CELEBRATING FATHER’S DAY!
Honoring your father on Father’s Day doesn’t require his physical presence. I feel what is more important is just the act of doing it. I am very grateful to have had a father who was such a strong role model in my life. Everything he did was driven by his commitment to provide and care for the family he loved.
My father passed away in 2005 and Brion’s in 2011. Both our dads loved to talk and tell stories from their lives. We often wish we could retrace that time and hear their voices again. It seems you never fully appreciate your parents until they are no longer on this earth. It is so important to appreciate every hour they are in your life.
Brion & I eat a lot of chicken, so I’m always interested in another way of serving it. This recipe gives you not only crispy chicken but a flavorful tomato bacon relish to compliment it.
If you’re a bacon lover, it probably goes without saying, but bacon goes well with everything. Tomato bacon relish sounds like it would be savory, but it’s actually pretty sweet, just like other fruit jams! However, it does have a lot more complexity thanks to the bacon and spices.
The concept may sound strange, but it tastes like caramelized tomatoes–richer, sweeter, and more mellow than their fresh counterparts, balanced by the savory and smoky flavors of the bacon and smoked paprika. A little vinegar and mustard add a subtle tang, and you’ll get a hint of heat at the end from red pepper flakes.
It’s perfect spread on toast, in an omelet or a grilled cheese sandwich, on roasted veggies, next to cheese and crackers on a charcuterie board, or spread over cream cheese or brie for a party appetizer, etc. etc.
My special meal in honor of our dad’s on this Father’s Day is baked chicken tenders with bacon tomato relish.
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Baked Chicken w/ Tomato Bacon Relish
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Instructions
Chicken
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In a shallow bowl, mix bread crumbs, 2 Tbsp thyme & 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper. Place flour & egg in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour; shake off excess. Dip in egg, then in crumb mixture, patting to help coating adhere. Place chicken on a greased rack in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake about 15 minutes or until no pink remains.
Bacon Tomato Relish
In a skillet, over medium high heat, fry bacon until crispy. Remove bacon to plate. Drain all but 1 Tbsp bacon drippings.
In the same skillet, sauté onions in reserved bacon drippings until onion starts to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic during last minute of sautéing.
Add bacon & all remaining ingredients; stir to combine. Increase heat & bring mixture to a boil.
Decrease heat & simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are tender.
Serve over baked chicken tenders.
Who doesn’t love a good, old-fashioned hot dog or smoked sausage? They’re tasty, fun, simple to cook, and inexpensive. These stuffed, turkey/chicken sausages tick all those boxes, and they add a touch of elegance at the same time.
I’m always looking for simple ways to add new life to old classics. Splitting the sausage and stuffing them, adds so much more texture and flavor.
These smoked turkey/chicken sausages go beyond the typical pork or beef sausage and with the addition of some bacon, veggies and then topped with cheese puts a new spin on a way to enjoy sausages.
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Stuffed Smoked Turkey/Chicken Sausages
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Instructions
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Place sausages in a medium sized baking dish & cut through the center without cutting all the way through.
Add 1 1/2 cups water to a small saucepan & heat on high with peeled diced potatoes. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain water & mash. You can add 3 Tbsp milk & 1 tsp of butter if you prefer, then mash.
Heat oil in frying pan & add onion, garlic, mushrooms & diced bacon. Gently fry until browned.
Squeeze a strip of BBQ sauce along the center of each sausage & top with a bit of cheese & the onion mix. Spoon or pipe mash potatoes on top & bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven & top with remaining cheese then return to oven for about 5 minutes to melt & brown. Serve.
Quiche is a very flexible dish that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner and allow you to use whatever ingredients you have on hand. As a substitute for spinach, swiss chard adds a tartness and texture that spinach lacks. The ribs are very flavorful and hold their shape in soups, sautés and gratins. Chopped or whole, smoked sardines add something really unique to this egg dish.
Several thousand years ago, people discovered that exposing fish to intense amounts of salt and smoke was a great way of preserving the catch for later. Today, our smoking techniques are considerably more refined, and we do it more for the flavor than as a means of preservation. Its a shame that more people don’t think to reach for smoked fish as an effortless way to add loads of flavor to foods they love.
Let’s face it …. sardines, you either love them or hate them. The name ‘sardines’ is said to originate from Sardinia, a Mediterranean island known for sardine fishing. The canning of sardines started around the early 18th century in Europe. Through the centuries, the popularity of canned sardines spread around the world.
