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Alton Brown’s “The Chewy”

February 8, 2009 by Jen

altonbrownchewy

It’s official – we have a new favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I was looking to try a recipe other than my old Tollhouse standby. I ended up going with Alton Brown’s “The Chewy” because of the great reviews. Brandon and I loved these cookies and he requested that this become our new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.

I love how fast chocolate chip cookies come together – you can whip up a batch in no time. The only time consuming part is preparing and baking the batches. I see no reason to buy cookies when you can make something this delicious at home!

The recipe calls for bread flour and melting the butter – both different from your average chocolate chip cookie recipe. I followed the directions with no modifications and suggest you do too. Whatever you do, be SURE to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. Also, watch the baking time. I like my cookies soft and usually undercook them by a few minutes (they will not look done when you take them out).

Try these now! And let me know what you think. Better than Tollhouse???

The Chewy
(Recipe source Alton Brown)

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer’s work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. (My oven is hot and I had to turn it down to 350 after the first batch)

Scoop onto baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet (pretty decent sized scoops). Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. They may be done in 10-12 minutes – watch them!!! Cool completely on racks before storing in an airtight container.

Posted in Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert, Tried and True | Tagged | 5 Comments »

Chocolate Pudding

January 20, 2009 by Jen

chocpud

I had a lot of leftover half-and-half in the fridge so I decided to browse through some cookbooks to look for ideas on what to do with it. I ended up settling on Chocolate Pudding from Joy of Cooking. Brandon is a huge chocolate lover so I thought he’d be happy to have this for dessert.

This is a thick and rich pudding. Brandon commented that the texture was in between pudding and a mousse. It was a breeze to put together before dinner and later that night there was a great dessert waiting for us in the fridge!

Chocolate Pudding
(Recipe source Joy of Cooking)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup warm water
1 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (optional but I recommend!)
2 cups half-and-half, divided into 1 3/4 and 1/4 cup
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Have ready a 3-cup bowl or 4 to 5 ramekins. If unmolding the pudding, oil the bowl or ramekins.

In a heavy saucepan, mix together sugar, cocoa and salt. Gradually stir in warm water to make a smooth, runny paste. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat, then remove from heat. Stir in chopped chocolate until melted. Then stir in 1 3/4 cup half-and-half.

Place cornstarch in a separate bowl. Very gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup half-and-half, making a smooth paste. Stir cornstarch paste into the chocolate mixture. Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken. Reduce heat to low and continue to stir briskly. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour the pudding into the bowl or cups. If you don’t want a skin to form on the top of the pudding, immediately press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

If desired, serve with whipped cream and grated chocolate.

Posted in Chocolate, Dessert | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

Sushi

January 18, 2009 by Jen

sushi2

Sushi is one of the things that Brandon and I go out to dinner for the most. It was never something I was really interested in making at home (mostly because I was intimidated by it) but Brandon kept bringing up wanting to get a sushi kit. Lucky for us, we received a sushi set for Christmas from my sister-in-law’s boyfriend, Stephen. The set is from Crate and Barrel and came with everything you need to get started with making your own sushi – including really cute serving dishes.

We decided to stay in tonight and make sushi. We planned out our menu and made:

– Tuna nigiri
– Smoked salmon nigiri
– Tuna avocado roll
– Bagel roll
– Tuna roll with spicy mayo

All in all, I was really impressed by how well everything turned out. While it wasn’t exactly on par with our favorite sushi restaurant, it was really tasty and a great alternative to going out.

For this post I’m just going to post photos. I just don’t feel like I have a clear enough grasp yet on rolling the perfect sushi roll to walk you guys through it step-by-step but hopefully I’ll get there one day.

sushi3

I encourage you to try sushi at home if it’s something you’ve thought about doing. It was a fun activity for us to do together – very hands on. My biggest tip would be to make sure that you have really good quality fish (you don’t need as much as you think!) and buy sushi rice and follow the directions very closely. There are tons of online guides for rolling your own sushi and the instructions are probably far better than anything you’d get from me at this point. We used a Sushi book and the Cooking Light cookbook as guides tonight.

