Winter Wonderland

As I forgot to take pictures of the yummy dinner we made last night, I thought I would entertain you with pictures of the snowstorm instead :)

Dinner last night was Parmesan-panko baked chicken, oven roasted broccoli and watercress salad with a roasted tomato dressing courtesy of Tyler Florence....I was napping during this part so can't take any credit for the dressing! In fact, to be honest, the only thing I did do was the broccoli! Here are the recipes anyway...The chicken was delicious and perfectly cooked even though it did look slightly anemic....we choose a lower oven temp so the kitchen wouldn't fill with smoke! Check previous posts for the oven roasted broccoli recipe.

Roasted-Tomato Dressing

Ingredients

1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic, smashed
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, plus 1/4 cup for the dressing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Handful fresh parsley leaves
2 bunches hydroponic watercress (feathery variety)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Take a roasting dish and lay the tomatoes out with the garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes until the tomatoes have burst and juices are slightly caramelized.
Remove from the oven and place in a blender with all the pan juices. Add the red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, sugar, parsley, and salt and pepper. Pulse until well combined. Set aside to cool. in the refrigerator. Once cool, drizzle the roasted tomato dressing over mounds of watercress.

Parmesan-Panko Crusted Chicken (From Ana Pump's, "Summer on a Plate")

Ingredients
3 large skinless/boneless chicken breasts

3 Tbsp peanut oil

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1 1/2 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 cups panko or dry bread crumbs

2 Tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (we used 425 degrees F). Brush a metal sheet pan with 1 Tbsp of the peanut oil and set aside.

Combine the mayo, mustard, and honey in a small bowl. Mix together the panko, salt, pepper and parmesan on a large sheet pan. Cover both sides of the chicken breasts, first with the mayonnaise mixture, then generously coat each breast wuth the panko mixture. Place the chicken on the oiled sheet and drizzle with the remaining peanut oil. Bake 20-25 minutes ( depending on what temperature you choose).

I'm back :)

Exactly 11 months after my last post, I am back! Keep an eye out for more regular posts :)

My Dream Kitchen

My dream house is basically Ina Garten's home in East Hampton....however, its her kitchen that I would really love to have one day. It is traditional and functional yet fresh and modern (without being stark) and the green walls are to die for! These are the best pictures I could find...please let me know if you come across better ones!

Ina walls:

The walls in my kitchen are, in fact, not wallpaper, but rather they're painted. There used to be a striped wallpaper that I liked but it was discontinued, so a friend who's a decorative painter offered to paint the same stripes. You might want to look at books of wallpapers from Clarence House or Canovas in New York City to see if they have something similar.

What are the materials in Ina's kitchen?
My kitchen has white painted wood cabinets, the center island has a black honed granite countertop and the back counters are black Formica. The floors are black and white linoleum tile. The refrigerator is Sub Zero, the 2 dishwashers are Bosch, and the 8-burner stove is Viking.

Other Kitchens I love:

Healthier Brownies, part 2

In a previous post, I tried making brownies with pumpkin puree..yum! Now the the second experiment....brownies made with garbanzo beans, eggs and agave nectar...no butter, flour, or sugar!
These were actually quite good! I took them out after 40 minutes to maintain fudginess (good idea!). Next time I would add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or nuts to the batter for some interest. The brownies could not have been easier to make, they rose beautifully, and were a breeze to cut. I cut mine into small squares and stored them in the fridge (they taste more chocolatey this way). If you don't have agave nectar or are having trouble finding it you could use brown rice syrup or raw sugar.

Garbanzo Bean Brownies
1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips
2 c. garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
4 eggs
¾ cup brown rice syrup
1/2 tsp baking powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl melt chocolate chips in microwave for 2 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, combine beans and eggs.
Add brown rice syrup, baking powder, and chocolate, process until smooth.
Pour batter into a 9” or 8X8” non-stick pan. (or spray a glass one with cooking spray)
Bake for 45 minutes.

Roasted Garlic Soup

This soup uses a horrifying number of garlic cloves...40 something, I think. However, as most of them have been roasted, the end result is much milder and smoother than you might expect. The squeeze of lemon and parmesan cheese at the end really brings this soup to a whole new level! Even for non-garlic lovers, this is an outstanding. The only change I made was to substitute half and half for the whipping cream.

Beware: you may get a bit of indigestion from consuming this much garlic, so keep your portions small!

This soup is originally from Bon Apetit, February 1999, but as with a lot of my recipes, I found it on epicurious.com. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/100669

Ingredients

26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

2 1/4 cups sliced onions

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

18 garlic cloves, peeled

3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)

4 lemon wedges

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.)
Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.