I use, but I think one made with lemon juice and zest would be even better. ) The chicken is plated and the salad is served on the side. Parmesan shavings go over the top - to bring it over the top. The chicken turned out really juicy and flavorful. Sometimes you get in your mind what you want and you just have to follow your instincts and trust that you know what you're doing. A nice spring dinner. Arugula is just about in season, so give this a try.

Caesar Salad with Chicken and Arugula

I'm very happy with how this salad dressing turned out. You never know what you're going to get with a Caesar Salad dressing. I guess because everyone's taste is different. I modified this slightly by halving the recipe: using 1 tsp of mustard and about 1/2 tsp squeeze of anchovy paste and halved the rest of the dressing ingredients for a 2-person portion with a little leftover.

Other than making your dressing, there's nothing complicated going on here. You could easily use leftover chicken or leave it off completely for a regular Caesar Salad. I skipped the grilled croutons since I grilled the chicken on a cast-iron stove-top grill. I just made my regular baked garlic croutons. If you don't make your own croutons, talk to me about it. My boys squeal with joy when they hear I'm making them. There's no croutons on the salad in the picture. I forgot to put them until after I started eating. Here's the complete recipe:

Grilled Chicken & Arugula Caesar Salad with Grilled Croutons

by Susie Middleton
Serves four.

4 oz. baby arugula (about 5 cups loosely packed), washed and dried

2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
4 oil-packed anchovy fillets
2 large cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
1/2 cup fresh, finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1-1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 3 large), rinsed and patted dry
4 slices French baguette, cut 1 inch thick on an extreme diagonal (6 to 8 inches long)
Cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (optional)

Heat a gas grill to medium high. Put the arugula in a large bowl, cover with a damp paper towel, and refrigerate.

*Note: you only use PART of the mustard for the dressing, the rest is for the chicken. And I reduced it to 1 tsp. for half a dressing recipe. I also just used about 1/2 tsp of anchovy paste. (Sorry if I keep going on about this, I just want to be clear.)

In a blender, combine the lemon juice and zest, anchovies, garlic, and peppercorns with 6 Tbs. of the oil, 1 Tbs. of the mustard, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Blend thoroughly until most of the peppercorns are well broken up and the dressing is emulsified. Add 2 Tbs. of the grated Parmigiano and blend to incorporate. Leave the dressing in the blender.

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the remaining 1 Tbs. mustard and 3/4 tsp. salt. Brush the bread with the remaining 2 Tbs. oil and season with salt. Grill the chicken, covered, until golden grill marks form, 5 to 6 min. (for even cooking, rotate the chicken 90 degrees halfway through cooking each side). Flip the breasts and continue to cook, covered, until golden grill marks form and the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 6 min. Let rest on a cutting board for 5 min.

Grill the bread until dark around the edges and golden brown in the center, 1 to 2 min. per side. Slice the chicken thinly on an angle. Cut each bread slice into 10 cubes. Pulse the dressing in the blender; add a little of it to the arugula, just to coat.

Divide the arugula among four plates and sprinkle with a little Parmigiano. Toss the chicken with the remaining dressing and arrange over the arugula. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmigiano and arrange the croutons and tomatoes (if using) around the salad.

From Fine Cooking 65, pp. 86
July 1, 2004

Ellie's Jerk Chicken

Another one from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave, this Jerk Chicken was slightly disappointing. I've certainly had better versions of Jerk Chicken before. It was the sauce. I can't quite pinpoint it, but I think something was off balance. Not terrible, but it just didn't come together like a really savory, mouth-watering jerk sauce should. I loved the pineapple salsa with cucumber and mint though. Pineapple/mint is a new flavor combo for me. I should have figured it would be good because mint has that same aromatic coolness about it that cilantro does and pineapple/cilantro is dreamy. So I'll probably come back to this salsa but not the jerk sauce.

