Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Creamy Garlic Sauce

 Preheat oven to 400°. 

Coating:

1/2 c. Flour

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese (grated) 

1 tsp. Garlic powder 

1/2 tsp. Onion powder 

1/4 tsp. Salt 

1/8 tsp. Pepper

1 egg, well beaten 

Dip chicken breasts in coating mixture, followed by egg and again in the coating mixture. Place on parchment lined baking sheet, leaving plenty of space between breast pieces. Bake 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat is 165°. You can broil 1-2 minutes for crispier crust. While the chicken is baking, prepare the creamy garlic sauce.

Sauce:

1/2 c. Butter

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1/4 c. Heavy cream

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/8 tsp. Pepper 

Melt butter; add garlic and saute 1 minute until fragrant. Whisk in cream, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. 

Recommend doubling the sauce to serve over potatoes or rice! 

Seeded multigrain sourdough bread

125g whole wheat flour

175g bread flour (15g tangzhong, 160 making dough)

75g kamut 

25g rye

50g spelt 

50g hard white wheat

100g active levain 

10g salt 

20g olive oil 

50g honey 

400g water (75g tangzhong, 325g making dough) 

10g chia seeds, 10g flaxseed, 20g oats, 20g sunflower seeds, 5g sesame seeds, 5g poppy seeds, 20g pepitas 

Levain:

Night before: mix 15g sourdough starter with 75g bread flour and 75g water. Cover and leave on counter 10-12 hours until more than doubled and bubbly.

Dough:

Tangzhong: mix 15g bread flour with 75g water in saucepan until smooth. Cook until forms thick paste. Let cool. 

Add all ingredients to a bowl (except seeds!) and use dough whisk to mix. Mix until no dry flour is left. Cover and let rest 30 minutes. Add seeds. Do 2 sets of stretch and folds with 30 minutes between each set and then bulk ferment until doubled (4-5 hours @ 80°). Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.

Bake:

Dust dough with flour and dump onto counter. Roll into log shape and place seam down in oiled loaf pan (black Pullman). Mist with water and top with mixed seeds if desired. Place in warm place until doubled. Preheat oven to 425°. Bake for 10 minutes and then lower oven to 375° and continue baking 23-30 minutes or until bread temp reads 195-200°. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from pan. Allow to cool at least one hour before slicing. 

Sourdough milk bread with sweet stiff starter

SWEET STIFF STARTER (peak 4-6 hrs) 

115g active starter

115g bread flour

45g water

25g sugar

Stir to combine; knead briefly so there are no dry pockets of flour. Put in clear, wide-mouth container, loosely cover and let ferment until triple in size (78-80° for 4-6 hours)

TANGZHONG 

16g bread flour 

40g water

40g whole milk

Mix and cook over medium - medium-high heat until thick; cover with plastic wrap and set aside until cool. 

FINAL DOUGH

All of the sweet stiff starter 

All of the room-temperature tangzhong (87g)

137g bread flour

62g whole milk 

12g milk powder 

45g sugar 

5g salt

32g unsalted butter, softened 

Put all ingredients except for the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer with the hook attachment. Mix on low until the ingredients are slightly incorporated and then take up to speed 2 for 5 minutes. If it's too dry, add milk 1 tsp at a time, being careful as butter will add more moisture. Add the butter in 2-3 batches. Knead on speed 4 for about 10 minutes. Look for windowpane. Transfer to lightly oiled bowl, cover and proof in warm place for about 2 hours (78-82°) until 1.5x. 

Lightly grease your loaf pan (I prefer the Pullman loaf pan with or without a lid). Punch down the dough and knead it a few times. Divide into 3 equal parts. Round the dough into balls, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Working with one ball at a time, flatten with your palm and roll out to a rectangle the length of the pan and double the width. Fold the 2 sides to meet in the middle and then roll the dough lightly like a Swiss roll. Place doughs side by side in the pan. Cover and let the dough proof again until it fills 80-90% of the pan.

