5-Minute Individual Potato Gratins

Recipe courtesy Melissa d'Arabian
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/5-minute-individual-potato-gratins-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
•Vegetable spray
•2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly sliced
•1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
•2 green onions, finely chopped
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•3/4 cup heavy cream


Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate and serve.

Rustic Lemon-Onion Chicken

Recipe courtesy Melissa d'Arabian
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/flexible-4-step-chicken-for-family-and-company--rustic-lemon-onion-chicken-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
•4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced in half crossways (butterflied, cut all the way through)
•1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves chopped
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•4 tablespoons olive oil
•1/4 cup all-purpose flour
•1 red onion, thinly sliced
•1/4 cup white wine, optional
•1 cup chicken broth
•3 lemons, juiced
•1 to 2 tablespoons butter
•Spinach "bed", recipe follows

Directions
Season chicken with dried thyme and salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in flour, add to the hot oil and saute until cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest on plate tented with foil.

In same saute pan, over low heat, add onions and fresh thyme and cook until aromatic.

In a measuring cup, measure out wine, if using, and broth, and add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan with the broth mixture until starting to reduce.

Remove the pan from the heat and finish the sauce by whisking in butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place a bed of cooked spinach on a serving platter, top with the chicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Spinach "bed":

•1 bag pre-washed fresh spinach
•3 tablespoons water
•1 tablespoon butter
•1 lemon, juiced
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Microwave spinach in a microwave-proof dish with a few tablespoons of water on high for 5 to 6 minutes, or until hot. Drain, and toss with butter, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, to taste.

Christmas Goodies

Update to how they turned out in red!!

Ok.... so this will be a post in progress. I'm trying to figure out what goodies I'm going to make for my Christmas goodie boxes. Considering that, if I choose to write down everything - I'll probably lose it or it'll get colored all over by Rylee -- I'm going to post my ideas and recipes on here. That way, at least I know it's safe! :)

Peppermint Bark
--dark and white chocolate, peppermint flavoring and crushed peppermints.
Always good and super easy.  However, when breaking it up into actual pieces, the dark and white chocolate split -- only giving me white peppermint bark.  hmmmmmm.  Still turned out good, but I need to figure out what I was doing wrong. 

Balsamic Chocolate Truffles
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/balsamic-chocolate-truffles-recipe/index.html
I'm thinking that maybe I'll add powder sugar to the cocoa powder, or maybe just roll them in powder sugar entirely, or roll them in crushed nuts. Hmmmm.... I need to see.


8 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (recommended: Valrhona)
1/4 cup cream
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Directions
Melt the chocolate and cream in a double boiler over hot but not simmering water. Place melted chocolate in a small bowl. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Cool the chocolate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, until firm but moldable.

Use a teaspoon to scoop out chocolate. Use your fingertips to shape into balls about the size of a cherry. Set the chocolate balls on a parchment-lined tray.

Place the cocoa powder in a small shallow dish. Place 6 truffles at a time in the cocoa powder and roll the truffles around to coat, and return the coated truffles to the baking sheet. Continue with the remaining truffles. Place the truffles in a serving dish or airtight package.

Eh.... didn't come out the best.  Tasted okay... not amazing though.  The ganache though was a hard consistency to work with.  It was either too hard to mold into nice-looking balls or too soft and it would get all over my hands.  Again...they tasted okay -- but I won't do it again.


Shortbread Cookies dipped in chocolate with sea salt
Beat 2 sticks of butter, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup powder sugar until fluffy. Whisk 2 cups flour and 1 tsp salt , then stir into the butter mixture. Press the dough into a buttered 8 inch square dish. Using a fork, score the dough into strips (however long you want) -- chill in fridge for 30 minutes. Bake 1 hour at 300 degrees. Cool, then slice along the scored lines.
Once the shortbread is totally cooled ( maybe pop it into the fridge for a bit to make sure it's really cool) -- melt chocolate and dip one end into the chocolate - letting excess chocolate dripped off. Place on parchment or wax paper to cool. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Amazing!  Really easy and really good.  My shortbread came out a little thick, so after they were cooled, I cut them in half lengthwise, put some butter on the tops and popped them back into the oven for a bit to make the top look a little more finished (since I had to cut them...).  Then dipped in chocolate and sprinkled just a little sea salt on them.  YUMMY!

Cranberry and Date Roll Ups
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paulas-party/cranberry-and-date-roll-ups-recipe/index.html

Probably my favorite of the bunch.  the cookie wasn't that sweet and the cranberry gave it a nice pop of citrus.  I cut up the dates and in each "roll up" I used some dates, a couple of Craisens (for a little bit of added sweetness) and then 2 cranberries.  Sprinkled powder sugar on top.  My doctor RAVED about them!  He said that he even went home and told his wife about how good they were! lol   Definintely making these again!

