Chicken Parmesan

If you're thinking about making a special dinner for your loved one this weekend consider Chicken Parmesan. It's delicious comfort food that doesn't feel like a rock in your stomach (like steak) and can be prepared in advance.

The crispiness of the chicken pairs oh so well with the creaminess of the cheese and the tomato sauce. I love making these kind of dishes at home, feeling like you get restaurant quality food but in the comfort of your own house, which is the perfect combination for an intimate meal with your beloved.

If you want to skip the frying and baking part, see my short cut version here, but I strongly recommend the full version since the chicken is just so tender when fried!

Chicken Parmesan

1 lb boneless chicken breasts, filleted to about 1/2 inch thick (6-7 pieces)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups breads crumbs (flavored or just seasoned with salt and pepper)
1/2 cup white flour
high heat cooking oil for skillet, enough for 1 1/2 inches deep in pan
2 cups prepared tomato sauce
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Bread chicken breasts by first dipping chicken in flour, than dip it into egg and then roll into breadcrumbs and pat to create a crust. Set aside to rest and finish rest of breasts. Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Warm tomato sauce over low heat. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat heat until bread crumb sizzles and turns brown within 1 minute. Fry chicken in oil until it browns on each side, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. In baking dish that will accommodate chicken in two layers, spread one tablespoon of sauce, top with layer of cooked chicken, spoon half of tomato sauce over chicken, sprinkle half of cheese over sauce, layer remaining chicken, then sauce and cheese and bake for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and browning and sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Note: If you're making it ahead of time, fry up the chicken in advance and then refrigerate. When you're ready to assemble make sure sauce is heated and chicken is at room temperature.

Hugs!

Moroccan Fish Stew with Chermoula

I basically eat what is known as a Mediterranean diet so I'm always looking for interesting fish recipes. This one combines my love of cilantro and my interest in Moroccan cooking.

After thumbing through my newest cookbook, The Tajine Deck, I settled on the Fish with Chickpeas recipe mainly because it included the traditional Moroccan fish marinade of Chermoula. I was intrigued by yet another cuisine that used cilantro as the base for a condiment (see Argentinean Chimichurri and Indian Chutney) and knew I had to try it.

I left out the chickpeas and added several vegetables to make it more of a one pot meal and it was fantastic. Serving it over barley the stew was a wonderful blend of the cilantro chermoula, preserved lemon and braised fennel, kale and shallots. Perfect winter comfort food!

Chermoula
1 cup cilantro, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 preserved lemon, chopped

Combine all in food processor and season (carefully) with salt (preserved lemon is very salty).

Moroccan Fish Stew with Chermoula

1 lb halibut
1 cup chermoula
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, sliced
1/2 bulb fennel, sliced thin
8 leaves tuscan kale (aka black or lacinto), chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup of water
1 whole preserved lemon, cut into strips

Marinate halibut in chermoula for 8-12 hours. In heave sauce pan with cover, saute shallots in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add fennel and cook another 3 minutes. Add kale, water, cilantro and fish will all of marinade, preserved lemon and water and bring to low boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Serve over cooked grains such as rice, couscous or barley. Good next day as well.

Hugs!

Spinach Quesdadillas

There are such a variety of greens available in the market now - different kales, colorful Swiss chards, mustard and beet greens - that sometimes I forget about spinach, the original good-for-you green.

Steamed spinach is still probably my favorite way to prepare spinach since it is such a tender green that you don't want to overcook it. But when I want to dress it up a bit and show it off I make spinach quesadillas. Add some cheese and salt and your favorite salsa and it's a party!

For those of you avoiding wheat there are a nice selection of alternative grain tortillas available from brown rice for those who can't do gluten at all to spelt or sprouted grain ones that reduce the bloating that can accompany eating wheat. I've tried them all and they are all good.

Spinach Quesadillas

4 tortillas
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb spinach, steamed and drained
salt
salsa

Divide cheese between two tortillas, leaving 1/2 inch border. Evenly distribute spinach between two tortillas, salt and cover each with remaining tortillas. Dry fry each over high heat, cooking each side 4-6 minutes or until the tortilla begins to brown and the cheese is melting. Remove from heat and cut into triangles and eat with cold salsa.

Hugs!

Winter Vegetable and Barley Saute

My love of vegetables is well known, particularly raw veggies in salads of all types and stripes. But this quick, throw-together saute had me singing in the kitchen, literally. And I do not sing. It really was that good.