While sardines get a bad rap for being too salty, mixing it with the right ingredients allows these briny flavors to add a lot of depth and bite to other seemingly bland ingredients.
This quiche recipe is full of smoky bacon & sardines, swiss chard, mushrooms, leeks and creamy grated cheese. It definitely changes up the way to eat smoked sardines, but of course, you have to like them to begin with.
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Swiss Chard & Smoked Sardine Quiche
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Instructions
Rice Crust
Pre-cook rice in broth (can be prepared the day before).
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Lightly butter a 9-inch quiche pan. In a small bowl, combine 30 gm smoked cheddar cheese with cooked rice. Mix well; pat into quiche pan, working it up the sides. Bake for about 5 minutes; remove from oven & set aside.
Filling
In a skillet, sauté bacon until cooked; remove from pan & set aside reserving bacon drippings. Remove stems from chard leaves; chop. Place stems in skillet. Chop chard leaves & set aside. Wash & thinly slice leek using about 1/2 of a leek (both white & green parts). Slice mushrooms & mince garlic.
Heat bacon drippings in skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat & add chopped chard stems, mushrooms, garlic & leeks to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Add chard leaves to skillet; sauté until chard is wilted & no moisture remains, about 10 minutes. Stir in thyme, parsley, pepper, crumbled bacon. Remove from heat & cool slightly.
Assembly
Spread filling mixture evenly over rice crust. Sprinkle with about half of the grated cheeses. Top with drained, smoked sardines ( slice horizontally in 1/2-inch slices). Whisk eggs & milk to combine; carefully pour over quiche. Top with remaining grated cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes or until set. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Nice to serve with tartar & seafood sauce.
Scallops are beloved by pretty much everyone who can eat them …. they’re tender, sweet and taste ever so slightly of the sea. Being not only expensive and easy to overcook, scallops are often considered restaurant only fare.
Wild scallops feed by filtering microscopic plankton from the water. They are hand shucked immediately and frozen at sea to capture their fresh sweet flavor.
Pan-seared scallops pair well with bright, tangy flavors that contrast their meaty sweetness or in creamy dishes that emphasize their richness.
One of my go-to ‘sauces’ that I’ve used on numerous occasions on the blog, contains hot red pepper jelly. I’ve added a raspberry preserve to the jelly for a new twist on the flavor this time. The parmesan risotto brings it all together, definitely making this meal a ‘keeper’.
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Pan-Seared Scallops w/ Spicy Raspberry Sauce
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Instructions
Risotto
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook & stir diced bacon until browned, about 5-10 minutes. Drain the bacon & reserve.
In the skillet, melt the butter & sauté onion & garlic for about 4 minutes until soft & translucent. Add the rice & mix well until it is fully coated with the butter.
Pour in 1/2 cup of the broth & lemon/lime juice. Once the rice has absorbed all the liquid, turn heat to medium low. Add one cup of broth & continuously stir until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat, one cup at a time, with the remaining broth. This will take about 20-25 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup water & take the pan off the heat once risotto is at your desired consistency. Add the parmesan cheese, reserved bacon & parsley; stir to combine. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Sauce
In a food processor, puree ingredients for sauce & set aside.
Scallops
Thaw scallops as directed on package. Rinse & pat dry with paper towels; season with salt & pepper. Add oil & butter to a non-stick skillet & heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Sauté scallops by turning over once until browned & just cooked through, 4-6 minutes total.
Serve over a bed of parmesan risotto & drizzle with sauce.
Recipe Notes
- Of course, if you live where you have access to fresh scallops, your in a whole different class!!
Meals like pot pies are classics for a good reason which makes them the foundation for endless inspiration. When you chose to ‘reinvent’ classic dishes, you must keep some of the elements that make the dish familiar and at the same time, you want to make the dish better, not just new. Taking a new approach to an ‘old school’ dish gives a chance to appreciate what was great about the original but making it new again.
Pot pie is a comfort food favorite which I have posted on this blog in many renditions over the years. Along with chicken I have featured seafood, beef as well as some pork & oyster pot pies.
Chicken is arguably one of the most favored proteins to put on the dinner table. Its valued for its nutrition, accessibility, low cost and most importantly its extreme versatility. Poultry serves as a blank slate and flavor absorbing foundation for every type of cuisine imaginable.
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Roast Chicken & Stuffing Pie
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Ingredients
Sour Cream Cornmeal Pastry
Ingredients
Sour Cream Cornmeal Pastry
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Instructions
Cornmeal Pastry
In a small bowl, combine sour cream & ice water; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar & salt. Using a pastry blender or finger tips, cut in butter until mixture resembles both coarse crumbs & small peas. Sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over dough, 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it.