Tuscan Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Here's a seasonal dinner from Ellie Krieger's Food You Crave . It's Tuscan Roasted Chicken with Veggies, an all-in-one dish that you can put together easily and just stick in the oven. You can even play with your kids outside if you can hear the oven timer. Reading over the recipe, a few things concerned me, but since I had everything I just figured I'd go with it and adjust as I went along. More on that later.

This chicken is cooked on the bone but with the skin off. Good - because I end up just pulling the skin off before I eat it anyway, and because she instructs you to roast this at 375 - which will just give you flabby unappetizing skin anyway. On-the-bone gives you juicier chicken, so that appealed to me. You make a nice rub of garlic and lemon and put that all over the chicken. The chicken is placed on top of chunks of zucchini, tomatoes, and fennel (and I added some squares of red bell pepper too) that have been seasoned and tossed in olive oil. And into the oven it goes for 30 minutes. Then you add some herbs (rosemary, I added some thyme) and let it go for another 30 or so.

All good in theory. But the chicken and vegetables weren't really roasting. They were baking and there was no browning occurring at all. So I ended up turning the oven up to 400. If I wasn't out in the yard, I might have put it up to 425 and watched it closely. But at 400, the chicken got a little golden, as gold you could expect skinless chicken to get, I suppose. And the vegetables started to get some appetizing color too. In the end, it all tasted pretty good. The zucchini didn't get too mushy, as I feared it might. The tomatoes, fennel and peppers cooked down and softened. The juices from the veggies and the chicken co-mingled to make a delicious jus to spoon over everything. BTW, the fennel really benefited from cooking with the chicken. Fennel is great raw and sliced thin in a salad. But it's also amazing slow roasted in broth, cream or chicken juices. It mellows out and is just so savory and interesting. It made this dish notable.

I will probably make this again. (I might add some onion into the veg mix next time.) It is just one of those no-brainer, no-sweat, healthy meals that everyone needs in their repetoir.

Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Stew with Biscuits

Not exactly summer fare, but this is Ina Garten's recipe for Chicken Pot Pie filling; the classic mix of chopped chicken, peas and carrots in a broth-based sauce. She says the recipe can easily be adapted for lobster pot pie or vegetable pot pie, if you're so inclined. And it is also very easy to make using store-bought rotisserie chicken. In her book Barefoot Contessa Cooks Family Style, she uses it to make traditional Chicken and Biscuits, as I have done here. I think this pot pie filling is just about perfect in terms of texture and flavor. It is saucy chicken, not too thick or dry (the worst end that could befall a pot pie.) You can leave out the hit of cream at the end (or use half n half.) It doesn't make much of a difference. I've made it both ways and dear husband hasn't noticed. By the way, dear husband was watching as I reviewed the photos and, upon being reminded of the chicken and biscuits, promptly asked that I make it again soon.

The biscuits cook up great on top of the stew. They get a little crunchy on top, but stay bready underneath. I am usually left with some extra biscuit dough and I have found that they don't rise as well when you make them on a sheet pan. I think they need the moisture of the stew. Still, 10-yr old boys have been known to eat these stray biscuits with few complaints.

If you are adept at reducing recipes and/or experienced with pot pie, you can easily play around with this one. Here I halved the entire recipe to fill a 8x11 pan and got 6 portions (It reheats well.) I used two large split breast halves and left out the whole little onions she calls for. (There are already onions in it, so they are not missed.) I have also made this recipe in individual 6-ounce ramekins, a biscuit topping each serving. The Contessa suggests baking the stew for a short time before topping with the biscuits, but I just put them on right at the start. Also, this is a recipe where homemade stock will shine through with all its chickeny flavor and body. But it will still be very good with canned stock.

If biscuits aren't your thing, you could top this stew with pastry dough, homemade or store-bought, to make a traditional pot pie.

Chicken Stew with Biscuits (serves 12)

3 whole chicken breasts (6 split) bone in, skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock preferably homemade
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots) blanched for 2 minutes
1 package frozen peas (2 cups) (10 ounce)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

For the biscuits:

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter (1 stick) diced
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions, and parsley.

