Chicken with Morels and Creme Fraiche

I think I will always see morels as tiny brains. But instead of grossing me out like they did as a child, they now represent for me something with a deep, earthy flavor and folds that hold all the creamy sauce you toss them in.

I also associate morels with the French movie “Amelie.” One of the characters mentions “hare and morels” … I’ve always wondered what exactly that meant.

This dish is one I look forward to making at a dinner party. Simple and elegant for the lowly chicken breast. Morels and creme fraiche are expensive, so this deserves a special occasion.

From Ina Garten.

Chicken with Morels and Creme Fraiche

Ingredients:

• 1 package dried morels, soaked for 30 minutes in 3 cups very hot water
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 1⁄4 cup melted butter
• 1⁄4 cup chopped shallots (1 large)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup (8 ounces) creme fraiche
• 1 cup heavy cream (optional)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lift the morels carefully from the hot water in order to leave any grit behind in the liquid. Rinse a few times to be sure all the grittiness is gone. Discard the liquid and dry the morels lightly with paper towels. Set aside.

Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dredge them in flour and shake off the excess. Heat half the butter in a large saute pan and cook the chicken in 2 batches over medium-low heat until browned on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to an ovenproof casserole dish.

Add the rest of the butter to the pan along with the shallots, drained morels, and garlic. Saute over medium heat for 2 minutes, tossing and stirring constantly. Pour the wine into the pan and reduce the liquid by half over high heat, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the creme fraiche, cream (if using), lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3⁄4 teaspoon pepper. Boil until the mixture starts to thicken, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 12 minutes, or until the chicken is heated through. To make ahead, refrigerate the chicken and sauce in the casserole and reheat slowly on top of the stove.

Served with rosemary Parmesan polenta.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

 

Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Crackers

The older I get, the more I lean toward savory snacks and treats during the holidays. They seem a welcome reprieve after all of the sweets and sugary drinks. One thing that has become my standby for get-togethers and easy hostess gifts is savory cookies. Next year for Christmas, I will just make a medley of these shortbread crackers/cookies as gifts because they are always popular on table spreads.

Ina Garten first introduced me to her blue cheese and walnut shortbread crackers, which turned me on to savory pastry cooking.

Recently, I saw her prepare these on The Today Show (a recipe from her new cookbook, which of course I own) and knew I had to make them. Not unlike the cheese coins or cheese straws we see everywhere in The South, Ina’s Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Crackers combine sharp cheddar cheese with fresh jalapeno, smoked chipotle chili powder and crunchy fleur de sel on top.

Addictive, the crackers go perfectly with a cold beer.

I make the dough a day ahead and then just slice and bake before I need them.

As seen on The Today Show…

Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Crackers

Ingredients (makes about 34 crackers):

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¹⁄8 teaspoon baking powder
• 14 tablespoons (13/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, 1/2-inch-diced
• 5 ounces extra-sharp white cheddar, grated
• 1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
• 3 tablespoons ice water
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash
• Fleur de sel or sea salt

Place the flour, kosher salt, and baking powder in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cheddar, jalapeño, and chipotle chili powder and pulse again. With the food processor running, add the ice water all at once. Continue pulsing until the mixture begins to form a ball. Dump the dough onto a floured board and roll it into a 14-inch log. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Cut the dough in 3/8-inch-thick slices. Place the crackers on the prepared sheet pan, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with the fleur de sel. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown (Note: mine took about 18 minutes). Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. If serving later, cool completely then store in airtight containers.

Can you see the bits of jalapeno in there? So pretty and festive!

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Fried Artichoke Hearts with Yogurt Dip

I overheard a child say that he and his friend were going to get their sleds out and attempt to sled down a grassy hill in the rain. It was so sad. So desperate for the Christmas they see in every movie, they are willing to fall in the mud, pretending it’s snow.

I remember snow, with all its pretty detailing. I also remember the stress of going somewhere as simple as the grocery store. How stop signs and sharp turns gave me cold sweats. How it feels to scrape ice off your car with numb fingers for 15 minutes before work. How no pair of snow boots can grip the black ice between you and your car. How traveling home for the holidays means much fretting, waking early for flights that may or may not have snow delays and lots of Weather Channel obsessions. How everything smells wet and the air hurts.

So yeah, I miss making snow angels and feeling the soft flakes on my cheeks. But the adult me is happy with mild temps and the true Christmasy spirit alive with too many cookies in the oven, too many presents under the tree and too many holiday-scented candles flickering all over the house.