And yet so simple. The combined flavors of sauteed red cabbage, fennel, kale, and shallots need to have an aria written for them because the taste is food of the gods. In this version I also added some chopped bacon ends (more fatty than meaty) to serve as the frying oil and then added some cooked barley to up the heft of the dish. I can't say enough great things about this combination so I'll simply leave you with the recipe and hope you enjoy it!

Winter Vegetable and Barley Sautee

1 shallot, sliced thin
1 cup red cabbage, sliced thin
2 cups lacinto (aka tuscan, black, dino) kale, chopped fine
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thin
2 strips fatty bacon, minced
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup cooked barley
salt
pepper

Cook bacon over high heat until it gives up most of its fat. Add shallots, carrots and fennel and saute another 3-5 minutes. Add red cabbage and cook another 3 minutes. (add few teaspoons of water if the veggies start to stick). Add kale and saute until it wilts. Add barley and cook another 3 minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Hugs!

Fish Soup with Dill and Fennel

As someone who is often happiest when I'm in the kitchen, it always surprises me how much I enjoy coming home to a hot meal already made waiting for me. It reminds me that the joy I get from making food is equal to the pleasure of sitting down to a home cooked meal.

The other night I came home to this spectacularly tasty soup and discovered that the secret to its super taste was an accident: the juice drained from a can of tuna. It gave the soup a lovely complexity without overwhelming it with too much tuna flavor. I had seconds (and secretly thirds later in the night). Pairing dill with the tuna flavor, while not traditional, brought a green lightness to the soup that I loved.

Discovering how humble ingredients can elevate a meal is one of the great pleasures of cooking at home!

Fish Soup with Dill and Fennel

1 lb rock fish (frozen is fine, or any other white fish will probably work)
8-10 scallops
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 fennel bulb, roughly chopped
1 bottle of clam juice
1 shallot, minced
juice from 15 oz can of tuna in water
2 teaspoons dill
salt
pepper

In stock pot sear rock fish in olive oil until it begins to brown. Remove from pot and set aside. Add celery, onion, fennel, carrots, clam juice, tuna juice, shallot and 1 cup of water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cover and cook until vegetables are just tender. Add fish back to pot, scallops and dill and cook another 3-4 minutes until scallops are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Hugs!

Rhubarb Crumble with Creme Fraiche

Rhubarb is one of those foods that I have always associated with cold weather climates. When I lived in Minnesota it seemed like every yard and garden plot had a rhubarb patch, whether you liked it or not. If you're a hater of the plant and a gardener you know how hard it is to get rid of it. But I wondered if I would find any available here in the California southland. Imagine my delight when I came across some in the farmers' market and snatched some up for this delicious treat.

While Rhubarb is most often used in dessert I wasn't sure if it was considered a fruit or a vegetable. Surprise! It is neither but simple the stalk of a plant. I suppose that would make it similar to celery but since you cannot eat the leaves of Rhubarb I suppose that categorization doesn't work. Either way, this is quick and easy and so good.

In case you've never had the opportunity to eat or make creme fraiche you need to do so immediately. There are so many reasons to recommend it that I have to leave you with a list.

1) Creme Fraiche is both tart (the fermentation) and sweet (the heavy cream) so it pairs so well with desserts that need a little creaminess or a little tart to temper the sweet.

2) Since the cream is fermented it's easier to digest.

3) It's better than sour cream since it doesn't separate and cooks like cream while providing some lift to a dish.

4) Making it is so easy and fun to make (great for introducing kids to DIY) since it is something of a chemistry experiment watching the fermentation process.

Creme Fraiche
Combine 2 tablespoons buttermilk with 1 quart of cream in glass jar with a lid. Set out at room temperature for at least 24 hours. Check after 24 hours to see how thick creme has become. Once it appears that entire liquid has fermented into thickened cream, refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Keep refrigerated.

Rhubarb Crumble with Creme Fraiche

8 stalks rhubarb, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon sugar

Crumble
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut butter into oat flour until fairly well mixed. Add rolled oats, brown sugar, cardamom and salt and continue mixing with your fingertips until butter is evenly distributed and mixture begins to clump. Place rhubarb pieces in bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of sugar until well coated. Spread in baking pan large enough to accommodate rhubarb in almost single layer. Sprinkle crumble on top and dot with 2 tablespoons of cut up butter. Bake for 40 minutes until top is browned. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and serve with Creme Fraiche, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Hugs!