I Was Running Late Last Night

...So I didn't get any pictures of dinner.  I can only imagine how bummed you are.  I know you live for nothing more than pictures of my food.  It turns out that it was OK that I was running late because this was a pretty quick meal.  Last night I made Chicken with Almond Butter from Recipe Girl.

Chicken with Almond Butter

Ingredients
1/2 Cup Almonds - the recipe called for ground almonds, but I didn't have them so I used slivered and overflowed it a little.
2 Tbs Flour
2 Tbs Butter, unsalted at room temperature
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Lemon Zest
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
4 Chicken Breasts, boneless/skinless
1/4 Cup Slivered Almonds

Directions
Oven Temp:  425 degrees
1.  Blend almonds, flour and butter in a food processor (or whatever) until smooth.  Add salt, cayenne, lemon zest, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce and mix blend well.

2.  Pound breasts lightly and spread generously with almond butter.  Place in a buttered baking dish and bake for about 15 minutes (seriously, it only took 15 minutes).

3.  Top with slivered almonds and broil for 30 seconds or until browned.

Eric and I agreed this "almond butter" would be really good on white fish as well.

Aunt Petunia's Pork with a Side!

I got a great surprise gift for Christmas.  My fellow Harry Potter nerd friend, Dave, gave me The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.  My first attempt from the cookbook was a failure, but I chalk that up to user error.  But after my surprise birthday trip to Hogwarts I was inspired to try again.  So for Wednesday Dinner this week I attempted to make a pork loin inspired by Harry's Aunt Petunia.  She serves pork to Uncle Vernon's business associates in an ill-fated (Thanks to Dobby) meal in the Chamber of Secrets.


One of the things I like about this cookbook is that Dinah Bucholz gives us some background as to why the dish is related to Harry Potter and some history relating to the main ingredient.  For instance, did you know that "Unlike chickens and pheasants, [the pig] is one animal the Romans didn't bring with them to England.  Pigs have been around in Europe for millions of years, and since we humans discovered them we've been using them for food?"


This week I actually thought of a side!  In advance!  I made Martha's Butternut Squash with Brown Butter.  It was really good and her times were spot on.


Aunt Petunia's Apple Blossom Glazed Pork Loin

Ingredients
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Apple Butter (or Apple Sauce)
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
2 lbs Pork Loin














Directions
1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  In a saucepan, combine the water, honey and apple butter and stir to blend.  This may take longer than you'd expect, but don't give up!  It will eventually blend together.

2.  Add the crushed red peppers and dried cranberries.  Bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.  It's gonna smell really sweet.  Don't worry.

3.  Pour half of the fruit sauce over the pork loin and place it in the preheated (325) oven. Bake the pork for 30 minutes.  

4.  Pour 1/4 of the remaining sauce over the pork and continue cooking 10 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 150 degrees.

5.  Rest the pork loin for 15 minutes before slicing.  Drizzle sauce over sliced pork and serve!

Butternut Squash with Brown Butter

Ingredients

2 Tbs Unsalted Butter

1 Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1/2 Cup Chicken Broth

1/4 Cup Water

1 Tbs Dark Brown Sugar

Directions

1.  Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown.

2.  Add squash; saute, stirring occasionally until golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork, about 16 minutes.

3.  Add chicken broth, water and brown sugar.

4.  Cook until liquid has evaporated and squash is nicely caramelized, about 6 minutes.  Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Voila!  Enjoy the meal!

Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas

Don't be put off by the name!   I know doesn't sound amazing, but I swear they're delicious.  I wouldn't even tell Eric what it was until he tried it (although, he did guess).  It's one of his favorite things I've made so far.  Mine too.


I found this recipe (an adaptation of a Martha Stewart recipe) this fall while I was trolling the web for savory pumpkin recipes.  It took me a while to get to it, but I'm glad I did.  I made a few changes due to missing ingredients and because I don't like things too spicy.  So here's my adaptation of Gluten Free Mommy's adaptation of Martha Stewart's recipe:


Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

8 Corn Tortillas (Go with corn, the flavor works)
2 Tbs Cilantro
2 Chicken Breasts (poached and shredded)
White Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

1 15 oz can Pumpkin Puree
3-4 cloves Garlic, peeled
1 tsp Chile Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock

Directions
Oven temp:  425
1.  Poach your chicken.  Tutorials can be found all over the place, but the basic process is put enough water to cover your chicken in a pot, boil it.  Reduce to a simmer, place chicken in a pot and cook till done - no longer pink.  Shred poached chicken with two forks.

2.  In a blender or food processor, puree pumpkin, chicken stock, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.

3.  Place 1 cup of this sauce in the bottom of an 8 inch glass casserole dish.

4.  In a bowl, combine shredded chicken with cilantro, and some cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.

5.  Place some of the chicken mixture on each tortilla and then lay the tortilla seam side down in the casserole dish.  The tortillas will probably split when you fold them.  Just handle them carefully and try to keep the filling in.  Make sure to put them seam down and follow the directions.  As long as they don't split all the way through they should be fine by the time they're topped and cooked.

6.  Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with cheese.

7.  Bake for 20-25 minutes at 425  until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.

8.  Enjoy!

Breakfast for Dinner

The other week it was my turn to make dinner but I didn't have anything planned, I didn't have anything defrosted and I didn't feel like going to the store.  What I did have was a lot of free range organic eggs thanks to some friends with chicken connections.  I also had really good bacon because Eric is obsessed with really good bacon.  So I decided it was breakfast for dinner night and made what could be described as a breakfast muffin?  Breakfast-to-go?  Breakfast-in-hand?  I'm still working on the name I guess.