After you have added all the sour cream mixture, dough should be moist enough to stick together when pressed; if not add additional cold water, 1 tsp at a time. DO NOT overwork dough. Press dough into 2 disks & wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Chicken Filling
Dice previously roast or pan fried chicken; set aside. In a saucepan, melt oil & butter & add leek, mushrooms & garlic. Cook until fragrant & the leek has softened. Toss in the bacon & continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes; stirring to combine. Add diced roast chicken.
Sprinkle with the flour & seasonings; stir to combine. Add the stock & milk. Cook to reduce the sauce as well as it thickening it. Remove from heat & transfer to a bowl to cool then refrigerate for 20 minutes. Prepare Stove Top stuffing as directed on package.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare the egg wash in a small dish.
Remove pastry disks & filling from refrigerator. Allow pastry to sit for a few minutes to become workable. Roll out first disk to about 10 1/2-inches in diameter. Line a 9 1/2-inch pie dish with it. Fill case with chicken filling. Fold top inch of pastry over filling in a cupping fashion. Using about 2/3 of remaining pastry, roll it into a 9-inch diameter & place on top of filled pie.
Divide remaining dough into 8 strips. Place over covered pie resembling spokes of a wheel. On alternate wedges place chicken stuffing. Use egg wash on remaining four sections & on top of the narrow pastry strips.
Bake for 40 minutes or until golden & cooked through. If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover with a layer of foil until done. Remove from oven & allow to cool somewhat before serving.
Whether you call it quiche, tart, galette, pizza or pie, these uncomplicated dishes remain some of the most universally appealing. Depending on the setting and time of day, such open face preparations can serve as a first course or an ideal main luncheon dish. Versatility makes them picnic fare as well as late evening snacks.
Spinach is a green that Brion longer enjoys to eat so I have sometimes used Swiss chard in its place. This particular galette uses a nice flour/cornmeal pastry. The chard and Gruyere make an excellent pairing. I love the vast complexity of Gruyere with its fruity tones slowly going towards earthy and nutty flavors. Covered by a natural rind, the texture is dense then matures to flaky and somewhat granular as it ages. No silage ever enters the diet of the cows providing the milk for it. Instead, these Swiss alpine cows, are allowed to roam freely on pastures cushioned between freshwater streams and hillsides. This natural forage is key to imparting the signature flavors of Gruyere.
Today’s galette can be just a meatless version or you can add chicken, bacon, pine-nuts, corn, mushrooms or whatever you prefer. It all works!
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Chard, Chicken & Gruyere Galette
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Votes: 1
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Instructions
Cornmeal Galette Dough
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In a small bowl, combine sour cream & ice water; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar & salt. Using a pastry blender or finger tips, cut in butter until mixture resembles Both coarse crumbs & small peas. Sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over dough, 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it. After you have added all the sour cream mixture, dough should be moist enough to stick together when pressed; if not, add additional cold water, 1 tsp at a time. DO NOT overwork dough. Press dough into a disk shape & wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Mustard Sauce
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In a small saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour & continue to cook, whisking constantly for about 2 minutes until golden brown. Add chicken broth & mustard. Continue to simmer, whisking until thick & bubbly. Remove from heat; set aside to cool slightly.
Filling
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In a skillet, saute bacon until cooked; remove from pan; set aside. Remove stems from chard leaves; chop to equal 1 cup. Chop leaves to equal 4 cups. Heat bacon drippings in skillet over med-high heat. Reduce heat & add chard stems, mushrooms, garlic & onion to pan; saute 5 minutes. Add chard leaves to pan; saute until chard is wilted & no moisture remains, about 10 minutes. Stir in thyme, parsley, pepper, bacon & shredded chicken. Remove from heat & cool slightly.
Assembly
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Preheat oven to 375 F. Remove pastry from refrigerator. On a 12 X 16-inch sheet of parchment paper, press out pastry into two rectangles about 9 X 14-inches ( you can make one big one if you prefer). Carefully spread mustard sauce over surface of dough, leaving an inch border all the way around pastry. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; make a layer of cooked, thinly sliced potato then evenly top with filling mixture. Sprinkle divided Gruyere between both galettes & fold edges of dough inward over filling. Brush egg wash over exposed crust.
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Bake until crust has browned & cheese has melted, about 25-30 minutes. Slide the galettes off the parchment onto a cooling rack or cutting board. Slice & serve.