Preheat oven to 375°. If using it,  place lid on pan and put pan in oven on middle rack. If not using lid, brush top of loaf with milk or an egg wash. Bake for 30 minutes. If using a lid, after initial 30 minutes, turn oven to 350° and continue to bake for 5 minutes. Internal temperature should be 190°. Once out of the oven, drop the pan on the counter to release some steam and immediately remove from pan to a cooling rack. For a soft, shiny crust, brush immediately with melted butter. Let cool completely before slicing. 

Sicilian Skillet Chicken aka Marry Me Chicken

 3 Tbs. Olive oil.                       4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.   Kosher salt.                                       Fresh ground pepper.                             2 cloves of garlic, minced.                     1 Tbs fresh thyme leaves                      1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.   ¾ c. chicken broth.                            ½ c. cream.                                         ½c. chopped sun-dried tomatoes.   ¼ c. fresh grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 375º. In a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat (medium or medium-low on the large burner), heat 1 Tbs. olive oil. Pat chicken dry and season generously with salt and pepper and sear until golden, 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Return skillet to medium heat and add 2 Tbs. olive oil.  Stir in garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes, cooking until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in broth, heavy cream, sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan and season with more salt. Bring to a simmer, then return chicken to skillet. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife, 10-12 minutes.

Salsa Two Ways

 Leaving the pared down recipes here for HATCH GREEN CHILI SALSA and TOMATO SALSA. Makes about 3-1/2 pints each.

HATCH GREEN CHILI

3-3/4 lbs Hatch green chilies or anaheim, roasted and peeled and diced

1 lb tomatillos, roasted, chopped

1/2 of a large onion, diced

1/2 Tbs minced garlic

1/4 c. chopped cilantro

3/4 tsp oregano

3/4 tsp cumin 

3/4 tsp sea salt

shy cup of chicken stock

1/4 c. vinegar

Fresh ground pepper

Put all ingredients in a stainless steel pot and cook until desired consistency. Use immersion blender to chop to desired consistency. Seal in sterilized jars in a water bath for 20 minutes.

TOMATO SALSA

4 lbs tomatoes, peeled and chopped

5 jalapenos, chopped fine

2 serrano peppers, chopped fine

 1 large onion, diced

 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 c. vinegar

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 Tbs. lemon or lime juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 green pepper, diced fine

Fresh ground pepper

Cook all together for 30 minutes or until desired consistency. Use immersion blender to chop. Seal in sterilized jars in water bath for 15 minutes.

Simple Roast Chicken

 From Epicurious:

One 2-3 lb chicken (have done with 5-6lb)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 

2 tsp minced fresh thyme (optional)

Unsalted butter 

Dijon mustard 

Preheat oven to 450F. Rinse chicken and pat VERY dry, inside and out. The less it steams the better! 

Salt and pepper the cavity then truss the bird. 

Now, salt the chicken. (about 1 Tbs kosher salt) - raining it over the bird for even distribution. Season to taste with pepper. 

Place the bird breast side up in a sauté or roasting pan and place in oven. Don't baste, don't add butter. Roast until it's done 50-60 minutes. Beware! It can get smoky! When done; remove from oven, add butter to pan juices (and thyme if using), baste with pan juices and let sit for 15 minutes. 

Paprika-Sahne-Hähnchen

 Paprika Cream Chicken

4 Chicken breasts

2 red peppers, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

1 onion, halved and sliced

2 cloves garlic

1 dried chili pepper

200 ml cream

200 g sour cream or creme fraiche

1 tsp tomato paste

125 ml vegetable broth

1 Tbs paprika

1 tsp hot paprika

100 g grated cheese (I used Parmesan)

Oil

Salt and more paprika

Wash and dry the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with salt and paprika and place in a casserole so that the breasts will be very close to each other. Put pepper slices over chicken breasts. Heat the oil and saute the onions. Add the chili pepper and press the garlic cloves into the onion mix. Add the 2 paprikas and tomato paste. Pour in the broth and scrape up the bits. Add the cream and sour cream; salt to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and pepper strips, making sure all is covered by the sauce. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 355 for about 30 minutes. Serve over wide egg noodles, Spätzle, or rice.

This would be even better if chicken breasts are flattened well prior to baking. Could potentially work well in the crockpot, probably on high for 4 hours or low for 6. Add cheese afterwards and then broil to melt the cheese. Possibly shred the chicken if done in the crockpot!