And I had to include this last picture of Brandon enjoying his feast!

bsushi

Posted in Asian, Ethnic, Fish | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments »

Penne a la Betsy

January 15, 2009 by Jen

pennebetsy

After hearing rave reviews, I’ve been wanting to try Penne a la Betsy from The Pioneer Woman Cooks. If you’re not familiar with the Pioneer Woman, you should definitely check out her site – especially her food blog. You’re in for some serious entertainment and great recipes. Now, I will say that most of her recipes are a bit of a splurge – think Paula Deen-esque. But I’m a firm believer that everyone has to splurge sometimes and we had some leftover heavy cream from a Tres Leches cake I made last week.

This dinner was a hit. Brandon told me several times how delicious it was and requested the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I’m going to do some brainstorming about how to lighten this up a bit so we can add it to the dinner rotation.

Penne a la Betsy
(Recipe source The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked shrimp
3/4 lb penne pasta (about 3/4 a box – I used Barilla Plus and Brandon was none the wiser)
Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine (can sub chicken broth)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream (I only used about 1/2 a cup and it was plenty)
Fresh parsley, chopped (As always, Publix was sold out on Sunday so I used dried)
Fresh basil, chopped (definitely splurge for the fresh basil – it makes so much difference in the flavor)

Directions:

Follow cooking directions on package for pasta.

In the meantime, peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) shrimp. Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet and add the shrimp. Cook for 3-4 minutes until they turn pink. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp, they cook quickly! Transfer to a cutting board and let cool.

In the same skillet, add a little more olive oil – another tbsp or two. Add the onion and sautee for a few mintues until it starts to become translucent. Add the garlic and cook another minute or two, careful not to let the garlic burn. Add the wine or chicken broth and let simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionaly. The wine will evaporate.

Add the tomato sauce and stir well. Then stir in the heavy cream and continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer while you chop herbs and shrimp. You want to chop about 1-2 tbsp each of basil and parsley (to taste) and chop the shrimp into bite-sized pieces.

Add shrimp and herbs into tomato cream sauce and stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add cooked pasta and stir until combined. Top with grated parmesan if desired.

Posted in One Dish, Pasta, Quick and Easy, Shrimp, Tried and True | Tagged , , | 6 Comments »

Operation Baking Gals

January 11, 2009 by Jen

baking_gals

Over the holidays I heard about a great organization called Operation Baking Gals. Here’s an overview from their site on the organization:

“Baking GALS (GALS stands for Give A Little Support) is a group of volunteer bakers who bake and ship homemade goodies to our heroic troops that are currently deployed.  Each soldier is “Hosted” by a blogger, and potential bakers are “recruited” from the bloggers own site as well as the GALS site.  Each Host recruits between 20-25 bakers, meaning LOTS of goodies get delivered to our soldier…so many, in fact that he or she has plenty to share with their fellow troops!”

I responded to a call for bakers from Beth at Someone’s in the Kitchen with Brina. I joined the “Go Team Terps” team. We baked for Spc. Brett Dibbern. He’s 22 years old and from Wood River, Nebraska. Brett attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was in the ROTC program there.  He joined the Army Reserve right out of high school and completed basic training at Fort Jackson.

I can’t imagine how hard it must be to be deployed overseas – especially during the holidays. As soon as I heard the call for bakers for Brett, I knew I had to participate.

bakinggals

We were instructed to bake and ship anytime between December 5-19. I decided to bake Eggnog Cookies (for a seasonal treat!), Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Apple Spice Bars. I really enjoyed spending a day in the kitchen baking for our troops. I followed all the packaging instructions carefully to insure that everything made it over safely and in one piece and also threw a lot of extra goodies in the box as well.

Here’s a picture of my box all ready to go.

bakinggalsbox

I was really excited a couple weeks later to receive an email from Brett thanking me for the package. I’m definitely planning on joining another Baking Gals team in the future.