Breakfast for Dinner Whose Name is Undetermined

Ingredients

Thin Sliced Bread
Bacon
Eggs
Green Onions, diced
Cheddar Cheese
Salt


Of course you can add or take away whatever you want, make vegetarian and take out the bacon, add veggies, make it as you please!


Directions
1.  Spray muffin pan.


2.  Fry bacon for about 5 minutes until it is about 2/3 of the way done.  You don't want it all the way done.


3.  Roll bread to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thickness.

4.  Use a round cookie cutter if you have one or a glass or mug if you don't to cut circles of bread that are a little larger than the bottom of the muffin mold.

5.  Place bread rounds in the bottom of the muffin mold.

6.  Put bacon around the edges of the muffin mold.

7.  Sprinkle cheese and green onions on top of bread.

8.  Crack an egg into each mold with bread.  Sprinkle with more cheese (because it's delicious) and green onions.  Depending on the saltiness of your bacon sprinkle with salt as well. 

9.  Bake for about 12 minutes until Yolk is at your desired state of "doneness."  Heads up, the yolk never looks done.

Thanksgiving Plate

I stuffed as much as I could on my Thanksgiving plate... and in my stomach.  Most of the menu is represented here.  Clockwise from the top we have:

Mashed Cauliflower by Z

Stuffing by Eric

Fluffy Sweet Potato Casserole by Courtney

Pomegranate Lemon Cranberry Sauce by me

(Not shown is Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce, also by me)

Roasted and Fried Turkey by Eric

Carrots and Parsnips by Pam

New Orleans Corn by Pam

Green Beans by Courtney in the center.

Everything was really, really good.

Thanksgiving Menu

So, I know it's a bit late to talk about Thanksgiving planning, but here goes.  We're having 8 people over for Thanksgiving (for a total of 10!).  Thankfully our guests are helping out by bringing over a dish or two.  Here's the plan:


Eric and Jaimee
-Baked Brie en Croute
  -1 with Quince and Apple Compote
  -1 with pecans, brown sugar and honey
-Fall cookies
-2 Turkeys
  -1 Organic free range for roasting
  -1 From Harris Teeter for frying
-Stuffing
-Fresh bread
-Cranberry Sauce
  -Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce
  -Pomegranate Lemon Cranberry Sauce


Courtney (and Dave)
-Green Bean Casserole
-Sweet Potatoes
-Personal Pumpkin Tartlets
-Personal Pecan Tartlets


Zeina
-Salad
-Roast Cauliflower (Pureed?)
-Pear Apple Cranberry Crisp


Martins (really just Eric's mom)
-Corn side dish
-Carrot side dish
-Pecan Brittle


You can probably tell what I'm cooking by my inability to make a decision when it comes to delicious sounding food.  I'll be back next week with some of the recipes and pictures of what we made.

Cashew Chicken

Again with an Asian dish.  I rarely order cashew chicken.  I think I haven't even had it since I was in China for my study abroad, but I was looking for low-carb recipes and I came across this one from Recipe Girl.  

Cashew Chicken

Ingredients

2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs dry sherry
1 large egg white
pinch of salt
1 tsp cornstarch
4 large skinless, boneless breasts
1/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup oil (The recipe calls for vegetable, I used half olive, half canola)
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts

Directions
1.  In medium bowl (or Ziploc bag), combine 1 T. soy sauce with wine, egg white, salt and ½ t. cornstarch; blend thoroughly. Cut chicken into ¼” cubes and toss in marinade to coat. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes (and up to several hours). 

2.  Combine broth and remaining soy sauce and cornstarch. Mix well and set aside.

3.  Heat wok or large fry pan to medium heat and add oil. Add cashews and fry until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

4.  Drain chicken marinade. Fry chicken just until firm, about 45 seconds. Remove and drain on paper towels.

5.  Remove all but 2 T. oil from pan. Increase heat to medium high. Add ginger and stir fry until fragrant. Add celery and water chestnuts and stir fry for 1 minute.

6.  Add chicken and cashews and cook until chicken is done, about 2 minutes more.

7.  Stir broth to dissolve cornstarch, and add to pan. Cook over high heat until sauce thickens.

8.  Serve over rice and enjoy!

Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce

I may have mentioned my slight obsession with pumpkins.  I've been trying to find savory recipes for pumpkins to no real avail.  I mentioned my dilemma to my friend Zeina who is a great cook and baker.  She had one ready for me to try out at the top of her head.

Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce

Ingredients

Salt

1 Pound Whole Wheat Pasta (I used rotini, but the recipe calls for penne)

2 Tbs Olive Oil

3 Shallots, finely chopped

3 - 4 Cloves of Garlic, minced or grated

2 Cups Chicken Stock

1 Can (15 oz) Pumpkin Puree

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

1 tsp Hot Sauce

2 pinches Nutmeg, freshly grated

2 pinches Ground Cinnamon

Salt and Pepper

8 leaves Fresh Sage, thinly sliced

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Add Ins - You can add to this sauce to add more vegetables or protein.  The below is what I used, but you could use chicken, peppers, whatever you have in your fridge!

2 Mild Italian Sausages
1 Zucchini, cut in 1/4 inch sections and then in half
1 Eggplant, cut in 1/4 inch sections and then in half

Directions
1.  Heat water for pasta, salt it and cook to al dente.

2.  Heat the oil over medium heat.  Brown Sausage.  Add shallots and garlic to the pan and saute for 3 minutes.

3.  Stir in chicken stock, then cream.  Season Sauce with hot sauce, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper.  Start with above guidelines, then season to taste.

Don't forget to taste!

4.  Add vegetables, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes to thicken.

5.  Stir in sage, toss with pasta and top with grated cheese to taste.