Chicken Chianti?

LIFE LESSON: One should never attempt to buy Marsala Wine on Sunday in Texas.


So, last Sunday I caught the fever and researched recepies for Chicken Marsala. After a few
minutes, I decided on a good sounding method by Emeril Legasse. I left the house to get the
groceries, expecting to pick up the wine at a nearby Sprouts Grocery. When I was told they were out, I hopped on over to Tom Thumb and rumaged through their truly extensive wine selection
where I found this:

Ha Ha Ha! (Tanner's uncle told us about this one....supposedly it tastes like Kool Aid) Anyway, I didn't see any Marsala. Frantically, I drive home and begin scouring the internet, searching for ANY place that might be open and that carries the wine I require. Ironically, when I called Winestyles they told me a man was also on the prowl for Marsala this day. Apparently, he had given up and bought a bottle of Chianti to use in its stead. I was not about to give up hope and I continued my online quest into desperation.

By desperation, I mean Central Market in Southlake. Quite a drive from my home. I actually called them. They actually had Marsala. And Marsala acutally contains 17 per cent alcohol which is actually illegal to buy in Texas on Sunday.

With my tail between my legs I drove to Winestyles. Defeated.

Southern Living Inspiration

I love Southern Living magazine. Every time I read one I get inspired to cook...maybe even bake! Thus, last week I was reading the latest issue and stumbled across an intriguing recipe for Chicken on a bed of garlic sauteed spinach with two-cheese grits. How much more southern does it get, Y'all?

Unfortunately, I never wrote down the recipe but today I tried to re-create it to the best of my ability. Here's what I did.


INGREDIENTS:

1 chicken thigh

2 cloves of garlic

a large handful of spinach (more than you think you'll need)

olive oil

juice from 1/2 a lemon

rosemary

salt

pepper

grits (not instant)

white cheddar (or yellow cheddar) cheese

Parmesan cheese


METHOD:

Prepare the chicken thigh with one clove of crushed garlic, rosemary, the juice from 1/2 a lemon, salt and pepper. Let the chicken marinate for one hour. After the time has elapsed, prepare a grill (I used a grill pan) and cook the chicken thoroughly. Prepare the grits as directed (I made enough for one serving) and add a handful of cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese to the hot grits. Lastly, warm the olive oil in a saute pan. Add the second garlic clove, minced and then add the spinach, sauteing as it cooks.

Enjoy!

This is a quick and super easy meal to prepare for an informal dinner party or anytime you're in the mood for comfort food.

The Best Nachos

My best friend and roommate is always cooking up the best food....I'm jealous of her natural talent. This simple, delicious recipe for nachos is just one example of her brilliance.

Ingredients:

• Bag of store-bought chips (a good brand)
• white cheddar cheese
• picante sauce
• canned black beans
• *guacamole
• *sour cream

Method:

• pre-heat the broiler to 400 degrees
• top the chips with beans and cheese
• toast the chips until the cheese is melted
• add picante sauce, *guacamole, and *sour cream to taste

I realize the silliness of how simple this recipe is...but you will thank me for posting this once you try it! My Latin friend raved that these nachos rival the ones she's had at the best Tex-Mex restaurants.

* (ingrediants I have added on my own; not part of the original recipe)

Courtesy of Mary...

I like trying out new recipes but I love trying recipes given to me by a friend- those are the best! Thanks to my boss at work, I made a very simple and delicious chicken casserole yesterday. This is her recipe for Chicken with Stuffing:

Ingredients:
1 Package boneless, skinless chicken breasts washed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can chicken broth
1-2 packages of Stove Top stuffing (I used 2)
2 celery stalks diced
1 medium onion diced
Seasonings as you like

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. Wash chicken
3. Combine all ingredients, except chicken in a large mixing bowl. If stuffing appears too dry, add a little water
4. Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray and place a layer of mixture down in the dish
5. Season the chicken as you like
6. Place uncooked chicken on top of layer of stuffing and apply the rest of the stuffing
7. Cover with foil and bake for about an hour

*I added 1 small container of light sour cream, and 1 small can of mushrooms-drained. I also recommend seasoning the chicken thoroughly and taking the foil off about 10 minutes before it's done to get the stuffing nice and brown on top. :)

Enjoy and feel free to share a good recipe with me any time!