And for the recipes…

Eggnog Cookies
(Recipe Source: Mrs. Fields Best Ever Cookie Book)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose four
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups grandulated sugar
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c.) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup eggnog
1 tsp vanilla
2 large egg yolks
1 tbsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Mix well with a whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add eggnog, vanilla and egg yolks, beating at medium speed until smooth. Add the flour mixture a little at a time, beating at a low speed until combined. Do not overmix.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets, one inch apart. (I had to chill my dough before I could shape it into teaspoons – it was too sticky.)  Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Bake 23-25 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. (I only baked mine for around 18-20 minutes.) Transfer immediately to a rack to cool.

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Recipe Source: allrecipes.com)

These were really, really good. I will be making these again for sure.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. (I always go towards the lesser side of baking time for cookies. I like mine super soft.)  Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Apple Spice Cookie Bars
(Recipe Source: Good Things Catered)

Ingredients:

2 c. plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
small pinch ground cloves (I omitted, I did not have any cloves)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 apples, cored and diced (a little less than 2 c.)
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9×13 pan with foil and baking spray.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Whisk to combine well and set aside.

In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugars and butter and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine. Add vanilla extract and beat to combine. Turn mixer on slow and fold in flour mixture a little at a time until just combined. Fold in apples.

Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle top generously with cinnamon sugar. Place in oven and bake until cooked through, when top slightly bounces back to the touch, about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving. (Bars will be very soft.)

Posted in Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert | Tagged | 3 Comments »

Greek Night with Keftedes

January 4, 2009 by Jen

greeknight

We love Greek food and were really craving it tonight. There is an amazing Greek restaurant a couple blocks from our house that we love. Unfortunately, after the holidays we’re on a bit of a budget so we decided to have our own Greek feast at home.

One of my favorite blogs for Greek food is Elly Says Opa! There was a post of her top 30 of 2008 in my Google Reader today and I starred this Greek meatball recipe. It was perfect for tonight.

I served the meatballs with Greek salad, wild rice and hummus with pita bread. It was a great dinner and we have plenty of leftovers. I’ll be making this again for sure!

Keftedes (Greek Meatballs)
(Recipe source Elly Says Opa!)

Ingredients:

1 slice of bread
milk
1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 an onion, finely diced or grated
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1 heaping tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
flour, for dredging
olive oil, for pan frying

Directions:

Place slice of bread in a bowl and pour milk over. Allow bread to soak up milk as you are prepping other ingredients. Squeeze the bread to get rid of some of the milk, and then discard the remaining milk, keeping just the soggy bread.

Add the beef, egg, onion, garlic, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper to the bread. Mix everything together, careful not to over mix.  Then, shape into meatballs–any size you want. Mine were around 1-1 1/2 inch around.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add some olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Dredge the meatballs in flour, shaking off the excess. When the oil is hot, add meatballs and pan fry until cooked through (working in batches, if necessary). Mine took around 4 minutes per side, flipping halfway through.

I placed them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain before serving.

Greek Salad Dressing
(Recipe source my parents)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a jar. Shake and chill. This recipe can be cut in half or quartered for smaller serving.

Posted in Beef, Ethnic, Greek | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

Butternut Squash Curry

December 9, 2008 by Jen

butternutcurry

I love anything with red curry paste. I also love trying new meatless main dishes. If it weren’t for my meat-loving husband, it’s possible I would be a vegetarian. I try to plan a meat-free dinner at least once a week and I don’t usually eat meat with breakfast or lunch.

I came across this recipe in Gourmet a couple months ago. I have really been getting a lot of inspiration from Gourmet lately. I’ve found that they have a lot of recipes that are possible on a week night and don’t call for too many special/expensive ingredients.

I was really intrigued by this combination – spicy curry and sweet winter squash. I was really excited to try it. While this isn’t something that I would add to the regular rotation, I will definitely be making this one again.