I think artichokes are more of a spring-summer vegetable, but aren’t the holidays about having exotic tropical treats in the dead of winter? Plus, artichokes are so expensive, who knows the difference? I want them in the winter, when they are warm and tender and dipped into something creamy or lemony. I watched Ina Garten’s friend Mr. Zabar make these on TV and thought – surely regular artichokes are the same as baby artichokes, but with longer cooking times? Afraid not. BUT I made it work, friends.

I don’t deep-fry many things, but these called for deep-frying in olive oil, which I found too strange to resist. Wouldn’t it smoke up and overcook everything? What I found is this – it works, if watched carefully. Also, cutting artichoke hearts down to their most tender leaves and then frying them gives you crispy leaves with tender ends to dip in sauce, and soft, fragrant hearts to eat any way.

These were rich, which seems perfect for the holidays. I mixed together a quick yogurt dip, too, with lots of fresh herbs to cool and lighten things a bit.

Adapted from Food Network.

Fried Artichoke Hearts

Ingredients:

• 3 artichokes
• Olive oil
• 6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Remove and discard the artichoke stems. Peel off lower leaves until you get to the tender center. Slice off the top half so that only the light green remains, then cut the artichoke in half lengthwise and remove the fuzzy part and the spiky purple petals. Cut halves in half again, so you have quarters.

Place the artichokes in a medium pot, flat side down, and add olive oil to just cover. Add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring the olive oil to a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to a low flame and simmer for 15 minutes. Insert a knife into the lower half and if easily penetrated, it’s done.

Remove the thyme and garlic from the pot, raise the heat and fry uncovered for approximately 2 minutes, turning over the artichokes midway. They are done when brown and crispy. Remove the artichokes from the pot and place them on paper towels flat side down. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Yogurt Dip

Mix together 1 c. Greek yogurt, 6 T mayo, and your preference of chopped fresh thyme, sage and rosemary. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into serving bow.

The artichokes were not easy or ladylike to eat, but it was kind of fun. Best to grab on piece, peel off the leaves for dipping then scraping with your teeth, and finish with the heart.

I would serve this at a party, easily, or as a nice snack during a football game.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Black Olive, Anchovy and Caper Tapenade

I’ve always loved tapenade, but I never LOVED it until I made this recipe, which combines my love of puttanesca flavors into a thick, dark purple dip/spread that is delicious with toasted bread or pita or chips.

With Memorial Day this weekend, I figured this would be a great dish to make for entertaining guests or enjoying a warm evening in the garden.

Ina Garten’s recipe packs a punch with these robust flavors: anchovy, capers, black olives and lemon.

And the best part is that it’s easy to just combine the ingredients and mix!

Adapted from Ina Garten.

Black Olive Tapenade

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
• 3 tablespoons capers, drained
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 baguette, sliced and toasted

Combine the olives, capers, anchovies and garlic in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, and pulse 3 times. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, thyme and parsley and process until chunky.

Spoon into a serving bowl and serve with toasted bread, chips, pita triangles or pita chips. And some crisp veggies: carrots, celery, etc.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Homemade Cream Puffs (Profiteroles)

Sometimes you just feel like making something extravagant. Something that requires a custard and special baking equipment. Something like profiteroles, those eggy, light pastry puffs that bake up into a handheld mound with a hollow center perfect for filling with ice cream or vanilla custard, as I did here. Then you drizzle it with chocolate just because you are feeling ridiculous.

I made these for Mother’s Day – a sweet gift for the sweet mamas in my life. Nevermind that Grant and I ate most of them.

Be sure to watch the recipe well – my oven apparently doesn’t heat evenly, so I had some issues with some profiteroles getting too dark and some under-cooked, which means they deflated like a sad souffle. Still, I will be making these again because the baked profiteroles freeze well for later use. And I have some new pastry bags from my wedding registry to use.

Adapted from Ina Garten.

Vanilla Pastry Cream

Ingredients:

• 5 extra-large egg yolks, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups scalded whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon Cognac (optional)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed for 4 minutes, or until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add the cornstarch.

With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Don’t be alarmed when the custard comes to a boil and appears to curdle; switch to a whisk and beat vigorously. Cook, whisking constantly, for another 2 minutes; the custard will come together and become very thick, like pudding. Stir in the vanilla, Cognac (if using), butter, and heavy cream. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until cold.

