Wine IN Dinner and WITH Dinner

Chicken Marsala

Another Mr. J delighted our group with his Chicken or Filet Marsala.

I was very appreciative that he accommodated my inability to eat red meat by offering the chicken option! (hopefully that helped the meal not break the bank either!) He based it off a Weight Watchers recipe

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp butter
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (he used baby portabella)
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast (there was also a filet option)
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ cup Marsala wine
1 ¼ cup reduced sodium chicken broth (for the filet the sauce used beef broth)
1 ½ tbs cornstarch

Directions

1) Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender and releasing liquid, about 5 minutes.


2) Meanwhile, season chicken on both sides with thyme, salt and pepper. Move mushrooms to outer edge of skillet once cooked. Place chicken in center of skillet and sauté until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3) Add wine to skillet; simmer 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of broth and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 8 minutes.

4) Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/2 cup of broth in a small bowl; add to skillet. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly and incorporating mushrooms into the liquid, about 1 minute. Serve chicken with mushroom sauce spooned over top.

He served it with mashed russet potatoes and broccoli. We loved it!

Mac & Cheese, no box involved

I was bringing a meal to my NYE weekend in the Berkshires and I was thinking about what would be easy, travel well, and was good for a group of 8. I came up with mac & cheese. Who doesn’t love it.

Well, I didn’t love mine as much as I anticipated when making it the night before BUT I know what I’ll do for the next time around. It was too dry. The night I cooked it, there was an amazing looking creamy-ness and cheesy texture I couldn’t resist sampling a macaroni before baking.  I cooked it part way before packing it, but maybe I should have kept everything separate since I knew I would have access to a kitchen.

It was good, but it wasn’t amazing. I based it off Alton Brown’s mac & cheese recipe. I switched up the topping to crushed potato chips instead of bread crumbs. I also added some other cheeses.

Ingredients

*special note: this serves about 6 so I doubled it for 8 and had leftovers*
1 pound large elbow macaroni
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons mustard
5 cups milk
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
½ cup mozzarella, shredded
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
1 teaspoon koshersalt
Fresh black pepper

Topping:

5 tablespoons butter
1 cup crushed potato chips
¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to a bit firmer than al dente.
3) While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep whisking until it is free of lumps for several minutes.

4) Cook bacon until crisp then chop into pieces.
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5) Stir in the milk and simmer for ten minutes.

6) Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the sauce into the macaroni in the casserole dish. Mix in chopped bacon. Top with remaining cheese.

7) Melt the topping butter in a saute pan and toss the chips in to coat. Top the macaroni with the chips. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Leftovers need some additional help to recreate the creamy texture so I add a dribble of milk or cream and a sprinkle of leftover cheese.

I think next time I make mac & cheese I will greatly increase the liquid and severely undercook the pasta since it’ll cook a bit when baking.

Other great additions to baked mac & cheese are: caramelized shallots; cherry or grape tomatoes whole and basil; sometimes I make it Mexican with taco seasoning, pepper jack cheese, green onions, salsa, and topped with crushed tortilla chips. What should I add next time?

Say mmmm: Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Topping

This is a great meal to come home to or to pull out of the freezer (adding drop biscuits just before cooking).

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I’m not a fan of peas, so I don’t include them in my pot pie. In the past, I’ve included edemame for some color. Individual ramekins would mean you could customize per person! How fun?! Turkey instead of chicken, sweet potatoes, celery, turnips, or anything else you like of would be great additions too.

I make this occasionally and thought it was a great use for leftovers too! I made a crock pot recipe the other day which wasn’t great. It was chicken, white wine, cream cheese, onions, and a packet of italian dressing. I served it over egg noodles and it was OK but not overly blog-worthy. When photographed it showed how white it was!

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, cooked
2 cups carrots, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup corn
2 medium potatoes, cooked and cut into cubes
1 can cream of celery soup (or cream of potato, or cream of mushroom, or cream of chicken)
1 cup milk
drop biscuits (recipe below)

Directions

1) Cook potatoes and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2) Cook carrots and corn.
3) Tear or dice chicken and put into a greased 9” pan.
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4) Add chopped potatoes, chopped carrots, corn, and onions.
chickenpotpie2_290_2005) Combine cream of celery soup and milk. Pour into pan.
6) Mix the pot pie insides and spread drop biscuits onto the top.
7) Bake 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees.
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Drop Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons butter, cut in small chunks
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar (if desired)

Directions

1) Combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a bowl stirring well.
2) Cut in butter to form small chunks.
3) Stir in enough milk to form a wet batter (I make it more soupy when it is for topping).
4) Mix in cheddar (if desired).
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The drop biscuits don’t look great, but trust me, it is awesome when baked. This time I turned the broiler on for the last 2 minutes to get it more golden once I was sure the biscuit was totally cooked and not gummy underneath.

I like these amounts but thought about mixing the insides with cream of celery soup and a cup of chicken broth. I’ll probably try it next time. Sometimes I make a second one and leave off the topping to freeze it. Just add the topping before baking. Pie crust or puff pastry would make a good topping too, but I’m partial to the biscuit myself. Enjoy!

In the zone, the CALzone: Turkey Meatball & Spinach

I loooove to make calzones. I think the ratio of crispy crust to inner fillings or would-be pizza toppings is the best. It is also a great use for leftovers or the occasional less-than-perfect ingredient.

This calzone was turkey meatball, fresh spinach, and cheese. Dough definitely plays a big role in the calzone but dough varies in ease and quality. I went with refrigerated dough and pre-made turkey meatballs.

The trick is to fill the calzone much more than it looks like it can hold. Calzones fall into those “contents may settle while in motion.” I bought a ton of spinach and thought I could use it here.

Ingredients

1 ball of refrigerated pizza dough
4 turkey meatballs
2 cups shredded mozzerella
3 cups spinach, chopped
1 egg, whipped

Directions:

1) Stretch pizza dough out using your hands and spread out on lightly greased pan.
2) Top half of dough with sliced meatballs, spinach, and cheese alternating layers.

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The trick is to fill the calzone much more than it looks like it can hold. Calzones fall into those “contents may settle while in motion.” I bought a ton of spinach and thought I could use it here.
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3) Fold over and secure all the way around. Make a few slits to let steam out before brushing with eggwash.
4) Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-minutes until golden brown.
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Some of my other favorite calzones include: green apple, brie, and prosciutto; chicken parmesan; and ham and cheese. Literally anything could fill them up but I draw the line at going too far out of the box with Chinese or Mexican. That’s just crazy.
Calzones are great appetizers or as a meal. I might bring some to Christmas with the future in-laws!

Mess Soup

I wasn’t feeling under the weather. I wasn’t feeling down. I just like soup…all the time. Sometimes it’s just time for soup, and that time usually lasts about six servings. My “recipe” is more of a method than than a recipe per se.I learned from my mum that every leftover there is can be transformed. Mum always makes soup that can’t be replicated…because the ingredients differ each time and she deserves all the credit of my soup.

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We freeze leftovers, all together. Everything is cooked first, spices for the soup comes from the spices when I cooked it the first time. My freezer container starts to have this cool layering affect from the many ingredients. I call it Mess Soup because that’s what it is.

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This batch included corn and white rice with cilantro from a Mexican meal. There were some caramelized red onions, lots of swiss chard, cous cous, and a surprisingly minimal quantity of chicken.I add a package of soup starter to pull it together. It cooks for about an hour and it’s great. Mess soup has great combinations and makes me feel warm and reminds me of the many meals that this came from.

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I like how thick it gets and much it needs to be stirred…I come from a long line of avid stirrers.