Lemon and chicken are natural companions. Lemon is acidic and helps balance the stronger flavor of the dark meat in thighs and legs, and the fat from the chicken skin. I venture to say lemon mixed with chicken is largely Mediterranean in origin. Versions of lemon chicken usually with the additions of olive oil, butter, garlic, and sometimes white wine are found in Italian, Greek, Levantine, and Persian cooking.
Roast chicken thighs are a simple and satisfying meal anytime. Roasting the potatoes in the same pan with the meat gives the potatoes that extra boost from the lemony chicken juices. In little more than an hour you have a great meal on the table.
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Lemon Roasted Chicken Thighs & Potatoes
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Instructions
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In a large bowl, mix together oil, lemon zest & juice, oregano, paprika, Dijon mustard & garlic. Add chicken & potatoes to oil mixture & toss to coat.
On a large parchment lined baking sheet, arrange chicken & potatoes. Season with sea salt & pepper. Cover with foil & roast for 45 minutes.
Remove foil & toss potatoes making sure to spoon excess liquid over chicken & potatoes. Arrange lemon slices over chicken thighs & continue to cook, uncovered for another 20 minutes or until potatoes & chicken are cooked.
Remove from oven, tent with foil & let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Many of the best holiday traditions involve food — and New Year’s is no exception. Not only is it the final celebration of a long holiday season, but it’s also a moment to celebrate the end of a year and the beginning of a new one. When January 1st arrives each year, people across the globe turn to New Year’s Day foods said to bring good fortune, long life, love, and more in the coming year. No matter the events of the previous 12 months, many of us look at the holiday as a chance for a fresh start.
Eating pork is just one of the many foods considered to be lucky. Pigs symbolize progress. Some say it’s because these animals never move backward, while others believe it’s all in their feeding habits (they push their snouts forward along the ground when rooting for food). They are also rotund, symbolizing a fat wallet ahead. The meat itself is fattier than other cuts of meat, making this New Year’s Eve food both tasty and a symbol of prosperity.
Here in Canada we have so much to be grateful for. I guess if we think further, the most important wish would be for world peace.
HEALTH & HAPPINESS TO EVERYONE IN THE COMING YEAR!
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Pork Medallions w/ Wild Mushrooms & Mustard Cream
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Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes.
Wipe out the skillet. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet over high heat until hot. Sprinkle the pork medallions generously with salt and pepper. Sear over medium-high heat, turning once halfway through, until browned, about 12 minutes for medium. Transfer the pork to a platter.
Add the shallots to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the mustard and heavy cream and bring to a boil, cooking until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Spoon the sauce on a plate; place the medallions on the sauce and scatter the mushrooms over top. Garnish with additional parsley, if desired.
CELEBRATING FATHER’S DAY!
Today is full of memories for Brion & I. My father passed away in 2005 and Brion’s in 2011. There is never a week that goes by that we don’t reminisce about something we remember about one or the other. Our Dad’s were men who always had great, real-life stories to tell. If only those stories had been recorded or written down so we could enjoy them once again.
They each followed a very different path on their life’s journey; my father was a farmer and Brion’s an army soldier. Both of them gave so much of themselves to their life’s work as well as to their families.
There are never enough words to describe just how important they were to us and what a powerful influence they continue to be. A father’s love is such a special gift beyond compare. You only know the meaning when he is no longer there.
For this blog post, I’m preparing a meal I think they both would have enjoyed. The sweetness of cooked strawberries creates a lovely balance with the saltiness of the prosciutto and the smoked gouda cheese.
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Prosciutto-Wrapped Roasted Chicken Breast
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Instructions
Chicken
Butterfly chicken breasts & lay out flat; season with salt & pepper. In each chicken breast, add about 1/4 cup sliced strawberries, 2 green onions & about 30 gm smoked cheese. Allow green onions to stick out from both ends of the breast. Fold the breast closed & place another 30 gm cheese on top.
On your work surface, lay out 3 slices of prosciutto, overlapping slightly. Place the stuffed chicken breast at one end of the prosciutto & begin rolling. Repeat with second chicken breast. As you roll, the prosciutto will stick to itself.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Drizzle breasts with olive oil & roast for about 25 minutes or until cooked through. Place on serving dish & keep warm.
Raspberry-Pepper Sauce
In a microwave safe dish, whisk together raspberry preserve & hot pepper jelly. Heat in microwave.
Serving
Drizzle warm sauce over chicken breast & serve. This chicken is excellent with rice & steamed broccoli.