Mix well. Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Add the half-and-half and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley. Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out to 3/8-inch thick. Cut out twelve circles with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter. Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with egg wash, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.

Note: To make in advance, refrigerate the chicken stew and biscuits separately. Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then place the biscuits on top, and bake for another 30 minutes, until done.

Reheat leftovers in a low oven until hot.

Barefoot Contessa

Saturday morning Farmers Market

This past Saturday was Evanston's second farmers market of the season. Sadly, I wasn't able to make it to opening day but I made up for it this week by buying extra stuff. (wink) I really love the market on a spring morning when there is still a chill in the air. Each farmer had a small selection of vegetables but everything looked wonderful and full of promise. There were lots of greens and many varieties of spring onions and radishes, but no strawberries yet. Everyone had some asparagus and herbs. You can't help but be inspired to cook a spring dish. The most exciting find of the day was definitely these morel mushrooms. They were priced at 44.99/lb. But I bought $6 worth and it was enough for two small portions. We used them to make a chicken with morel cream sauce and served it with some organic leaf spinach (so fresh, like they have just pulled it out of the ground) sauteed with garlic.

I also got these fat purple asparagus, and some french breakfast radishes.
There were also some sweet young chioggia beets with really fresh green tops that I couldn't pass up. As soon as I got home, I cut off those tops and put them in a vase of water. I need to see what Deborah Madison thinks I should do with them. I guess I'll be browsing her books this evening. As for the beets themselves, they got roasted, peeled, and then served in a salad of frisee, bacon, goat cheese and a tart vinaigrette. We ate this salad with some steaks on Memorial Day.

Girly Fried Chicken

My fried chicken isn't the stuff of hearty men. Manly fried chicken is the bone-in kind: soaked in buttermilk, dusted with flour and fried in a cast iron skillet in all its swarthy greasiness. I adore that kind of chicken, but that's not MY fried chicken.

My fried chicken has a dainty side. I use boneless skinless breast halves and pound them to about 1/2 inch thick. Then I quarter those pieces, salt and coat them in flour/egg/breadcrumbs(homemade) I fry them in just about 1/2 inch of canola oil. They'll cook quickly because they're thin. But still you must be careful not to get the oil too hot or they'll brown too fast. Cook them to about 165*. After being thoroughly cooled, these chicken nuggets freeze well in a container with layers separated by wax paper.

They're great for kids but adults enjoy them too. I like them to serve them in girl-y ways: like with a dipping sauce or sliced on a salad. This salad below is made with pineapple, tomato, green onions and red pepper and is dressed with a lime cilantro vinaigrette. I added tortilla strips too, but after I took the photo. - A nod to a favorite Chili's salad.

Not So Crunchy Parmesan Chicken

This recipe (from Fine Cooking 38) met mixed reviews in our house. My husband enjoyed it, but me, not so much. I have made the recipe before and remember liking it more. The chicken is rolled in melted butter, coated with a parmesan-flour-herb mix and baked in a hot oven (425*). The topping is flavored nicely with thyme and a little cayenne. The problem is that all that good flavor is on the skin which I end up taking off. Chicken skin has to be crackly crispy dry for me to like it. This chicken skin still retained a little flabbiness so I couldn't eat it. The kids ate it without the skin as well. I think I might try to modify it with bone-in skinless breasts perhaps using the pre-toasted breadcrumb method from a recent Fine Cooking issue.

Crispy Orange-Sesame Chicken

From Fine Cooking's current issue no. 84, this oven-fried chicken is from an article on how to prepare boneless skinless chicken with a crispy crust. There are a few recipes all using the technique of coating the chicken in a flavorful sticky saucy mixture and then dredging them in pre-toasted breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs adhere to the chicken via the sticky sauce. The version I made has asian flavors including orange, soy sauce, and honey in the sauce and sesame seeds mixed in with the breadcrumbs. The chicken is cooked on a rack so that hot air can circulate underneath and prevent the underside from getting soggy. The underside didn't get soggy but it didn't crisp up (or brown) that much either. Still it was OK, since the breadcrumbs were pre-toasted. The orange-sesame version also advises to dip some thin orange slices in the sauce and bake them alongside the chicken to provide a tasty, attractive garnish.