Meanwhile…

Profiteroles with Vanilla Cream and Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup  whole milk
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 extra-large eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons prepared coffee

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat the milk, butter, and salt over medium heat until scalded. When the butter is melted, add the flour all at once and beat it with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together and forms a dough. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat for 2 minutes. The flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pan. Dump the hot mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the eggs and pulse until the eggs are incorporated into the dough and the mixture is thick.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe in mounds 1 1/2 inches wide and 1-inch high onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You should have about 18 puffs.

With a wet finger, lightly press down the swirl at the top of each puff. (You can also use 2 spoons to scoop out the mixture and shape the puffs with damp fingers.) Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned, then turn off the oven and allow them to sit for another 10 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Make a small slit in the side of each puff to allow the steam to escape. Set aside to cool.

For the chocolate sauce, place the cream and chocolate chips in a bowl set over simmering water and stir just until the chocolate melts. Add the honey and coffee and stir until smooth. Set aside.

For serving, fill a clean pastry bag with the pastry cream and pipe the cream inside the hollow cavity.

Drizzle with slightly warm chocolate sauce.

You can serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until serving. They hold up pretty well when chilled, but the profiterole loses its light texture after a day or so. You can freeze these for later use by just freezing the baked profiteroles and then reheating them at 350 for a few minutes to heat through.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Tabbouleh

One wedding-related detail I hadn’t anticipated is the stress of hosting out-of-town guests. Honestly, it has probably troubled me more than the big event – keeping the cat-hair level down, vacuuming the rugs every day, tidying the bathrooms, etc. And feeding all the extra mouths around.

To minimize my stress, I’ve been relying on easy one-off dishes that can be snacks or meals, depending on the person. That way, I can feed someone who just landed from a 5-hour flight, someone who just stopped by for a snack or someone who wants a light meal.

Salmon and lox are great; so is brie cheese with an assortment of crackers and jellies. I recently made tabbouleh salad for some house guests and it is the perfect, healthy and flavorful salad to make and just keep in the fridge – it only gets better with time!

I used to think tabbouleh was gross hippie food, but now I find it to be a wonderful cool, crunchy salad for spring and summer. Grant asks for it literally all the time.

Adapted from Ina Garten (she uses way too much salt in this!)

Tabbouleh

Ingredients:

• 1 cup bulghur wheat
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (1 bunch)
• 2 T chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 T chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 3 T chopped fresh basil
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and medium-diced
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the bulghur in a large bowl, pour in the boiling water, and add the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir, then allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Add the scallions, mint, parsley, basil, cucumber, tomatoes, salt and the pepper to taste; mix well. Serve or cover and refrigerate.

I sprinkle a little extra sea salt over the top to finish. Scrumptious. This is definitely my new potluck go-to dish.

This will be last blog post before my wedding, and in case you miss me, here’s a picture from my bachelorette party/wine tour (which was perfect for me because it included a wine-branch wreath-making party!). I don’t know where my friend Caitlin found these Mickey Mouse ears, but I wore them with pride.

See you soon, friends! xoxo

Roasted Pears with Walnuts and Blue Cheese

Another day, another salad! I’ve been wanting to make this recipe since pears were in season last fall. Oh well – our global food distribution system allows me to have fall fruits year-round, which is convenient for me, but maddening to Michael Pollan.

I love the combination of warm blue cheese, crunchy walnuts and sweet fruit. This recipe roasts the pears with that confetti-colored filling, basting in a mixture of apple juice and white wine. You then make a sweet salad dressing out of the basting liquid to serve with the pears on their bed of arugula.

Adapted from Ina Garten.

Roasted Pears with Walnuts and Blue Cheese

Ingredients (serves 6):

• 3 ripe but firm pears
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
• 3 ounces coarsely crumbled sharp blue cheese
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped
• 1/2 cup apple juice (or cider)
• 3 tablespoons white wine (or port)
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 6 ounces baby arugula
• Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Peel the pears and slice them lengthwise into halves. With a melon baller and knife, remove the core and seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of each pear half so that they will sit in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss the pears with some lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish large enough to hold the pears snugly.

Gently toss the crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries, and walnuts together in a small bowl. Divide the mixture among the pears, mounding it on top of the indentation.

In the same small bowl, combine the apple juice, wine, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around the pears. Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes, or until tender. Set aside until warm or at room temperature.

Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the basting liquid in a large bowl. Divide the arugula among 6 plates and drizzle with salad dressing. Top each with a pear half. Drizzle each pear with some of the basting liquid, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm.