Butternut Squash Curry
(Adapted from Gourmet)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp plus 2 tsp vegetable oil, divided
1 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (do not stir), divided (I used light coconut milk and it turned out fine)
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp Thai Kitchen red curry paste
1/3 cup water
5 ounces baby spinach (5 cups packed)
1 tbsp Asian fish sauce, or to taste
1/4 cup salted roasted cashews, chopped
Cooked jasmine or brown rice
Lime slices, for garnish

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sauté squash with cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt until beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to skillet and cook onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup coconut milk from top of can and cook, stirring, until fat starts to separate and look glossy, about 2 minutes. Add curry paste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

Add squash, water, remaining coconut milk and simmer, covered, until squash is tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook, covered, until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in fish sauce. Sprinkle with cashews.

Serve over jasmine or brown rice and garnish with lime slices.

Posted in Asian, Ethnic, One Dish, Rice, Vegetable, Vegetarian | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

Cinnamon Rolls

December 9, 2008 by Jen

individualcinnroll

I got the urge to make cinnamon rolls last Saturday and I couldn’t stop thinking about them all day. After my 13 mile training run, I certainly felt like I could splurge on cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Sunday.

I think my favorite part about deciding to make something is the search for the perfect recipe. I probably spent an hour browsing cinnamon roll recipes online. I finally decided on a recipe from The Way the Cookie Crumbles. This is one of the blogs I follow regularly and I love her scientific approach. I knew if Bridget had been trying to perfect her cinnamon roll recipe for years, it must be good.

The dough came together really quickly and was so easy to work with. I put it all together and left it to rise while we went out for sushi. After dinner, Brandon and I had fun rolling them out and putting them together. We couldn’t wait for breakfast the next morning!

Once assembled, we left them to rise overnight in the refrigerator. It was so nice to get up Sunday morning and have breakfast already taken care of. All I had to do was make the glaze.

Next time, I will probably add a little more salt to the dough. For whatever reason, I like well-salted baked goods – especially anything bread-like. I would also add more butter in the cinnamon filling. And last, I think I’d do more of a cream cheese glaze. I added more than the recipe called for but I still would have liked more. It’s all up to your taste!

All in all, the texture of the roll was amazing. This is a really easy dough to work with and a great treat for a weekend morning.

img_2107

Cinnamon Rolls
(Recipe from The Way the Cookie Crumbles)

Ingredients:

DOUGH
½ cup whole milk
7 tbsp unsalted butter (I used salted and left out the 1 1/2 tsp salt, next time I will still add the salt)
½ cup warm water (about 110-115 degrees)
1 envelope (2¼ teaspoons yeast)
¼ cup (1¾ ounce) sugar
1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks
1 ½ tsp salt
4-4 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface

FILLING
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) light brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp melted butter (next time I will add a little more butter – maybe 2 or 3 tbsp, to taste)

GLAZE
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted to remove lumps
2-4 ounces cream cheese, softened (to taste)
½ tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk, until you reach your desired consistency

Directions:

Heat the milk and butter in the microwave until the butter melts. Remove from microwave and set aside until the mixture is lukewarm (about 100 degrees).

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, mix together the water, yeast, sugar, egg, and yolks at low speed until well mixed. Add the salt, warm milk mixture, and 2 cups of the flour and mix at medium speed until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook, add another 2 cups of the flour, and knead at medium speed (adding up to ¼ cup more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary) until the dough is smooth and freely clears the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a round, place it in a very lightly oiled large bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 1½ to 2 hours. (Especially in the winter, I like to let my dough rise in the oven. I find that the kitchen is a little too cool. I turn the oven to warm for a few seconds, switch it off and then put the bowl of dough in.)

After the dough has doubled in bulk, press it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, shape the dough into a 16 by 12-inch rectangle, with a long side facing you. Mix together the filling ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border at the far edges. Roll the dough, beginning with the long edge closest to you and using both hands to pinch the dough with your fingertips as you roll. Moisten the top border with water and seal the roll. Lightly dust the roll with flour and press on it ends if necessary to make a uniform 16-inch cylinder. Using a sharp, serrated knife, cut the roll in 12 equal pieces and place the rolls cut-side up into a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 1½ to 2 hours. (This is where you have the option of letting them rise overnight in the refrigerator.)