Hazelnut Brittle **not sure about this one....
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/hazelnut-crunch-noci-croccante-recipe2/reviews/index.html#user-reviews-top

Eh..... came out just okay.  It was good and had a good flavor but it was a little too nutty for me.  I only used 2 cups of the hazelnuts (instead of the 2 1/2 cups) but I think next time I'll only use a little over 1 cup.  I like more "brittle" than "nuts" anyways.  IT was good though.  I'll make it again. Oh and FYI -- make sure you use PARCHMENT PAPER not wax paper. I thought I could just them interchangably but it turns out you can't!  The wax paper stuck to the brittle so badly that even after trying to scrape it off, I still had to toss half the batch.  :(

Rachael Ray's 15- Minute Meal: Chicken with BLT Gravy

The "BLT" stands for "Bacon, Leeks, and Tomato" :)

I made this today for lunch and we really enjoyed it! It took me a little bit longer than 15 minutes, but not too much (although I wasn't timing it or anything). Darrin even took seconds! :) Served with sourdough bread for "mopping". It would be great with rice too!

Oh and FYI -- I fixed everything as the recipe states... except that I only used boneless skinless thighs (they're so much cheaper) and could only fit 5 in my pan (so we only had 5 pieces of chicken, not 8 as the recipe calls for). I only used 1 leek, and not 2 (which was good since I had less chicken). Besides that though - stuck with everything else!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast, halved across
4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed up
Salt and pepper
4 slices smoky bacon (chopped)
2 leeks
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock
2 small plum tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Crusty bread, to pass at table

Directions
Heat 2 skillets each with 1 tablespoon EVOO over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to first skillet, cook chicken 12 minutes, turning once.

Meanwhile, add bacon to second skillet. While bacon cooks, halve trimmed leeks lengthwise then slice 1/2 inch thick and vigorously wash in a colander then dry on kitchen towel. Add leeks to bacon and saute to soften 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the leeks 1 minute. Stir in stock and tomatoes and reduce heat to a simmer.

When chicken is done remove to platter and deglaze the pan drippings with wine, scraping up the bits and color 30 seconds, pour drippings into the gravy pan, stir to combine.
Finish gravy with cream, stir to combine and when sauce comes back up to a bubble, turn off heat and stir in Dijon mustard.

Finish gravy with cream, stir to combine and when sauce comes back up to a bubble, turn off heat and stir in Dijon mustard.

Spoon BLT gravy over chicken and serve with crusty bread torn into pieces for mopping.

Cheddar Corn Chowder

Update at Bottom!!
-------------------------
Just something that I want to make and don't want to lose the recipe. Sounds yummy, huh? Great for a rainy day.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cheddar-corn-chowder-recipe/index.html


Ingredients

8 ounces bacon, chopped
1/4 cup good olive oil
6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups chicken stock
6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
2 cups half-and-half
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated


Directions

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.
---------------------------------------

Update!
I made this tonight and it was great!  My mom loved it so much she had seconds. :) I did make some changes though.  I cut the recipe mainly in half (see below).  Changes I would make the next time is to either cut the potatoes up a little smaller or if I had an immersible blender - do a quick blend afer the potates are cooked.  I also didn't like the bacon on top of the soup.  Just made it a little too rich and salty.  I just felt like it didn't really need it.  However, I would omit it due to the flavor the fat gives.  Next time, I'll just cook up the bacon like normal, then put it in the fridge or freezer for breakfast the next day or to use in another dish (mmmm like maybe stuffed potatoes...).

Here's the changes to the ingredients I did:

8 ounces bacon, chopped (kept the same)
1/4 cup good olive oil (???? didn't really measure it out....I think it was about the same)
6 cups 3 cups chopped yellow onions (4 2 large onions)
4  2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt (eyeball it)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (eyeball it)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric Omitted altogether.  More for color than taste and I wasn't going to buy an entire jar for less than a teaspoon.
12 cups 5 cups chicken stock (could even do 4 cups)
6 cups 2-3 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled
10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds) 1 lb frozen corn
2 cups 1 cup half-and-half
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated (kept the same)

Open-Face Chicken Parm Sandwhich

I made this today and it was yummy! A great way to get rid of leftover chicken and a really quick lunch. It's also easy if you're "cooking for one". I got it from my Parents magazine.

Take slices of whatever bread you have on hand. Italian bread or Sourdough works best though, I think. Toast the bread in the toaster. Lay pieces of cooked chicken on top of the bread, top with some spinach leaves (if you have some), marinara sauce and cheese (a mix of parm and mozzarella works best). Then pop it in the oven under a broiler until the cheese is bubbly and a little brown -- about 2-3 minutes or so.

Not the absolute healthiest meal around.... but good nonetheless! Another "quick tip" is to have Marinara sauce on hand at all times. I make my own every couple weeks and keep it in a jar in my fridge. It makes whiping up pasta and sauce super easy. After boiling and draining pasta, return to the pan and pour some sauce directly in the pan on low heat. Just a couple seconds and the sauce will be heated up! Makes cooking for one (or one and half in my case) super easy!