Like their Italian cousin pizza, calzones originated in Naples, Italy during the 18th century. The calzone’s original purpose was to serve as a ‘walk around pizza‘ that were not meant to be eaten with utensils. This Italian style turnover is created by folding a pizza in half. When correctly prepared, the calzone’s outer crust is baked to crispy perfection while the inside filling contains a warm, gooey blend of ricotta and mozzarella cheeses along side an assortment of hearty meats and vegetables. The crust of calzones, traditionally made with yeast, olive oil, water, flour, and salt, makes them extremely portable. Calzones, are always baked. The original calzones of Naples, were most likely much smaller than the modern calzones seen in North American restaurants today, because the pizzas created in 18th century Italy were for a single person to enjoy.
Calzones are similar to stromboli and the two are sometimes confused. Unlike calzones, which are always stuffed and folded into a crescent shape, a stromboli is typically rolled and folded into a cylinder. Both are pizza derivatives. They utilize the same ingredients to achieve different versions of a sealed, portable meal. Calzones are traditionally stuffed with cheese, tomatoes, and marinara. But much like the pizza, any sort of toppings can be added inside the calzone.
Today, I wanted to put a bit of a different spin on the calzone idea. I’m making a potato/leek yeast dough, filling them with chicken & mushrooms & adding a bit of pizazz to the shape. What’s old is new again!
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Chicken & Leek Calzones
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Instructions
Leeks
Rinse & slice leek. In a skillet, place oil, sliced leek, sage leaves, garlic, salt & pepper. When the garlic is fragrant & the leek is tender, turn off heat & transfer to a dish to cool.
Dough
In a small dish, combine yeast with lukewarm water; allow to stand for a few minutes until frothy. In a large bowl, combine butter, salt, sour cream, cooked, mashed potato & 1/2 of the leek mixture. Beat together well.
When yeast is ready, add it to the wet mixture. Mix in flour, one cup at a time. When dough is blended, turn onto a lightly buttered work surface. Knead dough about 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. Place dough ball in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. While dough is rising prepare filling.
Filling
In a skillet, fry bacon to a cooked but not real crisp stage. Transfer to a paper towel, reserving bacon drippings to sauté mushrooms in. When mushrooms have cooked & released most of their moisture, remove from heat.
In a bowl, combine remaining other half of cooked leek mixture, bacon, cooked chicken (or turkey), & mushrooms. Add Ranch dressing & salt to taste. Set aside.
Assembly & Baking
On a lightly greased work surface, divide risen dough into 8 balls. Roll each ball into an OVAL shape, about 7 x 6-inch size. Divide filling into 8 portions. On each oval, place a portion of the filling in a straight line on the middle of the dough.
Keep one side free & cut the other side of the dough into thin strips using a knife. Fold the uncut side over the filling first, then continue rolling over the cut side.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper & place the 'calzones' on it, curving them into a C shape. (Place the side with the 'strips' curving to the outside). Brush calzones lightly with egg wash; cover with plastic wrap & allow to rise for about 20 minutes.
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Bake calzones for 40 minutes until a golden brown. Serve hot or room temperature.
Parsnips are one of those vegetables that very often gets over looked as being bland and tasteless. The unassuming parsnip has neither carrots’ obvious sweetness or potatoes mashable, fryable, butter-loving appeal.
I’ve always loved their sweet, mellow, complex flavor. To me, parsnips have a taste reminiscent of hazelnuts, cardamom and a gentle peppery spice. They are at their best after a few autumn frosts, which converts the tuber’s starches into sugar. In fact, if they are left in the ground over winter and dug at the first sign of spring, parsnips are nearly as sweet as carrots.
Over the years, I have used them in many different applications. Pork with parsnips is a common savory pairing but grating them into breads and spice cakes is equally good. Making cakes with vegetables used to be a necessary economy, while today we use it as a way to improve the quality and it adds a range of flavors we’d forgotten about.
Using some fresh root veggies at this time of year seems to be a good choice. This cheesy parsnip bake makes such a flavorful meal.
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Pork & Cheesy Parsnip Bake
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Instructions
Parsnips
Peel parsnips & cut into chunks. Cook in salted boiling water until they are tender, about 20 minutes.
Casserole
In saucepan, heat oil & sauté onion until tender crisp. Add the mushrooms & cook gently for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in pork & fry, breaking it up as it cooks, until lightly browned.
In a small container, combine vegetable broth with cornstarch. Carefully add to meat mixture, stirring until it starts to thicken. Add extra broth if needed. Stir in chopped zucchini & cover. Turn heat to low & cook gently while preparing the parsnip topping.
Turn oven on to broil. When parsnips are soft, mash thoroughly. Stir in butter, milk & grated cheese. Spoon pork mixture into an ovenproof dish. Evenly spread the cheesy parsnip mixture on top. Place under a broiler until the topping starts to brown. Serve immediately.