When the rolls are almost fully risen, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. (If you left them in the fridge overnight, let them come to room temprature before baking.) Bake the rolls until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of one reads 185 to 188 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the glaze ingredients together until smooth. Glaze the rolls and serve.

cinnamonrollsiced

Posted in Bread/Yeast, Breakfast/Brunch, Holiday, Special Occasion, Tried and True | Tagged , | 7 Comments »

Open Faced Steak Sandwiches with Horseradish Sauce

December 3, 2008 by Jen

steaksandblog

We were seriously overdosed on turkey and while menu planning this week, steak sandwiches sounded great. I got the inspiration for this sandwich from Cooking Light but didn’t follow the recipe much at all when I was cooking. These turned out great and we have tons of steak leftover for lunches.

Also, this recipe will be the FIRST featuring the Big Green Egg – WooHoo!!!

Open Faced Steak Sandwiches with Horseradish Sauce
(Inspired by Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

STEAK
1 lb steak (flank, strip, ribeye – your choice)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp freshly ground pepper

HORSERADISH SAUCE
1/4 cup prepared horseradish
1/4 cup light mayo
1/4 cup light sour cream

SANDWICH
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, sliced thinly
1 cup baby greens
Thick bread slices (texas toast, Italian or French bread – your choice)
Steak, thinly sliced diagonally across the grain
Horseradish sauce

Directions:
Mix together steak marinade ingredients in a bowl with a wisk. Place steak in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over steak. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the steak from the fridge and let come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Place cast iron grate on Big Green Egg (not required, but nice if you want the pretty char marks). Preheat grill to 400 degrees, about 20-30 minutes. Spray grate with nonstick cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Place steak on grill and cook with lid down about 8 minutes per side, rotating 90 degrees after 4 minutes on each side to get char marks. For medium rare, pull steak when the temperature registers 115-120 in the thickest part. Let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing to allow juices to redistribute.

Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Mix together horseradish sauce ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet (I used cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Onions are ready when they have broken down and are a nice golden color.

To assemble the sandwiches lightly toast bread. Spread horseradish sauce on bread and layer baby greens. Place sliced steak over baby greens and top with onions and another dollop of the horseradish sauce.

I served these with homemade oven fries and mixed baby greens.

Check out those grill marks!

Check out those grill marks!

Posted in Beef, Big Green Egg, Sandwiches | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Greek Pasta

December 1, 2008 by Jen

Greek Pasta

We love anything with Greek flavors and have tried several variations of Greek pasta. Usually we find that something seems to be lacking but I think we’ve finally found one to stick with. This was delicious and came together really quickly. The flavor was great and you can definitely play around with the ingredients and try different substitutions. For example, I forgot to buy kalamata olives at the store and we had green in the fridge. Rather than omit olives, I decided to throw the green in and it worked great.

Greek Pasta
(Loosely adapted from Mediterranean Pasta in Minutes, Tyler Florence)

Ingredients:
1/2 box of penne pasta (or your choice)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1/2 cup sweet onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 8 1/2 oz can quartered artichoke hearts in water
1/3 kalamata or green olives, pitted and halved
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (divided into 1/4 and 1/4)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Follow cooking instructions on box for pasta.

Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat (depending on your oven). Add olive oil and heat until shimmery. Add chicken strips and cook until they start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add diced onion and garlic and saute for about 3 more minutes, until onion begins to look translucsent. Add in artichoke hearts, olives, diced tomatoes, basil and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Reduce heat and cook on low until heated through. Stir in 1/4 of feta cheese and remove from heat.

Place cooked pasta in a large bowl. Pour chicken mixture over pasta. Top plated dishes with remaining feta cheese.

Posted in Chicken/Poultry, Ethnic, Greek, One Dish, Pasta, Quick and Easy, Tomato | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

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