Yogurteria!

In reference to my first blog entry, I have finally found a natural frozen yogurt shop that is comparable to Orange Cup. It's called Yogurteria(http://www.yogurteriaus.com/3.html). With locations in Flower Mound, Bedford, and Hurst it is much more accessible than Orange Cup and the yogurt is truly excellent! In addition to their Original flavor (which I tried), Yogurteria also regularly offers Chocolate and Green Tea flavors. Like Berry Berry, and Bliss Frozen Yogurt, Yogurteria alternates a fourth flavor every week. I tried this week's flavor, Strawberry and was delighted with the incredible natural taste. What I most enjoyed about Yogurteria, however was the texture of their yogurt: smooth, yet not too milky or creamy and perfectly tart- what I fell in love with when I tasted Orange Cup.

Yogurteria refers to it's yogurt as "Italian Frozen Yogurt" which led me to believe it was another gelato (Gelato= Italian ice cream made with 2% milk instead of cream. Nothing like the tart frozen yogurt of Orange Cup) place...I was wrong. I still don't know where they got "Italian" from considering the yogurt they serve is modeled after a Japanese concept...hmmm. Also, Yogurteria doesn't just serve yogurt, they also serve shave ice and espresso. Yes, lots of choices await you at Yogurteria...it's must try....just in case you can't make it to Orange Cup. :)

About the toast...

I don't think I'll be making another Alton Brown recipe any time soon.

My first bad experience was with his French Onion Soup recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/french-onion-soup-recipe/index.html). Now, I've used the same recipe for French Onion Soup for a couple years and after watching an episode of Good Eats, I was inspired to try something new. His recipe sounded delicious and unique; he used white wine and a splash of Cognac....I had to try it! 5 sweet Vidalia onions and 10 oz of unfiltered Apple Cider are other components I found interesting. (Now that I'm writing out the ingrediants I'm amazed I couldn't see it coming.) Let's see what we have here: SWEET ONIONS, SWEET APPLE CIDER, and SWEET WHITE WINE (I used a chardonnay). What does that equal, kids? That's right, SWEET! Yes this soup was MUCH too sweet and close to unedible. A complete disaster.

Now, about the French Toast. If you read my last post you saw that I was trying a new recipe, also by Alton Brown for French Toast. Unfortunately, this recipe was far from what I would call good eats. Before I started cooking, I studied the recipe to be sure I didn't forget anything and I realized something extremely irregular: this french toast didn't call for any cinnamon or nutmeg! I was floored. I've never heard of French Toast without even a pinch of cinnamon in it! Needless to say, I immediately modified the recipe to include the two irreplaceable ingrediants.

When my guest arrived, he unexpectally brought a friend along. It's a tad embarrasing for me to serve a recipe that I've never tried to people other than my close friends and family, but I also don't want to be rude so I offered him a plate. As you may have already guessed, Alton Brown's French Toast wasn't that great. Not terrible, mind you, but not great. I'm sure Alton Brown knows what he's doing in the kitchen...maybe we just have different taste...very different taste.

Good Morning, Amanda!

One of my favorite recepie finds of all time is one for French Toast Casserole by the great Paula Deen (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-french-toast-casserole-with-maple-syrup-recipe2/index.html). You must try this recipe! The praline topping is what makes this dish a success. The brown sugar in the topping caramelizes on top and forms a sweet, buttery, delightfully crisp layer of deliciousness. The toast itslef is not overwhelmingly sweet, yet spiced perfectly with cinnamon and nutmeg (always use freshly ground nutmeg-it's a must!). The casserole is to be served with maple syrup (only the real thing, please!) and makes a great dish for special occasions. Honestly, if you ate this rich of a breakfast every morning I can promise you would end up looking like Kirstie Alley pre Jenny Craig. My family usually eats this dish on Christmas and Thanksgiving morning.
Tomorrow morning I'm cooking breakfast for someone special and have decided not to prepare the usual casserole but to surprize him with something new....hmmm. While researching the Food Network website I decided I wanted to make a basic French Toast Recipe so I'm trying one by Alton Brown (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/french-toast-recipe/index.html). Now I've had one VERY BAD experience with an Alton Brown recipe...but that's a different entry and I don't believe he can completely botch something as simple as French Toast! I'll let ya'll know how it goes.