There is also a jalapeno-cheddar variation that looks good. I'll probably try it soon.

Roast Chicken Breasts with Shallots and Garlic

It has been really, really cold here in Chicago. I've craved comfort food and this roast chicken fits the bill. 2 or 3 bone-in breasts are tossed in just enough melted butter to coat. 3 halved shallots and 8 whole garlic cloves are given a toss in the butter too. Everything is seasoned and then roasted in a hot (425) oven for about 50 minutes, give or take, longer if you use dark meat. Don't crowd the chicken pieces in their baking dish. The skin will crisp by itself, don't baste.

Your house will smell like heaven while it roasts. After resting for 10 minutes or so, the chicken will be juicy and once defatted, you'll get a lovely jus to spoon over potatoes. The shallots roast up sweet. The garlic is good too, spread it on bread.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated's current issue, no. 84. Like the classic Tom Kha Gai , it's a spicy, creamy broth with bits of chicken and mushrooms, served with fresh garnishes (scallions, red chile strips, cilantro.) Here we've drizzled some thai hot chile sauce over the top too. It turned out very nice and wasn't too much work to put together. I'll make it again for sure.

Its broth, however, doesn't come close to the depth of flavor of the broth of Spicy Noodle with Shrimp and Coconut Milk from Fine Cooking Issue 56. That is the most amazing soup ever, but a great deal of work (curry paste from scratch, shrimp stock, a mountain of fresh garnishes.)

This one is much easier and you get a great pay off. It has the combination bonus of being soothing (from the cold) and tropical so that it transports your mind to warmer climes.

Asian Glazed Chicken Wings

Here's some wings that have been brushed with a glaze made of honey, soy sauce, chile paste, ginger and garlic. They were good, not great. I'm still searching for that perfect wing glaze. I served these with some fried rice and the vegetable of the month, broccolini.

Spatchcocked Chicken

To Spatchcock a chicken means to remove the backbone and flatten it out for cooking. This technique exposes more of the chicken to the dry hot oven and gives you more crispy skin while cooking the chicken quickly. Here, the bird is rubbed with a chile-cinnamon rub and an herb-garlic oil. It is from Fine Cooking issue #47, a recipe from chef Stephen Pyles. The rub and oil are also applied under the chicken skin to flavor the meat. I served mine with a corn bread pudding (from Alton Brown) and some broccoli. The corn pudding is a delicious but very rich.

Chicken stuffed with Prosciutto and Fontina

It is not everyday that you have prosciutto and fontina in the fridge needing to be used. But that is where I found myself on a recent Wednesday night. I came up with the recipe from Fine Cooking's 100 Things To Do with Chicken. The recipe turned out great. But it was not our favorite thing to have stuffed in a chicken breast, so I won't be making it again. Goat cheese is the best thing to stuff in a chicken breast.

Kung Pao Chicken

This is FC issue No. 76. This was a disappointment. It just didn't have the flavor I was looking for. I thought the sauce was tasty but not spicy enough. I might play around with the recipe and see if I can improve it.

Southwestern Chicken and Black Bean Stew

Made this from FC 56. Lazy night, no side dishes but there are peppers and onion in the stew, along with the chicken and black beans. Garnished with tortilla strips and sour cream. Overall, a good fall dish, very satisfying.

Glazed Ginger-Soy Chicken

This recipe is from Fine Cooking #32. The chicken turns out with a lovely sticky glaze. I was thinking that I should brush this glaze on salmon fillets while they roast in hot oven. It would also be good on boneless skinless chicken breasts baked in the oven. Then I could slice the chicken thinly and put it on a salad. Yes, I'll definitely be using this sauce again very soon.

You'll notice the spinach and rice that I planned to make with the spareribs, ended up here with the chicken.

(The picture isn't so lovely, I was too close to the plate and there is a bad glare, sorry.)