These weren’t so good as leftovers, so I recommend just making enough for you and your dining companions. Reheating the pears makes them mushy and the sauce loses something. A wonderful first-course or part of a healthy soup-salad dinner for these cool spring evenings.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Appetizer Spanikopita

I made this spanikopita for a party on St. Patrick’s Day – the spinach is green, so y’know…

While I’ve made “dinner spanikopita” before, this is a different sort of deal because it’s basically a strudel. Rolling sheets of buttered phyllo dough around a filling of spinach, green onions and feta, then baking and slicing into pieces. Sort of like my curried chicken strudel – also from Ina Garten. Because she’s the queen of entertaining, I knew I should use her recipes.

This was very popular at the party and I loved having leftovers for lunch – the recipe used almost all of the phyllo from the box. It’s also pretty easy, aside from the whole dealing-with-phyllo thing. The trick is to just be gentle, and don’t use too much butter.

Adapted from Ina Garten…

Appetizer Spanikopita

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 bunch chopped scallions, white and green parts
• 2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 40 sheets (1 box) frozen phyllo dough, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add the scallions. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the scallions (with oil), eggs, feta, salt, and pepper and mix together.

Keep the phyllo dough sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel. Unfold 1 sheet of the phyllo dough. Brush the sheet lightly with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs. Repeat the process by laying a second sheet of phyllo dough over the first sheet, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs until 10 sheets have been used. Spoon 3/4 cup of the spinach mixture into a sausage shape along one edge of the phyllo dough. Roll it up. Brush the top with butter and score the roll into 1-inch rounds. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (if making ahead, just cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate). Place it on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Repeat until all the pastry and filling have been used (mine made three “loaves”).

Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Then slice all the way through…

Grant liked this with a little extra cracked pepper and coarse salt sprinkled on top – not a bad addition, if you ask me. I love the flaky phyllo with the creamy feta and spinach inside.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Chewy Pecan Bars

I joked to a friend of mine when I was planning on making these. “Guess how many sticks of butter?” I asked.

She knew it was Ina Garten, who is like the Paula Dean of East Hampton.

But she wasn’t prepared for, “Five sticks!!!”

And I wasn’t prepared for when I realized that I read the recipe wrong, and tromped back out to the store, for this called for not five, but NINE sticks of butter in total.

It’s fun to think about, when your heart starts beating again.

People loved these bars. Oscar Party attendees, family, friends, coworkers. They taste like pecan pie on top of your favorite shortbread cookie. Hints of orange and lemon zest make the pecan filling a bit different, but the pecan flavor is still the hero. I, however, will never make these again. Ever. For many reasons.

One reason is that they literally caught my oven on fire. The sugary pecan filling readily spilled over the sides of the baking sheet and onto the oven bottom, where it caught fire. I’ve had smoke in the oven before, but not fire. And then the sugary substance that caused the fire became so sticky that the bars were impossible to remove from the pan, even with all that butter! Talk about a labor of love.

I think my problem was that my baking sheet was too small. Bakers beware!

Chewy Pecan Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 cup good honey
• 3 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18 by 12 by 1-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

For the topping, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomedsaucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.

Grant sprinkled a little extra coarse salt on his, which is always a nice thing.

Go on, friends, indulge! xoxo

Green Goddess Dressing with Basil

Green goddess dressing combines every delicious dressing flavor into one creamy sauce. I made this last month for my birthday party – served with a bunch of fresh vegetables for dipping. However, it really should be treated like a salad dressing, not a dip – served over hearty greens such as spinach, romaine or bibb lettuce.

It’s like a caesar dressing with the addition of basil – amazing. Scallions, anchovies, lemon garlic – your guests will at first be concerned for the state of their breath, but then forget all that once they taste it. I had numerous people ask, “What is IN that?”

Once basil is in season again, I will definitely keep this as a refrigerator staple for my summer salads, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.

Here, I just drizzled it over veggies.

Green Goddess Dressing with Basil

Ingredients (makes roughly 2 cups):

• 1 cup good mayonnaise
• 1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (6 to 7 scallions)
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
• 2 teaspoons anchovy paste or equivalent anchovy fillets
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup sour cream

Add everything except the sour cream to a blender and process until smooth. Add sour cream and blend completely.

Serve with your favorite veggies or drizzle over salad – you will not believe how robust the flavors are. And don’t worry about the anchovies, they are hidden among the other ingredients so as to not overpower.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo